Pag» 2
Portland Observer
Thursday. February 9. 1979
W e see the world
Evie Crowell is serious and confident
through Black eyes
by Herb Cawtberue
by Herb L
A trip to the zoo
A new “ integration" proposal has conrte from
within the Portland Public School system which, if
odopted. would be highly destructive to Block and to
white children
This pion proposes to bring one classroom of third
groders from a white elementary school — complete
with teocher — to fill a classroom in Woodlawn
Elementary School. The white students would not be
distributed among the Woodlawn classes — which
are over fifty percent Block — but would be kept
separate.
These white children who would be transferred to
Woodlawn for a "multi-cultural" experience would
only mix with the resident population during recess,
lunch periods and special activities. To make it even
worse, classes would be rotated, so the lucky white
classrooms selected to visit Woodlawn would stay
only a few weeks, then go home and another group
arrive.
It is shocking to think that in 1978 this ridiculous
plan could receive serious consideration
True, it
would fill an empty classroom at Woodlawn and it
would improve the statistics at Woodlawn, but what
would if do to the students? For those third groders
coming in — but kept separate — it would be like a
trip to the 200, an opportunity to observe at a
distance Is this the purpose of a “ multi-cultural"
experience or of desegregation?
For the children who attend Woodlawn, this would
be the experience of living in a zoo, with a never
ending group of spectators coming to watch.
There would be no opportunity for natural
friendships to develop The phenomenon that now
exists in the schools — separation of Blocks and
whites in the cafeterias and in the playgrounds —
would be reinforced.
Surely the school district does not believe that the
community will sit back and let a program out of the
dark ages be thrust upon us!
Demo's seek minorities
The Democratic Party of Oregon has written its
new delegate selection and affirmative action plan
as required by the National Democratic Party. The
purpose of the plan is to bring those groups who
have been traditionally left out — minorities, women,
youth, the poor — into the Party's decision-making
process.
It was this effort — bringing in more
“ radicol" elements of the Party - that made the
nomination of McGovern and Carter possible.
The plan addresses a program to publicize the
delegate selection process through the Party organi
zation ond the media.
Also, organizations that
represent the “ unrepresented groups" will be
informed. The Party must also insure that the final
delegation is representative of the states' popula
tion.
The delegation includes eleven elected
delegates, the Stare Chairman and Vice Chairman,
three members of the National Democratic Commit
tee and the Governor,
The selection process insures that at least four of
the elected delegates are women, ond since the Vice
Chairman and one DNC member are women, at least
six of the seventeen delegates will be women.
Based on Oregon's population statistics, minorities
would be more than adequately represented with
one minority and since Bill McCoy is a DNC member,
that requirement is taken care of automatically. As
one member of the AA Committee remarked, there
is no problem in meeting the requirements.
The real test of the Democratic Party's intiatives
toward the unrepresented groups will be whether
the minimum will be acceptable or whether there
will be a real effort mode to bring more groups into
the decision-making process. Also, what attention
will be given to the political philosophies and racial
attitudes of the Caucasion delegates? We don't just
want one Black voter, we want seventeen votes on
issues of special concern to minorities.
The people who will choose these delegates will
be the four hundred electors who will be selected by
the county parties. This is where the impact must be
made if there is to be a true affirmative action
program. The county parties must reach out and
bring in minority people. Blacks and others who
have historically been omitted will not swarm to the
party without invitation.
Over a year ago the Multnomah County Democra
tic Central Committee, as required by the National
Committee, adopted an excellent affirmative oction
plan. This plan has never been implemented. No
organized effort has been made to encourage Blocks
and other minorities to become involved in the Party.
As for as we have been able to determine, the
affirmative action committee has not functioned for
over a year.
But Black people, also, must take some initiative.
There is no excuse to continue to remain on the
outside when important decisions are being made
These are the decisions that effect party policy and
party candidates.
faw th o rae
Upon first meeting Evie Crowell one
might be misled by a mistaken tmpres
sion. It may w ent as though she ts doing
more tiptoeing than running hard for the
Democratic nomination for the Oregon
House of Representative* District «16.
now held by Wally Priestley. But it's a
momentary perception w hkh. Ms. Cro-
well quickly points out. is the result of
people not appreciating fully what she is
trying to accomplish.
No one doubts that she is taking on a
sizeable task. Yet she is gaining confi
dence.
The sense that she seriously
intends to complete this campaign sue
cessfully - then move to an aggressive
effort in the general election - is much
more dominant than when she began a
few months ago. W hat is Evie Crowell
trying to do?
I will give you my
impressions which. I must admit, are
formed only by my some what distant
view.
