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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1977)
s May s. wn We see the world through Black eyes tkt portiag U m difamte • «h<nc* tó S“* W * * TU I A HT fa j* Uz TU tar U m U t '> m * l Change the rules! Trade Carter shows concern A bill cxrentty in the Oregon House of Represent “G et Wo«»y PtiesHey" UH. atives, colled by so m e' a another exam ple of «be attempt of the Public Schools to avoid public participation House Bill 2480 changes the election dote of the Portlond School Board. Portland Community C o<lege and Multnomah County Interm ediate Education District members to the third Tuesday in April, a date now used by other school districts in Oregon, rather than the current practice of electing them during the Moy primary. The bill has been passed off as a housekeeping matter — simply to put Portland in step with the rest of the state. It does seem strange that Portland wonts to get in step now, after a ll these years. Could it be the school district is afraid it w ill get another W ally Priestley? It is an accepted fact that citizens do not vote in school district elections. A man like Priestley, who was not supported by any special interest group and certainly was not endorsed by the school district, would not be elected in on election w here there was not a large popular vote Another ra tio n a l ration for the bill ts to prevent a candidate from seeking and winning two or more positions at the same time. IT s strange that no one was too concerned about Dr. Howard Cherry and others serving on the school bord and the legislature. No H all comes bock to one thing — Ge» Wolly Pnesttey! We alreody have seen one change of rules when the Board decided to elect any m em ber chairman rather than taking turns the w ay they have for years. Don’t give W aily thot gavel! What's wrong with Priestley? Only that he explores the issues, asks questions, doesn't rubber-stamp the administration's decisions. He has the strange idea that the Board of Education, elected by the people, should be the school district's decision makers — no* the administrators it hires. He has the rad«coi idea that the Board of Education, elected by the people should provide the guidance and direction for the district's educational policies and procedures — not the superintendent and his assistants. But most of a ll, he has the notion that the public should be heard and be asked to participate in these decisions. Priestley asks questions; he raises issues, he « a r t to know the facts behind the recommendations; he prolongs the meetings. That makes him a mavenck — on outsider. It is interesting to watch — and to feel — the hostility thrown his way by other board members and the staff But it really isn't funny. And each snide remark, and each nasty pbe, is not only directed or W ally Priestley. They are directed at us, the voters, who elected him to the Board of Education. Whither Albina Branch Consideration is being given to dosing or moving the Albino Branch library, which is little used. The library, which has a collection of works on Block culture and history, was once designed to be a center for Block study and a focal point for the community. In recent years, use of the library has dropped- It is no longer host to groups of school and pre-school children who come for films or story hours Its m eeting rooms ore empty — the advisory board ’ong ago ceased to function. A library con be mare than a p a c e *n e < e oooks ore kep*. It cn be a stimulus to 'eod>ng. »o learning. It can be a ploce w here young and o*d mee» for common interests This the Alb-no Branch s not. b stays empty while residents a few blacks aw ay seem unaw are of its presence Should the branch be dosed or moved? Only the resideme of AJbina can decide. The Library Associ ation has asked for guidance and has received none. W e con be sure fht this building w ill not rem ain empty w hile other communities are pleoding for services. The future of the Albino Branch is simple — if it is used it w ill rem ain, if it is not it w ill go. The peop»e of Albmo are making the choice through their apathy Carter said. a three-months P t«xto n present w elfare study of the w elfare system,"The pres programs should be scrapped entirely and a totally new system im plem ented." Integral ports of the new w elfare pion are a |ob for everyone who con and wants to work and a decent income for those who do work or who are unable to work. This is o far better program than the one recently proposed by Governor Bob Straub and views the nation's poor with a different basic concept - the concept that the poor would rather be self-support ing if employment w ere availab le ond thot those who do work are entitled to earn o decent w ag e. The Straub Ion differs greatly in concept — rather thon put the emphasis on the creation of jobs through the private and public sector, the Straub plan forces those who ore unable to find work onto non-pod public service iobs to earn their keep. The S tau b pion also ties w elfare assistance to the minimum w age to insure that no one avoids work because w elfare offers higher pay. c reasoning thot most recipients of the current w elfare system w ould question. The Carter pion would consol «dote a ll benefits into o single cosh payment based on fam ily size ond varying only to occomodoto differences of living costs in different areos of the country. The plan also prcvaes assistance to ’nose who ore em ployed but because of large fam ilies or other factors hove incomes below the poverty level. The G x to r pion ts still called w elfare but it is a step towrxd a guaranteed income for every American. TU iD-CopuiUL by U m HB TU d werk De tU ___ ^tl— arem fa the s ta te iD J unction Ted by B* i atf « TU i if l U ta a a fa lit at t U afSbatad «fah t U I TU T U biB. KB by Rep ta clarify U m la « rauua« asut and «fab a I bava act been B ack TUy they A B C s epi H aleys RO O TS cn B a ck Americaas am tbesr T V M t» far H a iry ’s efforts la th ia« ta U U m same. Bat just ride T ri-M a t aay «fay during the hours usually used by school kids fa r getting ta and from school. W hy fa fa th at it's tba Black kids that are usually the loudest, the ones U m ones i ihave I H a le ys made bm «afl J » U one royafaica and the money a n B a ^ integrity? Doesn't