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United Black Front poll
Black community supports school boycott
The Black United Front announced
overwhelming support for its boycott
of the Portland Public Schools, based
on a poll of parents attending the
first in a series of community meet
ings held to discuss the philosophy
and logistics of (he boycott.
“ Due to the negative impact Port
land Public Schools Desegregation
Plan has had on their children, 97%
o f the Black parents are willing to
boycott Portland schools this fall,
according to a parents survey con
ducted by the Black United Front
and reported on last Thursday at its
community forum,*' Ronnie Herndon,
chairman of BUF told a press con
ference Wednesday.
In addition, 98.5% of those who
responded to the poll expressed over
all dissatisfaction with the District's
desegregation program.
"These figures are significant in
that they reflect a view that is very
different from that which Portland
Public Schools has been projecting.
These figures represent overwhelm
ing Black disenchantment with the
policies and practices of the District.
They also indicate that Black parents
have reached the limits o f tolerance
with respect to the control that the
District exerts over their lives— espe
cially since that control is not in the
best interest of those who have will
fully abrogated some of their authority
in good faith.
"T he fact that 85% o f (he parents
with children in the District’s pro
gram feel that their children are being
discriminated against significantly
reflects that the good faith shown by
Black parents has been betrayed.
“ The use o f the word 'betrayed' is
very appropriate because 24% o f the
parents surveyed actually requested
that their children become a part of
the District’s administrative transfer
program. Another 29% agreed to do
so after being convinced by the Dis
trict that it would be in the best in
terest of their children and, in the
long run, society.’’
The survey demonstrates that 89.8%
feel their children’s achievement has
not improved or has gotten worse
and 82.3% believe the quality o f
their children’s education has not im
proved or has gotten worse.
The negative effects o f scattering
Black children to numerous schools
is apparent by the fact that 93.7% of
the parents feel their children’s cul
tural identity has not improved or
has suffered.
"F o r all Dr. Blanchard’s protesta
tions to the contrary, we believe that
it is very clear that Black parents are
dissatisfied with a program that has
created more problems for Black
children than it has solutions,” Hern
don said.
"T h e ultimate indignity is that the
Federal Government has done nothing,
and apparently will do nothing, al
PORTLAND OBSERVER
though it acknowledges that the
District’s program is discriminatory.
" I t is now up to Black parents to
find solutions fo r th em selves...
become more involved and take a
more active role in the education of
our children.
" D r . Blanchard attempts to have
the community believe that a boycott
o f Portland Public Schools would be
damaging to our children. His brand
of education and social policies are
evils which Black children need to
be protected against."
(Please turn to page 8 col. 2)
Volume 9 No. 28
Thursday, July 19,197810C
USPS 969 680
Black United Front Boycott Demands
No retribution against any individual participating in this expression.
Acknowledgement of inequities and discrimination which lead to poor quality
education for Black students.
Willingness to create comprehensive plans in relationship to these objectives
and to discuss the plans with the community.
QUALITY EDUCATION
1. Strengthen general academic programs at both Jefferson and Adams, and
insure that neither school is closed.
2. Establish the per cent o f minority students 20% as the per cent goal for
minority hiring for teachers and all other staff in the district.
A. Establish specific timeframe to accomplish this with yearly milestones.
B. Establish goal for administrative staff at 20% minority.
3. Establish a mandatory teacher training program in multi-ethnic education,
Black history and culture, etc., for all teachers and staff employed in integrated
school settings.
4. Establish a plan for teacher placement that addresses current inequities
and discrimination against minority teachers.
5. Establish annual achievement improvement goals for each school involved
in the desegregation program, and demonstrate to the public progressive im
provement in achievement scores.
6. Include better, more representative teaching of minority cultures, parti
cularly Black culture, in the curriculum.
EQUITABLE BUSING ARRANGEMENTS
1. Reduce scattering and isolation of Black students.
2. Minimum minority enrollment of 40% in schools engaged in transfers for
desegregation.
3. Two-way transfer system must be used to achieve the minimum minority
enrollment in desegregated schools.
4. Early Childhood Education program should be maintained provided every
Black child in neighborhood wanting to attend can, and all white children
transferring in remain in the ECE's feeder patterns.
DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
1. Establish a plan to correct inequities in disciplinary procedures for Black
students.
2. Implement immediately the Coalition's recommendations on discipline
categories.
3. Implement uniform and consistent rules/regulations for conduct on
buses. No student should be put o ff the bus until their destination is reached.
4. Establish goals to reduce the disproportionate per cent o f Black students
suspended and expelled and demonstrate progressive improvement in this area
by reporting quarterly to the public.
E8TABLI8H MIDDLE 8CHOOLS-BLACK COMMUNITY
Establish a minimum o f two middle schools from among the schools in the
Black community.
Some thoughts on the problem
by W.H. McClendon*
When temperatures reach 100 degrees, everyone goes to the
park. Eric Owens tries out a caterpillar at the Peninsula Park
playground.
