«
t
Pige 2
Portland Observer
Thursday. October 30. 1975
H p n ja m in
THROUGH BLACK EYES J
and white women and .Spanish Americans
and other minorities, share a common
bond
all are victims of a racial, sexist
society that must be changed if this
nation is to live up to its glowing
constitutional promises.
It is a matter of historic truth that moat
of the present day movements women's
liberation, the struggle of the Spanish
speaking, the American Indiana, etc.,
parallel or grew directly out of the great
civil rights drive of the 1950's and l9«0's
and before
We have all suffered similar outrages
we Blacks, we Spanish speaking, we
American Indians, we Oriental Amen
cans, and Yes. we women,
We are
victims of the same oppressors
The
privileged white American male stands
presently supreme We come, you might
say. out of the same oppressive bag We
are the rutting edge of a new wave of
social consciousness that ultimately will
transform America
It would, therefore, be disasteroua for
us to permit oppressive forces to continue
to divide us by purposely tossing out a
bone of a job and watching with
satisfaction as we fight like dogs over it.
We must respect the aims of each
minority group, and of women's organ)
rations If we rannot join them fully, let
us support those principles in keeping
with our own
As Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson
says: "We must seek allies regardless of
color (or sex). Our protracted struggle
must be one of good people against bad
ideas."
L.
WE SEE THE WORLD 1
H o o h fi
FCC
C o m m is s io n eh
Straub comes through
G o ve rn o r Bob Straub is to be co m m e n d e d fo r his
e x e c u tiv e o rd e r re q u irin g m ore aggressive steps in
a ffirm a tiv e a ctio n a nd fo r his in fo rm in g the heads
o f state a g e n cie s that he m eans business.
A ffirm a tiv e a ctio n begins a t th e to p and req uires a
strong c o m m itm e n t a c co m p a n ie d by to ug h a ction , by
the G o ve rn o r. F o llo w in g the passage o f le g is la tio n ,
requested by G o ve rn o r Straub, he h ire d an
a ffirm a tiv e a c tio n o ffic e r resp on sible d ire c tly to him .
The a ffirm a tiv e a ction o ffic e is no lo n g e r ca ug ht in
the m id d le — accused by a ge ncy directors o f pushing
too hard a n d by m in o titie s o f not try in g hard e nough.
The a ffirm a tiv e a ction o ffic e r a nd his a c tiv itie s are
n ow the d ire c t re s p o n s ib ility o f the G overnor. He
gets th e c re d it a nd the re sp o n sib ility.
G o ve rn o r Bob Straub has ta ken tn a f re s p o n s ib ility
by in fo rm in g a g e n cy heads th a t a ffirm a tiv e a ction is
no lo n g e r a v o lu n ta ry m atter. He has c le a rly stated
his c o m m itm e n t and has asked them to |o in h im in
this c o m m itm e n t, w e p re d ict th a t m any o f those w h o
have fa ile d to c o m p ly w ill su dd en ly see the lig h t.
G o ve rn o r Straub cla im s th a t his co m m itm e n t and
a ction is u n m a tch e d by a n y g o ve rn o r in the natio n.
This m ay be true. He c e rta in ly has o utstripp e d his
predecessors in O reg on . A lth o u g h in o ffic e fo r less
than a ye a r he has a lre a d y n am ed tw o Blacks to top
positions on his personal s ta ff -- G ladys M cCoy and
H arold W illia m s .
His c o m m itm e n t is also re fle c te d in the recent
h irin g o f Blacks in o the r areas in c lu d in g : James H ill
in the A tto rn e y G e n e ra l's o ffic e ; M arsha Ryon,
D e p a rtm e n t o f T ra n sp o rta tio n ; D orothy Jones,
W o rkm e n 's C o m p e n sa tio n ; D onny A d a ir, Labor
B ureau; Sarah M a rtin , E ducation; Sam Atkins,
Executive D e p a rtm e n t; G ild a M o ffa tt, D ivision o f
A ffirm a tiv e A c tio n ; Y Yacob, Executive D epartm ent.
Prior to his e le c tio n the G o ve rn o r to ld us that
a ffirm a tiv e a c tio n w o u ld be a top p rio rity a nd th a t he
w o u ld select his a d m in is tra tio n assistant w ith th a t in
m in d.
