From behind the wall
by lu rr y U
I0 6 F I
M m
"MEET RON MARTIN”
From the StreeU of Kanaaa. Missouri,
to the W a lk of O.8.P. (Oregon Stele
Penitentiary). “One of the reasons the
Black population haa draatieally increaa
ed throughout the peat three years i& G,L-
prison is contributed to the lack of funds
Blacks have to pay for an adequate and
efftcieut legal representation. and second,
the lock of Black lawyers to defend Black
people properly in courts.”
Those were the words related to me by
this young, intelligent individual, whose
desk was stacked wfth papers, books and
case histories belonging to convicted
murderers, rapists, burglars, and thieves
of all natures -case histories of men the
People and courts have consituted unfit
As I sat in this tiny crowded office on
the Inmates Management Floor (IM F )
here at the Oregon State Penitentiary. I
could not help but recognise the serious
ness in thia man's eyes as be expressed
the frustration, when I informed him that
18 new commitments had just momenta
earlier entered through the gates of this
prison from Multnomah County. Six of
those individuals were Black. Only a few
days earlier. 4 out of 10 new commit
ments were Black. Some of these same
prisoner would become his responsibility;
his responsibility to take their life hist
orv. converse with their wives, children,
parents or any family, loved ones and
friends who would still come forward to
state they cared. It was his responsibility
to help theae individuals behind bars to
. plan their educational and work pro
grams and any other types of programs
and services this prison has to offer. It is
also his responsibility to evaluate what-
"w* r
»he prisoner makes during
their court committed sentence of con
finement. A responsibility that can be
sometimes classified. "Daaased if yen da,
er deemed M yea d e a l"
Ron Martin is a counselor and for the
past three years he has been the only
Black counselor that O.S.P. has had. A
prison population of 1800. and over 900 of
these inmates are individuals of M artin’s
race and culture. Although Martin haa an
interracial heavy case-load, his first dedi
cation is to his clients, but he states his
second concern is for the welfare of his
people and their plight for freedom,
equality and fair treatment in this state
and nation.
I asked Ron Martin point blank. “What
makes you qualified to counsel a prison
er?" His qualifications came high. Born
in Detroit, Michigan, thrity-four years
ago, raised in Kansas City. Missouri, and
came to Portland, Oregon at a young age.
Graduated from Jefferson High School in
1901, attended the University of Oregon
on an athletic scholarship. Martin was
a three-letter defensive corner back in
1961-06 in which his football teammates
consisted of such professional greats as
Mel Renfro and Lu Bain. Martin majored
in sociology, but his career was cut short
by the 1960 Army draft. And as a Field
Medical in Vietnam, he was wounded in
action and received the Bronze Star and
the Purple Heart.
Returning home. Martin continued his
education and was employed from 1908
1973 in Portland as a counselor (Job
Core), Director of Employment (Urban
League). Supervisor with Parks (City
Bureau of Parks), and Minority Recruiter
(Portland Police Department).
When asked what was his reason for
choosing to work in prisons he stated,
"Because I have seen from experience
how so many of the kids I grew up with
on the streets get here.” He credits his
predecessor Jame Mason (today. Oregon
State Parole Officer) as being the most
influential person to prompt him to go to
work for the Oregon State Penitentiary.
Martin believes that the reason that so
many other qualified Blacks do not want
to work in O.S.P. is because of discrimina
tion produced in the Salem area. He has
been subjected to harrassment on a few
occasions himself.
Martin strongly
believes that until Blacks are upgraded
into the Department of Corrections,
where major decisions are made govern
ing people in this state penal system, that
the increased percentage of Black prison
ers will continue to go up.
He also believes in treatment, instead
Citizen of the Illeeh
RON MARTIN
of punishment, as the ony deterant to
crime.
He is a strong believer in
com m unity based tre a ta s e n t c en ters, tor
many of the prisoners.
One of the highlights of Mr. M artin’s
conversation, is the belief he has that
there are many other qualified Blacks in
the State of Oregon today who could
obtain employment in all phases of prison
and youth institutions, so the old excuse
of having to recruit Blacks from another
state is no longer valid.
