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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1977)
W? see the world *1 kr Copier News Service through Black eyes h ’s ep to Bell Go to the people The Portland School Boord has d eo d ed to hold another election >n May to pass a three year jtmg levy. This levy is designed only to continue the current progrom and to allow for inflation. A four year levy was defeated on Jonuary 11th. There was much mixed feeling and confusion expressed by school board members and some bitterness over the narrow defeat of the levy, but there was little analysis of w hat octually went wrong. Some observers have biomed the low voter turnout due to icy weathe* and others have blamed high taxes and lock of interest. Schoo Boord member W olly Priestley presented statistics that demonstrated a decline m voter support aside from the low turnout, that there was a lower percentage of favorable votes in those districts that usually support school measures. Priestley suooested a series of public heorings be held throughout the district to ask the people for their thoughts and ideas on the education system In listening to the people there does seem to be c great d e a 1 of misunderstanding obout the school district's progrom - the old question obou* which subjects ore essential and which are "frills*'. There are parents who feel the»r children are not -ece . ng on oaequate education and rumors of orge numbers of students groduatmg in spite of not being able to read and write. Some of mese people soy openly that they w ill not support me schools until they can see where their money is going Public education is in trouble ocross the state and across the nation If the public schools are to receive the fin an cial support that they n eed to provide sound educational programs they are going to have to get their message to the people. It is true that there are school advisory committees and area odvisory commmees but many members of the public either do not know when these meetings or he'd or believe that they are controlled by a few octive members or by the district. It is a problem to get public input; all agencies find it difficult Sometimes meetings are held and no one attends. But we believe a series of highly publicized meetings held throughout the community would bring an understanding of the district's problems to the public and would help solicit the good w ill and support of the voters The Senate has confirmed the appointm ent of Gnffm B Bed to become Attorney G eneral and he has joined the Garter cabinet. This appointment was the most controversial of President Carter's appointments and met the most opposition m the Senate - because of Bell's mediocre record on Civil Rights. After six days of hearings and mony angry exchanges there still is confusion over Belt's past role in the civil rights Struggle Senator Edward Brooke (R ep-M oss ) soid there ore "g reat gaps" m the record and he unsuccessfully attempted to refer the nomination bock to commit tee Senator Edward Kennedy (Dem.-Mass.) said Bell did not "exercise leadership m the developm ent of Civil rights low of a tim e o f critical and rapid change." Bell has been sworn in as Attorney G eneral President Carter nomed him as the best qualified person he could find for that position. W hatever his past foilures, it is now the responsibility of the Attorney G eneral to use his office to vigorously persue equal rights and opportunities for all people He w ill be watched carefully and if he fails, it w ill be the President's prestige that suffers. Watch South Africa Prime Minister Ion Smith has pulled out of the G eneva Conference discussing the future of Zim bw abw e, refusing to discuss terms for handing over control of his government to the Africans. This was to be expected. Most Africans and mony British did not believe that Smith would give up his government and peacefully bring about majority rule — Black rule. W e predicted when the talks began that Smith would use this period of negotiation to build up his own military strength to prepare for the war that will surely come. It is still possible to salvoge the G eneva Confer ence, to force Smith bock to the negotiating table, but this con only be accomplished by South Africa ond the United States. The U.S. must put pressure on South Arico to intercede with Smith. If guerrilla w arfare becomes necessary to free Zim bw abw e, as the Africans have assumed it w ill, it wiM spread to South Africa. The South African* government has the most to lose since it w ill soon be the only w hite controlled nation on the continent and cannot stand alone for long. The