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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1978)
Community reaction m ixed PORTLAND PDC plans distribution center OBSERVER Volume H No. 5 Thursday, January 26, 1978 10c per copy Board adopts City-School plan A watered down version of the C ity / Gladys McCoy recommended that the School Commission was endorsed by the Board adopt the proposal but hold a Portland School Board Monday night public hearing latter to inform the public following opposition from the public. The about the proposal, “so people under thrice-changed proposal was accepted stand and can have their questions with the requirement that a public answered, we will get support.” hearing be held and that the proposal be Among the citizens speaking was Ms. open to change before presentation to the Claudia Fisher who questioned the pro M ott foundation for funding. cess of adoption without involving citi The proposal, which first came to zens, and expressed her concern that the public attention in December, was re Commission would negate the work of vised last Friday and again Monday, prior the Community Coalition for School In to the Board meeting. The proposal te g ra tio n and s im ila r com m unity originally would have formed a nine- groups. Ms. Jan Rose, a southeast resident, emotionally described the hours member Commission to plan and of work citizens do in neighborhood implement city school policy involving closure and reorganization of schools and groups, only to have their influence usurped by appointed boards. She joint use of school buildings. The most accused the Board of developing “another recent proposal has the Commission in a layer of unnecessary bureaucracy." more advisory role. Board member W ally Priestley c riti The Committee for Quality Education cized the process through which the for All Children had requested a delay proposal was designed - written by the and reiterated their position that the school district and city staff and lobbied Commission would have “negative impli by Superintendent Blanchard - without cators from citizen participation." School Board or public input. Mrs. Vesia Loving accused the City and He also expressed concern that the the School District of “an illegitimate appointed commission would subvert citi relationship.” “The School Board and the zen participation. City are trying to show a perfect m ar Following citizen testimony asking for riage relationship but in essence. I view it a delay to enable citizens to read the as a 'shacking up' kind of arrangement proposal and respond. Board member until each reaches certain goals....I con sider this Commission as another con by the School Board - not facing its respon sibility in implementing a just and fair integration plan.” Supporters of the proposal included Mrs. Gerry Newhall. Although she sup ported the concept, said her organization Schools for the C ity ” did not have time to review the proposal and take a position. Mrs. Julie (Don) Sterling supported the proposal. Prior to the Board meeting some of the more offensive language regarding racial desegregation had been deleted. The original stated: “For almost a decade, the School District has been providing an expanding voluntary stu dent transfer program to reduce racial isolation in this area. The two major components of this program, early child hood centers which attract a m ajority population to transfer to primary schools with substantial minority enrollment, and a transfer program for minority children wishing to enroll in schools in predomi nately white neighborhoods, have been extremely successful." The statement “to reduce racial isolation in this area” and "wishing to enroll" were deleted and "achieved a significant level of success" substituted from “been extrem ely suc cessful." Over one hundred persons attended the King Neighborhood Association meeting Tuesday night to hear Thomas Kennedy, director of the Union Avenue Redevelopment Project, explain Portland Development Commission's plans for a Nordstrom distribution center in their neighborhood. PDC plans to demolish the existing structures in a four block area bordered by Union Avenue and Sixth Avenue, Shaver and Skidmore. The plan is a portion of the effort to redevelop the Union Avenue strip. Many citizens present at the meeting had not heard about the proposal and were concerned that the immediate neighbors of the area had not been contacted. Several expressed anger that the Neighborhood Association, the Northeast Coalition and other community based organizations had not been includ ed in the planning. Kennedy explained that his office is contacting residents in the four block area first to explain relo cation benefits, determine the effects of relocation on the households and gain their approval. He reiterated several times that the property owners have a choice and that the “community" can accept or block the project. Kennedy also said a number of meet ings will be held in the community to explain the program, but none have been scheduled. He also informed the group that public hearings will be held and “a DO 0 an ID a Alaska. He was elected to the National Board of the N A A C P and was considered a leader among the “Young Turks", a group of younger men who attempted