Martin, who is a bachelor, has one
brother still living in Portland, Richard
Martin, who has been with Northwest
Weather Renewal for 21 years.
Ronnie Martin, a qualified professional
counselor - a Black man.
Brief supports affirm ative action admission
(N E W YORK) - A friend-of-the-court
brief supporting school admission policies
that give special consideration to minor
ity applicants waa fifed here today with
the U.S. Supreme Court by a coalition of
20 religious, professional, labor and
The brief was fifed in behalf of the
University of California, which is appeal
ing a California Supreme Court ruling
that found the university's special
admissions policy violated the U.S. Con
stitution's guarantee of equal protection.
The state Supreme Court ruled on a
suit brought by Allan Bakke. a white
applicant who claims be was denied
admission to the unviersity's Davis Medi
cs! School because of the university's
special program to admit more minority
that Bakke
i admitted even if the
The
California
1 existed, and, if so, to admit
The U.S. Supreme Court granted the
university a stay until a decision is "»ode
oa the appeal.
The friend-of-the-eourt brief was fifed
by the National Council of Churches;
Coalition of Citizens with Dis-
for Democratic
Action; American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees. AFL-
CIO; American Public Health Associa
tion; Children's Defense Fund; In te r
national Union, United Automobile,
Aerospace, A g ric u ltu ra l Im plem en t
Workers of America (U A W ); Japanese-
American Citixens League; Mexican-
American Political Association; National
Council of Negro Women; National Edu
cation Association; National Health Law
Program; National Lawyers Guild;
National Legal Aid and Defender Associ
ation; National Organization for Women;
National Urban League, Inc.; United
Farm Workers of America; United Mine
Workers of America; United States
National Student Association; and Young
Women's Christian Association.
The amicus brief says that because the
traditional academic criteria for admit
ting students to professional schools has
"an exclusionary effect on minorities”
professional schools concluded that “the
concept o f equal protection required the
development of modes of access that
would dissipate in some parts the effects
of past discrimination.”
“T o this end, many professional schools
opted to select qualified minorities by
reference to non-academic as well as
academic criteria that would more
broadly reflect the ability of minority
applieanU to learn and practice the
profession,” the brief says. " It would be
erroneous, however, to conclude that this
meant the admission of minorities who
are 'less qualified* than whites who are
rejected."
"To do so would assume that qualifica
tions can be measured only by reference
to traditional numerical criteria.
But
these criteria, at best, have only limited
utility in predicting academic perform
ance and none in predicting professional
performance.”
The brief notes that 90 percent of
minorities admitted to medical school
despite their lower academic scores have
graduated, a higher success rate than
that ot white students.
Pointing out that 22 percent of Cali
fornia's population is Black and Chicano,
the public-interest organisations contend
that "essential fairness” requires minor
ities be included in a publicly supported
medical school.
Studies have shown a "direct link
between minority physicians and im
proved delivery of health-care services in
minority communities,” the brief asserts,
adding that "minority professionals tend,
to a very substantial extent, to practice in
minority communities and....they do so to
a far greater extent than do white
doctors.” All of the students admitted to
Davis Medical School under its special
admissions program expressed interest
in serving disadvantaged communities,
the brief says.
I t also argues that "the admission of
minorities diversifies the student body
and permits faculty and students »like to
derive the benefits of an integrated
education.”
Among the benefits of increasing the
number of minority doctors would be to
provide "a source of leadership to minor
ity communities” and to show minority
youth "the feasibility of educational and
professional advancement,” the brief
says.
I t stresses that there is no practical
way to appreciably increase minority
enrollment in medical schools without a
special admissions program because the
pool of applicants who meet and surpass
traditional entrance requirements is so
large.
The special admissions procedure has
"still afforded whites the large prepond
erance of the admissions places and,
indeed, more places than their proportion
of the population in the areas served by
the school,” the brief says.
Noting that the Supreme Court haa ...
approved “ race-conscious measures
deSigned tO overcome thd legacy of
discrimination against minorities,” the
aafees brief declares that "our national
efforts to eradicate racial discrimination
recognize the desirability of voluntary
corrective efforts.”
