Cross burns in Portland, Oregon
PORTLAND
OBSERVER
Votum« 8 No. 10
ThunxUy, March 2, 1978
10c ;mr co .y ,
Taylor head*
Action Center
R O SIE T A Y L O R
[Photo: Charles Patterson)
The Albina Action Center's new direc
tor. Rosie Taylor, promises that it won't
be difficult to find out what services are
available through the Center’s programs.
Ms. Taylor, who assumed the director
ship recently after three years with the
Urban League's N .E . Youth Service
Center, observed that some social service
organizations tend not to let their ser
vices be known throughout the commu
nity. That will not be the case with the
Albina Action Center, according to Ms.
Taylor.
The programs which Ms. Taylor in-
herets include dental and optométrie
care, emergency fuel, community health
and nutrition information, emergency
food and fuel, weatherization assistance,
and a youth program. The center has a
staff of seven people.
She hopes to begin a workshop pro
gram soon which would include instruc
tion and assistance in such areas as
personal money management, energy
conservation, job finding techniques, re
sume w riting, and family nutrition. She
also wants to create a referral system
whereby the Center can put people in
contact with other agencies or organiza
tions which may provide a needed ser
vice.
H er goal, and the goal of the
Center, she says, is to assist people to
improve their living environment.
Ms Taylor is a graduate of the
University of Oregon, receiving a Bache
lor’s Degree in Secondary Education.
Prior to her work at the N .E . Youth
Center, she taught at Jefferson High
School.
Salem Human Rights Commission sets hearings
The Human Rights Commission for the
City of Salem is holding a series of public
hearings during February, March and
April. The purpose of the bearing is
two-fold: first, to give the people of Salem
an opportunity to express their concerns
in the area of human rights; and second,
to let the community know that there is a
Human Right Commission and what it
can accomplish.
The Commission is an advisory body to
the Salem City Council and is comprised
of nine concerned citizens who have a
demonstrated interest in human rights.
The members are all unpaid volunteers
who are appointed by the M ayor for a
three-year term .
The Commission is
authorized to deal with discrimination in
the areas of employment, housing and
public accommodations. Acting in its
advisory capacity, the Commission makes
recommendations to state and local gov
ernment on action, policies and legislation
which address human rights issues. Addi
tionally, the Commission can investigate
complaints of specific acts of discrimina
tion and act as a mediator between the
parties, taking whatever action is neces
sary.
These public hearings are designed to
provide everyone with an opportunity to
address the Commission. Anyone who
OSP inmates invite Hooks
Three hundred inmates of Oregon
State Penitentiary have invited Benjamin
Hooks, Executive Director of the
N A A C P , to tour the penitentiary and
meet with inmates during the N A A C P
National Convention to be held in Port
land this summer.
The prisoners are asking Hooks to
inform them of NAACP-corrections sy
stems interaction and progress in other
cities and to discuss specific issues of
concern to them locally: Community
involvement in corrections programs.
Community health care. H alf way houses
in the Black community. Education and
the current focus of correctional change,
and Legal assistance.
According to Larry Baker, the Obser
ver's inmate correspondent, who is spear
heading the request, the O.S.P. inmates
are particularly concerned with deter
mining how the N A A C P can help them
keep lines of communication with the
community during their incarceration in
order to aid their readjustment to the
community upon release.
The inmates believe the visit by Hooks
to the penitentiary will call attention to
the disproportionate number of Blacks in
Oregon's penal institution and will en
courage the prison administration to
address the deficiencies in the corrections
system in the handling of minorities.
Court hears
CR suit
Motions in the class action suite filed
against the I^abor Commissioner Bill
Stevenson and Attorney General Jim
Redden will be heard by Judge Juba at
Room 512, Federal Courthouse, on March
6th at 1:30 p.m.
The suit charges the state officials with
purposefully neglecting their duty to en
force civil rights law. The complainants
are represented by Legal Aid and the
American Civil Liberties Union.
has problems in finding a job, housing,
defending your rights or have been
discriminated against because of race,
religion or national origin, come and
speak out. Come and share ideas with the
Commission.
r- -
*
The hearings will be very informal with
everyone encouraged to participate.
There will be complaint forms available
for those who wish to register a specific
complaint with the Human Rights Com
mission. The hearing w ill be held on
March 9. 1978, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Richmond
School, 466 Richmond Avenue SE, Salem,
Oregon.
For further information contact Judy
Neuman, City of Salem, 588-6162.
