Portland observer., January 31, 1980, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2 Portland Obsei war January 31, 1980
EDITQRIAL/QPINION
What's this world coming to?
By N. Fungai Kumbula
Building the war machine
In his State of the Union address. President
Jimmy Carter said, "W e superpowers will also
have the responsibility to exercise restraint in
the use of our great m ilitary force. The in ­
te g rity and the independence of weaker
nations must not be threatened. They must
know that in our presence they are secure.”
In the wake of the Soviet Union's "radical
and aggressive new step," he has:
- increased the military budget
- improved capability to deploy U.S. forces
to distant areas
- helped strengthen NATO
- decided to put inter mediate range nuclear
missies in Europe
- norm alized relations w ith the Peoples
Republic of China " to preserve peace and
stability in Asia and in the western Pacific"
- negotiated for bases in North Africa and
the Persian Gulf
- reconfirm ed our agreem ent to defend
Pakistan
- are preparing to strenghten political and
military ties with nations in the Middle East’
opened discussion removing controls on
the CIA and other spy agencies
President Carter also called the Soviet
Union a threat to the "free movement of M id­
dle East o il" and added, "any attempt by any
outside force to gain control of the Persian
Gulf region will be regarded as an assult on the
vital interests of the United States of America,
and such an assult w ill be repelled by any
means necessary, including military force."
Thus the President has c o m m itte d
American troops to defend the oil fields of the
Middle East, and the profits of the American
oil companies. Why not nationalize the un­
derutilized oil reserves in this country, not only
making oil products cheaper but ending the
nation's dependence on Middle East oil? Why
not form a good relationship with Mexico -- on
an equality, not "big brother" basis -- and buy
Mexican oil?
This all leads to the "big stick" in President
Carter's message - registration for the draft.
The Pres dent has proposed registration of
all young men (and possibly women, between
18 and 26. Although he did not call for re­
in s titu tio n of the d ra ft, the purpose of
registration is to speed the process if a draft is
determined to be necessary.
Registration would involve providing name,
address, and b irth d a te and any address
changes. According to the White House Press
Office, "should the President determine ad­
ditional measures should be taken, they would
in clud e c la s s ific a tio n and e x a m in a tio n ,
whereby the size of the pool actually ready and
available for induction would be determ ined."
A t th is p o in t in d ivid u a ls co uld ask fo r
reclassification, exemption or deferment. The
next step w o u ld be d ra ftin g the num bers
needed.
The nation is headed in to a m ilita ry
mobilization. W hat once started is difficult to
stop. The question that needs to be asked is
w h e th e r the S o viet U n io n 's invasio n o f
Afghanistan initiated this move or whether it is
m erely an excuse fo r a ction s already a n ­
ticipated.
The second question that needs to be asked
is whether this nation is ready to destroy it's
people and the people of the entire world over
Afghanistan, Pakistan or the Middle East's oil.
The third question is: what is the U.S. role
in w hat we are calling the Soviet U nion's
"aggression?"W as it in part precipitated by
U.S. actions? And what could negotiations
accomplish?
W ho benefits from this rush to war?
Talking to the people
Ron Wyden has, over the years, shown
great sensitivity to the plight of the Black
elderly. He has spoken w ith compassion for
their needs in concert with his advocacy for
the im p ro ve m e n t of livin g c o n d itio n s for
Oregon’s Senior citizens in general. Through
conve rsa tio n and p a rtic ip a tio n , he has
developed an unassuming supportive posture
for many of the efforts initiated by members of
the Black community.
Now, he is running tor the U.S. Congress.
He has an excellent chance to unseat Robert
Duncan.
Ron Wyden recently met with a group of in­
fluential ministers from the Black community.
They discussed a range of issues. W hat is sig­
nificant is that Wyden has the vision to get in­
volved with the Black community early in his
campaign, and he pledges to maintain that in­
volvement all the way. Judging on his past in­
volvement, we believe this is not just "p re ­
election" but a genuine interest.
This is as it should be. We commend Wyden
for his willingness to listen and interact.
School Board presents desegregation plans
(Continued from P. 1 C o l. 6)
Regents Drive between 22nd and the
intersection of Regents Drive with
Mason at 32nd, and the area bound­
ed by Mason and Prscott, 32nd and
33rd, would be added to Sabin.
The portion o f Boise that is east
o f Union would be added to Ir ­
vington and Fernwood.
Space additions: Two classrooms
would be added to Humboldt to
allow for fourth and fifth grades
O ff campus trailers now in use
would continue. Five classrooms
would be added to King.
Middle School: Space would be
provided in the Columbia, Whitaker
cluster for all 6th and 8th graders at
King, Woodlawn and Vernon. The
Columbia campus would be closed,
a new middle school established at
Adams (w ith the high school
remaining open) and the population
split between Whitaker and Adams.
