PM» •
Portland Observer
May 1. 1975
From behind the wall
by JM
W m
1 am Black. I am pain. I
am the problem. But who's
pain, whose problem, and
why is my Blackness so
offensive to this country
called America? This coun
try that my forefathers
sw eated and died for.
labored in servitude, in
voluntarily of course. And
why does America, the land
of the free; the home of the
brave, keep on ripping me
off. knocking me down,
grinding its heel into my
genitals until I scream in
anguish,
defiance,
and
pride. I f I die. if you burn
a cross. I'll burn your
house, and if I can't live
here in freedom. I will....W e
will see this land in rubble
and ruin.
I will wage a
war, the likes of which the
world has never see. I will
hound you night and day -
day in and day out. I'll die
again, and even in death.
I'll be a ghost to haunt you
in your dreams.
You will
no;
rest
Mr.
America,
beast, devil you will burn in
the hells of my soul until
you and I are one.
The previous lines are
the feelings of those of us
here confined in neo-slavery
in one of America's so
called prisons.
Which is
only a method of oppres
sion.
subjugation,
and
genocide devised to keep
America clean and mighty
white. It may sound harsh,
but it’s the truth, and any
way you look at it. it's the
truth.
I realize that you
may not want to believe it
because you have been
conditioned
to
believe
otherwise.
But just re
member that they still grow
cotton and still kill niggers
for a past-tim e. D o n 't
laugh; it's not at all funny
and if you were here with
me in this confinement, or if
slowed down long enough.
you'd probably overdose on
walk, run, or ride around
the corner.
Everyday,
the reality of it all.
you're fed at a certain time,
Those of us here that
you go to bed at a certain
live. (no. exist) in this death
time....it's like the mother
like, zombie like state of
may I game, and mother
painful uncertainty.
We
says naw it ain't time vet.
wonder, does anybody know
we're here? I ’m afraid to In here man's pent up
sperm becomes waste in a
describe it all to you. for
sea of homosexual reality.
fear that you might think
But I'll not mention punks,
you were seeing a new
that's a no-no. but the
horror picture. But think of
yes yes. it that there ain't
it, think of men confined
no bad bad misses in skin
without any of the basic
tight britches here. Re
desire of life.
Denied the
member that it's all an
warmth of a woman's touch,
or the joy in seeing the everyday schedule and is
pre planned by the man.
birth of his child and that
and we are all boys again
child growing into adult
hood. T ry to visualize a cell and again.
I'll leave you my brothers
5' by 9'. a toilet, facebowl,
and a bunk, and place and sisters, oh yeah, sisters
yourself in it.
W here all especially. I'll leave you and
But
feelings of tenderness, love, dream of you now.
before I go. I'll say a littli
peace and happiness meet
prayer for you and won't
steel bars and concrete
coldness.
Think of not you please quit dreaming
being able to speak your and praying for me. and DO
true feelings: yearning to SO M ETH IN G !!
Storm auction aids PSU football team
R IT l'S FERGUSON
An auction of last year's
P o rtlan d Storm football
gear and other items, with
proceeds going to benefit
the Portland State U niver
sity football program, will
be held Saturday. May
10th. in PSU’s Smith Mem
orial Center Ballroom.
Doors will open for a
silent auction at 5:00 p.m., a
dinner of spaghetti and
wine is set for 6:00 p.m.,
and the oral auction will
start at 7:00 p.m. Dinner
reservations are required
and may be made through
Hal Cowan, alumni relations
representative. 229-4910. '
PSU officials say more
than 100 items will be up
for auction, including the
Storm
gear
which
the
University acquired shortly
after the first of the year
when the first edition of a
professional football fran
chise in Portland folded.
Some of the equipment
will be retained for use by
PSU's football team, which
will be coached this year by
Darrel "Mouse" Davis who
moves up to
the
top
position from his job as
offensive coordinator last
year.
Storm
equipment
which
will go on the auction block
includes game jerseys, uni
form tote
bags.
Storm
t shirts, a dicker rod (a
device used to mearsure
progress toward a first
down in the World Football
League), game pants, of
ficial World Football Lea
gue Footballs, and parkas.
Admission to the auction
is $5.00, which includes
dinner and $5.00 worth of
script to be used on the oral
auction.
Advance tickats
are available through the
PSU Athletic Department
(229 4400) and University
Relations (229 4910).
Students visit Canada
Art gallery auctions
The public is invited to
an art auction being held by
Three Seasons A rt Gallery
in Milwaukie. Oregon. The
A rt Gallery is a nonprofit
organization and all work is
done on a volunteer basis.
The goal of the Gallery is to
provide artists with an
outlet for their work at
minimum expense and, at
the same time, provide
quality art to the com
munity
through
viewing
and or purchase.