to update and modernize the organization. Tanner, who is 59, is a practicing attorney in Tacoma. In one of his better known cases he represented Indian tribes of Western Washington in their success fui effort to gain fishing rights provided by their treaties with the United States. Tanner was a candidate for the Demo cratic nomination for Governor of Wash ington and is close to Senator- Henry Jackson. He was a platform speaker at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. Kennedy explained that buildings will be purchased at fair market value and resident-owners will be eligible for up to $15,000 for relocation in addition to moving costs. Renters can receive up to $4,000 plus moving costs. He said the project will not be launched it the resi dents do not agree but gave no criteria for determining that decision. I f the decision to sell is made by enough owners to receive approval for the project, the others will have to go, he stated. The final decision will be made by the City Council and is to be made approximately three weeks. Currently the plan is to clear the property, prepare the site and sell it to Nordstrom tor a distribution center. The building, as envisioned, will be no more than two stories high and will be landscaped. Nordstrom would also open a bargain type store on Union Avenue and would employ approximately ninety per sons. I f Nordstrom takes the property. "Ì J Q LJ nO 0 d □ it must be ready for occupancy in the Spring of 1979, but there is no assurance that they will buy. Kennedy explained that economic de veiopment in the area between Killings worth and Fremont is needed and that an overriding factor is the creation of jobs in the area. Nordstrom projects approxi mately ninety jobs. Kennedy said there are assurances that many of these em ployees would come from the community and that training for upward mobility would be included. Among the concerns expressed by those present at the meeting were: lowering the value of surrounding prop erty , later expansion to surrounding property, increased crime, appearance, change of environment for homes across Sixth Avenue. Persons in the site expressed fears about relocating including: increased mortgage payments, fair payment for property, higher taxes, availability of suitable housing, removal from the fam iliar neighborhood, loss of security for elderly persons. During and after the meeting many persons stated their fears that decisions had already been made and that this is another move to replace residential areas in Albina with commercial and light industry. Most comments were over the fact that the plan had gone this far without community involvement. - ¡— 0 □□ oQ c J N.E. Union Ave. Tanner appointed federal judge President Jimmy C arter has an nounced the nomination of Tacoma attor ney Jack Tanner to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington. Tanner has been active in the N A A C P for many years, serving as President of the Tacoma Branch and President of the Northwest Area Conference which in cludes Washington, Oregon. Idaho and vote will be taken". Persons living across Sixth Avenue and in the immediate neighborhood were concerned that they had not been includ ed in the "affected group” and had not been notified. According to Kennedy, the site con tains 46 residential buildings with an estimated 60 residential units. Eighteen are owner occupied and 29 are tennant occupied. CD □ ’ CO Cri 0 D no) □ o n 1 J n □ — n u q - a a aD N.E. Grand Ave n in E c±3 i- i _______ cz) N.E. 6th AveJ a r a s i T O □ dp £ Q a d O jO lH q Ig il lO id q tz) s r ¡□¡'¡ jp Q N.E. 7th Ave. South African liberation movement leader visits Portland by Elizabeth Groff “The Blacks of South Africa are ready for any serious revolutionary activity." These were the words of Sipho (pro nounced See' po) Buthelezi. former Secre tary General of South Africa’s Black People's Convention, when he was in this country briefly in August of last year. Buthelezi, who has lived in exile in Botswana since 1974 teaching in a “Bri gade" high school and acting as a repre sentative of the Black People's Conven tion (founded by Steve Biko and now a banned organization), is back in the States for a nation-wide speaking tour sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee. He will be in Portland from January 29th to February 1st. talking about the political trends in South Africa from the time of the Soweto riots to present-day developments. T hirty ^ne years old, Buthelezi was born of a working class family in South Africa. He was active in student politics throughout the 60s and early ’70s, helped form a local branch of SASO (South African Students' Organization) in 1970 and became Secretary General of the Black People's Convention in 1972. In 1973 he was arrested, served with a five year banning and restriction order and later sentenced to imprisonment and tortured before fleeing to Botswana in 1974. Buthelezi’s speaking tour began sev eral weeks ago in Philadelphia where he said that the recent bannings and arrest have brought a new chapter to the struggle against white minority rule in South Africa. 