< Portland Observer Thursday. May 3. 1979
DEAR WEIGHT WATCHERS
Behind the Wall
^ ^ e I 'd like l<> join Wvighl Watchers' but
Larry Baker H35Q2I,
O.S.P. Correspondent
This Correspondent doesn't know
much about the gasoline crisis, nor
much about the energy crunch, but is
fully aware o f a statement supplied
by Jackie Winters, Assistant to the
Governor o f Oregon, Victor Ativeh.
G overnor A tiveh proclaim ed
the month o f A pril 1979 officially
“ N AAC P Membership M ontn.”
It has been less then a year since
Benjamin Hooks, national Execu
tive Director o f the NAACP, stood
before a room filled with inmates,
prison officials, community people
and the press talking o f the values
and deeds o f this great organization.
1 personally was fortunate enough
to shake the hand o f this great leader
1 w ill never forget one o f his
statements that morning. “ I hope
someday 1 can return to the State o f
Oregon and to this P enitentiary
knowing that there is an NAACP
Branch established within its walls.”
On A p ril 12, 1979 the newly elect
ed NAAC P President o f the Salem
Branch, A l M artin, announced at a
Banquet honoring Jackie Winters,
form er President, that the Salem
Branch would try to work toward
Benjamin Hooks’ “ hope.”
Following is Governor A tiveh’ s
proclamation:
In 1909 a group o f Black and white
citizens in Niagra, New York, joined
together to form an organization to
combat racial injustice in America.
That organization became known as
the National Association for the Ad
vancement o f C olored People
(N AAC P).
The N AAC P has grown steadily
Black prisoners lecture subject
Omawale Kefing w ill speak at A r
buckle Flat on Sunday, May 6th, at
7:30 p.m . on “ Black People: A
Nation Behind Bars.” The evening
w ill also include a slide show on the
death penalty and w ill include an up
date on the status o f some political
prisoners in this country and a report
on the conditions o f local prisons. It
has been estimated, for instance, that
Blacks are one percent o f Oregon’ s
population and are twenty percent o f
the prison population
Omawale Kefing is a member o f
the African People’s Socialist Party,
a political party for Afro-Americans.
He has speaking engagements around
the country in order to help people
understand the current position o f
Black people in our society in general
and o f Blacks in prison specifically.
He is also doing grass roots
organizing to build a national politi
cal active support network for Blacks
in prison called the African National
Prison O rg anization . There arc
already chapters in Louisville, A t
lanta and San Francisco. The event is
an excellent way for people to learn
another example o f institutional ra
cism, fo r Blacks to come together to
take action, and for non-Blacks to
give support to the prison organiza
tion and do whatever possible to help
end racism in this country. For more
inform ation call 287-8436.
This event is open to the public. A
donation o f $2 is requested.
Minorities and the Press
(Continued from Page 1 Column 6)
and p ro m o tin g m in o ritie s seem
unable to grasp the fact that m inority
exclusion was not the result o f a lack
o f ambition or individual initiative
— but the result o f discrimination.
In a highly competitive profession,
the process was u n fa ir and
maliciously slanted. There was and
still remain unique and firm ly insti
tutionalized efforts to keep m inority
people out o f journalism; now there
must be unique and firm ly institu
tionalized programs to combat the
destructive effects.
The results o f excluding ethnic
people o f color are more destructive
than most w ould im agine: the
p o litic a l expression, the accurate
reflection, and the stim ulation o f
minorities communities are stifled.
When Black, Hispanic, Asian and
Native American representatives are
absent from the newsroom, the poli
tical ideals and solutions o f those
people are often frustrated fo r lack
o f timely expression. The power o f
expression translates into direct poli
tical influence. Accurate inform ation
and differing perspectives can per
suade individuals. This persuasion,
when measured collectively, can add
substance and sensitivity to the body
politic. True democracy demands a
balanced press.
No matter how objective good
reporters strive to be, most acknow
ledge quite readily that their research
and writing are full o f the biases o f
their life experiences. I f m inority
reporters have the chance to ask the
questions, it is more likely that news
w ill be reported with more careful
recognition o f the unique viewpoints
o f the people who understand the
color discrimination and prejudice in
our land.
Moreover, the accurate reflection
o f m inority cultures and problems is
as valuable to the white population
as it is to the people o f color. We
must all be consistently reminded
that America is a land o f differences
and that the melding o f these d if
ferences, with a spirit o f jo y and
respect and tolerance, is at one our
greatest challenge and our greatest
strength.
