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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1978)
Thursday. July 6, 1978 Board chairman affirms faith in capitalism (Continued from Page 1 Colum n 6) solutions to the concerns raised by the spreading tax revolt, not myopic, self-centered, on racial responses to a problem which affects us all. . Convention opportunity The NAACP National Convention has gotten o ff to a slow start w ith the customary speeches by its chairman, Margaret Bush Wilson, and its charismatic executive director; Benjamin Hooks. A lth o u g h th e ir styles d iffe r g re a tly , th e ir messages have been substantially the same. Ms. W ilson has been a bit more Critical of the Carter Administration and a bit more pro big business. The issues allegedly dividing the NAACP have not surfaced publically, but it is plainly evident that Hooks is the people's leader. a The real work of the Convention takes place in the com m ittees and on the flo o r w hen the organization considers resolutions that w ill set policy for the coming year. Among the issues that will be discussed are: • A call fo r the w ith d ra w a l o f all U .S . economic investment from South A frica . • A confirm ation of the National Board's con tro ve rsia l energy p o lic y , w h ic h has been renounced by the Urban League and other Black organizations as catering to big business. • A c o n d e m n a tio n of g o ve rn m e n t harassment o f Black officials. Never before in Portland has their been such a gathering of knowledgeable and influential Black people. They include high government officials, representatives of African governments, school administrators, business leaders, and the finest legal minds that have won the im portant school and employment cases. One does not have to share the NAACP philosophy to benefit from this Convention. Congratulations The Coiegio Cesar Chavez has been saved The tiny college, which has been harassed and per secuted much the same as its people have been harassed and persecuted, teamed Tuesday that it will be allowed to purchase the property it now uses. When established in 1973, the school inherited the $1.6 million mortgage that the Benedictine Sisters, form er owners of M t. Angel College, had put on the property. Unable to keep up the payments, the school soon became the target of harassment by HUO and by other departm ents of government. The mortgage was finally foreclosed by HUD and as recently as February the Coiegio was evicted in Marion County Court. Denial o f HEW funds followed a controversy over w hether the sch o o l co u ld be a c c re d ite d . A m id alleged m isconduct on the part o f HUD, there were rumors that the property had been promised to others. HUD Secretary Patricia Harris has announced that the Coiegio will be allowed to purchase the property fo r $250,000, w hich w ill eliminate the previous debt. This decision is reportedly the result of intersession by President Carter at the request of Cesar Chavez. The Coiegio offers a relevant education to Chicano and other students. The student body tends to be made up o f older students, w ith families, m any o f whom are form er m igrants. Teaching m ethods are designed fo r th is type student, many o f whom have limited English. The Oregon institutions of higher education do not serve these students adequately and the Coiegio is vital to the progress of the Chicano people in Oregon. One o f a kind, it is the only Chicano owned and directed college in the nation. It has been a long struggle w hich has hindered the school's grow th as much energy has been used just to exist. The federal government now needs to do more than just sell the property to the school it needs to infuse enough money to put the school back on its feet. HUD, HEW, DOL and other federal agencies need to meet w ith the Coiegio staff and students and determine how the school can best be aided. W e congratulate the Coiegio and its students and staff. They have dem onstrated the same faith and determination as their namesake, Cesar Chavez, and in the years ahead w ill make a similar contribution to the Chicano people and to the nation. 7W/S WAS A GRMT COUEHncm... X JUST WISH THERE HAD BEEN AT Bakke Decision Y o u a re w ell a w are th a t the Supreme Court voted 5:4 that the U n iv e rs ity o f C a lifo r n ia D avis Medical School must adm it A llan Bakke. We join our own Thurgood M a r shall in condeming this vote. As those w ho are charged w ith the mission o f developing civil rights strategy, however. Black leaders are obligated to look closely at all six opinions that were rendered last Wednesday. ' Despite the decision on Bakke the man, we take hope in the fact that we won the court battle on A ffirm ative A ction. Indeed, when we look kt Justice Lewis Powell's opinion on the constitutionality o f A ffirm ative Action, we will see that a great prin ciple was preserved. Justice P o w e ll, in e ffe c t, said “ N o ” to the Davis Medical School's specific special admissions program. But, he gave a ringing yes to other types o f A ffirm ative Action programs in which race is not used as the sole criteria. Our task, of course, has not been made easier. But, like such leaders as F red erick Douglass and D uB ois, W illiam Hastie and Thurgood M a r shall, the present leaders o f the N A A C P