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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1977)
Page 2 Port land O baerver Thursday. l * u * * r 13. i a t i J jttM ti) tht £dtlM We see the world through Black eyes A less« eot leaned Bissarti« playpoeed Parenti, Porent?, have obiected objected to the concrete tun iungle at (Jnthank Pork since it was first built. The huge climbing mountain mode of concrete invites small children to fall and break their bones The play areas surrounding these climbing struc tures are concrete. A fall from the slide would be a fall on huge concrete blocks. The area for small children to run ond play is a floor of concrete. Two railrood tracks, inviting children to tty to walk them, and »o fall off, are mounted on large concrete blocks ond are close enough together for a child to fall from one and strike his head on the other side. Aside from the obvious dongers, the playground is not kept up properly. Concrete pots, roils and walks are crocked ond broken and the orea is littered. A child's death has ogam brought the pitfalls of this pork to the community's attention. Although if is easy to be sorry, to be concerned, to biome each other ond others, it is also easy to become complocent ogain until another child is killed or seriously injured. The city must occept the responsibility to remove this playground ond replace it with one that is safe and clean. And if necessary, the community must see that this is done We repeatedly heor from the Portland School district ond the press, references to the Race ond Education report written by the Blue Ribbon Schwob Committee in 1964. The school district now refers to ihis study ond ,ts recommendations as the rational ond the reason for its desegregation program. The district correctly blomes the NAACP for getting them into the business of desegregation in the first place The NAACP did point out segregation in the schools and demanded on end to it. After denying that segregation existed, the School Board named the special committee to study »he situation ond make recommendations. What the district foils to remember is that the NAACP and every other Block organization strongly rejected the study and its recommendations They particularly opposed the "m odel schools," which further segrega’ed Block children. Of course the recommendations were adopted over the Block community's protest. When Dr Robert Blanchard presented his Schools for the Seventies the NAACP protested the portion of the plan that left lower elementary schools - grodes one through five or six — segregated. The NAACP colled for desegregation beginning in the first grade — not in the fifth or sixth. The district went about setting its programs in motion — eliminating the upper grodes from the schools in the Albino area but leaving the lower grodes still substantially segregated. When the Modei Cities Education Committee wrote its plan for the schools, it asked to send the lower grade students to schools out of the area and to bring upper grade white students into the Albino schools. This plan was rejected by the school district. We con see that although the district would like to biome their present dilemma on the NAACP and other elements of the Block community — it all come about becouse they failed to listen to the voices of the people who are involved but chose to do it their own way. The district has one more chance to listen and the way they respond w ill have a great deal to do with whether they w ill retain the right to make their own desegregation plans or whether it w ill become the responsibility of the courts. Retrain fishermen The state courts and the fisheries deportment in Washington are on a collision course with the federal government. They have consistently at tempted to avoid Judge Boldr's decision protecting Indian fishing rights by trying to superceed the federal court or refuse to enforce federal court rulings. This type of octi on con do nothing but bring oil of the police powers of the federal government down on the state ond on the non-white fishermen. If there is not enough left of the fishing industry to allow the Indians their share and still support a non-Indian commercial fishing, then the state should be using its resources to assist the non-white fishermen retrain and become established in some other enterprise It is unfortunate that fishing is no longer a lucrative trode, but industrialization, loss of resources, etc. has coused the demise of many trodes before this and all would be better served by a rapid readjustment. Institutional racism, racist personality explorad To the Editor Ccncerning the Town H all progrsm. dealing w ith opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities in the Portland area. Sunday. October 2, 1977. 1 am r a t anxious to be the loudest voice or the moat popular. But I w.