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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1979)
i r a Frances Schoen-Newapaper Room U n iv e r s ity o f Oregon L ib r a ry tugene, Oregon 97403 HEW An investigative team from the Office o f C ivil Rights. Department o f Health, Education and Welfare, is in Portland this week investigating complaints filed against the Portland P ublic Schools. The com plaints charge the school district with racial discrimination. The HEW team met with school district personnel and w ith com munity members. Representatives o f the Community Coalition for School Integration presented them with its assessment o f the districts* actions that promote desegregation and that discriminate against Black students. These include: Construction o f Eliot and Humboldt schools in Black neighborhoods; prior to being found in non-compliance in 1975, assigning Black teachers almost exclusively to Black schools. White schools have been converted to middle schools or closed, but stu dents have not been transferred to Black schools. White students living in the Jefferson High School area have been allowed to go to other schools, increasing the percentage o f Black enrollment at Jefferson. hood to prom ote desegregation, while no white students are forced to transfer to majority Black schools. Black students have been forced to remain in the new schools, while white voluntary transfer students have been allowed to return to their neighborhood schools. When middle schools are estab lished, students from white feeder schools have been assigned to a mid dle school or a group. Black students have been scattered. The district has failed to recruit Black teachers, with hiring o f mino rities declining from 19 percent in 1973-74 to 5 percent in 1977-78. Black students are forced to trans fer to schools outside their neighbor Early Childhood Education Cen ters have been created in Albina by School Board edict, while in white communities they are established with “ community acceptance.” The HEW investigators w ill write its findings within a few weeks. I f the district is determined to be guilty of discrimination, it w ill have 90 days to offer a remedy. I f a remedy cannot be agreed upon, the findings w ill be forwarded to Washington, D.C. for enforcem ent. W ith in 30 days, a PORTLAND OBSERVER Kenneth Berry wee awarded the Portlend Jeyceea "Junior First Citi zen award for 1978. The award is given annually in recognition of com munity service. The citation states: "For consistent dedication to serv ing the community through personal involvement in professional, pri- public and social avenues striving to improve communications, understanding, cooperation, performance and appreciation among all. Self-motivated, talented and successful as a teacher, counselor, and musician. Ken exemplifies the belief that 'earth's great treasure lies in human personality'."' Berry was nominated by Mrs. Clara Peoples. Oregon State Inmates and their families are supporting legislation to establish conjugal visits at the prison. The State Street Jaycees researched the bills - HBs 2425 and 2865 - sponsored by Representatives Sandy Richardson and W a lly Priestley — and presented testimony before the House Judiciary Commit tee. Deone Washington, an OSP in mate, explained that the inmates have investigated the possibility o f bearing the costs themselves through a lease o p tio n arrangem ent fo r trailor units. He explained the problems o f the family that is divided — the husband and father behind bars — and unable to share the intimacies o f family life. “ The point to truly consider is that men who have family outside these walls who truly care for them want that needed love which they cannot gain inside these walls. You have a different kind o f man behind these walls, the kind that gives a damn enough to want to change and make people understand that he’ s trying. And that starts at home. “ Many wives have waited for their husbands to be released from this penitentiary and without a place to be released to, many men are lost. We believe that helping the family unit stay alive, even in the smallest fashion, m ight stop men from coming back to this system.” In the current visiting system, men and their families visit in a large visiting room. Married people can visit four times a month, and persons not married can visit twice a month. “ Now, in the beginning o f each visit, the family is allowed to em- (Please turn to page 2 col. 1) A lthough HEW can in itiate its own review, most investigations are in response to citizen complaints. M onitoring and enforcement o f can cellation agreements are also largely in response to citizen requests. Volume 9 No. 14 Thursday, April 12.197910$ USPS 969-680 inmates support private visits deferral o f all federal money would be imposed — not halting current expenditures but stopping new projects or re fu n d in g . I f no agreement were reached in 90 days, all federal funds would be stopped. Dr. Blanchard