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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 1979)
I A Page 2 Portiani1 Observer Thursday, January 4, ’ 979 America! Blacks: Stay eat of Sooth Africa We see the world through Block eyes Avoiding the issues grade. Where is the evidence that w hite parents will voluntarily send their children to schools in the Black community? The fact that seven elementary schools remain majority Black is evidence that w hite parents w ill not voluntarily bus their children. But then, Black parents did not bus their children either until they were virtually pushed out of their schools. Yet the Distict had no com punction against forcing Black children out of their neighborhoods fo r the pur- nose of desegregation. W hy not whites, too? Neither Newman nor Blanchard addressed the Black c h ild re n s till a tte n d in g m a jo rity Black schools. Both have le ft desegregation to the "good w ill” of w hite parents - w ho hopefully will som etim e in the fu tu re decide to send th e ir children to King, Sabin, Vernon, etc. Newman's statement, "B u t the inequity which exists is not the result of the efforts o f the Port land School Board to eliminate desegregation . It is the result of the seoreqation we seek to elim inate", is misleading. The in e q u ity is th e re s u lt o f th e S ch o o l District's unwillingness to inconvenience white parents even when that failure places a great burden on Black children and families. N ew m an d id say, "R a c ia l s e g re g a tio n in schools is wrong, educationally and morally. No democratic com m unity should tolerate a school system that does not affirm atively seek to bring about the conditions in which w hite and Black children share the same classrooms to g e th e r." Those who thought the School Board would act wisely and fairly when the inequities were demonstrated and so worked w ith or supported the Coalition agree w ith Mr. Newm an. Those who thought the Coalition's w ork w ould be a futile exercise and so stood aside can agree w ith M r. N ew m an. Those w h o knew th e S ch ool Board to be incapable of reacting positively to the educational needs of Black children can agree w ith Mr. Newman. It is because of this agreement that the next steps w ill be taken. As in the past, when the political system fails to react positively the only recourse is w ith the courts. The D istrict has drawn the lines and the challenge w ill be accep ted. There was no surprise as School Board Chair man echoed Superintendent Robert Blanchard's claim that the call of the Community Coalition for School Integration for a more equitable desegre gation program is "excessive." Dr. Blanchard had earlier told the Board that the Coalition's recom m endations fo r school pairing was an "over reaction." Newman, as had Blanchard, relied heavily on the middle school reorganization to justify the District's desegregation methods, claiming that "as a result of the gradual and persistent middle school reorganization, the burden of transfer to accom plish in te g ra tio n is in creasingly being sh a re d ." Neither Newman nor Blanchard ex plained that no white child has been transferred to a m ajority Black school as a result o f this reorganization. Also, in all but three cases the in creased number of Black students in the new middle schools is the result of cross-town bussing lone way). Newman's second point was the success of the Early C h ildhood E d ucation C enters in prom oting desegregation. "W h a t we believed and have found in fact is that parents, both Black and white, will send their children, by bus if necessary, and w ith o u t m ajor c o m m u n ity upheaval, to schools outside their immediate neighborhood, if the educational programs at the end of the bus line are g o o d ." Newman failed to add that white children are transferred to ECEs to desegregate the pre-kindergarten and kindergar ten programs, but that these children do not remain through the elementary years. Last year 68 per cent of the pre-kindergarten students at Humboldt, the District's most suc cessful ECE, were white. By the second grade only 32 per cent were white. The third grade has been eliminated to make room to import enough w h ite pre-kindergarten students to bring the m inority percentage to 57 per cent. The other ECEs have been less successful. For example King's and Eliot's third grades are 69 per cent m inority. Whereas 240 white children transferred to the 1977-1978 pre-kindergarten classes in the five ECEs only 100 white children transferred in to the first grade and only 13 transferred into the third Who will benefit? Governor-elect Victor Atiyeh has revealed the skeleton of his tax reform package. S till bare bones, there is hardly enough substance to the plan to determine its results. But some general conclusions can be drawn. The basic elements of the plan are: 11. A 22 per cent rebate of 1978 personal income taxes; 2). A 12.5 reduction in personal income taxes; 3). A 1.5 lim it on taxation of owner-occupied residences; 4). ty in g the increase o f assessed value to statewide increase in personal income; 5). renter relief; 6). ability to vote for levies exceding this lim it; 7). revenue sharing to make up tax losses to local governments. These measures would result in a loss to the state of approximately $570 million in taxes — or a budget cut of $570 million. W ho w ould benefit? $170 m illion w ould be refunded to 1977 taxpayers at 22 per cent of their taxes paid. A person who paid $200 in state taxes would receive $44. A taxpayer who payed $1,000 would receive $110. It m ight sound good, but the low-income worker who pays little tax w ill receive little if any benefit. The 12.5 per cent reduction in taxes paid would have the same effect - doing little fo r the small taxpayer but benefiting those w h o have high incomes and pay high taxes. W ould greater benefits be derived by the state keeping th a t $170 and using it fo r education, health, mental health and all of the other needs we are told the state can't afford? W ho will suffer for the $570 million budget cut - the