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Portland Observer
'
rsday. August M U . 197«
11
Amnesty needed new
Jimmy Carter's pledge to give pardon to draft
evoders has upset the American Legion Convention
in Seattle where he spoke Monday, and undoubtedly
upsets others as well.
The fate of those who chose not to serve in the
Vietnam war because of conscience still has not
been decided. Many thousands of men are still
abroad, unwilling to come home to face imprison­
ment or substitute service and unwilling to admit
guilt. Out of our 113,000 draft evoders and deserters,
only 21,729 were willing to apply for President Ford's
brand of pardon, which required on admission of
breaking the law.
Jimmy Carter offer* pardon, not amnesty. He
explains that amnesty implies the action was right,
where pardon makes no judgement. We have al­
ways advocated amnesty - in fact we have advocat­
ed honor for those who were willing to stand for
what they believed to be right even though it meant
leaving their country — and their families and friends
— or going to jail.
We believe these men deserve more than pardon
or amnesty - they deserve the same financial bene­
fits as those who did chose to serve. Now that the
nation has recognized its error, these men should
deserve the same educational and financial benefits
as those who participated in the war. Those who
served time in jail or in public service should be
compensated financially for time spent.
by Vyeeee BraU w sM e Berks
Copley News Service
through Black eyes
It is reported that 4.6 million persons in
California are eligible to vote but are not
registered. How many times have we
talked to neighbors and friends who are
frustrated and angry when they can't
vote because they are not registered?
In every presidential election the per­
centage of voting-age population that
does not vote grows larger. The magni­
tude of the number of nonvoters is dra­
matically illustrated by a report from the
National Municipal League. I t said that
for every vote separating the two major
candidates in the 1968 presdiential elec­
tion. there were 108 people who did not
vote.
Congress presently is pressing for
postcard voter registration, a process
which would break down many tradition
al barriers. Ideally, postcards would be
mailed to every American household. Re­
gistration by mail w ill be a milestone of
greater significance than many of us are
aware.
A t present, the practice of personal
registration is considered a major cause
of our dismal voting records. In almost all
states a citizen must appear in person
sometime before election day and declare
his or her eligibility to vote. This personal
act combined w ith historic registration
roadblocks has worked to deny the vote
to millions of Americans.
J
The fundamental issue is not, as many would
make us believe, whether a citizen has the right to
decide in which wars he will fight. The issue is
whether the citizen has the right to disobey an unjust
and illegal command. Throughout our history we
have determined that he has. If individual citizens
had not been willing to break unjust laws, we would
have slavery today.
The Vie’nam war was an illegal and immoral war.
We can no longer permit the young men who
understood this before their leaders did to suffer.
Whether it is amnesty or pardon, it must come
quickly.
¿■other Potat of View
DRAMATIC CONVENTION
From The Afro-American
That was no ordinary convention the Democrats
held in the Big Apple to formally award Jimmy
Carter the presidential nomination he had won and
to provide him his chosen running mate. Senator
Walter Mondale.
Despite all you hear about its dullness, this was
one of the more dramatic and significant national
political conventions in history.
With a unity mood prevailing, the South peaceful­
ly come bock into the Union in spirit as well as
legally and that region's first modern-day candidate
for the presidency is vowing to bring Blacks and
other minorities into the mainstream.
This time it does not seem to be just more of the
same rhetoric.
Jimmy Carter displays glints of steel when he
flashes his vote-getting smile, and there is real
commitment in his voice when he vows to do some­
thing then adds, "You can depend on it."
Better still, Jimmy Carter is showing already that
he has a commitment by having Blacks like Repre­
sentative Andrew Young in his braintrust. Other
Blacks are playing key roles in the campaign.
The Black Caucus of Democrats looked Jimmy
Carter in the eye during the Democratic convention
and told him they were not giving him their support
for nothing, in other words, not for peanuts.
In a way, we expect they wanted to see close-Op
how this southern presidential nominee would react
when independent-minded Black* called his heod.~
By and large, they were satisfied.
Those who were not completely satisfied found
Carter so much a better alternative to either Presi­
dent Ford or Ronald Reagan that they are ready to
work to see that neither of these Republicans are in
the White House after January.
To be sure, the Republicans are going to test the
Carter theory and that of the Democratic leadership
which conclude* that America is ready to reconcile
differences built around race and region.
Both Ford and Reagan are capable of playing the
racial game in the upcoming campaign - and will.
