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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1980)
4 4 f ' • ‘ » V . ... . . . . J Cawthorne quits school desegregation planning Herb Cawthorne advised the School Board (hat he will not par ^ ! . B°_arÎ ‘ hat. hc * * " - Par. ticipate in Board discussions o f desegregation until claims that his desegregation proposals will lead to resegregation” have been docu mented: Over the past five months, we have labored in good faith and with great el tort to reach consensus w ith the Board’ s desegregation/in- tegration committee. In the last few weeks, it has become quite evident ,ha, 7 l effort ï o n i s is S .‘ that th’e the spirit ofX o f the far ± less valued than one's willingness to ac cept uncritically the judgements of others Certain alternatives differ in specifics from those o f M r. M c Namara and Superintendent Blan chard. They have attempted to discredit the consideration o f those alternatives by raising, like a red flag, the charge o f ‘resegregation’ . ’ ’ I question the Board’s ability to JL . deliberate against a background desegregation, un.il until , I an, am convinced convinced • « * " « « »’« k . r o u n d desegregation. clouded w ith com pletely un that the consideration o f any alter documented claims of native w ill not have to compete ‘ ‘ resegregation,” which render the against unsubstantiated charges o f public persuasive process more d if 'resegregation’ .” fic u lt fo r the alternatives I and others support. Therefore, since the Frank McNam ara said he was outcome is so very vita l to the surprised at Cawthorne’ s statement aspirations o f Black children, I will and said he had never said not continue to participate in this ’ resegregation’ would occur. He discussion tonight, or any other explaind that in a desegregation Board sponsored forum on committee meeting he had raised the ...... ...................... issue o f whether the Cawthorne’ s plan would move the schools toward racial balance and remarked that he would not support a plan that would ‘ resegregate’ . Since then, he said, Cawthornc has shut down all syst ems o f communication. Superintendent Blanchard also denied that he had made charges o f ’ rcscgregation’ but said he had reservations prior to the adoption o f the short term plan and had PORTLAND OBSERVER k ** ’ operated on advise o f counsel. Steve Buel said he felt McNamara had a right, as a Board member, to say whatever he wished, but that if the Superintendent is a problem that is something the Board should deal with. He said he understands Cawthornes feelings about the matter. Problems between McNam ara and C aw thorne came to a head during a recent desegregation/in- (Please turn to page 3 column 1) NAÎlONa, «a -- Volume 10 Number 3 January 24, I960 10Cper copy Gates hits Lennox demolition Osly ‘ J im ’ Gates, Executive Director of the City-County Com mission on Aging, has charged the City with improper planning in its decision to level the Lennox Hotel to make way fo r a p o lic e /ja il facility. “ The demolition o f the new Len nox Hotel brings to thirty-four the number o f buildings in the down town core area providing low cost housing for the elderly that have been taken out o f existence since I970, he said. "S om e o f the buildings were condemned and con the past fifteen months. They are faced w ith a take it or leave it verted to other uses which most situation.” The New Lennox Hotel were demolished and replaced by o ffice buildings and parking ga was one o f the larger housing facilities for senior citizens. rages.” Gates considers the elderly to be Gates pointed to the compressed short changed in the C ity’s effort to market for low cost housing for the redesign its skyline - that in the ef elderly in the m etropolitan area. fort to provide new office buildings, “ Most nursing homes are filled to parking garages and even jails, the capacity fo r medicaid patients. needs o f low-income elderly citizens Senior citizens are reporting rent in are being ignored. creases as high as 59 percent during Get rid of Blanchard Hy Ronnie Herndon I he Black United Front call for Dr. Blanchard’ s resignation has produced some predictable re sponses. One we want to examine is that the tim ing was wrong and many white people who were neutral about Blanchard now defend him .” Lowell Sm ith, form er staff m em ber of the J e f ferson High School Dance D epartm ent is now a principal dancer w ith the Dance Theatre of Harlem w h ic h p re m iers in P o rtla n d at th e C ivic Analysis A u d ito riu m in M ay . S m ith w ill p resent special choreography sessions at Jefferson in February. The Dance Theatre of Harlem , established in 1969. has performed throughout the world. We have looked with astonish ment at the spectacle o f the School B Mrd asking Dr Blanchard to give advice and design programs to meet the demands raised by the Black United Front. I he same man that created the problem is now asked to play a m ajor role in solving the ■ frequently late at night, while male problem. This kind o f logic is only reserved fo r Black folks. Some athletes are more frequently people don t ask the fox to guard provided air transportation. This is the chickens. said to expose them to serious safety It Dr. Blanchard's policies and and health hazards. practices had the same devestating The complaint states that the effect upon the west hills as they coach-student ratio is significantly have had in the Black community, higher for male than for female he would have been long gone like a teams, as are coaches’ salaries. A ll “ turkey through the corn.” But the assistant coaches tor women’ s teams Black com m unity is suppose to allegedly arc graduate students watch i t ’ s children co n tin u a lly while those for men’ s teams are receive an inferior education and regular professional employees. not utter a peep about getting rid o f Alleged inequalities in housing the man who designed the plan that and dining include: failure to ¿¿Li sustained this academic misery. provide women and men with the For those who have forgotten, the same room and board during pre fo llo w in g are the results o f D r. season training or competition, and Blanchard’ s tenure: Pre-school failure to provide the same op- programs in the Black community in opportunities for food services such which the majority o f the students as training tables and late plates are middle and upper middle class when pratice conflicts with white children: all o f the upper scheduled meal times. grades removed from schools in the Rules o f the state system o f higher Black community, this has not been education allow OSU a 30-day done in any white com m unity; period in which to investigate the Black children forced to participate charges in the