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PORTLAND
OBSER/ER
Vel. • No. »
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Thursday, August 12, W S
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—
BISHOP H. HARTFORD BROOKINS
McCoy ia the only local Black person to be so honored by a
major Oregon college or nnivereity.
•C
Medical Center studies anemia
A research study that could help mil
lions of people who suffer from sickle cel!
anemia. Mediterranean anemia and other
deceases of the red blood cells is being
conducted st the University of Oregon
Health Sciences Center (UOHSC).
Dr. Bernand Pirofsky, head of the divi
sion of immunology, allergy and rheums
tology and professor of medicine, has
received the third year of funding from
the National Institute of Arthritis and
Metabolism to continue his research on
the tranaplanation of red blood cells. His
current award is for $ 4 3 .» « bringing
total research support in three years to
Currently this is the only study of its
kind being conducted. There have been
only two other attempts at red blood cells
transplantation in Paris and Holland,
both within the last three years.
Diseases that involve the abnormality
or inadequacy of the red blood cell popu
lation are mostly inherited, according to
Dr. Pirofaky. The moat commonly known
is sickle cell anemia, a crescent shaped
malformation of the cells that plagues 10
per cent of American Negroes, and Medi
terranean anemia, a malformation of the
cella' enzymes, membranes and hemoglo
bin affecting 20 per cent of Mediterreans.
“Although many of these diseases
aren't in the lethal stage and just leave
the person anemic, the diseases can lead
to death if fully developed. There is no
therapy and the only systemic method of
helping the patient is by transfusions.
Our goal is to correct this problem
through the transplantation of red blood
cella,” aaid Dr. Pirofaky.
Dr. Pirofaky is using mice in his re
search, obtaining immature healthy red
blood cells from the liver of fetuses and
injecting these cells into mich with an
inherited malformation of the red blood
cella called hereditary spherocytosis.
He hopes that the healthy cells will
eventually overtake the abnormal cells
permanently, leaving only a population of
healthy red blood cella. If this happens,
he said, there are implications for the
whole area of transplantations.
For example, what often happens in
bone marrow transplantation, he ex
plained, is that body's rejection of the
transplanted tissue because there are too
many lymphocytes in the tranplanted tis
sue.
Lymphocytes are the white blood cella
that are the primary source for the pro
duction of antibodies, which protect the
body against foreign objects or sub
stances.
Therefore, it's important to reduce the
amount of lymphocytes in the transplant
ed blood cells to minimize the chances of a
rejection happening, he laid.
In Pirofsky'a current work he will try
to obtain the bulk of immature red blood
cells which contain a minimal amount of
lymphocytes, then devise ways to selec
tively inhibit their growth through the
use of serum and drugs.
During the past two years, Pirofaky
has developed throe drugs that sueee.o-
fully inhibit the growth of lymphocytes.
Also during his werk to date, Pirofaky
has discovered the liver of the fetus as
the best source of red blood cells, which
section of the liver has the most abundant
amount of cells and how to best obtain
and store the red blood cells.
With this groundwork laid, he predicts
he will be able to successfully transplant
red blood cells in animals within the next
year or two.
AME Bishop demands liberation
H. Hartford Brookins, new Bishop of
the Fifth Episcopal District of the African
Methodist Church, called upon Black
Americans, led by the Black Church, to
demand Black liberation at home and
abroad.
“Black and white America stands on
the Threshhold of a new century. The
African Methodist Episcopal Church
stands almost on the threshhold of a third
century and some of us have taken it
lightly, but God has called us to thia hour
for such a time as this. And if we serve
well at this point in our lives - Black and
white and brown and yellow, left and
right. Republican and Democratic, shall
rise up one day and call us 'blessed' - but
if we fail in this hour, they shall rise up
and haunt our future and call us 'cursed.'
“We must rise up and seize the moment
and save the hour for generations yet to
come.”
Earlier in the day, Brookins, who for
the last four years has led the district in
Central Africa, expressed his concerns on
current conflict on that continent and on
racial oppression in the United States.
Brookins explained that although the
historic backgrounds of Rhodesia and
South Africa differ, their social, cultural
and apartheid governments are the same
so you cannot discuss one without dis
cussing the other. They are really one
and the same in principal. The best poss
ible forecast from those who are in charge
of the liberation movements in Rhodesia
is that they predict that within a mini
mum of a year and a maximum of three
years, that they will have no recourse but
to demand majority rule, however that
rule comes. “Now you, of course know,
that at this point it is headed for blood
shed. I believe that unless the super
powers move with all haste to bring the
kind of diplomatic and economic factors to
bear . . . to topple the Smith regime - in
South Africa it will be an outright blood
bath. My prediction is that we will see
something worse than Vietnam and I
predict that this will then lead through
Nbimibia, which is the buffer zone going
into South Africa, which then means that
those same forces determined to get free
dom and justice and having no recourse
but to fight, we can then see that the
Blacks will ultimately take over the total
Local emergency housing situation worsens
Within the boundaries of the North
East area, and specifically the Albina
community, there are a great number of
housing problems which beset low income
and fixed income persons and. of course,
the poor. Housing problems in this ares
range from an inability to find affordable
standard housing on a limited income to
finding rata in the bedroom. In this area it
it not uncommon to find a family of four
living in a one bedroom apartment and
sharing a communal bathroom because of
limited welfare income and a waiting
period of not leas than six months and
often a year or more for federally subsi
dized housing. Many people on limited
income could afford to pay moderately
priced rents but are shut out of this
housing market by landlords who refuse
to accept welfare clients as tenants or
who demand both first and last month's
rent and/or exhorbitant cleaning and
breakage deposits.
Many people find themselves trapped
in homes that are in high crime areas or
that are potential death traps due to bad
wiring. Recently • welfare client who
rented from the Housing Authority had
her back door broken down by thievee
who robbed her of what meager belong
ings she had. When she called the Hous
ing Authority to inform them of the dam
age, after reporting the incident to the
police, the Housing Authority told her
that the door would be repaired but she
would be charged $80. She then called
several different agencies, including wel
fare, in her search for help. None of these
agencies could give her assistance due to
their various policies and regulations.
Eighty dollars was approximately the
amount she paid for Food Stamps for her
family for one month. Unfortunately, this
is not an uncommon situation.
Many people with housing and related
problems eventually find themselves
directed to the Albina Human Resources
Center. At the Albina Human Resources
Center many agencies are housed togeth
er and coordinated by staff of the Cen-
ter's Service Unit. Clients can not only
obtain many services without having to
secure transportation to get to the agen
cies scattered throughout the city, but
they also have persons available to act as
advocates for them while they struggle to
wade through the often difficult to under
stand bureaucratic process.
For example, a married couple with a
small child was aided by the Albina
Human Resources Center; the wife was
pregnant and considered as a high risk
case because of a drug addiction problem.
When the wife discovered she was preg
nant, she decided to “kick" her drug habit
in order to prevent her baby from being
born an addict. After consulting with her
doctors, she was admitted to the hospital.
Upon her release, she returned to her
family in their already crowded one bed
room apartment, which was in an area of
high drug traffic and far from the hospital
where she had to go frequently for close
supervision. She and her husband vainly
attempted to secure more suitable hous
ing closer to the hospital and away from
drug trafficing. Welfare was unable to
advance her a check and the waiting list
for low income housing was long.
Through the aid of the Service Unit staff
of the Albina Human Resource Center,
she obtained a medical statement from
her doctors, took the statement to the
of South Africa in the very near future.”
Brookins predicted that South Africa
will be more difficult to defeat because of
foreign investments there, “because of
the under-the-table attempt on the part
of our government and other govern
ments like it to insure that the white
dominated regime ot South Africa hold
out a little longer until certain invest
ments can be protected.”
Brookins believes the multi-national
corporations that are the economic sup
port for the Rhodesian and South African
governments should be used to force
submission to majority rule. The question
is usually posed whether withdrawal of
the corporations would hurt Blacks more
than it would help. “There is the question
of whether a man wants to die suddenly
or to die a little bit every day. They have
decided that, since they are dying rapidly
every day, they have no recourse but to
demand full majority rule now."
Efforts at Black participation in Rho
desia were further frustrated by the
statement by Smith that Blacks will not
be ready to administer the government of
Rhodesia for another one-thousanc years.
(Please turn to p. 2 col. 4)
Housing Auti<„rity who provided a two
bedroom low income apartment for which
Welfare advanced the first month's rent.
The apartment was near the hospital.
Unfortunately, for many people in the
Albina community things do not run so
smoothly. There is a dire need for in
creased coordination between agencies
involved with persons in complicated sit
uations who are eligible for services but
are unable to overcome the agency barr
iers without the help of an advocate who
can aid them in their struggle. The Ser
vice Coordinators of the Albina Human
Resources Center are constantly working
to provide this coordination.
Behind Soweto.’ Bleak promise of homelands
by Jae LsTorr.
Joe LaTorre is an Africa Specialist
teaching at the University of California,
Berkeley, who hat traveled widely In
Africa.
(PNS) SOWETO: The tens of thou
sands of Black African» rioting in Johan
nesburg's teeming Black suburb of Sowe
to see themselves caught between an
intolerable present and an unacceptable
future.
The present is one million Blacks segre
gated into an urban enclave where they
earn bare subsistence by providing ser
vices to the wealthy white sectors of
Johannesburg. Tha future is the govern
ment's plan to tranaplant the enclave to
rural "homelands" - far from the white
citiei - where Black Africans expect to
face even grimmer economic ard social
conditions.
For 100 years, the South African
government has viewed Soweto, like all
its Black urban townships, aa a cancer
threatening the economic pulse of the
country.
To cut it away for good, the govern
mant is now creating "independent” or
eemi-eutonomous Bentuatane (home
lands), far from the large white urban
centers, for each of the major African
ethnic groups - the Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho
and so on.
Under this policy, the vast majority of
Africans - who make up 70 per cent of
South Africa’s population - will be re
settled on 13 per cent of the land, while
the remainder will be allowed to live in or
near white urban areas, as foreign work
ers or sojourners, for as long as they «re
employed there.
Surrounded on three sides by military
camps, Soweto today is really a conglo
m ention of 26 separate townships -
sprawling bedroom communities for a
million Africans who work in Johannes
burg and nearby industrial areas, com
muting often three hours a day at a cost
of 10 per cent of their pay.
Living conditions there range from the
relatively expensive homes of South
Africa's tiny African elite -• doctors, law
yers snd entertainers - to thousands of
mass built, identical houses of two or
three rooms, the still less attractive
shanties that line mud filled streets and
the dormitories or hostels for unmarried
men and women.
Electricity and piped water are avail
able only to a fraction of Soweto real
dents, and piped gas is unheard of. A
leading cause of death is carbon monoxide
poisoning from the charcoal fires used for
cooking and heating in most homes.
But economic conditions in the Black
homelands are more desperate.
A 1974 government survey revealed
that the per capita income in the home
lands is $8 per month - « fraction of the
$160 per capita income of South African
whites. Of the households surveyed, 25
per cent were reported as having no cash
income at all.
The creation of industrial employment
opportunities in and near the homelands
has fallen “far behind" even the modest
target for 1975 - despite the govern
ment's efforts to encourage industry to
open plants there.
In the four-year period preceding the
survey, the Bantu Investment Corp., a
semi-official agency, created 13,000 new
jobs in borderland and homeland indus
tries.
But during the same period, 80,000 new
teenage workers entered the labor force.
The survey predicted that, at the present
rate of industrialization, only one sixth of
the new entrants to the labor market can
expect to find employment in or near the
homelands.
The result is that migration to Soweto
and other urban areas continues, inspite
of the official homeland policy. At last
count, 13.9 million South Africans were
designated "citizens" of the African
homelands, but only 6.9 million of these
actually resided in the homelands.
The others live where they can find
work, mainly in the urban areas. The
most extreme esse of labor migration is
the homeland of Basotho Qwaqwa, where
only 24,000 of the 1.3 million "citizens"
actually live in the homeland.
Despite these drastic shortcomings,
the South African government is press
ing ahead with its program of giving
"independence" to the homelands.
It will be a limited form of indepen
dence, however - only partly because
such elements of sovereignty as control
over foreign relations will remain in the
hands of the South African government.
More important is the complete eco
nomic dependence of the homelands. A
large part of the working adult popula
tion will still be forced to commute to
work outside of their o$vn "country." or to
settle temporarily aa sojourners in hos
tels near the white urban areas separated
from their spouses and families.
Even the modest steps towards self
sufficiency taken so far are now being
undermined by the government'sjack ol
funds to consolidate the proposed home
lands by purchasing the pockets of white-
owned lands within their boundaries. Yet
massive infusions of capital are needed
for homeland industries to be created.
Meanwhile the government continues
to weed out and isolate all but essential
Black workers in urban areas.
In Alexandra township, for instance,
another suburb of Johannesburg, which
was extensively redeveloped in 1974 --
new rules were established for living in
the rebuilt housing blocks which excluded
widows, divorcees, unmarried mothers,
Africans from other countries, and per
sons who either were not born in Alexan
dra or had not worked continuously for a
single employer for the past 10 years.
In Soweto itself, the various townships
are being segregated according to ethnic
group, so that the Zulu will live in one
section, the Xhosa in another, and so on.
These stringent regulations are expected
to become the prototype for all African
urban areas in the years to come.
LONGTIME OPPOSITION
In the past, African resistance to
apartheid has been punctuated by such
incidents as the shootings at Sharpeville
in 1960. where 69 Africans were killed by
police while peacefully demonstrating
against the laws requiring them to carry
passes at all times.
Such brutal measures, however, haye
not silenced to opposition. Condemnation
of the government’s homelands policy has
come from such diverse sources as the
Organization of African Unity, the nation
alist Black People’s Convention, the
South African Students Organization, the
Chairman of the Soweto urban council,
the Anglican dean of Johannesburg, and
even the leaders of some of the home
lands themselves.
For these leaders, as for large numbers
of Black South Africans, the homelands
policy is a step backward rather than
forward. They see their identity as Afri
cans - rather than as Zulu, Xhosa, and so
on - as more relevant for today and the
future.
In 1966, 83 per cent of the Soweto's
residents opposed the policy of ethnically
segregated townships, and in a 1974 sur
vey 75 per cent said they regarded
Soweto as their home. These Africans are
not likely to quietly accept the reduction
of their status to that of sojourners.
As the homelands policy continues,
further protests and violence in South
Africa seem likely to accompany it.