J
Portland Observer
Thursday. January 2. 1975
' president ford 15
I
PROPOSING
IN
CREASE IN THE COST
O F STAMPS FROM
THE LOWEST INCOME
AMERlCANS’ lN HIS
*£ A T LESSZ'AMPAIGN
WE SEE THE WORLD
THROUGH BLACK EYES
AIFRED I HENDERSON
Editor Publisher
JHtOMT CAHILL
N M A H V H T WS
Jordan’s responsibility
No Black problem
It is the responsibility o t City Com m issioner
Last w ee k the O bserver printed a letter from
Charles Jordan to insure that the e m ploym ent State R epresentative H ow ard W illits, questioning
program com ponent he is contracting to Portland the fact that m ore w hites than Blacks participated
C om m unity C ollege serves those w ho w ere in the local ra lly to support the Boston d em on
intended to b e n e fit from the program .
stration against racial violence.
In selecting PCC over the Concentrated Em
R epresentative W illits w rote, "H o w can you
p lo ym e n t Program, C om m issioner Jordan has expect w hite s to support such efforts w hen very
chosen an o rg an izatio n that has yet to prove its fe w Blacks are intereste d ?"
capacity to reach the poor and the m in ority
R epresentative W illits is a sincere man w ho has
groups
co ntribu te d m uch to the cause o f e qu al justice
W hether or not CEP was com pletely successful but he, lik e m any others, has a pparently
m tra in in g and p la cing its clien tel is perhaps fo rg otten that c iv il rights and the d e n ia l o f the
q uestionable
c £ p cam e into being because the rights o f Blacks are not just a Black problem .
State Em ploym ent Service the Division o f V oca They are a constitu tion a l problem that must be
tio n a l
R ehab ilita tio n, and other established d e a lt w ith by a ll Am ericans.
agencies d id not serve the poor and d id not
W hites have as m uch reason and as much right
serve Blacks.
as Blacks to be invo lved in the struggle for
CEP has been successful in reaching the very justice
poor — those w ho have no job skills and no
W hites as w e ll as Blacks must be concerned
e m p lo ym e n t experience — and placing them in w hen any citizens o f the U nited States are not
tra in in g or educatio na l positions.
Some have accorded th e ir constitutional rights.
been successful and some have not.
CEP's
success record pro ba bly matches that o f sim ilar
program s
The CEP program has b en efite d the com m unity
in ano the r, m ore im p orta nt w ay
From the b e
g in n in g , it hired Black people in professional
capacities When the W elfare D epartm ent's WIN
p rogram , the State Em ploym ent Division, DUR and
Dr. Robert Blanchard has recom m ended the
the rest could not fin d " q u a lifie d " Black e m q p p om tm en t o f N athan Jones, vice p rin cip a l o f
ployees, CEP recruited and train ed in d ivid u a ls W ashington H igh School, to be p rin cip a l of
w ho had the capacity but not the fo rm a l tra in in g M onroe H igh School.
to serve as counselors, job coaches, and in
Jones w ill becom e Portland's o n ly Black high
various supervisory positions.
M any o f these school p rin c ip a l and the first m ale p rin cip a l of
persons, and trainees as w e ll, have risen to the fo rm e rly a ll-g irl school.
a d m in istra tive positions in CEP and in other
This is a good m ove on Blanchard's part. Jones
agencies
is a w e ll q u a lifie d a dm inistrator and m any Blacks
, Some o f these ind ivid ua ls m ig h t not present have w o n d e re d w he n he w o u ld be prom oted.
♦he proper professional aura or the language o f
The school a dm in istra tio n now needs to place
the educated, but if they do th e ir |obs w e ll, this a d d itio n a l Blacks in positions that w ill lead to
a fte r a ll was the purpose o f the program — to prm cipalships and com parable positions.
recruit, tra in and place those persons w ho for
The district also needs to turn its atte ntio n to
various reasons had fa ile d to m ake it in to the the non-professional areas w hich e m p lo y so fe w
econom ic m ainstream .
m in o rity p e o ple There are fe w Blacks e m ployed
If Portland C om m unity C ollege is to match or in the cafeterias, secretarial positions, w a re
surpass the CEP e ffo rt, then it must hire m in o ritie s houses, as truck drivers, etc.
and the poor; it must place m in o rity group
O nly w hen w e see Blocks e m p lo ye d at a ll
persons in a dm in istrative positions; and it must levels in the schools -- professionals and
fin d and recruit those persons most in need o f the non-professionals — w ill the school district gain
tra in in g program .
c re d ib ility w ith Black students and th eir parents.
