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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1979)
U n iv e r s it y o í u re g o n L ib r a r y Eugene, Oregon 97403 Industrial cities pay Black American cancer death rate risina raoidlv Black cfc people and Black organi organi- »« have not participated ac- zations ac lively in environmental protection and anti-nuclear movements. In January o f 1978 the N A A C P National Board adopted a position favoring nuclear power, theorizing that energy equals jobs and jobs will “ trickle dow n" to Black workers. Aside from an exam ination o f facts that refute the idea that nuclear power creates jobs or that absence of nuclear power slows ind u stria l grow th and reduces Black em ployment, what interest should Black people have in the controversy over nuclear power and ultimately over nuclear weapons? “ There never never was. was and and there there is is not mt "There now. anv evid™ ’ now, any evidence fo r a “ safe’ amount o f radiation. Every respon sible organization studying radiation in ju ry now holds that cancer, leukemia, and genetic damage must be considered to be essentially proportioned to the dose, down to the very lowest radiation doses,” Dr. John W. Gofman writes in his new book “ An Irreverent Illu stra te d View o f Nuclear Power” . In 1969, Dr Gofman, a physicist and medical doctor who among other things discovered fissionability in uranium-233 as applied to nuclear power and weapons and discovered a process for separation o f plutonium KJ ■ I « from .uran,ufn’ uranium, * * said the existing existing so- so- fro.m » the called “ safe” standards for public exposure to radiation would cause 32,000 extra cancer deaths per year if the public were exposed to the legal lim it, and that genetic consequences (mutations, still-births, genital can cer, predisposition to cancer and other diseases) would lead to be tween 100,000 and 1 m illion extra deaths per year a fte r several generations. The radiation dose from natural causes in the environment is 100 millerems per years. A m illorem (1,000th o f a rem) is a measurement o f energy from radiation. The energy from ionizing ra d ia tio n breaks down down imDortant im portant molecules in the cells and while most injured cells will not become cancers, some will. The anticipated cost in lives in the United States from natural ra d ia tio n is about 19,000 extra cancers per year and between 58.000 and 580,000 genetic deaths per year. A ll unnecessary exposures to radiation - caused by nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons testing, ex cessive medical x-rays, etc. - add to the high cost o f lives. Dr. Ernest Sternglass, professor o f radiological physics at the University o f Pittsburg School o f Medicine, estimated that from 600 to 5,000 per sons will die o f cancer in the next ten I _________ to twenty years as a direct result o f the Three Mile Island accident. A report released recently by the Cancer Coordinating Council for M e tro p o lita n W ashington (an outreach program o f the Howard University-Georgetown University Comprehensive Cancer Center) shows a rapid rise in cancer deaths among Black people and particularly among Black men. Until the late 1950s U.S. cancer mortality rates were lower for Blacks than for whites, but in 1955 the rate o f Black male cancer deaths sur passed those o f whites and the rate o f cancer deaths among Black males con- tinues to rise at an alarming rate. PORTLAND OBSERVER Two recent National Cancer In stitute reports which examined age- adjusted cancer m o rta lity rates found that the geographic distribution varies markedly, with concentrations o f both Black and white cancer deaths clustered around large urban areas. There is a greater geographic difference among Blacks than among whites. Although the study offers no an swers as to cause, it reminds the reader that the greatest cause o f can cer is environmental exposure and suggests that the increase in cancer deaths in Blacks and the concen trations in urban areas are related to (Please turn to Page6 Column I) Volume 9 No. 19 Thursday, May 17. 1979 10C USPS 959 680 ¿ fe ' * kJ I kJ I y ~ 7 lnner Northeast Council plans development ■S- The Inner Northeast ° r.theas' Economic Council held its first meeting Tues day noon at Genevas. The Council was appointed by M ayor G o ld schmidt to promote the creation o f industrial and commercial develop ment in Inner Northeast; work with the City in the formation and com pletion o f specific industrial sites; provide business and residential in terests assistance in reviewing pro posed recommendations to the C ity’ s Comprehensive Plan. M ayor G oldschm idt to ld the Council members that he has the feeling that this is the time to get or ganized in Northeast. He feels very strongly that business people are looking for opportunities in Port land and that this community has a ! ¿ f great opportunity opportunity since since land land nrices great prices are reasonable, there is easy access to transportation, Union Avenue rede velopment is underway, and the City has gained experience in business de velopment in the Inner Southeast. The Mayor said that although bu sinesses are interested in locating in Northeast, “ the partnership (be tween the City and local business) that w ill allow the redevelopment that private market w ill