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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1978)
Mr. France. Scho.B-Me.8paper Poon University t-f Oregon Library ' t-ugene, Oregon 97403 Don Haley of Sea nie organizes Washington delegates Benjamin Hooks calls for continued effort. Hooks demands responsive public policies PORTLAND OBSERVER V o lu m e 8 Wo. 28 T h u rs d a y , J u ly 6 ,1 9 7 8 10c per co py J NAACP leader visits OSP inmates Benjamin Hooks, executive direc tor of the N A A C P . met with a group of inmates at Oregon State Peniten tia ry p rio r to the start o f the National Convention. H ooks assured the inmates — members o f the law class, Uhuru (Black culture club), the Chicano and Indian clubs, that the N A A C P is concerned about the causes o f crime, prison conditions, and the plight o f the inmate upon release. Hooks, who is a fo rm e r prosecuting attorney and judge, said he is concerned that prisons become places of,rehabilitation and reform. An example o f an N A A C P prison p ro ject is P ro je c t R ebound in M anhattan which has had a high success rate in orienting prisoners back into society ' ‘ by putting an arm aro u nd them lik e brothers and sisters. . . Since we are all brothers and sisters we must insure justice for everybody in equal am ount.” Saying he is c o m m itte d to a socially re h a b ilita tiv e p ro g ra m . Hooks said "w e need to create a type of system, a type o f society, a type of justice, a type of feeling in our hearts” to prevent people from falling in to the situation o f imprisonment. I f we do not recognize the societal causes, the social neglect, and merely build institutions the problem will increase. “ I f society doesn’t care it is our (N A A C P ) job to make it care.” In response to questions by C harles W illia m s regarding the N A A C P ’ s legal redress activities, Hooks explained that with limited The Suprem e C o u r t’ s B akke decision was called “ a victory” and the Carter Administration was em- plored to “ vigorously” move fo r ward in the development o f a sound urban policy in order to alleviate the excessive unem ployment rate fo r Blacks in the U n ite d States, by Margaret Bush Wilson, Chairman o f the Board o f the N A A C P at the opening press conference o f the organizations 69th Annual National C onvention in P ortland M o n day morning. The Court in the Bakke decision "very clearly re-affirmed the concept of A ffirm ative A c tio n ,” she said, when they noted that race could be a factor in admittance and, indirectly, in hiring o f minorities. Ms. Wilson said that the W h ite House must m a in ta in unem plo ym en t as the nation’s No. 1 priority and not in flation. On the issue o f the passage o f Proposition 13 by the electorate of California, Ms. Wilson, not totally dismissing the p o ssib ility of econom ic b ligh t fo llo w in g the widespread passage of such initiatives, said that Blacks, whose President elected overwhelmingly by Black voters has not moved fast enough and has not m oved fa r enough . . . O ur heavily Democratic Congress is passing laws restricting the power o f H E W to desegregate school systems, is sitting on the H u m p h re y -H a w k in s fu ll em ployment bill; denying equal rights to poor women, and filibustering labor reform to death.” Calling this a “ time o f crisis for C iv il Rights in A m erica,” Hooks said, “ W e demand and shall have a public policy which is responsive to the aspirations o f the Black masses . . . W e are serving notice on univer sities, industry, and every institution in A m e ric a — g overnm ent and others — that if they misread the d ear teachings o f America’s racial history they are inviting confron tation.” W a rn in g the forces o f conser vatism not to interpret the Bakke decision as a dedsion agaisnt A ffir m a tiv e A c tio n , H o o k s said the N A A C P w ill never encourage violence. “ W e are doing everything we possibly can to avoid confron ta tio n , but our enemies an d op ponents are inviting disaster. W e are com m itted to a peaceful struggle against racism. W e are convinced that there must be a re-distribution o f the w ealth and the power in A m e ric a . . . ” Hooks warned against the tendency o f academidans to blame the op pressed for their oppression. Calling on the N A A C P to form alliances w ith o th e r concerned groups, Hooks said a primary con cern is to “ maximize whatever power we have in the system, and to define as a c c u ra te ly and d e fin ite ly as possible how we may utilize that power,” and to plan an organized assault on racism. “ The goal, through legislation, litigation, and agitation is to make all governmental power effective and interdependent in enfordng the legal p ro h ib itio