1 Portland O b u rver A u g us 128, 1880
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Only the erudite will survive
The way it is
By N. Fungai Kumbula
There are e n o rm o u s q u a n titie s o f
und e rsta n d and a p p re cia te the value o f a
newspapers and periodicals providing in fo r
stro n g , viable paper th a t is d ilig e n t in in
mation of every imaginable context for public
vestigating and reporting the facts about the
c o n s u m p tio n . A m o n g th o se are B lack
Black existence in this environment. There will
publications whose objectives are to cover the
never be avoidance or com prom ise in m ain
numerous activities that interest and involve
ta in in g p o s itiv e fo c u s on Black new s o f
the Black population. The P o rtlan d Observer
political, economic and social significance.
and its new publisher, Bruce Broussard, share
The P ortland Observer has no fear of being
a com m itm ent to their Black constituency and
labeled "ra d ic a l" because o f operating in a
the general public that this paper w ill continue
m ilieu outside o f the established areas of
to dem onstrate an unflinching allegiance to
power. There will always be a challenge to in
the Black position on all issues affecting the
stitutionalized negative policies, fabrications
Black population and w ill render a positive
and practices which are intended to energize
service in its presentation of all matters and
and continue those kinds of circumstances in
facts concerned w ith Black life and culture.
which Blacks are always vulnerable.
General news accounts and treatm ent of
The P ortland Observer welcomes the sup
Blacks are notorious for their disproportionate
port and participation of those w ho wish to
distortions and conspicuously biased m isinter see its aim s and o b je c tiv e s realized. This
pretations. The Black population is painfully
publication will strive w ith o u t reservations to
well aware of these practices and the matter
reflect the true aspirations of Black people and
w ill not be labored further. But, assurance is
their traditions of struggle for liberation. The
pledged that this publication w ill m aintain a
flo o d of variations and interchanges in the
co n siste n t p o licy o f presenting q u a lita tive
national and international arenas of science,
Black oriented news developed to reflect those
te c h n o lo g y and p o litic s are o f s u ffic ie n t
Black perspectives that contradict the usual
magnitude and hazard that Blacks now w ith
pandering and sensationalism characteristic of
unparalleled seriousness m ust reflect upon
the racist accou nts o f the w h ite media in
defining and choosing political directions that
America.
w ill assure the end of our subjugation and
The P ortland Observer seeks to increase the
prevent our decimation. Check it o u t...
number of Black people and others who can
The P ortland Observer will do its p a rt...
Freeze revolving loan fund
W e concur w ith the recom m endations of
Commissioner Charles Jordan and Mayor -
elect Frank Ivancie that no changes be made in
the operation of the Revolving Loan Fund until
Ivancie takes over as Mayor in January.
The p roblem w ith th e o p e ra tio n o f the
Revolving Loan Fund is not merely one of red
tape as has been aluded to by Bureau o f
Econom ic D evelopm ent personnel and the
Oregonian, but also one of attitude. It is true
that the loan process is a mess as was iden
tified by the loan com m ittee's m inority m em
bers, but is n o t m erely a problem o f p e r
sonalities on the com m ittee. Overall, they are
sincere and concerned.
The overiding problem is the attitude w ithin
C ity g o ve rn m e n t th a t lim its m in o rity par-
ticipation, sees m inority entrepreneurs as in
com petent and undeserving, and considers
econom ic developm ent - even in the Black
com m unity - as a w hite perogative. This m en
tality allows the institutionalization of the ex
cuse th a t " q u a lifie d " m inorities cann ot be
found while failing to to identify, inform and
include the m inority business com m unity.
W e recommend that no further action be
taken in reorganization of the loan com m ittee
and the loan process, and th a t a freeze be
placed on the fund, allowing no more money
to be spent until after Ivancie becomes Mayor
and announces his ow n reorganization plans.
Not to do so w ould insure that the money be
used up by the cu rre n t a d m in istra tio n and
Blacks be left holding the bag - again.
Letters to the Editor
you are Black, or any person of
co lo r, a Jew, an independent
woman, or a unionist, you are a
potential Kian target. As a member
o f more than one o f the above
groups, I am not only outraged, but
feel personally threatened by the
smug apathy o f those who are
"supposed " to provide "p ro te c
tio n .”
C om m unity in d ividua ls and
organizations must organize to
protect themselves and each other.
