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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1979)
Page 6 Portlano orver Thursday, August 30. 1979 ■1 LAW OFFICE CHANGE Behind the Wall by Larry Baker »3502! O.S.P. Correspondent ta n fo rd , inm ate at i a writer whose talents admired by many in the ¿ n a tiv ’ i writing class at O.S.P. It is a privilege to present to you his latest work. The to$Q<0 court arrives. The staff ' escort es'cHrtt. you to the courtroom and seats before three solemn men who w ill now consider the case. The first the hearings officer asks is whether to ll understand your rights. (One o f th3f\‘ rights" o f an ac ORANGE MADNESS cused prisoner is the right to call w it nesses to testify before the "c o u rt” as long as the witnesses are not: I) “ inm ates” ; 2) “ s ta ff; 3) “ other prisoners.” You say yes, you under stand your rig hts as thousands before you have said yes, because you understand trying to reason with this type o f intellect is futile. “ How do you plead?” “ G u ilty .” (H u m o r them , you think to yourself. Every once in a while there is a faint light in their eyes and an almost human expres sion comes over their faces. Maybe th e y 'll come out o f it fo r a few moments.) "D o you have anything to say?” asks the Commandant. “ Well, I just don’ t know what came over me. I was sitting there looking at this orange. Suddenly I was gripped by passion, a wild desire came over me, an unexplained ob session held me in a vise-like grip! I . . . wanted .. to keep the orange for. later! Oh, as I think o f it, how could I have fallen so low?” The court listens intently with all the attention it can muster. (One o f the judges—at least one—is staring o ff into space at all times. Another one might be following the flight o f a fly as it buzzes around the two guards standing behind you.) Then you are led out of the room by the two guards while the court ponders the case. Several minutes later you are re admitted to that chamber and the ver- by Donald Danford »32323 In the segregation unit o f Oregon’s penitentiary there are rules for every conceivable moment, thought or ac tion. One o f the rules is that no one is allowed to keep an orange in his cell. From time to time someone gets a notion to keep an orange to eat later in the m orning. I f he makes it without getting caught, the world goes on as usual; if he doesn’ t make it, all the experience o f hundreds o f correctional conferences by the ex perts in the genre is brought to bear on the problem. The first thing that happens is that the orange is confiscated. No one knows if they hold it for evidence, eat it or put it in their lunch buckets. The orange disappears. The next step is to write a disciplinary report about JOSEPH GARRIS, JR. INMAT > “ Behind Joseph lia r ’ M o n th " dedicated woi - lation. Harris, ( culture club ( I " leadci ’ ; . many o f thi ; . have with and other ii i p i ' MONTH has chosen Inmate o f the lo r his Black popu- of the Black 'I ), has been a le in solving Black inmates lininistration the incident. They don’ t call such an offense something like "The Case o f the Unauthorized Orange” ; they call it disobedience o f a direct order. It can be a major or minor violation. It depends on the correctional expert. A report is made, typed in triplicate—one copy for the records, one copy for the prison court, one copy fo r the convict—and passed out. Next, a “ Notice o f Hearing” is typed out in triplicate, passed out and a hearing is scheduled. discrimination continue employ Effects c employment (Continued : 1 column 6) the target ol nation when he was passed . appointment as supervisor !■' later told that supervise shite workers would object He l.iu ed to the VA Hospital in V. .where he was assigned > I ■ ■ lab after a poll o f the win’s isJ been taken. Henson w:, d to retire from the lab becau matic arthritis in his knee I :■ ig surgery, he attended ti o f Portland, where he e: i high honors in 1956. He h ontinuc in a clinical j> s the edi ii program, but un for World War II ve which he was enrolled ss a ated. After sear ling work for some time, Hen I a position at the Umatilla Juanee Depot near I. . ¡ended Ord nance Man Training am: eventually Engineering mrses and was to GS-9. He states that he was told he would receive no further promotions be cause white workers resented him, so transferred to San Francisco. Con tin u in g to advance through his educational pursuits, he fin a lly reached a G S -II position. Because o f fa m ily illness, he sought another management position in the Portland area, and in 1961 transferred to BPA. Henson says that while employed at BPA he was assigned superficial, make-work jobs even though he had management training. He received “ e xc e lle n t" and "o u ts ta n d in g " work evaluations but was passed over for promotion in favor o f white men who often were less educated and experienced. In the six years he was employed