The 42 year-old Librarian at Portland
State University is challenging incum
bant W ally Priestley's position in the
Oregon House of Representatives. Her
chief difficulty in this challenge is the
steep uphill climb required to prove her
value for the future as against Mr.
Priestley's record in the past.
Ms. Crowell feels that M r Priestley
does not provide adequate leadership at
the state level, that he fails to think
deeply enough on a consistent basis to
bring about the ideals which lead to
change
He often asks the right qua»
lions. Nevertheless, she contends M r.
Priestley finds it veiy difficult to pul
together the concerns of people, design
legislation, and achieve change in the
state government.
The problem facing Evie Crowell is to
demonstrate to citizens that she cat. do
the very things that she believes M r.
Priestley is unable to do: Take the
problems of little people, synthesise their
grievances, devise remedies, galvanize
support, introduce legislation, and get it
through.
“1 feel 1 am the one who can get
legislation through.“ says Ms. Crowell,
the former president of the Y W C A . “The
meumbant is not effective at the legisla
tive level.
He is spread thin.
The
legislative functions demand full time
attention. I am certain that I can provide
greater attention to the needs of district
16.“
According to many perceptions, Mr.
I*riestley's representation in the state
legislature ought to be separated from his
leadership in education. His involvement
on two different school boards plus
holding a position in the state legislature
leads Ms. Crowell to suggest that “he is
spread thin.”
In spite of this, M r.
Priestley's work on the local educational
scene renders the challenger's task more
difficult.
As a member of the Portland Board of
Education. M r. Priestley has been by far
the most consistent and positive voice
supporting Black participation in local
public school affairs His contribution to
the Community Coalition for School Inte
gration has been significant. Further
more, numerous community groups and
many individuals have been afforded the
chance to respond to the School Board
because M r. Priestley has furnished the
needed information.
In education. Priestley's concern for
listening to the voices of the Black
community is unquestioned. Philosophi
cally. M r. Priestley's ideals present a
picture that seems to be quite harmom
ous with what many Blacks think. How
ever, when it comes to the legislature,
the problem that Evie Crowell feels she
addresses is quite different.
Evie Crowell thinks she can achieve
substantive change at the state level.
Therefore, she will be a more prominent
force in bringing about an improved
community through legislative effort. On
the other hand, she says M r. Priestley
speaks well and asks the right questions;
but he is generally regarded to be less
effective at the creation and implements
tion of solutions. In this. Evie Crowell
thinks she provides an important advant
“M y method of bringing about change.”
she says w ith directness, “will result in
more iongranged, permanent programs
which will be in harmony with the need of
the city.”
She makes no bones about it. “A
forceful, direct leadership - working hard
to bring out the needs of my district -
would distinguish my service from that of
M r. Priestley's.”
T hrough the eyes o f M r. W . . .
Harold C. W illiams
You have probably heard the terms
Equal Employment Opportunity and A f
firm ative Action. You may have heard of
the Office of Affirm ative Action. This is
to explain what these terms mean and
what this office does.
A m ultitude of Federal and State Laws
make it illegal to discriminate in employ
ment in any way on the basts of sex. race,
religion, national origin and age. The
only exception is if a particular sex.
national origin or religion is a bonafide
occupational qualification such as for the
position of sperm donor or wet nurse.
Additionally, it is illegal to discriminate
on the basis of physical or mental
handicap unless the handicap prevents
adequate work performance. Some of
these laws are T itle V U of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act. the Equal Pay Act of 1963,
the Age Discrimination in Employment
Act of 1967, and State anti discrimination
Statutes in Chapter 659 of the Oregon
Revised Statutes
Discrimination means, of course, inten
tional selection based on race. sex. etc. It
is thus, obviously illegal to refuse to hire
or promote Blacks, women, etc.
However, discrimination also means
the use of a device or procedure or
system to select employees which has the
effect of discriminating on the basis of
sex. race, etc., unless the procedure or
system is necessary for the employer’s
business.
For example, if more white people than
Black people fail a test and if the test
cannot be shown to relate to the require
ments of the job. the use of the test is
illegal even though the employer did not
intend to discriminate. If. however, the
test is a reliable predictor of future job
performance, then the use of the test is
not illegal even though more members of
one sex or race pass it than another.
Experience has shown that present
employment systems in both the public
and private sector are filled with devices
which operate to the detriment of one
race. sex. etc., and which cannot be
justified as a business necessity. Besides
un job related tests, educational require
ment. inadequate recruitment, improper
classifications, lack of training programs,
subjective evaluations, and other devices
have the effect of discriminating. This is
sometimes called "systemic" discrtmina
tion.
The best way to determine if there is
systemic discrimination is to look at the
statistical make-up of the work force as a
whole
For example, women comprise
about forty percent of the work force.
Logically they should comprise forty
percent of the employees at every level.