US multinational corporations have too much at stake in South Africa to stand by and watch its destruction. W e con predict intensified guerrilla warfare in Z am bw abw e ond on increased political intervention by South Africa. rial candidate Wilson F erreira , whose family was driven out of ha country by death threats and other harassment A third is Olga Talam ante. a young l l £ . atizen who was tortured and held a poiitieai prisoner in Argentina far 1« mouths during that country's rightw ard slide into a m ilitary coup “O ur feeling." Talam ante say*, “is that as the facts come out on Argentina. South Korea and other regimes, people sriD mare and more resist the nee of th eir tax money to support them." Meanwhile, in expectation of the com mg showdown, many of the governments m question have already moved to under t th eir critics and mobilize U.S. public in th eir favor. Chile released 300 political prisoners in a well -pubbazed move prior to Christ mas. O ther governments such as Argen tins, Bolivia and Uruguay quickly an nouneed they would follow suit. And shortly after that A rgentina’s Gen. Jorge Videla told a specially invited group of American journalists in Buenos Aire* that continued U .S. aid ws to (Continued from p .l eaL6) situation in a number of countries that receive U S . aid. The human rights pressure groups supporting th eir efforts in Washington and through extensive national le tte r w riting campaigns include Am nesty In i number of Protestant and working groups and a network of farm er anti-w ar groups called the Coaliuon fa r a N ew Foreign and M ilitary Policy. Perhaps the most decisive component of the human rig b u lobby, however, consists of liter political prisoners and direct experience with i in Latin Am erica makes them compelling witnesses to the policies of U n b a c k e d regimes. Among the most active is Isabel L eteh er. widow of form er Chilean ambas sador to the U A Orlando Leteher, whose death in a bomb exponon last fall in Washington was attributed by some to the Chilean secret police. Another is Juan Ferreira, son of form er Uruguayan senator and presiden fight leftist subv« •Continued from p .l eoi.81 banks, and the credit line was not renewed. The current resolutsons are the first m ajor effort by churches since th at time to stop loans to South Africa. The Morgan Guaranty resolution was filed by the Episcopal Church, which owns 15.000 shares of stock. Joining in the Manufacturers Hanover T ru st resotu- txm were the Episcopal Church (11.300 shares), Umoa Theological Seminary (7.000) and agencies of the United Church of Christ • 108.884). The Adrian Dominican Sisters and the Dominican Fathers. Province of St. A lbert the G rea t, filed the Continental Illinois and F irs t Chicago Corporation resolutions. The Adrian Sister* own 400 shares of Continental Illinois and 3.000 shares of F irst Chicago stock. The Dominican F a th e r* own 10 share* of Filing the Citicorp resolution were: Eastern Province of Semites (4,300 shares). Franciscan Friars of the Atone ment 13.400). General Assembly Mission Board of The Presbyterian Church in the U S . (4,000). The G rail («00). Loretto Portland O b server Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company. 2201 North Killingsworth. Portland. Oregon 97217. M ailing address: P .0 . Box 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208. Telephone 283 2488. Subscription*: 5 7 50 per year in the Tri-County area. «8.00 per year outside Portland. S e c ssd Class Paid st Portland. Oregon The Por t land 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 1* the opinion of the individual w rite r or subm itter and doe* not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer Advertising Representative New York ■ OIMSIt- I Oregon Newspaper ' Publishers BiflE 1 Association 111 in 1 could hardly resist calling the net work to comment on the tremendous gap ui the explanation presented. Though the program was introspective and thorough, in its thoroughness the gaps w ere evident M y lasting impression of D etro it was that if th ere is urban violence, it is Black. This is d m o rb in g and particulariy frus trattng because of tw o overriding tartars that were omitted. First, today in urban America, high crime ra te * accompany poverty. Cities with high crim e rates consistently share one characteristic w ith D etro it: high unemployment In March 197«. D etroit had an unemployment rate of 11.4 per- urban Am erica, the ra te is well SO When our nders like their driver the word gets around. We think that's part of the rea son there has been a steady increase m rider ship on Gan. Menden hall's "42 