Stop work for Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday
The Black United Front and the
Albina M inisterial Alliance are ad
vising Black people to stay home
from work on Dr. M a rtin Luther
K in g ’ s b irth d a te , Ja nu ary 15th.
“ Since national lawmakers and
the State o f Oregon cannot or refuse
to h o n o r D r. K in g , the A lb in a
M in isterial alliance and the Black
United Front find it necessary for
Black people to recognize our
s
leaders ourselves w itho ut the ap
proval o f elected o fficials.” A ll who
p ro va l o f elected o ffic a ls ,
spokesmen from the organizations
said.
A ll who are able are asked to take
a va catio n day or make other
arrangements to honor Dr. King by
recognizing his b irth d a te as a
holiday from employment. In ad
dition, the total community is asked
to jo in in a celebration o f and reflec
tion on Dr. King's life, on Tuesday,
January 15th, at M ount Olivet Bap
tist Church, 116 N .E. Schuyler, at
7:30 p.tn.
We believe there have been few
Black Americans who have captured
the m inds and hearts o f people
w o rld w id e as D r. M a rtin L uth er
King, Jr. For many o f us, Dr. King
epitomized greatness which should
wom an
is
fu lly
recognized
th ro u g h to u t the A m e rican ijom -
m unity, and the Albina M inisterial
Alliance and the Black United Front
maintain that Dr. King stands alone
when it comes to who is truly out
standing or deserving o f recogni
tion.
“ Lately, at the national level, Dr.
King has created a Congressional
debate concluding w ith an excuse
be understood and accepted by all
o f us in the U n ite d States.
P eriodically, tributes are paid to
outstanding American citizens in the
fo rm o f n a tio n a l, state or local
holidays by s y m b o lic a lly saying,
‘ thank you’ , ‘ we remember you’ ,
‘ we respect what you stood fo r ’ ,
‘ your c o n trib u tio n is not fo rg o t
ten’ .”
“ H ow ever, no Black man or
about cost effectiveness. That is, to
honor Dr. King, the cost would be
too high for another national paid
holiday. We belive the arguments
against recognizing the birth o f Dr.
King are a national disgrace, and an
insult to Black people who fu lly un
derstand that labor is necessary for
mere survival in the United States.
An a d d itio n a l holiday w ould not
cause us to be less productive."
»M E W
swam
V
PORTLAND OBSERVER
•.Anoa.a **
, ». «jr
Volume 10 Number 1
January 10. 1960
10Çper copy
U S PS959 680
Union redevelopment begins
M IL E S A P A R T -- M e m b e r s o f th e S c h o o l
B o a rd 's D e s e g r e g a tio n /ln te g r a t io n c o m m itte e
H erb C a w th o rn e and Frank M c N a m a ra disagree
on
p h ilo s o p h y
and
c o n te n t
of
school
d e s e g r e g a tio n p ro p o s a l. W ith no c o m p ro m is e
possible, tw o proposals w ill be su b m itte d to the
full Board.
Board disagrees on deseg plans
The Portland School Board w ill
receive a lte rn a tiv e desegregation
plans fro m its D e se g re g a tio n /ln
tegration Committee Tuesday night,
one from Herb Cawthorne, two or
more from Frank M cNam ara and
options from Joe Reike. The com
mittee, which had earlier submitted
proposals with alternatives and op
tio ns fo r p u b lic discussion, had
hoped to subm it one plan that
whould be acceptable to the three
members.
Fireworks started Monday evening
as Herb Cawthorne refused to sup
port plans subm itted by Chairman
McNamara that would have trans
ferred sixth through eighth grade
students from King and Hum boldt to
west side schools but would have sent
no white children to Albina schools.
The committee had agreed that the
West Side should be invo lved in
desegregation, but Cawthorne objec
ted to M cN am ara’ s method o f in
volving them . “ D on ’ t send Black
kids out; send w hite kids in ,” he
said. “ I'm tired o f m oving Black
kids around.”