produce is not in place. . . ” Stating that the Nordstrom exper ience was terribly discouraging, he said the City cannot bring potential clients to the area w ith o u t the assurance that the land use issues are settled. We won’ t bring businesses where they are in a running conflict w i.h with citizens.” Funding for the 23 member Coun cil’s project, the Inner Northeast In dustrial Site Program, is $117,000. Federal funds from the CEDS grant will come to $65,000, with an expect ed $30,000 grant from the Office o f M in o rity Business Enterprise. A p proximately $22,000 w ill have to be raised by the community. Jeff Pyle o f the City said the first job to be done is rezoning Union Avenue. The entire length o f Union Avenue, north o f Weidler, is to be reviewed for zoning and land use changes. O f particular concern will be the depth into the neighborhoods that the commercial or industrial zone w ill extend east and west of Union Avenue. When the zoning recommenda tions are complete, the Council is to set policy for recruiting industry and business, identify potential sites, and assess cost of improvements to those sites (streets, lighting and physical improvements). Thomas Kennedy said there is a new positive feeling in the com m unity, along with some progress. New businesses are moving in, with 400 businesses on Union Avenue compared to 252 in 1978. Asked by Ed Leek whether this program w ill have the same problem as Model Cities, in identifying prob lems and making recommendations only to find that there is no money to carry out the program, Goldschmidt replied that no Model Cities project (Please turn to page 10 col. 3) System, not kids, causes juvenile crime n-lr- Albina . historic streetlights, lining Union Avenue between Alberta Union“T " ® 1***',’ b” removed 8O° " Although the original plan for the Cit i Vp nK.8 redev" ,Opment inc'ud«“ cleaning and moving the light., the City Public W ork, and State Highway Departments are consider ing removing the lights when the street is rebuilt. Court dismisses Sears suit On the eve o f Sears’ celebration o f its 50th Anniversary at its Grand Avenue Store, U.S D istrict Court Judge June L. Green dismissed the suit Sears, Roebuck and Co. had filed in an effort to blame ten federal departments and agencies fo r its alleged racial discrimination. Sears has been the subject o f 1,500 discrimination complaints since 1965 and has been accused by the Equal Employment Opportunities Com- mmission (EEOC) o f discriminating against Blacks, women and Spanish surnamed Americans with regard to recruitm ent, hiring, employment, selection, jo b assignment, promotion, transfer, training, com pensation, layoff, benefits and other terms and conditions o f em ployment. In dismissing the case, Judge Green said Sears has “ failed to present a ju stifia b le case or con troversy.” She said, “ Sears must recognize that personnel policies reflecting earlier and more limited national attitudes must be modified to widen employment opportunities for all. To be sure, realization o f the national policy o f genuine equal opportunity for all citizens is a for midable task, but not one beyond the notable s k ill and conpetence o f Sears.” Eleanor Holmes Norton, director o f EEOC, praised the decision saying, “ The equal opportunity laws are too serious to be entangled with frivolous litig a tio n .” The Justice Departm ent called the suit “ a political essay, not a lawsuit.” Benjamin Hooks had called the suit “ a s k illfu l p u b lic relations maneuver.” Norm M onroe, director o f t the hr A ith ^ ,,„ u the fam ily is usually Although “ Any education that occurs is due to Northeast Youth Service Center, told stitution.” blamed for the childs’ failure, the the efforts o f the child or is acciden the workshop on “ Crime and Live- The causes o f juvenile crime are ability o f the family to nurture the ta l." W ithout a strong church in ability in A lbina” that the institu not simple, Monroe explained, but it child is effected by economics. The fluence, there is not enough spiritual tional response to social problems _ oarent who has to spend two-thirds is the product o f society more than strength to overcome difficulties. and not youth themselves are respon o f personal behavior. Laws are w rit o f his lim e earning a subsistance has Monroe told the small gathering sible for the rise in juvenile crime. ten to maintain a sense o f social or little time to devote to the child. that when the fam ily, school and Monroe said this nation adopts a der and sometimes the laws might be The average child spends about church fails, the governm ent -- “ clinical” approach to crime, seeing wrong. 