4
a. len
Natural gas crisis
We see the world
through Black eyes
Not the whole story
The notion has just seen "Roots", the story of Alex
Holey's family from capture m Africa to "Freedom"
in the post Civil War US. The show, seen by the
largest television audience in the history of the
industry, is being hailed by Blacks and whites a! ike
as a great educational experience.
ft probably was an education — but it is difficult to
believe os we talk to Black and white viewers, that
so little is known about the ravages of slavery. It
certainly is a graphic example of the rewriting of
history to suit the political needs of a nation — wnen
that nation's overriding social, economic and reli
gious problem for halt of its existence is all but
fix gotten.
Even harder to accept is the discussion we hear
omong whites on the rodio tolk shows - reminding
us that Blocks participated in the slave steal ina and
comparing the slavery imposed on Blacks in this
country with slavery the world Over - including the
current working class "wage slaves".
It is true that slavery has existed throughout the
oges, but the slavery practiced by the Arabs and
Africans, and even by the British, French and Spanish
in the New World, did not strip humanity from the
slave. Slaves were still humon beings with a right to
live their lives, to have families, homes, ideas and
souls. Only their labor was owned by the master.
Only m the US was the slave not a human being
but an animal to be bought, sold ond breeded like
cattle — to be denied family, religion or education.
The show "Roots" did touch on some of the
inhumanities with references to slave breeding, to
the rape by the master, to the sale of Kizzie for her
misdeeds. But the horrors of the children on the
auction block, the whip the hard, cruel work of the
field hands was absent. There was some brutality in
response to misbehavior of the slaves, but overall
the Haley family's owners were "good masters".
There was little in the show to demonstrate the
extreme brutality and oppression of the slave system
and its continuing influence on this nation ond its
citizens.
We con assume that Holey's book is factual and
that it accurately traces his family history — an
accomplishment that was previously thought impos
sible. The Holey family was extro-ordinorily fortun
ate in that the family was allowed to remain
together, that they found freedom early and were
able to acquire property and education. Their good
fortune and Haley's tenancity in giving his talents,
time and effort to find his roots cannot erase the fact
that African slaves were brutalized and oppressed to
the degree that few aspects of their culture survive.
The writing of "Roots" can be recorded as a maior
accomplishment; it con be pointed to with the pride
of heritage But it was never intended to erase the
hixrors of slavery.
Keep the money
The State of Oregon has discovered a $160 million
surplus, the result of collecting more income tax than
necessory last year. Now the problem is what to do
with the money - give it back or spend it.
The hue and cry is being raised that the taxpayers
were "overcharged" and the money must be
returned to its rightful owners.
The state is facing a drought; who knows how long
the water shortage will effect the economy? In spite
of predictions of improvements in the employment
picture, many Oregonians will remain out of work
for many months to come.
We were recently informed that services to the
elderly in their own homes would hove to be
discontinued, forcing these people into homes for
the oged - because of no money. Every day we hear
about children and odults who are denied medical
and mental health core — because of no money. We
hear about children sent to Mociaren and Hillcrest
because thre was no money to help them before
their problems became so severe.
Continuously the same answer to all our problems
— no money!
Surely this $160 million would be better spent
trying to meet some of the people's needs rather
than sending a few pennies to each of us.
His peers?
A jury of his peers. This phrase has strange
connotations when we reolize that in Multnomah
County a Block defendant is rarely |udged by a jury
of hts peers. The Multnomah County District Attor
ney's office still routinely bars Black jurors from the
juries hearing cases involving Block defendants.
Arrests of Blocks in Oregon make up 3.5 per cent of
the total, while Blacks ore 18.5 per cent of the
population of Oregon State Penitentiary. There must
be a reason for this discrepancy — white jurors,
incompetent attorneys, overzealous DAs?
Still no justice here.
sad available gas
profitable, at ev
jobo aro threat
Surely.
