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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 1979)
Mrs Fra n ces S c h o e n -ie w sp2p2r Ro9l U n iv e r s it y o f Oregon L ib r a r y Lugana, Oregon 97403 sTè1 4Ä: j Want to ride the Goodyear blimp? The Second Annual Portland Ob server - Goodyear blimp ride will be held on Saturday, June 23rd. The Goodyear blimp •‘Colum bia’ ’ is in Portland for a three week stay. The airship Colum bia is owned an operated by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. o f A kron. She is 192 feet long, 39.5 feet high and 50 feet wide. The sausage shape is maintained by 202,700 cubic feet o f helium inside a rubber-coated polyester fabric en velope. The ship is powered by twin six cylinder, 210 hp engines, giving a cruising speed o f from 30 to 35 miles per hour and a maximum speed o f 50 miles per hour. Flight altitude is normally between 1,000 and 2,000 feet. The Columbia and her sisterships, the A m erica and the M a y flo w e r, travel more than 100,000 miles a year as public relations ambassadors. The ship is staffed with a crew o f 22 ~ five pilots, a public relations representative and 16 crewmen, some o f whom a r t engine, rad io , elec tronics and structural experts. W ith fo u r s p ecially-eq u ip p ed g ro u n d - support vehicles, the Colum bia crew is almost self-sustaining in the field, as far as operation and maintenance o f the blimp are concerned. Four lucky young people - ages 11 through 15 - will win a ride in the Colum bia by completing an entry blank and winning the lucky draw. (See page 10) 1978 winners were fo u r eighth graders fro m Boise E le m e n ta ry School. This year’s winners could be you! PORTLAND OBSERVER Volume 9 No. 23 Thursday, June 14,1979 109 USPS Rose Festival charged w ith racism . . . again Boise honors graduates T o the strains o f “ L ift E v’ry Voice and Sing’ *, fifty students graduated from Boise Elementary School. H erb C a w th o rn e co ng ratulated the students for their cooperation, p rid e , respect and ach ievem en t. M entioning the district cham pion ship girls basketball team and the ru n n e r-u p boys team and the student newspaper “ Boise Speaks” , he com m ended them fo r th e ir achievement in reading, language and arithmetic - the best in Boise’s recent history. Cawthorne challenged the students to be ambassadores — representing them selves, th e ir school, th e ir families and their race. “ A n am bassador is a special representative, empowered with skills and the ability to make peace and understanding.” "T h e problems o f race relations are not solved,” he told the class. " Y o u will have to carry the burden You represent all Blacks or all whites as you interact. You can continue what we began.” R eceiving c o n g ra tu la tio n s and their final report cards from their p rin c ip a l, D ave M c C re a , were: C h ris tin a A b ra m s , T in a A dam s, T o n y A nd erso n , C a rlo B agley, Daniel Binns, David Binns, Antuan Blocker, Allen Brock. Jeff Brown, Geraldine Cary, Luci C ook, Dalton Dalcour, Raye Den son, Dorris Drew, W illim Dye, Kent Ewell, Alonzo Franklin. John Gahagen, Debra Green, Jim F ry e , A n th o n y H a n s o n , S andra H a rd y , L o re n zo H ic k s , Lisa Holmes, Renee Hudson. L ulu Jackson, R etta Jefferies, Linda Lewis, Shirley Lewis, Roger M a rc e ll, T e rry M a r tin , Sharon Mayes, Cheryl M cG innis, Michael Nichols. Gary Page, Demetia Paul, Jeanice P ra tt, D avid R o b in so n , M ich elle Ross, M e lv in S pencer, D eb b ie Staples, Joe S to d d a rd , E d w a rd W a te rs , A n th o n y W h ite , T in a Wrisley. M athew Young, Rosetta Young, Sine Taylor, Tony Thomas. South African Bishop visits by Gregory Gudger When Father W illiam Cleary first met Bishop Stephen Gregory Naidoo while in Rome in 1977, and invited the A uxiliary Bishop o f Cape Tow n, South A frica to visit his parish if he ever came to the U n ite d States, Father Cleary didn’ t think that he would see the Bishop at least for quite a while. On Sunday, June 17th — a short two years later — Bishop Naidoo and Father Cleary will concelebrate the 10:30 a.m . Mass at Portland's Holy Redeemer Church, 25 N . Port land Boulevard, during a five-day stopover in Portland. The Bishop is on a factfinding tour o f the U.S. to study the achievements, problems and other facet* o f living in an inte grated society, and the role that the Catholic Church has playeu in the in tegration effort. The Bishop and his State D epartm en t escort, Joseph W alton, will arrive from San Fran cisco