US Bank cuts South Africa tie
The U.S. National Bank has an
nounced that it will divest itself of its
financial interest in South Africa.
Bank officials have determined to
sell their holdings in the Private Ex
port Funding C orporation (P E F
CO), which is the nineth largest len
der to South Africa.
The decision to sell was prompted
by lobbying and demonstrations by
the People for South A frican
Freedom. The organization picketed
U .S . N ational banks and asked
customers to close their savings and
checking accounts.
The bank lost an estimated
$300,000 in deposits because o f the
campaign.
In a letter to People for Southern
A frica n Freedom, bank president
Robert M itchell said, “ U.S. Bank
does ot intend to make any loans to
or in South Africa so long as con
ditions in that country remain un
changed.” The bank has informed
PEFCO o f the decision and asked
assistance in selling the stock.
PARTI
Representatives of the Black United
Front in their press conference
July 18th presented in more specific
detail the concerns o f the truly
responsible Black population over
the sinister and blatant racist deter
m inations made relative to the
Analysis
busing programs arranged for Black
students in the P ortlan d School
District. At the center o f this Black
expression is the commitment to per
sist unwaveringly to end the social
abuse, maltreatment and intellectual
crippling of Black children who at
tend the Portland Public Schools. A
boycott o f Portland Public Schools
Black woman charges brutality
Mrs. Mary Young and her sister
were driving down Fremont last
Wednesday afternoon on their way
to the hospital to visit their brother—
“ As we crossed Williams Avenue the
light was green, then it turned yellow
and red as we went through the inter
section."
Mrs. Young saw a police car ap
proaching from Vancouver, pass by
and make a u-turn behind her. When
the police came up behind to pull her
over, she drove down Vancouver,
looking for a place to stop. She knew
better than to stop in the first block
where there is no parking. Her son,
James, and his girlfriend were stop
ped on Vancouver Avenue— by the
same o fficer who stopped M rs.
Young—and the girl was so startled
by the siren that she pulled over into
a no parking area. She never was
given a driving ticket but the car was
ticketed for parkin« ar.d towed
away, and the girl taken to jail
So Mrs. Young stopped on the left
side of Vancouver, near Cook. Two
policemen jumped out o f the
car—one going to each side of her
car. She asked officer Scott Ander
son, "W hat do you want?” She said
Anderson asked for her driver's
license so she handed it to him He
then asked for her address and she
said it was on the license “ He said I
had to tell him my address so he
could mail the ticket and told me
anything 1 said could be held against
me.”
A fter a few more minutes had
passed, Mrs. Young said she decided
that she had done nothing wrong,
and they had not given her a ticket,
so she would leave. She told Ander
son she was going to leave and start
ed the car.
" O ffic e r
Anderson
reached
through the window and grabbed my
wrists and twisted them against the
door until he could get the door
unlocked. Then he pulled me out of
the car and twisted my left arm up
behind my back in a hammer lock."
He reached in the car and took the
keys, but left the motor running, she
said.
" H e stood there talking to me
telling me he was going to take me to
jail for resisting arrest. I told him to
take me.”
Mrs. Young said when Anderson
pulled her out o f the car. Officer
(ireg Clark came around the car and
Anderson handed him the keys, which
he put in his pocket.
" W h ile Anderson kept talking
about taking me to jail. Clark snatch
ed my purse from the car and took it
behind the car and went all through
it. When he got through he threw it
in the back seat and everything fell
out. Even my coin purse fell out and
because he had opened it, the money
i
fell all over the floor.”
Clark also threw the keyring into
the back seat, Mrs. Young said, and
all of the keys fell off. Clark had
dropped some of her credit cards auu
papers on the ground and told her to
pick it up. “ He patted his gun and
told me to pick up my mess. I said I
didn’t put it there and I wouldn’t
pick it up. I told him to go ahead and
shoot.' ’
Clark did pick up the credit cards
and Anderson put a ticket in Mrs.
Youngs’ car. They got in their car
and drove away, leaving Mrs. Young
standing in the street scared and
crying.
Mrs. Young, who is 60, has lived
in Portland for 40 years. She is em
ployed, and is an active member of
Macedonia Baptist Church. Her de
ceased husband was employed by
Oregon Steel Mills for 30 years.
“ I ’ve had two tickets in 40 years,”
M rs. Young said. " I d id n ’ t go
through a red light, but even if I had
there was no reason for two police
men to treat me like that.”
M rs. Young's shoulder is still
swollen and painful. She has to seek
medical care and also has talked to
her attorney about filing suit.
Officer Clark said in his opinion
the incident was a routine traffic stop,
but he is not permitted to discuss it
because o f the possibility o f a suit or
investigation.
is planned.