K ieth Burns w as fo r m a n y years counsel to the
NAACP a nd has d o n a te d m uch tim e to the le g a l
d e fe n se o f Black a nd p oo r clients. W e con see his
in flu e n c e in som e o f th e G o ve rn o r's w ork.
W e co m m e n d the G o ve rn o r a nd e nco u ra g e h im to
co n tin u e his e ffo rts, fo r th ere is m uch yet to be d on e.
Redefine MHRC
The M e tro p o lita n H um an R elations C om m ission
’w ill soon co m e b e fo re the C ity C ou ncil fo r a
d e te rm in a tio n o f if a nd h o w it w ill c o n tin u e to
fu n c tio n .
The C om m issio n has co m e u n d e r fire fo r its
a p p a re n t in a b ility to p re d ic t a n d p re v e n t h um an
re la tio n s c o n flicts, a n d its a p p a re n t lack o f a p o s itiv e
p ro g ra m o f a c tiv itie s to p re v e n t in te r-g ro u p strife It
is accused o f re a c tin g to crisis — a n d then som etim es
o n ly s lo w ly .
There seem s to be m uch co n fu s io n o ve r w h a t the
ro le o f the MHRC is or sh o u ld be, a n d q ue stio n as to a
c o n tin u in g need fo r its services
There is also
q u e s tio n as to h o w m uch d ire c tio n a nd support it has
re c e iv e d fro m the C ouncil.
W e b e lie v e th ere is a n ee d fo r a p u b lic ly fu n d e d
h u m a n re la tio n s o rg a n iz a tio n a n d th a t it has a
c ritic a l d u ty to p e rfo rm .
There is s till racism in
P ortland a nd M u ltn o m a h C ounty a nd d is c rim in a tio n
a g a in s t m a n y e th n ic a nd c u ltu ra l groups.
These
g ro up s o fte n n e e d on a d v o c a te to in te rce d e fo r them
or c o n c ilia te , or to pre sen t th e ir p ro b le m s a n d
interests in a succinct w a y to g o v e rn m e n ta l bod ie s
a nd to the p u b lic . There are o fte n serious p ro b le m s
that can be so lve d o u ts id e the co u rtro o m if th e re is
p ro m p t a n d a b le intercession.
There is no q u e s tio n th a t th e re is a need fo r a
MHRC. The q ue stio n is w h e th e r th e e x is tin g b od y is
fu n c tio n in g as re q u ire d .
The m e m b e rs o f the C om m ission a n d s ta ff have
v o lu n te e re d to resign so th a t the concept can be
co n sid e re d w ith o u t th e p o s s ib ility o f p e rs o n a litie s
p re v e n tin g an o b je c tiv e e v a lu a tio n .
W e re c o m m e n d th a t the C ou ncil o ccep t these
resign a tion s.
A n y o f these in d iv id u a ls co u ld be
re a p p o in te d a t th e p ro p e r tim e
The C ou ncil sh ou ld then e v a u la te the n ee d fo r a
h u m a n re la tio n s co m m issio n, d e fin e its fu n c tio n s
a nd p rio ritie s , a n d d e te rm in e w h a t the b o a rd
m a k e -u p sh o u ld be. This sh ou ld be a serious e ffo rt,
o utsid e the re a lm o f e m o tio n s a n d p e rs o n a litie s. W e
d o n 't b e lie v e this can be d o n e w ith the e x is tin g s ta ff
a nd co m m issio n on b o a rd fo r fe a r o f h u rtin g those
s ta ff a n d com m issio n m em be rs w h o h a v e d o n e a
c re d ita b le job .
It is d iffic u lt, a n d sh o u ld n ot be
necessary, to c ritic iz e persons w h o v o lu n te e r m a n y
hours to a thankless a nd co n tro v e rs ia l job.
The MHRC is im p o rta n t enough, to the p e o p le o f
P o rtlan d th a t the C ou ncil m ake th e c o m m itm e n t a nd
ta ke the re s p o n s ib ility to see th a t it w orks.
The national economy may be "hot
tomming out" as some economists say,
but the disasterously high unemployment
(about fifteen percent, for Blacks, more
than double that of whites; more than
forty percent for the nation's Black teens)
among Blacks and other minorities raises
a profound question with uglier implies
lions for the present and future:
Will the apparently dwindling number
of jobs in this country spur the inevitable
scramble to secure them among fiercely
competing groups at the bottom of the
economic ladder, thus triggering explo
sive racist and sexist conflicts in the
United States?
