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