McNamara declared that he w ill
not
su pp ort
a
plan
that
“ resegregates’ ’ , that is, one that
significantly increases the percentage
o f Blacks in schools that are already
over or near 50 per cent m inority.
“ I f you resegregate, some judge
w ill make the decisions,” he told
Cawthorne.
Cawthorne replied that the Board
had earlier agreed not to be too con
cerned with percentages. “ The main
th in g is not to send Black kids
th ro u g h a ll kinds o f g yra tion s
because we’ re worried about their
percentages.”
At the Tuesday afternoon comm it
tee m eeting, fire turned to ice as
M cN a m a ra ’ s anger continued to
surface.
Reiterating his stand that “ i f no
w h ite students are going to be
assigned in, no Black students w ill be
sent o u t,” Cawthorne submitted the
follow ing plan:
M id d le School
A middle school to be placed at the
Adams High School building, with
Adams also remaining a high school.
T his m iddle school could serve a
small resident population and be a
magnet to attract other children, or,
C olum bia could be closed and the
C o lu m b ia /W h ite a k e r students be
d ivid e d between W h ite a ke r and
Adams. King sixth through eighth
graders would be assigned to these
schools.
Boise
Boise would remain a K-8 school,
w ith a pre-school class added. It
would be designated an Early C hild
hood Education Center, with an up
per grade center. Care w o u ld be
given to insure th a t the upper
graders, even i f few in num ber,
w o u ld receive good academ ic
program s. The building w ould be
renovated.
C aw thorne w ould not object to
Boise becoming a middle school, in a
Boise, Chapman, Ainsworth cluster
if Chapman and Ainsworth students
were assigned to Boise.
H u m b o ld t
F o u rth and f if t h grade classes
would be added, with a section o f the
district transferred to Beech through
a boundary change. A t least tw o
room s w o u ld be added. Sixth
through eighth gtaders would go to
Ockley Green Middle School.
B oundary Changes
B oundaries
between
K in g,
Alameda, Sabin, Boise and Irvington
would relieve overcrowding at King.
Five rooms would be added to King.
T ran sfer Policy
by Ulysses Tucker Jr.
Union Avenue has been the focus
o f several planning and redevelop
ment endeavors over the last six
years, in v o lv in g p u b lic agencies,
neighborhood groups, businessmen,
and private organizations.
The U nion Avenue Redevelop
ment Program was established in
December o f 1973, to revitalize and
redevelop the corridor as part o f this
larger e ffo r t. S ubsequently, in
December o f 1976, the Portland De
velopm ent C om m ission (P D C )
opened its Union Avenue Improve
ment Program O ffice at 4008 N.E.
Union Avenue.
“ We’ re trying very hard to help
m inorities get a piece o f the pie,”
said Thomas Kennedy, the articu
late manager o f PDC. “ I say piece
o f the pie because we w ill never get
an equal share."
The major goals o f the program
are: to benefit the com m unity in
econom ic terms and in terms o f
social welfare; to enhance the visual
characteristics o f the Avenue; to
enlist the commitment and support
o f the private sector in the commer
cial redevelopment o f the corridor;
to p ro m o te o rd e rly land-use ac
tivity; to improve the Avenue as a
m ajor city tra ffic and transit street
and mass tra n s it fa c ility . These
goals are supported by area resi
dents, some local governm ental
agencies, and businessmen.
“ C urrently, we have the largest
number o f m inority contractors par
tic ip a tin g ever in the h is to ry o f
O reg on ’ s highw ay d e p a rtm e n t,”
said Kennedy. “ We are expecting to
have over 17 per cent o f the excava
tion o f the streets and landscaping
done by m inority firm s ,” he said.
“ This office has worked very hard
to get where we are, and C o m
missioner Charles Jordan and his
staff have played a great role.”