Already there are portentous signs
that such an ultimate confrontation is
brewing between two of America's most
oppressed groups: Blacks and women,
with other minorities
American In
dians, Orientals, and the Spanish speak
ing set to be drawn into the fray.
The question: How can we defuse this
potentially explosive situation? Division
between minorities and women must be
bridged.
Black men. understandably, live in a
primary relationship with economic and
Drugs in Portland
(Continued from p. 1 col. 31
working within the organization respon
sible for dispensing the drug While John
Cuie of the Drug Treatm ent Center notes
that methadone is much stronger, more
debilitating than herion (discounting the
impurities of street herion), and that you
"can kirk a herion habit in about a week
if you want to," Cuie yields to his
colleague Jim Goodwin's fiat: "we don't
really know anything about methadone."
Odd for people working in an agency that
has about 500 methadone addicted
individuals in its program.
What prevails in the drug enforcement
community is an acute heteronomy.
Particular institutions deal with their
assignment level; little statistical data or
coordination exists.
According to the
D E A . there are between three to ten
thousand herion addicts in the Portland
area; the major areas of use are the
Southeast, Northeast, and Northwest
sections of the city (in that order).
Portland ranks about fifth on the west
coast in herion traffic (discounting San
Diego).
D E A studies suggest that
Support jobs for all
The U n ite d States Suprem e C ourt has d e te rm in e d
th a t sp a n kin g c h ild re n by school sta ff m em bers is not
u n co n s titu tio n a l.
W e b e lie v e this is a bad d ecision a n d hope it w ill
n ot le a d to a p o lic y o f sp an kin g in O reg on schools.
The q u e stio n o f th e rig h t o f the school to spank or
o f the p a re n t to p re v e n t it, the possible p sych o lo g ica l
a nd or so cial d a m a g e to be d on e, a nd the usual
reasons fo r o p p o s itio n to sp an kin g are va lid , but o f
m o re im p o rta n c e is the p ro b a b ility o f d is c rim in a tio n
a g a in s t in d iv id u a l ch ild re n .
It is to o easy fo r the " b u s e d " ch ild , th e one
rese nte d by students and teachers a lik e to be the
o b je c t o f physical p un ish m en t. It is too easy fo r the
c h ild w h o is c u ltu ra lly d iffe re n t, w h e th e r th ro u g h
m isu n d e rsta n d in g or th ro ug h p re ju d ic e . It is to o easy
fo r the p oo r a nd sh a b b ily dressed ch ild , the
n e g le cte d c h ild , the slow ch ild , the e m o tio n a lly
d isturbe d c h ild to b ecom e the class sca ping go a t.
O f course th e re are o th e r fo rm s o f p u n is h m e n t th a t
can devastate a ch ild , but let's n ot a dd sp an kin g to
the arsenal. W e b e lie v e yo u n g c h ild re n can be
corrected and sh ou ld be corrected by th e ir teachers,
a nd that teachers m ust co m m an d the respect o f th e ir
students. W e do not b e lie v e , h o w e v e r, th a t the
teacher w h o c a n n o t co n tro l her th ird g ra d e class w ill
be a id e d in her task by th e rig h t to spank.
D iscip lin e
is an
im p o rta n t aspect o f the
e d u ca tio n a l process a nd deserves m o re research a nd
a tte n tio n . Perhaps respect fo r th e c h ild , his fa m ily
a nd his co m m u n ity, a n d a sincere e ffo rt to e du cate
the ch ild to the fu lle s t e xte n t o f his a b ility w o u ld go a
long w a y to w a rd s o lvin g the p ro b le m s o f classroom
d iscip lin e .
A u g u s tu s F. H a w k in s , R e p re s e n ta tiv e fr o m
C a lifo rn ia , has in tro d u c e d H ouse R esolution 50, the
Equal O p p o rtu n ity a n d Full E m p lo ym e n t Act, w h ic h , if
passed by Congress, w o u ld g u a ra n te e the rig h t to
u sefu l a n d m e a n in g fu l e m p lo y m e n t to e v e ry a d u lt
A m e ric a n a b le a n d w illin g to w o rk a n d w oulej
re q u ire the P resident to red uce u n e m p lo y m e n t to a
te m p o ra ry le v e l o f th re e p e rce n t w ith in e ig h te e n
m onths.