persons dependent on the state for ser vices. The e ld e rly w h o need d e n tu re s and glasses, children w ho need psychiatric coun selling or foster homes, parents w ho need job training. As this plan and others are discussed by the Legislature and the people it will be im portant to seek the best tax relief plan - the one that will provide relief fo r those who need it most while retaining necessary state and local services. PORTLAND OBSERVER Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201 North Kilhngsworth. Portland, Oregon »7217. Mailing address P.O. Box 1st Place Community Service ONPA 1*73 1st Place Beat Ad Results ONPA 1*73 3137, Portland. Oregon »720« Telephone: 283-2486 Subscriptions: 17.30 pei yeai in Hie Tri-County area. WOO per year outside Portland. Second Class Postage Paid at Portland Oregon ALFRED L HENDERSON Edltor/Publisher The Portland Obtrrver's official position is expressed only in its Publisher’ s column (W e See The World Through Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual writer or submitter and does not necessarily refleci the opinion of the Portland O btener National Advertising Rapraaantatlva Amalgamated Publishers Inc Naw York 6th Place Bast Editorial NNPA 1*73 Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award NNA 1*73 2nd Pises Boat Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1*76 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1*76 «4, Aaaocielion Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association byN . Fungai Kumbula Second and probably more impor tant, when these people return to the U .S ., they are almost always inter viewed by the various media about their experiences in South A fric a . Generally, the bigger the name, the more the media exposure. A li will at tract more attention than ‘ S h a ft.’ So, when they are in South Africa the “ authorities” w ill bend over backwards to minister to them. They w ill agree to tem po rarily lift the racial barriers so the Americans can perform before mixed audiences, be accomodated at ‘white’ hotels and be allo w ed to go anyw here and everywhere. When they come to the U .S ., they will be asked whether they saw any signs o f discrimination, whether they were barred from certain facilities and if they witnessed any instances of police brutality. O f course, to all. these questions they would have to answer “ N o .” which is just what apologists fo r a p a rth e id w ill be waiting for. Then they can say: ‘ We told you so.’ A ll these horror stories about Sharpeville, Soweto, etc. are pure fa b ric a tio n .’ T h e fact is, whether we like it or not, the word of one o f these “ leaders” carries more weight than yours or mine. This is what the conservatives would use as ammunition to attack any anti-apar theid action the U.S. might consider taking. So, to a ll Black en tertain ers, athletes etc.: the word from your brothers and sisters is: ‘Stay out of South Africa. Do not be used by the enemy to undermine our struggle to be free We feel bad enough when white Americans speak up in defense o f this modern day slavery but, it just kills us when we see our brothers and sisters join the enemy ranks. If you want to come to A frica, come to B otsw ana, L esotho , S w a zila n d , Zambia or the rest o f the motherland where slavery has now been abolished. As fo r forcing apartheid to in tegrate theatres and hotels for the duration o f a tour, what good docs that do when, the moment you leave the th e a tre , the sign “ N o Bantu (Blacks) A llow ed.” goes up again? Do those few hours o f “ integration” make up for the damage you do to the cause o f Black liberation? We have no quarrel with anyone trying to make a living but, we strongly ob ject to our brothers' and sisters' par ticipation in an act detrimental to the cause. As I conclude this, I have ju st gotten word that a Holly Maxwell, female singer, is planning to tour South Africa next year. I f you see her, please give her a copy o f this ap peal. Ii is now a well known fact that South A frica deplores any form o f Black advancement. For that reason, the regime discourages or prevents prominent Blacks from visiting the country since they would set a ‘bad’ exam ple: South A fric a n Blacks seeing their brothers and sisters in in fluential position would thus find more ammunition, more inspiration, more determination to do away with apartheid so they too can set up a system where they w ill play their rig h tfu l roles, a system based on meritocracy rather than race. The only outside Blacks that would be welcome in South A frica are those engaged in menial jobs who would thus reinforce the apartheid doctrine that this is the ‘ natural order o f things.’ Over the past few years, there has been a slight m odification o f this policy. As racism has been denounced and, in some case discarded the w o rld o v e r, a tte n tio n has been focused on South A fric a and the regime has found itself the center o f controversy in several areas. In fact, it has created so much controversy in the U N , the Olympics, professional o rg a n iza tio n s and o th er in te r national bodies. C urrently, South Africa is barred from participation in the Olympics, F IF A (the inter n atio n al soccer governing body), IL T F (In te rn a tio n a l Law n Tennis Federation), all U N agencies such as W orld Health Organization (W H O ), and U nited Nations E ducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (U N E S C O ). The initial response was one o f defiance: the ‘go it alone policy’ but, as pressure m ounts, the regim e realizes that even some o f its staunch est supporters are having difficulty defending apartheid. Apologists for apartheid have always stressed the m ineral wealth (g o ld , diam onds, uranium , etc.), her professed op position to com m unism and her ‘strategic position’ — straddling the oil routes from the Middle East to Western Europe and the U.S. A p parently, racism is more tolerable than communism. These arguments have, however, grown thinner and thinner over the years as anti apar theid groups apply the heat. What South Africa is worried about is that these apologists may no longer be able to m uster enough votes to prevent the imposition o f economic sanctions against her. They, (the apologists) have already failed once, in 1963 when the United Nations im posed an arms embargo. These developments have forced apartheid strategists to think o f new ways o f improving South A fric a ’s image abroad. They have bought full page ads in New Y o rk and other Eastern c ity papers, lobbied Congress and have been making ef forts to contact the Black community directly. They know that Congres sional actions and A d m in is tra tio n policies vis a vis Southern A fr ic a are g enerally a result o f pressure from the Black community. This is where Black entertainers and athletes come in. South A fric a has been reaching out to Black entertainers, athletes and other such public figures to come visit South A frica. A number have already either taken up the o f fer or gone there o f their own voli tion. Dobbie Gray who, a few years back recorded the very successful hit, ‘ D rift A w ay’ went to South Africa early in 1978. Percy Sledge, until a few years back, a fairly successful R&B singer (often taken as the flip side o f W ilson Pickett during his heyday) visited South A fric a and Rhodesia in 1972. Not too long ago, the Supreme« were thrown out o f South A frica after they ran afoul o f apartheid. A t this moment, Richard ( ‘Shaft’) Roundtree is over there working in a movie about the liberation struggle. The fact that he has been allowed in to the country to do this particular movie indicates to you the movie can o n ly be k n ockin g o u r struggle. In itia lly , A rth u r A she, the 1973 W im bledon tennis champion, used to urge Black athletes to go to South A frica as a way o f weakening apar theid. He played there once or twice, I th in k , but is now one o f the strongest advocates o f severing all sport contacts w ith th at unholy nation. Lee Elder golfing great, has also been invited to play over there on a number o f occasions. Earlier in 1978 there was a lot o f excitement when it was announced that M u hammad A li was going to fight in South Africa. Several things are involved when Blacks go to South A fr ic a fo r whatever reason. F irst, they are, though a p a rth e id adm its it only grudgingly, citizens o f what they consider the ‘ leader o f the free w o rld .’ The U .S. carries a lot o f clout in world affairs. As past events will attest, it is the American veto that has saved South A frica from being expelled from the U N , from economic sanctions and from an oil embargo. These Black entertainers are regarded as the leaders o f the Black community — the very same community that has been pressuring their government to get tough with apartheid. I f the “ leaders” o f this community could be persuaded to be a little less hostile, U .S . pressure would diminish. to tke, &¡jduoe Conflict of interest not serious problem T o the Editor: I have received a copy o f Larry Baker’s “ Behind the W all” column which was printed on Thursday, Oc tober 19th. Because I direct the American Bar Association program which has been providing funding assistance for the Prisoners’ Legal Assistance office since 1976 I am w riting to respond to some inac curacies. It is true that A B A funding for this program has term inated, but not because we are disinterested. In fact, our original funding commitment for P L ^ was to have been for only one year. Due to what we believed was the excellent o p e ra tio n o f the program we received authorization fro m our N a tio n a l M anagem ent Board to make an e x tra o rd in a ry second year grant. This was followed by a second “ extraordinary” year o f funding as a continuation grant from the A B A . In other words, we funded the project for nearly two years in excess o f our original commitment. The reason that we are unable to support the program any longer is that the funding on which the A B A has relied is no longer available. Some serious questions ware raised in the column about the con flicts o f interest which may be inherent in the funding o f a prison legal services office by a state correc tions departm ent. U n fo rtu n a te ly , funds for such programs throughout the country are very lim ited and p io g ram sponsors and operators must go where they can to obtain the money necessary to sustain their projects. Similar conflicts o f interest can also be said to exist with state funding o f public defenders or tax supported “ public advocate” o f 1 fices. A fter all, in a criminal case the State is the plaintiff, the prosecutor, the judge, and in many cases the defense counsel. While a funder may exert some influence over categories o f matters that an office may handle (p u b lic defenders w o rk only on criminal matters, legal aid offices do only civil case work), the individual attorney bears full responsibility for deciding which cases he or she will take and how they will be handled. No government agency — even the Department o f Corrections — can offset those decisions. As you know, in Bounds v. Smith, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that prisoners have a Constitutional right to court access. Despite the Supreme C o u rt’s decision states have been slow to provide the financial support necessary to allow inmates adequate access to law libraries and the ser vices o f attorneys. About the only place that legal service operators can go for the necessary wherewithal! un til general state funds are appro priated is to the corrections depart ment. I f no other state agency is able to support legal services fo r prisoners, the corrections depart- ment must do so. It is, after all, that department to which the Supreme Court in the Bounds case spoke most directly. Sincerely, David J. Linden Project Director American Bar Association Too late to classify O ffset Press Operator For repro dept Thorough knowledge of 1250 Mul- tilith or similar press; ex perience in plate p r e p a r a t io n and knowledge of graphics and finishing procedures preferred; interest in camera work desired. 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