Humboldt: Humboldt 6th - 8th
graders would be assigned to Oakley
Green Middle School. Grades K -
5th living west o f the Humboldt
building would attend Beach.
Early Childhood Education Cen­
ters: New ECECs would be
established at Beach and Buckman
with Buckman 6th - 8th graders
going to Mt. Tabor Middle School.
Plan II
Plan II would adopt the boundary
changes listed above, but would
assign 6th 8th graders at King I and
Humboldt to west side schools.
Middle School: A middle school
would be established at Chapman
to serve King I, Humboldt, Chap­
man and Ainsw orth. Ainsworth
would become a K-5 school
enrolling students from Ainsworth,
Chapman, King 1 and Humboldt
who choose to attend there. Sylvan
and West Sylvan would continue as
K-3 and 4-8 and would enroll stud­
ents from King I, H um boldt,
Chapman and Ainsworth who wish
to attend.
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Community Service
ONPA 1973
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ONPA 1973
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Honorable Mention
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Best Editorial
3rd Place
Community Leadership
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in business. The departments and
agencies shall also be mandated to
publicly report the levels of attain­
ment o f these goals.
3. Congress and the Executive
Branch shall ensure the effective
implementation and enforcement of
Public Law' 95-507 by adopting the
fo llo w in g changes/recom m en-
dations: (I) requiring the law or im­
plementing regulations to provide
that the prime contractor set forth a
narrative description o f the sub­
contract or sub contract item; and
(2) giving the Associate A d ­
ministrator for M inority Business,
within the SBA, the clear authority
to enforce and monitor compliance
with PL 95-507.
4. Congress shall (1) adopt a
SBIC and MESBIC Investment Tax
Credit Act to provide a 50% tax
credit fo r corporations and in ­
dividuals who invest in any issue of
equity securities o f SBIC ’ s and
licensed MESBICs. and (2)
authorize MESBICs to borrow long­
term loans from the Federal Finan­
cing Bank at subsidized interest
rates.
5. The President, by Executive
Order, or Congress, by legislation,
shall establish a National Minority
Economic Commission to provide a
centralized focus to the federal ef­
fort to assist minority business en­
terprise. This Commission, a
majority of which shall consist of
non-government contractors, shall
report directly to the President.
According to Eugene Jackson,
“ One of the most impressive aspects
of this White House Conference was
the way the 250 Black delegates at­
tending this conference united their
efforts in such a short period o f
time, developed a strategy and a
strong coalition and worked day
and night to caucus key issues they
felt were c ritica l to Black
Businessmen. And it paid off. n f
the five priority issues that t
‘
from the M in o rity B'
Development workshop, their
her one issue was in the top ovc : j .
15 priority issues o f the conference
Further, seven o f the issues suppor­
ted by the Black delegates in other
major categories were also voted in,«
to the top 15.”
Jackson further stated that, “ The
people o f this country tend to forget
that while nearly 30% o f Black per­
sons in the United States fall below
the poverty line, that means 70% of
Black citizens are above the poverty
level and are co ntributing , tax-
paying members of this society, who
have the right and the obligation to
demand their fair share from their
government. It is clear that the
1980's will be a time when Blacks
will demand their full share of the
budget pie; they will insist that the
President and Congress reorder
their p rio ritie s to include Black
citizens; and they w ill demand a
closer look at the sources and
payout of the Black dollars in this
country - and they will do it not as
beggars, but as fu ll, taxpaying
Americans. This W hite House Con­
ference on Small Business and the
impact o f the minority delegates was
just one step toward that objec­
tive.”
The question is not whether it is a
law; the question is, is it just? W hen
this country was a collection o f
colonies, everything King George
did was “ legal,” all that George
Washington and company did was
illegal and considered criminal by
England. A ll o f the heinous crimes
com m itted against Black people
during slavery were “ legal” accor­
ding to American laws. W hite
people and misled Negroes should
not naively believe that these lessons
are lost on Black people, we have
sense enough to know the overiding
question is justice not legality.
If a law forces Black children to
take part in educational arrange­
ments that have proven to be
em otionally destructive and ac­
ademically bankrupt, that law is un­
just and should be challenged by all
who profess care and concern for
Black children.
There are a few simple require­
ments needed to develop quality
schools in the Black community:
adm inistrators and teachers who
have proven they can successfully
educate Black children: a cirriculum
that speaks to the academic and
cultural needs of Black children;
and adequate funds and facilities.
The Black United Front will soon
present a plan to the community
that will first and foremost address
the academic, c u ltu ra l, and
psychological needs of our children.
W'e look forward to your imput and
suggestions.
5th Place
Best Editorial
ONPA 1973
The Portland Observers official position is «»pressed only in its
Editorial column Any other material throughout the paper is the
opinion Of the .ndryyjual writer or Submifte, 8nd does not neces
sanly reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer
Aas oc ai«n
Moscow this summer and a number
o f western countries have thrown
their support behind his call. The
Supreme Council to r Sports in
Africa, however, has said " N O !”