must move at once to seek strategies and ways on which we can forge ahead. Energy Policy By now we would hope that every branch leader and every delegate at this convention has had an oppor tunity to read and understand the real import of the N A A C P energy statement which the National Board o f Directors adopted in January o f 1978. In the face o f widespread and o u trig h t, d eliberate m isrepresen tation. the N A A C P National Board of D ire c to rs re a ffirm e d this statement at its A p ril meeting in Atlanta by a vote o f 29 to 6. The thrust o f this statement is that unless America is assured o f ample and reasonably priced energy sup plies in the future, the economy will not fcxpand at the rate required to • p ro v id e a jo b fo r every perscfa w illing and able to w o rk . A no- growth economic policy is not and never will be in the best interest o f Black A m ericans. A slow -grow th economic policy w ill hardly be bet ter. Tt will only Continue to foredoom work. W e . d em an d these rig h ts , as Americans; not tomorrow or the day , * after. But n o w , today. / By the iam e token, we must be astute about the great emphasis that is now being placed on inflation. ’ Somehow, too many o f the natibn’s • economic leaders have a mind fix which leads them to the automatic conclusion that Americans cannot have f u ll e m p lo y m e n t w ith o u t runaway inflation. W e must not be misled by this outdated notion. In fla tio n is not caused by too many people working. W e must insist that President C ar ter not be sidetracked on this issue. Employment is tbonum ber one issue fo r .B la c k A m e ric a n s . U n til the twelve ptfdenk o f ; t i i a & workers in. this c o u n try .w h o « « unemployed get * jojbs^we cannot .afford The hiXury.of Black Americans to the wastelands o f idleness and poverty. F o r these reasons, the energy statement calls for a realistic energy pricing poliçy that w ill ensure the developm ent o f adequate energy supplies. The energy statement does not take a stand on regulation or deregulation o f natural gas. It never was the intention o ( the. Board o f Directors toaddresiuhtrigswe. So, it has been our Conviction that the N A A C P now expand the dimen sions o f thé struggle to include those areas not traditionally regarded as civil rights so that the historical vic tims o f racism can enter the main stream o f our society. That is the challenge, we have the civil rights laws. Now , how do we reap benefit from those significant victories. The first step, therefore, is to realize that the dominant dynamic today is economic, and it will be even more so in the future as the world p o p u la tio n grows and resources become more scarce. Thus, the principal challenge for Black leaders today is to alert our people to these new dimensions. New jobs come from economic growth in the private sector. Nine out o f ten new jo b s in this c o u n try were provided by private industry last year. Government alone cannot be viewed as providing the only answer. Private industry must assume a more active role in providing jobs. It is in our interests to ensure th at the President and Congress pursue an economic policy that does not delib erately curtail growth. Having paid our dues in blood, sweat and tears. Black people should no longer be expected to go cup in hand knocking on the doors o f our nation’s industries begging for jobs. Industry has an abiding obligation to this country to open its doors to every citizen, regardless o f race or color, who is willing and able to wording exclusively about inflation Ac year a |o , S e c r e t a r y . S t a t e Cyrus Vance appeared (r fo re this Convention to address, tfoe burning issue o f racial strife in Southern A frica. The N A A C P Task Force on A frica had visited several countries on the continent and had submitted its recommendations to the Board o f Directors fo r study and review. W e were encouraged that Vance / had chosen the N A A C P for this m a jo r p resen tation , because the gesture demonstrated a willingness within the Carter Administration to seek the support o f the n a tio n ’ s oldest, largest and most influential c iv il righ ts o rg a n iz a tio n as it proceeded to develop its A frican policy. As o f less than two weeks ago. Secretary Vance, who seems to be on the positive side o f the issue, again forged ahead. W ithin the next several months leading up to the 1980 P re s id e n tia l e le c tio n , rest assured that A frica will become an even bigger foreign policy issue than it has been since last fall. The stakes in A frica are very high, not only fo r the form er colonial powers an d the U .S . business in terests with their billions o f invest- . ments there, but also fo r Black Americans. As with energy, many Blacks still are not convinced that the N A A C P must get Involved in Africa. __LEAST ONE LOCAL 8LACX B usiness reaping some of THE RPOFITS HERE ! ! to tfo ZditM TH A T'S NOTHING Harris didn’t do her homework NEW IN T H IS C IT V ! BLACKS DON'T EVEN G E T HUD Comwcrs H ERE U T o the Editor: 1st Pisce sty Service O N P A 1973 Portland O b se rve r Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company. 2201 N orth Killingsworth, Portland. Oregon 97217 M ailing address P O Box 3137. Portland. Oregon 97206 Telephone: 283 2486 1st Place Best Ad Result« O N P A 1973 Subscriptions $7.50 per year in the Tn-County area. $8.00 pei year outside Portland. 