Portland observer., March 03, 1977, Page 2, Image 2

a, v u
We see the world
through Black eyes
Rhodesian chromo
ky Yuanas MmokwaMs t a r t e
«fleet ia 1971 with the cry that it
tW U .S .
of our
Actually, the
|y. to the
af i
Reread?, the saw
School district fails to gain trust
The Northwest M inority Contractors Assooanoc
charge that the Portland Pobt<c Schools hove been
less than honest te» dealing with them over a shore m
the schoo* district’s building contracts. This «s another
exam p le of why the public «s having a hard time
sup p orting the school district
W e must assume that Dr. Bionchard and the school
board members, some of whom used equal oppor­
tunity as co a campaign issue, are sincere in their
desire to do business with minority enterprise. W e
agree with the section m one of their proposal drafts
that the exlusion of minorrt.es is "cootrary to sound
public policy for the expenditure of public funds and
m aterially interferes with the attainm ent of its
educat.ono! goals penom m g to the equality and
dignity of all individuals.'*
It is possible that the district believes there ore
senous legal questions. Perhaps they ore seeking
outside assistance M aybe they will come up with a
solution soon
The reol problem is the lock of communication and
honesty. Why wasn't the Northwest Minority Con­
tractors Association informed of the problem? Why
w ere they toid everything was procedmg favorably?
Why not a bit of honest ond openess?
Are the contractors *o believe that the district is
sincere? Or is it the old »toll - kind wards but no
contract until fin ally the |ob is finished ond minorities
are still waiting.
This is only too fypicol of the district's relationship
with the public. It seems to be one of secrecy ond
suspicion. This is why the voters are upset and ore
not too excited about giving the district more money.
They con't seem to get answers
After the bond issue was d efeated in Jonuary,
School Board m em ber W ally Priestley suggested a
senes of public meetings to try to explore the
concerns of the voters — why did they turn dow n the
levy? The School Board detected the idea, of course,
but now they have decided to hold public meetings
to discuss their new budget ond the new levy
election.
W e con only hope that these meetings w ill be a
sincere effort to oddress the public concerns, that
they w ill be open — a true effort to communicate.
When the people punish Dr. Bionchord and the
School Board, the children suffer.
-urn aare to aa avaraga
ta f « w imports atara 1972.
the
i it aa a signal
t Juam y C a rte r wiB sopport
i to t apple the w kito -n u aerity.
of Prune M inister laa
M
riaa al the tree'
c i the Byrd
T h ai
i to I
the Saviot Untoa het to open the market
i torasta ia Rhodesia at tke
of smrite
for the success
repeal a f thia tew ia the support of
> or ia the manufacture
a f speciality steal products. These firm s
aow r e a l » that the m inority «over»
m eet w ill soon fa ll They know th at they
eaten chrome only by a switch of U.S.
p to y to the side of the soon-to-be-
estabbsbed majority rate.
Even though it violated
tew. the Byrd
(root fo r,
ad only in profits and
Both are found in Rhodesia.
The story comm ia hits sad pisrss
Moat of the American investments ia
Rhodsma are ia chroma ora mis so owned
by Union Carbide and Foote Minerals
However, after the passage of the Byrd
Amendment. the chromite exports to the
Unitod States reached only one-sixth of
the levels of the mid-1960‘s.
i to deal w ith the drought crian
and finally laid th e controversy ovar the
A m endm ent to rest
revevue sharing
Both houses are considering bills
which deal with th e financial problems of
our rittea HB 2197 sailed through the
House Interg overnm en tal Affairs com
m ittse with a m inim um of discusemn. The
bin is now in the Jo in t W ays and Means
H B 2197 provides far one
of state income taxes to be
to the cities during the first
y e a ro f the bieanium . In th e second year
the rate would be increased t 2 % and
stay at that level u n til changed by the
h g iit e t ir r The proposal te hacked by
the Governor and contains the handeofl.
approach promoted by the
i of Oregon Cities. A similar bttt,
SB 11. is over an th e Senate tede but thte
h»~W contains some restrictio n s an the way
funds could be
E R .A
A qw aaU y appointed
tod H J R 62, a b ill to rescind Oregon's
ratification of the Equal Rights Am end
and completely changed its chrec
H JR 62 becam e a reaolutioa to
Under a
of the ra tes a f th e House. H J R
62 had its third reading on the House
Boor on W idens day and th e House voted
48 to 5 to favor o f th e
DROUGHT
White Governor S tra u b was I
the
meeting with o th e r governors
drought stricken w est, the
Soever S tate . But don't gat
to p re m a tu re ly - The tech of
i in th e late few
depleted our water
State wide rain levels are «till far below
normal far thte y e a r and te least two
inches of rain per day for the next forty
days win be necessary to avert te teate
d is as ter. Rep. Ed land
(D-M Bwaukte). House M ajority
fo r the support of a
gubernatorial requested
931.6 miiboe
Emergency E xp e n d itu re fund to aaatet in
r i «pending to conttoned draught. The
monies would he used far
of several depart m eets
fish and wfldbfe The
, 616 million, would go to
to tfo, &C&01-----------------------------------------------------
Prisoners seek community contact
Congrntulotions
Jordan dealt low blow
To the Editor:
Ms. Hazel G. Hays, form er I
the A lbina Hum an Resources C enter. I
recently been appointed Acting ,
tra to r of H ealth and Social Services far
the State Pubbc W elfare Division. On
July 1. 1977. she w ill become Regional
M anager of the M ultnom ah County Pub­
lic W elfare Office.
