Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1979)
Page 2 Portland Obaerver December 13. 1979 EDITORIAL/OPINION Military spending eliminates jobs For many years Americans have been brain washed to believe that the huge defense budget was necessary to support the nation's economy. We were told tht a cut back on military spending w o uld bring unem ploym ent and econom ic disaster. The Machinists Union, which would be affec te#! as much as anyone by a drastic cut back on rrfilltary contracts, has found that the opposite is true. Far from aiding prosperity, excessive arms production weakens civilian industry and is a major cause of inflation and unemployment. Inflation: The $2 trillion expenditure on war over the last generation has sapped the strength of the economic system and crippled industry's ability to restrain price hikes. Productivity growth has been slowed and chronic in fla tio n has resulted. The "Brain-Drain” : Forty percent or more of all scientists and engineers work on m ilitary related projects, drawing them away from civilian research and production. Unemployment: The diversion of capital and technology has eroded the American industrial competitiveness and weakened our international trade position. Countries not burdened by huge m ilita ry spending are able to penetrate US markets, thus eliminating American jobs. Fewer jobs per dollar: Defense spending is one of the least labor intensive fields. M achinist Union studies show that as military spending in creases, machinists lose jobs. Military spending increased 500 per cent between 1975 and 1978, but 12,000 machinist jobs were eliminated. Over five million Americans have jobs directly related to m ilitary spending and some com munities are completely dependent on the war industry. Because of this dependence, individual Senators and Congressmen seek more and more funds to continue and to increase war produc tion. Fortunately Oregon is not in this dilemna. Any move to lower military spending will have to address the plight of these communities and help them convert to alternative uses of m ilita ry facilities and to production of civilian products. Senators McGovern, Mathias and others have introduced the Defense Economic Adjustment A ct which w ill address these needs. If su c cessful, this bill will eliminate dependence on ex cessive military spending and will enable the re allocation of some of the billion-dollar defense budget to much needed programs in health care, housing, education, employment and training, energy, mass tra n sportatio n, environm ental protection, etc., etc., etc, which are now denied because of "no available funds” . The process of desegregation ■ By H erb Caw I borne The Board, last August, promised to develop a comprehensive plan on desegregation. The p la n w ill, u ltim a te ly , include ways to better represent Black history and culture in the classroom; it w ill also include s p e cific d ire c tio n s fo r the im pro ve m e nt and achievem ent in several schools. The Board w ill also m ake c e rta in th a t the d is tric t progresses in its e ffo rts to produce m in o rity h irin g gains. The plans before you now focus p rim a rily on id e n tific a tio n o f fa c ilitie s and the re o rg a n iz a tio n re q u ire d to meet e a rlie r co tn itm e n ts fo r m id d le schools. The follow ing discusses the process, the details, and the flaws in these plans. A lte rn a tiv e s are also discussed. Please-read these plans as P R E L IM IN A R Y . THE PROCESS W orking under a very restrictive tim efram e, the desegregation/inter- gration comm ittee’ s work cannot be taken as a n y th in g near a fin a l product. The document here is not even representative o f a committee consensus—we sim ply “ agreed” to present these p o s s ib ilitie s to the co m m u n ity fo r discussion. I have kept myself open fo r the possibility that o u r present th o u g h t w ill not work or w ill not be acceptable. The advantage o f presenting material to the com m unity is that more citizens w ill have the chance to respond, thus influencing the second draft in a sub stantial way. THE DETAILS As you study the possibilities, I hope you w ill keep in mind these ob servations. 1. The word “ voluntary” is used in regard to parents selecting to trans fer their children to schools which the district seeks to integrate. a. No student. Black or white, would have to transfer fo r reasons o f poor program, irregular grade levels, or no space in the local school-1 w ill not support a program w ith these features. b. The success o f the volun tary plan is rooted in parents making choices that place their children in in tegrated settings. c. No one on the Board expec ts- o r would tolerate- a situation in which the transfer volunteers were all B lack o r a ll w h ite . B efore th is process goes m uch fu rth e r, the Board is obliged to demonstrate that this can be done. 2. In a v o lu n ta ry system, the Board w ill be required to provide ex tra o rd in a ry leadership in the com m u n ity and firm d ire c tio n to the sta ff to bring about the desired num ber o f students in the program. 