Portland observer., July 20, 1978, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2 Portland Observer Thursday, July 20, 1978
Alian Templa calabrotad
W e see the world,
Rev. T. L Straybond: I b appreciatíon
through Black eyes
NAACP missed the boat
Three weeks ego Benjamin Hooks visited OSP.
The visit, as seen by those who planned it, was
an opportunity to involve the Portland Branch of
the NAACP with Black men and women who are
incarcerated in Oregon's prison.
Although the local leadership was less than en­
thusiastic about the visit, it was hoped that this
introduction to some of the men and the
problems they face in prison and in the com­
munity would inspire some concern and action in
the local branch.
The doors of the prison were open to the
NAACP. The Portland Branch had the oppor­
tunity to go into the prison, to learn about its
programs and its problems, to do its own in­
vestigation and thereby form lasting relationships
with prisoners and staff, and to have a continuing
influence in the penitentiary.
Rather than take advantage of this oppor­
tunity, they called for a federal investigation. The
Justice Department's Bob Lamb and his staff will
do a proper investigation and they probably will
find some discrimination as will be found in any
institution where people are locked up and other
people have the power over them.
Some good things will come from the in­
vestigation. A recommendation for staff training
in human relations and sensitivity to minority
culture will intice the state to provide the money
it might otherwise be reluctant to spend.
But we predict that CSA’s major recommen­
dation will be for more involvement from the
Black community. For the past year, nearly every
prisoner writing in our “ Behind the W a ll”
column, whatever their political persuasion and
w hatever their opinion of the prison ad ­
ministration, has pleaded for involvement from
the Black community.
When the Justice Department's recommen­
dation comes will the NAACP then be willing to
ta^e some responsibility for the men and women
who come out of this community and will return
to this community? Or will they find another
federal agency to do the job?
Defease of Blacks proper
Two rather startling editorials have appeared in
the local press in the last week or so.
In the first, the Oregonian castigated the local
NAACP for joining other Black groups to protest
the invitation of David Soles, Ambassador of
South Africa, to Portland.
The Oregonian pointed out that the NAACP
of all people, should support freedom of speech.
The Oregonian misses the point; freedom of
speech is not an issue. The issue is whether the
official representative of a nation that tortures
and murders its Black citizens should be an
honored guest. Would the Chamber of Commerce
and the World Affairs Council invite the head
of the KKK or the Nazi Party to dinner? Maybe
. . . if they had money to spend.
The Oregon Journal questioned the NAACP
National Convention's resolutions in support of
Senator Edward Brooke and other Black officials
who have come under attack from the press and
from government and local government. The
Journal is afraid that the NAACP supports these
people only because they are Black.
Isn't it strange that the Senate Ethics Commit­
tee has decided to investigate Brooke, while the
Senators and Congressmen who were implicated
in Koreagate will go free?
The Journal reminds us of Adam Clayton
Powell whose only crime was high living and en­
tertaining white women. No one seems to care
about the m illions raked off by w h ite
Congresssmen; the problem was that Powell was
a very effective Congressman.
The Journal reminds us of its own attack on
Cleveland Gilcrease, an attack it says was not
racially motivated. But, in spite of at least four
years of alm ost continuous investigation
Gilcrease has not been indicted or found guilty of
any crime.
All over the country there is a pattern of attack
by the press — followed by investigation by
government — of nearly every Black elected of­
ficial and of many Black directors of funded
programs. But when the expensive investigations
are over — no evidence of wrong doing is found.
All that happens is that the resources and
energies of the Black official are used for self-
defense and that the slander, once printed,
remains in the minds of many readers.
W e cannot believe that every Black person
who is elected or appointed to an influential
position is guilty of some crime. It is also hard to
believe that these attacks, from Boston to
Georgia, from Texas to Seattle, can be purely ac­
cidental.