Ms. Hays many past accomplishments
demonstrate th at th e deserves to be
recognized in thte w ay. The benefits to
the people of this region in term s of
productiveness and compassion w ill evi­
dence the wisdom of th e decision to
appoint her. I t is w ith special pride that
we note that an accomphsbed Black
woman has finally been appointed to a
signficant poet w ithin thte State's social
service system
W e hope th at other State agencies are
cognizant of thte event and are en
couraged by Ms. Hays’ achievements to
open th e ir doors to other minorities.
Ta the Editor:
To the editor:
T h c T t e t f a e f Okoerver is serving the
people a f Portland and especially the
Black community in a way that only a
concerned and enlightened group of peo­
ple ia able. M y hat is off to you. T he fact
that you have survived where so many
worthwhile ventures have failed is a
trib ute to your dedication and business
sense I hope that you continue and that
you grow.
I am presently incarcerated in the
Oregon State Penitentiary I am not one
who can any that be is innocent, hot many
here ia disproportionate number of whom
are Block' do cry and w n a ynauneauon.
Some are so ignorant; they should be
crying but don't understand w hat has
happened to them . Then there are those
who can’t w ait to get out so they can
again prey upon the weakness of the
community
W hile I am here I am involving myself
more in everything th at affects the way
my people live: politics, the justice
system, religion, eduction, and ete. 1 am
also working on myself. I f I was together
I don't think I would be here
In reading Ebony Magaxmc last year. I
saw and w rote down the address of
“Prison Pen Pate", and sent them a letter
This organization is in Ohio.
They pate
an a bulletin hoard. I received a tetter
late week from a young indy who wants to
be my “pen pal
I think it's really nice.
Something like this could be done
locally. I know it would he appreciated. If
the ra rtte a f Observer could publish a list
of five or ten names a week w ith the
“vital statistics' th at the interested peo­
ple send you. I am sure there are people
here locally who would w rite to us.
Aa secretary of the Black cultural
organization here U h u ra - I have been
working w ith other brothers to come up
with different ways th te we can increase
the community s awareness and support
of us here in captivity. I t s im portant
that the relationship that many of us
previously had w ith the community te
changed. I think thte would help in a
small way and would also increase com
munity awareness.
Again, your service to the community
ia appreciated and not taken for granted
my hat is oft to you.
Sincerely.
Dennis W hitlow
Secretary. U h uni Organization
Oregon State Penitentiary
Portland O bserver
Pubbshed every Thursday by E rie Publishing Company. 2201
North Killingsworth. Portland. Oregon 97217. M ailing address:
P.O. Box 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208 Telephone 283 2486
Subscriptions: 67.50 per year in the Tri-County area. 68.00 per
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Clam Feet age Paid at
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 riter or subm itter and does not necessarily reflect
A L F R E D L. HENDERSON
the opinion of the
Sincerely,
W .G . Barnett
Executive D irecto r
M etropolitan Human Relations
Commiasioo
T h e re is nothing wrong w ith the mayor
going about one of his many functions
One being assigning the Bureaus, but the
wny he assigned them , and hww be
assigned them. It's the queetioo of w hy
that sticks in many Black minds here in
our city.
T hat the m ayor took bath
Bureaus of Jordan, the Human Resources
and the E ire Bureau, and gave one to
Connie M cCready and the other one to
himself and thte nctfan was not quite
H e fu rth er left Francis Iv i
the Pubbc U tilities and M ild red Schwab
bending Pubbc A ffairs, leaving these
the tam e, ant Burked'
Plus
__ McCready keeping her ew e Bur
__ but adding the F ire Bureau.
Thte appears to me and other Blacks in
the black Comm unity th at thte nakfa
__j of the m ayor to take so much from
I Commissioner, a Black Commissioner
I so httte or eethtog from his ether
> commissioners. wae q uite a nstiee
able difference, among the Commission
era and even thia, was not enongh for the
■ a y e r ef enr d ty .
He fu rth er hwng en to the tw e top
major aspects of the Police Bureau in
-h.-ch he s««>rned Charles Jordan one -
la ti
•eamansty Service
O N P A 1973
Tri-County orea
know that.
the Emergency
(including the Police Radiol and
the office of Crim e Prevention and
Crim inal Justice.