AFSC rep
speaks here
Bill Sutherland, based in D ar es Sa
laam, Tanzania as the Southern African
affairs
observer-consultant
for
the
American Friends Service Committee,
will be in Portland the week of March 6th
through the 10th.
Sutherland, an Afro-American who has
lived and worked in Africa for 24 years,
has been close to the liberation struggles
in Southern Africa since 1974 when he
became the A FSC representative. He
brings to his involvement in Southern
African issues his long experience in civil
rights activities in the United States (he
served a 38 month prison sentence
between 1942 and 1945 for anti-World
W ar I I and anti-racial discrimination
activities) and over tw enty years of
working with African leaders in Ghana
and Tanzania.
While in Portland Sutherland will be at
PSU, Reed College and the King Neigh
borhood Facility to discuss the liberation
struggles in South Africa, Zimbawe (Rho
desia) and Namibia (Southwest Africa).
A cross was burned on the front lawn
of Mrs. Carol Bryant, candidate for the
Oregon legislature, District 14. Mrs.
Bryant was alerted to the cross by a
neighbor child who saw several white
men light the cross and drive away in a
light blue van.
Mrs. Bryant, who Is a Democratic
candidate for the seat now held by Dr.
Howard Cherry, said she is sure the act
was politically motivated. “I am sure my
house was selected because of my politi
cal activities. It just couldn't have been a
random thing."
“Racism is still very much alive in
Portland," she said. “I believe this was
done by only a few people and does not
reflect the feelings of most of the
residents of this district.
Blacks and
whites live and work together in this area
with few problems.”
The Portland Fire Bureau’s arson
squad has sent the cross to the state
crime lab for analysis and will be in
charge of the criminal investigation.
City Council approves Unthank demolition
Portland Parks Commissioner Mildred
Schwab got a cool reception at City Hall
Wednesday, March 1st, for her $15,000
Unthank Park planning proposal. City
Council colleagues M ayor Neil Gold
schmidt and Public W orks Commissioner
Connie McCready voiced opposition to
Schwab's effort to ‘get a leg up' on other
Parks projects. Schwab, who had intro
duced the proposal as an emergency
measure immediately sought to remove
the emergency status and received a four
to one favorable vote, with Commissioner
McCready casting the negative vote.
Emergency measures must pass unani
mously. W ithout the emergency designs
tion, the measure will require a majority
for passage at next week's Council
meeting.
The Commissioner's emergency propo
sal for $9,900 to remove the concrete
maze, slides, spiral ramp and other large
sculptured concrete play objects passed
with no discussion.
Goldschmidt was dubious that the
proposal would result in an earlier re
medy for the park’s problems.
He
observed that the Parks Capital Im prove
ment Levy will go to the voters soon and
that the City “is sixty days away from
seeing the whole package."
He was
critical of Parks personnel assurances
that construction money would be avail
able when the planning was completed.
And he wanted to know which projects
would lose funding if the Bureau did
finance Unthank's construction.
Schwab, whose Commission position is
up for election this year, has been
meeting with Albina Fair Share and
Boise Neighborhood Association groups
for the past two weeks in an effort to
revamp Unthank.
The park, termed
“suicide park” even before the collapse of
a swing support which caused a child’s
death last year, has been the object of
neighborhood criticism because of the
unsuitability of the large concrete play
structures, poor lighting, and inadequate
supervision and maintenance.
Although not expressing support of
Schwab’s plan, Commissioner Charles
Jordan noted that the community in
volvement generated by Albina Fair
Share’s meeting of last Wednesday was a
precious 'citizen involvement’ commodity
that could give the Unthank proposal
priority.
Mayor Goldschmidt also de
scribed the "pressure" Ms. Schwab is
receiving but he discounted that pressure
was a reason for special action. “I t ought
to come in and compete with everything
else," he said.
Commissioner Ivancie gave no indica
tion of support, although he did not speak
against the measure. He did suggest that
if the planning funding proposal failed,
the City might vote money for temporary
playground facilities until planning and
construction money is allocated.
Contacted later, Commissioner Schwab
was hopeful of passage at the Council's
session next week.
She expressed
confidence that Commissioner Jordan
would support the measure and that
Ivancie's initial opposition had tempered.
She observed that Commissioner Mc
Cready was the sole dedicated opponent
of the proposal.
King citizens consider Nordstrom proposal
Residents of King neighborhood and
other concerned persons attended two
meetings this week to ask questions
about the Nordstrom distribution center
proposed for Union Avenue. Portland De
velopment Commission has proposed that
the four blocks between Union and Sixth
Avenue, Shaver and Skidmore be cleared
and sold to Nordstrom for a distribution
center site.