n s against d is c rim in a tion .” Board chairman affirms faith in capitalism benjamin Hooks discusses prison problems with inmate Larry Baker. resources legal assistance is restricted to cases th a t have broad im plications. A recent case regarded, harassment o f poverty programs o f ficials since the effects o f legal harassment and indictment are to destroy the Black econom ic and p o litic a l base, and this type o f harassment is taking place all over the nation. The N A A C P also becomes in- (Please turn to Page 4 Colum n 1) Wilson, Greene disagree on Carter contribution by Gregory Gudger Calling this the best o f times and the worst o f times, Benjamin Hooks called fo r a new e ffo rt to make equality a reality. Referring to the fact that the U .S . has for 200 years declared all men equal; that more than one m illion Blacks are in college; that ten million Black Americans are employed; that 25 percent o f the Black families have achieved "m iddle class status” ; that a m in im u m wage b ill has been pasted; he pointed out that thousands o f young people are finishing school fu n c tio n a lly illite r a te , th a t six million are unemployed, that 30 per cent o f Black families are below the poverty line, that inflation and taxes are destroying lifetime savings, that le g is la tio n and h ostile Suprem e Court decisions threaten to wipe out meager gains. Conceeding some concern to the President, he said . . . “ A fter eight years o f benign neglect, malignant neglect, we have a President who at last says he is concerned for the poor and outcast.” H e added that “ the unemployment rate nationally is at ten percent, “ must be given a chance to work before it escapes us.” She also noted that the passage o f the C a lifo rn ia In itia tiv e was not racially based but that the people of California were just “ damn tired of the m oney they were paying in property taxes.” Noting the leach-like effects the passage o f similar initiatives would have on the am o u nt o f federal dollars coming into (he cities in match ing and C E T A funds, Ms. Wilson said that “ there is no reason for there to be a second reconstruction in this country,” adding that the N A A C P is prepared to struggle and maintain ground gained by the civil rights ac tivities o f the past and that the organization would take the offen sive to achieve progress. Ms. Wilson said that the federal government should take the same type o f funding approach to cities as it does with military and highway allotments and should not regress to those strategies like those which depicted and destroyed Model Cities programs. R e fe rrin g to her previous in volvem ent w ith M o d e l C ities programs, Ms. W ilson recounted that the programs were funded tem p o ra rily n oting th at d u rin g the N ix o n ia n era, the g o vern m en t, “ carefully did not give us enough money. Just when the thing was about to fly , it was called to a screeching h a lt.” Ms. Wilson noted that the Carter Administration is not as vicious as the N ix o n ia n co u n te rp a rt, “ M r . Nixon refused to acknowledge that twenty million Blacks existed in this country. M r. Carter knows that we are here; he just gets kind o f con fused about what to do about the fact.” O th e r points covered by M s. Wilson includes; . . . the N A A C P favors the withdrawal o f American corporatee interests in South Africa. . . . It is more important now than ever before that ’ Blacks participate in the electoral process.’ Assistant Secretary o f Labor E r nest Greene told media represen tatives Monday that revised C E T A regulations would be strictly rein forced if C E T A legislation is re enacted and funded to the tune of 11.4 billion dollars by Congress, ex pected in late August or September. Greene followed Ms. Margaret Bush Wiison at the opening press con ference for the 69th Annual N A A C P National Convention. Stating that “ Blacks never ought to take their continued progress for g ranted, M a rg a re t Bush W ils o n , chairman o f the N A A C P National Board o f Directors opened the 69th Annual Convention in Portland. Referring to the belief o f some that American capitalism w ill never concede more than the m inim um reforms needed to insure its tem porary survival, M s. W ilson said, “ . . . One o f the greatest challenges we face today is the widespread at tempts to destroy our faith in the ability o f this nation to develop the programs and means to permit all o f us to enter the m ainstream o f society. The roads over which we must now travel is not as direct as is the past when we fought the battles against Jim Crow and other forms o f blatant racism. Instead, it is com plex and interw oven w ith m any currents that cannot be directly linked to