Cnpfoy News S a o ies
"G o to b o d . ’ tb op eb b e w w a d
the mayor of B to evilb . La. T h a i
turo a * IS below at C lnrjasati. Ohio; 7
Philadelphia. Pa. Schools wore rioaed io
Ohio. Oklahoma sod Florida. Tbs w in ter
of 1*78-77 is a vary cold w inter l a d a s i
Ford. Chrysfor sad American Motors
Hosed plants in Ohio, Michigan and Now
Y o rk «sr lack o f power. U S. Steal Corp,
and Joraa 6 Laughlin Stool Co. wore
Pennsylvania's L t.G o v. Ernot t Kline
reported mass care centers are being set
up in case natural gas supplies run so low
th at rssidsotisl w a rs are cut off. W ithout
a doubt, the eeorgy crisis is w ith us
w eather feels all tbs more h itte r
because it follows th ree or four w inters
n unusually mild. M any of
e th e r to stay mild
never to command
Not so. The new
year has greeted w «rith workers off
w ork, students out of school and lo w of
and expected the
and the energy eri
In Taxes, which produces i
n»
latoa
I'v e heard k
od intricate tony
law yer to
k takoa a
w the mora. 1 dlsigroi». I t te h w an
■ o f w hat you stand to lo w -
o r gain. Only tona do wo make tos offert
«o understood too prohfom.
w-
Ir a a p a
of
«o itself to i
of w w ho are now
natural gas.
by the cold «rill quickly odd
M «O
nd the
■ toan »
reset of toe nation s
aupphoo. th e objection to federal p ric e
setting is very strong. S tate legislation to
being considered which would lim it the
amount of g w shipped out of Texas.
M any Texans are outraged t b i t they
pay toe intrastate pries of $2 par 1,000
cubic foot for natural g w w hile customers
io eth er states p a y s maximum of 62 cents
per 1.000 cubic foot for Texas gas. They
out th a t the state's abundant g w
re being rapidly depleted and
io 10 years w ill bo gone. They predict •
between the
■ (w ithin one state)
•1
. Moot certainly «re «rill question
or not natural g w w w hold off
O ra-
oarket to p
rale,
gr ass to lift th e present pc
This «rill involve
able «reib and shut-in
oust be mads. N ot only must
■ energy but regulation must
«re coni
hnmmt a r t b— tod
bo such
ly and the needs o f industry and business
are met. and at an equitable price.
The issue cannot bo sidestepped much
1 A Í
Florida's citrus crop. U tlih ty
throughout too Eastern sad
states have had to curtail natural g w
D ifferen t form our problems «rith oil.
tbs supply of natural g w is prim arily a
Canada, which currently
U nited States w ith 4 p a ra
supplies, b no longer «rilling to continue
doing so.
O ther importa «rould. of
necessity, ho in liquid form. Liquefied
natural g w b costly, difficult to ship and
dangerous to handle.
Under these
circumstances, the choices available to us
in the toe» of incroaoori demand are
natural g w reserves w ithin the United
States a r conversion to other fueb.
generally oil.
The icy rivera which have caused ail
barges to be stranded short of th eir
destinations, do not affect natural g w .
Fortunately, natural g w is distributed by
a pipeline system largely unaffected by
adverse «reatber conditions. In addition,
natural g w b regulated by the Federal
USE
Scmler Easy
C R O IT
TO OBTAIN
NEW MODERN
GLASSES
P ro m p t S ervice
4'
«« ti a im
E y e E x o m i n o tio n
NO APPOIN1U1NT Ml fOfD
■■A— 4 hi.w.i. I— O to«*
?S-DN> FREE T r f !
r a t it » * FHf Parking
Camp Fire
»LU U T
(Continued from p .l eolJ)
hey arnx
THKT
Y our
Y ou
know who
V /A S 'WHO GtOT OUT OF
c kb j u s t
now ?
YEAH 5 ID .1 I T W A S lM f|
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE
OF C A U F O R N lA l B U T
D O N ’T
a i G O T H IS F A R E
IN
A D V A N C E 1.
W O R R Y -
w
■ Continued from page 1 col. ft)
as he walked toward the interviewing
room he was attacked by McDade and
after he was farced to the Boor McDade
held the balloon of heroin in front of his
face. Another officer said to him. "We
knew we would find a way to get you.
You can fool the social workers but not
vae **
In hts opening statement Wilsons
attorney, Des Connell, pointed out that
anyone entering the jail ia liable to be
searched at any time and that Wilson s
iam iharity with the police system and the
drug trafic would have prevented his
taking such a risk.
■ Continued from page 1 col. 2)
other job seekers. Over half the employ
ers said they would give preference to
college trained applicants and that they
would hire them for jobs previously held
by workers w ith less education.
Bill Stevenson, Commissioner of Labor,
cautioned against assuming th a t a college
degree would ensure employment. "Pe
ople w ith vnratkmsl and technical train
ing will continue to find employment
sppnrtsaitiss. O sr study
thai
work attitude and motivation was eon-
«■derod the most important job qualifies
tfon by employers of derical. sale
skilled and unskilled workers."
He noted that one third at the ■
era thought that college
were more highly motivated.
«rho hire eraftsmen listed technical akilb
and then motivation w the moot im port
ant qualifications. Employers «rho hire
professioiMb and technicians eked «rock
motivation as the th ird moat important
q u a lific a tiw u , fwuwH’io g p f u in a iw u a l/'
technical competence and the ability to
communicate
Peyton Award
(Continued from page 1 col.
6)
a Prince Hall Mason a m ember of Phi
Bela Sigma fra tern ity He is a former
board member of the North Branch
Y M C A and the Albina M inisterial A l
liance
Awards include those from the U . 8.
Naval Recruting Command (district and
national). Albina Women’s League, Al-
Persons wishing to contribute time or
money to the Babe Wilson Defense Fund
can call 283-2487.
OPTOMETRISTS
• mm * w a c w E c a e ro rA i.e m ra
e m rn
IM
sise
S
S.W . 3 rd A MOftBISOM
T to .
Dr. Larry SEM LEB-D r. M. KELLY
Dr. ft. HULL - Dr. J. BEftftY
: Dr. N. Eug. Dr. H. W ebb,
Dr.ft.1
Fire.
Job outlook
Babe Wilson
Namanu.
W e filled a bus full «rith kids, some of
whom had never had a chance to explore
the woods. I t was groat fun. but we
couldn't have done it «rithout the help at
many parents and several community
groups."
“There a re a le t of g irb «rho «rant to
belong to Camp F ire , but before they can
join , more adults are needed to help. W e
need people «rho want to see th eir
children grow . . . and grow «roll. in Camp
bina L ira's Club. Black Cultural Affairs
Board of PSU, Portland Metropolitan
Steering Committee. H e w w A lum ni o f
the Year. 1*74. of Paul Quinn College.
Henderson is currently pastor at St
Paul African Methodist Church in Berk
eiey, California.
He is the father of tw o daughters,
Cheri and Roeyln
P art of the reason Camp F ire has been
g rav in g in our community is the rapport
it has received from institutional spon
sots , like the P irtfo o d Observer and
several private individuab. who help pay
fo r the membership dues of those g irb
«rho can't afford them.
"M any resources arc available to the
girL«
ex p la in ed Ms W hite The girls
selling candy can earn eampshipo (paid
fora) to our camps, as well as earning
money for th e ir own group. There are
also many other sources to help a g irl go
t o su m m er camp. A lack of money should
r a t keep a g irl from joining Camp F ire.
" I really w ant to talk w ith people about
Camp F ire.
I f an adult wants to
volunteer to help these kids; it a parent
or a g irl just «rants to find out more about
Gamp F ire , they should cad me at
224-7800.
"M eanwhile." urges Ms. W hite, "when
a Camp F ire g irl comes to your door, buy
a box of candy. I t ready tastes good . . .
and it's helping a lot of kids."
Notice
Sportsman L ittle League «rid begin its
fund drive selling dinners Saturday from
noon until . . . The dinners, including
Gumbo for 12.50, «rid be available at
Imm aculate H e art Church on W illiams
aad Stanton.
Ortstaidiig for 1976
Cal Ta
OWstaadtog sales asseriate
■ for the
To get outstanding service in selling your home, or in buying a
differen t one, coll Cal or Bob. They do they jobl
Still serving the community
AS THE HOME FOLKS FOR
f. 6. Stassens, Inc. Realtors
Hollywood Office 288-887F
1st Place
Portland O bserver
ammarai y Service
ONPA 1*73
$2.50 of your new subscription to
The Portland Observer will go to the
Published ev eiy Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201
North Kiliingsworth, Portland. Oregon *7217 M ailing address:
P .0 . Box 8137, Portland. Oregon *7208. Telephone 283 2486
Subscriptions: $7.50 per year in the T n C o u n ty area. $8.00 per
year outside Portland.
ALFREDL HENDERSON
The Portland Ohoervers official position b expressed only in
its Publisher s coiumn (W e See The World Through Black Eyes).
Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the
individual «vriter or submitter and does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the Portia»
Herrick Edbsrfol Award
NNA 1*73
Oregon Black History Project
Tri-County
$7.50 other oreos $8.00
M l
Mail »o;
Por’lond Observer
P O Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
York
memm
Oregon
I
Newspaper
Publisher»
Association
AJPRLR/VMI
N
e I
I p A
p ER
C ity