Portland observer., May 27, 1976, Image 2

f
IVe see the world
Joe Joseph
Your Com m unity
Insurance M a n
through Black eyes
3 9 3 3 N E . Union
2 8 2 -3 6 8 0
Voters’ voice heard
W a lly Priestley has o ve rco m e l He chalks up three
victo rie s — House District #16, the P ortland School
Board and the M u ltn o m a h C ounty In te rm e d ia te
Education Board.
Priestley w as the o b je ct o f an a ll o ut c a m p a ig n by
th e "p o w e r s tru c tu re ."
B ill W ya tt m ove d into
Priestley's d istrict a nd ran a w e ll h e a d e d c a m p a ig n
fo r Priestley's House seat. W ya tt w as a lso supported
by the m e d ia , w h ic h have lo n g describ e d Priestley as
in co m p e te n t a n d in e ffe c tiv e .
A lth o u g h P riestley's p h ilo s o p h y m ay be too ra d ic a l
fo r the "P o w e r stru c tu re " a nd the w h ite press, he
seem s to be in tu n e w ith th e voters. N ot o n ly d id he
re ta in his House p o sitio n re p re se n tin g N o rth -N o rth ­
east P ortland, b ut knocked in cu m b e n t Paul H ow e, an
o ffic ia l o f the N orth w e st N a tu ra l Gas C om pany o ff
the school boa rd . In the IED race he d e fe a te d to p
co n te n d e r Forrest Rieke, a p ro m in e n t Portland
A tto rn e y.
D uring his several term s in o ffic e , Priestley has
refu sed to p u t on the tra p p in g s o f g o ve rn m e n t. He
live s sim p ly a n d persues his ideals. A lth o u g h his
p e rsu it o f rig hts fo r a ll -- m in o ritie s, fa rm w orkers,
p eaceniks, u n io n w orke rs -- has caused m uch
concern in som e quarters, he goes in w ith his
crusaders — to the p icke t lin e , to the streets, to ja il.
The O b server co ng ra tu la te s W a lly on his v ic to ry l
W e supported h im in his ca m p a ig n a nd w e k n o w he
w ill represent o u r co m m u n ity w e ll, as he has don e in
the past.
Thank you, Governor
G o verno r Bob Straub has a p p o in te d Ellis Casson to
the State Board o f Education, m a k in g h im the first
Black to serve on this im p o rta n t Board. The Board
sets p o licy, re g u la tio n s a nd standards fo r a ll the
p u b lic schools in O regon.
This is a cru cia l a p p o in tm e n t in this tim e o f
d e c lin in g e d u c a tio n a l a c h ie v e m e n t, shortage o f
fu nd s fo r e d u ca tio n , a nd a lw a y s the th re a t o f
d iso rd e r over the e d u ca tio n a l o p p o rtu n itie s o f Black
c h ild re n .
W e a p p re cia te the fact th a t the G o ve rn o r a p p o in t­
ed a Black. Too o fte n Blacks have been le ft out o f the
co m m itte es a nd Boards w h e re th e rea l decisions are
m ade.
G o verno r Straub has d em on strate d once
a g a in that he intends to be a G o ve rn o r fo r a ll
p eo ple.
Ford: Politics
before principles
In asking fo r a ju d ic ia l te rm in a tio n o f the court
o rd ered school busing, President G e ra ld Ford is
b o w in g to the rig h t w in g co nse rva tion o f R onald
Reagan. Does Ford w a n t the pre sid e ncy so m uch that
he w ill sell o ut th e n atio ns' Black ch ild re n ?
This m ove -- a t this tim e -- can be n o th in g else than
politics, a nd d irty p o litics at that.
W e re a liz e that Ford has a lw a y s been opposed to
busing. He has a lw a y s been a g a in st those program s
that w o u ld insure Blacks equ al justice. But he has,
since he has h e ld the presidency, a t least gon e
th ro ug h the m otio ns o f b e in g a p re sid e n t fo r a ll
p eo ple. N o w he has g iv e n up this m asquerade — a ll
fo r a fe w votes.
