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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 1974)
I ' Dissatisfied h o m eo w n er sues PDC, HUD Mrs. Whitlow received a grant in 1973 to rehabilitate her Albina home, following two years of application und delay. Mrs. Whitlow was not satisifed with the work done by Dwight Morris, owner of Morris Construction Com puny, and which was judged inadequate by several ob servers. Mrs. Whitlow com plained to PDC staff mem bers and to the local HUD office but received no assis tance. Mrs. Whitlow slated that she was told by a staff Mr». Annie Whitlow, who was the recipient of a housing rehabilitation grant from the Portland Develop meiit Commission I funded by the II. S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs), has obtained permission to file a class action suit In the United States District Court. The suit charges PDC and its employee Kay Wilson, HUD. the Metropolitan Human Ke lations Commission, and con tractor Dwight Morris with racial discrimination. member of PDC that if she di<l not sign I he forms so the contractor could be paid, the contractor might sue and take her home. Following a story and pic lures of the work in the Observer und the interceding of the Albina Contractors Association, M orris went bark to the home and made some repuirs to his work. However, Mrs. Whitlow said the repairs he did were not acceptable Further efforts with PD( and HUD proved futile The suit was filed on be half of all Black, low income, elderly and widows who were recipients or prosper live recipients of HUD re habilitatiori loans or grants and Blacks who were poten tial building trade employees but who were illegally dis criminated against by white contractors holding PDC contracts. Mrs. Whitlow charges that PDC, III D and the Human Relations Com mission held common and parallel attitudes of discrimi nation in that each was ex tremely negligent and tardy in processing com plaints. She charges that although they knew of discrimination and unconstitutional acts of others and ol each other, they delayed the complaint procedures so long that her constitutional rights were not guaranteed. The suit also charges racial discrimination in the alloca lion of construction work to Black workers. Mrs. Whitlow asks that the court enjoin the defen dants' from maintaining a policy, practice, custom or usage that denies her and others of her class equal opportunity in grants and rehabilitation programs. She also asks for monetary relief for herself and others who have been injured by the defendants. District Court Judge Burns appointed atto rn ey s Sam Sewol and David Wiener to represent Mrs. W hitlow Giant spruce trees silhouetted against the evening sky bring a p. ireful missl to the Oregon Coast. i Resignation coming Boost opens A lb in a center A community drop in center for persons who want to Find out ways to finish their •durations has moved into new o f f ic e s in t h e Albina area 3620 N. Vancouver Avenue. Persons in te re ste d in finding out about financial aid and educational programs available to help them com plete high schrarl, college or vocational training programs art encouraged to stop by the BOOST renter or to phom I hara M em orv d ire c ts th« C o m m u n ity Jazz Band at th e recent Block P a rty sponsored by th i •Mbma E xp a n sio n \ r l s fe s t iv a l The Jazz Band w ill soon b. teat tire d at th e W o r ld s fa n (P h o to bv Rosem ary M im i Portland artists visit Expo '74 A troupe of performing artists from Portland's Blark community will be leaving this Friday headed for Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane. Washington The delegation, representing Portland, will participate in the Afro American Heritage festival presented by the Afro American Pavilion, August 9 II. 1974. O.B. Hill. Coordinator of the Project and Director of the Albina Expansion Arts Festival, a special summer youth program, believes this is a significant event in terms of generating a greater interest in expanding the Arts in Albina. We are honored that our community was asked to participate and will be represented. Es pecially at a time when much effort has been channeled (Please turn to pg. 4. col. 7) 280 8619 w ee kd a ys. obtain financial aid. il needed, and enroll in high school equivalency programs or special educational pro grams set up at all the state's public colleges and universities, community col leges, and many private col leges and vocational schools. "A big part of BOOST'S job IS matching the right student with the right pro gram.' said Marshall. "If we have a student with a reading handicap, we get him in the school with the best reading program Service» arc free and open to the public. BOOST can pick up a stu BOOST (Bettering Ore dent at any level. If he guns Opportunity for Saving hasn’t completi-d high school, Ta1- nt I is a federal program high school . • o valency pro npiratiil by the Stair- Sys grams are available College tern of Higher Education to program» are available to a s s is t persons who need students who need special extra financial aid. tutoring, academic help, as well as for counsr ling or encouragement students prepared for col to complete their education lege. In its seven years of exis The BOOST offices were fence, BOOST has helped previously located on the more than 3. (MM) persons. Basically, according to Ken Portland State University Marshall. BOOST director, campus, but were moved to the program helps those who Albina in August so they have special problems lhal would be more accessible to prevent them from obtaining potential students and their an education low income parents. The new offices are located persona, minority members. Model Cities residents, young next door to the Albina veterans, ex convicts, drop Branch of the Multnomah outs and others However. County Library and the BOOST can also assist higher Tradewell More 4 Less Gro The office formerly income persons by referring cerv. them to program and finan housed the Sickle Cell Ane nna Foundation, which has cial aid sources. BOOST helps participants moved to new facilities. I ta n g e l d isc u sse s D e tr o it D e c isio n Congressman Charles It Rangel (D N Y.I. Chairman of the Congressional Black Cau rus. expressed his dismay at the Supreme Court decision prohibiting city suburb bus ing except in specific in stances. "1 am disappointed by the Court's ruling that a child's right to an equal education stops at the city line." said Rangel. "I share Justice Marshall's dissenting view that this decision marks a giant step backwards in our fight for equal justice under law. "But the Court did not close all the doors to inte gration." Rangel continued. "Although anti integratiomsts will try to portray the de cision as a Constitutional mandate to deny Blark stu ,n > . Account The Telephone Deposit transfers excess money from checking to your Ben| Franklin savings account where it can earn 514% interest until you need it Insured for safety Telephone transfers work both ways for deposits or withdrawals For more information on the T /D Account, call 248 1362 Franklin aaviaaa * Home Ottica: Franklin B ld g . Portland. Oragon #7204 Roban H Maran. Praa • îflO ttlcaa • Phona 248-1234 dents the right to quality education, I believe we can in many cases meet the Court’s requirements and in stitute busing across city lines to satisfy the Constitu tional guarantee of equal education. "In numerous cities ringed by white suburbs. Blark stu dents are bused to maintain school segregation. And often, officials use housing and zoning laws to trap Blacks in poor, ineffective whools. The phenomenon of predom inantly Black inner city schools encircled by white suburban schools must end if we are to fulfill the demands of the Constitution as stated in Brown vs. Board of Education twenty years ago. I believe integration should be a state concern. not merely a local one. and that district lines should not hinder establishment of in tegrated. effective schools "The Court disagrees. But we must not be discouraged." Rangel stated. "We must I work harder now to meet the standards set by the ( ourt R E “JOE" SMITH and to pursue the Consti tutionally mandated goal of integration by other means. Court allowed busing must Attorney General. In an K.P. “Joe" Smith has an continue. In addition, all nounced his candidacy for nouncing his desire to re citizens concerned almut civil the Democratic nomination ceive the nomination. Smith, rights and education will to the United States Senate who has long been an ad need to act together to solve Smith, a former Umatilla mirer of the late Senator the complex problem of County District Attorney, is Wayne Morse, said he seeks Blark isolation in our nation's practicing law in Portland. the "unique privilege of sue cities. We simply cannot Smith challenged Lee »•ceding Senator Wayne survive as a society if we Johnson in 1972 in a close Morse." (Phase turn to pg 2. col. 5) race for the office of State (Please turn to pg. 2. col. 5) I Smith pursues Senate A N EDITORIAL It r ig h t As the O bserver goes to press the re sig n a tio n o f the President is im m e n e n t, a c c o rd in g to sources close to the W h ite House By the tim e this paper hits the streets it m ig h t be a ll o v e r fo r R ichard N ixon - or he m ig h t hold on a fe w m ore hours or a fe w m ore days, h o p in g fo r a m ira c le that co uld save him . The Black p e o p le o f the n a tio n w ill fe e l no rem orse fo r w e su ffe re d at the hands o f R ichard N ix o n lo n g b e fo re his c o rru p tio n and his thirst fo r p o w e r a d d r e ss e s d e le g a te s Professor Marjory Brown b eca m e p u b lic k n o w le d g e . Wright, Social Work Pro The N ix o n a d m in is tra tio n is c le a rly the most co rru p t in A m e rica n history, but gram Coordinator at th»- b e y o n d th a t it has bee n a sad era fo r Blacks a nd fo r those w ho support University of Oregon, will speak at a free La-adcrship c o n s titu tio n a l g u a ra n te e s a n d e q u a l justice fo r a ll p e o p le Richard N ixon used Training Institute August his o ffic e to w o rk to d e p riv e m in o ritie s and the poor o f th e ir rig h tfu l places in 12th at the Hyatt Regency A m e ric a n life . Hotel in Ixzs Angeles. Mrs. W e w o u ld p re fe r th a t M r. N ix o n stand tria l, fo r surely he w o u ld be fo u n d Wright will talk on "Moving g u ilty . We w o u ld p re fe r that a ll the e vid en ce be re v e a le d , that a ll doubts be from Charismatic to Syste malic Community Ix-adt-r la id to rest. ship." But p erhaps it Is b e tte r th a t it e nd q u ic k ly so th a t a n e w p re sid e nt can g et on S p o n so re d by Sigm a w ith th e n a tio n 's business. W e can o n ly hope th a t Mr. N ixo n has e n o ug h Gamma Rho Sorority, the re g a rd fo r his co un try th a t he w .ll ossist in o sm o o th tran sfe r o f g o ve rn m e n t to Leadership Training InsU lute will be ojM'n to the the n ew pre sid e nt. public and will include sev R ichard N ix o n w a n te d to m ake history -- he has m ad e history. eral speakers, workshops, W e d id not e le ct Mr. N ix o n ; w e d id not p a rtic ip a te in his a d m in is tra tio n ; and and audieme discussions. w e a re not sorry to see h im go! The Institute is a community service of the national col legiate and community ser vice organization, which will hold its 52nd Anniversary Houle August 11 17 in Los Angeles. Dr. Annie L. Iaiwrence. Assistant Nursing Education Coordinator for the State of m ittee. have committed measurably from his cour Richard Celsi. Chairman of Illinois, will speak on "W hat themselves to vote for the ageous leadership. What the Multnomah County Kind of a Leader Will I Be? individual selected by the Democratic Central Com ever efforts are made tt Other speakers and work Thursday night vote. Ac choose a successor in the mittee. announced that the shop leaders include: Dr. cording to Oregon statute, race for the United States Central Committee will meet Cleo Higgins. Professor of the State Central Committee Senate must not only honor Thursday night, August 8th. English and French at will meet to select the can the memory of Wayne to select its candidate for the Bethune Cookman College, Morse, but must conform to didate to oppose Republican Democratic nomination to Daytona Beach, Florida; incumbent Robert Packwood the principles for which he the United States Senate. Educator and Aurora Maga in the general election in fought so long and violently." zine Editor Lillie W ilkes of Candidates for the nomina November. In a message to members terkeley, California; Ber of the Central Committee, tion have been invited to lice Everest. Teacher, and Announced candidates for Celsi said "The sudden un speak and to be questioned VekinK Tollette. Counselor, the nomination are Attorney by members of the Central timely death of Senator both of the Los Angeles City R.P. "Joe" Smith, State Wayne Morse has left a gap Committee, after which a Schools; Melvina Hurst, an Senate president Jason Boe. vote will be taken. in Oregon's political scene Administrator for the Leake State Senator Betty Roberts, Celsi and Vice Chairperson that can never be filled. and Watts Children's Home and Speaker of the Oregon Uaroldine Miller, who will This loss is especially tragic in Yonkers. New Y ork; House of Representatives, represent Multnomah County to the Democratic Party, V erneka Silva. A ssistant Richard Eyman. on the State Centr al Com which has benefited im Principal for Administration (Please turn to pg. 5. col. 51 Demos choose Senate candidate A A xi S K take t n le t in A fro -A m e ric a n H eritage Part II: by J.M. Gates (Part 1 discussed the pression of slavery, the ruption of slave sales, the legacy of challenge courageous reformers.) op dis and by The legacy of challenge is linked with commitment; tangible and intangible risks are significant stakes of Afro American h e rita g e . Consider the individuals and institutions with a long time genuine interest. What is the assessment of slavery by them? Does it reveal a "new Hook" of humanitarian «condi lions regarding slavery and th«- consequences of same? Does the assessment ques tion the impossible value of material provisions without a human Bill of Rights? The c u rre n t issue of Freedomway» (the literary qu arterly ! discredits the validity of Time on the Cross and categorizes the authors as "ignoramuses". Freedom ways also reports that Ken neth Clark debated the authors on the "Today Show". Other scholarly dis agreement is also cited. The Journal of Negro His tory (October. 19731 includes a controversial review of The Slave Community and a relevant reference to Ken neth Stamps' earlier con elusions regarding slavery. More than a century ago. attempts were also made to reveal a "new look". A Mrs. Eastman wrote a column. "Aunt Plnllis' Cabin", as the southern answer to Mrs. Stowe's Unde Tom's Cabin Mrs. Stowe provided a docu mentary addenda in 1853 with her Key to I ncle lom's Cabin. which used legal trials, slave codes, etc. One biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe cites her July 9. 1851 letter to Fred erick Douglass expressing a request to interview some one who had actually labored on a cotton plantation. That letter for an authentic re source was written while she was still working on the manuscript for I ncle Tom's Cabin. The conclusion in Dort mund's article that "slave sales considered the con tinuity of the family or in dividual maturity" is incon sistent with the published statements of the 19th cen lury. Because of an un willingness to return to slavery, an exodus to Canada occurred after the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Ixiw The Douglass Narrative describes the anxiety in Rochester and the difficulties deciding whether to remain in Rochester or leave the United States. Carter Woodson cites how the impact of slave insurrec tion resulted in repression of the In d e p e n d e n t Black Church. Woodson stales that North Carolina pro- hibitfd preaching by Ne groes. and Alabama in 1833 prohibited slaves or free Negroes from preaching un less five respectable slave holders were present and there was authorization by a local religious organizatioi According to Woodson. Georgia's 1834 requirement limited audiences of free Negroes or slaves to seven; preaching in larger audiences necessitated a special license. Whereas the Charleston. S.C. church of the Reverend Morris Brown had 3. (MM) members in 1822, repression forced him to move north. Stowe relates the recurring plight of the Edmonson family (the father free ami the mother a slave). Einan cial intervention by Rev erend Henry Ward Beecher and Plymouth Church pre vented two of the daughters (Please turn to pg. 2, col. 31