The b ill re q u ire s the President to su b m it to
Congress each y e a r a "F u ll E m ploym ent a n d
N a tio n a l Purposes B u d g e t" as a g u id e to m e e tin g
such n a tio n a l p rio ritie s a n d p ro gram s as co n se rva
tio n , d e v e lo p m e n t o f n a tu ra l resources, a d e q u a te
h e a lth care, d e c e n t hou sin g fo r e v e ry fa m ily , mass
tra n sit co nstructio n , p ro m o tio n o f sm a ll business a nd
c o m p e titiv e p riv a te e n te rp rise , a n d th e e lim in a tio n
o f p o ve rty.
Job G u a ra n te e O ffic e s w o u ld be e stab lish ed to
cre a te a n d a d m in is te r e m p lo y m e n t p rojects a nd
d e v e lo p jobs.
A ll fe d e ra ' a g e n cie s w o u ld be
re q u ire d to act co n siste n tly w ith the p ro visio ns o f the
act.
The b ill e n vis io n s th e c re a tio n o f m e a n in g fu l,
usefu l jobs, p a y in g a d e q u a te co m p e n s a tio n , so that
e ve ry a b le c itiz e n w o u ld h ave the rig h t to be
e m p lo y e d .
This is a re v o lu tio n a ry id e a in an e co n o m y w h ic h is
based on th e e xisten ce o f a la rg e re s e rv o ir o f
u n e m p lo y e d or u n d e re m p lo y e d w orkers. It goes a
step b e y o n d th e g u a ra n te e d a n n u a l in co m e , in th a t it
gives the in d iv id u a l the rig h t to e arn his o w n w a y
th ro u g h u sefu l a n d s a tisfyin g w ork.
P o rtlan d O b s e rv e r
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O NPA 1973
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O NPA 1973
A L F R E D L. H E N D E R S O N
Editor/Publisher
The Portland Observer'a 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.
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Attocialion - Founded 1895
The North Portland Citizen's Commit
tee said ONA should not make rules
governing NA and that any group should
be recognized. Liz W elt, speaking for the
North Community Action Council, exist
ing in the same territory as NPCC,
proposed that the exclusive recognition
of one group in each area be deleted. She
said her organization has been told that it
cannot obtain city contracts at that as
long as NPCC holds contracts.
James Loving, Chairman of the Model
Cities Citizens Planning Board, said all
Model Cities NAs except Irvington voted
to support ONA. Relating the concept of
citizen's participation to Model Cities,
Loving said. "The federal government
realized there was an element of citizens
who were not involved and wanted to
pull in these people who were left out.
They did not have the expertise,
expectations, etc., and were depressed of
some of their basic rights."
Loving said the O NA ordinance
assures citizens of the right to participate
and if it is rejected, small interest groups
will develop as they have in the past,
depriving the common ritizen of the right
to participate.
Ixiving expressed the opinion that
much of the satisfaction is with the ONA
staff. Also speaking to this point were
persons from Mt. Tabor, Montavilla, and
Southwest
Portland
neighborhoods.
Attorney Warren Deras questioned
the constitutionality of the ordinance,
Honorable Mention
Herrick Fxiitorial Award
N N A 1973
2nd Place
Best Fxiitorial
3rd Place
Community leadership
O NPA 1975
4b
drug traffic “chiefly from the kids'
parents medicine chest, though w m r of it
is through forged prescriptions and the
like " Kitalin is also made available to
students by family physicians with the
rationale that a drugged docility will
increase the 'h y p e ra c tiv e ' stu d en t'a
ability to learn. Unlike California and
many other states. Oregon's schools do
not dispense drugs
Somewhat typical of the parental
response to the use of ritalin. parents of
seventeen school children in Tafts,
California have filed a suit against the
local school district charging that their
children are being forced to take the drug
rita lin
in o rd e r to atte n d school
According loan editorial statement in the
New 3 ork Times, between 500.000 and a
million children are affected by such a
practice of ritalin use on children The
suit states that the side effects of ritalin
include psychotic episodes, hallucina
tions, weight loaa, headaches, nosebleeds,
stomach aches, insomnia, nightmares,
crying spells and sometimes permanent
stunting of growth
pointing out that if its benefits go only to
selected NAs or their members, it
discriminates against the remainder of
the citizenry. He also cautioned that if
the city enters into contracts and gives
official recognition to these non profit
ritizen groups, it becomes liable for
certain of their activities. He questioned
whether giving official recognition would
make the NAs "arms of the state" and put
them in a position of being legally liable
to all types of civil rights obligations.