The question is whether there is some type of
vast conspiracy involving the white press of this
country, or whether racism so permeates this
nation that these otherwise responsible editors
and publishers really believe that every Black per­
son who achieves must somehow be a crook. -
Andy is right
Andy Young told the truth when he said there
are political prisoners in this country. He should
know since he was one — jailed for his efforts to
end racial desegregation in this country. There
are many individuate still in jail — or still slandered
and persecuted — for their activities on behalf of
civil rights for Blacks, Indians and Chicanos, and
for their resistance to an illegal and immoral war.
W hy deny the truth? Calling for Young's ter­
mination in yet another example of persecution of
dissidents in this countryl
1st Piece
Com m unity Service
O NPA 1*73
PORTLAND OBSERVER
1st Piece
Beet Ad Results
O NPA 1*73
Publubed every Thuriday by Exie Publishing Company. 2201 North
KiUingiworth. Portland. Oregon 97217. Mailing addreu
P .O . Box
3137, Portland. Oregon 9 7 2 « Telephone 2SJ-24S6
6th Place
Best Editorial
N N P A 1673
Subrcnptioiu $7.50 per year in the Tri-County area, $8.00 per year
ou Hide Portland
Honorable M ention
Herrick Editorial Award
N N A 1*73
Sacond Claaa Poataga Paid at Portland. Oregon
The Portland O btervtr's official position is expressed only in its
Publisher'! column (W e See The W orld Through Black Eyes). Any
other material throughout the paper is the opinion o f the individual
writer or submitter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion o f the
Portland Obsrrvrr
A LFR ED L. H E N D E R S O N
E d ito r /P u b lto h «f
3rd Piece
Com m unity Leadership
O NPA 1*76
N atio n a l A d v ertisin g R ep res en tativ e
a m a lg a m a te d PubUehers. In c.
N e w York
MCMM"
N
$7.50
N am e
' n T r i— C o u n ty A r e o
— —______—
e J
I h K
A d d r e s s ______ _ _______________ _________ _ ___ _ ______
C i t y ___________________________________
p ER
$8.00
___________________________________
2nd Place
Beat Editorial
3rd Place
Com m unity Leadership
O NPA 1*76
O th e r
by Herb L. Cawthorne
The church exudes warmth. The
Black pepole who attend it: gracious
and warm They engulf you in a sin­
cere and genuine ‘ ‘ Welcome and
Come Again,” when you come to
Allen Temple C .M .E . as a visitor. It
does not take long to note that the
warmth of the Black congregation is
a natural outgrowth of the high spirit
which binds Allen Temple together.
And while everyone seems to make
a contribution to the cooperative
goodness of Allen Temple, located at
4236 N .E. 8th, there is little doubt
that Reverend T .L . Strayhand, its
respected pastor, is the common
thread which weaves the members
together in harmony.
Reverend Strayhand is a soft yet
powerful man. It may very well be
that his power is rooted in those
people who believe in his ministry.
His strength, in part, seems io derive
from the honor bestowed upon him
through his leadership in the
C hristian M ethodist Episcopal
Church. On Sunday, July 22nd at
3:00 p.m., the congregation of Allen
Temple will celebrate the ministry of
Reverend Strayhand with an ap­
preciation service. They will, in ef­
fect, thank him for his grace.
In fact, last Sunday, “ God's
Grace” was the subject of Reverend
Strayhand's message. The grace it
takes for each of us to remember
that, no matter how far we've come,
we have never arrived; the grace it
takes to remember “ the roots from
which we have come” ; and the grace
to help somebody. In the words of
the author of the hymn, “ Amazing
G ra c e ," the spirit o f Pastor
Strayhand's sermon is revealed:
Am azing Grace, how sweet the
sound
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now I am found
H as blind, but now I see
Through many dangers, toil and
snares
I have already come
‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus
fo r
And grace will lead me home.