The auction is the major
annual fund-raising event
for the Gallerv. The works
to be auctioned are donated
by members of the Gallery.
Previously, all proceeds had
gone to the support of th»
Gallery.
This year it is
planned to set aside a part
of the money for a scholar
ship to be awarded to a
student wishing a profes
sion in some form of the
visual arts.
The auction will be held
May 10th at 8:00 p.m. in
the social rooms of St.
Johns Catholic Church, 1125
S.E. 25th Street, Milwau
kie. There will be a $1.00
charge for bidding tickets
and the public is invited.
Outreach
includes
women
McCoy presents legislation
Senator McCoy presently
has three bills under active
consideration.
Those bills
are SB 274, which would
d elete
the
bar
exam
requirements for practicing
The Outreach program of
law; SB 755, which would
the Urban league recently
subsidize tra n s p o rta tio n
expanded their program to
coats for migrant workers
include a Women's Division.
who have to travel to
Ms. M argaret Solomon and
another county to reach
Ms. Cathy Saito are the two
their work; and SB 825.
new s ta ff coordinators.
which would allow qualifier!
T h e ir
r e s p o n s ib ilit ie s
dental lab technicians to be
include recruiting, counsel
licensed so they could deal
ing and placement of wo
directly with the public in
men in non traditional areas
matters concerning the fit
of employment. There is ar,
ting and creating of den
increasing emphasis on the
turea.
employment of minorities
The liar exam bill. SB
Affirm ative Action com
274. is still in the Senate
mitment, and the place
Committee on State and
ment of women in non
Federal Affairs.
The bill
traditional jobs.
Some of
has met with their approval
the reasons for the need of
but it is being amended by
such a program are:
the Committee and pro
1. The large number of
bably will not reach the
women in the work fore«
floor for a vote until the
who hold non professional
middle of May.
The
positions.
constituent irtput on this bill
2. The wide variance in
has been tremendous, and
salaries for women and men
vastly in favor of this type
performing similar tasks.
of action.
3. The vast array of job
Senate Bill 755 would set
categories that have been
up
a stamp program that
closed to women heretofore.
would subsidize the migrant
4. The negative regard
by employers of women as workers who are suffering
from the inflated fuel and
competent and capable em
tra n s p o rta tio n costs, so
ployees.
they would be able tc
5. The low aspirational
commute to their jobs wher
levels of women as a result
the jobs are outside the
of sustained discrimination.
county.
This
program
Ms. Solomon and or Ms.
would
be
moat
closely
Saito can be reached at the
similar to the food stamp
Urban League's Outreach
program, and would Ir
office. 5329 N .E . Union
redeemable for fuel, mass
Avenue, Phone 288 6361.
transit, or other types of
contract carriers. Opposi
tion has come from the
SAFEWAY
E m p lo y m e n t D iv la io n ,
which would administer it
The bill is ttill in Agricul
ture and Natural Resourrei
Committee
where
it
is
being amended to be func
tional.
Senator McCoy has de
v o te d
a c o n s id e ra b le
amount of interest to the
T ri Metropolitan Tranapor
tation District, and Maas
Transit.
A few bills that
have gotten out of com
mittee and now on the
House to be voted on are,
III! 3259
thia authorizes
the creation of public trans
portation Districts. T ri Met
would be classified as a
p u b lic t r a n s n o r t a t i o n
Monday in January thereto.
HB 2670 and HB 3079 are
now in the House State and
Federal Affairs Committee.
Testimony was heard by
the
committee
members
Monday April 28th, 1975.
Thoee who spoke in favor of
these bills were. Vernon
S um ners (H u m an
Rela
lions), and letters were
read from Neil Goldschmidt
(Mayor of Portland), Com
missioner Don Clark, Com
missioner Frank
Ivanrie.
Urban League. Ellis H.
Casson, and Senator Mc
Coy, Representative Reike.
Bob Blanchard, and Repre
sentative Priestly testified
in person.
district. SB 341
Thia bit*
broadens the use of Mast
A lot of work is being put
in on SB 852 to bring it to a
point of acceptability to
both the proponents and
the opponents. The direct
effect of this legislation
would be to allow qualified
lab technicians to fit and
make dentures directly for
the people needing them.
This in turn would hope
fully ru t drastically the coat
of dentures to these people
who are generally low or
fixed income people.
tran sit funds
SB 342
This
bill allows transit
district to lease, rent, or
dispose of facilities to en
courage patronage.
This
bill would immediately ef
feet T ri Met. SB 342 would
give T ri Met the authority
to lease or rent property to
encourage the public to
utilize such programs as
Park and Ride.
Senator McCoy is also
supporting HB 2570. and
HB 3079.
