New Day Begun
•age 2 Portland Observer Thursday. January 19. 197»
W e see the world
through Black eyes
City/School Commission grabs power from people
The a p p lic a tio n o f th e School Board a n d the C ity o f
’o rtla n d to th e M ott F oundation fo r m o n e y to set up
in in d e p e n d e n t S ch oo ls/C ity C om m ission needs a
ot m o re p u b lic a tte n tio n than it is g e ttin g .
This C om m ission, w h ich w ill cost $100,000 per year
n tax fu n d s p lus $250,000 per year fro m the p riv a te
o u n d a n o n , w ill be in d e p e n d e n t — resp on sible to no
jn e
As o u tlin e d m the p ro p o sa l, the C om m ission w o u ld
o o rd in a te p la n n in g fo r th e city a n d school d istrict in
jre a s that w o u ld in v o lv e both o rg a n iza tio n s . For
jx a m p le , it w o u ld try to insure th a t school closure
yvould not d im in is h city e ffo rt to u p g ra d e a
n e ig h b o rh o o d .
C o o rd in a tio n b e tw e e n the city a n d the school
district is essential, b ut the p ro po sed C om m ission has
several p itfa lls .
1. The C om m ission w o u ld ta ke the p la n n in g
fu n ctio n a w a y fro m th e e le c te d b o d ie s — the School
Board a nd the C ity C o u n cil.
It c o u ld beco m e a
q u a s i-g o v e rn m e n ta l a g e n cy s im ila r to the Portland
D e ve lo p m e n t C om m ission.
2 It w o u ld crea te a n o th e r le v e l o f b urea ucracy,
w ith a ll p la n n in g in the areas w ith w h ic h it w o u ld
d ea l, in c lu d in g school re o rg a n iz a tio n , h a v in g to go
th ro u g h it.
3 It w o u ld in te rfe re w ith th e cu rre n t citizen
in v o lv e m e n t e ffo rts o f the school d istrict - school
a d viso ry co m m itte e s a n d a re a a d viso ry co m m itte es.
These still do not insure tru e citize n p a rtic ip a tio n , b ut
they a re in v o lv e d in p la n n in g fo r school o rg a n iz a
tio n, re n o v a tio n , etc. W hat w o u ld th e ir ro le be a fte r
the cre a tio n o f the C om m ission?
The w e s t-s id e n e ig h b o rh o o d s a re n o w discussing
p o s s ib le school ^ o r g a n iz a tio n in th e ir a re a . W h a t
im p a c t on this ty p e o f p la n n in g w ill the C om m issio n
h ave ?
4 The c itiz e n 's in v o lv e m e n t th e city has crea ted
th ro u g h its n e ig h b o rh o o d o rg a n iz a tio n s w o u ld be
n e g a te d to a la rg e e x te n t w h ile p la n n in g w o u ld go
to the C om m issio n.
5. J u d g in g by th e past. B lue R ibbon C om m issions
te n d to re p re s e n t th e d o w n to w n business e s ta b lis h
m e n t n ot students a n d parents.
6. Since th e C om m issio n is to d e a l w ith " r a c ia l
is o la tio n ", m in o rity im p a c te d n e ig h b o rh o o d s , etc. —
w h a t e ffe c t w ill its c re a tio n in M a y h a v e on the
School Board a c tio n on the re c o m m e n d a tio n s o f the
C o m m u n ity C o a litio n fo r School In te g ra tio n to be
s u b m itte d in June?
W ill it g iv e the B oard an
o p p o rtu n ity to dism iss or p u t o ff d iffic u lt d ecisions?
7. The C om m issio n w o u ld a llo w the School Board
a nd th e C ity C o u n c il to a b d ic a te th e ir re s p o n s ib ilitie s
in this im p o rta n t a re a .
These a n d m a n y o th e r c o n s id e ra tio n s a n d q u e s
tio n s n e e d to be a n s w e re d . The p la n n eeds a fu ll
p u b lic a irin g . It is too im p o rta n t to be q u ic k ly shoved
th ro u g h th e School B oard n ext M o n d a y w ith o u t an
o p p o rtu n ity fro m the p u b lic to study it a n d resp on d
It a p p e a rs th a t the ro le o f the C om m issio n w ill be
to p ro v id e a b u ffe r b e tw e e n th e p e o p le a n d the
schools a n d b e tw e e n the p e o p le a n d th e city. W hy
c a n n o t e sse n tia l p la n n in g c o o rd in a tio n be d o n e w ith
e x is tin g p la n n in g s ta ff -- p e rh a p s w ith som e a d d i
tio ns — a n d u sin g e x is tin g c h a n n e ls o f citizen s
p a rtic ip a tio n ?