The friend-of-court brief was prepared
by Richard B. Sobol of the Washington,
D.C. firm Sobol & Trister.
Carter appoints Black woman US Treasurer
Carter hat , _____ ____
Axis T . Morton of Annandale, Va^ to
serve as Treasurer of the United States.
Ms. Morton, a Black, has been serving as
staff assistant to the U.S. House District
Committee, and has been involved for
several years in Equal Employment
Opportunity activities.
Ms. Morton was born February 1,1986
in Dale, Texas, and received a B.S. from
Huston TtUotson College in 1966.
From 1968 to 1961 Morton was an
administrative assistant at the Texas
State A FL-C IO is A »»»is. She served as
an administrative assistant and commun
ity relations specialist for the President's
Committee on Equal Employment Oppor
tunity and the President's Committee on
Equal Opportunity in Housing from 1961
to 1966.
From 1906 to 1968 Morton was a
complaint investigator and conciliator for
the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission. She was director of social
service for the Wichita, Kansas Model
Cities Program from 1968 to 1971.
Morton was special assistant to the
chairman of the Democratic National
Committee from 1971 until 1977, when
she went to work for the House District
Committee.
She was deputy convention manager
for the 1976 D em ocratic National Con
vention. In 1975 and 1976 she served on
the D N C s Compliance Review Commis
sion, and in 1974 she was vice chairperson
of the Arrangement Committee and
deputy conference manager for the 1974
Democratic Conference oi Party Organi
Ceuter schedules health day
People sometimes wait until they have
the symptoms of a disease before they
seek medical assistance, not wanting to
add the weight of exhorbitant medical
fees to a financial onus. Facilities to
assist the poor may be available but the
public m ar not be aware.
“That's why we are having Health Day
at the Education Center,” said Lucious
Hicks, Director of the Portland State
University Education Center and sponsor
of the medical assistance program to be
held Friday, June 24, from 1 p.m. to 6
p.m. at the Center, located at 4816 N .E.
7th Avenue.
The Multnomah County Health Depart
ment, the University of Oregon Commun
ity Dental School and the Health/Help
Clinic will offer a variety of tests, health
checks and information free of charge on
various aspects of community health for
children and adults during "Health Day".
The County Health Agency will give
sickle cell anemia screening tests, blood
pressure cheeks, vision testing and vari
ous innoculations for disease prevention-
D PT, Polio, measles, and whooping cough
shots for children; diptheria and tetanus
shots for adults. Parents are encouraged
io bring
The Multnomah County Health Depart
ment will also provide several education
programs including self-testing for breast
cancer for women, a video taped cancer
education program, information on how
to reduce childhood accidents in the home
and literature will also be available on
venereal disease, cancer, sickle cell
anemia, parenting, family planning, blood
pressure and the services offered by the
County Health Department.
Visual cavity checks, a videotaped
presentation on proper brushing, flossing
and nutrition, as well as information on
the sugar content of foods, will be
provided by the University of Oregon
Community Dental School. Those who
attend the videotaped presentation will
receive sample tubes of toothpaste and a
toothbrush.
The H ealth/II«!p Clinic will set up a
booth with information on nutrition.
In the event that maladies are uncover
ed. follow-up programs can be arranged
with the proper agency. Free parking
and babysitting will also be provided.
"Not oniy. is it a medical services
program," said Hicks. "But it is an
educational program as well. This is
intended to impress on the community
that iiMuicsi security is a must."
sation in Kansas City.
Highland Park College from 1967 to 1970.
The President named Claud Anderson
of T allahassee, Fla., to eerve as Federal
Co-Chairman of the
Coastal
Plains
Regional Commission.
Anderson has
been advisor and education coordinator
for Florida Governor Reubin Askew since
1971 and was named Black Educator of
the Year by the Black Women's Political
Caucus in 1975.
Anderson was born September 1,1986,
in McCormick, S.C. He received a B.S.