-uld like to thin k th a t, at a crucial moment, I was an effective voice of the voiceless, an effec tiv e hope at the hopeless Commissioner Jordan has got his show together. Brother Jordan did his home w ork. He spoke out against Institutions Used Racism in the State of Oregon. We must explore the history of institutions fixed racism in Oregon, until we do. our ideas and strategies for dealing with racial hostilities are going to remain isolated, irrelevant and ineffective In Oregon, super patriotism w ith reli gtous fevor is often used to legitim atize almost everything from V iet Nam to W aterg a te . The "Communist or red scare" has always served the super p atrio t. H e explains away all of his critics and ojiponents as communists or suhver sives. W e can no longer allow, atrocious bullies to carry things w ith a high hand by wrapping themselves in the flag they have disgraced. A relatively unpubbeiaed pi-nod at Am erican history from the 1890 s through the 1930 s reveals that Blacks are not the first Am erican citizens to have experienced blatant forms o f racism at the hands of th e ir fellow « o ra l led C hnstian Americans. T he caucasmd Angle-Saxon Protestants o r Nordics fear ed competition and economic displace nvent by the non Nordic imm igrants They used every means to prove that the not im m ediately diagnose him as grossly pathological. Y et when the society at large employs these mechanisms they are overlooked. P a rt of the explanation for overlooking this rests w ith the obvious fact that the very people who would diagnose the pathology are themselves racists sad consequently unable and unwilling to view th e ir behavior as sick. M oreover, the endemic nature of racism makes it easier to ignore its pathology. It is as if everyone in the society has the flu perpetually; under such circumstances it would take some careful analysis to recognize th a t, despite its prevalence, to have the flu is to he sick. Too often people are w ant to mistake the prevalence, to a form of behavior aa testimony to its normalcy. T he man who kills one man on a street corner w ith a knife is considered a m urderer, the man who drops an atom bomb, killing fifty thousand humans, is a hero because he i t m erely one of many. W hat is common soon comes to be regarded as normal. Hence, the common ness of racism enables most in the society to ignore its pathological nature. Y et even the prevalence of racism would not enable the racist to be unknowing of his illness unless they employed the usual device employed by all sick people to avoid confrontation w ith th e ir pathology. im m igrants w ere genetically inferior and passed repressive legislation baaed on this as justification. Now because they present an «cononuc throat, the Blacks and o ther m inorities of color are expected to suffer through the same pages of history at the pleasure of the children of the old Nordics and the Anglicised children of the old imm igrants. This is so-called Chnstian raucasiod American history that every Black should know. And it is just as im portant that every Black let the raucasiod Americans know that he knows it. T ho se who cannot rem em ber the past are condemned to repeat IL “ George Santayana 11863 1952». Brother Kent Ford attem pted to deal w ith the psychodynamics of the collective raucasiod racist, in the State of Oregon. Tm forced to agree w ith B rother Ford. I t is im portant that Black folk in Oregon have some understanding of the patho logy of raucasiod racism so th a t they may deal w ith it more appropriately. I f an individual w ere to w alk into a psychiatrist s or a psychologist's office exhibiting the symptoms that are so typical of the racist in Oregon, there isn't a clinician o r any competence that would Respectfully, D r. Jam il Cherovee Police brutality questioned To the Editor: Yo ur front page story of “Police Bruts lily Against B la ck s " has left me wonder- ing what the tru e facts were. There seems to be an automatic rationalizing that the Black is always rig ht, the police always wrong. Suppose the tru e facts w ere that the Black in question was a pow erfully strong man. who because of his drunken abusive ness to his w hite wife forced her to call the police for protection for her and her baby Drunken husbands, white or Black, can became savage brutes you know. In answer to her call four patrolmen arriv e. Perhaps they have had to deal w ith this Muhammad Ah before when he was drunk. They go in the house to arrest him far assault A t this juncture, outside, the Black neighbor lady heard “blows against flesh“ inside the bouse. Suppose those blows w ere the drunken Black attacking the arresting officers, whom the frightened «rife had called? Porsocution Blows on th e ir flesh? In th a t case, it would be “Black b ru ta lity ." w ouldn't it? I have always believed that a tru e friend of the Black people would not encourage them in b itte r self-pity, so destructive an attitude. Perhaps nothing th eir eiders could do o r say would encourage Black youth in contempt for the law and crim e m are than this self p ity. 1 have some Black friends who are tellin g th e ir children. “Measure up! Keep you r nose dean! W o rk hard, study - don’t ask favors just because you're M a rk .“ T h e ir children are a credit for any com m unity, w hite or Black. of Blacks T o the Editor: “A difference in color?" You are to be commended tor I have continually said, “I f the man is proven guilty O K . but don’t just push a Black man down who had ability and perseverance and became a leader just because he is Black." I liked H erb Cawthorne's article on "U n ity". Thia we must have if we are to overcome. Thank you for your help to O.S.P. Sincerely Yours, Ms. H . Pike Oregon C ity, Oregon (Editar's N etoT he m u ta y u r t f i i waa Sincerely. E velyn Collins ■at drunk; ha was in jw r f Pebce hru- Dood inmate's relatives sought To the Editor: N. W I L L I A M ! [MINORITY r S S S M Eliot 11-Another Redevelopment RIP-OFF?? Portland O bserver _ ™ Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company. 