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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1978)
Paq<* 4 Portland Observer Thursday, December 1, 1978 American State Bank Behind the wall Larry Baker 835021. O.S.P. Correspondent Julius D. Snowden »38013 Poetry Editor positive steps have Peen taken in Oregon’s penal history. “ I f you care enough about your self, you will care enough about the others around you," Cupp says. Prison personnel attending this meeting were: J.C. Keeney, Assistant Superintendent; D .A . Versteeg, Director o f Activities; Paul Aron son, C orrectional Ombudsman; H .L . Whitney, Chief o f Security; and naturally “ The Keeper o f The Keys,” or better known as “ The Man.” The club presidents and coor dinators had presented an agenda on the topics to be discussed. They were the representatives fro m the follow ing clubs: Lifers, A thletic, Chess, Indian, C hicano, High- wallers, Motorcycle, JayCee’ s, Slot Car, Keen, A .A ., Black Culture, Master Men, Lifeline, L.D.S., and Bridge. (The membership o f the above clubs make up over one-half o f the total prison inmate popula tion.) Discussions and actions taken on each subject. 1. Christmas cards placed on display. (Cupp delegated assignment to D .A . Versteeg); 2. Non-deduction o f funds for Decem ber from inmates. (Cupp requested Paul Aronson to handle); 3. Certain approved items to be accepted for inmate Christmas gifts from relatives and friends. 4. Presidents schedule m onthly meeting with Superintendent. (Cupp ruled against this, but stated he and staff would meet with them any time important issues needed resolving.); 5. Inmate wage increase. (Cupp ex plained there would have to be a bill submitted to the State Legislature. Inmates would have to write the bill and he would support the action.); 6. Notice o f Institution Rule changes. (Cupp suggested this action should be done by delegate to inmate para legal who notifies the inmate popula A Togetherness In Prison "W e shall come together as a body o f men. And as a body o f men we shall work together. Work together to answer any com plaints, Solve any grievances and address any problem, openly. But only as long as those complaints, grievances and problems. Are presented in a constructive and intelligent manner. For many o f the employees and in mates at O.S.P. November 29th was just another normal prison day — but not for a handful o f individuals who were gathered inside one o f the glass enclosed rooms located in the Activities Department on that rainy Wednesday afternoon. An unusual event was occurring. Unusual because the superintendent o f this prison was informing staff and in mate representatives from the sixteen different clubs and organizations how O.S.P. w ill be run under his command over the next few years. Hoyt C. Cupp has always been recognized as an administrator not afraid to delegate responsibility to an individual, as long as that person is found to be sincere in performing that duty, regardless o f title or num ber. After 32 years o f prison ex perience tucked under his belt, this method has awarded him with the respect most wardens would cut o ff an arm to claim, among his prison guards, staff and prisoners. In most prisons the above group could never be found working together in any situation or under any condition. It would be like mixing a bengal tiger, black panther and an Indian cobra together in the same cage. But with this philosophy some o f the most tion.); 7. Setting up an inmate coun sel. (Oops! Somebody blew it.) This has always been the sore sub ject to discuss with H.C. Cupp. In fact if you want to hear “ The Keeper o f the Key” rap loudly in profanity, well just get near the subject o f creating an inmate council. “ I f 1 see, even in my dreams, that someone is trying to put together an inmate council in this prison as long as I am the Superintendent, somebody is going to the “ Hole.” This is not a prison in California or Washington. This is Oregon and 1 run this prison.” After that statement the confer ence was quickly adjourned. To summarize this meeting by everything