The M yth O f Black Contentment
tty Dr. Nathaniel Writfu, Ir
Good first step
H U M A N R IG H T S A C T IV IS T
During the past several years a number of bunks
and articles have been written with the suggestion
that the period of black discontent has passed and
that a vast proportion of hlasks have now entered
the "black middle class.”
There is no doubt that those w ho look at the pain
fu l or embarrassing realities around them with may-
colored glasses will come up with a roxv slant, no
matter how bleak the pit lure mas I m - in actuality.
So far as the massive movement o f black Ameri
cans into a kind of middle class status, the facts cry
out loudlv otherwise. Vernon Jordon. Executive D i
rector of the National Urban league, reminded the
League’s national convention this vear not I m -
de
ceived by the tales or propaganda regarding the
growing wealth and t omfort of black Americans.
Jordan noted that one out of three blacks is poor
and that only twentv percent of (or onlv one out of
five) black Americans are existing on middle class
living standards. In addition, the league's Execu
tive Director pointed out that the long-standing and
unclosing gap between average white and-black in
come in America increased bv $600. I bis latter fact
LETTERS TO THE
Supports Jordan
To the Editor:
After all the efforts used
to implement the poverty
program here in Portland,
we cannot afford to let dif
ferences stop all action on
helping people
With good
consciousness and a deter
mination to succeed, we
must all constructively keep
our efforts on education. I
agree with commissioner
Jordan, his change to give
the CETA funds to PCC for
helping the needy, both
educationally and with job
determination. I believe the
new perspective will be the
answer to jobs.
I hope we don’t fall into
the same pit fall as in the
past and be so unmindful of
a tendency to be guilty of
tunnel vision.
Because
some disagree with com
Walter F. Morris Jr.
1st Place
1st Place
Best Ad Results
ON PA 1973
•5th Place
Best Editorial
NN PA 1973
Honorable Mention
Herrick Editorial Award
N N A 1973
Dear Editor:
Bad publicity no excuse
missioner Jordan, it doesn't
mean we will not support
him.
If those who will
equally use their energy to
help and assist PCC as they
did PMSC in a constructive
fashion, everyone will bene
fit.
I wonder how many of
those who have been so
quick to protest are regis
tered to vote and did vote
in this last election? Where
were those strong voices
for our school bond issues
to keep our youth in a
m odern e n v ir o n m e n t ?
Where are those strong
voices to help our youth to
constructively get an edu
cation in our public schools?
R IG H T O N C O M M IS
SIONER JORDAN.
( ommunitv Service
O NPA 1973
Poor politics
Editor:
In
response • to your
article "PMSC Challenging
Jordan Proposal”. I would
suggest that a more ap
propriate title is “Jordan
Challenges Black Com
munity”.
I cannot accept
the Gilcrease adverse pub
licity excuse as a reason to
punish poor and minority
persons.
Since OEO first
began in Portland in 1966,
the programs have received
adverse publicity from time
to time.
Innovative tech
niques were utilized by
CEP in order to accomplish
what established agencies
admittedly had failed to do
in the areas of increasing
employment opportunities
for “hard core" persons.
Since the inception of the
CEP program operated by
PMSC in 1966, many Black
unemployed persons have
gained experience and edu
cation and now have perma
nent middle income jobs.
Others have gained pride
and satisfaction through
being able to earn their
own money. This program
has also helped to reduce
recidivism by placing ex
offenders on jobs.
I would like to know
what type of track record
Portland Community Col
lege established with the
M DTA Program.
There
were many complaints from
Blacks and other minority
persons that unless they
were referred by agencies,
they could not receive
training and were often told
that all slots were filled. A
surface appearance
with
regard to minority hiring
practices by PCC indicates
that they should begin by
recruitment in their own
agency.
C o m m is sio n e r Jordan
could not have dealt a more
lethal blow to this com
munity.
Employment a(
fects Blacks (the visible
minority) more than any
other ethnic group. With
out adequate employment
opportunities, we rannot
attain economic stability or
social mobility.
Thus, we
remain virtual Slaves.
In the short time Com
missioner Jordan has been
on the City Council, some
Blacks have lost jobs and
others are being threatened.
(Human Relations Commis
sion. Council on Aging.)
Has Commissioner Jordan
become the Blark Eraser to
remove what small progress
that has been made? Where
will it end and what is the
future of this community
under his term of office?