5tb Place Best KdilonaJ N N P A 1973 Secood Class Postage Paid at Portland Oregon The Portland Observer s official position irexpressed only in its Publishers column iW e See The W o rld Through Black Eyes). Any other m aterial throughout the paper is.the opinion of the individual w rite r or subm itter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer ALFRED L RES D E M O N fxtuor Pubtmber H errick b d ita ria l N N A 1973 2nd Place B est IxlitonsJ SsusaaJ Advertising Re.ireseatauve A a a lg a M te d Psbbsbers. lac New Ysrb 3rd Place mümmr ci MB- • Oregon Newspaper ; Publishers. Association $ 7 .5 0 N am e in T r i- C o u n t y A re a $ 8 .0 0 O ’ her _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A d d r e s s ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- r C i t y __________________________________ O b s e rv e r Box 3137 I must respond to the speech made July 4, 1978, at the National Con vention o f the N A A C P . by Ms. P a tric ia H a rris , Secretary o f Housing and Urban Development. Ms. Harris began her presentation by praising the works o f Mayor Neil Goldschmidt and Congressman Les A u C o in . This tells me that Ms. H a rris must n o t .r e la t e to the grassroots people, particularly here in Oregon. As far as the Northwest M inority C o n tra c to rs is concerned. Les AuCoin has never done anything for the B lack c o m m u n ity .' O u r organization has written a number of letters concerning various issues ef fecting m in o rity contractors and business men, and he has yet to respond to any o f them. Brotherhood T o the Editor: W hile participating in the first session o f the Convention, I could not help but notice the brotherhood which overwhelmed the participants o f the 69th annual Convention. • O ur struggle seems to have taken a turn with the recent ruling o f the Jarvis Gann, initiative in California and the Supreme Court ruling o f the Bakke case. Looking historically at the plight o f the Black man and woman throughout the history of.O regon, one cannot help to remember the Jim Crow laws o f yesterday along with segregation and the constitutional violations o f Black Oregonians. • I f we are to continue the struggle fo r equality in America, the struggle for Black nationalism must continue to reinforce the collective efforts of organized Black leadership, which directly effect the lives o f Black Americans nationally. Jerry G riffin Portland M ayor Neil Goldschmidt has tried to destroy every Black program dealing with economics in the minority community. H e has also used the Black community to bring H U D monies into the C ity. This has often been done under the pretense o f remodeling or building up the m in o rity c o m m u n ity . H o w e v e r, much o f th a t m oney has never benefited minorities and has been distributed in predominantly white sections o f the City. It was M ayor Goldschmidt who refused to p ro vid e fu n d in g fo r M inority Business Enterprise in this City. It was M ayor Goldschmidt who refused to approve an experimental program perm itting the m ino rity contractors association to administer the H U D Housing R epair Funds within the minority community. This proposal would have benefited the people «of the co m m u n ity , sm all minority businessmen, and the local minority contractors association. It was M ayor Goldschmidt who refused to refund a number o f Black organizations receiving C E T A funds even after these organizations m£t or exceeded the C ity ’s criteria for con tinued funding. This act resulted in killing o ff the minority organizations while such groups, as W orld W ithout W a r and various w h ite theater groups continued to sdrvivt fully funded under the C ity 's C E T A program. And it is M ayor Goldschmidt and the City o f Portland who remains one o f the few governmental entities in the area who have refused to ac cept or even negotiate a Set-Aside Program for M inority Contractors and Businessmen. Such a program is essential to ensure full participation o f m inority businesses throughout the City. It is difficult for me to understand how Ms. Harris and her organization could issue a special H U D Low In- come Housing grant o f millions o f dollars to M r. Goldschmidt and the C ity o f Portland, when there are currently several grievances on file in the national H U D office which have not yet been investigated or acted upon, against the City o f Portland for failing to utilize minority con tra c to rs and businessmen under various H U D programs. H o w e v e r, it was even m ore shocking to hear M s . H a rris “ Praise” M ayor Goldschmidt at the N A A C P 1 C o n v e n tio n w h ile such conditions and circumstances exist here. 1 th in k her words went something like, " I f 1 had more per sons like Neil Goldschmidt and Les A u C o in , I w o u ld n ’ t have any problems to worry about.” I wonder where Ms. H arris gets her in fo r mation — certainly not from the grassroots people. It might help im prove Ms. H arris' credibility in the future if she refrained from talking " B la c k '' on one hand, yet acting “ white" on the other. M r. Eugene Jackson Executive Director Northwest M inority Contractors Association American State Bank 2 7 3 7 N.E. U n io n 2S2-2216 > .*