replies: not guilty The Portland School Districts' ini tial reaction to notification by the Region X office o f the Department o f Health, Education and Welfare, was to question the delay in respond ing to a 1977 complaint and to allege that significant changes have been made. ‘ ‘ There have been countless changes in the school district since the time that the complaint was filed, and many o f those charges alter sig nificantly the facts and conditions that you w ill be investigating.” The HEW investigation o f a com plaint filed by the Oregon M inority Educators Organization and a 1979 complaint by a citizen, is based on Title V I o f the Civil Rights Act o f 1964, section 601: “ No person in the United States shall, on the ground o f race, color, or national origin, be ex cluded from p a rticip a tio n in , be denied the benefits of, or be subject ed to discrimination under any pro gram or activity receiving Federal fi nancial assistance.” The allegation o f the complaint in clude: the d isc ip lin in g o f Black students, the differences in achieve ment levels o f Black and white stu dents, and the excessive burden o f desegregation bore by Black stu dents. Issues to be investigated on: 1) Does the district discriminate against Black students in Early Childhood Education Centers i f they are achiev ing at a lower rate than white child ren? 2) Does the district discriminate against Black children by requiring them to bear substantially more o f the burdens o f desegregation? D r. Blanchard responded that, “ w ith respect to the ‘ burden’ question alleging that Black students had to bear a disproportionate share o f the district’ s desegregation pro gram, we have never stated that this is not true . . . We do not agree with the assertion that a larger proportion o f Black students participating in de segregation a ctivitie s constitutes discrimination. Additionally, we can make a strong case today that the question o f disproportionate burden is no longer appropriate.” D r. Blanchard fu rth e r advised Region X that some o f the in fo r mation requested “ simply is not rea sonably available.” Makers o f the complaint empha size that the allegations o f the com plaints are still valid and that research completed by the Community Coali tio n fo r School In te g ra tio n in December o f 1978 v e rify that no radical changes or im provem ents have been made by the district. Rally supports nuclear moratorium A Nuclear Moratorium Rally will be held on the steps o f the State Cap itol next Friday, A pril 20th, at noon. The moratorium, sponsored by the Nuclear M oratorium C oalition, is designed to bring attention to HB 2570, which would halt the building o f nuclear power plants in Oregon until the federal government is oper ating safe and permanent waste storage sites. Announcing the rally, spokesmen fo r the Nuclear M o ra to riu m Coalition said, “ The events o f the past few weeks have convinced us that it is necessary to work together to institute a moratorium on nuclear power in Oregon. The near disastrous accident at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant and Governor Atiyeh’s apparent attempt to change the face o f the Energy Facility Siting C ouncil have been d isturbing developments. On March 12th the Federal government released the In teragency Review Group report on disposal o f radioactive waste. That report indicated that a solution to the waste disposal problem is far in the future. The report states that the feasability o f geologic disposal has not been demonstrated. We are also told that it won’t be until at least 1992-95 before an experim ental repository w ill be readied. “ It is inconceivable for us to allow further nuclear plants to be sited and built with the waste question still to be answered and the probability o f another Three Mile Island type ac cident occurring again.” The Coalition advocates an em phasis on non-nuclear sources o f power. “ The utitlities which supply electricity to the people o f Oregon must realize that we do not want nuclear power plants. We ask them to turn to the future rather than fighting to keep it away. A full crash program o f renewable resources such as solar, w ind, bio-mass, and geothermal must begin today. We believe that Oregonians, when given the choice and the help, w ill learn to conserve during the tra n sitio n period.” A ll citizens who are concerned about the social and health dangers o f nuclear power are urged to attend the rally to demonstrate desire for passage o f HB 2570. Those unable to attend are asked to contact their legislators in support o f the bill. O rganizations m aking up the C o a litio n at this tim e include: Oregon E nvironm enta l C ouncil, Greenpeace, Trojan Decommission ing Alliance, Sierra Club, Oregon Young Democrats, Students fo r a Nuclear Free Future, Clergy and L a ity Concerned, Grey Panthers, (Please turn to page 2 col. 4) Four young South African man - tha writars and actors of SURVIVALI - portray Ufa In South Africa undar apartheid. 