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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1978)
•SS U n !’ Black groups seek injunction PORTLAND OBSERVER Volum« i No. 44 Thursday. November 2.1978 10c per copy As six Black organizations prepare to go to federal court today to seek an injunction against the C ity o f Portland, stopping the expenditure o f $12 m illio n in Com prehensive E conom ic D evelo pm ent S trategy (C E D S ) funds, the C ity countered with a proposal to form a minority task force. The organizations sued the City on the basis th a t requirem ents th a t representatives of c o m m u n ity organizations be involved as mem bers o f the C EDS committee in the planning for the grant proposal had not been met. One o f the C ED S requirements is that it povide jobs and income for economically disad vantaged and unem ployed city residents, including minorities and women. The C ity ’s new proposal, offered on October 31st, is that a Task Force on M inority Needs be formed as a special subcom m ittee o f the Economic Developm ent A dvisory C om m ittee (E D A C ) to meet with representatives o f m in o rity com m unities and develop specific measures within the C ED S program that would: 1) Assure meaningful and con tinuing involvement in the C E D S program by minorities; 2) Identify projects or programs, which meet the C ED S investment criteria, to be considered fo r in clusion in the CEDS program by City Council; 3) Recommend changes in the adopted C ED S policies; 4) Com municate issues or con cerns, not within the present scope o f the C EDS program or C ity economic development activities, to the ap p ro p riate agencies and organiza- tions; and 3) A rticulate the meaning, pur poses and management o f the Port land C E D S program to m in o rity interests in the community. I f adopted, the C E D S program would proceed according to schedule but no project applications would be subm itted to the U .S . Econom ic Developm ent A dm inistration until December 1st. Indications are that the minority organizations will reject the propo sal as an “ a fte r the fact to ken ” and w ill proceed w ith th e ir suit. Those filing the suit are: the North west M in o r ity C o n tra c to rs A s s o c ia tio n , the N A A C P , the A lb in a W o m e n ’ s L eagu e, the O regon A ssociatio n o f C o lo re d W o m e n ’ s C lu b s , the A lb in a Ministerial Alliance and the United Black Front. Straub*. Basic needs a human right Will Blacks vote? Only three households living in this three block strip took time to vote I The rapidly growing Black population of Por tland can be the deciding factior in close elec tions yet many citizens do not use their right to vote - a right bought by the blood and suffering of many. On. November 7th decisions with tremendous impact on Black citizens will be made. They in clude Measure 6, the death penalty, flouridation. A governor, a U.S. Senator and many state and local officials will be elected. Will Blacks vote? “ I have long believed that every human being has the right to basic human necessities before any other human being has the right to a sur plus beyond his or her needs,” G o v e rn o r Bob S tra u b to ld an audience gathered at V anco u ver Avenue First Baptist Church Wed nesday night. Straub told the audience that he is proud o f his record in Affirmative Ac tion. " W e have worked hard to open opportunities for all. I ’ m proud o f w hat I have done in ap p o in tin g Blacks to high posts and I ’m proud o f the way they have perform ed. Every Black person I have turned to and asked to help has performed with distinction and credit to the State o f Oregon. “ I have sponsored Affirmative Ac tion in this state because like former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, I believe we must close the gap between the promise and the reality in our land.” Straub said that in the past four years his administration has created enough jo b s to reduce unem ployment in the state from 12.1 per cent to nearly 5 per cent this year and has cut Black unemployment by 40 percent. Since 1975, there has been a 49 per cent increase in Blacks employed by the State and a SI per cent increase in Black state employees earning $1,000 per month or more. " W e ’ve gone a long way toward creating the social services we need to provide equal opportunities for the disadvantaged in this state -- the young, the old, and the handicap ped. W e have worked very hard to create the services th ey need to achieve their highest levels o f in dependence. W e ’ ve been a state o f great promise, and we’ve worked hard to solve the problems o f high Black unemployment and low opportunity. W e ’ve done much, but it ’ s not enough. I t ’s not enough so long as (Please turn to Page 4 Colum n 2) Prisoners Coalition addresses Rocky Butte conditions by Valentine Nemcek " T o those o f you who doubt that any or all o f these events are true. 1 can only say sleep, innocent child, sleep. To awake is to become mad. ’’ Roosevelt Williams Soledad Prison. 