Page 4 Portland Observer
Behind the wall
Larry Baker 935021
O.S.P. Correspondent
Once Daniel Berrigan wrote: "T o
write about prisoners is a little like
w riting about the dead. They are
jealous o f their souls. They guard
their thoughts, nurse their rages in
secret.”
When this Correspondent placed a
sheet o f paper in his typewriter he
tried to think o f a story interesting
enough about prisoners' lives that
would make sense to the reader. A ll
o f a sudden his mind drew a blank as
his fingers lightly tapped across the
keys. Nothing happened, not a word
or even a constructive sentence could
be formulated in his mind.
Bui a question did appear. Why?
Why should the general public
care one way or another what any of
the prisoners th in k or say from
behind these walls, with their mount
ed gun towers?
They no longer have any say
within different matters that directly
concern their well being. Many o f
these same individuals have been
legally labeled by the courts as
'society outcasts.’ ‘scum of the earth.’
‘ psychos without any human exis
tence.’
Furthermore, here it is, that time
o f the biennium year again, when the
most popular and controversial sub
jects turn toward those who are to be
counted in their steel cages each
night. The incarcerated convicted
felons. Prisoners, who come in all
shape, color and size. Prisoners, who
this year, will be publicized as an ex-
pense burden to the State. Even in
their small spaces o f hell (a cell), it is
becoming the opinion o f the voters
that the prisoner has become too
comfortable. They are still not safely
tucked away adequately enough in
their dungeons to prevent being a
threat to society. Or better yet, a
threat to societies pocketbook.
Since the adoption o f the 1977
‘ metric system’ a lot o f the pressure
has been delinquented fro m the
Oregon State Parole Board, the
power to determine when a prisoner
is ready for parole — five, six, or
seven years — they now must work
under some rules, regulations, and
procedures that state a prisoner can
not be ready before ten, twenty or
thirty years. In many cases this is
telling the prisoner to ’ forget it . ’
Some voters are opposed to men and
women convicted o f crimes spending
that much time in prison and using
that old cliche ‘ but we gotta feed
’ em’ . And then there are others who
are under the impression that Ballot
Measure 8 just might be the most ap
propriate measure to elevate the
problems concerning penal rehabili
tation and expenditures. K ill 'em.
The ‘death penalty’ (Measure 8)
has been the most on-again, o ff-
again, on-again penalty o f all the
laws in Oregon's history. Since the
State relieved the county sheriffs of
the responsibility (executions) in
1803 the voters repealed it the
following year. It was reinstated in
Julius D. Snowden 938013
Poetry Editor
1920 and repealed again in 1964. In
1972 the U.S. Supreme Court found
plenty o f evidence that the death
penalty discriminated against the
minorities and the poor, so much in
fact such statutes were found uncon
stitutional.
In the Corvallis Gazette- Times,
October 17, 1978, Editorial: "F our
years after the court's decision, a
study o f the nation's death-row
found that 62 percent o f them were
unskilled, service or domestic
workers, while only three percent
came from professional or technical
job ranks; it was also found that sixty
percent o f the inmates were unem
ployed at the time o f their crimes.”
A re these individua ls who are
promoting the ‘ death penalty* this
year searching for the power and ex
citement to kill? And what i f the
death penalty is found as a deterrant
over the next couple o f years. W ill
the penalty be used on rapists in the
1981 election? W ill armed robbers be
in fashion by 1983? Just think by
2001 ‘driving on a suspended license'
could be the order-of-the-day.
W ith this madness forming deeply
within this Correspondent’s mind, he
suddenly slammed his fist on his
typewriter. Hey! I t ’s just a matter o f
time before the ‘ death penalty* will
sink to his level.
Suddenly, fear and anger slowly
become a mixed emotional-terror in
the pit o f my stomach. Why not go
all the way o ff into left field and
Will Blacks vote?
by Eddie N. Williams
President, Joint Center For Political
us to prove that the impact o f the
Black vote in 1976 was not an ac
cident;
2. They also provide an oppor
tunity for Blacks to take maximum
advantage o f th e ir considerable
political potential in several states,
in clu d in g
Alabam a,
Georgia,
M ississippi, N o rth and South
Carolina, where close races are ex
pected in the November elections;
3. Aggressive voter participation
w ill help to assure the election o f
Black candidates;
4. The 1978 elections w ill signal
the beginning o f the process o f
gearing up for the Presidential elec
tion in 1980.
