Portland Observer Thursday, August 2 .1 * 7 * Paga 8
Behind the Wall
by Larry Baker 93502!
O.S.P. Correspondent
Help a Kid
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Prison band, Soul Train, practicas for upcom ing perform ances
Putting it together w ith music
Who wrote the notes to ‘prison
blues’?
It’s not an easy task capturing the
same sounds with feeling and trans
ferring them onto the reed o f a
saxophone. Or to lay back and pluck
the strings of a guitar to the point
where your toe is keeping the beat.
If you happen to live on the 400-
inmate fifth tier, known as E-Block,
at O .S.P., it’s normal to listen to the
mixture of a driving ‘jazz’ guitarist
combining his notes with the ‘coun
try and western’ sounds of a slow
moving harmonica player.
The funny thing is that after a few
nights o f listening to the same
rhythmic beat of the same song over
and over again will not only irritate
the brain waves but freak out
whatever sanity you might have had
left. So you call out in an unnormal
voice: ‘‘Hey fool, give us a break.”
Or better yet, you find yourself
shouting, ‘‘Take that mess to the
yard.”
The beat goes on
At this time you start questioning
the motives of the judge who sentenced
you to O.S.P. He didn’t say anything
about your having to put up with ten
or twelve musicians trying to practice
separately on ten or twelve tunes all
at one time. You also start question
ing yourself, too.
"Wow! Was that last crime worth
all this?”
Once or twice a month the
prisoners at O.S.P. are exposed to
a jazz, blues, or rock-n-roll band,
and you find yourself in absolute
amazement by the quality of music
some of the inmates can actually put
together, especially when a Black
group called The Soul Train starts to
demonstrate its talents in jazz and
blues.
Larry Westbrook’s magic fingers
rippling across the keyboard of his
electric piano; Melvin Tillman’s soft
strokes on the strings of his bass
guitar; the elbows, palms and finger
tips of Thomas Hamilton while find
ing the right rhythmic beat on his
Congo
drums;
the
exciting
professional mastery of drumming
displayed by Frank Lewis; the sweet
mellow tones William Grandy
displays on tenor sax.
Now you’re really pulling your
hair out, that is if you’ve got any!
Because the question now becomes,
where in the hell has all this profes
sional talent been hiding? Surely not
in the same cells you’ve had to labor
in when you wanted to stick a few
pins into a voodoo doll representing
that chump practicing a musical in
strument when every one is all celled
up for the night.
The selection of blues and jazz
these individuals (The Soul Train)
has conquered must truly be ap
plauded after every performance,
because the group will make you
want to “ boogie” one minute and
cry the “ homesick blues” the next.
D on’t let the golden voices of
Phillip Carter and Isaac Boyd get
tangled up among Soul Train. Lord-
have-mercy, some mother’s child in
side this penitentiary is in trouble.
A man and his music has always
played an intimate part in the Black
inmate while in any prison, and
O.S.P. is no different. Many of the
prisoners take time while incar
cerated to really get down and know
their instrum ents. If you don’t
believe me call the Superintendent’s
office and make arrangements to
sit in on a session while the inmate
musicians are putting it altogether.
Prison Poets
Julius Snowden,
Editor
As I sit behind the walls.
O f this manmade hell,
Thoughts o f me dying here
In this five by six fo o t cell,
But I know ! wit! not die alone,
Tor God is watching from His throne.
If people could only understand
That life is more important than
Living in sin.
I had my chance to be a different man.
But lost it all when I killed another man.
! know ! did wrong, but I pray every night.
A n d !c ry in my bed, that I wish
/ could give my life, to bring back that other man.
(Anonymous/
LIVING
To touch the cup with eager lips and taste, not drain it;
To woo and tempt and court a bliss and not attain it;
To fondle and caress a jo y, yet hold it lightly.
Lest it become necessity and cling too tightly;
To watch the sun set in the west without regretting;
To hail its advent in the east the night forgetting;
To smother care in happiness and grief in laughter;
To hold the present d ose not questioning here after;
To have enough to share to know the jo y o f giving;
To thrill with all the sweets o f life is living.