1971 Last week R ocky B utte Jail received a visit from the Division o f Corrections Adm inistrator, C arl M a son. The Prisoners Coalition (P .C .) had their first opportunity to discuss their plight with an official who can do something to correct conditions at the ja il. P .C . spokespersons said results are not materializing and it appears they will continue to present their "inhumane conditions” to the public through the media. Promises were m ade but some issues were evaded and it remains to be seen if improvements are forth coming. Once again, outside yard time was denied detainees. Accord ing to Mason, this problem, which has resulted in the detainees getting outside fo r fresh air only tw o or three times in ninety days, is due to inefficient scheduling. Other sources indicate it is a lack o f manpower. According to the P .C ., tensions with in the facility “ mellow for a few days after being outside” and this results in benefits to jailers as well as jailed. Promised by Mason was a shelter to be constructed to allow detainees to go outside in bad weather and an increase in recreational s ta ff and counselors but meantime detainees still are not getting outside. The P .C . stated that one year ago, “ going out side was a daily routine.” The P .C . feels that this schedule should be reinstated. The authorities response to “ filthy sanitation conditions” according to live interviews with the P .C . (radio station K B O O ) was a “ token” o f new shower curtains and cleaned bath mats. Other issues as outlined in last week’s Observer have not been resolved. P .C . spokespersons, representing' a growing number o f detainees, are concerned that the overcrowding and repressive atm osphere c u rre n tly s u rro u nd ing O regon penal in stitu tio n s is the a d m in is tra tio n s opening salvo in a cam paign to collect public support and funding to build new ja ils and continue the growth o f the prison industry. None o f the statements by the P .C . have been for a new prison which would cost taxpayers an enormous amount o f tax dollars. The solutions, as noted by the P .C ., are simpler and can, in some cases, actually save money. Overcrowding can be reduced by controlling incarceration “ for petty offenses.” A specific instance, say the P .C ., is the detainee who has been held for thirty days at $28 per day for theft o f a lobster. Cost to date is over $840 and rising, yet “ D ” and “ G ” tank residents continue to report men forced to sleep on the floor. O ther P .C . members point out that ending verbal abuse by prison officials is a no cost item, yet no ef forts are being made in this area. D u rin g M ason’ s v is it, he reprimanded the P .C . for “ going to the media” instead o f using regular channels. When it was pointed out that the P .C . called his office, left a message w ith his secretary, and wrote to him , receiving no reply, Mason indicated he had not received these com m unications. H ow ever, one P .C . member recalled a specific letter he had seen some months ago with Mason’s signature advising that co nd itio n s w ould be im p ro v e d . Mason’s reply that 1 “ don’t remem ber” didn’t satisfy the P .C . spokes person. Additional low cost requests from the detainees are for paint for the “ ghetto” tanks, “ D ” and “ G . ” Also disinfectant to combat athlete foot problems among prisoners. The disinfectant "h as been requested fro m o ffic ia ls fo r th ree m onths without results.” According to the P .C ., one m ajor issue not previously brought out is the a d op tio n o f contact visits at Rocky Butte. Currently, visits o f 1/2 hour on Sundays are allowed but detainees and visitors are forced to visit through a 6 ” by 12” glass covered window. As questioned by a P .C . member, “ H ow can this 1920’s method” continue to be used as we approach the 21st Century? Further, he asks “ the public to imagine seeing their loved ones under these con ditions over a period o f months.” It