On Sunday afternoon, the 22nd of
July, the grace of Pastor Strayhand
w ill be acknowledged by his
congregation. And his congregation
knows how to describe the nature of
the man who they will honor
Ira M um ford, for instance, speaks
with authority, having spent the last
26 years watching and participating
in the building of Allen Temple:
“ Reverend Strayhand is a very
modest man. He is, above all. sen­
sitive — morally and spiritually He
is a man of few- words; he lets his ac­
tions speak for him. Pastor
Strayhand is a dynamic organizer
in the church and the community He
takes a direct and positive approach
to anything he does, but he never
fails to let you know that God is the
one who leads and directs him ."
Alzena Dedeleavux, another long
time member o f A llen Tem ple,
speaks highly of the mentor of her
congregation. “ Reverend Strayhand
is most sincere. That is what I love
most about him — he lives what he
teaches "
Mrs Dedeleavux adds, "Under his
continual guidance, our church has
grown. We have expanded our
evangelism; we have reached out
through door-to-door visitations; we
have gotten to know our neighbors
Also, and very importantly, he has
involved the youth in the total
organization of the church."
The way individuals in the
congregation feel seems to be a
natural outcome of the manner in
which Reverend Strayhand ap­
proaches them. He speaks of his
mission at Allen Temple:
“ I see my ministry as one which
focuses totally on helping people. I
am appointed to serve. I serve the
people of Allen Temple C .M .E . One
philosophy is clear: We take people
from where they ure and attempt to
move them to where they ought to
be, according to the precepts of the
teaching o f Jesus Christ — the
precepts of love and charily and
brotherhood and service.
“ My ministry involves leading
men and women to God and God to
men and women If we can work
w ith individuals, making them
strong in (heir understanding ol
God, then as individuals become bel­
ter. so the community becomes bet­
ter If church people live out the
precepts of the Gospel — and don’t
act one way on Sunday and another
on Monday — the entire society and
way of life around us is impiused ”
Ira Mumford, like the other mem­
bers of Allen Temple, knows what
Reverend Strayhand has brought to
our community and to his church
"Under his leadership, Allen Temple
has grown spiritually and financially
He has organized the church so that
the youth are actively involved He
brought the spirit of the church buck
to life."
This Sunday at 3:00 p.m., Allen
Temple will stand for the gospel of
“ A ppreciation" and will sing in
harmony a hearty "Thank You."
JLftíMt tß tkt EdÜM
"Great Lie” robs Blacks’ history
To the Editor:
The Executive Director, Brother
Benjamin L. Hooks made it clear, we
must develop that high quality of
respect for unlikeness which is the
work of true cultivation o f spirit.
Cultural pluralism in Amerika is not
to be deprecated but welcomed.
The N A A C P , believes that the best
way to prevent outbursts of violent
fanaticism is to knit men and women
of all faith together in friendship and
in devotion to the fundamentals of
which they are agreed.
CORE holds no brief for religious
and cultural uniformity but urge un­
derstanding and appreciation.
The N A A C P are also united in the
desire to maintain the right of men,
civil and religious, which are the
foundation pillar of the Republic,
and which are guaranteed to our
citizens by the Constitution.
Today, when whole people can be
subjected to the pressure o f
propoganda by the establishment
press or radio, etc., it becomes
supremely important to make all the
people critically minded, lest, like the
Gadarene swine, they hurl them­
selves in blind passion over some
cliff.
What is the "Great Lie"? It is a lie
which was invented by the racists of
the seventeenth and eighteenth cen­
turies. According to those racists,
Black people under the blue sky had
neither
history,
cultu re,
no
humanity.
Many biased caucasoid scholars
and writers have written a lot of lies
Thanks
To the Editor:
On behalf o f the Portland Branch
N A A C P and of all those delegates
who went home with your special
edition of the Portland Observer,
thank you! You certainly helped to
make the Portland N A A C P Conven­
tion a memorable one and the fact
that your Observers' disappeared
like snow in July shows they were
appreciated. There were many Port­
landers who picked them up also.
We thank you for the great amount
of effort and research that went into
this edition.
Very Sincerely,
John H . Jackson
President
NAACP
about the Black man's culture and
history in the Western Hemisphere
They have described Black culture
and history as a fad and fancy.