No Blacks allowed
C om m issio ne r C harles Jo rd an ju m p e d on the
M a yo r last w e e k because G o ld sch m id t a g a in ig
nored his re c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r a p p o in tm e n t to the
P ortland D e v e lo p m e n t C om m ission. Jordan said PDC
does not h ave a d e q u a te re p re s e n ta tio n from N o rth
east P ortland, w h ic h has b ee n the ta rg e t o f m uch o f
PDC's effo rts.
Perhaps Jordan sh o u ld be m o re e x p lic it. The fa ct
is that th e re is not n o w a nd has n e ve r b ee n a Black
person on PDC a lth o u g h a la rg e p a rt o f PDC's b u d g e t
in past years has b e e n the d ire c t re su lt o f the Black
co m m u n ity. PDC has e n p y e d fu n d s fo r M o d e l C ities,
u rb a n re n e w a l fu n d s a n d c u rre n tly the H ousing and
C o m m u n ity D e v e lo p m e n t Act. O v e r the years th e re
h a v e b e e n m a n y abuses p ra c tic e d a g a in s t Black
h o m e o w n e rs a n d businesses.
N e a rly e v e ry c ity c o m m itte e a n d task fo rc e has
som e Black re p re s e n ta tio n . It seem s easy to p ut a
B lack on the Y o uth C om m issio n or th e H um an
R e la tio n s C om m issio n, w ith th e ir in fim ite s im a l b u d
gets, b u t the M a y o r h a sn 't seen f it to a p p o in t a Black
to PDC -- w h ic h spends m illio n s .
C o m m is s io n e r J o rd an a n d the p e o p le o f P ortland
h a v e the rig h t to be a ng ry.
Only T&n Years Later His Dream Deferred ! !
I Nt Place
Community Service
ONPA 1973
Portland O bserver
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Second (lass Postage Paid at Portland. Oregon
The Portland Observer'» official position is expressed only in
its Publisher's column IWe See The World Through Black
Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion
of I he individual w riter or submitter and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer.
ALFR ED I. IIENOEKSON
M iM B tP
I Oregon
Newspaper
I Publishers
Association
I
William Baxley. From his election in
1970, he began working on the church
bombing case to, as he said during the
trial, “show the world" that Birmingham
was a city of justice. Baxley had also
helped the NAACP win a full pardon for
Clarence (Willie) Norris, last of the
“ Scottsboro Boys" for the alleged rape of
two white women in the 1930s.
His victories in both cases clearly
demonstrated the changed atmosphere
throughout the south. But it should not
he forgotten that those demonstrations of
positive social change in the administra
lion ol criminal justice were almost
isolated incidences. Still free are the
murderers of civil rights workers such as
Medgar Evers, Wharlest Jackson. Ver
non Dahnter. the Reverend James Reeb,
Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman,
James Chancy and Harry T. Moore.
For the hundreds of Blacks who were
lynched in the south this century, so
ciety's only means for atonement seems
to be to forget that those people ever
existed. That the cruel threads of racism
still exist through America, however, can
be seen in the many instances of police
committed violence throughout the big
cities where Blacks are concentrated.
In Mississippi, a State Highway patrol
man even sued the NAACP back in 1975
for alleged slander. NAACP local leaders
had charged patrolman Robert E. Moody
with police brutality for allegedly beating
Kaunda accused of m eddling in Zim babw e affairs
To the Editor:
As the new year gets under way, the
world's attention is once more focused on
southern Africa where increased polari
zation of the races threatens to plunge
the subcontinent into a full -scale war.
Again, Zimbabwe dominates the scene
because: II Zimbabwe is an "easier nut to
crack,” and 2) that's where the fighting
has been most sustained.
Generally regarded as a central figure
in this life and death drama is one
Kenneth David Kaunda. self styled "hu
manist" President of Zambia. Henry
K issinger, Andrew Young. David
Schaurele, David Owens. British Foreign
Secretary; Lord Carver, British Negotia
ter; and every other U.S. and British
official who has gone to southern Africa
lately has called on Kaunda at one point
or another because, as the western
journalists see it, his backing is “ crucial"
for any peace initiative.
Yet for all that, the record clearly
shows that the only contribution Kaunda
has made to the sticky Zimbabwe situa
lion is to further complicate an already
highly complicated situation. He is not. as
he claims, working for the liberation of
Zimbabwe. He is working for his own
selfish ends. Everything he has done up
to this point indicates he is working to
install his friend Joshua Nkomo as the
leader of Zimbabwe.