threat that has been heard during this
entire hearing "
Commissioner Jordan expressed hia
opinion that if benefits of the city were
withheld from those whine organizations
are not recognized. " It is clearly
discrimination."
Don Kell, speaking as an individual,
said he and others had been threatened
by being told by Ms Pedersen that NAs
failing to be recognized could not receive
city funds. "I do not see why the council
should support a Bureau that is out
intimidating people."
Commissioner Mildred Schwab, who
supervises O NA. replied angrily, "A re
you saying Mary is intimidating." Bell
said she had attempted to intimidate him
and that he had overheard her attem pt to
intimidate others. Amid angry protests
by Ms. Schwab, Mayor Goldschmidt
asked Bell for a written report.
The Commissioners expressed some
opinions, but set a continuation for
Wednesday at 3:30, at which time they
will make recommendations.
Commis
sioner Connie McCready will introduce a
substitute ordinance.
Commissioner Ivancie said, “I don't
think it is the role of the city to control
citizens...
If you have a question of
funding, it is political. Recognition is a
(Continued from p 1 col. fi)
wider perspectives, especially recogn
ing its links to high unemployment ai
poverty at home Thus, unless there
new thinking about the total wor
economy we will too easily attribute tl
suffering of our own people to tl
“irrationality" of OPEC and by extensii
to the poor peoples of the developii
world. In other words we will blame tl
victims If only to protect ourselves, v
must share our limited resources wil
those people in the Sahel who are won
off than we are. But more important. w
must continue the educational rampai|i
to alert the Congress and people of tl
United Stales to the larger issue <
dangers and immorality of econom
underdevelopment.
(Editor's Note: D r Elliot P. Skinner
presently the National Co Chairman
“Relief lor Africans in Need in the Sahr
and ( hairman of the Anthropolof
Department at Columbia Oniversit
New 3 ork, and is the former Ambassad«
to upper Volta. |
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valium, herion. marijuana, and l«SD are
the four top hospitalizing or death
causing drugs.
By themselves, these
statistics mean virtually nothing, as the
D E A notes.
Methadone and ampheta
mines are lower on the list.
In the past few years. Portland based
industry (heavy steel and pulp and pa|>er
primarily) have railed in the S ID for
investigations into drugs being used in
industrial plants.
This compares fa
vorably to the mid west auto industry,
where amphetamines and painkillers
have been tactily condoned by industry
and union alike According to Scott of the
S ID . heavy industry was seeing an
increase in accident rate due to the use of
the drugs "grass, amphetamines, harbi
turates, and even herion."
The Portland school system notes an
increase in I<SD "now that the scare over
LSD has I unfortunately) subsided," says
Ix*onard Schmurr, Chief of Security for
the Portland School District. SID's Scott
notes that following marijuana, ritalin is
perhaps the most commonly abused drug
in the public schools. Kitalin enters the
O N A hearing
(Continued from p. 1 col. 31
Spanking discriminates
physical chaos and destruction, and hence
must concentrate on first things first
personal survival
Black women know
the pain of the Black man They share it.
They share his physical humiliation and
the debasement of his spiritual values in a
system that historically has excluded
him.
They know well the frustration of
loving a man and of watching with horror
as he grows into a raging monster of a
drunk, or a criminal, or erodes into a
sniveling shadow of his manhood because
he simply cannot find a job that pays
enough to keep body or soul or his family
together.
They know the bitter dregs of hurt and
rage when their man by desperate
design, or painful resignation, deserts the
family, leaving it to the clutches of a
merciless welfare system because there
is no other choice.
A Black women suffers additional
prejudices because of her sex and so like
it or not has common cause in the job
mart with her white sister, her Spanish
speaking sister, her Oriental American
sister and her American Indian sister.
Indeed, Black men and Black women.
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