'Survival' explores oppression by N. Fungai Kumbula The central theme o f SUR VIVAL is that if you are Black in South A fr i ca you are in prison whether or not you are actually behind bars. That seems a simple enough sentiment but the way in which it is delivered, put across to the audience is what lifts the play way, way above your or dinary everyday play. Performed by four young Black South African men who also wrote the script, SURVIVAL takes the au dience on a trip to the home o f apar theid. What the audience sees is that there is definitely no difference be tween the outside and the inside o f the prison. Either way, the Black South A frica is caught in a vicious system; from the day he is born to the day he dies, he cannot seem to get away from a system that is bent on his destruction. The most p o w e rfu l aspect o f SU R VIVAL is that the four actors, Seth Sibanda, Faus Kekana, Selaelo Maredi, and Themba Ntinga por tray ordinary everyday Blacks who are merely trying to survive. As we watch them trying to find their way through the maze o f apartheid laws designed “ to keep the Blacks in their place,” the fu ll scope o f this evil sy- A. Philip Randolph: Confronting today's challenges by A. Philip Randolph I am happy to have this oppor tunity to address my brothers and sisters as I celebrate another birth day, this one being my 90th For most people, birthdays offer an opportunity for careful personal reflection. They are a time for inking stock, a time for evaluating the course o f events. Now, as I mark the begin ning o f my 91st year. I wish to make a few brief comments about the d if ficult challenges confronting Black people and all American workers. In many im p o rta n t respects, today’ s challenges bear a striking similarity to the problems we have grappled with fo r decades. Essen Hally, tia lly , they they arc arc problems problems o f o f economics, and problems o f politics. A nd, most im p o rta n t, they are problems which cannot be solved in isolation from the overall society. Consider for a moment the plight o f our Black youngsters. Through out the nation, thousands upon thousands o f Black teenagers and young adults have no opportunity for obtaining decent employment. They are forced to waste their talents, to waste their youthful enthusiasm, indeed, to waste their lives. To make matters worse, some political leaders dismiss this scandal as a necessity, a permanent feature o f our economic system. Consider also the condition o f low-wase workers throughout the the so- so- low-wage workers throughout called Sunbelt, and throughout America’s great urban centers. Amid affluence and new-found wealth, thousands o f workers — Black as well as white — receive subsistence wages. And because so few have the protections o f a union contract, they have no jo b security, no fringe benefits, and no rights in the work place. And consider the new political at mosphere in A m erica, an a t mosphere best characterized by crude conservatism, and social de featism. From every corner o f the land, we hear demands for cuts in school budgets, social security pay ments, health care, and jobs for the .... u unemployed. And we hear inflation blamed on the moderate wages o f workers, and the dismally low wages o f those people forced to accept the minimum wage. Workers and poor people, the true victims o f inflation, are everywhere scolded for their so- called excesses. How do we deal with these prob lems? Who do we look toward for support and cooperation? In my view, we have one reliable and steadfast ally — the trade union movement. A nd I make this statement based on seventy years o f experience in the civil rights and labor movements. Why the trade unions? The an swer, I believe, is quite simple: The vast m ajority o f Black people are w orkers, and the trade union movement, even with all its imper fections and failings, is the most ef fective, and most powerful defender o f the interests o f a ll Am erican workers. Black as well as white. A t this very moment, for example, organized labor is spearheading the attack against the Administration’ s so-called austerity budget. It is the trade union movement that has fought to preserve the m inim um wage, and to keep the CETA jobs program intact. And it is the trade union movement that has mounted a m ajor e ffo rt to organize low-paid and exploited workers throughout (Please turn to Page 3 Column 1) stem hits home with the ferocity o f a sledge hammer. The triumph o f SU R VIVAL stems from the effectiveness with which the message cornes across. Even a Mar tian who arrived on Earth today could not fail to see what the actors wish to portray. We laugh with them when they make fun o f their new companion in ja il, Habakuk. In one scene when he has to go and empty out the slop bucket, they tell him to go give it to the sergeant. Our stomaches turn when we see the prisoners choke on the rotten food they are fed, in prison, and we (Please turn to page 2 col. 5)
