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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1979)
Portland Observar Thursday. August 2 . 1979 Paga 3 Blacks view careers in optometry Less than one per cent o f U.S. op tometrists are Black, a recent govern ment study reveals. Nor is the situation expected to improve much in the near future, with Blacks representing less than two per cent o f today’s students of optometry, according to a survey of optometric students by the American Optometric Association’s Council on Optometric Education. The results o f the government study, conducted by the U.S. Department o f Health, Education and Welfare’ s Bureau o f Health Re sources Development, came as some what o f a shock to the American Op tom etric Association, which has devoted much effort in recent years to recruitin g Blacks and other minorities into the profession. One reason more young Blacks do not enter the profession o f op tometry may be that they do not know about the many career choices and opportunities in this segment o f the health care field. Doctors o f optometry are health care professionals who specialize in the examination, diagnosis and treat ment o f conditions or impairments o f the vision system. They compro mise one o f the nation’ s primary health care professions. It is a THE NEW MOVEMENT —Some 4.000 demonstra tors joined SCLC in protesting the shooting death of 20-year-old Bonita Carter by a Birmingham policeman last week. SCLC president Dr. Joseph E. relatively young, growing profes sion in need o f science minded men and women, o f all racial and ethnic backgrounds, who are seeking socially satisfying and financially re warding careers. Too often, young Blacks think of the optometrist as a person who sells eyeglasses because this is the image often projected in urban and inner city area. First impressions are d iffi cult to change and many young Blacks on their way up probably never consider optometry as a career choice. Those who do will find that opto metry offers careers in research, teaching and administrative work, as well as in the delivery o f vision care. Optometrists who choose optometric practice—as most o f them do— have a further choice o f entering general practice or o f specializing in other areas as pediatric vision, low vision, contact lenses, and others. In ad dition, there are optometric careers in the military and the U.S Public Health Service. Whatever career they choose within the profession, doctors o f op tometry are dedicated to helping people preserve and protect their vision from cradie to grave. At the same time, they gain a professional status in their community and earn a good liv in g . A ccording to an American Optometric Association survey, the middle 50 per cent o f op tometrists can be expected to earn between $12,000 and $24,000 in their first full year o f practice. The middle 50 per cent o f all doctors o f op tometry earn between $30,000 and $55,000 a year. O ptom etrists develop special vision aids for the partially sighted; work with psychologists, educators and other professionals to help children with learning disabilities; re search the development o f new op tical aids (contact lenses came out o f such research); serve as consultants to industry; aid in the reduction o f automobile accidents through study o f how vision relates to driving, highw ay design and autom obile design; and make other con tributions to the visual welfare o f others. A minimum o f six or seven years o f college-level education,,four o f which must be in a professional college, are required for the doctor o f optometry degree. Pre-optometry education is available at any ac credited university, college or junior college that offers a pre-professional laboratory science curriculum. Lowery said the large turnout signifies a mood on the part of Black people to sustain a new movement against violence and injustice (SCLC photo: Elaine Tomlin) SCLC threatens to boycott businesses “ The decision is yours B ir mingham. You can choose Vann, Sands, or the Kian. But, if you do you’ ve got hell on your hands,” preached the SCLC leader. Lowery brought the crowd to a frenzy by waving through the air a key to the city, which was given to him last summer by Mayor Vann when B irm ingham hosted the SCLC’ s national convention. Speak ing over shouts o f "throw it away,” Lowery said he wanted the key to open up the doors o f justice, economic process, love and recon ciliation. He further stated that the souls o f the people o f Birmingham were lost as long as they allowed police to kill innocent Black people and then reward them by taking them o ff the streets and putting them behind a desk, which is what Mayor Vann did after ruling that Sands shot Miss C arter as a result o f his police training. The mayor refused to fire Sands despite the ruling o f a citizen review committee that the June 22nd k illin g o f Miss C arter was not justified. Since then the Kingston neigh borhood, where miss Carter lived and died, has been the scene o f racial turm oil, punctuated by gunfire from night-riding Ku Klux Klansmen. The night before the march two white men were arrested for shooting into the homes o f Black Kingston resi dents. The shooting caught Vann in an election year. Blacks are critical to his political future because he only got 20 per cent o f the white vote in the 1975 election. But the Fraternal O r B IR M IN G H A M , A L A — Ignoring a steady rain some 4,000 Blacks joined the Southern Christian Lead ership Conference in a march through downtown last Friday to protest Mayor David Vann’ s refusal to fire a white policeman who killed an unarmed Black woman by shoot ing her three times in the back. The protestors threaten to stage an economic boycott o f local businesses unless the mayor fires officer George M. Sands and makes the policeman stand trial for the murder o f 20-year old Bonita Carter. “ We’ ll stop the cash registers from ringing and pretty soon you’ll hear the Chamber o f Commerce singing the Kian and Sands have got to go,” said SCLC President Dr. Joseph E. Lowery. Lowery agreed with other Black leaders, including Representative Thomas Reed, State President N A A C P ; Reverend C .T . V ivian, SCLC Executive Director; Reverend John Nettles, State SCLC President; and Reverend R.B. Cottonreader, Field Secretary, that the shooting hurt Alabama’s proclaimed pioneer role in establishing g oodw ill be tween the Black and white races in the “ New South.” He said, “ Ala bama is in the forefront” o f an in crease o f violence towards Blacks and the resurgence o f the Ku KIux Kian throughout the South. But, he said the people o f Birm ingham should make a choice as to which image they would prefer to have, add ing Blacks would non-violently fight a return to the racist ways o f days gone by. der o f Police, which represents the whites that compose 90 per cent o f the force, threaten to strike if Sands is fired. It is Vann’ s fear o f the FOP, which many SCLC officials feel is another name o f the Kian, that may cause him to lose his re-election. Reverend Abraham Woods, Presi dent, o f the local SCLC Chapter, said “ that Black people o f Birming ham are disappointed in M ayor Vann’ s decision. He has turned his back on the Black and poor.” Dr. Lowery said the huge turnout for the demonstration should prove to Vann, Sands and the Kian that Black people are tire d o f the disregard for the lives o f minorities and the poor. “ The m arch," Lowery said, “ sent a message to Birmingham and the nation that Black people will not tolerate the k illin g o f th eir women, their children, nor their men nor their sons. We must have an end to this reign o f terror against Black people by the Kian, and by the police department.” The SCLC president believes that the Birmingham protest, which was the largest in the city since the 1963 dem onstration led by Dr. M artin Luther King, Jr., and the interna tionally observed Decatur, Alabama march signify the beginning o f a new movement. “ Black people are tired o f the hostility, tired o f the terror, tired o f the murder o f Black people. We don’t intend to tolerate it, but we intend to engage in a non-violent movement against it. There is a mood to have a sustained movement against this kind o f violence,” Lowery said. The Morns Marks House 1501 5W Horrison Street Portlond 97201 Telephone 227-2688 I DESCONNALL Professional Corporation LEGAL CLINIC CONCENTRATING IN THE FIELDS OF: CRIMINAL LAW INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICANTS DOMESTIC RELATIONS WORKERS' COMPENSATION BANKRUPTCY PERSONAL INJURY WILLS - PROBATE AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS CONSUMER PROTECTION World War II vets lose farm, home funds World War II veterans currently eligible fo r the Oregon Veterans’ Farm and Home Loan Program will lose all eligibility to receive funds under the program on January 31, 1980. according to a recent opinion issued by A tto rn e y General Jim Redden. The opinion was issued in response to questions posed by Elmo M ills, Director o f Veterans’ Affairs. The firs t question asked was whether a W orld War II veteran could receive an additional loan, such as an improvement loan, after the January 31, 1980, cutoff date. C itin g specific language in the Oregon Constitution, the Attorney General ruled the answer was a definite “ No.” The second question asked whether a W o rld War II veteran could receive a loan after January 31, 1980 if the veteran had applied for that loan prior to the deadline. The Attorney General ruled a loan could be granted “ if eligibility for the particular loan has been estab lished and a commitment to loan has been made no later than January 31, 1980.” According to M ills, this indicates a World War II veteran should apply for the loan at least a few days in ad vance o f the deadline so the Depart ment o f Veterans’ A ffa irs can process the loan to the p oint o f commitment The entire issue, o f course, would IT 5 IENOWS SHOP I 41 LC l FOR B R A N D S you kn o w V A R I f T I I S y o u lit io S H IS you w o n l • te 4 |J ' I «su* o • $$!>» • l e t 1 • < . '« * * » • • 1 l ) n d • *« I O ' • N • !<»► * » » NA-arr,æ n a ) J - d » M I »Corwveb • J tfte | S I O «yl0««n lerntenTt(k-»«ler • IVetâ **••• •*»'**•• Ho • • a. I o • • **•'•» » I «i i o «a* $ I • r i r t * (1’ « » a • , o * « O « — • tR*1 • H n g f .» y • A • • be somewhat solved i f voters ap prove a measure set for the May, 1980, primary ballot. The measure w ould extend W o rld W ar II eligibility for another five years, to January 31, 1985, and make other changes in the loan program eligi bility standards. A vote is required because eligibility for the program is outlined in the Oregon Constitution. Mills cautioned, however, that if the measure is defeated at the polls, the January 31, 1980, deadline will be final. He said if a World War II veteran wants to be absolutely cer tain o f using his veterans’ loan rights, he should apply before January 31, 1980. The measure on the ballot will also make other significant changes in the e lig ib ility standards, including changing requirements, requiring at least 210 days active duty in the arm ed forces, and revising e lig ib ility deadlines for Korean and Vietnam Era veterans. Veterans' loan offices located throughout the State can provide ad ditional information on the proposed changes, M ills said. "Let there be spaces in your togetherness." Kahlil Gibran " I t it d if f ic u lt n o t to be unjust to what one loves." Oscar Wilde "Ridicule is the test of truth." William Hazlitt If you have a problem that is not covered in this list, please call and ask whether we can help Chances are, we can. If not, we can recommend someone else for you to call. One way or the other, we want to see you get the kind of professional legal counsel you're entitled to. The best time to call us, or any attorney, is before you are embroiled in a legal problem This is called preventative law and it makes a lot of sense. Regardless, when you call us we will arrange for an initial consultation at your convenience. Cost: $20. We probably can't solve anything in this meeting, but it is a chance for you to explain your particular problem and for us to give you some idea of what it'll take to reach a solution If you want us to proceed, we'll give you an estimate of the fees you should plan on. In writing.