that Do Black bays and Opinion N ixon ’s the one /fadtfa 'Tout q Uitu From The Oregonian W e ke to think thot o M teochers ore masters of the Engiish anguoge. Certomly this should be bas e to all education. It come os a surprise, therefore, to hear that those who teoch writing a re in need of courses in grammar. We recently 'eceived evidence that the need is r e a l. A letter to the editor from a teacher (sanction ing sponkmg as a disciplinary measure to aid in the learning peace»} co^tomed the following glaring grammatical errors: " ... in the teacher's m inds..." “ There are a growing list..." " . betw een he ond the teacher .." Surely, as important as teaching prospective teochers how to teoch ond w hat to teoch is teaching them the proper use of the languoge in which they teoch. Our compliments to those who recognized the need, w ere courogeous enough to see thot it is satisfied. CassaútU» ¡ toward try in« to I hy comm ittee. created by TU Speaker Phil pend Boe. w ill legislation. w ith tba of the Trade and fxo o o o ix at staff. T U committee fa charged w ith a variety of responsibilities. First, it is U g moaitor problem» caused by t U drought aad assist Uw Governor fa developing a state drought relief program. T U joiat committee « ill also look into Oregoo s w ater programs and recommend lagisla tioa which allows more flexibility in responding to future w ater problems, last. U m committee w ill lay U m ground work far an interim committee to develop a long term w ater use policy as it relates to conservation, reclamation and in- traaaad storage. Are we different ? faaguage? Take a stroll aay « a rm sun shiny day through aay ghetto park aad see if you're not appalled by U m laaguage Is it just a coincidence that Richard Nixon m ode his pos?-resignotion television appearance on the an niversary of the murder of students at Kent State? Richard Nixon's finger wasn't on the trigger, but he was just as guilty of murder as if it were. h was Nixon who set the stage for the Kent Stale killings by creating an atmosphere of hatred and susccian of those who peacefully demonstrated their 3cocs.‘ on to the war. Time has proved the Oemonstrators right. The w ar is over ond the nation is totting »he first steps to open relations with "com - munist" Vietnam . The only things accomplished by the years of war w ere the murder ond destruction of two nations — Vietnam and the United States. Only Nixon remains the same - still lying, p ill covering up his cr-mes. sti II attem pting to deceive the American people. Hou» begSB U *l*r Does asm« fool laaguage give a far tin« of t y o r does it simply make one mpted by Ida poors? W hatever t U . it is ugly aad m jurw u s to ail Black t far years w ere t dafi that they w e faariaaa ta i t ta b e a n ! i arti tU U afaa the ta U m W e are A f th eir cocomunity when these ugly sores at« allowed ta exist? Which brings about the queetim again: are we different? I f a society is to function in an orderly « a y we must have rules and regulations. But are we as Black Americans following those rules? Young Blacks stop th eir cars fa the middle of streets and hold long cooversatioo. totally disregarding the rights of others. Downtown movie houses are often filled «nth marijuana smoke and it's always young BIarks who the guilty onas. Black movies are often filled by loud ta k in g Backs A re we different? Black movies, so popular a few years ago. w ere almost impossible to enjoy because of the loud talking and boisterous youth. A re we different? Albertson's super m arket went to «rent pain to careful) mark th eir no parking area. T U area directJy in front of the entrance. Big yellow no parkiang signs adorn the concrete and what do we find... Cadillacs, Lincolns, you name it parked right on top of those beautiful letters. A re we different? A broad consensus seemed to be emerging that "R ooU * would spur Black ithntfay. and then Black pride, and eventually pay important dividends. But unless we t r y to change ourselves no thing is going to help. Black Americans should try and protect th eir image aa well as th eir Cadillacs. Albina Branch Library (Caaft. from p.1 eat»» Joyce te T rfc « *m d I tba fa a b ty « a a aat b d « a s alto tra e a bvas oety five ryaat K v » about loas not use the le ffa s i day. A t prenent. tba about five percent of tba I 1W7 Because of this i ta get fedback fr ty a» ta « b a t should ba i ■crease t U u m of tba fa a b ty oen T U person who is n a M rs M a r t U i mostly bdy ! she visited the branch when si iB aad she always thought tba I far b ttle children. O ther q I to nee th e fa a b ty are ao longer pc * . A nother point thot there tba outlets paopfa ta i T U q s M s ti on as to w hy the Kb r one enn get literatu re that emphasises Black history aad culture. For example, there is the P A U . Educational Center at the King F a a b ty . the North Branch L ib rary. Jeff ernon High School aad some of the d em eotary schools. Aa one considers the alternate sources for B ack literatu re, which was once concentrated at the Albina Branch, one eaa readily understand the loea of in te r est in th at branch. Mrs Julsphons has stated th at it is im portant that people fa the community call and voice th eir opinsoe about the library. Not to aay anything w ill be considered a case of apathy. This then w ill leave the decision qp to the proietsiocuds. Mrs. Julaphoogs o n be reached at 22X 72 0L H whíkut ne answer has been pwt forth th at i '.5 0 0 «£.- Letter to the Editor T w anxsnsr r a s u i sut*« or mx Ta tU cn TMa/SLc wmmuc^usr sm mcs hmz - inam t» tfamfy P ortland O bserver I every T U rn d n y by E x m Pahbsbfag North KiBfagswerth. Partfaad. Oregea *721?. p .0 . Box n a ? . Portlsad. Oregon ra » fa the TrvC oaaty ia « O N P A 1*73 aifien the vitabty of the concepts that t U ef thia aoeaety de- 2 » 24« ta flß >txaOL«JOR/ T ii a 2201 mp Portfaad. NNPA1973 11 W e See T U W orld ' is the the p ALFMEDL HEN DEASON I only fa Bfack Eyeei m aien a f the to trv th H ie i NNA 1*73 right of rebgwu xaashoaMpeyl bard t a t a * of r the epuase of the York Subscribe to The Portland Observer Bat Patrick O N P A 1*75 that Native I deafad thav Every Aastr- Itabfa w e rd e :-..J t « Trt-County N a itu eroaa t U cosmti by t U Oregon I Newsoaoer ÍPuWfaher» 'Association W £. CKy S7.5O otiue area« $ 8 .0 0