SPINKS vs. ALI
o
by Booker G riffin
M uham m ad All
Muhammad A li is a man steeped
in belief o f his own manifest destiny.
He truly believes that his fate is a lo f
ty one and that he is a man whose
mission is beyond the ordinary.
That vision does not end within
the 464 square feet o f a boxing ring
but extends to the far reaches o f om
nipotence. His dreams and his
visions are indeed far beyond the
confines o f the boxing ring but a
m ajor foundation o f his existence
squarely rests upon his success as a
boxer.
A li has the spirit o f an eternal
champion. His deep and abiding
pride stalks stubbornly w ithin him
like a brooding phanthom agitating
him to pursue the goals o f his percep
tions. Those perceptions are often
very deep and very personal.
PORTLAND
O B S E R /E R
V olum e 8 No. 37 Thursday, S eptem ber 14,1978 10c per copy
He pur sues his goals hardest when
there are those who doubt him or
relegate him to defeat.
He rises to the occasion best when
he is the underdog.
He is most devastating when his
efforts can be worked into a crusade
where in with the skills o f a Merlin
can work vaunted magic and accom
plish the impossible.
Thus his rematch w ith young,
brawling Leon Spinks, who lifted his
crown unexpectedly in February,
comes forth amid the kinds o f cir
cumstances and atmosphere w ithin
which he functions best.
One need only to think back to the
days prior to the first Liston fight,
the Thrilla in Manilla or the days in
Zaire to feel and remember that cer
tain electricity that flows from and
(Please turn to Page 5 Column 1)
Leon Spinks
Caricatures are to individuals what
stereotypes are to groups.
When a person from a stereotyped
group is presented in caricature, the
impact o f the caricature is made
stronger by the force o f the
stereotype.
That is the case w ith W o rld 's
H eavyweight C ham pion Leon
Spinks.
The American media have chosen
to present him in caricature,
exaggerating certain negatives and
ignoring certain positives. W ithin the
so-called confines o f “ fa ir and
balanced news coverage” there is
much la titu d e fo r subjective
m anipulation and that subjective
m a n ip u la tio n has been u tilize d
against Leon Spinks to the fullest.
To the extent that America holds
certain contrived stereotypes ol
Black people, the media imposed
caricature o f Leon Spinks has suf
fered a greater believability because
o f his Blackness and situation in life.
Caricatures can be fun when they
are humorous and o f light intent.
They are then mere cartoons intend
ed to help us laugh together but not
at one another. Caricatures can be
vicious and brutal when they are
. aimed at a person. They are then
villianous and injurious.
Such has been the case o f the
assault orchestrated upon Leon
Spinks that has discolored him and
made him “ colored” in the eyes o f
so m any Am ericans and others
around the globe.
(Please turn to Page 5 Column 2)
White contractors turn Black,
Whites desegregate white school
A feeling o f great satisfaction d rif
ted over the blond, blue-eyed con
tractor when he realized that at last
his 600 member crew had been
brought into at least temporary (on
paper) racial balance. Now he could
qualify as a m inority contractor and
get a cut o f the P ortland school
district’s business. He explained to
his wife at dinner that night that the
School Board had recently passed a
motion designating any building con
tractor with a work force containing
the acceptable percentages o f
m inority employees as a m inority
business enterprise and setting aside
a piece o f the action for them.
As he turned over in bed the next
morning, this conservative middle-
class contractor suddenly noticed
that his hands had turned black.
Leaping out o f bed he saw a dark-
skinned face with nappy hair staring
at him from the m irror. “ My God,
I ’ m B lack” , he exclaimed as he
grabbed his hard hat and headed for
the office.
But as the day wore on the en
thusiasm faded. First, his banker had
second thoughts about that line o f
credit he badly needed. And then his
insurance agent called to say the
premium has gone up. His bonding
agency decided he was a “ high risk”
and SBA delayed his Ioan. A fter a
hard stare from the policeman on the
corner and an insult from the bar
tender, he arrived home in a state o f
shock.
“ Please God,” he prayed. “ Just
make me white. I don’ t want to be a
‘ m inority business enterprise’ any
more.”
A flig h t into fantacy? Perhaps.
But it could happen to any unsuspec
ting contractor now that the Por
tland School Board has decided that
any w hite co n tra cto r can be a
“ minority business enterprise” . Yes.
Last week the P o rtla n d School
Board determined that any business
which has employees in percentages
comparable to the percentages o f
minorities in the crafts and trades in
the labor m arket is a “ m in o rity
business e nterprise.”
So look out, M r. Contractor, hire
one more Black carpenter and you
just might wake up Black.
T hat wasn’ t enough fo r one
week’s work. The School Baord also
decided to desegregate A lam eda
Elementary School, which is nearly
all white, with white students from
Beaumont.
One o f the prim ary reasons fo r
fo rcin g a m iddle school on the
Beaumont com m unity was to aid
desegregation. Yet last year, in order
to allay the fears o f white parents
and entice them to favor a middle
school, principal Bill Beck promised
that a ll Beaum ont low er grade
students could go to Alameda and
none would have to go to Sabin.