Sincerely yours,
Beltie Ix>u Overton
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Publishers
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The Portland Observer's official position is expressed only
in its Publisher's column (We See The World Through
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
Association
PER
Founded 1885
It is always wise to Know
all the rules of any game
before attempting to play
it. That is, if surviving is
important in a game that
your opponent plays well.
It is also important to have
some position of power that
prevents the rules of the
game from changing just to
accommodate your op
ponent.
I feel compelled at the
moment because it is im
perative that my thoughts
I m - a part of the debate over
"Where Is Charles Jordan
Coming From." Let me be
perfectly clear on my poni
tion.
I think that he is
playing the game of politics
(»oorly and has made sev
era I blunders.
The politics that I speak
of are as follows.
The
Mayor has wanted greater
control of government dol
lars coming into the com
munity for some time.
Mayor Goldschmidt,
like
other mayors across the
nation, has ideological prob
lems with quasi govern
mental
bodies such as
I ’MSC and other community
action agencies.
Most so
called "liberal" mayors have
chosen not to invoke the
(ireen Amendment which in
affect compromises those
images of government "for
and by th«- people".
The
invoking of the
Green
Amendment would auto
matically give control of
dollars to the city.
Even
though CETA dollars are
only a part cl PMSC’s
budget, to contract with
I ’MSC keeps the animal
healthy.
Jetie B W Ids, Jr.
6
Î
represents the most clear indication that blacks, on
the American economic wrne. face a worsening po
silion in relation to their white American
counterparts.
Jordan stated: "T h e grim, brutal reality for
black people in 1974 is not middle class status hut
deprivation and marginal existence." T hese somber
words, based u|M»n the most certain evidence a t
tainable. should lav to rest the false prognostications
of the starry-eyed optimists who would mislead
black & while Americans in regard to one of the
most grave A- potentially perilous inequities which
face us.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy is not that blacks, in
creasingly are left out of the higher benefit levels
(and even have less on the lower benefit levels).
Rather it is the ironv that substantial numbers of
both the black and while leadership communities
rannot bring themselves to accept, either intellectu
ally nr emotionally, the awesome realities of the d if
ficult precarious place in which black America
finds itself. Driving through the middle class (and
even some upper middle class) sec tions of our central
cities with lush green lawns and finely built houses
vacated hurriedlv bv fleeing whites, and now occu
pied by a few comfortably situated blacks, mav easi
ly K<vr support to our predisposition to feel that all it
well (or even better) for black Americans.
T he easiest racist mechanism (bv which all of us
are touched in tome measure) it to exclaim inwardly
or to proclaim otherwise the message: "W hy these
blacks are living much better than manv white folks
that I know !" The inferent and embarrassingly ob
vious implication here is the inherited cultural as
sumption that blacks are guests nr outsiders in
America that somehow it is incongruous or inappro
priate for some blacks to have more than whites
possess, regardless of hard work, good lurk or in h er
ited gifts or fortune.
Black Americans foremost need to he lulled out of
their false dreams or illusions. So long as blac k peo
ple delude themselves the task remains exceedingly
d ifficu lt, if not well nigh im|iossible, of bringing
the nation as a whole to the stark realisation that all
is not well in our domestic affairs and that there
may be nothing short of an urban-racial lime bomb
in our midst.
What is said here underscores the fart that, no
matter how sincere our intentions, our past ap
proaches have not improved the economic status of
blark Americans but. at best, have kept things from
getting worse.
All Americans must face the bitter fact that black
Americans are not "just like all other Americans."
In spite of the heroic efforts of the television and ad
vertising industries in showing to the public the
faces of blark Americans, it should not be impossible
for us to realize that centuries of inherited belief
and practice regarding the inferiority and "effec
tive non-existence" of blacks rannot be overcome
overnight.
This points to two immediate needs. One is for all
Americans to come to grips with the residual nature
of the inherited racist beliefs and practices which
touch every American, in wme measure, whether
white or black. Since the shoe pinches blacks the
hardest, it is almost inexcusable for any blacks to
continue to play the self-deluding and nation-im
perilling game which might be called, " All-is-well-
with-black America." White Americans rannot be
expected to see and accept the d ifficu lt circum
stances of blac k Americans which blacks continue to
mark or deny.
Blacks must also become far more group-reliant.
W hile individual blacks may find it hard to make it
"on their own,” blacks can spend collectively, vole
collectively, organize collectively, plan collectively
and speak collectively. There is, even today, no
major black collective voice speaking for blark
America. Thanks only to the interracial (and highly
necessary) National Urban League does even a
Vernon Jordan have a podium from which to sound
a needed note of warning!