3. Reorganization is proposed to meet the follow ing objectives: a. To create at least one m id dle school in the A lbina community. b. To correct deficiencies in school planning that left numerous B lack c h ild re n w ith no standard school assignments; c. To enhance possibilities for choices to encourage v o lu n ta ry transfers among Blacks and whites. THE FLAWS The space p ro b le m is ce n tra l: There cannot be choice i f there is no room in the A lb in a schools. I f we have to restrict the e nrollm ent o f whites transfering in to the A lb in a schools in order to make space for resident stu d e n ts, then we are w o rk in g against the cause o f in te g ra tio n and, in e ffe c t, resegregating. On the other hand, if we have to recruit Blacks out o f their resident schools-sim ply to lower the “ m a g ica l” percentages--and make room for white students, this would be an extension o f the inadequacies o f the past p ro g ra m . I could not support this. I f the Black parent selects to trans fer a child, the space must still be available to the local school in case the parent changes her mind at any tim e in the fu tu re . T h is exist fo r w h ite parents w ho tra n s fe r th e ir c h ild re n . W hen the w h ite parent leaves the n e ig h b o rh o o d school sh o u ld the c h ild re tu rn . W hen a B lack c h ild tra n sfe rs, the d is tric t tries to fill that space with a white c h ild fro m o u tsid e the area to achieve a better balance ra c ia lly . Later, il the Black child should want to come home, there may not be any room. In a voluntary program, every parent who wants a child to go to school in the neighborhood must be able to exercise that choice at any time. Since I am not certain this can WHAT'S MY COLOR? by N. Funga! Kumbuta Please don I cry in my soup Letters to the Editor Dear Editor: The Salvation Arm y Moore Street Com m unity Centet is located in the Albina Community as a public ser vice to those who live nearby. We appreciate the support and attendance the children have given to our various program and we w ill continue to provide meaningful activities. We feel th a t at th is tune it is necessary to rem ind all parents o f our program hours. The center o f fers a lu ll schedule o f supervised ac tivities fo r children ages 6-12 from .1 p m. to 5:45 p .in ., Monday through Friday. We are not equipped to open before 3 p.m ., so please do not have your children dropped o f f earlier. O ur program ends prom ptly at 5:45 p in. A ll children under the age o f 12 must be out o f the center by 6 p.m. unless previous arrangements have been made with center personnel. We do not have adequate s ta ff to safely supervise these children after 6 p.m. Thank-you to r your cooperation in this matter. Joyce Gonzalez Program Director PORTLAND OBSERVER 1st Place Community Service ONPA 1973 The Porr/anrf Oftserver (USPS 959 6801 published every Thu, day by E»^e Pubt.i6.ng Company inc 2201 North Killmoawort Porband. Oregon 92217. Post Ofhce B o, 3137 Portland Ornp, 9 7 2 0 8 Second class postage paid at Portland. Oregon 1st Place Best Ad Results ONPA 1973 Subscriptions »7 50 per year ,n Tri County area $8 00 per ve ,°" t" de ,T n 5 iS .ntV a' ea P o’ ,m ” ' « r Send address changes the Portland Observer P O B o, 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208 5th Place Best Editorial ONPA 1973 The Portland Observer s oft,cal position „ a,pressed only ,n i Editorial column Any other material throughout the paper is It opinion of the individual writer or submitter and does not necei sarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award NNA 1973 283 2486 N a tio n a l A d v e rtis in g R e p re s e n ta tiv e A m a lg a m a te d P u b lishers Inc. N e w Y ork ALFRED L. HENDERSON Editor/Publisher 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1975 MfMêER N e J I p J I p EP AMOCfiiffOn Fovntfed H 1 fa Mw ■ • Oregon Publishers » A s s o c ia tio n B 3rd Place ■ Community Leadership V ONPA 1978 “ Last year, 150 Coloureds were re classified as white; 10 whites became Coloured; six Indians became Malay; two Coloureds became Chinese; one Indian became white; one white be came Malay; four Blacks became In dian; three whites became Chinese.” Wail a minute. W hat’s going on here? It you are confused, do not panic: you are not the only one. Relax. The world has not quite gone crazy. The above quotation is a report on some o f the rulings handed down by the South A f rican Population Registration Board. South A frica’s notorious apartheid system restricts every South African to a particular racial category. T h a t’ s where the P opu la tio n R egistration Board comes in. Once on has been classified as whatever race, one is con fined to the limitations or privileges o f that particular group unless one can successfully appeal to the PRB for re classification. The white m inority mo nopolizes all the privileges: they have the vote, control the army, police force, a navy, air force, the economy, the gov ernment, the judiciary, the civil service, educational system: in short, every thing. The Japanese who are considered “ honorary whites” can enjoy most o f the privileges reserved for the whites as long as they “ behave” . Next in line are the Chinese, Indians and M alays, lumped together as Asians. Below them are the Coloureds, people o f mixed parentage. At the bottom o f this lieap are, o f course, the majority Blacks. Tor anyone who has thought about it, classifying people into racial groups can be a very tricky business. So what does the PRB use for deter mining who is what color? The usual: skin tone, facial features and the tex ture o f one’s hair. Now consider the case where one sister could come out very light while her brother could be real dark. The PRB simply classifies the sister white and the brother Black or Coloured! But, that’s not the end o f the