Southvuood Park line. Gary ts no I "old timer" but in his four years as a driver. | he has seen vast im I provem entson his favonte line When I first drove this route.' he says, "one bus provided hourly service Lots of days we'd lose a whole trip! People really appreciate the 25 trips they now. get every weekday'' Violence in Am erica is concluded w ith a portrait of a teen-ager called Benji, a »Puerto Rican who looked like a but who displayed vicious and cold emocionleas anger. H e is p art of the cuh of voilence in the gang world. His : desire is to stay high on drugs, the part drugs play in v ie 1 was not emphasized. I f we really to. we could put a stop to drug traffic. I f we are willing to enforce strong treaties w ith our neighboring countries and if our neighbors to the south had Better service fo r more people. ”A & the book behind the great tv event on ABC Jan. 23-30 tor the development and production of heroin and opium, it could be done. The final p a rt of the program, for anyone who stayed up th a t fang, wan the i by a group o f panelists. I ’ I from some i to the one exp ert. Eh. statement ed. I f we allow our children to grow up on a steady diet of violence through tele vision, they get an attitude that violence is natural and acceptable. M aybe the program “Violence in A m er ica“ is the first step to stop the glorifies tion of violence in our entertainm ent. Maybe we will be able to turn on our TV one night and find that every program is no longer the chronology of the life and times of the criminals among us. Meet Tri-Met*s Driver-of-the-Month. D aily, television portrays the “good hfe“ to which most Black youth can hardly aspire. F o r them , legitim ate jobs are few and far between. Id compounded by frustration and often lends to violence. Second, the reality of drugs and vio lence in America. D e tro it is the drug capital of this nation. But D etro it is not slone Recently it was reported that in Loa Angeles 40 percent of the income producing crimes are drug related. There are between 110.000 and 120.000 persons addicted te heroin in California. They require 15 tons of heroin a year. I t is paid for. dearly, by all of us. It adds up to one California resident in 40 who is a of a drug related. The dramatic. But. uhim tely, the underlying theme throughout the program must be accept made that as industrialized they Nothing could be No' Indian Proverb Church investments Human Rights ALFRED L HENDERSON Editor/) BOW Ou Thursday, January «, I sat at my leiev iston and watched “VI with 55 further from the tru th W e have watched as vast as China industrialise up crime free. China had I upon opium as an important part of Mr economy, but it was able to eliminate narcotic traffic. I don't recommend shooting land owners who grow opium, as the Chinese did. But there are other w ay*. W hat I'm saying is that we can stop violence W ith effective program * to put to work those 40 te SO percent of urban teen agers combined w ith a commitment to elim inate drugs, the results would be L ite ra ry and Benevolent Institution of Kentucky (2.872). the L utheran Church in America <4.5001. the Premonstratensian Fathers <7001. Sister* of C harity of St. Vincent de Paul of N ew York (2.400). United Methodist W orld Division of the Board of Global M inistries <37,5481. and the United Presbyterian Church in the TOO L A T E T O C L A S S IF Y The Albina Action Center will accept application* for Neighborhood Developer I. Neighborhood Developer U. and Adnunst Aast. under the C E T A I I program, be ginning Monday Apply at 7th and Knott St. The Albina Women's League will accept applications for C E T A I I postition* begin rung Monoay. Apply at A l bina Action Center. N E 7th and Knott. N e IT p Æ p ER □ BAMUMCmCAND □ MASTEMCMÄM« Q AMCMCAM t m e S S books 1st Pisce Cssssassuty Service O N P A 1973 $2.50 of your bow subscription to The Portland Observer will go to the 1st Pisce Ad Result* O N P A 1973 5th Place lert Editorial N N P A 1973 H errick Editorisi Aw ard N N A 1973 2nd Place Best Editorisi 3rd Place unity Lead. O N P A (975 Oregon Black History Project Tri-County area $7.50 other areas $8.00 Name MEMBCR 1 The book of the year . ..A le x Haley’s compelling history of seven generations of a black family, starting with Kunta Kinta, abducted at 16 from Africa. In creating this monumental two- century drama, Alex Haley has done more than recapture the history of his own family. He has told the story of 25 million Americans ot African descent . . and created a classic for people of all races. 1 ? U.S.A. <55X00). Address C ity M ail to: Por'lond O btervqr P O Box 3137 Portland, O regon 97208