2201 North Knhngsw orth. Portland. Oregon 97217. M ailing address: P .0 . Box 3127. Portland. Oregon 97208 Telephone: 283-2406 Subscriptions :S7 JO per ye year outside Portland. 1st Place Beet A d R e e a ta O N P A 1971 Does anyone know the address of the next of kin of Dennis L . Collins? Fm w ritin g because I just read a notice in Esquire. I t reads: “Kenneth N ile Copptnger. J r ., was beaten and stabbed to death in a Dallas County ja il cell a fte r police mistakenly arrested him instead o f his fath er on a drinking while d riv in g charge. Probation officer W ayloa D . Vernon said. "W e re g re t that the bay loot bis life and feel to some degree responsible." Esquire w rites. “A w , c'mon W'aylou, don't be so hard on yourself." W h a t seems to be implied is that someone connected w ith corrections is hinting that he m ight be vaguely respon sible for his own actions And th a t’s a start. On August 22nd. of this year. Dennis hung himself in cell *214 in the segrega tioo building at Oregon's prison. Cell 9214 is almost a t the end of a tie r th a t has fifteen cells numbered 201 215. T h ere is a shower stall between 201. and the ceiling to-floor bars separating the guards land ing from the tier. A few days a fte r Dennis hung himself another man hung himself -after cutting his w rists) in cell 9216 on the opposite side of the same floor. The tie r that thia second man hung himself on is numbered 216-230. There's a shower stall, as on the other side, between the first cell and the ceiling to floor bars separating the guard's landing from the tier. This second man lived because the guard (a d ifferent guard) called for help in time. T h e re are a few of us who believe Dennis may have lived if the guard w orking on August 22nd had not delayed in getting help. And we wish to mention this to his next of kin if we can find them. Dennis hung himself a fter the segrega two unit was locked down for the night. The men on each side of Dennis heard his body beat against the bars in its last . The steel door that Dennis hung in the T ri-C ounty area. S8.00 per I Paid at Partlaad. O r a n e Í O N P A 1973 The P e rtla a d O bserver's official position is expressed only in its Publisher's column (W e See The W orld Through Black Eyes). A n y other m aterial throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual w rite r or subm itter and reflect the opunon at the Pertlaa Sth Piece Best E d ito rial N N P A 1973 Herrick Editorial Award NN A 1973 2nd Piece ALFRED L. HENDERSON him self on rattled against its steel casing. The men on eith er side of Dennis yelled* “Man down!", the cry used when someone hangs up. and others took up the cry . The guard w orking that night had argued w ith just about everyone on the tie r about making noise. T he noise irrita te d the guard. Apparently he couldn't concentrate on the magazine he was reading. A fte r he yelled the tie r into submission he returned to his mags zine or talking over the phone. But not for long. The men b rin g near Dennis yelled again. T h e guard returned and tried to shout the tie r down again. But no one quit. A fte r arguing w ith a man in one of the front cells, the guard finally went far help Dennis was cut down and laid out on the tie r. H e had stopped breathing, but another guard brought him back «nth mouth-to-mouth resudtation. Dennis died the next day. T he several minute« the guard delayed getting help m ight have made a difference. I t was only three or (our minutes total, the exact tim e it takes to starve a brain of oxygen. A p paren tly the guard thought we w ere yelling “M an down!" just to irrita te him. program th a t puts unexperienced guards in charge of prisoners, w ith a changeover every month that results in numerous misunderstandings, argum ents and disci plinary reports (some guards don't learn how to open the cells for a w eek o r tw o w ithout being shouted at dozens of times. This guard was one of them ). If th e guard did know w hat the cry "M an down!" m eant, then he deliberately delayed getting help for a man hanging in a cell. Even though the guard was “just doing his job,“ th a t favo rite refrain of new guards and G rand Juries going through the motions of investigating thia prison, even though there is no rule th a t a guard has to help a man hanging by his neck in a cell - even though Dennis put his own head in the nooae, it seems there should be some common sense guidelines among the staff that supplement that civil service regulations. Someday in the future, maybe not this century, but someday prison staffs might be held responsible for th e ir actions. That's w hy the question is asked a t the beginning of thia le tte r. 4iZa ... I. Dinctreiy, Donald Danford Oregon State Prison I f the guard didn't know w hat “M an down!" m eant, it is indicative o t a training lit-. » A/ B5. *»-•*< ,< Z’ W - u . <{. 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