said and the type o f mood in which everyone conducted them "The Bank that integration b u ilt’ ‘ 2737 N.E. Union selves, I w ill have to admit it was the best 1 have ever attended. Each question was to the point, each un- swer was sharp and straight. Let this also be made perfectly clear. Whatever opinions expressed about this prison conference held November 29th are strictly mine, but any time men are willing to sit down and work out any difference or work toward any positive goals in an over crowded prison, that’ s news. Each club representative should be com plim ented fo r arranging these sessions, because it proves that they have the welfare o f this prison’ s population at heart. No this is not a Washington or California prison, but it is also not a M ississippi or Louisiana prison either. SPORTS HOUR JOE’S PLACE 1801 N.E. A lb e rta w in DRAFT Call: 2 8 8 -8 7 6 8 white church, something that had never happened before. “ People were afraid of what might take place, o f violence getting started and getting out o f hand,” said the white pastor in his study. “ I ’ m sure a lo t o f people are examining their attitudes as a result o f these meetings and,” he added, with an almost pleading quality to his voice, "some signs o f change in people’ s hearts are beginning to come out.” Cooler weather had cooled temp ers in Okolona by mid-October, the time o f harvest and bailing hay in northern Mississippi. A visiting cir cuit court judge from Calhoun City, Judge W .W. Brown, established an extraordinary three month session of a grand ju r y to hear n ig h trid in g , shooting and beating cases involving Klansmen and League retaliation. Reverend Johnson’ s church is about the only middle group fo r Blacks and whites in Okolona. Each Sunday afternoon, Reverend John son convenes a generalized prayer meeting, group therapy session, and gospel sing. At first only whites at tended, said Reverend Johnson, so an announcement was placed in The Messenger and by the third meeting, Blacks had begun to meet in the " T h e PRODUCE CENTER o f FO RTLAND' MEDFORD C O M IC E or 8 0 SC IMPORTED PITTED DATES.................. ..................lb SATSUMA SatX fSS _ »37* TANCHINES SHCUfD - Ä o WALNUT MEATS...... ». ’2** TEXAS M N * GRAPEFRUIT •Zt koi *3” ♦ FOR HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING * BÍAUTIFUL WKAFFfD GIFT BOXtS and FttUIT BASKtTS oho GIFT C18TIFICATCS HOODYS MUSTARD SEA FAKT AAMCr K O KUttH Whole 0YSTH5 LAUNDRY Compound l< QUART 20 lb. BUCKET 4 I » w ‘ 1.4* M A N O M E )« REGULAR PORK LOIRS y MINCE MEAT FRESH I! h or W ho le Froo Slicing 11 W h ile th ey lasti •i.« SHERIDAN FRUIT Co. S.E. U N IO N & O A K 2 3 5 -9 3 5 3 Days: Sat., Sun., 4M on. For mors Information Personal & Business Insurance 283-5012 ; IP The New York Life agent in your community is a good person to know. NOW COOING- F R E S H P A U V / This time, I w ill become a microscopic organ within the sphere o f consciousness, compounding forgotten memories and deeds, pondering new concepts upon the winding roads o f action, to the newness o f tomorrow become what right is to wrong . . . 1 w ill I w ill I w ill I w ill CRAB *M9t become the thought that once slept. . . become not only the spark, but the fire as w e ll. . . become life’ s seeker o f not man pigmentation, but rather, humanity . . . become a truth, even, i f it is only to se lf. . . Knowing that with the passing o f time, my moments o f existence w ill, along with those, within the same domain . . . seeking the riddle o f Ms Justice blindfold . . . be kicked down the stairs into a celluar darkness o f IS li G o o d T h ru D e c . 