was pointed out that the Oregon State Penitentiary has contact visits and that Rocky Butte has the facility (the dining room) which is not used during visiting hours. The “ con traband problem” could “ be han dled in the same fashion as when detainees return from a court ap pearance.” History of white racism cause of current Zimbabwe war by N. Fungai Kumbula During the early 60’s, when most o f A frica’s present day nations were gaining their freedom, a lot o f the white racists who could not stand to live under a Black government em barked on a southward trek. As, in succession, these nations took con trol o f their own destiny, the whites fled, first from Ghana, then Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. Ghana gained her in dependence in 1957, Nigeria in 1960, Uganda 1962, Kenya 1963, Tanzania early *64, M a la w i July 1964 and Z a m b ia O c to b e r 1964. Fleeing b efo re independence, these u n desirables ended up in Rhodesia, A n g o la , N a m ib ia , South A fric a , Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique. Aud/fiu The Zambezi River, which forms the boundary between Rhodesia and Zam bia, however, seemed too wide for a delicate lady like independence to leap across. Since all the African countries s till u nder fo reign domination were south o f this river (Rhodesia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, South A fric a , Botswana, Namibia and Angola), the Zambezi came to be officially recognized as the “ line o f demarcation” between independence and oppression. (O f course, there still was A ffa rs and Issas on the H o rn o f A fric a and G u inea Bissau and th e Spanish Sahara in West A frica.) This very real division was first challenged again in 1967 when Swaziland gained her independence. In 1968, L esotho and Botswana fo llo w e d su it. T h e p a tte rn then remained pretty much unchanged for the next seven years. In 1975, however, the Portuguese were sud denly ousted from both Mozambique and A ngola, which countries they exploited at will for 500 years. They had also been m ilitarily defeated in Guinea Bissau the year before. 1967 saw Affars and Issas join the ranks o f independent African nations also. So, after 1975, the fleeing racists fo u nd themselves d riv e n in to R hodesia, South A fr ic a and Namibia. Here, they vowed to make a “ last stand.” And led by “ Good old Smithy,” who had declared U D I in 1965 in an effort to prevent op pressed Rhodesia from becoming in dependent Z im b a b w e , they fe lt reasonably secure. A fte r a ll, they had a much larger and better trained and equipped army and air force than any o f their neighbors. A nd they regarded Rhodesia’s Africans as being a fra id o f even th e ir own shadow. They would never dream o f challenging the white man. Events over the past few years, p a rtic u la rly the last th re e , have shown th a t not o nly have they dreamed o f challenging the white m an, but they have also dem on strated they are capable o f toppling him from his castle made o f sand. In (Please turn to Page 7 Column 1) Carter Rally President Carter will join Gover n or Bob S trau b and o th er local political leaders for a “ Get Out the Vote” rally at Mount Hood Com munity College, 26000 S.E. Stark, in G resham on F rid a y m o rn in g , November 3rd. The outdoor rally is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the central mall o f the college. The public is invited to at tend, and free p arkin g w ill be available. Unthank Plaza The late Dr. De Norval Unthenk. The Housing Authority o f Port land dedicated Unthank Plaza, its new eighty unit apartment building, Monday. The unit, which is named for former Portland physician Dr. De N orval U n th a n k , w ill house low- incom e e ld e rly and handicapped citizens. In an agreement with the E liot N eighborhood A ssociation, H A P pledged to give preference to former Eliot residents who were displaced by urban renewal projects. Speakers for the occasion were G o v e rn o r Bob S trau b and H A P ch airm an Fred Rosenbaum . Rosebaum praised D r. U n th a n k ’ s m any c o n trib u tio n s to the com m u n ity , saying that although he came to P ortland when no Black doctor could work in any hospital, he earned all o f the awards and honors the community can bestow. Unthank family members view portrait in Unthank Plaza: Thelma Brown, daughter; Wendy Brown, granddaughter; Chelsea Unthank, granddaughter (daughter of Thomas); Marsha Brown, granddaughter; and Lesley Unthank daughter.
