Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1978)
P*0*® Portland Observar Æ * Thursday, September 14. 1978 A bad week in Oregon sports by Bill Schaefer The past week will not be recorded in Oregon sports history as one of its greatest penods. Bill Walton refused to kiss and make up with the Trail Blazers The Portland Beavers were irgloriou&ly weathered out o f the P acific Coast League baseball playoffs. Oregon State. Oregon and Portland State lost their football openers And Peter Jacobsen, who had earned some 525,000 in his las', two tournaments on the Professional Golfers Association tour, failed to make the cut in the Southern Open But the saddest news of all for this observer was the arinouncement from M onm outh that Greg Shewbert. the two-time Little All- America tailback for Oregon College o f Education via M adison H igh School, would skip his senior year of football to give his undivided atten tion to track and a possible small college decathlon championship next summer. The news is sad only in the context that it will deprive those who watch OCE this fall of witnessing possibly the best small college tailback in the country . I f this view sounds like an overstatement let us, as A l Smith would say, look at the record. Shewbert was the second leading ground garner among small college players last year and he had a bad season Really. He missed two games entirely and portions o f several others because o f injuries yet managed to average almost ISO yards a game and seven yards every time he carried the ball Shewbert almost single-handedly kept OCE in the game against highly favored Portland State, gaining some 120 yards before leaving with an injured ankle in the third period. He broke the four-year career rushing record at OCE in three years minus seven games missed because of injuries. Jusi how gosd a football player was Shewbert? A fte r Shoobie played against awesome Texas A A I in the NA1A championship semi-final game in 1975, A&I Coach Gil Steinke was asked what he thought of the 5 foot 9 inch, 175-pound freshman. "Maybe you shouldn't print this but you don’t see many white kids run like he does,” Steinke says. " I f he doesn't like it in Oregon send him down to me.” O C E’s head coach. Bill McArthur, offered this poignant rejoinder when asked how he felt about Shoobie's decision. "1 feel just the way Tom The Firey Urban Furnace Blacks, land and technology by McKinley Burt In this concluding article o f the trilo g y, *’ Blacks. Land and Technology". 1 hope to reinforce some very obvious relationships that 1 am quite sure the reader has per ceived. For instance, we have described power in action in terms of major Oregon industry importing Black laborers and craftsmen by the many hundreds into a state whose constitution forbade their residence or citizenship. Could not the same, now even more powerful firms use their clout today if they wished to bring about the same integration of ail people into the work force? (Even into their own?) In the ‘Allirmative Action Action’ course which I teach at Portland State University and in the field, 1 never fail to reiterate that it can never work except that there be com mitment at the top — whether in in dustry, public agency or in an educational institution or system. A second important connection is one that is universally . . . intrinsic to ail interactions between a people, their land, their skills and their aspirations. "D ifferent places at one time will exhibit the same sequence of events as one place at different times. That is ergodic theory, but, then, so many of our urban planners have shown such an ineptitude in the delivery of economic services to the poor and m inorities (standard business practices not needed for Blacks?), that we had best let Ger trude Stein put it in simpler terms for them, " A Rose is a Rose, is a Rose, is a Rose!’’ . Then, when 1 discuss the formerly Black-owned lands on or near the southeastern coast of the country which are now valued at Si ,000 a front inch, there should not be that degree of difficulty in relating as would preclude the reader from making a direct inference concerning Black-owned (o r lost) lands in Oregon and Washington. Specifically, reference was made to the fact that there is Black-owned property in the Albina section o f • • • • • • • • • • P o rtla n d . Oregon . . , which is among the most valuable real estate on the West Coast o f the United States (high rises — trunk and belt lines — residential options — warehousing/depots — industrial service and support — etc.; all Oregon clean and with a view') — and, fu rth e r, that there were available "econom ic vehicles or structures which Blacks in other places have used at different rimes to develop and exploit such resources for their own benefit.” One would think that our pubbe officials and agencies; w ith their tremendous resources (and infinite rhetoric and acronym for the "escalation of the quality o f life for the poor and m in o ritie s") would surely, being trained and educated persons, would look to history, recent or older, for their success and role models; that is if they were serious. Why, for instance, do we not find the agencies, mandated by Congress (and taxpayer) to develop Minority Business Enterprise w ith all ex pedition, using the m odel. . . o f the w hite, w orker-ow ned Plyw ood M an u fa c tu rin g Cooperatives? A number o f these craftsmen/owners were tax clients of mine at an earlier period and 1 am thoroughly familiar with the economic benefits o f in come, annuity and capital accretion to be derived fro m successful operations. It is