Since 1949 (30 years) there has
been a running record o f uncon
scionable and capricious disregard
for the academic needs o f the Black
child in this school district. Many of
the school district people who give
support to and collaborate in these
practices have been around a sub
stantial portion o f those years. Often
there have been added extraneous
bits and brands o f racism to com
pound the problems which beset
Black students. At issue this time is
the matter that the school superin
tendent and the D epartm ent o f
Health, Education & Welfare have in
usual racist fashion agreed that the
victims (Blacks) are and must remain
responsible for their victimization.
This of course perpetuates the hu
miliations and embarrassments the
Black parents endure as they try
desperately to acquire equitable
education and treatment for their
children. The point has now been
reached th at Black people are
demanding that policy changes and
practices in the physical dispersals of
Black children be brought into com
pliance with principles o f fairness
and justice. On this point the Black
United Front is determined not to
compromise.
A distinguished U.S. Superior
Court Justice stated many years
ago in a momentous legal opinion
that "L ocal customs, however
hardened by tim e, are not
decreed in Heaven.”
Blanchard is perceived by some
Blacks (those responsible to other
Blacks) as a plantation overseer held
over in the image o f white authority
as it functioned in an era o f unparal-
leled national disgrace. Many facets
of his Education For The Seventies
proposals in their operation have
been appalling abominations aca
demically and horrendous traumas
for Black children. This stands out
now in bold perspective for all to
see. H ow ever, this does have a
negative value for the entire Black
population o f this nation. The Port
land School situation is a proven
example of what can happen when
Blacks put faith in the tricky, fickle,
mythical good-will o f white racist
educators. The loss o f confidence in
educational policy makers by Black
people that has resulted from the
district’ s defenses o f special privi
leges, advantages and accommoda
tions for white students over Black
students is one o f the most important
political developments to take place
in this decade.
(Please turn to page 8 col. I)
Ratepayers win suit, reject deal
The Ratepayers Union and the
Southwestern Oregon Com m unity
Action Committee, who successfully
sued the Oregon Public U tility
Commissioner to halt a utility rate
h ik e jh a v e turned down a com
promise o ffered by P U C C o m
missioner John Lobdell.
Lobdell had granted a seven per
cent rate increase to Pacific Power
and Light without holding public
hearings. This increase, effective
June 5th, was granted by Lobdell as
an alternative to full public hearings
leading to a projected 11.5 per cent
increase in Novem ber. Lobdell
argued that the smaller, but earlier,
increase would save the rate payers
the cost o f hearings while giving
PP&L ther rate increase he believed
it needed.
The Ratepayers Union, arguing
that L o b d e ll’ s decision was a
violation o f the people’s right to due
process and that it set a dangerous
precedent, filed a suit in M arion
County Circuit Court asking that the
seven per cent rate increase be set
aside. Last week Judge C larke
Brown ordered Lobdell to withdraw
the rate increase and begin pubic
hearings.
Lobdell then o ffered a com
promise. He would continue the in
crease while the hearings were held.
Then, if necessary, he would refund
the overage. A ccording to Bob
Baugh, a spokesman fo r the
Ratepayers Union, this was the same
1
compromise offered by PP& L a
week before the suit went to court.
"A fte r considering all the options,
we decided not to accept the com
p ro m ise,”
Baugh said. " T h e
decision was a matter o f principle,
that the public hearing is an impor
tant process.”
Also, the Ratepayers Union and
SOCAC belive they can prove that
even a seven per cent rate increase is
not justified. " W e believe a thor
ough investigation o f the corporate
management will show that the rates
are too high now ." Baugh pointed
out that PP& L is one o f the nation’s
most profitable corporations and
that it is spending money on various
corporate acquisitions. He expects
the intervenors in the hearings to ex
plore not only the rate structure, but
corporate management, purchases
from subsidiaries, investments, cost
effectiveness of nuclear power and
other issues.
PP&L had originally requested a
15 per cent rate increase, and the
P U C staff recommended 11.5 per
cent.
The
Ratepayers U n io n , an
organizatin o f residential energy
users, advocates public ownership of
utilities, utility rate structure reform,
conservation and development of
renewable resources and elimination
of nulcear power.
School Board selects new
The process for selection of an in
dividual for appointment to the Por
tland School Board to complete the
remaining two years o f the unexpired
term o f the late Phyllis Wiener, con
tinues this week. A total o f 29 per
sons, including six Blacks and twenty
women, applied for the position.
Candidate interviews were held July
17th and 18th.
Interviews were conducted by a
screening committee consisting of
Jonathan Newman, Joe Rieke and
Bill Scott.
The screening com m ittee w ill
select at least three candidates to
present to the School Board for con
sideration. A special board meeting
will be held at noon on August 6th to
announce the finalists. A t that
meeting additional persons can be
added by a vote of three board mem
bers.
The board w ill meet again on
August 9th, at 7:30, to interview the
finalists.
Selection o f the new board mem
ber will be made at that meeting,
with a vote of at least four current
board members.
All of the meetings will be held in
the Board Auditorium an the new
Education Service Center, 501 North
Dixon Street. All meetings are open
in accordance with the Oregon Open
Meeting Law.
(Please see page 3)