This is not an isolated incident. One
o f the largest Kian branches o f the
nation is in Oregon! I f they can
operate w ithout hindrance they’ ll
get bolder. We must protect our
selves and each other, firs t, by
recognizing that the danger is real,
grow ing and fa ta l; second, by
having our organizations take up
this issue and seriously deciding on
what our active response w ill be;
and third, by connecting ourselves
with other organizations and groups
and presenting a unified approach
against the Kian and other right-
wing groups, no matter where they
strike.
Sincerely,
Adrienne Walls
R A D IC A L WOMEN
Agencies discuss cross burning
(Continued from Page I Col 6)
prospective defendant; b) no license
number, just a vague description o f
a vehicle and c) that the Clackamas
County Sheriffs office checked out
one vehicle that matched the
description but its owner had a clear
alibi.
However, A rt
Richardson,
brother oi Ray Richardson, said he
supplied the Clackamas C ounty
S h e riff’ s o ffic e w ith the license
number o f a car containing twaiben
and a woman who were in the area.
The sheriff called in the number and
found that the car was from an out
side area, but no other investigation
was made. A rt, who has had eight
years o f law enforcement himself,
said he found other evidence in the
area o f his brother's home, which
links the spray paint used to write
racist threats on the Richardson’ s
auto and home, to the paint used to
vandalize the Realty office where
the Richardson's bought their
home. S till, the s h e riff’ s o ffic e
doesn’t feel that these incidents and
evidence are related.
Lezak’s own a ttitu d e tow ard
Blacks turned heads when he called
three Black women ''gals." He was
explaining the plight of three Black
women from the Beaverton area,
who were forced to move because of
racial harassment. And acting as if
that wasn’t insult enough, he went
further by saying that one o f the
reasons the Richardson family was
receiving unexpected white support
fro m the M ilw a u kie area, was
because of their middle class status.
It was at this p o in t, that M r.
M onroe, along w ith other Blacks
who were in attendance, voiced their
objections to Lezak’s remarks.
As the meeting progressed, it was
expressed by members from the
Black community that if the F.B.I.
and the Clackamas Sheriff depart
ment were unable to do anything
other than interviewing, then the
Black com m unity o f P ortland
would seek to provide the Richard
sons protection. The m ajority o f
those attending indicated a strong
feeling that the Richardsons had en
dured enough harrassment and im
mediate around-the-clock sur-
viellance should be provided them.
On August 26, an Ombudsperson
from Governor Vic Atiyeh’s office
called the Urban League and stated
that the governor is concerned
about the case, and has instructed
the Oregon State police to coor
dinate their patrol activities with the
Clackamas
C ounty
S h e riff’ s
Department.
Since the August 22, meeting, the
following has happened:
Om ark Industries, where Ray
Richardson is employed has
assigned a security guard to provide
surviellance to the Richardsons
awarded a high school d ip lo m a .
from 8:00 to4:00 P.M.
Clackamas C ounty S h e riff’ s
Department has provided coverage
from 4:00 P.M. until midnight by
using the Reserve Deputy Sheriff.
State Police w ill provide sur
viellance from midnight until 8:00
A .M ., through the use o f normal
patrol strategies.
M r. Robert Lamb, Com m unity
Relations Division o f the Depart
ment o f Justice w ill coordinate his
offices activities with Clackamas
County officials, U. S. Attorneys
Office and the Sheriffs Department
in Clackamas County.
The Urban League, Metropolitan
Human Relations Com m ission,
N A A C P , National conference o f
Christians and Jews w ill continue to
mobilize community support for the
Richardsons through the use o f
various agency personnel.
Said Norm Monroe, "W e w ill use
our office to solicit support for the
Richardson fam ily until the racial
incidents have been resolved.”
Through the e ffo rts o f M r.
M onroe, the Urban League,
N A A C P , M e tro p o lita n Human
Relations Commission, the National
Conference o f Christians and Jews
and other concerned citizens both
Black and white, once again we are
seeing an organized effort to fight
against racist moves to intimidate
the Richardson's right to live where
they choose.
he/she has got to be able to read at
the 12th grade level. The main pur
pose o f an education should not
simply be to get that diploma but to
get an education; to learn
something. Parental involvement in
school administraton affairs should
go beyond just curriculum changes,
personnel selection, staff accoun
ta b ility and q u a lity education.
