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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 1976)
Page 2 Portland Observer T ku i ¿y. July 15th. 1976 M ilitary discrimination by Yvenae Brathwaite B a rk* Copley N e w t Service Carter our choice Act now, Mr. Ford Jimmy Carter is the man who can "bind up the nation's wounds." W e b e l i.v . Carter is a man who can bring a new integrity to the W h it. House and a now spirit to t h . nation. If he is elected in November, Carter will go to Washington with the broad support that is needed to bring important and meaningful changes to govern- rqent. He will ow e his election as much to Blacks as to white Southerners - os much to liberals as to conservatives. His ability to bring together the most widely divided constituents in an election campaign forfeits his ability to bring together the divergent factions of our nation and to create a community. Carter will go to Washington without debts to pay to any faction in the Congress or any faction in the bureaucracy. He w ill be free to deal openly and freely for the good of the people. Jimmy Carter is a man who has successfully bridg ed the gap between the Black and the white, be tween the rich and the poor. As president, he will be able to use the powers of government to narrow that gap — and perhaps, in time, to elim inate it. He is a man who came from a rural background, a small town in the South. The type of background that usually leads to conservation — but he has incorpor ated the better aspects of the rural South - and has added to it the experience of Atlanta, the city called by U.E.B. DuBois "north of the South, and South of the north" — the city that is leading the nation in racial harmony and trust. When President Gerald Ford learned that Angolan President Neto did not intend to stop the execution of four mercenaries for their activities in Angola's civil war, he expressed shock. We, also, are sorry that the four men died — believing as w e do that capital punishment is wrong. W e do believe that the men committed crimes against the people of Angola. The involvement of American citizens speaks to additional issues. He gave as his reason for going to Angola, the fact that he needed money. Other men who have been recruited in the United States said they went because they were not able to find employment in this country. There also is the issue of the government allowing the recruitment and hiring of mercenaries in this country. And the overriding issue — that the men w ere undoubtedly paid with CIA money. W e have not heard the president express his shock at these factors which allow ed an American citizen to be executed in Angola. W hile the president is expressing his shock at N e‘ Vs condoning the executions, over 200 American citizens w ait in American jails for their execution days. W e have not heard the president's expression of shock over the fate of these men and women — many of whom are Black and most of whom are poor. If President Ford is really shocked at the execution of an American in Angola — a man who accepted money to kill Angolans — then he can express his shock in a tangible way here at home. He can commute the sentences of all of those American citizens waiting in death row. W e followed Jimmy Carter's career as Governor of Georgia with interest; w e endorsed him early in the primary period — now w e become the first in the nation to announce our endorsement of Jimmy Car ter for the Presidency of the United States. When reports of the violent death of Marine Pvt. Lynn E. McClure surfaced in the nation's press tw o months ago, a wave of indignation swept the country. Americans were incredulous that such brutal treatm ent of recruits was appar ently tolerated, if not encouraged, by the Marine heirarchy. W hatever the court's findings in inves tigating the young serviceman's death, however, one question must be answer ed: Why was McClure adm itted to the Marines in the first place? McClure, in direct contravention of armed forces recruiting regulations, was enlisted despite his extensive civilian a r rest records. McClure initially had failed the M arine entrance examination miser ably before obtaining an acceptable score in a subsequent attempt. Added to that. McClure had previously been rejected by m ilitary recruiters in his home town before being inducted into the service by an Austin. Texas, M arine ser geant. Testimony given by M arine recruiters before the House Arm ed Services Com mittee supplies us a ready, plausible an swer. During the hearings on m ilitary enlistment policies, several former Ma rine recruiters freely adm itted that racial quotas existed in the Marines. Quotas were set on the number of Blacks to be admitted into the Corps each month. One former member of the Defense Manpower Commission stated that the services have chosen to meet their over all recruitm ent targets by accepting less- than-desirable white aspirants rather than more highly qualified Black hope fuls. The admittance of McClure, who was white, to the Marines could very possibly have been a result of this un w ritten, but strictly adhered to, recruit ment policy. A review of minority recruitm ent since July 1974. reveals that Black enlistment in every branch of the service has indeed been severely curtailed. In fiscal year 1974, when the All-Volunteer Arm y was established. 21 per cent of all military recruits were Black. During the first nine months of the last fiscal year, however, only 16 per cent of all inductees were of Afro-American de scent. A study of m ilitary recruitment policy over a period extending from July. 1974, to March, 1976, is illustrative of the ceil ings placed on minority enlistment. Dur- ing that nine month span, the proportion of Blacks inducted into the A rm y fell from 29.3 per cent of the monthly total to 17.3 per cent. Sim ilarly, Black recruit ment into the A ir Force dropped from 22.6 to 12.6 per cent, into the Navy from 14 to 6.6 per cent, and into the Marines from 22 to 19 per cent. Afro-Americans, consequently, are systematically being denied access to the m ilitary and also an escape from the devastating effects of our current econo mic recession.. I t is very disheartening that the racial composition of the American armed forces should be a major issue in 1976. Little protest was lodged against minor ity recruitment when Black GIs and Marines were dying in Vietnam in num bers more than commensurate with their percentage of the population. Blacks, ac cording to this morally suspect practice, are qualified enough to die for the United States but cannot be trusted to preserve the peace. I t is shameful that today conscious ef forts have been made to lim it minority m ilitary opportunities at all levels. I only help that Americans will join together and oppose the continuation of these poli cies. Policies such as these divide us and reduce the effectiveness of our fighting forces. The importance of the ballot The real significance of the Voting Rights Act is not limited to the increasing numbers of Blacks elected to office. The Black vote has made it possible perhaps even necessary, for racial moderates and progressives like Jimm y C arter. Reuben Askew, and Dale Bumpers to emerge as the dominant political figures in the South. I t has even turned