Studies
The p o litic a l fu tu re o f Black
America is literally in the hands o f
Black youth. It is about time we let
this fact sink in and begin to take a
critical look at how steady those
hands are. This assessment is
necessary despite the plight o f 18 to
24-year-olds who are plagued by
rising unemployment and declining
expectations.
A nalysis
What we see is not reassuring.
Black youth have the worst voter
participation rate o f any other age
group in the Black community and in
the nation as a whole. What makes
this situation both frightening and
challenging today is that Black youth
have the most to gain from
aggressive p a rtic ip a tio n in the
political process.
As 23 percent o f the total Black
voting-age population, 18 to 24-year-
olds should want to use the political
process to reduce th e ir unem
ployment rate and to help develop
policies and programs that w ill shape
their lives and liv e lih o o d in the
future.
And, too, they should want to help
keep Black political prospects on the
incline in the 1978 elections. These
elections are critical for Blacks for
several reasons:
1. They offer an opportunity for
Clearly, there is an urgent need to
increase Black voter participation
across the board. But there is an even
greater need to get our youth on the
right political track. What makes the
participation o f Black youth so con
spicuous and tro u b lin g is that it
represents the waste o f vaste poten
tia l — a waste that is often
overlooked. In short, the Black
youth vote is musclebound, and we
have failed to do anything about it.
There are 3.4 million Black youth
between the ages o f 18 and 24. In
1976, only 38 percent o f them were
registered and only 26 percent ac
tually voted. This is significantly
lower than the voter participation
rate o f Blacks nationally: 59 percent
were registered and 49 percent voted,
according to the U.S. Census
Bureau. It is lower still than the rate
fo r white youth: 53 percent were
registered and 45 percent voted.
. . . U N IO N OR C O M P A N Y
DENTAL INSURANCE
is a valuable asset . . .
y o u r h e a lth
and
a p p e a ra n c e
C O M P I.F.T E C O O P E R A TIO N
O S Al.1,
O E M A t I S ‘>t K A S C E C L A IM S
W E H A S O U AU I I I ! DETAILS«»
COMPLETING YOt R« I.AIM EDRMS
NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED
C o m e in a t y o u r c o n v e n ie ,n c e
PARK FREE-Any Park n Shop Lot
HO URS'
" **k«Uvi> « :.» a.m to 5 p.m
Saturday S:.'M4a.m to I p.m.
Dr. Jeffrey BRADY,
Dentist
S AY . 3RD A YAMHILL NT . PORI L AM) /REGOS
T ARE EI.EY ATOR TO2M ) FLOOR 3RD SI EN I R A V E
Yet another reason for singling out
Black youth is the fact that among
eligible Black voters, 25 and above,
54 to 73 percent were registered in
1976 and 44 to 65 percent actually
voted. That our youth are not pulling
their political weight is the under
statement o f the year.
A n exam ination o f the Black
youth vote yields some disturbing
regional variations. In the South,
where 18 to 24-year-olds are more
numerous (1.8 m illion or 53 percent
o f all Blacks in this age group) and
where voter participation drives have
been more intense, only 37 percent
were registered in 1976 and only 26
percent voted. What this means is
that for every youth who voted, three
did not vote. What a waste!
Voter participation by Black youth
was highest in the N orth Central
states where there are 672,000
eligible 18 to 24-year-olds. Here, 44
percent were registered and 32 per
cent voted in 1976.
In the Northeast, 37 percent o f
Black youth were registered and 28
percent went to the polls; and, in the
West, where Black youth represent
only 9 percent o f the national total,
registration was 40 percent and turn
out was 22 percent. The 823,000
eligible youth voters in these two
regions contributed only 214,000
votes in 1976.
The point, we hope, is well made
and well taken.
We insist that our w elfare
mothers, our sharecroppers, our
two-job holders, our poor, and our
infirm find the time to register and to
vote. Isn’t it about time we insist that
our youth pay their dues? This is the
least we can do to help assure our
political future.
