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
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