B rin g in g an e nd to court o rd e re d busing w ill not
b rin g an end to c o n flic t. The very act o f co nsid e rin g
such a th in g w ill o n ly b rin g a b o u t n e w v io le n c e on
the p art o f those w h o oppose " th e la w o f the la n d ."
A nd the p re sid e n t can ce rta in ly not e xpect Black
p e o p le to a llo w w h a t little has been g a in e d in the
last tw e n ty years to be snatched a w a y by an
a m b itio u s p o litic ia n .
President Ford is asking fo r votes -- but he w ill
b rin g a b o u t the g re ate st c o n flic t and v io le n c e that
the n a tio n has seen.
Get home fixed free
The CREP p ro g ra m , sponsored by the Portland
M e tro p o lita n Steering C om m ittee , is in one o f th e ir
most unusual a nd n e e de d p ro je c t to h it this a re a. The
p ro je ct, fu n d e d by the U.S. D ep artm en t o f C om ­
m erce, has as its p rim a ry g o a l the tra in in g and
e m p lo y m e n t o f u n e m p lo y e d persons in the construc­
tion fie ld .
A b y-p ro d u ct is th e free " w in te r iz a tio n " o f hom es
o f lo w -in c o m e persons. W in te riz in g includes fu r­
nace repairs, ro o f re p a ir, re p la c in g w in d o w s , repairs
to w a lls a nd c e ilin g s , a nd outside p a in t. There are
m any lo w -in c o m e fa m ilie s a nd e ld e rly persons w h o
are in g re a t need o f these repairs, b ut w h o do not
have th e m on ey w ith w h ich to b uy them .
CREP o ffe rs these services fre e , w ith no strings
attached. Hom es must be occup ie d by lo w -in c o m e
o w n ers a nd must be located w ith in the city lim its o f
Portland.
CREP is seeking hom es rig h t n ow and the tim e to
a p p ly is n ow , not next w in te r w h e n the house gets
cold a nd dam p. A ll persons w h o th in k they m ig h t be
e lig ib le fo r the CREP w in te riz a tio n p ro gram are
urged to ca ll 288-8391 fo r in fo rm a tio n .
------------------------------1
1st Place
Community Service
O NPA 1973
P ortland O b se rv e r
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company. 2201
North Killingsworth. Portland. Oregon 97217 Mailing address:
P.O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208. Telephone: 283 2486.
Subscriptions: $7.50 per year in the Tri-County area, $8.00 per
year outside Portland.
Setond Class Postage Paid at Portland, Oregon
A L F R E D L. HEN DERSO N
Editor/Publisher
The Portland Observer's official position is expressed only 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 w riter or submitter and does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the Portland Observer.
1st Place
Best Ad Results
O NPA 1973
5th Place
Best Editorial
N N PA 1973
Honorable Mention
Herríck Editorial Award
N N A 1973
2nd Place
Best Editorial
3rd Place
Community l-eadership
O NPA 1975
MEMBER
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
PER
Attocitbon ■ Founded 1M5
$2.50 of your new subscription to
The Portland Observer will go to the
Oregon Black History Project
Tri-County a re a $7.50 other areas $8.00
Name
Address
SPECIAL
«
¿- ☆ ☆ ☆ r i x
Super Softy
Vary flexible plus padded inania
ruahioned com fort o vary atep
The Bicentennial
al the way. la aatnral. whlta.
and Blacks
3 90
W om ena aixea to 10.
by Yvonne Brathwalte Burke
On the eve of the United States'
Bicentennial celebration, one question is
continually asked of the nation's Black
public officials: Are America's Bicenten­
nial festivities indeed cause for Black
celebration?
The implications of the
query penetrate the very heart of the
ideals and precepts upon which American
democracy is built.
Can Black Americans endorse whole­
heartedly the commemoration of an event
- the American Revolution - which freed
white Americans from Colonial restraints
while leaving Blacks still fettered to
oppressive American ones?
Can Black Americans participate in the
celebration of a freedom which has to a
substantial extent yet eluded and exclud
ed them?
Can Black Americans join in fellowship
with some of the same forces that have
stridently opposed racial progress alter
nating a variety of means - many
malicious and all misguided - to toast the
conclusion of 200 years of American
history?