Why? Several reasons have been put
forth. One is that even though Zambia
has been “ independent" for almost four
teen years, she is just as under developed
today as she was at the time of indepen
dence. Housewives line up outside the
market at 5:00 a.m. to compete for the
few commodities available and shortages
of sugar and toilet paper have been
widely reported. So serious in fact, was
the toilet paper shortage that a South
African A ir Force jet had to rush in
emergency supplies towards the close of
last year. And why an A ir Force plane?
Your guess is as good as mine. Zambia
grows sugar but there is still a shortage
due to the ineptitude and bureaucratic
boodoggte that now characterize Zambian
politics.
Kaunda is a dictator but the western
press handles him with velvet gloves
because he is so fanatically anti commu
nisi and remains the most vocal defender
of capitalism in the Third World. So.
essentially, what he wants to do is to
ensure that Zimbabwe gets a “ respon
sible" government even if that means
riding rough shot over the 7m. citizens of
Zimbabwe. He sees Nkomo as the most
easily manipulate because without
Kaunda's backing, Nkomo would have
tieen finished as a politician in Zimbabwe.
He just does not have the massive
popular support he once enjoyed. And
the fact that both Kaunda and Nkomo are
being used by 'Tiny' Rowland, the chair
man of the British company, Iainrho. is
common knowledge to any Zimbabwe
watcher.
Kaunda wants to run the show not only
in Zambia but in Zimbabwe also. To that
end. he has tirelessly and shamelessly
worked to obliterate all of Nkomo's
$7.50
rivals. Nkomo is the only Zimbabwean
nationalist still allowed to maintain of
fices at Lusaka's so-called Liberation
Centre. Kaundu had the murderers of
Herbert Chitepo. the late Secretary
General of ZAND (Zimbabwe African
National Union) released from prison
after serving barely three months after
they promised to leave ZANU and come
join Nkomo's ZAPU (Zimbabwe African
People's Union).
Kaunda also prevailed in getting the
so-called Front-line presidents to support
only the “ Patriotic Front,” the loose
alliance of ZAPU and Robert Mugabe's
ZANU guerila forces. He also cried at the
OAU meeting in Gabon until the African
body had agreed to support and finance
only the Patriotic Front as the sole
organization charged with liberating Zim
babwe, leaving Ndabuningi Sithole and
Bishop Muzorewa out in the cold.
It has recently come to light that while
he was Chairman of the OAU. publicly
denouncing apartheid, he was holding
secret negotiations with the South Afri
can dictator, Johannes Vorster. He held
another secret meeting in Lusaka with
lan Smith towards the end of last year in
which he tried to get Smith to surrender
power to Nkomo. Even though ever since
the whole Zimbuhwe debacle started he
has been ceaselessly calling for "one man
one vote," now that he realizes Nkomo
does not stand a chance of winning such
an election, he has suddenly started
singing a different tune. Now he is
calling on Britain to simply hand over
power to the PF (Patriotic Front), mean
ing Nkomo, and suggesting that elections
lie postponed for at least three years "to
avert a civil war.” Considering Zambia
hasn't had any real elections in almost
fourteen years, nobody is fooled by this
naively absurd logic.
As if that's not bud enough, he hus gone
so far as to carry on a vicious campaign of
character assassinations against the
other Zimbabwe nationalists particularly
Muzorewa. using such outlets as the
government controlled Zambia TV and
Zamhiu Daily Mail, (the newspaper). He
has called the people of Zimbabwe "stu
pid" for refusing to support Nkomo and
one of his ministers was quoted as saying.
“ Even if Muzorewa is elected, he will be
removed." After he hud udvoeated the
creation of a Zimbabwe National L i
beration Army, he had it disbanded
because the soldiers would not accept
Nkomo as their commander in-chief.
Earlier on he hud ulso encouraged the
then four sepurate nationalist organiza
tions. ZAPU, ZANU, FROLIZI and the
ANC to unite into the new ANC so they
would work together instead of ugainst
each other hut he broke it up ugain as
soon as the delegates refused to accept
Nkomo us the new President. He even
sent 129 guerillas hack to Rhodesia and
into the hands of Smith's men because
they hud refused to join Nkomo's urmy!
The sad thing is that while he is doing
all this, he continues to whine about "the
sacrifices we are making on behalf of our
brothers in Zimbabwe.” And in the eyes
of the world, he continues to occupy
centre stage as the "leader closest to the
struggle."
I have no quarrel with Nkomo. He hus
as much right ns 1 do to contest the
Presidency of Zimbabwe.