story. Coloured and white can not live under the same roof. So, who- ever is the odd person out will have to fmd a foster home! Most are just aban doned. Given the absurdity o f this situa tion, it is no wonder the PRB is so busy. If you are classified Black when you should actually be Chinese, that deprives you o f a few more privileges than you would otherwise be entitled to. That also takes you “ out o f your race” . Further, since one cannot marry someone o f a different color, if one- falls in love w ith someone “ outside one’ s race” , one o f the parties has to convert to the spouse-to-be’ s race! If you divorce and fall for someone o f yet a different color, then you once again try to get the PRB ato reclassify you accordingly. Are you still follow ing? The stories coming out o f South A frica concerning some o f the results o f PRB rulings would be downright ridiculous if they were not so serious, l ake the case o f the sixty five year old woman who had been white for the first sixty years o f her life. She contac ted some disease that caused her skin to take on a darker shade. She was bounced o ff white buses, thrown out o f white shopping areas and evicted from her home in the white suburb; this despite all the evidence she had to prove she had been w hite fo r six decades! She spent years petitioning the PRB and by the tim e she was finally cleared, she was so exhausted she died a few months later. Then there was the celebrated case o f Janet Laing, daughter o f white par ents who happened to be born with a be done. I must inform you that I see this as a major flaw in these plans. THE ALTERNATIVES Boundary changes have been used in this plan to make attendance pat terns more consistent and to narrow populations at some schools to better accomodate the resident students. The flaws mentioned above could be taken care o f w ith b o u n d a ry changes. I have presented the ad m inistration proposals fo r boundary changes and have asked fo r the numbers and racial percentages that would result from these changes. The goals should be schools w ith populations o f between 35 and 65 percent m inority. I believe boundary changes are w orthy o f the B o a rd ’ s review. A t this time, I do not believe Port land needs to solve its integration con cern with an extensive mandatory trans portation program. I f it is to be vol untary, the Board should respect the right o f parents to select the environ ment in which they would like to place their children. Our obligation, then, is to encourage the best quality education possible, while making available pro grams that foster integration as well, foster integration as well. The p o lic y re g a rd in g the e a rly childhood education centers should guarantee space in the E C E C ’ s fo r all children residing in the clusters re su ltin g fro m the b o u n d a ry changes. Essentially, we w ould have tw o EC EC magnet schools to provide fo r every child in the cluster. I believe this would be educationally advantageous and benefit those who are part o f the boundary changes. Whatever is done with regards to these changes, the schools w ill have to be excellent. We w ill have to bolster the teaching s ta ff and the programs so that those schools in volved in the desegregation program have e xce p tio n a l resources and facilities and personnel. The B oard’ s desegregation/inte- gration committee w ill hold meetings to hear com m ents fro m citize n s before the next draft is presented to the entire Board for review. I f you have ideas or concerns, please let me know. darker hue than anybody else in her family. In 1967 she was classified C ol oured and consequently barred from all-white schools. After 15 months o f appeals and careful scrutiny o f family trees on both sides, she was finally re classified white. Bv this time, however, she had become estranged from her family and, years later, she ran o ff with a Black man. Last year, she suddenly left him, disappearing with their three children. A cornerstone o f the “ heartbreak laws” is the Mixed Marriages Act passed in 1949 and which prohibits marriage across the color line. ‘ Violation’ o f this law can lead to quite a stiff prison term. Justification for this excessive bit o f aabsurdity is the A frikaner paranoia that intermarriage would lead to the "extinction o f the white race". Con veniently overlooked, o f course, is the fact that nowhere in the rest o f A frica where whites continue to comprise a small minority has there been such a mad rush by the Africans to take white spouses. Nowhere in the whole world, tor that matter, has a particular racial group been “ married to extinction” . South Africa, therefore, remains the only country in the world where the citizens enjoy the dubious distinction o f belonging to three, four, or maybe live different racial groups during a single lifetime. ’ Passing’ has always been frowned upon in each and every society: many a mother in South A f rica has known the heartache o f ’ losing’ a child who suddenly turns a different color for whatever reason. Your “ heart break laws" at work. So, when you go to South Africa, which I sincerely hope you have the good sense not to do, stop by the Pop ulation Registration Board offices. You might be surprised to find that you have been living the “ w rong" color all your life. Subscribe Todav $7.50 per year-Trl-co unty P „ , „ . „ d O b . $8.00 per year—Other Box 3137 N A M E ___ ADDRESS CITY_____ J., Portland. Oregon 972« STATE ZIP I r I