especially significant that these Northwest enterprises so closely resemble the structure o f many of the earlier Black manufac turing and agricultural companies and cooperatives which 1 document ed in the first article of this series. Such economic concepts are especially relevant in light of today s disastrous Black employment ex perience — and doubly so in view of the craft-union construints upon the Black worker’s ability to deliver his skills and products to the market place. Another crucial evaluation to be made of Black-owned urban property is in terms of its surrogative value, that is it represents beyond its intrin- "The PRODUCE CENTER o f PO RTLAND"• IMPROVER ELBERTA PEACHES 26 imum BOX $*>98 SWICT A JWCY LAMLACAl RECTARIHES 75* TOMATOES 4 B , , 2 ' S1 • CANNING l i t i • SX CANNING JARS BROWN l i S S _ COM *f H IM ;2M 5 $2*’ KAN GROUND VEAL IN PKGS OP 1 0 LBS o r m oro. HEN «Z» TURKEYS. AVC. IACR HAMSHANKS .83* SHERIDAN FRUIT Co. 5.1. U N IO N A O AK I 2 3 5 -9 3 5 3 sic high market value, the additional possibility o f leverage e q u ity / collateral for financing the con struction o f high rises, shops, warehouses, offices, post offices and other public buildings, and what have you f o r long-term lease Those would be owned of course by cor porations or cooperatives o f the Albina residents who would then like other Americans would "h a v e a piece of the action" as the program mers like to say. T o me this would make more economic, moral and ethical sense than another 100 bandaid social programs which all seem to be cen tered, somehow, around a central hidden agenda which always results in the eventual displacement o f the Blacks from their land — given that it may be by direct sale, which given . . . discriminatory employment and ‘red-lining’ box in which the Port land Black finds himself, is really a form of eminent domain exercised by outside private financial interests! In the fashion o f discourses on the " P ro p e r Study o f M a n k in d ," a proper study of the sociology of ur ban America and its predominately Black inner-cities could well be titled " A Q uantitative and Q ualitative Study of Building Permits Issued in the Twenty Largest American Cities: 187 4-19 74 ." A suitable preface would be a recapitulation o f the evidence gathered in New York in 1940 and 1941 (not atypical) by a small army o f U.S. Department o f Justice attorneys in preparation for an Anti-Trust Suit which could have changed the entire course and social direction of this country. Specifically, it was found out by white folks (Blacks, o f course, already knew) that the particular area o f New York City known as H arlem did not just grow like "topsy” , but rather there had been a long-term conspiracy in restraint o f trade extending across state lines to maintain and control the Rental and Consumer Merchandising Structure of that colony! An excluded class of investors and the craftsmen and laborers o f the ‘ W hite-Male-Only’ Building Trades Unions had finally awakened, ‘something must be done about this vicious and planned restraint of trade which has restricted our incomes.’ But we will not see these things in our sociology texts, will we? And that "comprehensive" compilation of statistics published by the gov ernm ent, ‘ Social and Economic Characteristics o f the Black Population in the United States: 1974 U p d a te ’ is much " in the fashion” o f the shadows on the sur face waters o f Plato’s pond. The given parameters of employment, in come, housing, education, health, the family, crime and politics hardly speak to the infant and adult mor ta lity rates o f these deliberately contrived B antustan-like urban ecospheres — these Harlem s, somewhat euphemistically descried as the "64 Billion Dollar Black Con sumer M arket.” Nor do they speak to an in to to , 100-year, Black n a ta lity /m o rta lity rate function whose excess over the national median could approach the same number o f souls lost during the passage of the African Slave Trade! The "American Dilem m a" was not procured by ‘mirrors’ but by human greed. I f Blacks ever are to achieve an economic parity in the American scheme, they (though under constant attack) will have to greatly escalate their level o f socio-economic cooperation and of psyche- sustaining mutual respect, taking heed of the models cited in Parts I and II of this series, not to mention the redesign and recapture of their educational process towards sur vival. All of course is subtended by the necessity for a restoration of self- image, which only can be accom plished by a factual retrieval (and ownership) of the race’s magnificent history o f achievement — just as is the case with other ethnics. You can not argue on both sides of the case for a pluralistic society. Blacks were never melted, except in ‘Mandingo.