,
Carter-Mondale'* big election campaign task is to
hold together the elements supporting their progres­
sive views and to see that their people get to the
poll* in November.
Subeeriptions: 37.60 per year in the Tri-County area, 38.00 per
year outside Portland.
The Portland Observer's official position is expressed only in
its Publisher's column (W e See The W orld Through Black Eyes).
Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the
individual w rite r or subm itter and does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the Portland O bserver.
Oregon
I
Newspaper
H errick Editerfcl Award
N N A 1973
Beet Editorial
fed Place
MEMBER
H A U NAL
N E w fp flP E n
Publishers
Association
Tri-County urea
$7.50
other areas
$8.00
Years ago Ralph Ellison w rote a novel.
The Invisible Man”, thst remains one of
the classics of American literature. His
hero, a Black man. was "invisible” in the
sense that the larger society totally ig
nores Black people, doesn't see them as
human beings, doesn't care about their
problems, and doesn't acknowledge their
existence.
Blacks became “visible" in the sixties
but the policy of "benign neglect" herald
ed a new era of invisibility, one that
continues today. But today's invisible
Black is young - hundreds of thousands of
Black young people simply don't exist in
the official statistics.
About a quarter of Black youth be­
tween ages of 18 and 21 are out of school
and out of work. They're not in the educa
tiooal statistics since they are no longer
in school. T hey're not counted in the
employm ent-statistics since they're not
working. And the government doeen't
even count them among the unemployed
since many have just given up looking for
jobs that aren't there.
Back in 1960, tw o out of three Black
teenage men w ere in the labor force:
today only about tw o out of five are
working or looking for work. The rest
have been pushed into invisibility.
Except that they aren't really invisible;
they're on the streets, facing an aimless
Address
City
Moil to:
Portland Observer
P.O. Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97206
However, in California postcard regia
tralion became law on July 1st. Potential
voter* may register by mail for the
November general election. Unfortunate
ly, postcard* will not be sent to each
household.
Bvt they will be available to individual
citizens' group«, political parties, candi
date* and organisations.
W hat happens in Los Angeles County
will be a test of national significance. In
Los Angeles alone, there are 1.76 million
eligible voters who are not registered.
The county registrar has printed 2.26
million postcard registration forms. The
question now to how to get the job done.
For those of us in public life, it will be a
test of how well we can make the system
work. The unregistered voter* are those
hardest to reach. T W y must be contacted
and assured of the value and validity of
filling out and returning the postcard.
Since the deadline to register for the
November election to October 4th, the
month of September is the critical time.
The possibility still exists that this
year the Laditional registration road
blocks nationwide will give way, at k ast
for federal elections. New problems of
reaching voters, of fraud and of coordin­
ating federal registration w ith state
registration are ones w ith which most of
us will willingly work.
To eliminate that election day lament
of those who wanted to vote, but had not
been able to >egtoter. will strenthen our
government, something we all strive to
do.
present and a grim m er future. No jobs,
no training, no skills, no work experience
all add up to prospects for lifetimes of
dependence and poverty.
Even those who haven't yet been total­
ly pushed out of our schools and our
economy are in bad trouble. The govern
ment adm it* to a 40 per cent unemploy
ment ra te among Black teenagers, and
the tru e rate to about 67 per cent.
Among Black young people between
the ages of 20 and 24, one out of three are
jobless according to the understated off!
rial figures. And a third of young Black
Vietnam veterans, men who laid their
live* on the line in a w ar no one wanted,
can't find work.
This awful situation can't be laid to the
recession. A ll the other economic statis­
tics seem to be improving, but youth
unemployment to rising. And it's been
rising steadily - for Blacks and for w hite*
- over the pest tw en ty years or so.
This to an insane situation. Our country
to simply throwing m ilhoM of its y o r t *
people onto a rubbish heap, denying them
the training and the job* that would not
only equip them for productive futures,
but also ensure the full use of America's
human resource*.
I t to clear that the situation demand*
speedy and effective action to r e t our
young people back onto the track that
w ill lead to responsible adulthood, and it's
also d e a r that this national problem de­
mands national solutions in the form of a
National Youth Employment Program.
Such a program would start oft by
establiahing the rig ht of all young people
to the education and job-training experi­
ences to equip them for productive work.
Since most current proposals for full
employment don't include young people,
there ought to be a Youth Employment
Agency in Washington to deal w ith youth
job probients and to provide opportuni­
ties for young people.
