Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1979)
I I Expansion asked for Martin Luther King Neighborhood Facility o ffk « The community demand for office space for non-profit agencies and for meeting space has outgrown the King Neighborhood Facility, according to its director, James Loving. The Facility currently houses ten community agencies but many more are requesting space that cannot be provided. “ After the fire that burned the offices o f the Urban League and POIC, those agencies inquired about space.” Loving explained. “ The U r ban League needs extensive office space and POIC requires about 2,000 feet. We don’ t have that kind o f space. Also, the Senior Adult Service Center is hoping to move from its site on Union Avenue.” The King Neighborhood Facility ha. 12.000 .nuare (eet. in cludtn. has 12,000 square feet, including 9,000 rentable space. The Portland Public Schools also provides 3,600 square feet o f o ffic e space. The building was designed so the. second floor could be finished for additional space, but, according to Loving would add only from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. The Facility was built in 1975 with a $665,000 grant through the Model Cities Program. The school district provided the land and the City o f Portland owns the building. The School District contracted to operate the Facility for twenty years. Loving has spoken to city and school d is tric t o ffic ia ls about acquiring the property across the n .,e m . .c . ..................... parking lot from the Facility — the corner o f Seventh Avenue and Going, and building an addition there. The two buildings would be connected with an enclosed walk way. The new building should contain a m in i-kitchen/cafe teria, a large meeting room and o ffice space ” Loving explained. “ There is a great need for a place where organizations can hold meetings where they have access to a kitchen and where there is room for a large group to meet.” The new building would also bor der on the proposed park site, ad joining the King Elementary School playground, that is to be developed by the City o f Portland. _ * * '» The Facility is heavily used during the week. “ There are community groups using the building from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. These include the tennants, community groups that use the building for meetings on a regular basis, groups that use it for occasional meetings or events, and PSU Educational Center classes.” Loving stated that there is great call tor use o f the buildings on week ends. “ A ctually, the F acility was established as a community center, to be open every night until midnight and on weekends. We don’t have the budget for staff to keep it open. The building should at least be open on Saturdays for the youth programs.” "Citizens are irate over the fact that they have to pay a high cost to use the King school cafeteria. They can use the Facility free and are un der the impression that since the School District allows us the use o f the cafeteria, that it is free, too. It is hard to inform them that it costs $161.50 a day for an event where they charge, like a dinner when there is a cost to the customer, or $97.50 a day when they don’ t charge If they want to use the kitchen they have to pay the cost o f using a school district employee. That is too much for the non profit organizations who are putting on an affair to raise money or who want to have a meeting. “ We have PORTLAND OBSERVER to refuse use o f the Facility on week ends unless the organization can pay enough to cover staff and clean-up costs.” The charge for use o f the cafeteria is the same charged in other schools. I here are also additionai restrictions because the Facility is on school district property. "There can be no sale o f food — pop, candy, coke, etc. — on school district property and that restricts the ability o f agencies to raise funds.” Loving believes the City and the School District should get together and work out a management plan that w ould allow citizens more latitude in the use o f the building. Volume 9 No. 5 Thursday, February 1,1979 10C American State Bank expands The principle figures in the upcoming oral history production. "DuBois,'' are (left to right) Ken Berry, the programs musical director. Michael Grice, thé writer and director, and Herb Cawthorne, who por trays GuBois. The production is scheduled for March 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th at PSU's Lincoln Hall Auditorium. Berry, Grice and Cawthorne compose One World Arts Foundation which produces the program. Presentation extolls DuBois philosophy W illia m Edward B urghardl DuBois was a great tower o f Black thought in America. His life was guided by a belief that “ no sound ef fort is in vain, least o f all a struggle w ith high ideal and personal in tegrity.” DuBois established an in ternational reputation as a scholar, writer, political activist, and social scientist. Dr. DuBois was a founder o f the NAACP. He edited the N A A C P ’ s "C ris is ” magazine for more than twenty years. Roy Wilkins, the former executive director o f the NAACP, said in 1963 after learning o f Dr. DuBois’ death in Accra, Ghana, "th a t conditions are not as they were in 1910 and that hope and the prospect o f a brighter future are better than ever before may be attributed in lar<>e measure to the dedication, talent, and foresight o f W illia m Edward Burghardt DuBois.” On March 8th, 9th, 10th and I lth, One World Arts Foundation, Inc., w ill present “ D u B o is,” an oral history program fe a tu rin g Herb Cawthorne and the musical direction Jail demonstration planned by Valentine Nemcek Sunday, February 4th at l:0 0 p.m., the Rocky Butte Support Com mittee is holding a peaceful demon stration at the ja il located at 9755 N.E. Hancock Drive to protest the con tin u in g inhum ane and over crowded conditions existing at the facility. M ultnom ah C ounty C om m is sioner Donald Clark has been under continual pressure fo r months to bring the institution up to reasonable standards in an effort to avoid law suits based on cruel and unusual punishment. Jail officials have continued to deny the ja il population awaiting tria l the right to outside exercise citing "lack o f funds for additional staff” at the same time some guards are reportedly "doubling their salary thru excessive overtime.” Detainees may spend months at Rocky Butte (Please turn to Page 2 Column 5) o f Ken Berry. Cawthorne, who portrays “ Du B ois,” said “ when the m a g n ifi cence o f Dr. DuBois is represented on stage as a living, driving force whose dynamic ideas and conflicts unfold as though he were living today, we hope many people w ill want to explore his life by reading his words.” DuBois” is being produced by One World Arts Foundation, a non p ro fit organizatio n created to promote the arts among m inority youth. One W orld is composed of Caw thorne, Berry, and M ichael Grice, a teacher at Adams High School, who wrote the script and di rects the production. Last year, One World presented a very successful program called, “ From The Pulpit, From The Peo ple,” which illuminated the ministry o f Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The final performance at New Hope Bap tist Church was taped by KGW-TV and televised on A pril 2, 1978. “ DuBois” w ill play on March 8th, 9th, 10th and ll t h at PSU’ s Lincoln Hall Auditorium . A ll proceeds will go tow ard the One W o rld Arts Foundation Scholarship Award. NW Lab selects education services director 1 Mt Dr. Ethel Simon-McWilliams Dr. Ethel Simon-McWilliams has oined the Northwest Regional Edu- ational Laboratory (N W R EL) as director o f the Educational Services division. Dr. Simon-McWilliams comes to ter new post from the University of South Carolina where she served as Director o f the Race Desegregation Assistance Center, the Sex Desegre gation Training Institute, and o f Special Projects. Her responsibilities included man agement and administration o f ser vices to school districts in North Carolina and South Carolina to aid schools in dealing with problems of desegregation and sex discrim ina tion, and with problems relating to the im plem entation o f the South Carolina Education Finance Act. She also served on the university faculty. 1 he Northwest Regional Educa tional Laboratory, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a private, non p ro fit in s titu tio n which conducts educational research and develop- ment, and provides services to educational agencies in the N orth west. As Director o f the Educational Services Division, Dr. Simon-Mc W illiam s w ill direct a 50-member sta li in activities to assist agencies and institutions to solve educational problems. "1 w ill continue to pro vide the leadership necessary to af ford efficient and effective services that meet the identified needs o f local and regional educators,” Dr. Simon-McWilliams noted. She received a Doctor o f Educa tion degree from the University o f South Carolina, a Master o f Educa tion degree from the George Wash ington University, and a Bachelor o f Science degree from the District o f Columbia Teachers’ College. Her background includes exper ience as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and a Desegregation Program Specialist post with the South (. arolina State Department o f Education. American State Bank reports a re cord growth in I979, its ninth year o f operation. "O u r loans have doubled this year, deposits have increased greatly and we are ready to open a th ird bra n ch ,” reports bank president V. F. Booker. “ The bank has deposits o f $11.5 million, loans o f over $4 million, and this year’ s net p r o fit is over $93,000,” Booker reported. "Assets are nearly $13 m illion.” ASB, which has had a slow but steady grow th in past years, “ blossomed” in 1978 and the projec tions for 1979 are good. Booker credits part o f the growth to the incentive program - "instant interest” — whereby persons pur chasing time deposits receive their in terest in advance in the form o f a television or video recorder. The only bank in Oregon with this type o f incentive for investors, the plan has drawn over $500,000 in new deposits in six months. O f the 280 people par ticipating in that plan, 181 are from Portland, 68 from Oregon outside o f Portland, and 31 from