1978, he says, will be a crucial year in the struggle. "We are under no illusions that difficult limes lie ahead of us,” Buthelezi said. “But we have abundant confidence and faith in the invincibility of the people in the struggle." Buthelezi believes that the liberation struggle inevitably will include increased armed action but will also rely significant ly on other activities such as strikes and boycotts. He sees outside pressure for U.S., British and other Western corpora tions to withdraw from South Africa as an important part of the struggle. One goal of the Black People's Conven tion, which has adopted the Black Con sciousness Movement as its working ideology, is to raise the awareness of all people that the system in South Africa is designed for “maximum exploitation of Black people.” As a result, “the BPC suffered heavy repression from the start," says Buthelezi. W ithin sixteen months all of the executive leadership of the BPC was either imprisoned, banned, under house arrest or in exile. Solidarity rallies in 1974 for Mozambique brought the heaviest government crackdown. Regarding Zimbabwe, Buthelezi said, "We are very suspicious of calculated attempts by those who talk about ‘peace* to install a puppet, neocolonial regime under Black masks." He said the current Anglo-American peace proposals smack too much of Prime M inister Smith’s “internal solution," because they would keep a disproportionate number of whites in power along with Blacks. On South Africa, he added that “We view the Bantustans for what they are - cheap labor reservoirs and slavery camps." He sees Soweto as more than just an isolated incident, which is how many people in the West view it. “Actual ly, the organizing work (in Soweto) had been going on for some tim e,” he pointed out. “I t was not just riots but organized political activity. The western media has twisted the situation to make people think it was an outburst against the Bantu education only, but it was a struggle against the whole repressive system of apartheid." W hile in Portland, in addition to talking about the current political trends in South Africa in the context of the struggles for liberation, Buthelezi will discuss the bannings, Steve Biko, political trends and negotiations in Namibia and Zimbabwe, U.S. investment and present tasks of the liberation movement. There will be a number of opportuni ties to hear Buthelezi during his stay in Portland: Sunday, January 29th, 11:30 to 1:30 at the Northwest Regional Convention of the National Lawyers Guild in Room 328 Smith Center at Portland State U niver sity. Sandwiches at cost. Open to the public. Monday, January 30th, 7:00 p.m.. Dis cussion with Portland Citizens Against Racism at 3733 N .E. 24th; 10:30 p.m.. Interview with Tod W arren, Channel 12 (live). Tuesday, January 31st, 7:30 p.m., "South Africa Today - Repression and Resistance," King Neighborhood Facility Cafetorium, 4815 N .E . 7th Avenue; 10:30 a.m.. Live interview on KBOO, F M 90.7; 12:00 Noon: Meeting with the Black Students Union, Portland State Univer sity. Wednesday, February 1st, 3:30 p.m., Lewis and Clark College, Council Cham bers, “South Africa Today.” SIPHO BUTHELEZI Senator Humphrey’s last message was to Black Americans A t the exact moment on Friday evening. January 13th, that Senator Hubert Humphrey died, he was being honored by the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association. Ofield Dukes, assistant to Humphrey during his term as Vice President, had been sent to Miami to read Senator Humphrey's speech to the group. Dukes also carried with him a speech to be delivered the following night to Atlanta's Ekenezer Baptist Church, where the M artin Luther King, Jr., Center for Social Changes had planned a tribute to Humphrey, and with the Senator receiv ing the M artin Luther King Memorial Award. After Humphrey's death, the night before, the program was changed to a Memorial Service and Dukes read what turned out to be Humphrey's last speech a strong statement on civil rights. The two speeches follow. SPEEC H D E L IV E R E D I D N N PA J A N U A R Y 13,1978 "Dear friends, I remain eternaly grate- fid the strong bonds of friendship which have characterized our relationship over the years, I will never forget the firm friendship you have extended to me, particularly during the 1968 Presidential campaign. ' I can recall when we first set up the National Newspaper Publishers Associa tion Governmental Affairs Committee, and how much we in government b e n e fi did not eradicate inequality and injustice ted from the candid discussion we had from our society. with leading Black editors and publish T h a t is why I believe the concept of ers. I am aware Vice President Mondale the civil rights movement must be broad has been contacted about re-establishing ened to include the rights and opportuni this Committee, and you can be assured I ties that should be available to all will do all I can to see that it becomes disadvantaged groups in America. I operational once again. know this is your goal as well. "Much has occurred since we were ‘T h e struggle for civil rights is a together two years ago in Philadelphia. struggle for the rights and privileges and We have lost some dear friends friends duties of all Americans. And what do who were very close to me personally. these rights include? Cecil Newman of the Minnea.ralis S,>okes- The right to a meaningful life, free man and Howard Woods