I
Page 2
Portland Observer
May 1, 1975
W
—
\
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
WE SEE THE WORLD |
THROUGH BLACK EYES?
Article brings honor
To the Editor:
A lesson learned?
Can’t hide problems
V ie tn a m has fa lle n - the V ie t Cong rla g has
b ee n raised o ve r the city o f S aigon.
The
A m e rica n w ith d ra w a l was a cco m p lis h e d a m id
chaos, haste a n d h u m ilia tio n .
The most p o w e rfu l n a tio n in the history o f the
w o rld was d e fe a te d by a sm all u n d e rd e v e lo p e d
n a tio n o f the Third W orld.
W e can o n ly hop e th a t th e loss o f so m any
lives a nd the w aste o f the n a tio n 's treasure, the
d iv is io n o f its p e o p le a nd the a llie n a tio n o f its
yo u th w ill serve to teach o ne v ita l lesson —
th a t w e cannot co n tro l the w o rld trho ug h m ilita ry
m ig h t.
Perhaps this d e fe a t w ill m ake us re a liz e the
truth o f the w ords o f o u r fo rm e r Senator, w h o
said so o fte n, "T h e o n ly h op e o f a d v a n c in g the
cause o f peace in our tim e lies in the substitution
o f the rules o f in te rn a tio n a l la w fo r the la w q f
the ju n g le ."
N eed la rg e r perspective
C om m issioners Iva ncie a nd Schw ab
have
a tta cke d the pra ctice o f the Police B u re a u ’ in
re c ru itin g o utsid e o f the C ity o f Portland. This
a ttitu d e shows its p ro v in c ia lis m a nd the a rg u m e n t
has been b ro u g h t up fre q u e n tly , e s p e c ia lly by
C om m issioner Schwab.
M in o ritie s are la ckin g in a ll levels o f city
g ove rn m e n t.
If it is necessary to re c ru it from
o utside the state in o rd e r to fin d m in o rity p e o p le
w ith specific skills, then it m ust be don e
It is a
w e ll
kn o w n
fa ct th a t
m any
yo un g
Black
O reg on ian s have had to le a ve the state to fin d
a d e q u a te e m p lo y m e n t a nd fo r this reason there
ore
fe w
Blacks
in
P ortland
w ith
c e rta in
pro fessio na l or skill tra in in g .
W e w o u ld ra th e r see m in o rity re c ru itin g outside
the state then an a ll-w h ite p o lic e -fo rc e . H ow ever
if o ut-o f-sta te m in o rity re cru itm e n t is just a iron*
fo r the re cru itm e n t o f w hites, as w e have heard it
is, then w e must oppose it.
If th e p o lic e fo rce is re a lly lo o k in g fo r Black
recruits it seems th a t rath er than sp en ding th e ir
tim e at the U nive rsity o f N orth C a ro lin a , they
w o u ld contact Black p o lice o ffic e rs in o th e r cities.
Surely th ere m ust be som e p o lic e m e n fro m
W a shington D C., or N ew York, or Los A n ge les,
w h o w o u ld lik e to m ove to the City o f Roses.
Using this a pp ro ach , perhaps w e could see some
Black offices on a d m in is tra tiv e levels also.
The c h a irm a n o f the Portland Jaycee's Budget
R eview
C om m ittee . W alter
S am odurov,
has
ch a rg e d U S A tto rn e y Sidney Lezak w ith ta k in g a
"c h e a p s h o t" in o rd e rin g a Federal Bureau o f
In v e s tig a tio n in v e s tig a tio n into the p o lic e k illin g s
o f fo u r Black m en in recent m onths
S am odurov claim s Lezak is "g ra n d s ta n d in g " in
c a llin g fo r an "u n n e c e s s a ry " a nd "u n w a rre n te d "
in v e s tig a tio n .
He also charges th a t the in v e s tig a tio n w ill
cause increased lack o f trust in the p o lic e bureau.
A rece nt Jaycee p o ll show ed that 30 8 p ercen t o f
those P ortland citizens in te rv ie w e d consider the
risin g crim e rate a nd "d e te rio ra tio n o f p o lic e
se rv ic e s " to be a reason to m ove to the suburbs.
If 30.8 percen t o f the p e o p le have lost fa ith ir
th e p o lic e b u rea u, then rath er than h id e the fac
th a t th ere are problem s, som eone had b etter be
try in g to fin d out w h a t is w rong.