Public Schools
(Continued from Page 1 Column 3)
sive, thoughtful, and balanced in its
treatm ent and in te rp re ta tio n o f
available m aterial, and in the
judgements made and recommen
dations presented. The Board's
response will obviously be affected
not only by the Board’s commitment
to improvement o f its integration
programs, but by the quality and
thrust o f the Coalition’ s report.”
Neuman referred to what members
o f the Board and staff have referred
to as “ several fundamental points of
disagreement involving the data and
the interpretations o f data” which
appear in the first draft.
“ We simply must await receipt of
the final report to learn in what way
the C oalition has considered, ac
counted for, weighed, and evaluated
factual material. We shall expect,
however, that the Coalition will wish
the Board in its response, not only to
recognize what may be accurate,
wise, and constructive, but also to be
frank in responding to any
inadequacies, omissions, or misin
terpretations o f data which may
exist.”
I
make 'Measure 8’ retroactive? Has
the image o f the Oregon convict
grown so gross that he can no longer
hide with his guilts in a 6x9 cement
guarded cell?
Some prisoners cannot help but
feel angered. Anger that must be
concealed with a smile before the
guards, counselors, a priest and the
pre-executors. Because o f a mistrust
in exposing their true feelings —
from being interpreted as rebellious.
Anger and fear.
Fear to relate honestly among their
peers about their newly adopted
public image; the prisoner can say
nothing, because it could be miscon
strued as a weakness.
A prisoner no longer stands in
judgement o f his own failures or suc
cesses. No longer can one thrive for
the incentive to overcome that life
long chant being said, “ You're no
good,” “ you’ re no good,” "y o u ’re
not worth a damn.”
Today a new voice sings from the
sidewings o f the stage, "ten, twenty,
sixty years, die.”
There are no sorrows left in the
w ill o f the people. Prisons have
become a business leaving no room
for reform. The last drop o f mercy
drains from compassion. We
prisoners must learn to hate our
selves and return once again to a
nothingness. And those o f us who
have sinned against mans laws may
even end up cussing God’s.
Romans 12:19, ’ ’ Vengeance is
mine saith the Lord.” You wanna
bet? Not as long as people believeth
upon "M easure 8’ ’ and unequal
justice.
So once again, the show must go
on. The drama o f that long and last
walk to the gallows, a chair, or an in
jection room. The cost o f admissions
once again becomes the will o f the
people.
Madness? Who! This Correspon
dent? He has not tasted the sweetness
of it yet. Although it might come one
day — when those prison gates may
open and at a passing glance a young
man shackled and chained may march
through on his way to the ‘ Death
House.’ What type o f pain would be
felt by this Correspondent i f the
young man he just passed happened
to be his son?
'Persons with dreams o f up
ward mobility cannot serve the
common people — and when
elected to office make opportu
nistic politicians, not public
servants. ”
Stata Repräsentative Wally Priestley
Member, Portland Public School Board
Paid tor by Dwnocrat» to Kaep Wally Priestley Fighting tor the People at the Capitol,
Better Home Er Garden
Handyman Book
PEGGY JOSEPH
Field Underwriter
283*5012
The New York Life agent in your
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know.
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"The Bank that integration built "
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EXODUS
'■¿fcoÂt/i.ïm A d ttttt/ts s is t/ a n t /
1518 N E
i r a / m r n / ^'e et/et
KILLING SW O RTH
PO RTLAND. OREG O N 9 7 2 , 1
2 8 4 -7 9 9 7
FACTS OF IM P O R T A N C E
VOLUME V
OCTOBER 1978
SERIES
Directly, Exodus is working hard to improve the
HEALTH, SAFETY and MENTAL OUTLOOK of
people living in our community.
One indirect result of our work in treating Alcoholism
is the reduction of crime and crime potential; while
increasing the overall productivity of our community
citizens.
Hunters! You can SEE, HEAR and THINK
clearer WITHOUT Alcohol and Drugs.
REGISTER AT:
EXODUS
1518 N.E. KilllngswOrth
Portland, Oregon 97211