I have no
quurrel with Kaunda either. He is free to
support whoever he wishes. What 1 do
disagree with, however, are the dirUy
tricks they are using, the fact Lhut
Kaundu has taken it upon himself to
decide what’s best for us.
I disagree with the way he is running
Zambia but I have never taken the
Zambians to task for not getting rid of
him. 1 feel that is a Zambian affair and
should I n - handled hy Zambians. By the
same token, I expect him to accord us the
same respect, He cun aid us in our
struggle but that does not give him the
license to tell us how to think, how to act.
how to vole. We are quite capable of
doing that by ourselves. And if we make
an unwise choice, that will I n - our
problem. We are the ones who will huve
to live with that mistake.
N. Eungai Kumbulu.
(Twenty-three year old Zimbabwe na
tional, third year student at I’ SU.I
Comments on prison control
To the Editor:
The article “ Murder of the Mind" by
Representative laiuis Stokes was well
written. His mention of psychosurgery to
rehabilitate prisoners is a cold possibility,
especially when the rehubilitators prac
lice thought control twenty four hours u
day.
January 11, 1978, an informant is
brought on the tier. Both the prison
administration and the prison population
knows, and has records of the informant.
Both the administration and the prison
ers know there is going to be a hassle.
W hy do they do it?
The answer to that question is the key
to how the administration controls a large
prison population with relatively few
guards. The answer is trouble. As long
as the administration keeps enough trou
hie going, its work is done for it: thought
in T ri—County A re a
2nd Place
Best Editorial
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1975
MEMBER
97208
Attociahon - Founded 1M6
I
a Black man whom he had arrested on a
traffic violation charge. A Mississippi
court last year awarded patrolman
Moody $250, (XX) in damages against the
NAACP. But the State Supreme Court
dismissed the charges last September.
The scars of the heating, however, will
remain with the victim James Stokes.
Meanwhile, a New York jury last month#
found police officer Robert H. Torsney
not guilty for reason of insanity in the
shooting death of Randolph Evans. The
fifteen year-old Black Brooklyn youth
was killed Thanksgiving Day last year
with a bullet to his head in front of his
Brooklyn home.
Even though the verdict had been
delivered by a criminal court jury, this
appears to have been a gross miscarriage
of justice.
Torsney admitted killing
young Evans after allegedly seeing him
reach for a gun. But no gun was ever
seen by eyewitnesses.
That such a
madman could have been empowered
with law enforw-menl duties is an all too
common reality of present day society.
In muny other cities, such as Philadel
phia, Detroit and Chicago, similar racial
killings occur at will hy policemen, most
of whom escape without being charged
with any crime. To end these injustices,
society must recognize that there is
really no difference in a racial killing,
whether it is committed by a Chambliss
or a Torsney.
JattM to tko ZdiitH,
Honorable Mention
Herrick Editorial Award
NNA 1973
National Advertising Ke.iresenlalive
Amalgamated Publishers. Inc.
New York
t a i l l e r / Publisher
by Benjamin Hooks
The conviction of Robert E. Chambliss
for the vicious dynamite bombing of the
lttth Street Baptist Church in Birming
ham that killed four young Black girls has
aroused jubilation throughout Alabama
and many parts of the south. I he guilt
and shame over the south's inability to
convict those responsible for this glaring
crime has been removed supposedly some
fourteen years after it was committed.
For the girl's parents, however, the
“ victory” was painfully hollow. The death
of their daughters is a finality that they
must continue to bear The young lives
were claimed during one of America’s
most violent periods, as the forces of
social change marched irrevocably
throughout America. As Altha Robert
son, mother of Carol who was killed, said
tearfully after the verdict was handed
down. “Things are better in Birmingham
now. Things are looking up. It does
make you feel better.”
Although “ things are looking up," it
was evident that Mrs. Robertson and the
other girl's parents do not believe that
the battles against the kinds of brutality
and injustice that claimed their daught
ers’ lives have been won. Society might
be said to have learned a lesson. But,
need the price have been that high?
Chambliss' conviction was also a per
sonal victory for Alabama prosecutor
I
control.
One of the biggest problems prisoners
seem to have in changing unything is that
they have very little credability. One day
1 hope a skeptical society will look at t he
records of the prisoners in the segrega
lion unit, 197b, 1977, and will also look at
the staff "confidential” records. The one
constant in the staff modus operandi is
the use of its informants, as on January
11, 1978. Yelling, screaming, the expo
sure of the informant, his denial it must
I n - satisfying to sit back and “ rehahili
tale."
Prison is a glass house for the keepers
and the kept. The records of the keepers
arc never seen they would expose the
"correctional" mind.
Sincerely,
Donald Danford
O.S.l' #32323