Both HB 2570
and
HB
3079
w o u ld
establish the third Monday
in January as a legal
holiday
com m em orating
M artin Luther King, Jr.'s
birthday.
These bills will
also change references in
the provisions relating to
school holidays from 12th
and 22nd days of February
to first and third Mondays
in February, and adds third
f»kj
Ehinreci
- ? —*
LO TS
OF
C E LLS
The body o f a man lia»
more than a m illio n m illion
11 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 ) cell» sc
cording to the World Book
Encyclopedia
SPECIAL PURCHASE
(Continued from p. 1, col. 6)
be learned by the exchange
of ideas that take place
during the visits. Inevi
tably, the two systems of
governments are compared
and evaluated.
The stu
dents also gain a better
understanding of Canadian
concern about
American
investments and American
use of the natural resources
of Canada.
Mutual enjoy
ment has been derived from
the pleasure of hearing each
other's accents, idioms and
slang.
Campus View stu
dents are hosted by and
host Black students from
both schools.
A unique
experience for the Canadian
students because there are
no Black students at Cam
pus View School and the
number of Black families
residing in Victoria is very
small.
Please accept our
Formal Invitation
The management and staff of
Night & Day Formal Wear
cordially invite you to visit
our newest Formal Wear
Shop located in the
Beaverton M all - right next to the
Pay less Drug Store main entrance.
See our »manly »ly led vuperWy tailored formal
ja i ket» m fresh Spring color»— complete w ith
correctly coord mated accessories
— all by After Six Let us prove
» e re the ex pens whocan
assure you looking your
very best
They call us F O R M A L
W EA R SPECIALISTS
for good reason
flight & Tfay'
r o t a LOCATIONS TO SERVE VOL
Ills N.E. BBOADW AV / Oppnnrr UmdCratrt I 2*7-1 IS J
UZNOa DIVISION I p rr<) Mrirr Sh-pptag Crturr I 7M-I22I
tan a a st ., lake osw ego / a.xina za. Cmmrn store / »M-asss
JOSS S.W. CEDAR MILLS BI.VD. /Seo.erroo Mall ftn/eo Drag Starr htiraa, r I MS-SZSJ
Three Black students that
are part of the Administra
tive Transfer Program were
selected to go from Binnes
mead.
They are Lucy G.
Bridgett M artin and Cas
sandra Pittman. This will
be the second time that
Mrs. Pittman has hosted a
Canadian student because
two years ago her daughter
Angela was chosen to go
from W hitaker. “I am very
happy that my daughters
have been selected to parti
cipate in this program," say
Mrs. Pittman. "I owe this
honor to Mrs. Ed Self who
is the new Administrative
Assistant at Binnesmead
and who was formally a
team leader at W hitaker."
Ironically. Mr. Self was
Mrs. Pittman's and Angela
P ittm an 's eig hth grade
teacher. “I feel fortunate
that he is now at Binns
mead where I have two
other children.”
The week of May 27th.
students from Binnesmead
will travel
by
bus
to
Victoria. The trip includes
a ferry crossing from Pori
Angeles to Victoria. On th«
two days
the
student
spend in Victoria they will
v i s it h is to r ic a l
s ite s ,
government buildings and
science centers. They will
be taken on a guided tour
of the Parliament Building.
A brief description of the
form of government, its
tradition and its customs
will be given. The new and
continually updated Provin
cial Museum will also be
visited. Historical, techno
logical and natural science
displays are arranged in an
in f o r m a t iv e , a t t r a c t i v e
manner.
A t the Craig
flower Manor and Craig
flower schoolhouse, two of
the earliest buildings in
Victoria, two very rharming
ladies explain the history,
the artifacts and the school
curriculum prevalent in the
early years of Victoria. A
visit to Sealand with its
underwater aquariums, kil
ler whale and seal show is a
must on the agenda. A
walking tour of downtown
Victoria is taken. A t least
one lunch consists of the
“very” English fish and
chips at Beacon Hill Park.
Some students learn to like
the vinegar sprinkled on
the chips.
The return trip on Friday
to the home schools will end
all too soon for the stu
dents. Usually conversation
on the bus is filled with
plans for talking parents
into a vacation to Victoria
in the near future.
Card Table
& Chairs
TABLE:
King Size 34" with
cushioned "Vegas" Top, Washable,
C
**
replaceable, embossed vinyl uphol-
i,ery'
COMPARE AT ‘22”
CHAIRS:
High Density Foam
Cushioned, Washable, Replaceable
Seats. Rugged "Y" Frame Construe*
tion, Contoured Backs.
COMPARE AT $15”
FOUR WEEKS ONL Y!
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST: OFFER GOOD APRIL 23 THRU MAY 21, 1975
sAFEwm
OFFER
a a a o at
OREOON
A N O S .W .
W ABH.
*1