9 The MFjthpi and o rrjn rimditinm delrrmiiw »»ailabilit» ni « in » items • C E. II2 H S Unconsciousness, locking doors that even the key called memory w ill never open . . . again. S fO W E U U h A A U -U «ARX3P MARKETS * ßif N,E GRAND by Julius Snowden 838013 MARIE’S KITCHEN N O W OPEN Ku K lux Kian rides in Mississippi (Continued from Page 1 Column 6) Reverend Claude Johnson, pastor o f the town's First United Methodist Church. The church stands between the genteel, peeling, turn-of-the cen tury business district and the gaudy neo-Tara mansion constructed by M ayor Richard Stovall. A large Black circle marks the site o f a Kian cross burning on the church’ s front lawn. you for o n iy 15< Peggy Joseph-G raves T H E O P T IM IS T IC My existence is nothing more than particals o f dust being blown in the winds o f time, restlessly traveling no where fast — no chance to see where I ’ ve been and programmed through life ’s idio syncrasies not to care where 1 go, y e t. . . 282-2216 Lower courts had been paralyzed fo r months. A Kian ra lly fo r Okolona had to be called o ff because two of the organizers had been indict ed and one had been sentenced to a jail term for beating an elderly Black man with what was alleged to be brass knuckles. But with the arrival o f another Mississippi spring, people and their ever-present guns w ill be on the streets and in the tucked away rural townships again. The United League has selected Okolona and Tupelo as BREAKFAST AT ANYTIME 5 2 4 6 N.E. U N IO N 287-9363 EXODUS Crossroads (Continued from Page 2 Column 6) are so mercilessly exploited, this S8.00 can represent up to 60% of their salary. There are twenty outside faucets and, with 20,000 people in Crossroads, that means that there is one faucet for every 1,000 people! If you do not pay your rent, your shack is simply demolished. One o f the most arresting features o f Crossroads is the high level o f community awareness. Thrust into a situation where they have to depend on themselves fo r ju s t about everything, they have developed a very high degree o f community in volvement and self-help setups. The community is run by a democra tically elected Committee o f Cross roads that tries to deal with such rental arrears, threats o f evic tion, arrests, threats o f eviction on account o f additions to the shacks, etc. They also have th e ir own policing system, strange as it sounds, there is no crime (something that cannot be said o f the ghettoes where there are regular police patrols.) They have even built a secondary school, N oxolo, (Peace) which opened in 1976 with two teachers and twenty students. Now it has twenty teachers, 350 pupils and a student waiting list o f 200. The fees that the parents pay goes to pay the teachers’ salaries. And all o f the teachers came from the community. Crossroads on the one hand shows the viciousness o f the South African regime and, on the other hand, the indomitability o f its victims. There is a saying in Crossroads: “ The government can bulldoze fragile structures but, it cannot bulldoze the spirit.” It is this tenacity that will ultim ately destroy apartheid. I t ’ s only a matter o f time. TuMM-Thurs 6:30 am -6 pm — Fri-Sat 6:30 am-3:30 am — Sun 6 :X am-3:30 pm showcase communities for what it hopes to be a revitalization o f the civil rights movement in Mississippi. Come spring, it could be a matter o f time and trajectory before race hatred turns to race war and begins k illin g people in the South once more. aircaft^rut/o e u f J ÿ té a /m e n / enfer 1518 N E KILLINGSWORTH PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1 284-7997 Happy Holiday Season — but remember: POSITIVELY NEGATIVE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE WE DRANK FOR HAPPINESS AND BECAME UNHAPPY DRANK FOR JOY AND BECAME MISERABLE DRANK FOR SOCIABILITY AND BECAME ARGUMENTATIVE DRANK FOR SOPHISTICATION AND BECAME OBNOXIOUS DRANK FOR FRIENDSHIP AND MADE ENEMIES DRANK FOR FREEDOM AND BECAME SLAVES DRANK FOR STRENGTH AND FELT WEAK DRANK FOR BRAVERY AND BECAME AFRAID DRANK FOR CONFIDENCE AND BECAME DOUBTFUL DRANK TO MAKE CONVERSATION EASIER AND SLURRED OUR SPEECH DRANK TO FORGET AND WERE FOREVER HAUNTED DRANK FOR RELAXATION AND GOT THE SHAKES DRANK TO ERASE PROBLEMS AND S A W THEM MULTIPLY DRANK FOR SLEEP AND AWOKE W ITH O U T REST DRANK FOR MEDICINAL AND ACQUIRED HEALTH PROBLEMS DRANK TO FEEL HEAVENLY AND ENDED UP FEELING LIKE HELL DPANK TO COPE W ITH LIFE AND INVITED DEATH EXODUS DAY TREATMENT 1223 N.E. Alberta Portland, Oregon 284-1247 'E xuberance is b e a u t y ." William Blake I 4