I f more editors and publishers
would see this problem with vision,
the day w ill soon come when there
w ill be no need fo r a ffirm a tiv e
programs to undo the negative exclu
sion o f the past. In the past, minority
children became wise to the subtle
message given by the newspaper in
dustry — “ there is no room for your
kind, not because you cannot per
form , but because we do not want
y o u .”
No d o u b t, the overt
discrimination served to weaken the
h o pefu l m o tiv a tio n needed fo r
children to reach their aspirations
through hard work and personal
sa crifice . W ith equal chances
m in o rity journalists w ill perform
with equal quality and the power, ac
curacy and influence o f the press will
. . . UNION OR COMPANY
DENTAL INSURANCE
is a valuable asset. . .
your health
and
appearance
C O M PLETE COOPERATION
ON A L L
D E N T A L INSURANCE CLAIM S
WE HANDLE ALL THE DETAILS OF
COMPLETING YOUR CLAIM FORMS
no appointment needed
Come in at your convenience
PARK FREE — Any Park n Shop Lot
HOURS: Weekdays 8:30a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturdays 8:30a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dr. Jeffrey BRADY, Dentist
S.W. 3RD ft YAMHILL ST., PORTLAND. OREGON
TAKE ELEVATOR TO 2ND FLOOR 3RD ST ENTRANCE
since then and today is the largest
and most influential civil rights or
ganization in the country covering all
o f the 30 states and several foreign
locations.
In order to keep pace w ith the
changing times, the N A A C P has
launched a number o f dynamic social
programs that are still combating
racial hatred, bigotry and poverty in
the United States.
More than 33,000 persons o f A fro-
American descent live in the State o f
Oregon and are currently striving to
destroy barriers to equality for Black
Oregonians. Considerable progress
has been made but racism is still un
defeated.
The strength o f the N AAC P lies in
its members, organized into nearly
1,700 branches throughout the coun
I'd be embarrassed to gel weighed in front of
a roomful of people. Why do you do that*?
.
try; four o f which are situated in
Oregon (Salem, Portland. Corvallis
and Eugene). The State o f Oregon
acknowledges the effo rts and the
programs o f the Oregon branches o f
the NAACP.
T herefore, as G overnor o f
Oregon, I proclaim A pril, 1979, as
“ O ffic ia l N A A C P M em bership
Month in Oregon.”
In addition, because I believe Ore
gonians cannot and w ill not be con
tent until every vistage o f racial bigo
try is elim inated in o ur state; 1
strongly urge you to join with me in
becoming members o f an organi
zation that has fo u g h t through
the years to realize the goal o f full
equality for all o f America’ s citizens.
be enhanced.
The protest movements have made
us aware o f the problems o f m inority
hiring, training and prom otion in
American journalism. Now a process
— an affirmative, consistent, long-
ranged, committed process — must
be developed within the structure of
newspaper management to make the
gains more significant and most
lasting.
*
Q
★ *
• I was about to join Weight Watchers,
when I heard that now you're making people
exercise. How come?
.
(signed) D IS A P P O IN T E a
z \» W e don’t make members do anything!
PEPSTEP,'“ the Personal Exercise Plan, is
optional. (Some people think it's great fun!)
W E IG H T WATCHERS
The Authority
★ ★ ★
We've mixle up these quesliims. Iiul ihe situations tuul prob
lems are real. To «el all the answers, join Wei|*ht Hatchers!
EM ANULu HOSPITAL
2B01 N. Qantanbain
Emanuel East. Room B 1
INuralng Homa)
Thur«. 7:00p.m .
Vic Atiyeh
Governor
Vet project aids prisoners
NEW YORK — A $7,596 National
Council o f Churches grant has been
awarded to Portland M ilita ry and
Veteran Counseling Center, fo r a
program to aid imprisoned Vietnam
era veterans.
The grant is part o f Department o f
Labor funding to the National Coun
cil o f Churches to conduct a year
long nationwide Incarcerated Vet
erans Project. Most o f the money
w ill be channeled to veterans’ self-
help groups working in prisons to
assist in providing education and
em ploym ent
counseling;
jo b
development and placement; benefits
and disability claims counseling; dis
charge review services; drug and al
cohol rehabilitation; psychological
readjustment assistance; all to the
purpose o f removing impediments to
jo b s,
enhancing
incarcerated
veterans’ employment, and lowering
recidivism rates.
