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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1979)
URa« EDITORIAL/OPINION Aid for refugees shifts into high gear by N. Fungai K ambula Affirmative Action needs commitment Lee Johnson, Adm inistrative Assistant to Governor Vic Atiyeh, revealed that the Governor plans to eliminate the position of Affirmative Ac tion Officer in the Governor's Office and move that position to the Personnel Department. There has been much controversy over where the Affirmative Action Office belongs. The City of Portland placed its Affirmative Action Officer in Personnel; Multnomah County placed the position directly under the Chairman, they recent ly moved it to Personnel. The State began with a unit in Personnel, then at Governor Straub's request, the Legislature created a position direct ly responsible to the Governor. It would appear that the location and line of command would depend on the commitment of the Governor and of the department heads. Each department, and some agencies, have their own Affirmative Action Officers who are supposed to work closely with Personnel to in sure that the department or agency adheres to af firmative action guidelines. These people are re sponsible to the department and agency direc tors and of course if these directors are not willing to hire and promote minorities, there is not much the Affirmat've Action Officers can do. With enthused and committed department and agency heads, an Affirmative Action Office in Personnel could be productive. It could insure that the Personnel Department recruited and se lected qualified minority people for referral to the department and agency heads. Without commit ted agency heads, this effort would be useless. An Affirmative Action Officer directly respon sible to the Governor, however, has additional clout. If the Governor is serious and committed, the Affirm ative Action Officer has all of thé powers of the Governor to enforce his efforts. Since the Governor hires and fires these depart ment and agency heads, only he has the power to enforce his affirmative action policies. But no Affirmative Action Officer — no matter where the office is located — can be successful without the Governor's support. Any change in the Affirmative Action Office's line of command should be done only after careful thought and study — and not be done for fiscal or management reasons alone. LUTHER By B ru m s ic B r a n d o n SC T m E CORPORATION^ * 1 LU LOOK u v e A M IN O R IT Y o * ined Over the past several months, we have been discussing the plight o f the refugees in Southern Africa. There are now anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 o f these people displaced by the fighting and the repression in South A frica and Rhodesia. At the moment, they are housed in camps in M o zam b iq u e and Z a m b ia . Some time ago, we announced a clothing drive aimed at collecting used but durable clothing for them. This past weekend, the first batch o f such clothing left for San Francis co, the first leg o f its long trip to the Motherland. The clothing collected in the Portland area, amounted to two tons. For obvious reasons, it is impossible to count or measure the clothes any other way except by weight. This first batch o f clothing was the result o f a joint effort by The American Friends Service C om m it tee and Portland Citizens Against Racism. They left ‘drop o f f boxes in various parts o f the city and periodi cally carted the clothes that donors left to the American Friends office in Southeast Portland. Over the past year, fifteen tons o f clothes were collected in the Seattle area. Los Angeles and other South ern C a lifo rn ia localities collected some fifteen to twenty tons and the Bay Area topped the list with some 37 tons. In San Francisco, a fund raising drive fo r the purchase o f medical supplies netted S25.000. This was in addition to the several huge boxes o f medical supplies that were also collected in the same area. A fter getting to San Francisco, all the supplies collected on the West Coast will be transshipped to South ern Africa. The National Council o f Churches had paid for the shipment o f similar supplies from the East Coast so now there is an effort to see if they will foot the West Coast bill too. Collecting articles for Southern A fric a n refugees has brought to gether a lot o f groups across the country. In the Bay Area, the effort is being spearheaded by The Interna tio n a l Longshorem en W arehouse Union. Much as they would like to do more, the Countries o f Zambia and Mozambique that have offered sanc tuary to the refugees, cannot because their limited resources are stretched almost to the lim it. Both are in the process o f recovering from their respective co lo n ial legacies which have also been aggravated by repeat ed raids from Rhodesia. Ian Smith would like nothing better than to ruin them economically so they will stop providing aid to the guerrillas So, this clothing that is being donated will probably be the only clothing the refugees will have for quite some time. A t the moment, for most o f them, the only clothes they have are what they have on their backs. A ‘change o f clothes' is a lu xury they have not entertained in a long, long time. Visitors who have been there recently send back reports in which they mention seeing more and more jeans, boots and other items o f clothing that have been sen; from this country. The southern win ter is fast approaching ( June-August) and, hopefully, this one will not be quite as cheerless, thanks to your ge nerosity. Recently also, now that they know they have friends out here, the refu gees have been sending specific re quests for some o f the things that they need the most. One request heard over and over again is for edu c a tio n a l supplies. The P a trio tic Front (Z A N U ) has 20,000 children in schools in M o za m b iq u e and the other wing o f the PF, ¿ A P U has an equal number in Zambia. So, such supplies as books, b lackboards, notebooks, pens, pencils are badly needed. The A N C (South A frica) in Lusaka is also requesting art sup plies: art has always played a central role, as a powerful vehicle for pur suing social change. A lot has been done sure, but a Icy more remains to be done and your help, participation and involvement is what w ill make the difference. Whatever you have and can spare be it a book, art or other educational supplies, medical paraphernalia will be most welcome. By contributing what you can, you make their burden less onerous. Letters to the Editor Plan with, not for the elderly T o the Editor. 1 congratulate you on your ex cellent edition o f February 15, 1979. W h ile your special sections on Black History should be read by both Black and white Portlanders, and discussed in the public and parochial schools, I am not naive enough to believe that this will actually happen to the wide extent your efforts deserve. However, I wish most especially to commend your articles concerning aging citizens. The headline reads: “ Misguided Programs for the Elder ly Miss M inorities.” I should like to concur with M r. Gates remarks as you have reported them. T o this, however, I wish to add a comment of m y own. Programs F O R the elderly, not planned W IT H them also miss the elderly, and dissolve into wasted tax dollars. In 1967 I helped elderly citizens of C lark C ounty, Washington plan a program to meet their needs. M y role was to write it up for them, and to suggest a structure in which they could do it for themselves. Then I suffered a stroke and was unable to continue to help them battle their program through the C lark County Economic O p p o rtu n ity C om m ittee, Vt poor people, 16 elected officials or their designated delegates. 16 represen tatives o f the community . This 16- 16-16- B oard was know n as the Green Amendment for the Economic Opportunity Act o f 1964. Represen tative Edith Green felt that public funds should be administered under the supervision o f elected officials. P r io r to the Green A m en dm ent, Boards such as the C lark C ounty Econom ic O p p o rtu n ity Com m ittee were com posed o f 16 “ p oo r people” and 16 representatives o f the community. Federal funds were dis tributed directly to such Boards and the s ta ff they em p lo yed . Then ''grants” became the order o f the period, “ grantsmanship" the word, and the poor who once thought they were about to have some control over their own destiny, found them selves pawns in a game presided over by those who know best — elected officials, administrators, managers and bureaucrats. When I recovered 1 was told the pro gram I had w ritte n w ith the senior citizens o f Clark County had been “ fu n ded ." However, when 1 picked up a copy o f what had been funded, it was not the originally de signed program at all. It had been re written in design and language accept ab le to bureaucrats and social workers, and 1 assume the elderly were fined into something less likely to rock the ship o f state with the real needs o f the elderly. A program with hope, as you say in your Editorial, had been snatched away. The highly successful Senior Adult Service Center on U n io n Avenue was, as you w rite on page three, nearly dismantled, when the paterna lism o f “ those who know best” pre vailed and the self-determination o f the Center was stifled. This Center, created a program which in many respects converged with expressed needs o f C la rk C o u n ty citizen s, without either group having contact w ith one a n o th e r. F o r n e ith e r, however has adequate senior housing been solved for those who wish or need to live in housing other than their homes. Does Emanuel Hospital have enough undeveloped property left that Lutheran Family Services might build another Fairlawn Town close to the hospital? — or i f not where else in the county could a similar non-highrise housing facility be b uilt. F a irla w n Tow ne in cast M u ltno m ah C ounty has a waiting list. A friend told me today o f a highly satisfactory development built by the United Church o f Christ in Tennessee which helps people o f limited resources to conserve them while retiring with dignity, in lifetime care. Elizabeth L . Sale Don't panic T o the Editor: O f course we are all grief stricken and regret the senseless tragedy that cost the lives o f two people in the C o u rt o f D om estic R elations on Tuesday. This tragedy is a reflection o f the troubled times in which we live and the disturbed people among us. O u r sym pathies go out to the families o f the victims. We have an obligation to try to p ro tect those fo r w hom we are responsible. H o w e v e r, we must re fra in fro m im p lem en tin g procedures borne out o f panic. The Justice Services D e p a rtm e n t is developing a more responsive pian relating to security and emergency medical procedures for the C ourt house. 1 am sure these efforts will now be m oved fo rw a rd on the priority list. Gladys McCoy, M ultnom ah County Commissioner le t Place C o m m u n ity Service O N P A 1873 PORTLAND OBSERVER le t Place Beet Ad Reaulta O N P A 1873 '‘uttwHec every try PutAMwig Company 2201 i«unr \*n B B w °rth . Portland. O a p o r 87217 Merferg addraaa P .0 Bo> 3137, Portland Oregon 97206 Telephone 283 2486 SuOacnpoone »7 50 par yaar m the Tn-County area veer outeade Portland 5th Place Beet Editorial N N P A 1873 S8 00 oar H on orable M e n tio n H erric k E ditorial A w ard N N A 1873 Sacond Claaa P oetaga Paid a t P ortlan d. O regon ALFRED L HENDERSON Editor/ Pubi la her The ffprtlaad O b te n v r , orfflcie) poartran « axpraaaad only in da P johahar a column (W e Sea The World Through Black Eyas) Any Other material throughout the paper a the opmwn ot the mdmduai wrttar or aubnattar and does not neceeeeniy reflect the opiraon of the P ortland Odaerarr 2nd Place B ast Editorial 3rd Place C o m m u n ity Leadership O N P A 1875 N ational A dvertisin g R ep resentative A m a lg a m a tad Publisher« Inc N a w York 3rd Place C o m m u n ity Leadership O N P A 1878 ’»»x K« N e W p A pep Aaaociafran - rounded 16M ÌI'SÉB t V 3 I Association I Power companies owe refund Likes History To the Editor: To the Editor: N e a rly ?()•’• o f O rego n voters enacted a lim itation on the public u tility rate base by vo tin g fo r Measure 9 in November. Oregonians know rates are climbing too rapidly to balance our budgets. We need rate relief. That is why Measure 9 was overwhelmingly approved. Measure 9 became law on Decem ber 7th. From then on it has been illegal for utilities to charge for faci lities not providing service. Oregon voters did what the Public U tility Commissioner and the Legislature would not do. Voters mandated the private utility companies to provide their own funds for expensive con struction projects. However, the Commissioner did not enforce the limitation mandated by the voters. The Commissioner allowed P ortland General Electric and Pacific Power and Light to con tinue charging customers for future High school riot racist T o the Sports Editor: W h a t happened to sp ortsm an ship? What happened to sportsmanship last Thursday night when forty fo»tr happy young fans, cheering on their h om ew ard bound ro o te r bus, become still with fear as a teacher warns them to keep their heads down fo r safety? What happened to sportsmanship when rocks came smashing through bus windows showering glass into the eyes o f two victims? What happened to sportsmanship when a jeering mob is unable to be dissuaded fro m th e ir in te n t to destroy social consciousness and revert to racist behavior o f the 50’ s? What happened to sportsmanship last Thursday night at Roosevelt H igh School after their basketball game with Jefferson? H o w can I teach my Jefferson students not to retaliate in frustra tion at the injustice done? Nancy Odman, Teacher Jefferson High School The “ O b server” w elco m es “ Letters to the Editor“ . Letters should be short end must contain the writer's neme end address. The “ Obeerver“ retains the right to edit for space. construction. Between December 7th and January 25th PG E collected at least J 1.5 m illion from ratepayers for construction projects. P P & L is still c o lle c tin g m onies outside the limitation mandated by the voters. T he la w , approved by Oregon voters, must be enforced. To compel the P U C Commissioner to obey the law Senator Jan Wyers and I de livered letters from ourselves and eighteen o th e r leg islato rs fro m around the state to Commissioner Davis earlier this week. We demand ed overcharges be re tu rn e d or credited to ratepayers. I f you believe the Commissioner should obey the law and the over charges should be refunded please write me immediately at the State Capitol in Salem. Sincerely, Rick Bauman State Representative (D -M u ltn om ah) O ur heartiest congratulations on your special edition o f February 15, 1979, commemorating Black History ^ c e k . It is one o f the best offering I have seen in this area on the saga o f Black Americans. It is especially gratifying to read about people o f the Northwest with whom we can identify; such as James Chase, an outstanding leader in Spo kane; and George Fleming. Wash ington State Senator from Seattle Your three supplements constitute a most graphic and constructive means o f acknow ledging Black History Week and paying tribute to our ancestors who paid so dearly for our heritage. This letter represents my personal thanks and that o f my staff for a re a lly b e a u tifu l, h isto ry-packed souvenir for our children, ourselves — and our libraries. Very Sincerely, Thomas Kennedy, Jr. Death penalty political football T o the Editor: “ Death penalty doesn't answer all problems,” reads an editorial in the February 17th Oregonian. In this editorial Tom Wicker ventilates the “ Deterrent” theory which has been so thoroughly ventilated for decades by knowledgeable writers both inside and outside o f prison. He summed up his argument with “ . . . whatever justification some might give for the death penalty, it obviously has been no deterrent to crime in Florda or anywhere else.” T he arg u m en t o ver the death penalty rages in Oregon. The bill re introducing it passed, and it was good that it did for the simple reason that it throws some long needed at tention on the judicial system and state prison o f Oregon. No one will die here as a result o f the death penalty: it is, after all, a political football — always has been, always will be. But it gives Oregonians a chance to look closely at the entire judicial process: it gives them a chance to see how hundreds o f thousands o f their tax dollars are absolutely wasted year after year after year if they will but look at their state prison. Wicker stated ” . . . with the de mand for capital punishment havirij risen to something o f a crescendo, a steady undercurrent o f humanity and common sense is still flowing in this crime frightened country.” His ar ticle centered on the death penalty in Florida, but hopefully his remarks about humanity and common sense apply nationally. Hopefully they also apply to Oregon. Sincerely, Donald Danford Hicks committed to lead (Continued from page 1 col. 6) necessary, o ffe r th e ir heart felt criticism s. There w ill, o f course, always be both forces In operation. That is why those o f us who under stand the situation o f the N A A C P and the plight o f those who serve in leadership roles must stand firm ly to express our support and co m m it ment. As Carter G . Woodson wrote long •g o. ” . . . by service we may work out a program in light o f our own circumstances . . . by service we may teach the masses how to earn a living honestly . . . by service we may prove s u ffic ie n t unto the task o f self development and contribute our part to modern culture.” Lucious Hicks has come forward to serve. Let us return this noble initiative with a noble service o f our own.”