The Governor’s Commission for
Women has recently completed a
second printing of its legal handbook
for women entitled "Women & the
Law: Laws of Special Interest to
Women in Oregon” and is again
distributing the handbook state
wide.
The handbook deals with legal
concerns in a question and answer
format and covers topics including
marriage and divorce, dom estic
violence and rape, property and
debts, wills, employment, education,
credit, insurance, health and the
Equal Rights Amendment.
The handbook is available through
the county extension service. Addi
tional information about the hand
book and its availability can be ob
tained from the office of the Gover
nor’s Commission for Women.
Interested in current books about
African Liberation?
Visit:
JOHN REED BOOK STORE
In the Dekum Building
r 19 S .W . 3rd Avenue
Sixth Floor
Or call: 227-2902
by Edwin Dorsey 940530
297-4836
ALWAYS
ASKS FOR THE
ORDER.
Theres nothing bashful about an
ad in the Yellow Pages. Maybe that s why
89% of the people who use the
Yellow Pages follow-up w ith a visit,
phone call, or letter.
IT NEVER STOPS SELLING.
E
X
' -ftc o A s /io m
Women and
the law
/ KNO W I DID WRONG
God forgive me fo r all o f my wrongs.
Lord, 1 have lived my life wrong.
God help me understand, that there is
More to life than just living it in sin.
If I could help a kid understand
the system better I would try to ex
plain how the bureaucracy works. A
persons jacket or file is born at the
kids birth and grows right along with
him. Every time he gets into trouble,
a note goes into his jacket. I remem
ber seeing my jacket at the juvenile
detention center. I cannot even
imagine what it looks like today.
That jacket, two inches or two feet
thick, will follow a person around all
his life.
You may hear people say that a
juvenile record won’t be used against
you when you become an adult. But
that’s not quite true. Although your
record can’t be used against you to
prove you’ve done something else,
any record will surface when senten
cing time comes.
The kid may think, “ Well, I’ll quit
when I turn eighteen.” Okay, let’s
even say you do quit unlawful ac
tivities. If ever again suspected of a
crime, falsely or not, the past will
convict you. The question isn’t how
they prove your guilt, but how do
you prove your innocence.
Once you have the jacket o f a
criminal everybody will be that much
more willing to put motives up
against you. They can always twist
the truth enough to frame you.
Juries are easy to pursuade. If you’re
the suspect and you have a record,
human nature takes over. Peoples
impressions are too suspicious, too
biased, they twist what they see and
hear to fit that bias. Many people are
convicted wrongly, because of such
unintentional bias. So intentionally
or unintentionally, people force you
to prove your innocence or convict
you (i.e ., guilty until proven in
nocent).
This human characteristic toward
bias comes
from—not only
strangers, or officers of the law, or
juries—but even from your own
family. Once you’ve been in trouble,
everybody has you pegged. When
you do something that can be inter
preted as suspicious, it will be so in
terpreted. Let’s say you’ve been
straight for five years, even now,
when you go out on a Friday night,
the family thinks you’re out “ raising
hell” with the boys. It’s only human
nature. You may not realize it, but
what other people think can become
very important, especially if you’ve
ever been accused of something.
Don’t think I'm complaining or
trying to change people. I’m just
passing on knowledge. Human bias
is there and you will always depend
on what it can do.
What people think o f you will
always depend on what they’ve seen
you do in the past. It’s only smart to
a point. So when you say you’re going
to quit your theiving at eighteen
remember that you won’t be able to
prove that to me when the time
comes.
1750 S .W . Skyline Blvd., Suite 220
O
D
U
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/ e /u c a /ie e e a /a m / ^ t e a / m e n / ^ r n / e e
1518 NE KILLINGSWORTH
PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1
284 7997
E XO D U S
JULY 1979
ON SOCIETY:
I live in the crowds of jollity, not so much to enjoy the company as to shun
myself.
Samuel Johnson
ON SUSPICION:
Always suspect that which seems probable, and begin by believing what ap
pears incredible.
Emile Guboriau
ON SUSPICION:
All persons, as they grow less prosperous, grow more suspicious.
ON SUSPICION:
All persons, as they grow less prosperous, grow more suspicious.
Terence
ON SUCCESS:
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson