Fontanel Ob— ever Thursday Juna 7.1171
' EDITORIAL/OPINION
'Voluntary' doesn't work
"W e need to amend the Fair Housing Act to
remove the burden end expense of enforcing the
lew from the shoulders of the poor victims of
housing discrimination. We have to realize the
promise of equal opportunity in housing if we are
to make the educational benefits of the Brown
decision as available to the northern poor as they
are becoming in the South." Those words were
spoken by President Jimmy Carter during a White
House reception commemorating the 25th an
niversary of the Brown decision.
Congress is considering amendment to the Fair
Housing Act (S. 506 and HR 2540), which would
give the Department of Housing and Urban De
velopment authority to enforce the act. Current
ly enforcement of the Act is voluntary.
Expecting the real estate industry to abide by
voluntary agreements is about as realistic as
asking employers to hire minorities without en
forcement or expecting school districts to volun
tarily desegregate. It only happens with laws and
with the threat of economic reprisal.
Discretion would help
There have been numerous reports on
drinking, smoking and fighting at the Rose
Festival Fun Center, which led to extra police
patrols, each consisting of four uniformed of
ficers. There were calls for stronger police enfor
cement and even for closing the fun center.
Many persons who observed the action Friday
and Saturday night blame the crowd unrest on
police action. It is hardly appropriate for a plain
clothes policeman to wade into a gang of young
people to nab a pot smoker, when the smoker is
surrounded by supporters and the identity of the
police is questionable.
People walking around with beer on a hot night
is hardly a reason for arrest and violence, unless
those persons are harassing or intimidating
others. After all. beer drinking is allowed and
even encouraged in that same park during
Neighborfair.
Drunkedness and pot smoking are not to be
condoned, but the police should be able to deal
with these problems in a restrained and product
ive way without starting the violence they are
supposed to prevent.
Witnesses observed uniformed police bullying
the crowd. Bystanders watched the police arrest
and beat a drunk, who was doing nothing except
appear repulsive. Others were asked to leave
when they were doing nothing but watch.
If Portland is to have carnivals and others mass
activities, its police will have to learn to deal with
crowds in a more reserved and respectful man
ner. A little sass won't hurt them. They are sup
posed to be professionals - trained to control
themselves.
Squads of police, looking for trouble, are hard
ly condusive to "fun".
Rose Festival still white
Those who are waiting for the first Black Rose
Festival queen will have to wait another year — or
another twenty years.
Maybe we should lower our expectations and
just hope for at least one Black official driver.
Surety in this day of the automobile there must be
at least one Black student at Benson High School
who can drive a carl
LUTHER
By Brumsic Brandon, Jr.
A ‘ m ilesto n e’ in the to rtu re d
history o f Zimbabwe passed almost
unnoticed this past week. A t mid
night on T h u rsd ay, M a y 31st, a
"Black** for the first time took over
o ffic ia lly as p rim e m inister o f
Rhodesia (o r, is it ‘ Z im b a b w e -
Rhodesia?). An event that we have
been waiting for for over 8H years
passed with very little fanfare and a
whole lo t o f dissension. W hen
Bishop Abel Muzorewa stepped up
to the microphone to “ address the
nation,’’ flanked as he was by two
white security guards, it was the
strangest birth o f a nation the world
has ever seen.
When he ‘ took over*, the level of
opposition to his ‘ leadership* had
never been higher and the number of
other problem s c o n fro n tin g him
couldn’t have been any greater. I f
this opposition were only coming
fro m the freedom fig h ters, that
would not have been too surprising.
But, it was a lot broader than that
and, continues to grow with each
passing day. As expected, his erst
while ally in the in te rn a l sellout
agreement. Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole.
who has been crying “ F O U L ” since
the election, has now turned into
another full fledged foe.
Recently, several o f his supporters
were arrested fo r p lo ttin g the
assassination o f Muzorewa. Sithole
himself was not arrested but it ’ s
questionable how long he will remain
free. Supposedly also, several arms
caches were confiscated at the time
o f the arrests. O f the 72 Africans
elected to the N ational Assembly,
only 60 are p a rtic ip a tin g in the
government at the moment. Sithole
is still boycotting the M u zo rew a
governm ent and has th erefore
prevented his 12 Assembly persons
fro m ta k in g p a rt. H e has also
Boise gains
Another Point o f View
Crumbs from Sears
fro m the San Francisco Sun Reporter
Sears, Roebuck is launching a twice-a-month adver
tising campaign consisting of 66 inches of advertising in 150
Black newspapers throughout the country. One hearing of
this new thrust by Sears might be prone to say Hallelujah!
But beware: this is Sears' maneuver to emasculate the
strong national coalition determined to fight back in the
marketplace against Sears attempt to destroy the ten years
of U .S. federal affirmative action program.
In 1978 Sears spent 9625 million in advertising, making it
the world's biggest advertiser For the past ten years a
Black publisher stockholder in Sears has been urging Sears
to take the leadership in returning to Black America some
portion of its advertising dollar derived from Black pur
chasing power, which in many instances exceeds 30 per
cent of the total patronage in certain Sears outlets. This
every other week gesture to the Black Press is an insulting
handout, not a decision on the part of this giant multi
national corporation to use the Black Press consistently as
it uses the metropolitan white press of the nation, to move
goods and services. The Black Press has never wanted
handouts: it has only sought to effectively serve the adver
tiser and 26 million Blacks in the nation.
Undoubtedly many Black publishers walking the tight
line of economic survival will be tempted to accept this
Sears handout In the process of taking crumbs from Sears'
table, remember that the price of freedom comes high. This
initial pittance from Sears would not have come without
the current growing natiowide boycott of Sears by the An
ti Bakke C oalition, th e N atio n al A ffirm a tiv e A ction
Coalition, the Delta Sorority, a few courageous churchmen
and a growing number of college students.
Sears advertises every day over radio, television and the
white press. If Sears really meant the Black Press well, it
could have at least offered weekly advertising, semi-weekly
advertising or daily advertising, so that the Black Press
would become competitive in delivering goods and services
to its constituency.
Black leaders deriving their leadership roles from religion,
education, labor, civil rights activities or mass social
organizations are faced with important decisions about
their individual contributions to the survival of Black youth,
the endangered species Political action can make a dif
ference. However, political action buttressed by economic
direct action is required for the movement of insensitive
racist governmental and business institutions which will not
yield to logic and conversation alone.
The Black Press of America is on trial as never before,
and we remind you of the important words of Fanon: "If
the leaders of a historical period fail to articulate the needs
of the masses . . . these false leaders will be swept away . .
and from the masses itself a new leadership will emergel"
Blacks lost in the Bakke decision; we are waiting timidly
tor the Supreme Court to decide the Weber case Affir
mative Action in the marketplace rests in the hands of the
Black masses, who by virtue of their 9100 billion income in
1978 can bring any international corporation to its knees, if
we would but persevere and boycott our enemies, while
responding favorably to the acts of friends who understand
our struggle for human rights and human dignity as it
relates to the marketplace.
Frederick Douglass was correct in his final advice on the
struggle for Black survival: "Blacks must agitate, agitate,
agitate I"
le t Place
C o m m u nity Servie»
O N P A 1973
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Th» Portland Observer IUSPS 96B-660I a publiahec «vary Thura-
dav by Ex» Pubtahmfl Company. Inc . 2201 North Krtlmgaworth
Portland, Oregon 97217, Poet Office Box 3137. Portland. Oregon
97206 Second d ie s pottage paad at Portland. Oregon
ALFRED L HENDERSON
Editor/Publisher
le t Place
Beat Ad Reeulta
O N P A 1973
Subechptione »7 50 per year in Tri-County area. »8 00 per year
outside Tri-County Area P oetm eeter Send eddreea change» to
the Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland Oregon 97206
5th Place
Beet E ditorial
N N P A 1973
The Portland Observer's office! poertion « expreaaed only in ita
Editore! column Any other materai throughout the paper ta the
opinion of the individual w riter or aubm ittar end doea not
neceeaanty reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer
H onorable M e n tio n
Herrick Editorial A w ard
N N A 1973
2nd Piece
Beet Editorial
3rd Place
C o m m u nity Leaderahip
ON PA 1975
N ational Advertising Repreeentative
A m a lg a m ated Publiehera. Inc
N ew York
3rd Place
C om m u nity Leadership
O N P A 1978
MtMBM
vt
Mei a
H e J I p J I p EP
Aesotiohers ■ fou nded I9 M
1
(Continued from page 1 col. 2)
teachers have always preferred to
have small classes rather than having
larger class and then having a
specialist take some students out for
a few minutes a day Next year we
have a small increase in funds, and
we will get either another full time
teacher or two full time aides.”
Boise’s structure is divided into the
low er grade
u n it, grades one
through four, and the pper grade
unit, grades five througu eight. The
190 students in the first four grades
are divided into nine classes, with an
average o f 21 students per class. The
unit, supervised by M orry Saka, also
has six full time aides.
The upper grade unit is supervised
by Jerry Simnitt. There are two 5th
grade classes, each with 24 students;
two 6th grade classes with 22 and 23
students; a class with 9 6th graders
and 11 7th graders; tw o seventh
grade classes with 25 and 23 stud
ents, and two 8th grade classes with a
total o f 48 students. This unit has
three fu ll tim e aide positions,
assisting with reading and math.
There are only four non-teaching
staff - the principal, administrative
refused to appoint any o f the four
cabinet appointees that he was en
titled to. So, at the moment there are
only 16 Cabinet positions filled as
opposed to the 20 vacancies avail
able: M uzorewa’s eleven and the five
whites. Smith is a minister without
Portfolio.
M u zo re w a h im s e lf heads the
M inistry o f Defense but has con
ceded Finance, Justice and Agricul
ture, among others, to the whites.
Justice? The rift that had simmered
between Muzorewa and his deputy,
James Chikerema, one o f the found
ers o f Z im b ab w ean n a tio n alism ,
widened even further with the an
nouncement o f Muzorewa’s cabinet.
In
the
in te rim
g overnm ent,
Chikerema had been the coM inister
o f Transport; in the new cabinet, his
nam e was not even m en tion ed .
Lately, even before the cabinet was
chosen, he had been accusing
Muzorewa o f “ blatant nepotism and
tribalism *’ . So, the break between
them is rumored to be im m inent.
Should that happen, that could very
easily splinter their party, the U A N C
(U nited A frican N ational Council)
right down the middle.
Even as he “ addressed the
nation” , the war was raging on all
around him. There were reports that
as many as a hundred people were
killed that same day alone. Both
leaders o f the Patriotic Front have
spurned his call o f amnesty and
vowed to fight on till Zimbabwe is
finally and fully liberated. None o f
the neighboring A frican countries
have responded to his call fo r
cooperation and coexistence.
B ritain, which had promised to
recognize the “ new” government is
now moving a lot more cautiously
due to rumblings from the African
countries. Nigeria, now a very in
fluential nation due to her oil clout,
assistant, the tw o team leaders.
There is a librarian who also teaches,
and a full time physical education
teacher.
Boise has two half-day kindergar
ten classes but does not have the all
day kindergarten or the advantages
o f the programs for four and five
year olds th a t the o th er A lb in a
schools (th e E a rly C h ild h o o d
Education Centers) do.
Contrary to what might be expec
ted according to current theory that
Black children fail to learn do to
cultural language problems, Boise
students score highest in language -
Social Work staff
(Continued from page 1 col. 6)
N IM H . Bohanan believes it to be
unique among the group because it
works with students from Alaska as
well as the “ lower 4 8 .”
Bohanan was raised in a rural
c o m m u n ity
in
Southeastern
O k la h o m a . H e served w ith the
Marine Corps in the m id-I960's, in
cluding a tour in Vietnam. He earned
a BS in physical education from
Southeastern
O k la h o m a
State
University.
has threatened to impose sanctions
on B rita in i f she recognizes the
M u zo rew a regime and lifts sanc
tions. In the U .S ., conservatives in
the Senate prevailed and the Senate
voted 75-19 to lift sanctions. They
also obligated President C arter to
make a decision within 30 days in
which to make a determination o f
what this country will do. Carter had
so far resisted efforts to lift sanc
tions, but, lately, the pressure on him
to do just that has been relentless.
W hite exodus, o f which we have
heard very little lately, has been
going on almost unchecked. Latest
figures show that somewhere in the
neighborhood o f 1,500 o f them fled
Rhodesia in the month o f M ay alone.
The war is costing in excess o f $1
million a day and tourism, once a
thriving business, has fallen by over
75% in the past year alone.
T h e independence celeb ratio n
dancers have now left the streets and
gone back home to wait . . . to wait
for Muzorewa to deliver on all his
promises. Very soon those very same
dancers and celebrants will be back
in the streets again but, this time they
w ill not be dancing, they w ill be
demonstrating. They will be shouting
something a whole lot less flattering
than praises.
So now the good bishop has the
impossible task o f trying to keep his
own p a rty to g e th e r, fo il assas
sin atio n attem p ts fro m fo rm e r
allies in crime, reach some form o f
accord with the freedom fighters,
win international recognition, have
sanctions repealed, reassure the
already edgy whites that he is still
behaving, and show supporters and
detractors alike that his brand o f
freedom is really free.
Miracles may still happen but. this
is one 1 would like to see.
a p p ro x im a te ly tw o years behind
grade level when compared to the
school district average.
In math, all grades gained about
one year in the seven months bet
ween the October 1978 test and the
M ay 1979 test, except the 8th grade,
which d ro p p ed . T he sixth grade
made the greatest gain. The 8th
grade is at 5th grade level, the 7th
grade at 4.5, the 6th grade at 4.5 and
the 5th grade just below fourth grade
level.
Reading scores improved in all but
the 5th and 8th grades. The other
grades gained one year or less. The
8th grade average is at 5th grade
level; the 7th graders are at 4.5 grade
level; the 6th graders below 4th grade
level; and the 4th grade below 3rd
grade level when compared to the
district average.
In most cases, when only those «■
students who have been at Boise the
entire school year are compared, the
gain was larger. For example, the
eighth graders gained one year in
math.
Although still two to three years
behind the district average at every
grade level, Boise is making some
small progress while other schools
are falling further behind.
PUBLIC NOTICE
School District #1 will hold a public workshop on
selling goods to and contracting with the Portland
Public Schools at 10:00 a.m., Friday, June 15,
1979. Workshop will be held in the Board Room,
620 N.E. Halsey Street for all interested parties,
particularly Minority Business Enterprise.
An Equal Opportunity Employer