Tuesday night the King Neighborhood
Association met with Thomas Kennedy,
PDC Union Avenue Program Manager.
On Wednesday night the Portland De
velopment Commission met with citizens
at King Neighborhood Facility.
Citizens concerns have risen over ap
parent lack of adequate communication
between themselves and PDC. Although
PDC staff state that only three residents
are opposed to moving, other staff mem
bers say the people have not been
contacted in this regard. Also, residents
say they have not been asked about their
desire to sell.
A survey has been
completed which was designed to find out
what type families live in the area and
their housing needs if they do move.
Most questions addressed two aspects
of the project - the type of facilities that
would be built and the benefit to the
community; the process of relocation of
those residents who must move. The
community will balance the benefits in
employment and related economic de
velopment against the loss of property by
owner-residents and landlords.
Regarding employment, Kennedy said,
“There is no guarantee on anything.
W hat is expected is that they will
practice equal employment affirmative
action. Nordstrom has a good affirmative
action program and a policy they aren't
ashamed of...The time has come for us to
look at how we as a community monitor
these programs.”
PDC personnel explained the reloca
tion benefits. Owner-residents will re
ceive fair market value for their homes
and will be helped to find suitable housing
elsewhere. They can receive a grant of
up to $15,000 toward the possible differ
ence in cost of the new home and the
value of the old one.
Increase in
mortgage interest loans can be paid with
this fund but increased taxes cannot.
PDC also provides moving costs.
For tennants, PDC provides moving
costs, which can include the cost of
connecting utilities A grant of $4,000 is
available over a four year period to assist
with increased rent payments.
PDC has checked available housing in
the Northeast area and found sufficient
housing for those who wish to stay in the
area. During 1977 housing sold for an
average of $33,000 to $34,000. PDC could
not give an estimate of property values in
the area.
Ed Leek, speaking for the King Neigh
borhood Association, told the PDC Com
missioner's that the organization is dissa
tisfied with “the way the proposal has
been presented to the neighborhood." He
said the neighborhood Association was
unable to obtain specific, w ritten infor
mation on the proposed project until a
few days before the meeting and that
information was “sketchy” and "inade
quate.”
“A t the King Association meeting last
night, it was apparent that the concerns
of neighborhood residents have not yet
been fully addressed. However, the King
Association does not wish to be cast in
the role of a naysayer who stands in the
way of the redevelopment which is
obviously necessary on Union Avenue.
But neither does it wish to give blind
approval to this project, and later find
itself presented with the kind of situation
which prevailed at the Coliseum site, or
which now exists in the area of Emanuel
Hospital.
“For this reason, the King Association
voted last night to make a decision about
this project at its meeting on March 28th.
In addition, the Executive Board of the
Association created a committee for the
purpose of gathering more complete
information about the proposal and mak
ing a recommendation to the Association
on March 28th. That committee, of which
I am the Chairman, would like to meet
with those members of your staff who can
provide us w ith more specific information
about the project, or to meet with you if
that is necessary.
A meeting this
afternoon between King Board members
and a Nordstrom representative was a
good first step."
The Neighborhood Association also
requested that PDC withhold any deci
sions until the Association vote on March
28th.
Members of the King Neighborhood
Association Executive Committee met
with Paul Hunter of Nordstrom Wednes
day and were pleased with the company's
interest. “W e found out more in fifteen
minutes than we had from PDC all this
tim e,” Lillie W alker, a member of the
committee said. “W e are p retty well
satisfied with this aspect of the program.
We saw the plans for the building and
were advised that Nordstrom w ill hire
local people and were advised that
Pro;«osed distribution center
they will set up a training program. W e
now will have to look into the other part
of the program - relocation and PDC's
role."
The distribution center, as described
by H unter, w ill employ 60 people in the
beginning and is expected to expand to
employ 300 people.
The company is
interested in the Albina area because
there is an available labor pool. Their
intention would be to hire nearly all of the
employees, including the manager, from
the area.
Salaries would range from
$3.40 to $4.47 per hour.
The loading dock would be on the
Union Avenue side, w ith a fence and
landscaping separating it from the street.
The tricking hours would be between
6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., involving ap
proximately th irty on the heaviest days.
In response to concerns about ad
ditional police involvement in the neigh
borhood to provide security. Hunter said
the building will be protected by electro
nic surveillance and that they will not
want additional city police protection.