and will leave for H a rtfo rd , Connecticut after his visit here. The national tour is sponsored by the U .S. Government’s International Visitor Program o f the International C o m m u n ic a tio n Agency, in con- junction with the Visitor Program Service o f M e rid ia n House In te r national. The Bishop’s Portland visit is coordinated by the W orld A ffairs Council o f Oregon. The 52-year-old Bishop is a native o f Durban, South A frica and is o f South Asian In d ia n descent. He began his studies for the priesthood in 1953 and was ordained in 1961. He holds a diploma in Social Science and a Doctorate in Canon Law from A n g lic u m U n iv e rs ity in Rom e (1964). He has been Assistant Bishop to the Archbishop o f Cape Tow n since 1974, with jurisdiction over 60 parishes. One o f the key objectives o f the Bishop’s current visit to the U .S. (he first came to the U .S. in 1973), is to study the extent o f racial integration in the schools. An added bonus to his unscheduled visit to see his friend Father Cleary will be the knowledge the Bishop obtains regarding the ef fo rts o f the lo cal C o m m u n ity Coalition for School Integration. An inform al reception at the home o f N ick and K im B arn ett has been arranged for this purpose. " I ’m only disappointed that he’s (Please turn to page 3 col. 3) Charges that the Rose Festival is a racist event are being made again this year — much o f it centered around the queen selection and the parade. The first charges came when Black students — joined by white students — protested the princess selection process at W ils o n H ig h S chool. Students informed the Observer that after the initial vote, won by Lori Smith, Vice Principal Elva M a rtin said there would be a ru n off between the two top vote-getters. T o q uo te W ils o n S tatesm an journalist David Kahn, “ It is hard to find anything more bizarre than the events that led up to the cancellation o f the Rose Festival ru n o ff by Mrs. Elva M artin , vice principal in charge o f W ilson’s princess selection. “ Not less than two hours after all six court members had curtsied their way o ff the stage, Mrs. M artin an nounced to a handful o f P T A mem bers attending a meeting at Wilson that there would be a ru n o ff election. P T A members were in attendance because they are responsible fo r decorating the auditorium fo r the Rose Festival assemblies, so they needed to know that there would be another assembly to hold the runoff. “ As one might assume, the story was leaked. Some o f the members o f the court found out Monday night th a t a r u n o f f w o u ld take place. V e rific a tio n was p ro vid ed the following morning when Mrs. M a r tin called all six court members into her office to relate that there would be a ru n o ff between H olly Burton and Lori Smith. “ Faculty members, the student body and the court were stunned, perhaps because no one could even recollect the last time Wilson had a runoff, much less any other school conducting one. Students, angered over what they considered an in ten t to take the honor from a Black student, notified the press and the Rose Festival A sso ciatio n . T h e Rose F estival Association representative met with Mrs. M artin and explained the rules, so she decided to cancel the runoff. The student body was informed at an assembly the next day. “ W e have two Rose Festival candidates, neither one having the ‘most’ votes but each having the potential to be queen,” Mrs. M artin explained to the stu dents. The runoff, she said, was o ff “ in order not to foster distorted relatio n sh ip s, dishonest com munications, or misunderstandings among capable, qualified candidates »» A t a third assembly, six girls were displayed on stages — even those who already knew they had not won — and Lori was crowned. W h e th e r deceptio n , m is in te r pretation or insensitivity brought on this episode, it was c learly un necessary. School D is tric t P olicy 4304 (J2/75) states: "Student vote o f ■ the selection o f a princess to represent the school in Rose Festival activities shall be by vote o f the students o f the school, conducted in accordance w ith the usual voting procedures o f the school, provided that: 1) There shall be no ru n o ff HANK ARRON: Was the Home Run King slighted by Portland protocal? election; the girl receiving the larger votes on the first ballot shall be designated winner.” The policy also states that the vote count will not be made public and that the winner will be announced to the students and the public at an assembly. Attack