The prune opportunity ought to come
in the form of a massive federal youth job
program thst create* public service job*
- full tim e and part time - for young
people. Back in the 1930'* the Civilian
Conservation Corps put youngsters to
work on our forests and streams. In the
70s, an Urban Conservation Corp* could
revive urban housing, parks and public
service* while providing young people
w ith training, skills and work experience.
The privi.te sector should also be en­
couraged to do more about creating part-
time work opportunities in school-work
program *, and in getting rid of the excee-
a*ve credentials that bar youngster* from
joce they used to get year* ago. Federal
subsidies could encourage greater youth
hiring, ¿co.
And law executive order* and court
case* are needed to stop job discrimina
tion based on age.
America can't just w rite off a whole
generation; it can't stumble into its third
century a t w ar w ith its own future.
Democratic Party platform
Platform .
In higher education, the Platform again
follows the thrust of the CBD agenda,
particularly w ith respect to financial
assistance for student* from low and
moderate income families. The Platform
give* direct support for continued sup­
port for predominantly Black colleges.
equal opportunity
In a Civil and Political R ig ht* plank
w ithin the Government and Human
Need* section, and in other sections
throughout the Platform , strong support
to given for equal opportunity and a ffir­
mative action for all American» This
includes the specific area* of equal job
opportunity, equal education opportun­
ity, voting rights, and equal housing °p
portunity. The Civil Rights Plank calls
not only for equal opportunity, regardless
of race, color, sex, religion, age. language
or national origin, but also for vigorous
federal programs and policies of compen­
satory opportunity to remedy the gener­
ations of injustice and deprivation. The
Platform also call* for full funding of
programs to secure the implementation
and enforcement of civil rights.
In addition, the democratic Platform
call* for the declaration of the birthday of
D r. M artin L uther K ing, J r. aa a national
holiday.
Name
mote registration locations, short and in­
convenient office hours, understaffing
and long registration lines, complex re­
gistration forma, uncooperative election
officials, restrictive residency require­
ments and deadlines far removed from
elections.
Those who are excluded from voting by
these restrictions are most often the
young, the urban poor, Blacks, American
Indian* and Mexican-Americana. I f the
democratic system to to function effec­
tively, we must find a way that everyone
eligible can register easily and simply.
In Canada reports show that 98 per
cent of all eligible voters are actually
registered. In Canada "enumerators" go
to each household in each election district
in urban areas to register voter*. Can­
vassing takes place over a six-day period
before each parliam entary election.
In contrast, registration in the United
States, with our personal registration
system, was 66 per cent in 1972.
The prospects of passing federal post­
card registration this year are slim. The
provision for mailing the postcards to
every household was eliminated before
the bill passed the House. I t to expected
to be vetoed by President Ford after
being passed by the Senate late in
August.
I f strength in Congress can be muster­
ed to override the presidential veto, post­
cards w ill have to reach potential voters
in tim e for them to be returned by Octo­
ber 4th, a month before the presidential
election.
To B e E qual
the C BD about civil rig h t* enforcement
w ith respect to hiring and promotion in
school system* to also expressed in the
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M fM lf
Traditional deterrents have been re-
(Continued from p. 1 cot 6)
The Platform doe* call for enforcing
the tow and the Constitution so a* to
bring about school desegregation and re­
cognize* the need for pupil transportation
a* “ a judicial tool of last resort," and it
encourage* a variety of o th e r measure*
for school desegregation such aa strong
fair bousing enforcement. The concern of
Portland Observer
ALFRED L. HENDERSON
Postcard Registration
?e see the world
Ford bod influence
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights hit President
Ford for his attempt to restrict court-ordered busing.
"Such efforts undermine the desegregation pro­
cess and jeopardize the rights of minority students.
Furthermore, these attempts contribute to the posi­
tion of some individuals that desegregation can be
avoided," the report states.
, The commission, which is headed by Arthur S.
Flemming, former Secretary of Health, Education and
Welfare and President of the University of Oregon,
found that support of local school officials and other
local leaders strongly influences the outcome of
desegregation programs. "The public generally fol­
lows the lead of officials who are responsible for
school desegregation" and national leaders set the
tone for local leaders.
It is obvious that President Ford, with his long term
attempts to avoid desegregation through constitu­
tional amendment or through interference with the
courts, has not provided that leadership. His blatant
defense of segregation has lent inspiration to those
who attempt to avoid the law.