The current p o lic e scandle o ve r the a lle g e d
re c e ip t o f stolen p ro p e rty w ill not im p ro v e p u b lic
c o n fid e n c e and n e ith e r w o u ld a fin d in g o f
in te n tio n a l h o m ic id e in the k illin g o f fo u r yo un g
Black m en.
W e cannot ign ore w ro n g d o in g on the p a rt o f
our p o lic e fo rce in o rd e r to h id e it from p u b lic
re v ie w O nly a p u b lic a irin g o f the p ro b le m s and
d e fic ie n c ie s w ill restore p u b lic c o n fid e n c e in the
system and in the m en w ho a re chosen to
o p e ra te it.
Blacks boycott?
An u n p re ced en te d e ve n t took p la ce in Portland
this w e e k, w h ich w as n e a rly ig n o re d by the w h ite
new s
m e d ia .
Two
Black
U nite d
States
Congressm en cam e to to w n , the first C ongress
m an ever to serve the District o f C o lu m b ia , and
-iarold Ford o f Tennessee
Both are yo u n g
m e n ; both
have
m any
a ccom plishm en ts to th e ir cre d it; a n d both are
p re d ic te d to have b rillia n t p o litic a l careers. Yet
th e ir presence w as ig n o re d
W e have seen the w h ite m e d ia c la m o r to reach
the most in s ig n ific a n t o f w h ite p o litic ia n s .
We
can reach o n ly one co nclusion re g a rd in g the
v irtu a l
b oyco tt
of
the
tw o
d is tin g u is h e d
C ongressm en.
IH MILLION BLACKS ARE ELIGIBLE
TO VOTE IN THE UNITED STATES
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BLACKS h a v e th e tools to see th a t they
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re g is te r a n d vote
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company.
2201 North Killingsworth. Portland. Oregon 97217 Mailing
address: P.O. Box 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208. Telephone:
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Itesi Editorial
ALFRED L FIENDERSON
E ditor/P ublisher
The Portland Observer's official position is express, d onlv
in its Publisher's column I We See The World Through
Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the
opinion of the individual writer or submitter and does not
necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer
MEMBER
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
11«
Thank« to the Portland
(Mwerver publishing our
article by Edna Pittmand
and myself. we were invited
to attend the annual Na
tional Conference of Chris
tian» and Jew» Hrotherhtx«!
Banquet. The article was
about Black Culture classes
at Woodstock School. The
Regional D irector. Mrs.
Mary Edwards, read it and
asked us to attend. The
banquet was in honor of
Howard Volluni of Tek
tromx for his efforts in
seeking out and hiring
minority group people foi
his company.
The NCCJ is a non profit
organization which devotes
it’s energies toward reduc
ing h o s tile
r e la tio n s
amongst the various ethnic
groups and promoting
understanding of moat any
sort amongst the same. One
of NCCJ's most recent
ventures is in the area of
police
Black community
relations.
It's a new
program an<) it'.« exact form
has not been completely
determ ined but efforts
along this line are badly
needed and. 1 hope, well
accepted by all sides.
Very Truly Yours,
Ken Wanderer
A g u id in g lig h t
To the Editor:
Since being in Portland
I've found many men and
women seriously dedicated
to the struggle of Black
people.
Among these
brothers and sisters is Ia>e
Henderson, who has taken
more than a personal in
terest in the recent events
in this city. These events
include the slaying of four
Black men. formation of the
Black Justice Committee l a
community organization), an
inquest into the killing of
Rickie Johnson, a federal
investigation. boycott of
Radio Cab Co. | Radio Cab
Co. conspired with the
police in the shooting of
Rickie Johnson), and the
establishment of a legal
defense fund for Homer
Zackery.
Mr. Henderson is a guid
ing light for other con
earned citizens who know
the truth and realize what
must be done but can't find
their way because they fear
the dark. We must match
our conversation with our
work. Keep on keepin' on!
Baruli 1,. Artharee
YWCA unfair
Dear Editor:
We the residents of
Claire Argow Center feel
that the treatment of Dot
Baker is unjustified. She
has spent a great deal of
time and personal effort
representing us and trying
to help us in every way
possible. We do not feel
that because of personal
problems that have arisen
in your organization that
she as an individual should
be terminated from her job.
She does alot of worth
while work representing
the Y.W.C.A v Without her
effort and the time she
takes to inform us. there
would be a great deal that
we would not be aware of.
