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:
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O N P A 1973
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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
>
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