(1961), M.S. (1966), and r'n.D. (1970) from
Wayne State University. From 1961 to
1970 Anderson was a teacher in the
Detroit Public School System. He also
worked part-time as a counselor at
Wayne County Community College from
1967 to 1969 and as an instructor at
Use all you need
but save all you can . . .
The People at Pacific Power
()
SMITH
See This Today!
fa m o u s ,
to p -q i a l i y
W h ir lp o o l
BIG VALUE RANGE
.♦
In 1967 he served aa a reeearch
investigator in Detroit under the Safe
Street and Crime Act. and in 1968 he was
an administrative assistant with the
Detroit Police Department. In 1969 he
was assistant principal at Moore School
for Socially Maladjusted Boys in Detroit.
In 1970-71 Anderson was a professor of
educational sociology at Florida A R M
University and Florida State University.
Recessed
Spillguard* top
President Carter also announced the
appointments of two other Blacks: James
R. Burgess, Jr., of Champain, Illinois, to
be U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District
of Illinois; and Ms. Gofer T . Butcher, of
Washington, D.C. to be assistant admin
istrator of the Agency for International
Development for Africa.
Gates retains VP role
When the National Board of the
National Council on the Aging, Inc. met in
Baltimore June 9th and 10th, a part of the
schedule included a visit to Baltimore's
Waxter Center which is regarded as the
outstanding center serving older people
in America today.
The June 10th highlight waa a meeting
at the National Institute on Aging.
NCOA Board member D r. Robert Butler
is Director of the National Institute on
Aging and also author of the Pulitzer
Prize book Why Survive. During the
N IA facility orientation members were
acquainted with some of the aging
focused research projects currently in
process there.
Afro-Americans on the NCOA National
Board include Miss Katherine Dunham
(Director, Performing A rts Center. East
St. Louis, DI.), Osly J. Gates (National
Vice President of NCOA and Executive
Director of the City-County Commission
Robert "Pickle” Lewis is a 1977 graduate of Grant High School, the son ot
M r. and Mrs. Bobby Lewis.
An outstanding athlete, Lewis in senior year waa a member of the All
State Football Team, the A ll City Football Team, and earned Honorable
Mention on the All American High School Team.
He was selected for the second team of the All City Basketball Team for
1976-1977. He is a member of the Hall of Fame of Grant High School.
Lewis accepted a four-year athletic scholarship to the University of
Washington, turning down similar offers from the Universtiy of Oregon.
Pittsburg, and Ohio.
This summer, Lewis is employed at Gand Tree Sells and is assisting with
the Maurice LuCas Basketball Clinics.
A t the age of 19, Lewis looks forward to a bright college career.
on Aging, Portland, Oregon), Hobart
Jackson (Executive Director, Stephen
Smith Geriatric Center, Philadelphia,
Pa.), Dr. Maruice Jackson (Associate
Professor, Department of Sociolow,
University of California at Riverside), D r.
Inabel B. Lindsay (Former Dean, School
of Social Work. Howard University,
Washington, D.C.) and D r. W alter Robin
son, Jr. (Assistant Professor, Southern
Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois).
Jackson is a Past National Vice Presi
dent of the NCOA.
A t the June Board meeting Gates was
reelected to a second term as National
Vice President. Gates serves on the
Executive Committee and is chairman of
the Committee on the Urban Elderly. He
is cited along with several other board
members in the Foreword and Index of
the boo» When Your Parents Grew O ld
by Jane Otten and Florence D. Shelley
(1976, Funk A Wagnalla).
Plug-in surface units
RDE-3020
M an y easy-cooking and easy-cleaning
features at a budget price. Push-to-turn
"infinite" heat controls lets you set the
exact temperature you need. Bake/Broil
& surface unit indicator lights. Remov
able oven door. Large storage drawer
below for utensils.
Large capacity oven
*248
OH-SU m I S a rk ia « ... IA S V T H M S
wM>
w e g iv e y o u m o r e . . .
SMITH
h o m e fu r n is h in g s
30Ui and S.E. Division
"When you rojoica ovar baing young, and notica how
wall you faal, that Is aga."
Julas Ranard
Shop Weekdays 0 to 0
Saturday til 6
234-9391
Closed Sunday