Parents should also be prepared to
keep their children in school until
they learn something however long
it might take.
Students need to take a more
thorough, more complete and more
acatalectic overview o f what
education is all about. Why do they
go to school? What do they want
out o f it? An education is the key to
one’ s career, to one’s future. In this
increasingly
com plex
and
technological society, unless you
can read and write, you are about as
useful and as viable as a dinosaur on
the freeway. You just cannot make
it. Racism is on the rise; the
economy is in a tailspin and unem
ployment skyrocketing again.
In times like this Black fo lk
always have it rougher than usual.
So we’ ve got to be prepared to fight
back. You stand a much better
chance if you have an education and
an employable skill. W ithout this
sort o f ammunition, you can just
about forget it. I t ’ s so much easier
to turn you away if you lack this or
that particular skill and also lack the
means (the education) to learn.
With the public school system doing
less than an adequate job, it is up to
the student to work that much har
der to get ahead.
It is also up to the parent to give
their children as much help and en
couragement as they can. There is
nothing worse than sending a child
unschooled, unlettered and un
prepared out into this cold, cold
world.
Instead of crowding the already
oversaturated fields like the social
sciences
and
other
lib e ra l
disciplines, one stands a much better
chance by branching o ff into the
sciences, math and economics. In
most cases they are still wide open
with m inority students grossly un
derrepresented. Biology may not be
somebody’ s cup o f tea but i f you
want something w orthw hile you
have to be prepared to pay for it.
PSU’ s Educational O p p o rtu n ity
Program , fo r example, provides
tutors and counselors in all fields.
To best serve the needs o f the
students, the school board needs to
listen more to input from com
munity groups. This, of course, is a
m ajor departure from " n o rm a l"
school board p o litics but then
neither is this a normal problem.
When we get to the point where the
school system delivers the goods,
not one voice will be heard telling
the system how it should operate.
Next time Johnny/Jennie picks
up his/her diploma, he/she should
be least be able to read it, for, only
the erudite will survive.
REALLY?
Judge: What’ s your name7
Defendant: So ’ n So
Judge: Where do you live?
Defendant: Here and there
Judge: What do you do?
Defendant: This and that
Judge: Lock him up
Defendant: When w ill I get out?
Judge: Sooner or later!
Notes from City Hall
By Charles Jordan
Commissioner o f Public Safety
IN FOCUS: HOW TO PROTECT
YOUR CAR
Frightened by police apathy
To the Editor:
I am writing this letter in response
to the situation o f the Richardson
family in Milwaukee, who are being
harassed by organized Kian
terrorism, as reported in the Sunday
August 17th Oregonian.
It is ominous that the police can
find no "leads" and have shelved
the case, in spite o f open right-wing
evidence like cars driving past the
fa m ily ’ s house blaring out racist
messages, cross burning and cars
being spray painted. The lack o f ac
tive response by the official agencies
is an indication o f the real danger
facing targets o f Kian terorism. I f
Johnny can’t read. Johnny can’ t
write. Johnny can’ t add or subtract.
Sad thing is Johnny is not an
elementary school dropout; he is in
fact a college graduate. The diploma
on the wall proclaims: Graduate of
JT (Jive Turkey) University. As the
school year opens, this concerns
weighs heavily on the minds of most
parents: will their Johnny or Jennie
leave the educational system more
illiterate than when he/she went in?
A boycott o f classes looms again
as happened last year in another
parental effort to force the school
board to do its job: educate. In a
society where one's survival in any
job hinges on satisfactory perfor
mance, the educational institution
stands out like a sore thumb. Year
after year reading and math scores
plumet and yet the perpetrators of
this disservice retain their jobs.
They
even get
raises
and
promotions!
It is any wonder that the parents
are up in arms? True, p o litics
should be kept out o f education but
unless the educational establishment
is compelled to become acountable
fo r its actions or lack o f same,
education can only continue to
deteriorate. I f teachers, principals
and school administrators knew that
their paychecks depended on
delivering the goods that they
promised when they took the jobs,
they would be a lot more effective in
educating our children. N othing
spurs one to greater achievements
than the withholding of a check.