complaint and take in a one way bussing program, while remedial action to eliminate sex dis not one white child was forcibly crimination. If the complainants arc bussed into the Black community; not satisfied with the report and ac Black children scattered all over tion, they may appeal to the chan Portland, after becoming the only cellor and obtain a fu ll, public Black child in a school or hearing. classroom, this was never done to ACLU says OSU discriminates The American C ivil Liberties Union o f Oregon (ACLU) charged Oregon State University (OSU) Friday with massive violations o f state and federal laws prohibiting sex discrim ination in athletic programs. A formal complaint to the Slate Board o f Higher Education on behalf o f 20 women students and six taxpayers was filed with Ms. Pearl Spears Gray, OSU's affirmative-ac tion officer. In the complaint, plain tiffs request that equal oppor tunities be afforded women athletes participating in basketball, crew, softball, swimming, and track and field. Specific allegations of inequalities m the treatment o f men and women athletes are detailed under 12 major categories: • financial aid and scholarships; • the provision o f competitive opportunities; • housing and dining facilities; • game and practice schedules; • the provision of competitive opportunities; • medical and training services; • travel and per diem allowances; publicity and awards; • the provision o f athletic facilities; • the provision o f equal oppor tunity to r coaching, tutoring and assistance; and • the provision o f financial sup port to r the women’ s collegiate athletics. In a letter addressed to Ms. Gray, AC I.U cooperating attorneys Pamela L. Jacklin and Cynthia L. Barrett ask OSU administrators to protect the students making the complaint from any retaliation or recrimination from anyone connec ted with OSU. Among the specific allegations are charges that scholarships and financial aid are not awarded pro portionately to men and women, that books are provided male student athletes, but not to females, and that women are not provided with the same help in obtaining summer jobs. The university is said not to provide women athletes with the same safety equipment, uniforms, shoes, gloves, basketballs, and travel bags as it does men. OSU also is charged with requiring female athletes and coaches to drive themselves long distances to and from events, white children; between 1977 and 1979 three different organizations documented the school d istrict's discriminatory disciplinary practices against Black children — 1977 the United States Office of Education, 197« the Coalition for School In te g ra tio n , 1979 the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission, and just a few weeks ago the Federal O f fice o f Civil Rights listed Portland as 33rd on it’s list o f the “ 100 worst offenders in the c o u n try ” for suspending disproportionate num bers o f minority students. Last but not least, our children continue to score lower than white children on achievement test and are subjected to curriculum that immerses them in white history and culture while they learn a menial distorted version o f their own. In view o f the untold damage that Dr. Blanchard’s administration has had on Black children, how in good conscience can we set back and not speak out in favor o f his hasty departure. We challenge all to think the unthinkable: what would have happened if Portland had a Black superintendent (please bear with us) and she/he achieved the same academic accomplishments in the white com m unity that Dr. Blan chard achieved in the Black com munity/ We only ask tht the same objective treatment be given Dr. Blanchard. I >< No room in the ‘land of freedom' (Editors Note: The “ Black Boat People” -8 ,0 0 0 Haitian refugees seeking asylum in Florida--m ay become an explosive political issue in the months ahead. Despite a new reform of the U.S. refugee law, so- called “ economic refugees,” such as the Haitians, will still be denied the asylum granted to " p o litic a l refugees.” Black leaders contend the iaw is racially discriminatory and have vowed to make the Haitian issue a key p o litical test for the President and other candidates in the election campaign, reports C alvin Zon, a reporter fo r the Washington Star.) Ry Calvin ¿on The Carter A d m in istra tio n 's credibility with Black voters may be Put to the test in this election year over the m ounting issue o f America s “ Black boat people” — some 8,000 refugees from Haiti who for years have been languishing in poverty and legal limbo in southern Florida. Their requests fo r p o litica l asylum have been categorically rejected by the government, which maintains that they are economic rather than political refugees. The refugees and their supporters coun ter that there is little distinction between economic and po litica l repression in a country such as Haiti, where it is against the law to even complain about economic con ditions. The Refugee Act o f 1979, spon sored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, is expected to be signed by the I resident this year making it possible for refugees from rightwing dictatorships to gain asylum in the U.S. However, the law will not alter the present exclusion o f economic refugees, nor substantially change the government’s policy toward the vast majority o f the millions o f per sons seeking entry to the United States from the Third World. It will sim ply enlarge the scope o f the present refugee policy, which is to admit only persons from communist countries or the Mideast. But the fate o f the Haitians has not yet been sealed, and their plight could erupt into a major political battle in the 1980 presidential cam paign. Black Am erican p o litica l leaders, including the influential 17- metnber congressional Black Caucus, have vowed to fight the refugee policy on the grounds that it discriminates against non-whites. Nearly 600 o f the Haitians have been returned to Haiti since 1974. U.S. District Court Judge James L. King ordered a halt to fu rth e r deportations last July pending his decision on whether the government had violated the refugees’ due process rights. Attorneys for the refugees hope for a decision which w ill shift the burden o f proof on rights violations from the Haitians to the government. Until enjoined by Judge King, the INS had been readying as many as 150 asylum applicants per day for deportation. The INS has also denied w ork perm its to the Haitians. D uring eight days ot hearing before King in early December, there was dram atic testim ony regarding the treatment o f refugees returned to Haiti. An ex-member o f (Please turn to page 2 column 1) Portland's staal bridge peaks through the early morning fog. (Photo: Richard J. Brown)