there, he never pro gressed beyond the GS-11 he had when he arrived. After all informal attempts to rec tify the discrimination he felt had fa ile d , Henson file d a fo rm a l grievance against BPA with the De partment o f Interior. An investigator by an equal opportunity office found A erican State Bank I A I I / he Hank that integration b u ilt” 2737 N.F Union 282 2216 UNION OR COMPANY DENTAL INSURANCE is a valuable asset. .. your health and appearance COMPLETE COOPERATION ON A LL DENTAL INSURANCE C LA IM S WE HANDLE ALL THE DETAILS OF COMPLETING YOUR CLAIM FORMS no appointment needed Come in at your convenience PARK FREE — Any Park n Shop Lot HOURS: Weekdays 8 30a.m. to5p.m . Saturdays 8:30 a m. to 1 p.m. Dr. Jeffrey BRADY, Dentist S W 3RD b YAMHILL S T , PORTLAND. OREGON TAKf FI EVATOR TO 2ND FLOOR 3RD ST. ENTRANCE JASPER L. AMBERS David Craw ford »39830 Assistant Correspondent BPA had not discrim inated, but Henson states that many o f the facts in the report were incorrect. He states that prior to a formal hearing on the complaint, a Black man from the Undersecretary's office told him that his experience was common to Blacks but that harassment on the job would increase if he did not drop the complaint. On his advice, Hen son withdrew his complaint. The next year, 1968, deciding that he would never have opportunities fo r advancement, Henson took a d is a b ility retirem ent. His benefits were calculated at the GS-11 pay rather than at the GS-13 rating he felt he would have had had he not been Black. Henson blames his wife's suicide, in 1972, and the disintegration o f his family on frustration and bitterness over his treatm ent at B P A. His oldest son committed suicide in 1974. He then began to attempt to pur sue his 1967 complaint. The United States C ivil Service Commission re fused to reactivate the complaint, the Department o f Interior said it had no authority to investigate it; and an at tempt to file a new complaint was re jected by the Department o f Interior. Henson filed a suit in federal court asking that his pension be figured at the higher rate he would have earned had he not been the target o f discri mination. The suit was dismissed be cause it had not been filed within the statute .of lim ita tio n s , six years following his retirment. Henson explains that if he had not been denied employment o pportu nities th ro u g h o u t his career, he w ould not now be liv in g on a m inim al retirement benefit. A fter spending most o f his life in federal service, he has nowhere to turn for assistance. “ I have tried all the government agencies that are supposed to help— the C ivil Service Commission, the EEOC, and even hired an attorney and went to court, I cannot under stand why the government I have served so well has refused to listen to me and refuses to give me the pen sion I have earned.” Interested in current books about African Liberation? Visit: JOHN REED BOOK STORE In the Dekum Building 519 S.W 3rd Avenue Sixth Floor Or cell: 227 2902 Attorney at Law Announces The relocation of his office for the General Practice of Law (Civil ft Criminal) to diet is read. I f the sentence o f the c o u rt is more than seven days isolation, you have the right to ap peal through the Public Defender’s office to the Court o f Appeals. Since so much o f what the prison court does reaches the Court o f Appeals, they rarely give over seven days for an unauthorized orange. 716 N Alberta Portland, Oregon 97217 (503) 284-0804 BUILDING MATERIAL K DISCOUNTS U - P A K "PETE" M BLOW IN IN S U LA TIO N 40 lb bg $6 95 FREE USE of our blower, 3 ’/ , " R-11 Insul. 6 R 19 Insul Light Fixtures Pumper Pots Prehung doors 10 Gutter A rm strong GRAND OPENING OF U-PAK X (U im ® N ) Ä W HC DOORS . $2.50 UP 2 BLKS. SO. OF FRED MEYER-KILLINGSW ORTH, 2 8 4 -9 9 3 8 J BANK CARDS WELCOME - YOUR CHECK TOO! $29. Style b Rail $40 00 r----------------------------------- 13CSF 23CSF 40% off 7 95 15 95 Sinks 3.00 Lin. Rems. 1.95 yd 4 99 Roll Roof k 2 Other paneling $4 95 Up Stainless sinks $34 95 Ceramic Tile 4 in. 5C Jambs. Pref. 7 95 Blow In Insulation CEILING TILE Grenoble Pattern I SC DOORS 12x12 PANELING 4x8 $2.99 U PAK installs R-19 in your ceiling EXAMPLE: Sm 3 Bedroom HOUSE = Approx. 1200 sq ft 25C ea. 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OREGON 9721 1 284 7997 EXODUS SEPTEMBER GOLDEN-ATTITUDE Open Invitation, Free to the Public On Thursday, September 13, 1979, at 2pm Exodus Women's Forum 1518 NE K illingsw orth Portland, Oregon 97211 Will present Dr. Thomas Boothe, Founder of Golden Attitude in Process Counseling; Author and Publisher of: Business Success Clinics, Chemistry of Human Communications, Life's 12, Final Wisdom, General Attitudes Towards Life and Follow Through. Dr. Boothe's subject will be the GOLDEN ATTITUDE. He will demonstrate how you can achieve all the SUCCESS, HAPPINESS, HEALTH, and MONEY you want by simply using your choice of attitude. This is a community service.
