Portland Observer
Thursday. December 19. 1974
Equal Educational Opportunity?
by M rs . D sly J . G a te s
WE SEE THE WORLD
ALFRED I. HENDERSON
Editor Publisher
THROUGH BLACK EYES
No Black English
Ford responsible
The O ffic e o f N e ig h b o rh o o d O rg a n iza tio n s,
w h h is c u rre n tly in v o lv e d in assisting n e ig h b o r-
h o c d o rg a n iza tio n s in p la n n in g fo r the use of
fe d e i il H ousing a nd C o m m u n ity D e ve lo p m e n t
A
n on ey has a n ew a n d sta rtlin g p la n to
¡,nj
ve c o m m u n ic a tio n w ith P ortlan d's citizens.
The sta ff o f O O N A w ill: "P re p a re in fo rm a tio n
te llin g the p u b lic o f th e p ro g ra m , th e ir ro le and
th e ir rig h ts in the HCD process.
in th e first year p a m p h le ts w ill be p re pa re d
in sim p le w ords a n d in n e e d e d languages,
in c lu d in g Spanish, Ita lia n , Blgck a nd In d ia n
ve s.ons In fu tu re years, o rie n ta l lan gu ag e s m ay
be a d d e d . (A re th ere others?) Slides, film s or
v id e o m ay h e lp in e x p la in in g the program s, as
soon os th ey can be p re pa re d.
th i co ntrove rsy o ve r the use o f Black English
it
ica tio n has b e e n ra g in g fo r years, but this is
♦fie
rst tim e w e 'v e h ea rd o f a g o ve rn m e n t
body p u b lis h in g its c o m m u n ica tio n s in
"Black
E n g liit .
BMck English has been re co g n ize d as a
le g itim a te d io m o f English, used by a sub-
c tu e o f th e A m e rica n p o p u la tio n . It co nta ins
g ra m a t.ca l uses p ro b a b ly d e riv e d fro m
the
A frica n lan gu ag e s a nd d e v ia tio n s fro m A m e ric a n
English.
Some e ducators have a d vise d th a t in
te a ch in g yo u n g Black c h ild re n , th e usages be
conside red d iffe re n t, not w ro n g , u n til the c h ild
lea >s to rea d a nd learns basic English g ra m m a r.
O ther educators h ave had success in te a c h in g
Er.gt ' to Block c h ild re n as a second la n g u a g e
B .• no e d u ca to r reco m m en d s th a t the use o f
' Black E n g lish " be substituted fo r standard
English th ro u g h o u t the e d u ca tio n process, since
th e le g a l a n d e co n o m ic m atters o f th is n a tio n are
c a rrie d out in sta nd ard English.
W e b e lie v e th e use o f "B la c k E n g lish " in the
c o n te xt p re se n te d by O O N A to be co n d e sce n d in g
a nd d e m e a n in g
W e re a liz e th a t m a n y o f our
ch dre, are b e in g g ra d u a te d fro m h ig h school
A thc ut b e in g ta u g h t to read, but w e th in k those
xvl o h ave had the o p p o rtu n ity to le a rn can read
sta nd ard English as w e ll as th e y c o u ld reod
"B la c k E n g lish ".
If O O N A w ants to co m m u n ic a te w ith the
citizens o f P ortland it sh o u ld be a b le to w rite its
com n um qnes in a sim p le r b ut lite ra te , e a sily
u nd ersto od but not co n d e sce n d in g , m a n n e r
f h e 'e •" c o e e d fo r c o m m u n ic a tio n in Spanish,
out ^pam sh-bpeaking citizens sh o u ld p re p a re the
•
re ta tio n s
The " In d ia n v e rs io n " leaves a
q u e stio n -- w h ich c f th e h un dred s o f In d ia n
la n g u a g e s w ill be used to reach P o rtlan d's In d ia n
^ p u lo t io n ?
O f p erha ps m ore im p o rta n ce th a n the im p lic a -
»ions o f s e g re g a tin g a g ro u p by la n g u a g e is the
o p p o rtu n ity it p ro vid e s fo r c h a n g in g the co n te xt
to fit the co m m u n tiy .
W e h ave a lre a d y h ea rd
that the q u e s tio n n a ire s used by O O N A at its
H on e Tow n M e e tin g s " d iffe re d e n o u g h to e lic it
q ,U oren t a nsw ers fro m each co m m u n ity. It w o u ld
be a serious in fra c tio n o f justice if the c o m ­
m u n ic a tio n o f citiz e n s ' rig hts a nd o p p o rtu n itie s
d iffe re d fo r each co m m u n ity.
The v io le n c e that has o ccurre d in Boston since
S eptem ber is u n e xcusa ble
The p o w e r o f the
Federal g o v e rn m e n t sh ou ld h ave bee n used lon g
b e fo re n ow to p ro tect the Black c h ild re n a n d the
w h ite c h ild re n o f Boston.
O ther p residents - E isenhow er, K ennedy a nd
Johnson — have n a tio n a liz e d th e loca l n a tio n a l
g u a rd or sent fe d e ra l troops to p ro tect the rig hts
o f Black citizens in the South. These Presidents
m ig h t not have c o m p le te ly a g re e d w ith the
a c tiv itie s o f Blacks in th e ir s e e k in g ra c ia l justice,
but they had the c o u ra g e to use th e ir h ig h o ffic e
to p rotect A m e ric a n citizens.
President Ford has a b e tte d th e v io le n c e o f
racists in Boston by v o ic in g his a g re e m e n t w ith
th e ir cause
W e d o not care w h e th e r he fa vo rs
busing or not.
W h a te v e r his b e lie f, it is his
re s p o n s ib ility to p ro te ct the rig h ts o f th e A m e ric a n
p e o p le a nd to u p h o ld the la w as d e te rm in e d by
th e courts o f the U n ite d States
What does "Equal Edu
cation Opportunity" mean (or
Oregon »hen few have the
opportunity to learn about a
ltecember 12th agenda item
concerning a report which
has been in proress for more
than a year?
As one who
hail a chanee to see said
proposal only the evening
before the scheduled public
meeting.
I
attempt'd
to
contact several persons to
ascertain il they were aware
of what was evolving. (An
other report "Equal Edu
cation Dpportunity of the
Oregon Legislature" which I
had earlier read at School
District Number I was not
on the December 12, 1974
agenda
there are TW O
Equal E ducational Oppor
tunity Reports.)
I spoke at a December
12th meeting in the Stale
Capitol, attended by up
proxunately one hundred and
fifty persons from through
out Oregon.
The
m a jo rity
of
my
December
12th testimony
concerned the necessity for
immediate constructive act
ion including public notice
which
involves
university
ethnic studies programs, new
media of racial minorities, a
|M-rsonal suggestion to re
quire publishers I in contracts
let) to be responsible for
providing errata sheets con
corning the essential in
gredients up to a certain
page limit as part of the
a n d /o r
school
Women's lab" in the schools
contract price, restrictions with
vouchers will lie necessary
page
2
article
of
the
De
regarding unfair substituí
to replace State Textbook
ions comparable to contract cembr-r 12. 1974 I begun
Commissions IF said bodies
Journal
In
my
opinion,
that
restrictions on behalf of
Re»|Hinsible Be are not more responsive
safely tin which unfair sub is NOT
r e g a r d in g
m u lti e lh n ie
slilutions are not permittedl. porting!
materials and the priorities
commitment evidenced by
The thrust of my testi concerning same.
To thia
specific in serv ice Hauling mony was that the treatment
private citizen, the treatment
course requirements such as nl minorities in textbooks
of minority racial emphasis
a Frederick Douglass Semi deserves the same emphasis
as a Subsidiary Concern in
nar or an American Heritage accorded new math
the Icsllxxik adoptions is incon
Seminar of w huh Frederick S P E C IF IC in service train
sistent with the goal of
Douglass is included. eon mg. SP E C IF IC curriculum
m u lti ethnic instructional
tra d
specifications
which development and cooperation
materials. For example in an
prohibit unfair sustllutions of publishers.
1 further itemization of 22 |xiinl* by
concerning racial minorities slated that in my opinion any
research personnel of (he
I p a rtic u la rly substitutions teacher who had nol read the
Oregon Slate Department of
which unfairly minimize the N a r r a t i v e
ol
F r e d e r ic k
Education's Division of In
Afro American inalel by in D ou glass w as t nil orally Dis
structional Support, one <d>
eluding a base year for advantaged!
serves the
placement
ol
evaluative measurement, and
11 "Equal Educational Op minorities as item 19 amt
possible administrative re port unity" is ever to have a
eommemlal lolls to publishers wholesome community d i item 22
for more extensively utilizing mate
for
implementation,
Although
Dr
N in e tte
monuments about racial mi open
meetings
must
I*' Florence stales that said
norities and other public sustained by A D F .tH 'A IF . itemization does not repre
dom ain h eritag e m a teria l reporting
Unfair omissions sent a ranking, the 819
such as the F’rederick Doug ami distortions Mis Educate ami »22 listing I in the rom
lass N atio n al M onum ent. the public and defeat un parison distributed at the
Com m ent concerning con plementation of the open Decem ber 12th m eeting)
t i n u e d fe m a le o r i e n t e <1 meeting law
lends to reduce the sig
classes and programs (when
I hope that the Portland mficance of multi ethnic in
there is a valid biological or O bserver will find it possible structio n al
m a te ria l
lor
cultural reason for samel was to publish
the
Attorney " E q u a l E d u c a tio n a l Op
probably less than IO*N> of General’s opinion regarding port unity."
the issue fis-us of toy total Equal Education Oppor
The reality of equal edu
testimony!
lum ty, Affirm ative Action,
cation opportunity depends
and
the
power
aaaigned
the
In as much as I was the
on the follow up and per
only (icrsoii from I hi' general State Textbook Commission
severance of concerned per
by
Oregon
statutes.
public to testify on the
Whether minorities
On hearing the Attorney sons
proposetl "Equal F.docation
are a subsidiary emphasis or
G
e
n
e
r
a
l's
o
p
in
io
n
,
one
Opportunity" draft,
it
is
a major emphasis will d rier
difficult Io understand why wonders if the 1954 Supreme
mine
the
existence
of
Court
decision
has
any
sig
Mr. Watford Reed (Oregon
genuine
equal
education
op
for
Oregon
or
Journal staff w rile rl chose mficance
poriumly.
to conluse my testimony whether someday community
Start at the top
Greetinqs
C ou nty C om m ission C h a irm a n -e le c t Don C lark
has a p p o in te d Dr Lee B row n to be his C ounty
S h e riff
This is C la rk 's first a p p o in tm e n t in his
n e w p o s itio n a n d if he co n tin u e s lik e he has
started, the Black c o m m u n ity o f P ortland can
h a v e som e hop e fo r b e tte r c o n s id e ra tio n fro m the
co un ty.
As C lark has said, Brow n is th e best m an fo r
the job .
He n ot o n ly has an o u ts ta n d in g
a c a d e m ic a n d te a c h in g b a c k g ro u n d in the fie ld
o f c rim in o lo g y a n d la w e n fo rc e m e n t, b ut he s
h ad e x p e rie n c e as a u n ifo rm e d p o lic e m a n
H a v in g a t his c o m m a n d th e latest te chn iqu es a nd
th e o rie s o f la w e n fo rc e m e n t a n d crim e p re v e n ­
tio n , h a v in g been a p o lic e m a n a n d a te ach er, he
und ersta nd s the h u m a n factors a ffe c tin g the
in d iv id u a l p o lic e o ffic e r.
B ro w n is in th e u n iq u e p o s itio n o f b e in g the
Black d ire c to r o f an a ll-w h ite p o lic e fo rc e
His
p o s itio n can be c o m p a re d to th a t o f C ity C o m ­
m issio ne r C harles Jo rd an , w h o as Fire C o m ­
m issio ne r, heads a tra d itio n a lly a ll w h ite o r­
g a n iz a tio n th a t o n ly re c e n tly has o d d e d a fe w
from
e )&aron (Eavrru
In heartiest appreciation for your good will and
confidence, we extend to you most cordial wishes
for the Holiday Season. We welcome this op­
portunity of telling you just how much we enjoy
A FESTIVE
YULETIDE
servina you.
J 2 8 4 -8 0 5 9
lnsBsanas
am asua» sai
2211 H.E. ALBERTA
m b ama
WE MME R "I HARDWARE.
HAPPY HOLIDAY
MM1 R. E. IM a a Asa
Black e m p lo y e e s
This is the w a y to insure ra c ia l justice -
to
start a t th e to p The d ire c to r o f a d e p a rtm e n t -
w h e th e r it be p o lic e , fire or w h a te v e r — can set
the a tm o s p h e re w h e re a ll in d iv id u a ls are w e l­
com e d a n d are tre a te d w ith d ig n ity .
We
c o m m e n d C om m issio ne r C lark fo r p u ttin g Lee
Brow n a t the top.
Beat WiAkeA
May heart« every­
where be fille d
with contentment.
Peace . . . love . . . joy.
To our good friandi
for and near through­
out tha holidayi.
PHIPPS
Lyman Ray West,
PHARMACY
O.D.
4001 N. Mississippi
52 56 N. E. Union
Sincere good wishes
to you, our good friends and
customers, this very joyous season.
BRANDEL'S KILLINGSWORTH FOODS
1616 N. E. Killingsworth
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company,
2201 North Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217. Mailing
address: P .0. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 Telephone:
283 2486.
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The Portland Observer's official position is exprissed only
in its Publisher's column (W e See The World I hrough
Black Eyes). Any other material throughout, the paper is the
opinion of the individual w riter or submitter and does not
necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer.
MEMBER
NMWA per
Association • Founded 1M5
'll
Oregon
N ewspaper
Publishers
Association
Let us follow the Star
of Bethlehem to peace.
1014 N.
Killingsworth
ELK CLEANERS
I