If they do not. the reason may be due to
selection devices which lock them out but
which are not necessary to the employ
er's business.
Affirm ative Action means the taking of
steps to do away with such barriers to
Equal Opportunity.
Such steps may
include greater recruitment so all per
sons learn of job opportunities, doing
away with invalid exams and educational
requirements, providing training so all
employees have the opportunity for bet
ter jobs, structuring jobs so they lead to
better jobs rather than being dead-ended,
and reclassifying jobs to more accurately
reflect duties and responsibilities.
An Affirm ative Action Plan analyzes
the employer's staffing patterns as com
pared to the work force, determines what
imbalances exist and sets out what steps
should be taken to correct them.
A ffirm ative Action does not mean
having quotas for the hiring of minorities
or women: it does not mean hiring
regardless of qualifications.
In the words of Chief Justice W arren
Burger speaking for a unanimous C-ourt
in the leading case of Griggs vs. Duke
Few er Cwapaajr:
"Congress did not intend by the (Civil
Rights) Act, however, to guarantee a job
to every person regardless of qualifies
tions.
In short, the Act does not
command that any person be hired simply
because he was formerly the subject of
discrimination, or because he is a member
of a minority group.
Discriminatory
preference for any group, minority or
m ajority, is precisely and only what
Congress has proscribed. W hat is re
quired by Congress is the removal of
artificial, arbitrary, and unnecessary bar
riers to employment when the barriers
operate invidiously to discriminate on the
basis of racial or other impermissible
classification.”
The iniative petition has been endorsed
by the Oregon Environmental Council.
Oregon Council of Senior Advocates,
Gray Panthers. Oregon Consumer Lea
gue, Oregon State Grange. Consumer
Power League, and the Young Democrats
of Oregon. Join the coalition to stop the
private utilities from overcharging their
electric customers.
JM m to tko
Utilities overcharge
To the Editor:
P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r
Published every Thursday by Exte Publishing Company. 2201
North Killingsworth. Portland. Oregon 97217 Mailing address:
P.O. Box 3137. Portland. Oregon 97206 Telephone 283 2466
Subscriptions $7.50 per year in the Tri-County area, $8.00 per
year outside Portland
Second Class Postage Paid at Portland. Oregon
ALFRED L HENDERSON
Editor Publisher
la t Place
y Service
O N PA 1973
la t Place
Best Ad Resnlts
O N PA 1973
5th Place
Best Editorial
N N P A 1973
The Portland Observer * official position is expressed only in
its Publishers column (W e See The World Through Black
Eyesi. Any other material throughout the paper is the/>pinion
of the individual w riter or submitter and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer.
Hoaorable Mentioa
Herrick Editoria! Award
N N A 1973
National Advertising Re.ireoentative
Amalgamated Pubbshers. inc.
New York
2 nd Place
Best Editorial
3rd Place
f-ommunity Leadership
O N PA 1975
M tM B tR
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
n E ll PAPER
AasocialKX) - Founded IM S
Electric customers served by Portland
General Electric (PGE) are being over
charged over $17 million dollars this year.
This is because the Public U tility Com
missioner has allowed PGE to include
$193 million in their earnings base for
construction projects which are not
delivering electricity or service to con
sumers. Thus, PGE customers are forced
to subsidize PGE stockholders to help
finance their massive program of thermal
construction projects, which are exceed
ingly expensive and probably unneces
sary.
An initiative petition has been filed to
prevent this overcharge by Oregonians
for U tility Reform.
So far we have
collected nearly 20,000 of the necessary
46,000 signatures to put it on the general
election ballot. Help us lower electric
rates by w riting P.O. Box 12763, Salem,
Oregon 97309.
Volviiteer
(Continued from page 1 col. 3)
directors of 8t. John's.
The experience of helping establish
that agency is one which has had a lasting
effect on Sohl.
“It was really exciting to see that a
group of neighborhood women could get
together and create a service to meet a
need in their neighborhood. They didn't
know much about setting it up before
they began, but they established a good,
stable organization.”
Sohl's panel is visiting primarily com
munity and family service agencies in
cluding L IF E Center. Labor's Commu
nity Service, Jewish Federatior of port
land. Volunteers of America. Salvation
Arm y (Portland and Vancouver), and
Planned Parenthood.
David McTeague
Oregonians for U tility Reform
Want a job?
We are recruiting young people who are in
need of work.
Eligible applicants will be
employment and/or training.
placed
in
Age: 16-21. low income, residents of Albi
na receive preference,
Northwest M inority Contractors
Youth Employment Program
281-0015
10 N .E . Graham
$7.50
in Tri—County Aroa
$8.00
Other
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Observer
S fa te ___________________________
B °x 3137
97208