rabid segrega tionists like Strom Thurmond into cour iers of the Black vote. I t is not of an exaggeration to observe that the Voting Rights Act has virtually, killed the old racial politics of the South. But the Voting Rights A ct has not brought the millenium of Black political power. A t the same tim e that more Blacks are participating in politics by running for office. Black registration and voting has been declining. T here are 14 million Blacks eligible to vote, but only hslf are registered. One reason that so many Blacks sre not registered is that the resistance has be come more subtle. Moreover, many elec tion laws and election officials are still guided by the middle-class bias that vot ing is a privilege to be earned by individ ual initiative rather than a right which the government should actively extend to all. by Bayard Bastía Few measures have so changed the politics of the United States as the Voting Rights Act of 1966. The climax to a string of legislative victories for civil rights, it was symbolically crucial because by guaranteeing the right to vote it broke the image of Blacks as being less than full citizens. Moreover, when the Voting Rights Act was passed it was healded as inaugurat ing a great political transformation. The political transformation has not yet ma terialised in total, but Blacks have won some magnificent political victories. The political landscape of the South and. indeed, of the nation has been alter ed in the decade since its passage. In the first five years after the passage of the 1966 Voting Rights A ct Black voter regia tration in the seven states covered by the bill nearly doubled, from 1.2 million to 2.1 million. A more important change was the dramatic increase in the number of Blacks elected to public office in the South. In 1966 only 72 Blacks held public office in the South. Today nearly two thousand - 27 times as many do. This explosion of Blacks seeking and winning office is part of a great political awakening of Blacks across the country. The number of Blacks bolding elected office across the country has more than tripled since 1969. And there is reason to suspect that it will continue to grow. Although there are few er than twenty Blacks in the Congress, there are over 75 congressional districts where tw enty per cent or more of the population is Black. Many of these districts can be expected W hether Black or white, poor and working people often suspect - and fre quently with good reason - th a t a rigged system has made them powerless. W hen unemployment among Blacks is above IS per cent according to official statistics it is not easy to believe in the efficavy of the vote. Thus, an important reason for the disenchantment of Blacks with politics, candidates have been failing to deal with the issues that are critical to Blacks. When so many candidates are running to send Blacks to Washington in the near future. against Washington, against the social programs which have benefitted the poor and the minorities, it is hard to persuade people to register. When so many of our friends have been wavering in their support of programs which we need desperately, we can send them a message by maximizing Black registration and participation. The politi cal system does not always work well for poor and working people or for Blacks. Nonetheless, poor an d working people and Blacks can make the political system work for them. For Blacks, registering to vote is not an exercise in civic responsibility; it is a necessary and indispensable weapon in the arsenal of our struggle 'for justice, equality, and jobs. 1 can understand why Blacks might be apathetic or cynical about politics, politi cians. and government. Those attitudes bred powerlessness and escapism. No m atter how disappointed we might be we cannot afford to surrender to those nega tive moods that will only make things worse. W e need to turn cynicism/ into properly directed anger and replate ap athy with commitment. Because Blacks have traditionally been disenfranchised we have to go an extra mile to catch up. Instead of feeling con tent to register, we have to get our family, friends, neighbors, and co-work- •r s registered. And we have to make sure they get to the polls. W e need to give our active support and involvement to those groups in the Black community which are rig ht now engaged in registering voters. The vote was taken away from us and denied for many years by violence, faud and statute. Today the danger is that we will let it slip away through apathy, des pair and cynicism. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR No democracy there, either To the e d ito r W h a t is happening in America? The Democratic Convention does not allow discussion on the principles of the party's platform T hat very night, organizers to put Eugene M cCarthy on the Oregon ballot in Portland refuse to allow dele gates to organize themselves to collect signatures to put Pacific Power and Light on the ballot to lower electric rates. There is a confounded misconception afoot. This misconceptin is a belief that the political process is something to be owned, that its sole purpose is for candi dates to choose the people, that the elec tion of office holders is the beginning and the end. I f this concept is supported by the 'leaderhip* of even the so-called 'pro gressive' part of the Democratic Party, then thoe of us who have carred and followed this flag need to be looking tor a new banner. This ferry boat just won't ever fly. Our banner ought to be one that is not dominated by the well healed buttoned down shirt set of middle aged white p ro fesaiona males. W e ar a group with w o men and work shirts, with middle in comes and less, peole who feelthe process belongs to the people and is as important as the product. Hold your noise this year, but hang in there. W e’ll be getting to gether soon! Rep. W ally Priestley He appreciates help My I am compelled to w rite this letter to oee who have been responsible in large sasure for any degree of success I may ,ve experienced during the past two «rs in Portland. I t has been through o r assistance, commitment, sacrifice id tolerance that my tenue in the com unity has proven a very productive iperienee. T am lA svin cr tfiss m m m u n i t v . H s v illff accepted the position of Dean of Afro- American Affairs and Assistant Provoet at the University of Virginia, my new duties should prove challenging. How ever, my experience in the Portland com munity can only complement and enhance my efforts to satisfactorily meet that challenge. I know you are directly a ttri butable to my growth. I am most grateful and humble for your teaching and assist ing me. M v dedication to you and the Portland community is too great to perm it our paths not crossing again soon. From time to tim e I w ill let you know of my new duties and beg that you w rite often to keep me informed of current events id Portland. Again, thanks for everything! Sincerely, W illiam M . Harris Coordinator Black Studies Program Portland State University $2.50 of your r o w subscription to I The Portland Observer will go to the Oregon Black History Project Tri-County area Name Address $7.50 other areas $8.00 Mail to; Portland Observer P.O. Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97206 C ity a