on Adams The next attack on student rights came when Rose Festival Association executive director Clayton Hannon (Please turn to page 2 column 1) Portland State closes Educational Center P o rtla n d State U n iv e rs ity w ill close its Educational Center on June 30th. The center, which was opened in 1970 as a response to demands for more PSU involvement in the Black c o m m u n ity , was firs t located on Union Avenue and more recently at the King Neighborhood Facility. The center has been under threat o f closure for years, with form er directors Harold Williams and Phyllis Benton spending much o f their time fighting to retain the limited budget. Lucious Hicks, director fo r the past four years, described the events leading to closure. This spring, when the current three year lease with the King N eig hb o rh o od F a c ility was ready for renewal, PSU objected to the space cost. PSU had been pro tected from rent increases for three years, and considered the more than 20 per cent increase they faced as too great. Then PSU received a letter from A m o De B ern ard is, resigning president o f Portland C om m unity College, pointing out that a contract prevents PSU from providing lower division college courses in P C C terri to ry . In e ffe c t, P S U had been operating in violation o f the contract for nine years. Rather than protest, D r. Joseph B rum el, president o f PSU . acknowledged the stipulation o f the contract and agreed to with d raw . De Bernardis then offered PSU the option o f providing upper division classes (jun ior and senior years) in the Cascade campus. T his plan seemed acceptable because students a ttend in g P SU classes at Cascade w ould count to w ards P S U ’ s en ro llm e n t and would provide additional funds for the university the following year. T he 1979 L eg islatu re, how ever, decided not to count students attend ing off-campus classes. Therefore, PSU was forced not only with the cost o f providing the classes, but with loss o f funds due to drawing some students who otherwise would attend on-campus classes. That plan came to a standstill, at least until the regulations can be changed. H ic k s recom m ended th at the Educational Center serve a public relations and recruitment role — to enhance the university’s role in the community, to provide counseling, and to recruit. This idea was reject ed. (Please turn to page 3 col. 3) A Father's Day Salute by Kathryn H . Bogle A modern day single father. What were his feelings when the situation first presented? W hat were his moti vations? How did he approach his task? What is the form ula for being a successful single father? There must be many, many answers. Here is one m an’s outstanding, successful, ex perience. James Zellton W alker I I , better know n as Jim m y Bang-Bang W alker, is a man o f varied interests and careers. He has gathered and used these careers as he has needed them in his life. With them he has braided one strong uniting cord to encircle his young family. Unity and strength for his family were his aim and his goal. They remain the same today. James Zellton W alker II , now in his mid-forties, was born in Birming ham , A la b a m a . Born in a brick house as befitting the first born son o f an ambitious and loving father and mother. Father W alker and Un cle W a lk e r, the W alker Brothers, were acclaimed as the owners o f the first Black taxicabs in Birmingham. They enjoyed some o f the “ good life .” “ Father was a beautiful m a n ,” James recalls. “ He brought home lit tle gifts for us children almost every night. M other stayed in her home and looked after the fam ily. Some times she helped out a little with the fam ily income by making cookies and other little delicacies to sell from her kitchen.” The experience o f knowing how to cook and sell stood the mother in good stead when her husband became ill and died when James was five years old. Quickly, now the picture changed for young James. The home in Bir mingham was left behind for a home in Vallejo, C alifornia and M other W a lk e r and her sister opened a restaurant to take care o f their com bined families. The Vallejo situation eventually yielded to change when M o th e r W alker remarried and moved to Kla math Falls, Oregon. James was in high school by then. High school in Klamath Falls was no picnic for non-white children in those days and James soon learned to use his fists to defend himself. He often found allies among the K la math Falls Indians who also were (Please turn to page 7 column 1) Jimmy “ Bang Bang” Walker