Looking back to the origins of the
Black man, they contend that Azama
(A frika) had no history of its own
before it was brightened and
developed by the Europeans. Any
writer or scholar who perceives the
culture and history of Black people
in Amerika as fad or fancy is either
appallingly ignorant — or is simply
ignoring the fact, or is afraid of
facing reality. It can hardly be doubt­
ed that the history of Black people
in Amerika is a legitimate and a
necessary academic endeavor. The
Black scholars and their universities
established the academic validity of
Black history and culture many years
ago when the egotistic Europeans
paid no attention, did not listen or
care.
Like
the
monks
and
monasteries of the middle ages did
for Europe, the Black scholars and
M ali, Songhai, Kush, Ethiopia and
Central A frik a gathered and pre­
served cultural and historical infor­
mation to be desired by an inquiring
student and researcher o f a later
time. It is a shame to find that the
first thing that the so-called
"civilized people" did when they
came to Azama (A frika) was to steal
the Black heritage, and to express
doubt whether some o f the
knowledge, facts, and materials they
stole had been done by a Black man.
Even today, the "great lie” per
sists. According to Brother Tom
Wicker, a political writer for the
New York Times, "today there is in­
sidious and pervasive caucasoid sense
o f the in feriority complex o f the
Black m an." Naturally, the "great
lie" has had a pernicious effect on
Amerikans. It has robbed a great
many Black people of personal and
group pride. It has deprived a
majority of them of a sense of group
identity. Caucasoid Amerikans have
become victim ized by their own
deceit. Consequently, caucasoid
Amerikans as well as Blacks urgently
need to be conscious of the truth
which has lingered for centuries in
the shadow o f the "great lie” . The
people o f the State of Oregon must
continue to support the N A A C P ,
and the people’s Newspaper, the
Portland Observer.
Sincere caucasoid educators must
seek to put an end to the "great lie”
by teaching and telling the truth
about the Black people in the U.S.
They should also start teaching and
telling the truth about ull people of
Afrikan descent in the so-called N i*
World.
Tim e is running out It took
Amerika nearly three centuries to
reach her present stage of industrial
development and manpower. Today
we deplore Amerika to avoid her in­
tervention to other nation's affairs
W ill Amerika prove incapable not
only of fulfilling the aspirations and
purpose of the Charter of Nations
(the Human Rights) in her own coun­
try? Will Amerika find it her glory to
proclaim practically, socially, scien­
tifically and economically, to defend
the rights of all global men to life,
liberty, and social development?
A m erika's creative actions and
diplimacy could secure world peace,
and enhance human fraternity for
lessening human woe. Let it be
Amerika’s pursuit of happiness and
determination to exert her effort
and generosity to the tusk of all men
in Amerika, Azama (A frika) and the
whole world to enjoy their God-
given rights to the fullest.
Dr. Jamil Cherovee
Field Director for (CORE)
Belittles prisons
To the Editor:
After reading, "Behind the W a ll,"
Thursday, July 13, I978, in the Port­
land Observer, I am amazed the
writers even acknowledged their role
in drafting the article.
Apparently, Baker, Franklin and
Snowden have forgotten, or have no
knowledge of the N A A C P . Local
branches across this land raise funds
through their annual membership
drives, banquets, wine tasting par­
ties, fashion shows, and etc. After the
expenses are paid, h a lf o f the
proceeds are retained by the locals
and half sent to National to share in
the expense to fight for Justice,
Equal Education, Jobs and Housing.
I would like for Larry Baker, Ver-
nell Franklin, Julius D. Snowden
and Dave Burgess to write another
article to the P o rtlan d Observer
describing in glowing terms and
reasons why some, or all, now^o*'
have resided at OSP, 2603 State
Street, Salem, Oregon 97310.
Let us hear from you, BOYS.
Bernard Bolding Richardson
P.S. A t no time while President of
the Salem Branch N A A C P did Black
inmate* o f OSP call for assistance. -