The King Neighborhood Association
Executive Committee now plans to meet
with each resident of the project area to
determine their views on the project,
their needs if relocated, and to determine
what help they w ill need if relocated.
Woodlawn School becomes Early Childhood Education Center
When Black parents attended the
Monday night meeting of the Portland
School Board to oppose the plan to make
Woodlawn School a “Multi-cultural cen
te r” - that is to bring a class of white
third graders and their teacher to visit
the school for each nine week period -
they found that discussion on this prop»
sal had been deferred but a proposal to
make Woodlawn an E arly Childhood
Education Center would be discussed.
The three upper grades - sixth, se
venth. and eighth
have been removed
from Woodlawn and the building is
currently being remodeled to accommo
date primary age children. The Early
Childhood Center designation will enable
eighty four-year-olds - forty from the
neighborhood and forty from elsewhere
to attend the center. One staled goal is to
bring the school's enrollment, now 58.3
minority
under the fifty percent level.
Vesia Loving objected to making
another Early Childhood Center in the
Black community. Upper grades have
been removed from all of the area
elementary schools except Boise. Mrs.
Ixiving charged that the community is
being stripped of its schools, its children
scattered, an ‘ - u t if they cannot adjust
in the transfer schools there are no
schools to which they can return.
Although Superintendent Robert Blan
chard compared this situation to the
middle school plan district wide, parents
objected to the comparison.
In other
areas tw o or three elementary schools
are paired •. ith a middle school. All upper
grade students go to the middle school
and the lower grade students in the
middle schools' former attendance area
go to the elementary schools. Thus each
child will at some time during the eight
grades attend a school outside his imnu*
diate neighborhood. The fallacy of the
comparison is that upper grade students
bused from Albina are scattered through
out the district., and most do not attend
middle schools but go to kindergarten
through eight schools. The students in
those schools are not exchanged to return
to the Albina schools.
This one way
situation is the major basis of complaint
from Black parents.
Expressing frustration that although
the public is allowed to speak before the
School Board, decisions considered to
have a negative impact on the Black
community continue to be made without
apparent consideration of the public’s
views, Mrs. Loving asked the Board,
“W hy don't you get up and look at what is
happening."
Even more discouraging,
according to Mrs. Loving is the repeated
misrepresentation-by the administration
and Board members in referring to
“voluntary transfer.”
In a heated exchange, Mrs. Loving
explained that Black children who do not
get along or are not accepted at white
schools cannot return to a neighborhood
school.
A fter insisting that there is
nothing in school district policy that
precludes children returning to their
neighborhood school, D r. Blanchard even
tually admitted that children cannot
return when their grade levels do not
exist.
He said transfer back to the
neighborhood is complicated by the fact
that the ECE's are full and no vacancy
may exist for a returning child.
Dennis Payne told the Board, “You
have taken my community and did what
you planned to do before you told as.” He
explained that Black children are forced
out of their own community. Transferred
students are “disenfranchised in their
own and receiving communities.
We
know it will be no good to raise concerns
again
1978 is a year of turn around. We
will not allow the school district to take
away our children."
i Jllie W alker explained that “voluntary
transfer" is not voluntary if no classes for
the students exist. She asked why Black
parents must sign an agreement to leave
their children in the receiving school
through high school but w hite parents do
not.
She said several white parents
sending children to the Early Childhood
Education Centers told her they had
never been asked to make such an
agreement.
Mrs. McCoy said the policy should be
for everyone to sign. D r. Blanchard said
the same form is now being used for
whites as for Blacks but that that has not
always been the case.
Mrs. McCoy asked how white parents
could be forced to leave their children in
the program if they want to remove
them?
Mrs. W alker said most students in
grade one through five at King EC E are
Black. although the four and five year old
classes are approximately half white. She
asked why children were recruited from
the middle class areas of Southwest
when poor white children would benefit.
Expressing her approval of Headstart
and early childhood classes, Mrs. W alker
said the fact that middle-class white
children are allowed to take advantage of
ECE and then leave is causing resent
ment in the Black community because the
elementary grades remain segregated.
She added that residents are worried
about property values ai.ee it could he
difficult to sell a home in an area where
there are no schools for children above
the prim ary grades.
Board member Jonathan Newman said
the district cannot establish a middle
school that would be racially unbalanced
because that “would put us directly in
line for a court order," Calling the
problem of desegregation the district's
"unfinished business" he added, “I feel
confident we will solve it."
The Board voted to designate Wood
lawn as an Early Childhood Education
Center.