The Union Avenue C orrid or, as
addressed by the Union Avenue Im
provement Program, extends 3.35
miles along N .E . U nio n Avenue
fro m
the
B ro a d w a y /W e id le r
couplet on the south to Columbia
Blvd. on the north, with east/west
boundaries being a block-and-a-half
on either side o f the avenue.
Union Avenue is a m ajor n o rth /
south a rte ria l in N .E . P o rtla n d ,
w ith th irte en m ajor intersections
and an 80-foot right-of-way. Union
Avenue carries tw e nty thousand
vehicles per day, and the volume is
expected to increase in the next few
years to its peak.
T ra ffic improvements w ill effect
greater access between the corridor
and Swan Is la n d , C o lu m b ia
Boulevard, the airport, and South
east P o rtla n d , as w ell as other
com m ercial d istricts, and w ill in
crease Union Avenue's effectiveness
as a m ajor arterial.
“ The whole purpose o f this 9.6
m illio n
d o lla r
b e a u tific a tio n
program is to make the avenue a
more attractive thoroughfare, and
to turn it into a more desirable place
for shopping. We also want to make
it a safer place,” said the native o f
New Orleans.
When asked about the role that
m inority businessmen would play in
this redevelopment process, Ken
nedy replied, “ F irst, you have to
qualify as a successful businessman,
then as a m in o rity.”
“ But we do have a program to
help existing businesses to expand
their ope ra tion ,” Kennedy added.
The help fo r the businessmen w ill
come in the form o f an “ Investive
Rehabilitation Loan” which allows
a business to borrow up to $50,000
at three per cent interest.
“ There have been fo ur o f these
loans given to businesses,” said
Kennedy. “ Out o f these four loans
only one has gone to a m in o rity.”
Kennedy c o n tin u e d , “ I t ’ s im
portant to note that because o f the
characteristics o f the com m unity,
wc encourage m inority participation
from all the business people who
come to the area. For example, look
at Church’ s Chicken, and Popeye's,
they’ re all private people who came
into the area. I f you noticed, they’ ve
hired Blacks from the com m unity
which is a great help. Then there’ s
Fred Myer's, who just had a major
re n o v a tio n jo b p e rfo rm e d — now
there are more Blacks w orking there
than ever before. They use my office
to conduct the job interviews,” said
a delighted Kennedy.
W orking in cooperation with the
Union Avenue Redevelopment staff
is the Northeast Business Boosters
A sso ciatio n, an active n e ig h b o r
hood group o f one hundred and f i f
ty business people and interested in
d iv id u a ls w ho recognize the
(Please turn to page 8 col. 4)
Black students could v o lu n ta rily
attend schools outside their atten-
dence area fo r desegregation p u r
poses, but also could attend their
own school. Those who do transfer
would be free to return.
McNamara presented two plans.
K ing and H u m b o ld t w o u ld be
clustered with Chapman and Ains
w o rth , possibly w ith Sylvan and
West Sylvan. Chapman would be
the m iddle school. Sixth through
eighth graders could go to Chapman
or Sylvan.
Boise w ould become a magnet
middle school, open to any student
from the cluster, but with no white
students assigned. Or Boise could be
a middle school for Boise and op
tional for Buckman students.
An a lte rn a tiv e w o u ld be to
establish a M onroe middle school
for Buckinan/Boise students, while
leaving Boise Pre-K to 8.
Joe Reike added the option o f a
magnet middle school at Monroe.
The Board also plans to receive
proposals fo r cu rricu lu m develop
m ent, m u lti- c u ltu ra l edu catio n,
and teacher training at the Tuesday
meeting. The Board meeting w ill be
held at the administration building
at 7:30 p.rn.
FREE FOR ALL: She She Griggs. Kim Griggs. Debbi Griggs end Pat Miles.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown!
Miracle drugs might be murdering the elderly
by Gregory Bergman *
(E d ito r’ s Note: E lderly citizens
are the m ajor consumers o f pre
scription drugs in the United States
to da y. A n d m any o f them take
drugs in com binations which are
sometimes deadly. Right now, ac
co rd in g to PNS correspondent
G regory Bergm an, very little is
being done about th is p ro ble m ,
which affects 70 per cent o f the pop
ulation over 65.)
