2
Portland
Thursday,
ilcome the ’sinner«’ home
W e see the world
doubts as to
through Black eyes
Labor Day 1977
Next Monday is Labor Day, a day set aside to
honor the nation's workers. This year finds us not
only still in o period of high unemployment but also
in a growing controversy over civil rights.
The week of September 4th through 10th has been
designated as "Full Employment Week" by a
national coalition calling for no more than three per
cent unemployment within two years. Unemploy
ment still is a major problem in this country and
effects ell phases of life. It impacts the crime rate,
broken homes, business bankruptcy, health services,
etc., etc. The affects of prolonged unemployment
will be felt for another generation in loss of tax
revenue needed for education, social programs and
public works.
The unemployment rate for Black young people
has reoched an all-time high. The overall unemploy
ment rate is 6.9 per cent which, although declining,
is far too high. A number of new federal programs to
deal with youth unemployment are in the beginning
stages, but these are not enough.
The profits of many American corporations are
rising in spite of recession and inflation that have so
drastically hurt most Americans. Why don't these
companies — insurance, financial institutions, oil,
utilities and others — use some of their excess profits
to train and hire young people. They are the first to
complain about "government give-awoys", so let
them try some investment in the youth of the nation.
As usually happens in a period when jobs are hard
to find, Blacks and other minorities are last hired and
first fired.
In spite of this fact, those white
workers who cannot find work or who do not get the
advancement they would like see the few token
Blocks the government forces private industry to hire
and they become the scapegoats. Although Black
unemployment is twice that of whites, and Blacks are
still locked out of the more lucrative jobs and
professional schools, whites are blaming their own
fate on "reverse discrimination".
What is even more discouraging is the lack of
effort by the white press and the educational
establishment to give the people the true facts about
"equal employment opportunity" and "affirmative
oction".
Musicians expelled ,
For months — or is it years — the people of Portland
have waited for the Downtown Mall to be finished.
Many envisioned that this would bring a more festive
atmosphere to the downtown core — with hotdog
wagons and strolling musicians.
But rather than encourage music amid the rushing,
honking cars that make up the downtown scene, the
BPA
spoil-sports at City Hall cut off a Navy Band concert
held in Terry Schrunk Plaza, between the federal
office building and City Hall.
The complaint came from the Bureau of Buildings,
located in City Hail. Noise control officer Paul
Herman reportedly said he liked the music but could
hear it two blocks away.
What now? Are we going to get rid of the bells that
peal the hours downtown, the melody played at
noon? Will there be no Rose Parade or no
celebration if the Blazers win again?
It's too bad when a few "public servants" can't
sacrifice a little of their own comfort to allow others
some enjoyment.
'Joint o[ Via»
Equity and
*Ravar»a Discrimination*
from New National Black Monitor
As so-called "reverse discrimination" cases mount
before state and federal courts, expect the white
press to directly and indirectly stock the cards against
Black Americans.
A case in point comes from a New York Timos
special which notes blandly as follows concerning
the program for restitution to the Untouchables (or
Harijans) in India: "like reverse discrimination in the
United States, the programs are often controversial
in India."
Here the Times' notice accepts the racist allegation
of "reverse discrimination" as having value on its
face and does not even set the term apart with
quotation marks.
Further, all Americans need to know that "com
pensation for past inequities against the Harijans" is
written into the federal constitution in India.
That we in America have no such provision is a
national travesty.
All Black Americans should be familiar with — and
hold onto — the following quote from classical legal
literature concerning the need for, and the place of,
equity and restitution which sophisticated racists ore
calling "reverse discrimination".
Aristotle wrote of the place of equity in public life:
"Equity, though a higher thing than one form of
justice, is itself just and is not geometrically different
from justice. Thus, so for as both are good, they
coincide, though equity is to be preferred. What
puzzles people is that equity is not the justice of the
law courts but a method of restoring the balance of
justice when it has been tilted by the law ." (Ethics,
Book V. Chapter 10).
“the cost of power to the user becomes
higher and it is more difficult to construct
plants."