Although the President has made some belated
attempts to talk to Black educators and businessmen,
this has the aura of politics rather than genuine
interest. We have yet to see the results of a real
concern for Black citizens.
.." S
INCOME SECURITY - FOOD STAMPS
- TAX REFORM
The Democratic P arty Platform calls
for fundamental welfare reform, a* does
the CBD. The Platform adopts several
basic points in the Charlotte document
including an income floor and federal
financing, but it hedge* on the federal
role by speaking of a system of income
maintenance “substantially" financed by
the federal government, and a "phased
reduction in the states' share of welfare
coats." The detailed plan offered by the
CBD to combine the tax system and the
w elfare system under a Credit Income
Tax to not in the Platform . The Platform
contains a provision saying that "those
persons who are physically able to work
should be required to accept appropriate
available jobs or job training." This pro­
vision excludes m other* w ith dependent
children and require* that appropriate
available jobs or training opportunities
"be provided" for such persons.
The Platform mentions the Food
Stam p Program several tim e*, but does
not discuss it in the detail of the CBD
agenda. How ever, w ith respect to tax
reform , the Platform take* an equally
vigorous and more detailed position in
favor of tax reform than the Charlotte
document.
FOREIGN POLICY
The major recommendation* of the
Caucus of Black Democrats with respect
to foreign policy concerned Africa. The
P a rty Platform expressed the CBD’*
prim ary concern* on Africa. These in­
clude a recognition th a t the U .8 . has been
indifferent to the needs of Black Africa
while coqperating w ith racist regimes,
th a t we must formulate a rational African
policy based on mutual interests rather
than on U .8.-8o vlet power politics, thst
■v* must concretely support m ajority rule
in southern Africa and increase bilateral
and m ulti-lateral assistance. The Plat­
form specifically calls tor an end to the
relaxation of the arms embargo against
South Africa, prohibit granting U .8 . tax
credits for companies doing business in
Nam ibia and paying taxes to South A fri­
ca, and calls for repeal of the Byrd
Am endm ent which permits importation
of Rhodesian chrome to the U.S.
MINORITY BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
The Caucus of Black Democrat*
spelled out fourteen detailed proposals
w ith respect to m inority business enter­
prise. The Democratic Platform ha* a
short section on small businesses general
ly, w ith a specific reference to the need*
of m inority business: “e ffo rt* should be
made to strengthen m inority business
programs, and Increase minority oppor­
tunities for business ownership." The
general principle* with respect to small
business parallels some of the CBD posi­
tions w ith respect to m inority businesses,
including making efforts to assure the
availability of loans and direct govern
ment loans. I t does not speak to such
matters a* a moratorium on loan repay
m ent* by the federal government, set-
asides and creation of a M inority Busi­
ness Investm ent Corporation nr support
for the M inority Enterprise A ct of 1978.
RURAL AND SMALL TOWN
DEVELOPMENT
The Party Platform expresses the
basic concern* of CBD such as rural hous­
ing. w ater and sewer facilities, better
program administration and full funding
of the Rural Development Act. T here to
concern expressed about the loss of fam­
ily farms generally, but not about Black
land loss specifically. T here to no parallel
to the CBD call for establishment of a
cabinet-level ru ral a ffa ir* agency.
ENERGY
The
Istform contains strong posi­
tions w ith respect to energy policy, which
are similar to m ,n y CBD issue*. I t calls
for a rate structure reform without speci­
fically asking for "lifeline rates" or "ener­
gy stamps". I t make* energy conserve
tion a prim ary goal of energy policy, and
calls for programs to provide energy-sav­
ing materials for existing housing. The
Platform calls for an examination of u tili­
ties' advertising costs, a* does the CBD,
and for transferring such costs to influ­
ence public policy to stockholders rather
than to consumer*. T here is no position in
favor of a publicly-owned gas and oil
company.
The P a rty Platform goes beyond the
CBD issue endorsing horizontal divesti­
ture (prohibition of ownership of compet­
ing form * of energy) in the energy field,
and in asking for an examination of and
action on vertical ownership in the oil
Industry.
The energy section to deficient in not
speaking directly of the need for protect­
ing lower-income persons against the in
crease in energy coats and in not speak­
ing directly to the need for democratic
control of and Black involvement in ener­
gy development.