*4
She seemed like perfect p ro of that
modern medicine can w ork w on
ders: 73 years o ld , a fflic te d w ith
high blood pressure and a heart con
d itio n . but kept clear-headed and
fu nctio nin g w ith the help o f two
miracle drugs prescribed by her doc-
tors.
But when irre gu la rity prompted
the elderly woman to use a heavily
a d v e r tis e d , o v e r - t h e - c o u n te r
laxative, the miracle almost killed
her.
The laxative transformed the digi
talis prescribed for her heart into a
toxic substance, and increased the
loss o f potassium associated w ith
the th ia zid e d iu re tic w hich con
trolled her blood pressure. The re
sult was cardiac arrhythm ia—an ir
regular heart beat. It put her into a
hospital emergency room, close to
death.
Because o f inadequacies in U.S.
medical practice, a quantum leap in
p ha rm ace utica l p ro d u c tio n , and
p u b lic ignorance o f its hazards,
older Americans regularly consume
too many medications in doses and
combinations that are often deadly.
D r. M ich ae l R eiter, a s ta ff
specialist in phainacology fo r the el
derly at the San Francisco Mental
Health Department, said many o f
the drugs prescribed through Medi
care can cause side-effects in the
elderly, including hazy vision, loss
o f c o o rd in a tio n , c o n fu s io n or
depression. “ This creates a danger
that adverse reactions c o u ld be
w ro n g ly diagnosed as s e n ility or
even mental illness,” he warns.
A number o f changes take place
as the body ages, and they can make
phamaceuticals more dangerous, he
says. “ Organ systems function less
efficiently, causing drugs to be ab
sorbed, d istributed, broken down
and excreted at slower rates.” A
normal adult dose can be too high
for an elderly person.
"T h e same dose you and I might
take successfully could make an 80-
year-old quite agitated,” according
to Dr. Jack Segal, acting chief o f
m edicine at Long Beach General
H o s p ita l, and c o -a u th o r o f a
Southern C alifornia survey o f nurs
ing home patients. “ The elderly
brain is exquisitely sensitive to the
toxic side effects o f some o f these
drugs. Y o u 'v e got th is e ntire
population that responds to medica
tio n q uite d iffe r e n tly than you
w o u ld expect fro m the standard
textbook.”
These risks are com pounded
when several drugs are used simul
taneously, says Vera Labat, director
o f the Over Sixty Geriatric Clinic in
Berkeley, C a lifo rn ia . “ M u ltip le
medication is a big problem among
older people. Often, medicines pre
scribed years earlier are still being
used; people have changed towns,
changed d o c to rs , run sh ort o f
money to buy new prescriptions and
co ntin ue ta k in g old ones, or are
going to two or more physicians for
different ailments.”
M o re o v e r, i t ’ s a problem o f
enormous proportions. Although
they comprise only ten per cent of
the U.S. population, elderly citizens
(over 65) consume 25 per cent o f all
p rescription drugs. A M ichig an
study found that one out o f four
senior citizens in its survey took
four or more prescription drugs at
once. H a lf reported using over-the-
counter analgesics, laxatives or ant
acids which might interact toxicly
with prescribed drugs, z^mong the
in s titu tio n a lize d , it war not un
common for elderly patients to re
ceive eight or ten d iffe re n t daily
medications.
Some 70 per cent o f the elderly
now use prescription drugs, most o f
which are administered in amounts
appropriate for an average, 150-
pound middle-aged adult in good
health. On all counts, the profile
does not fit the ty p ic a l senior
citizen.
The result, much too often, is too
many drugs, in too large doses. And
unless something is done about it
soon, the problem will only become
more enormous. By the year 2000,
the over-65 p o rtio n o f th e U .S .
(Please turn to page 8 col. 1)