“Under the route where Bonneville
would be purchasing the power from
these plants, the federal investment,
valued now at $40 billion, would act as
quite a backup for financing new plants if
some means were found to get the
financial capability of the Columbia River
Power System in back of th em .”
Durocher said the Federal system
Northwest power goes south
(Continued from page 1 column 6)
include the Salt River Project, a large
public utility in Phoenix, the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, and the
Lower Colorado River Bureau of Recla
mation. a federal agency whose role is
similar to that of the Bonneville Power
Administration in the Pacific Northwest.
Construction of the line is expected to
begin a year to eighteen months and costs
are estimated by BPA officials at half a
billion dollars. Target date for energize
tion of the line was set by BPA in 1964.
In a related development BPA also
announced that the agency's Draft Envi
ronmental Impact Statements on the
Alumax aluminum plant and Phase Two
of the BPA Hydro-Thermal Power Pro
gram was approved by the Department
of Interior. BPA said public meetings on
the program would begin in a month.
Ho talked about Jesus at this particular
pTOO* OOnfBTMOB. H a **id , in *iib*t*nca,
th at Jttam had aeeaptad thoaa who camo
to his throne afte r hesitation and doubt.
They came, th at was w hat was important
- even though they eame late.
In th e W ork comm unity’s struggle to
gain respect and recognition from the
Portland Public Schools, there are some
who have taken a reluctant stance. There
are influential people who have continued
to w ork behind the scenes, attem pting to
manipulate the forces of change in such a
way as to fu rth er th eir own ends,
regardless of the aims and desires of the
people in this community.
Among those Black people who have
the education and influences to help
insure our community w ill be hoard,
th ere are some who have abdicated th eir
responsibility. In view of this abdication,
the tendency might be to retaliate; to
strike against these individuals with the
m ighty force of ostracism.
I t seems
almost natural to say. “I f they w ill not
come forw ard to support our cause of
educational opportunity for Black child
ren, then we should not come forw ard to
welcome them into our struggle - even
though th eir sentiments may have
changed.”
The tendency to isolate, and ostricize
those who have failed to stand up for
g reater responsiveness to the concerns of
Blacks in Portland's public education
M
D r.
knowledge th at Ms. McCoy has cultivated
carefully an image of silence and acquie
scence when it comes to advocacy for
Black people.
She has seldom been
known to apply the strong voice of her
influence on behalf of the struggle of the
Black community.
And in the recent
controversy over the School Board's plan
to lim it Black enrollm ent a t Jefferson,
Ms. McCoy's leadership was coaspidous-
On June 17th,
Education i
Board of
after
for people by forcing citizens to w ait four
hours before being allowed to testify,
Ms. McCoy defended the so-called N e w
man Plan. She emphasised th at it was
educationally sound, and th at Black peo
ple in this community would have to
continue to carry the greatest burden for
desegregation. To the surprise of some,
she even thrust herself into the middle of
the debate, saying “at our next meeting,
perhaps I should take the leadership on
this subject."
In the interim , her mood changed.
From a position of loud advocacy for the
aspect of M r. Newm an's plan calling for
Jefferson boundary changes, Ms. McCoy
slid quietly into a position of invisible
silence. On July 25th, she not only failed
to take any leadership, she chase to any
nothing a t all.
I t was probably figured as a “no win
situation." as the saying goes in politics.
I f she spoke, given the momentum of
opposition against the plan, she would
have damaged her image irrepairably. I f
she did not speak, given her eagerness at
the previous m eeting, the apparent in
consistency would have created even
R obert
ticed his degrading tones, his impatience,
his scorn, his disrespect, and his refusal
to r aco g iiiiq tha
concern* of
those who had labored many hours te
make constructive comments to the
Board.
Nevertheless, W ally Priestley
»as the lone member of the Board who
had the courage to question the superin-
tondont** ***coni” of tha citioan* attend-
ing the July 25th meeting. Ms. McCoy
remained silent.
But now the period of silence seems to
be taking a new form. I understand th at
Ms. McCoy to actively seeking opportuni
ties to share ideas and opinions w ith
those involved in the school controversy.