Named project director o f Port
land M ilitary & Veterans Counseling
Center received the grant because o f
I signed) BASIIIT I .
/ > • We don’t! The weigh-in is private.
CARPENTERS HALL
2226 N. Lombard Straat
M on. 7:00 p .m
Thura 0:30a.m.
M A R A N A TH A CHURCH
1222 N E Skidmore
Sat 9 30a.m
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Join before May 14 end weekly dues will be
43.50* for ea long as you maintain membership. New member and
rejoin weekly rate — $4 00 beginning May 14th. Registration foe un
changed at 45.00.
its long time concern for Vietnam
veterans and the contacts it has de
veloped with veteran self-help groups
through the N ational C ouncil o f
Churches Inter-religious W orking
Group on Vietnam Generation M ini
stries.”
A ccording to Salerno, a large
proportion o f Vietnam veterans suf
fer from a little-know n stress dis
order called “ Post-Vietnam Syn
drome.”
He said the project is being con
ducted through self-help groups be
cause the veterans are frequently
only able or willing to be helped by
their peers.
Vietnam veterans make up about a
quarter o f the prison population and
about half o f them are Black, ac
cording to 1977 D epartm ent o f
Labor statistics. Salerno says he be
lieves the figures are higher now.
In its action, the Governing Board
charged that “ correctional institu
tions, by and large, have not assist
ed veterans to gain education or
skills that would improve their em
ployability . . . and have not pre
pared them for a smooth transition
into society upon release.”
* Offer good only in Franchise #083
For information call COLLECT Portland (503) 297 1021,
Weekdays - 8:30-5 30
C W E IO M 1 W A 1 C H F R S I N I l IN C
1978 O W N E R OF THE
W EIGHT WATCHERS A PEPSTEP TRADEMARKS
E
X
O
D
' '- /¿evÀs-ûaan Ç d u e td te tu d a.n d
U
S
t e a / m e * / eet/ee
1518 N E KILLINGSWORTH
Cookbook
PORTLAND. OREGON 97211
284 7997
(Continued from page 1 col. 6)
family were: “ Aunt L il o f Virginia,
an octogenarian who c o u ld n ’ t
remember any o f her cooking
recipes, but who could remember her
beauty cream recipes!
“ There was 94-year-old A unt
Maude in Opalaki, Alabama who re
minisced about George Washington
Carver’s favorite Peanut Butter ice
cream. There are herbal cures,
natural beauty tips, photographs and
memories, but,” the Dardens’ point
out, “ the central focus is on food,
sim ply
because
d in in g
and
celebrating events in the family-style,
they arc today as they have been al
ways, an important element o f the
Black family tradition.”
Both Norma Jean and Carole are
graduates o f Sarah Lawrence
College. Norma Jean is a script
w rite r, an actress and a form er
fashion model who has appeared in
McCalls, Essence and Vogue maga
zines.
Carole Darden is a child therapist
and, until recently, was the social
w ork a d m in istra to r at W iltsvyck
School for Boys.
Norma Jean is the Darden sister
who came to Portland to introduce
“ Spoon Bread and Straw berry
Wine” to the Northwest. This beau
tifu l and charming author is also
spreading the word, wherever she
goes in her travels, to one and all:
“ Treasure your fam ily traditions.
Tell your children about them. Better
yet, put as much as you can down on
paper, for the day may come when
some fam ily member w ill want to
know the interesting stories that you
have to te ll.”
"Be brief when you cannot
be good "
St. Francis De Sales
"F ew are those who err on
the side of self restraint "
Confucius
" A poet can survive anything
but a misprint." Oscar Wilde
M AY 1979
EXODUS GROWS
Reports its Director Rosalie Boothe
1. EXODUS is implementing Portland's first com
munity-based Youth Theatre Alcohol Awareness
Project, this project is funded by the Department
of Labor.
2. EXODUS through its community Advisory Coun
cil will implement the "EXODUS Forum", which
is an information sharing service to the commu
nity. The first forum presentation will be held at
12:30 p.m., May 17, 1979 at EXODUS Day-
Treatment Center.
3. EXODUS has also grown to develop the
"EXODUS Women Forum" which is composed
of women in treatment of alcoholism, from care
units, Portland hospitals, institutions, educational
centers and agencies.
4. EXODUS graduated its third class on the "Triple
R Concept" (Rights, Respect and Responsibility
concept), April 7, 1979.
EXODUS is fast becoming an important service cen
ter to our community. With nearly 400 clients, and
employing 16 full-time employees.