* It would be well to remember (yes, critical) that if European im migration had not been cut o ff in 1914 by submarine warfare, very likely the Black, like the Native American (Indian), also would be confined for the most part to scat tered reservations — or is he? One hundred years o f red-lining and restrictive covenants (dejure or defacto) is as efficient as the calvary! Equally well it is to remember during quests for land, economic parity and “ a piece o f the action,” that there are still with us many 'B akke- oriented’ Americans who think in terms of the 19th Century concept of a New York newspaper editor, “ The M anifest Destiny o f the W hite Races." This racist philosophy, which is seen in the ‘ backlash’ and the resurgence o f the Kian, is but the other side of another coin of that era. The fu ll title of Charles Dar w in’s magnaopus, which is never used by American publishers was . . . “ On the Origin o f the Species by Means o f Natural Selection” and "The Preservation of the Favoured Races of M ankind.” Landry would feel if Tony Dorsett came up to him and told him he wouldn’t be playing for the Dallas Cowboys this year." Although Shoobie has enjoyed fo o tb a ll, track has always been numero uno with him. " A football game stays in your mind for only a short while after it’s over,” he has said. "B ut in track 1 can't shrug things o ff that easily. Things stay with me a lot longer " What has been most difficult for Shewbert to shrug o ff have been the injuries and this is why he is quitting football. He has finished sixth in the national small college ( N A IA ) decathlon championship in each of the past two seasons and Shoobie is known to feel that football injuries both years set back his decathlon training schedule by some six months. A n d , w ith at least an outside chance o f making it to Moscow for 'O Why try to lose weight on yout ow n7 Turn to your right a left at a Weight Watchers* meeting and you'll hnd the encouragement of other people who want to lose weight, too Turn to the front of the room, and you'll see a person who really cares about your progress and your problems When it's tune to eat. turn to our Food Plan lor more delicious foods than you ever dreamed you could have on a diet When you re bored or tempted, turn to our special Behavior Modification method designed especially lor you It will help you get the best of temptation There are other reasons to turn to Weight Watchers Our skilled professionals, doctors, behavioral psychologists nutritionists gourmet chefs, lecturers - who bring you the best weight control program in history So turn to Weight Watchers And turn your hie around (Continued from Page 1 Column 6) Rohsoan (Continued from Page 1 Column 6) Scholarship Committee and member of Board of Director Western Inter national Development Corporation (W IDCO). Past affiliations consist of former vice president and president of Portland Chapter of Association of Black Social Workers, affiliated with the N ational Association of Black Social Workers, Urban League and Oregon Association o f Child Care Workers. Persons interested in assisting with Rahsaan's campaign can contact his campaign manager. Bob Boyer at 283-3824 ' AT WEIGHT MATCHERS, v o r u r o w help IYWHEREVOVTURM. Employment " T h e y are looking at the high schools, trying to help students plan their careers with forestry in mind, but it is difficult." Though not par ticularly successful in recruiting, W illiams considers the Forest Service "as open and sincere as anybody.” Prior to 1977-1978 the State Ac cident Insurance Fund had a good minority hiring record but this year, with reorganization and changes in direction, minority employment fell off. The D epartm ent o f T ransp o r tation had a large number of mi nority employees until about eighteen months ago when it underwent a lay-off of 400 employees. Because minority employees are generally recent hires, 38 of those laid o ff were minority. The D epartm ent o f Hum an Resources has the largest percentage of minorities, but it deals in areas that have tra d itio n a lly drawn minorities — social work, childrens services, rehabilitation programs, counseling, etc. "Hum an Resources gets more credit than they deserve because o f their high numbers,” Williams said. "Actually they have few minorities in high level jobs — Hazel Hayes, Ben Tally, Kay Toran — but considering the fields they serve and the numbers of people they hire they should do better." "Commerce, on the other hand, doesn't have the high percentage but Blacks are getting into new areas and in high level positions.” the 1980 Olympics, he wants to give the decathlon his full and undivided attention free of the specter of in juries. The decision must have taken on a gut-tearing quality for young Shewbert whose loyalty to his team mates equals his on-the-field per formances. OCE was looking for ward to, and still might achieve, another fine season and a possible post-season playoff game. The three Shewbert years have seen OCE lose only four games — two to Portland State, one to Texas AAI and one to Linfield. The Wolves have not lost an Evergreen Conference game since Shoobie arrived. There are some people connected with the OCE football program who are not overjoyed at the prospect of losing this extraordinary athlete. But Shoobie has to do what he feels is in his best interests. Nothing else really counts. The Authority YOU'RE THIS CLOSE TO LOSING WEIGHT JO IN ANY CLASS ANY TIM E) Carpenters Hall 2225 N Lombard St Mon 7:00 p.m . Thur» 9 30 a m Maranatha Church 1222 N E Skidmore Sat 9 : X a .m . For further information call Collect Portland (503)297 1021. Weekdays - 8:30-5:30 Emanuel Hospital 2801 N. Gamonbom Emanuel East. Room 8 1 Thurs 7:00 p.m. REMODELING YOU CAN BE PROUD OF by DAK Helping to improve our community's homes and businesses through quality residential and com mercial remodeling Specialists in de signing kitchens and baths to brighten your home. Distinctive new building/ o f fic e /s to r e e x te r io r s and interiors to im p ro ve your business. Whatever you need call us lor an appointment to visit you and discuss your remodeling proiect. altera tions or additions. Free e s tim a te s P r o f e s s io n a l a d v ic e and assistance with f i nancing References glad (V furnished. td l1 ,oddy DAK CONSTRUCTION CO . INC M fw nfN o <.*** oih • M2? N ALBIN* • PORTLAND OREUON • Nw , . H .im p .„ mi ,, .i C,.,,.. •