of the St. Ixiuis from poverty that today afflicts some 25 Sentinel. I pay special tribute to these milllion Americans. two exceptional journalists whose style — The right to full and equal and ideals exemplified the conscience of protection under the law - an end to the America. double standard applied to many of those "You are now in your 151st year as an who are less privileged, where justice organization which has been the voice of delayed can become justice denied. the Black press of America. You have The right to productive and gainful raised the cry for equal rights and human employment - for all our people, as a justice from coast to coast. Your organi specific national goal toward whose zation has been in the vanguard of the achievement we will apply every possible civil rights movement. You are the private and public resource. backbone of Black leadership through the The right to economic, political and country, and you are to be commended social opportunity where progress to for your courage, diligence and high ward realizing one's full potential will ideals in the pursuit of equality and public confront no artificial barrier of discrimi service. nation based on race, creed or sex. “I want to talk to you tonight about the „ ~ Th* r ’ghl t0 * decent neighborhood. continuation of this great struggle for The right to a life free from violence human rights and human dignity. and terrorism. "We are all fully aware that the civil “ - The right to quality education at all rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s levels, free from segregation. " - The right to live in good health under a system that helps assure modern health care for all at the lowest possible cost. “ - The right to be free from hunger and malnutrition. “ -- And the right to a clean and wholesome environment. ‘These rights belong to all American people. W ithout them there are no real civil or human rights. ‘T h e new dimensions of civil rights are to be found in the living and working conditions of our people. ‘T h is is our challenge, for if we cannot overcome the economic and social ob stacles to the full participation of our citizens in our society, the hard-won political and civil rights of the last two decades will hold little meaning for millions of our people. “Here in the United States, we have the most heterogeneous mixture of races, religions and nationalities ever to coexist peacefully under the tent of democracy. And we are the world's oldest democracy, which has completed celebrating two centuries of freedom. “I am an optimist. There is every reason to believe that our third century can be one of expanding freedom and opportunity for all Americans. “W e live by hope. We do not always get all we want when we want it. But we have to believe that someday, somehow, someway it will be better, and that we can make it so. "Your organization has always risen to the challenges presented by a less than perfect society, and I know you will continue to do so until we finally achieve the ideal human condition for all our citizens. Again, I deeply regret that I am unable to be with you personally tonight. But I urge you to make a New Year’s resolution that you will stay on course, and continue to work to overcome the barriers to genuine freedom and oppor tunity for all our people.” S E N A T O R H l'M P H R E Y ’S F IN A L M ESSAG E J A N U A R Y 14,1978 “Fourteen years ago D r. M artin Luther King, Jr. shared with us his dream for America. That cherished dream of what our nation could and should be, became our dream as well. Today we come together to celebrate the forty ninth anniversary of the birth of thia champion of the right of all people. We come together to recommit ourselves to the struggle to reach the promised land which he described from the mountain top. "I am deeply moved by the tribute bestowed upon me tonight. To be linked to D r. King in the battle for equal rights is a distinct honor. My only regret is that I cannot be with all of you tonight to share ip your warm friendship. “Your work, your sacrifice, your vision, your determination and your commit ment to an equal chance in life for all of our people have made great progress possible. Because of your efforts, we have rew ritten the nation’s laws to clearly recognize equal rights for all Americans. And, don't let anyone sell this achievement short - it is monumen- tai. W ithout it, equality of opportunity is not possible in education, in employment, in your neighborhood, in any important aspect of American life. ‘Today, life is better for most Black Americans than it was for their parents or grandparents. Incomes are better, educational opportunities are greater, health care has improved, political in fluence and representation has increased, and much more. That is progress. I*rogress which reaches into the homes of millions of our fellow citizens and directly affects their lives. I t is real progress, and we must not forget that it has occurred. “But, we cannot be satisfied in measur ing our progress solely by the distance we have come from the abominable conditions that existed in a period of gross injustice. We must face the facts. For despite our progress, a huge valley of shame separates Black and white Ameri ca: (Please turn to Page 2 Column 4)