There would be a great
many avenues of rehabilita
tion that we would not
know about. She has spent
many of her own personal
hours doing her job. Her
job doesn't stop just be
cause her eight hours are
up.
We as a group, feel that
she is entitled to a much
fairer shake than she is
being given. It would seem
that according to you all
her hard work has been in
vain, if she ran tie fired not
on her accomplishments as
an employee but on a
personal grudges.
We all hope that you will
take this into consideration
and re evaluate your de
cision.
Sincerely Yours,
Wilma Edin. Sandra Rene
Depree, Carol Birdsong.
Marilyn Jo Wilkinson, Ele
anor Mvrich, Connie Chur
chwell, Debi Delashmut,
Delores E. Vonneville, Jo
Anne M Bradley, Gwen
Davis, Terrie Settle. F’lor
ine Saswtt, Vicki Wright,
Shirley Williams, Mary
Stokes. LaDonna Schulke.
Trudi F isher. Sandrina Col
ter, Debbie Johnson.
AMA carries checks
<2
NN PA 1973
3EC
Comments
Ministers of the Albina
Ministerial Alliance, pastors
representing churches of
the Albina area, under the
leadership of their presi
dent. Reverend John H.
Jackson, have volunteered
to help facilitate the deliv
ery of welfare checks of
clients of the Albina Human
Resource Center in the
event that a strike is railed
by the Oregon State Em
ployees Association.$
Reverend Jackson said
this action is not meant as
interference with or disa
proval of salary negotia
lions or a strike action, but
is an impartial means of
assisting with the delivery
of sustenance checks at a
time when delay of pay
ment to a family might
prove critical.
“Welfare recipients and
merchants alike need to be
aware that such a strike
could interfere with and
delay normal issuance
these check», but that
effort» will he made
make delivery a» soon
possible". Jackson »aid.
The Black Justice Com
mitlee with the support of
the community and various
other organizations has
lieen successful in gaining a
federal investigation into
the slaying of four Black
men killed by the Portland
Police Department in the
past six months.
This
investigation, the same as
the recent inquest, is the
result only of community
pressure. Nobody is naive
enough to believe that this
or any investigation will
answer all the questions
surrounding law enforce
ment and the Black com
munity. The lesson we've
learned is what ran be
accomplished when we pull
together as a community, as
a strong united Black com
munity.
If any hand
shaking or bark slapping is
in line then we must realize
that all credit goes to every
member of the community
who took time to speak up,
come out to the community
meetings, pass out fliers
etc.
No one is going to
freely give respect to oui
lives and property until we
demand it and demonstrate
our willingness to work for
it. Anyone having informs
tion regarding any of the
killings should contact the
Black Justice Committee at
P.l) Box 8562. Portland
97207 or leave a message at
the
C n ited
M inority
Worker's office:
Here is a ropy of th>
letter given to Sidnej
Lezark. D.S. Attorney for
Oregon, to present the
Attorney General of the
United States:
Dear Mr. Levi:
We request the Justice
Department, through the
United States Attorney for
the District of Oregon, to
conduct a full scale invest!
gallon into the murders of
Rickie Johnson, Kenny Al
len, Charles Menefee and
Joe Hopkins. These four
Black men have been killed
by the Portland Police
Department within the last
six months.
There are
many u nu sual circum
stances surrounding the
deaths of each of these
men
Much concern has
lieen raised in the com
munity. and we must know
if an identifiable pattern
has been formed in the
enforcement of the law
when it relates to Black
people.
Title IN. D sited HUtea
(ode. 241 and 242 provide
ample legal authority lor a
federal investigation into
whether the civil rights of
these specific individuals
were violated, and whether
a conspiracy exists in the
Portland Police Department
to injure Black citizens in
the free e x e r c is e of
federally guaranteed rights.
Sincerely,
Baruti Artharee, Chairman
Black Justice Committee
Nathan J. I’roby, Director
United Minority Workers
Betty Thompson, President
Oregon Association of
Colored Womens' Clubs
James Ixiving, Chairman
M odel C itie s C itiz e n s
Model Cities Citizen»
(Manning Board
Reverend Ellis H. Casson,
President
Portland Chapter
NAACP
Jame» 0 . Brook*. Executive
Director
1 frlwn lx-ague of Port
land
Beverend John H Jackson,
President Albina Mini
sterial Alliance
.,«<* J tts v p h
Y o u r C om m unity
In s u ran c e M a n
571 N Killingsworth
288- 5692
289- 9674
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NN A 1973
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