I f it te a tru e fact: th at white the mayor
had these m ajor departm ents or bureaus,
he had aa much treuhte w ith them . W hy
Naw te he willing to assign them to
someone else, hut yet, keep keMtog en to
the Ace Cards to its complete function?
W hy te it th at over the other three
commissioners he holds do such regime?
W hy then does the mayor allow the
to have the
last word or to reign over
~
but he ithe mayor) have t h e :
word re:
Charles Jordan s bureaus?
Tbea W h y would the mayor save his
own potential political career, white he
blindly and outrageously destroys one of
his own Commissioner’« careers?
Then W hy did the Black Community
vote for the mayor the first and second
tim e around?
O r W hy would the Black community
vote for the mayor (in w hatever capacity!
the next trip around?
Why?
the forestry d ep artm en t for fire fighting
and additional funds would go to the
welfare and children's services depart
m eat to cuahton th e impact of drought
related unemploy men t.
L A N D U S E P L A N N IN G
The Santee E n e rg y and Eteviroment
began hearing« last w eek on a number of
bills aimed at am ending the slate's four
old tend uae planning tew. SB 286 is
upon the re p o rt of the Interim
on Land Use. I t provides for
changes and eat »blithe« a
clear guide far implementation of the
law's intent. An atte m p t to repeal the
L C D C tew «ran d efeated at the polls late
November after a promise by Governor
Straub and other officials to work for
amendments to ensure more local input
into the tend use planning process.
on the House side, a
of hills have been intro­
duced to severely lim it the scope of
LCDC .
Thorn m easures have been
referred to the House Environment and
Energy committee for future hearings
Stall
(Continued from page 1 col. 6)
opinion had been made. “T h e ir attorney
and D r. Blanchard bed to us. W hen we
met w ith them on January 5th they said
nothing about a legal opinion. They toid
us they w ere working on the proposal and
would give it to us in tw o weeks.
McClanahan has evaded and refused to
talk w ith our attorney every since."
“E a rly in F eb ru ary, after I heard some
rumors about this legal opinion that had
been w ritte n in Novem ber, I called
Blanchard and he toid me they w ere still
working on it - nothing about any legal
problems H e said he thought the atto r
ney had been in contact w ith us and said
he would get right on him and call me
beck. I haven't beard a word from him
yet."
In th e meantim e the school district had
contracted w ith Donald M. D rake Com­
pany fa r construction of its 614 million
educational eenter and is making prelim
inary plans for major maintenance and
renovation programs a t Woodlawn and
Sabin elem entary schools and Cleveland
and Rooeeveit High Schools.
W ishing...
doesn't m o ke
it so!
Birth defects
ore forever.
Unless
you help.
Naom i C. W righten
March o< Dimes
$7.50
other areas
$8.00
eat Editorial
3rd Pince
O N P A 1975
Por'lend Observer
F.O B om 3137
Pottlond, Oregon 97200
O re g o n
New spaper
Publishers
A ssociation
It te bad business to end a political
struggle on the wrong side.
Most
Oregon Black History Project
fc E dito rial/
N N A 1973
Then w hat is the issue?
Aa te often tru e, it is American
corporate profits. As long as the change
to m ajority rate looks inevitable and
imminent. Black Africaas can be sure
that the United States w ill move, ia a
fo rth righ t manner, to repeal the Byrd
$2.50 of your bow subscription to
The PortlaRd Obsorver will go to tho
Is t i
4 As
O N P A 1973
5th Place
leet Editorial
N N F A 1973
Siam the paaaaga of the Byrd Amend
moot, the importation of Rhodeeto's high
carbon forrochromo has risen from aero
to » percent of the U.S. imports.
Because the tariff on Soviet farro-
ehrome is four to seven times the tariff
applied to noo-Coomuntet countries, the
Soviet Uatoa has never exported farro
chromo to tho United States. Clearly,
dependence on Soviet supplies of forro­
chromo te a spurious issue.
From tho Legislature
t’s session a f th e legisteture
t r issues surfacing far the
first tim e thte te rm . Land uae j
and the Land Conservation and Devatep-
I w e re hack te the House
re g o n a « “
to talk about
' BLACK LEADERS HAVE
THE RESPONSIBILITY TO
SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE
NCREASED CRIMINAL
ACTIVITIES OF BLACK
YOUTH ON THE ONE HAND
AND JOIN IN TAKING THE
POSITIVE STEPS TO PRO­
MOTE PROGRAMS WHICH
WILL HELP REMEDY WHAT
ISA N A STY SITUATION
ON THE O THER :
J jttM L
T he weeU pet a ato* to the i
af d r a m
Unitod St
It ia a
I ia the
i of a SSO.000- U m I
Oar
S f i f a r ' i p i l of the Byrd
profita which the
haa reatrictod siat«
City