L ik e President C a rter afte r he had
gained s hard earned nomination to run
for the presidency, it seems most benefi
cial to welcome all comers to the search
for an improved means to implement
desegregation policy in the Portland
Public Schools. W hether they come late,
or w hether th ey w ere present when the
foundation fo r this particular struggle
was being built, they should be accepted
w arm ly and w ith a cooperative spirit.
Ms. M cCoy, whose political experience
is rem arkably diverse and whose roots in
this community go very deep, can contri
bute much to the new coalition of groups
and individuals involved in studying
Portland's desegregation iasuee.
H er
understanding, I am sure, is sufficient to
add direction and strength to any city
wide coalition on race and education.
W hether late or early, anyone who
wishes to join in this journey to improve
racial harmony in schools should be
and *ppPBCi*t*d.
m to th E to n ------------
Guard* d ally w hile inmata dia*?
T o the Editor:
A man hung himself: Dennis Collins.
The guards came in. cut him down. He
was purple, he had stopped breathing. He
had been dead several minutes.
The last man had walked, the tie r
orderly had swept. Ten minutes later
several men on the tie r began yelling:
“M an down! M an down! M an down!"
The guard, a new guard, yelled back:
“Hold it down!"
Several minutes passed. Again men
yelled:
“M an down! M an down! M an down!"
T he guard, a new guard, yelled beck:
"W here's he at?”
The new guard was told the man was in
his cell. The guard finally figured out
something was wrong. It's strange th at it
took him so long to figure it out. He's
usually fast. E v e ry night he pours our
coffee; he's so fast th at he slops it all over
o u r bars - night afte r night afte r night.
Donald D anford «82828
Arab aid not going ta Africa
T o th e Editor:
T h a t the Black African states have
become restive since entering the Arab
sphere of influences because of unfulfilled
pledges is not secret. They are saying
th at of the $10 billion pledged by the
oil-producing states to help the develop
ing countries, the bulk has gone to other
Moslem states, not to them.
Aa one b itte r African a t the U .N . put it.
the Arab's p e tro d o lla r "to aiming at
having colonies in Black A frica”. Another
charged bluntly th at the Arabs w ere
tyin g th e ir willingnees to help the Black
Africans w ith a solid lineup against
I*rooL
T he Black African said th at "p etro d ol
lar diplomacy” practiced by the Arabs
bought the African support for the Anti-
Zionist resolution. The Africans, be said,
could not care less about Zionism, which
has been alien to th e ir own history (sad
to the racism they have fought for
centuries) o r care to continue to make the
A rab fight against Israel th e ir own.
Israel, to many of them , carried warm
memories of the kind of aid they can not
buy w ith dollars - petro - or otherwise.
T he Organisation of Petroleum E xp o rt
ing Countries (O PEC ) figures, ss reveal
ad , by the . W o rld S an k , show th a t Iran
(Moslem b ut not A rab ) contributed to the
developing countries th ree tim es as much
as Saudis A rabia. Libya, Ira q . K uw ait
and the U nited A rab Em irates combined.
M ore than 90 percent of the money
from the O P E C states, th e Black Africans
claim, has gone to E g yp t. Syria, India.
Pakistan, and Bangladesh - and to the
A ra b League members in A frica, or to
the A frican states which have large
Moslem populations.
S. Norm an Course
To «.he Editor:
would essentially act as collators! and
there would be a “requirem ent, then, on
the Federal system to repay the rates...
and all the current investment and
earnings capability of the existing Fed
eral system goes back as security on the
bonds.”
B P A officials cited the “inflationary
cycle” th at has raised costs of building
nuclear power plants the size of Oregon's
1100 m egaw att Trojan power plant to
“over a billion dollars a copy.”
Dan Schausten said, "W hen the Trojan
plant was on the draw ing board in the
late 1960’s the original price tag was $225
m il l i o n I t finally came in. when we began
operating in 1975. just under $500 million.
And the same size plant if it were on the
draw ing boards now would run $1.3 to
$1.4 billion."