Why? Because four years ago,
during the last Olympics held in
M ontreal, Canada, the C ouncil
called for a similar boycott over the
participation of New Zealand which
had stubbornly maintained sports
ties with South Africa. The western
response at the time had been;
"Sports and politics do not m ix.”
Now that it ’ s a western problem,
however,rn sports and politics do
mix and so harm oniously! The
message from the Supreme Council
fo r Sport in A frica is very
clear:"You refused to scratch my
back so do not expect me to scratch
yours.”
Economists have this strange
logic that, in the midst o f hard
times, the quickest way out is to get
involved in a war. That should give
the recently announced call to re­
instate the draft another shot in the
arm. A ll these war related moves
coupled with the uncertainty o f the
international scene seem to point to
a resurgence o f the cold war, maybe
even to the point o f some major
confrontation before the decade is
out. The question is: will we survive
to write about it?
School Board's direction dangerous
PORTLAND OBSERVER
NUA
(Continued from page I col. 5)
House Conference on Small
Business. The top 15 issues dealt
prim a rily w ith matters affecting
Capita! Formation and Retention
and Inflation.
Delegates were asked to work in
depth on two issue areas. M r.
Jackson attended
the issue
workshops on Economic Policy and
Government
Programs
and
M in o rity Business Development.
The top five prio ritize d issues
emerging from the M in o rity
Business Development workshop
were the following:
1. The President, by Executive
Order, and Congress, by legislation,
shall establish mandatory goals for
all federal procurements and federal
funds or grants to states, localities,
and public and private institutions,
on a contract-by-contract or agency­
wide basis fo r small businesses
(35% ); m inority-ow ned (Black,
Hispanic, Native American, Asian
Pacific American and other racial
minorities) businesses (15%); and
women in business (10%).
2. The President shall direct the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to establish, as part o f the
budget process, a formal reporting
and goal setting system, requiring
all departments and agencies to
specify and separately make public
the resources they plan to make
available to small businesses,
minority-owned (Black, Hispanic,
Native Am erican, Asian Pacific
Am erican, and other racial
minorities) businesses, and women
Boise
■ ■ [O re gon
see what happens. You are likely to
get yourself scalped.
The fact that it’s an election year
merely pours oil on troubled waters.
Each one o f the presidential
"hopefuls” is trying to outdo all the
others in how to he “ tough” with
the Russians, the Iranians and
anyone else who would dare cross
the good ole U.S. o f A. The old
philosophy o f “ sending in the
Marines” to “ sell” the American
position is back.
The fundamental lesson learned
from both World War II and Viet­
nam was that it was much more
mature and more productive to set­
tle international disputes by
negotiation rather than by force of
arms. The Russian invasion o f
Afghanistan seems to have thrown
that conventional wisdom over­
board. Everything that can be done
to get the Russians out o f
Afghanistan is well and good
because, once they start with
Afghanistan, where will it stop? The
Afghanistan should have been left
to their own devices. After all, they
have never tried to dictate the course
o f events in the Soviet Union.
That notwithstanding, some o f
the responses to the Afghan crisis
are most interesting. President Car­
ter has called for a boycott o f the
Olympics scheduled to be held in
White House Conference studies MBE proposals
Both plans add a pre—K program
at Boise. The Fundamental School
magnet would be maintained and
the
upper
grade
programs
strengthened. Facility improvements
(Continued from page 1 col. 2)
would be made.
the staff and board have yet to learn
M a g n e t M id d le School
the lesson he gave his very life for;
Both plans call for a magnet mid­
he always w ithout hesitation
dle school a the old Monroe
challenged laws that lim ited our
building.
rights as citizens.
The Portland Observer IUSPS 959 6801 is published every Thurs
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ALFRED L. HENDERSON
Editor/Publisher
Everytime one picks up the paper
these days, one cannot help but be
reminded that 1984 is just four years
away. Certainly one cannot doubt
the fact that we are now closer to a
major war than at any other time
since Vietnam.
The hostages in Iran; the Russians
in Afghanistan: uncertainty in
Pakistan; war moves in Cambodia;
upsurge in guerrilla activity in South
Africa; presidential politicking in
the United states and, paranoia in
Congress. Any time hard times hit
this country, the easiest way to go is
scapegoating and you know who the
usual scapegoat is. While there are
cut-backs in v irtu a lly all social
programs, the Pentagon gets
another shot in the arm and another
and another...
Inflation is running at 13.3% per
year and showing no signs o f
slowing down. Instead, projections
point to even worse times ahead. At
the same time the oil companies are
reporting record profits again and
trying to ju s tify them too. The
unemployment picture does not
look like il will improve any time
soon. The vast sums being spent on
the military create far fewer jobs
than they would were they spent in
the private sector. But, with the
current mood in Congress, just try
to criticize military expenditures and
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1978
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