The entire educational system
needs a complete overhaul. This
idea o f "pushing students” through
has got to go too. Before anybody is
A rise in car prow ls in East
Precinct during the month o f July,
1980 has prompted me to share with
all of you some safety tips from the
P ortland Police Bureau C rim e
Prevention Division.
During July, 335 car prowls were
reported in East Precinct by itself.
This is a very large precinct exten
ding south from Fremont to the City
limits near the Clackamas County
border and extending east, from the
W illam ette River beyond 82nd
Avenue to 162nd Avenue in some
areas. Among the very active distric
ts are the areas from S.E. 39th to
S.E. 72nd Streets; Gleenwood Drive
to Divison Streets and the area near
the Coliseum when entertainment is
provided for the public. The types
o f articles taken from cars are
primarly stero and tape decks as
well as clothes and briefcases. From
trucks, they include tools and chain
saws -- anything visible! It is a
grow ing concern and becoming
more of a problem.
During the same month SI 18,087
in money and property loss was
reported from this precinct alone.
The amount has almost doubled
since May, 1980. Your cooperation
in safeguarding your valuables by
removing anything o f value from
your car would certainly help. Items
that cannot readily be carried with
you should be placed in the trunk o f
your car. Most thefts occur when
valuables are easily visible and the
only real solution is to learn how to
protect your car.
COMMON SENSE
PRACTICES
• Don’t park on the street, if it ’s
at all possible.
• I f you have to park on the
street, park in well lit areas. Neigh
bors should park their cars very
close together. (This can apply to
parking on the street or in an apart
ment parking lot.)
• Paint or engrave your drivers
license number on the top o f your
battery. Also, place crime preven
tio n "w a rn in g decals" on your
batter. (You can pick up an
engraver from your local police
precinct or library.)
• Most items on your car, such as
your hub caps or mags should be
engraved with your drivers license
number. This w ill help the police
trace your property if it is stolen.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR CAR
FROM BEING STOLEN:
• I f you have a garage, use it!
Make sure you put a lock on the
door.
• Here are a number o f items you
can buy to discourage thieves: K ill
Switch - shuts o ff the ignition. (This
prevents the car from being "h o t
wired.’ ’ )
Cut-Off-Switch- Cuts o ff all fuel.
Alarms - motion or interior alarms
are sensitive to touch or movement.
You can purchase these items at
most automobile supply wholesale
and manufacturing stores or depart
ment store automotive sections.
You can help us prevent this
crime and safeguard your valuable.
We have trained staff who will in
form you about crime prevention
activities and provide education
relative to our preventing crim e
through citizen action. A ll neigh
borhoods are vulnerable and East
Precinct does not stand alone with
this problem. You can make the d if
ference.
For more inform ation on crime
prevention techniques fo r your
home, valuables or business contact
Sharon M cC orm ick at 287-3692,
King Neighborhood Facility, 4815
N.E. 7th, or Stephanie Michaels at
248-4126,
Crim e
Prevention
Division, 222 S.W. Pine.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
The Portland Observer is a defender against racist assaults, per
secutions, insults, harassments, discriminations and related evils;
a vigilant champion for justice, equality and liberation, an alert
guard against social atrocities; a thorough analyst and severe critic
of discriminatory practices; a sentinel to warn of all existing and
impending detrimental racist trends and practices
The real problems of the Black population will be viewed and
presented from the perspective of their causality unrestrained and
chronically entrenched white racism National and international
arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression of Third
World peoples shall be considered in rotation to the continued
abuse, exploitation, political manipulation and contrivancaa im
plicit in the relationships that have characterized A m erica’s
historical treatment of its Black population
Bruce Broussard
Editor/Publlsher
Ist Place
Communlty Service
ONPA 1973
Ist Place
Best Ad Result
ONPA 1973
5th Place
Best Editorisi
ONPA 1973
Honoreble Mention
Herrick Editorisi Award
NNA 1973
The Portland Observer IUSPS 959 680) is published every Thurs
day by Exie Publishing Company. Inc , 2201 North Killmgsworth,
Portland. Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland. Oregon
97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon
2nd Place
Best Editorisi
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1976
Subscriptions »7 50 per year in Tri County area; »8 00 per year,
outside Tri County area P ostm aster Send address changes to
the Portland Observer. P O Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1978
M I MR» ta
MtMMR
283 2486
N ational A dvertising R epresentative
A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc.
N e w York
Association • founded IM S