Portland O bserver
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201
North Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217. M ailing address:
P .0 . Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208. Telephone: 288 2488.
acceptance, and he welcomed th eir sup
port - even though it was reluctant and
Gladys McCoy, the only Black member
of the Portland Board of Education, to a
I could
on the issue
J accept her
mer in which
poke to the
Her
have accepted
itself easier
Rocky Rutta Inmota naad* kalp
'bocks’ federal dams
(Continued from page 1 column 6)
“Interest rates soar,” Durocher said,
A fte r President C a rter had secured the
to run for the
highest office in the land, he w ent to New
Y o rk C ity to «bare a preee conference
w ith several influential N ew Y o rk paiiti-
d a n a M any w ith whom be appeared bad
not enthusiastically supported his candi
daey. His tone was one of humble
to not our only choice. I t may
natural, but it may not be mos advanta-
1st Place
lest A d Resniti
O N P A 197$
I would like to say having a fair tria l
here in Multnomah (xiuntv isn't what it
to. I t was July 8 6 .197 7 th at I was found
guilty of firs t degree Burglary in the
Circuit Court of Oregon for Multnomah
County, however it was an unusual trial
in as much as being found guilty. I ’m
nineteen years of age and have never
before been involved in aa adult crim inal
court, but I would like to bring to your
attention a prim e example of a sure
enough ra il roeding, which means my
constitutional and equal rights not being
adherred to.
M y name to John W . E lle tt and this
le tte r is in regards to my unjust incarcer
ation. I was accused of a first degree
Burglary which took place in 1975 and
eras found guilty of th a t charge by a
racist Kangaroo Court and a Klu-Klux-
Klan style Judge, Alan F . Davis. The
attorney that I had was court appointed
and he himself felt I was g uilty, even
though I had stated several tiroes to him
of my innocence. A fte r hearing him state
this I announced to Judge Davis that I
desired for this sell-out attorney not to
represent me because I felt he was not
working toward the best of my interests.
I related to Judge Davis th at I thought
this attorney was not adequate towards
my defense, to which he replied “Shut up
and sit down." I attem pted to state my
concern about the Judicial prorooriings
Judge Davis at th a t tim e stated to me in a
very uncivilised manner th a t if I did not
“Shut up" he was going to hold me in
contempt of court which the records
show.
I would like to bring this case to the
public attention of the injustice that
prevails in the Multnom ah County Court
House. I t is the ideal of all law-enforce
ment officials to make every Black man,
woman and child an ex-con in one way or
another.
I have been incarcerated fo r three
months or more and have learned that
justice does not prevail for the Black man
in Am erica. I am seeking legal advice
from my people or anyone who to
interested concerning my case and situa
tion. I am now under w hat is known as a
pre-sentence investigation. I f there to
anyone who is concerned about the plight
of the Black nation or T h ird party
members than hear my pleas for help I
would appreciate it very much if you
would acknowledge or take actions.
Thank you for taking tim e in reading
my pleas for immediate help. The charge
th at I am charged w ith (first degree
Burglary) carries a tw e n ty ye ar m axi
mum sentence. P u t yourself in my place
for five minutes. W h a t would you do?
W ho would you w rite?
Thank you for your tim e.
Sincerely,
John W . E lle tt
C /O Rocky Butte Jail
9756 N .E . Hancock D r.
Portland. Oregon, 97220
Lika* column
T o the Editor:
Thanks for
many good articles
especially
I the W a ft I. too.
am try in g to help.
Thank you for caring.
Sincerely,
E velyn Collins
Subecnptions:$7.50 per year in the Tri-County area. $8.00 per
year outside Portland.
Second Class Psetage Paid a t P o rtb a d , Oregon
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 m aterial throughout the paper is the opinion
of the individual w rite r or subm itter and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the Psrtiaa
5th Place
Best E ditorial
N N P A 1971
$7 JO
in Tri-County Area
$ 8 .0 0
other Areas
NN A1978
o oscure R
A L F R E D L. H E N D E R S O N
E d ite r/Pubbsber
State
New York
MEMKF
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
MEMMR
H A lfN /L L
H E V lP f lP E R
Zip
Portland Observer
2201
N.
Killingsworth
Portland, Oregon 97217
-,
*■
_isf
'Ä -