The Beaum ont B etter School
Committee (pro middle school) was
even more blatently racist, w riting to
parents: “ Make Alameda our neigh
borhood primary school! Remember
that Alameda is only 14 blocks from
Beaum ont. It can easily accom
m odate every p rim a ry c h ild at
Beaumont - no exceptions! Alameda
residents are our neighbors. We at
tend the same churches, shop the
same stores, use the same YM C A,
play in the same park, and attend the
same pre-schools and share the same
(Please turn to page 2 col. 1)
State minority employment doubles
Robert Philips, chairman of the Greater Northeast
Precinct Police Council presents appreciation award to
Reverend and Mrs. Jonn Parker of Prison Ministries.
Parkers praised for prison work
The Greater Northeast Precinct
Police Council, a citizens’ advocacy
group for the Northeast residents in
police matters, during its regular
monthly meeting held at the King
Neighborhood facility presented a
special crime prevention award to
Reverend John H. Parker, Jr., and
Mrs. Vivian Parker for their work in
prison out-reach.
The award was presented to the
Parkers’ by Robert Phillips, Chair
man o f the G reater N ortheast
Precinct Police Council. He stated,
“ the Precinct Council is presenting
this award to Reverend and Mrs.
Parker because o f their work, com
m itm ent and dedicatio n in in
stitutionalizing the Prison Ministries
Program and for helping prisoners
achieve a sense o f self w orth.”
Reverend John Parker, Jr. who is
the director o f Prison M inistries,
Inc., a non-profit organization, has
been involved in Prison Ministries
since attending W arner P a cific
College as a student in 1964.
The Prison M inistries Program
has been incorporated since 1975.
Since that time Mrs. Parker has ser
ved as secretary/treasurer o f the cor
poration and also coordinator o f the
music fo r chapel services and special
programs.
Prison Ministries offers counseling
services to prisoners and their
families and offers preventive coun
seling to anyone upon request.
Special features o f the program in
clude: home visitations, marriage
counseling to prisoners and their
families, transitional counseling and
individua l counseling. T raining is
also offered to prisoners interested in
the ministry.
The Prison M in istrie s, In c .,
operates a counseling center, “ Turn
ing Point” — located at 3946 N.
Mississippi in Portland. Part o f the
Prison Ministries Program include
special ministry and counseling ser
vices to — Oregon State Correctional
Institute, Oregon State Penitentiary,
Oregon’s Correction Center, Claire
A rgow W om en’ s Center, Rocky
Butte County Jail, McNeil Island
Federal Penitentiary in Washington,
W ashington State Prison and
Nebraska State Penitentiary.
The organization receives support
o f its programs from churches o f all
denom inations in and outside o f
Oregon, fro m businesses and
through individual contributions.
Governor Bob Straub announced
that m inority employment in state
positions has risen over 100 percent
during his administration, from 815
minorities employed in 1975 to 1,646
currently. O f even greater signifi
cance is the increase in positions in the
higher levels (19-314) from 170 in
1975 to 311 in 1978. The permanent
fu ll-tim e state w ork force is 5.4
minority.
“ We’ve made a good start and I ’m
proud o f what we’ve done so far.
“ I ’ m very pleased that my ad
m in is tra tio n developed the firs t
legislatively approved affirmative ac
tion plan in the United States — and
that we did it before there was a
federal mandate.
“ We have been working hard in
Oregon to ‘ close the gap’ and make
equality a reality for all our citizens.
Equality has been a constant goal o f
my administration since I took office
in 1975 and w ill remain so as long as
I ’ m in o ffic e ,” stated G overnor
Straub.
Rahs aan files for for
King neighborhood asks Crime Prevention funding
The Greater Northeast Precinct
Police
C o u n cil
adopted
by
unanim ous vote the recom m en
dations o f the King Improvement
Association and the Inner Northeast
Area C itizens C rim e Prevention
Com m ittee recom m endation that
King Neighborhood be selected as
the target neighborhood for the first
phase o f the C o m m u n ity C rim e
Prevention Grant funded by a grant
fro m
the
Law
Enforcem ent
Assistance A d m in is tra tio n . The
grant sets aside $35,000 to be made
available to neighborhoods wishing
to attempt innovative crime preven
tion projects.
‘Target neighborhoods’ are select
ed based upon the severity o f the
crim e problem in each neigh
borhood , the p o p u la tio n o f the
neighborhood, the extent to which
the neighborhood is organized, its
ability to provide volunteer support,
and the extent to which it demon
strates an interest in participating in
an organized crim e prevention
program.
The King Neighborhood Crime
Prevention C om m ittee has been
operating since 1977, and neigh
borhood residents have met with
Police Bureau representatives about
neighborhood crime problems, as
well as held home meetings about
crim e prevention and one block
party.