Or, to rephrase the questions, should
Black Americans be willing to do so?
Obviously, no rational American can
fondly recall the lynching of people who
were simply attempting to attain the
voting privileges that accrued to others
through birthright.
No sensitive American can nostalgi
rally reminisce about the unleashing of
police dogs on people quietly protesting
their exclusion from schools, restaurants,
bathrooms, water fountains, and the
front of buses.
No thinking American can take pride in
the past enslavement and degradation of
a people whose sole “crime” was being
born Black. No person who appreciates
all that is innately great and beautiful in
man can applaud such acta of utter
inhumanity.
But despite the tremendous injustices
suffered by Black Americans, there still
remains cause for optimism.
We, as
Black Americans, should applaud our
perseverance.
We should utilize the Bicentennial
celebration to commemorate the Criapus
Attuckses, the Harriet Tubmans, the
Frederick Douglasses, the M artin Luther
Kings and countless other Afro-Ameri­
cans who did more than just survive -
those, who despite seem ingly in s u r­
mountable obstacles, transcended these
apparent limitations to contribute might
ily to our American heritage. In fact, not
only must we remember, but we must
continue in the spirited tradition of these
indomitable Black men and women.
Somehow, we must reaffirm our faith
in the actualization of American ideals.
We must reaffirm our national and global
commitment to the eradication of human
ills. The Bicentennial is not a time for
mere reflection, but an occasion to chart --
through the replacement of idealistic
rhetoric with pragmatic action
future
progress.
The real importance of the Bicentennial
lies in its prescience, not in its reiteration
of the past. In that, all Americans can
find common ground.
The Black American contribution to
the nation's culture has been immense
and integral. Every aspect of American
life - the scientific, the social, the political
-- has been enhanced by Afro-American
achievement. The Afro-American legacy
is all pervasive. There is much to take
pride in.
During the nation's 200 years of exis­
tence, there has been both glory and
infamy. Much has been accomplished,
but much more lies ahead to be done.
If America's 200th birthday celebra
tion is viewed, however, as a reassertion
of the primacy and enduring truth of the
originally envisioned American ideals and
as a pledge to ensuring the fulfillment of
every American’s potential, the Bicen­
tennial will indeed be cause for celebra
tion by all.
REG. 4.98.
Gallenkamp I shoes
Keep America
On Its Feet
h
a D ew ntew a Portland a Eastport Plaza a Oregon CRy
a Longview a Eugene a Medford
A GREAT VALUE
37APÏT3
fì-igidaire
"Simmered for Hours"
Flavor • • • in a matter
of MINUTES!
>
Frigidaire Microwave Oven with
New SLOW-COOKING Cycle
Tbit Frigidaire M icrow ave Oven offer» the flexibility of o »penal Slow
Cook cycle that'» ideal for »low roasting quality meat» and for cooking
delicate sauces and cheese and egg dishes For fo»t freezer to-table cook­
ing on Automatic Defrost cycle thaws frozen foods in minutes Set the
two-speed Timer for precise cooking of most foods, or up to 3 5 minutes
for larger food items like a roast. Chimes at the end of each cycle tell you
when time is up COMPLETE M IC R O W A V E C O O K B O O K included
TIM E-SA VIN G
Prepare o complete meal in up to 7 5 % less
time than with a range surface unit or conventional oven
ENERGY SAVING
Uses up to 7 5 % less power than conven­
tional cooking; results in lower electric bills
CLEAN N o baked-on spatters; spills wipe aw ay easily
COOL Only the food gets hot, your kitchen stays cool.
d r h v iH L r u ñ e n « « :
«398
W h il. Our
Supply lasts
EASY TERM
M a il to:
Portland O bserver
P.O. Box 3137
Portland, O reg on 97208
C ity
si tin tiMti
•ra
4*i*y«4 n < ta«rti«a« laa« asta*
• rrttra« ft M* »• lafar« Hi* VA abart aa
v
Lloyd Center
SHOP 9 TO 9
M O N THNU FRI
SAT. ’TIL 6 (Closed Sun.)
30th and S. E. DIVISION
•
234-9351