2'/2 hours a day with parents; the rest through its w elfare program s -- the problems in the criminal and at o f the day is spent at school or with takes over. The role o f government I f a young person develops in a tempting to correct or remove the peers. The result is that parents abdi has been confined to meeting crises bad parts from him . Instead o f productive way — if he has no help cate their child rearing role to the and attempting to reprocess or reha from the fam ily, the school, the blaming the child, society should schools. bilitate the person into an approved look at the institutions that effect the church, and has no economic value, The school is ill equipped to deal lifestyle. Punative institutions are he has no active place in society. The child and how he must learn to mani with this role and is concerned with established but £ no- (Please pulate . them. alternative is crime. PrOCCSS,ng kidS thr° U* h the body has beer, to r e rehabilitate, h ^ d ita 'd in “ an turn to page ,C (Please turn to page 10 col. 3) Dick Gregory fasts for nuclear shut-down V V | | bv by Valentine Nemcek In the aftermath o f the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant accident, a rally against a nuclear future was held in Washington, D.C. Sunday. May 6th. The rally drew over 100,000 support ers o f safe alternate renewable energy sources such as sun power and wind power. Dick Gregory was among a large group o f speakers in cluding Ralph Nader, Jane Fonda, Bella Abzug, Jackson Brown, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Hayden and C a lifo rn ia governor Jerry Brown and others. Gregory vowed to fast until all nuclear plants in America are closed down. The following is the full text o f Dick Gregory’s speech: X -u..,. ... „. . . Thank you. First let me say that at this part, let us kind o f take one quick moment o f silence for all o f those folks that have died already, that were led to believe that they died o f natural causes and let’ s include in all those poor folks when the Three Mile Island Plant blew, who didn’ t have the money to run and had to stay there and listen to those lies and make believe it was the truth. Let’ s have a moments silence for them . . . Thank you. The press was asking me a few minutes ago when did I first get involved with nuclear power. Well, it was the first time when I went to get an x-ray and the doctor said “ take a deep breath, hold it ” and I looked up and he was fleeing down the hall. I knew then Tony Brown visits OSU Tony Brown, host o f the national ly syndicated television program, ■'Tony Brow n’s J o urnal,” disap proves o f busing; believes “ trouble- , makers” should be kicked out o f schools and decries liberal racism. Brown feels the message liberal whites and Blacks convey is, “ If you are poor, we really don’ t expect any thing o f you. This country has con vinced poor white and poor Black people they can’t make it.” Prior to the “ Tony Brown’s Jour n a l," he hosted “ Black Journal,” a Public Broadcasting System show, that is the longest running nationally syndicated Black affairs program. He writes a nationally syndicated newspaper colum n and hosts a nationally syndicated radio program. Brown was the founding dean o f H ow ard U n iv e rs ity 's School o f Communications and received the bachelor and master degrees in psy chiatric social work from Wayne State University. At one point, he was city e d itor o f the D e tro it Courier. Brown sees himself as an Ameri can. He says he is sim ply A fro - American in heritage and since he has never lived the African exper ience, he relates entirely to this coun try. Despite his very impressive record o f achievement in civil rights, he is independent in thought and is not hesitant to express ideas and philo sophies against p u blic o p in io n . Brown favors affirm ative action pro grams and quotas for minorities, but also has very definite reservations. He says, " I f a m inority member is admitted to an educational institu tion on the basis o f a quota system, a pledge should be required for service to the minority he represents for a certain period o f time. Otherwise, we’re just training another doctor, lawyer or teacher, and helping only the individual.” Brown is a native o f Charleston, West Virginia, where a sister, Billie, still resides. His mother lives near New York City and his father, Roy, (Please turn to page 3 col. 5) something was wrong. And so I have a lot o f admiration when President Carter and his wife walked into the nuclear plant . . . if that was them! Let me say to you, that a lot o f folks been asking me today “ where’ s all the Black folks? Where’ s all the Indians? W here’ s a ll the poor folks?” When we came to Washington, D.C. in the early days o f the Civil Rights Movement, we did not look around and question where the white folks was. The ones that was there with us was there cause we brought them. And I say to you that from here on in, if you wonder where they are, damn it, bring them with you or don’ t question where they are when you get here! And I tell you something, I would rather look out here and see two to three hundred thousand predomi nantly white folks saying to this racist in s titu tio n “ we’ ve had enough” than three to four hundred thousand Black folks ‘cause they’ ll listen to you before they will listen to us.’ Understand that! What we are doing here today is more important than the Vietnamese war, it’ s more important than deal ing with racism, it's more important than dealing with sexism. So I say to you today. I say to you today, when you leave here, you have to give radiation a smell, you (Please turn to Page 10 Column I ) Uv»?»»»»»** J II. The NAACP legal staff after the successful U S. Supreme Court decision - Brown vs Board of Education- that on M ay 17, 1964, ordered desegregation of the nation’s public schools Fifth from the left is Thurgood Marshall, now U.S. Supreme Court Justice. The 26th fi niversary of the decision is being remembered across the nation todi (Photo courtesy NAACP Legal Defense Fur