Washington. The promotion o f this program has brought us a lot p f attention. People Who arah’1 even knbw w f existed are ’ now our depositors.” The Eastmoreland Branch, 4451 S.E. 28th Avenue, although getting o ff to a slow start, is now making a p ro fit and gradually drawing new customers. The State Banking Commission has given approval fo r a branch downtown, at Second and Yamhill. This branch will not only give us a higher profile, putting us downtown where most banks m aintain their head offices, but we w ill draw American State Bank president V.F. Booker discusses loan with po- business from west side residents and te n fa l home buyer. (Staff photo. Abubukar, Jury finds Williams guilty, manslaughter I An all-white jury returned a ver dict o f guilty o f first-degree man slaughter against A1 Williams Wed nesday evening after approximately five hours deliberation. The ju ry rejected the state’ s request fo r a murder conviction. Williams had claimed self-defense, testifying that after a fight brought on by a threat by W illiam Morrison, a white man, that “ I ’m going to get me a couple o f niggers” - Morrison pulled a knife and a fight followed. A fte r the fig h t was broken up, Williams went to his car, took a gun from the trunk and returned to the donut shop. Williams claimed that - knowing the police had been called - he was holding M orrison and his friend, Gary Paugh, so they could not leave. Morrison then lunged at him with the knife and the gun was fired. Paugh then attempted to kill Williams by choking him, but Williams was saved by the arrival o f the police. I he trial had been recessed for several days following the discovery that the D istrict A ttorney’ s office had purposely withheld the in fo r mation from the defense attorney that M o rris o n had an extensive criminal record, a pattern o f drug and alcohol abuse, was a heroin user, and had an explosive temper. Judge James Ellis denied repeated motions for dismissal o f the charge because o f the suppression o f evidence. Stating that the District Attorney's action had denied the defense use of the information during the trial, Ellis recessed the trial to enable the de fense to research Morrison’s back ground. Judge Ellis refused to allow the presentation to the ju ry o f in fo r mation from Morrison’ s juvenile and a dult police records and his probation records. He stated that the fact that a per son abused alcohol and was a drug addict, that he had an explosive tem per, would not necessarily indicate that he was not "peaceful.” The ju ry went to its deliberation without knowledge o f M orrison’ s crim inal record or o f the District Attorney’ s suppression o f evidence. In his summation o f the case to the jury, defense attorney Des Connail reminded them that the state’s “ star witness” , Gary Paugh, had admitted on the stand that he had attempted to kill Williams, "Paugh confessed to attempted m urder. . . yet the District Attorney says a man can’ t defend him self. Do you call that equal justice?” No charges have been brought against Paugh. Connail reminded the ju ry that Morrison and Paugh - two friends with matching buck knives - had come to the donut shop looking for trouble. Paugh had testified that Morrison hated Blacks and made the threats to Williams “ just to freak them out” . Williams, he explained, had been the target o f a felonious assault, had been cut with the knife, had been at tacked by two white “ thugs." When attacked he had the "fo rtitu d e to try to fight” to protect himself from the knife and “ he had the fortitude to go back in and hold them for the police he knew were coming.” Morrison was not satisfied, Con nail explained. Although being held at gun p oint the “ big, tough, aggressive man taunted Williams - ‘ Go ahead and shoot me’ - and pulled out the knife. Williams had (Please turn to Page 2 Column 5) Exclusion of Black jurors unconstitutional The California Supreme Court has found that Blacks cannot be exclud ed from juries solely on the basis of their race or association. Although the law allows each party to c trial "peremptory challenges” for which no reason need be given, the C alifor nia Supreme Court in "People vs. W heeler’ ’ determ ined that those challenges cannot be used to elim inate Blacks or any other "cognizable class.” According to the court, excluding prospective jurors on the basis bf group bias violates the delendent’s constitutional right to trial by a jury drawn from a representative cross- section o f the community. The law presumes that a party will exercise its peremptory challenges to remove prospective ju ro rs who appear to have an unconscious or subconscious bias, so in using the peremptory challenge the party tries to shield himself from "specific bias.” According to the court, "when a party presumes that some jurors are biased merely because they are mem bers ot an identifiable group, distin guished on racial, religious, ethnic or similar grounds — we may call this group bias’ — and peremptorily strike all such persons to r that reason alone, he not only upsets the demographic balance o f the venue, but frustrates representative cross- section requirements.” i