racial discrimination.” Proposition 13 A good example o f this changing te rra in is P ro p o sitio n 13, which C a lifo rn ia n s overw h elm in g ly ap proved only a month ago. W e should be aw are th a t P ro p o s itio n 13 is p rim a rily a re v o lt against the spiraling burdens o f property taxes and the costs o f government services. Its passage is the expression o f per ceived self-interests by C alifornia’s taxpayers, more so than racism or class bias. Racism is involved. W e cannot escape that reality. But let us not be too consumed with this reality n ow . In s te a d , it behoves us to recognize that Proposition 13 has sent shock waves through every state and local governm ent o ffic e and every public employee union in the nation. N o t the least among these are the A m e ric an state, county and m u n ic ip a l employees u n io n , the Am erican Federation o f Teachers, the National Education Association, the Sanitation Workers Unions, the F ire m e n ’ s U n io n s and Police Bargaining Agencies. W e should understand that many Americans are aware o f the adverse prospects o f a spreading tax revolt. This, therefore, is the time for all o f us to look at the ways in which state and local governments assess and level one o f the most basic forms o f taxes tnat fund mos» public ser vices. This, my friends, is not a white or a Black problem. It is an American p ro blem in w hich o u r N A A C P branches must be involved. One clear lesson that Proposition 13 has taught state and local government leaders alike is that taxpayers will no longer tolerate inefficient waste. A ll o f us can p r o fit fro m this lesson by working more vigorously for better g o vernm ent. Our challenge, therefore, is to seek enlightened (Please turn to Page 2 Column 4) Priestley protests IRA policy postponement Since defeat o f the m otion to restrict school district travel funds to only those states which have ratified the E qual Rights Am endm ent in March o f this year, Representative W ally Priestley has discussed with other board members his desire to place this same question before the board when a member voting against the motion were replaced. It was know n at the tim e th a t R ob ert Ridgley would not serve beyond June 30, 1978. In March o f this year the motion failed on a four to three vote with resigning Ridgley voting against the motion. Priestley said he was notified July Rally protests SA On Monday, July 10th, Portland w ill host D a v id B. Sole. South African Ambassador to the U .S. A rally will be held at the Portland Chamber o f Commerce, 824 S .W . 5th and Taylor, on Monday at 11:30 a.m. in protest. The P ortlan d C itizens Against Racism, which is sponsoring the rally, condemns “ this closed and highly secretive visit” sponsored by the Chamber and the W orld A ffairs 5th in a letter from Chairperson Ms. Beverly Y o rk , who had opposed adoption o f the boycott policy, that the agenda for the coming meeting o f July 10th was too crowded and that consideration o f this question would not be allowed. R epresentative P riestley said, “ This delay means that those citizens who have been notified to be present to present their views will be denied this opportunity. Further, this means this important question can not come before the board until the meeting o f August 24th. (There is no regular meeting later in July due to vacations and the first meeting in August is at noon and limited to business mat ters.) “ This delay postpones the adop tion o f such a policy well into the 1978-79 fiscal year, it further stalls much needed m o m en tu m now needed i f ra tific a tio n is to be achieved prior to the March 1979 deadline. “ Perhaps as im p o rta n t, is the question that should be raised in the minds o f Portland taxpayers about public control o f the public schools through i t ’s elected school board members when they can not bring im portant public questions to the agenda without such stalling tactics and without a fight.” bassador official visit Council. Charging that South A frica is the only nation with legalized racism, R C A R points out that; • Fifty percent o f Black children die before age five. • Black unemployment is over twenty-five percent in urban areas and as high as sixty percent in ban- tustans. • Per capita income for whites is fifteen times that for Blacks. • S ixty-fo u r percent o f Black families live below the official poverty level. • Eighty-seven percent o f the country's land is reserved for the small minority o f whites, and only thirteen percent for the majority of Blacks. • Over 1,000 people are arrested each day for pass law “ violations” . • Opponents o f apartheid are subject to house arrests, bannings, imprisonment, torture and outright murder. I