Ella Mae Gay, vice-chairperson o f
the King Improvement Association,
stated in a letter to the Precinct
Council, “ our commitment to crime
w ill no doubt be strengthened by the
news that our neighborhood crime
rate per thousand is almost a third
higher than any other neighborhood
in the city, with the exception o f
Downtown and the Burnside area.”
Using the figures o f Lt. Tom Pot-
ter, who is in charge o f the Police
Bureau’ s Crime Prevention U nit, the
crime rate in the King area is more
than three times that o f the adjacent
W oodlawn, Piedmont, and Sabin
neighborhoods.
A “ small-scale” example o f the
new crime prevention methods that
may be undertaken by citizens in
King if the recommendations are ac
cepted by the city-wide Crime Pre
vention Board includes escort ser
vices to senior citizens and children,
in s ta lla tio n o f locks and other
security devices in the homes o f
neighborhood residents and a wide
variety o f educational projects.
The Inner Northeast Area Crime
Prevention C om m ittee w ill be
meeting with the King Improvement
Association in the near future to
draft a crime prevention plan for the
King neighborhood.
According to the most recent state
statistics there are 244 Black male
employees, 68 o f whom are at least
19 or above. There are 316 Black
female employees, 33 at level 19 or
above.
There are 215 Hispanic males,
w ith 41 above level 19 and 194
Hispanic females with 12 above level
19. There are 174 male Asians with
68 above level 19 and 228 Asian
females with 46 above level 19. There
are 128 male Native Americans with
35 above level 19 and 147 female
Native Americans with 8 above level
19. Level 19 salary range is $12,000.
Harold Williams, who has served
as the State A ffirm ative Action O f
fice r since his appointm ent by
Governor Straub in 1975 has praise
for some state agencies and feels less
favorable tow ard the e ffo rts o f
others.
The Department o f Commerce has
made the greatest gains in the 1977-
1978 fiscal year. “ I have to credit the
adm inistrator, Cornelius Bateson,
H A L IM R A H S A A N
Halim Rahsaan has filed as a can
didate fo r the Board o f the
M e tro p o lita n Service D is tric t,
position 11. A native o f Portland,
Rahsaan changed his name legally
from W illiam Earl Cross to Abdul
H a lim Rahsaan three years ago
because o f religious preference.
Rahsaan, the son o f W illiam and
MSD
w ith the gains the departm ent
has m ade,” W illia m s explained.
“ Bateson sees the need to employ
more minorities and women and has
made that a priority. The most en
couraging thing is that Blacks are
being hired in positions they have not
traditionally held. For example, Zoe
Wilson is assistant director o f per
sonnel. W ilbur Russell is a fire in
spector and Lee Harris is inspector
for pre-fab modules.
“ In the Insurance Commission,
which is part o f Commerce, there is
Andria M arziti, a Chicano, who is
Deputy Insurance Commissioner.”
The Forest Service has an active
program , seeking m in o rity em
ployees. “ They are having a hard
time finding Black foresters because
Blacks in Oregon d o n ’ t know
anything about o p p o rtu n itie s in
forestry.” Although forest products
is Oregon’s largest industry, most
Black students, who live in Portland,
are never exposed to this industry.’
(Please turn to Page 8 Column 4)
board position
Harriet Bell Cross (Paris) graduated
from Jefferson High School. He
received a bachelor’ s degree in
Sociology fro m P o rtla n d State
University in Sociology and attended
graduate school at Southern Illinois
University.
As a high schooler he was corner
back on the 1961 champion Jeffer
son football team. He won two mid
dleweight U.S. A AU championships,
was a member o f the U.S. Olympic
trials team in 1964 and the 1967 In
ternational Boxing team. He also ac-
commulated a number o f state and
Northwest A A U titles.
Speaking o f his candidacy
Rahsaan said, “ I feel I am the most
q u a lifie d candidate to be your
district advocate. I want to be your
sounding board in bringing to the
community the issues that w ill effect
our neighborhood, our county and
c ity , the changes that effect us
socially, p o litica lly and economi
cally. I have always had an interest in
the political arena because o f the
tremendous effect p o litics play
in our lives. Most people fail to get
involved in politics until it starts to
effect us directly and sometimes it is
too late to make any m a jo
modifications. I certainly w ill keej
the people abreast o f the lates
developments w hich e ffe c t ou
neighborhood as well as our lives
This is the only true way I see ol
being your District Representative.”
Rahsaan worked with Bob Boozer
in establishing the State’ s first a ffir
mative action project. The federally
funded pilot project was designed to
bring m inority people into state civil
service.
Rahsaan then became the firs t
Black hired by the Oregon Com
mission for the Blind as a vocational
developm ent
analyst,
placing
visually handicapped persons in em
ployment.
Since January o f 1975, Rahsaan
has been em ployed by P o rtla n d
Community College as a team super
visor with the C ETA I program A
second jo b is as counselor in a
residential drug treatment program.
Currant group a ffilia tio n consists
o f N A A C P Oregon Jaycees, A d
visory Board, Northwestern College
o f Business, Kiwanis (Swan Island
Branch), M a rtin L u th e r K ing
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