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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 1980)
Black organizations boycott EDA minority election A coalition of seven organizations objected to procedures for naming m in o rity members to the C ity 's Economic Development Advisory C om m ittee (E D A C ) and asked Blacks not to participate. Joining in the coalition are the N A A C P , the N ational Business l eague, Albina Fair Share, CRIB, Albina Women’ s League, Oregon Association o f Colored W omen’ s Clubs, and the Black United Front. H alim Rashaan, who is co- chairman o f the co a litio n , along w ith C o ttre ll W hite, called the C ity’s action in scheduling the elec tio n meeting fo r W ashington / Monroe High School “ a blatently racist act” designed ” to avoid having m eaningful Black par tic ip a tio n in economic develop ment,” He added, " I t is obvious the City wants to make sure that poor Black people have little o p p o rtu n ity to participate in decisions made about their lives. We will not participate in those elections; they are contemp tuous fraud.” The fifteen member EDAC com mittee now has two Black and two C hicano members and must now select two additional members. The C ity s Bureau o f Econom ic Development had proposed mem bers to be appointed by the C ity C ouncil, but because o f federal regulations the decision was made to allow the m inority communities to elect representatives. The S12 m illio n economic development grant has been a con tinuous controversy since it was an nounced during a 1978 presidential visit. The funds, which were to have created jobs and to have aided the Black community, are nearly gone - with nothing having been accom plished in the Black com m unity. The majority o f the funds have gone to public works. Following the organization o f the ED AC w ith o u t p a rtic ip a tio n o f m inority organizations, six Black organizations filed suit. Although concessions have been made by the City, most observers charge that no money has come to the Black com m unity to be used by Black businesses or organizations. Rahsaan said he and Cottrell had met with John White, director o f the C ity Bureau o f Econom ic Development, after they had been advised o f the meeting place and asked that it be moved to King Neighborhood Facility, Matt Dish man Center, or Jefferson or Grant High School. The coalition also charged that n o tific a tio n was late and many organizations were not n o tifie d about the meeting. NATION A l PORTLAND OBSERVER Volum e 10 Num ber 38 Septem ber 26. 1980 100 per copy U SP S 959 680 Discipline discriminationprevails Parents o f 6th to 12th graders from throughout Portland are in vited to a special meeting October 2, 7:30 p.m. at the Grant High School t afeteria, 2245 NE 36th Avenue. Parents w ill learn about the district’s discipline and counseling programs and meet w ith school counselors. The d is tric t is refocusing its program in counseling and discipline to better serve its stu dents. Letting parents know what the school can do, to help the students, is very im p o rta n t in discipline and counseling programs. Counselors from each high school and middle school w ill be at this meeting to meet in fo rm a lly w ith parents. A study o f P ortland Public Schools suspension during the 1978- 1979 school year found that Black students were suspended 2.55 times more often than white students. Although the student body was 13.5 percent Black, Blacks were 29.3 per cent of the suspensions. The greatest disproportion be tween Black and non-Black students was at the K-8 schools, with a Black - white ratio o f 3.25 to 1. The high school ratio was second highest at 2.75-1. The study upholds the complaint o f the Black U nited F ront that Black students who are transferred out o f their districts suffer from disproportionment suspensions. Black A T students were suspen ded at a 4.44-1 ratio, when com pared to white ATs, while Black resident students were suspended 2.39 times more than white resident students. A T students had a higher probability o f being suspended than n o n -m in o rity A T students, but white AT students were less likely to be suspended than white resident students. At the middle schools, Black AT students were suspended 5.45 times more often than white AT students. A t the high schools, the ratio was 3.33-1. The most common reasons for suspensions were "B ehavior with other students” , “ attendence problem s” , “ unacceptable in dividual behavior” . The ra tio o f Black to w hite suspensions follows: 1) Behavior with other students: 4.64 to 1; 2) Behavior with staff: 3.52 to 1; 3) D isrespect/H arassm ent/In- subordination: 2.92 to 1; 4) Criminal behavior: 2.55 to 1; 5) Attendance problems: 2.25 to l; 6) Other - 1.20 to 1; In all but two categories, Black AT students had suspension rates o f more than 4 to 1 compared to whites. 1) Criminal behavior: 6.81 to 1; 2) Attendance problem: 6.43 to 1; 3) D isrespect/H arassm ent/In- subordination: 5.45 to 1; 4) Behavior with staff: 4.36 to 1; 5) Behavior with students: 4.03 to 1. For Black resident students (at tending their area school) ratio ex ceeded 2 to I in all but tw o categories: 1) Behavior with students: 4.24 to 1; 2) Behavior with staff: 3.14 to 1; 3) D isrespect/H arassm en t/In subordination: 3.09 to 1; 4) Attendance problems: 2.40 to 1; 5) Criminal behavior: 2.05 to 1. The report is a follow -up to a report done last year on 1977-78 statistics which showed a great discrepancy between Black and white suspensions. " I n M H R C ’ s 1977-78 report, it clearly showed that the suspension rates for Black students varied greatly from school to school. That report established (Please turn to Page 2 col 1) Soviets launch Black cosmonaut O bserver re p o rte r S te p h a n ie Cole in te rv ie w s Georgia State Representative Julian Bond during w orkshop celebrating Black College Day. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Community plans Big Vote drive A planning meeting fo r OPERATION BIG VOTE in Port land was held last Thursday evening at the A. Phillip Randolph Institute to continue organizing fo r what should be the largest voter registraton drive in P o rtla n d ’ s North, Northeast communities. A tte n d in g the meeting were twenty persons representing several fraternal, social service and c iv il rights organizations. There was general agreement that these organizations will work together to provide the manpower and resour ces to attem pt to register every unregistered voter 18 years or older. “ O P E R A T IO N BIG VOTE is happening in every m ajor Black c o m m u n ity ,” according to organizers o f Thursday’ s meeting. "This election will have significant impact on the lives of Blacks in this country. It is im portant that we exercise our power at the voting booth so that politicians will begin addressing issues that affect our lives in a responsible manner.” The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 25th, at 7:30 PM at 3933 N.E. Union. For further information contact Linda Williams 221-8188, Judy Knawls 231-0770 or Kay Toran 282-0711. The USSR has launched the first Black, a Cuban, into space as part o f its "Intercosmos Program” . The program, initiated in 1967, includes ten socialist nations and allows the Soviet Union and the smaller and less developed nations to pool their resources and participate in jo in t research. Cosmonats from Czechoslovakia, Poland, GDR, Bulgaria, Hungary and Vietnam have made previous space trip s, w ith M ongolia and Romania tra in in g to fo llo w the Cuban flight. The Cuban people are witnessing the event through television trans missions from the Caribe ground satellite station near Havana. A ll the international teams have travelled on the Soyuz craft (Soyuz means unity). KGW: Free bias; fettered speech The themes of "open forum" and "free speech" have been used by the advocates for white racism to direct countless insults, assaults and degradations at the Black population. KGW-TV has now openly joined it» many predecessors in such endeavors. Dean Woodring, station manager, in his proclaimed concern to offer op portunities for public discussion and enlightment (Lew Fredericks nodding assent to his every utterance - 11 p.m. Newscast 9-18-80) revealed an ap palling insensitivity to the normal daily concerns of the Black population. Woodring’s every expression and explanation indicated that his understand ing of the doctrine of free speech is grossly deficient. He attempted to dignify as theory what Shockley has plagiarized from age old white racist myths and propaganda. KGW paid Shockley to espouse this repugnant garbage to its viewing public and implored Blacks to be on hand gratis to help him achieve credibility. Without Blacks any exposure given this individual is invalid. Analysis Woodring is confused if his notions of free speech assume the right and freedom to denégrate and slander. The awesome KGW resources in person nel and technology are misused when they carry the messages of defamation against Black people from an internationally known racist. This is an inex cusable act of glarirtg injustice. Other recent news accounts have illuminated the racist inspired disservice, disregard and discrimination of other broadcasting media in this area Net work television is no exception. In presenting Shockley KGW declares its ingrained commitment to revitalize the sickest of white racism's tired and dissipated vitriol. This should concern all decent persons. The fact that KGW is involved in disseminating the empty, unsubstantiated and pernicious opinions of Shockley is an unparalleled insult to the entire Black population. It is absurb and disgusting that Woodring has the gall to see himself as doing Blacks a small favor by offering them a chance to debate white racism. For the socially developed persons of this world this is a non-debatable issue. Only the mentally ossified would seek to exercise such prerogatives. This kind of programming on the part of KGW should be considered in violation of FCC regulations. If there were an absence ot empathetic racists at the federal level this station's license might be subject to revocation. This point is well taken because Shockley has no contribution to make to a social order that includes Black people. The sounds he has made up to this time consist of hatreds and insults and these consistently lack reason. It is not unusual but it is surprising that KGW would brazenly show admiration and respect for an individual whose chief business is to diminish and jeopardize the limited esteem that exists in this nation for the Black population. As a media serving the public KGW should show responsibility to provide the materials and information which also reflect the goals and values of Black people But instead fees and facilities are provided so that Shockley can recite and re-emphasize his phony, anti-Black, dogmatic distortions. This boils down to being an insidious KGW strategy for creating societal polarizations and increasing the repression of Black people. KGW lends its weight to moving beyond just offering the uncomplimen tary Lew Fredericks’ "Albina." The showcasing of Shockley holds up the en tire Black population for defamation and disrespect. No rational polemics can explain convincingly this was done to reduce the tirades against Black people It must be seen as KGW affirming that all who share notions of white supremacy should assert themselves more. Therefore, from a Black perspec tive KGW used Shockley to provoke Black reaction and to arouse in dignation. KGW is a safe haven for white racism and it is doubtful if the dominant population it serves will be critical of any scurrilous offenses that are leveled at Black people. KGW and Gerry Pratt were first perceived as only interested in winning support for Shockley and his views. Minor modifications in their verbiage became apparent after organized Black opposition was expressed at a press conference 9-18 80. However, prior to this numerous Blacks had informed the station via telephone of their objections. KGW in all probability will be able to establish that it has not violated any laws Despite this, the truth is that the sentiments of Shockley do damage C ub an c o s m o n a u t T a m a y o prepares fo r space flig h t w ith S o v ie t c o s m o n a u t. (P h oto: Prensa Latina) and violence to the humanity of Black people. These are no undone or altered by challenge, confrontation and refutation. Thus, the Black population is correct in asserting that the failure of KGW to be cognizant of these far-reaching implications for Black people throughout this nation is a matter of immeasurable gravity. KGW in serving the total population should avoid threatening the social tranquility and wellbeing of any population sector. In foisting Shockley upon the Black public KGW was not displaying interest in societal betterment. This was a cold, forceful, disturbing, white racist, anti-Black political statement. KGW is distressingly limited’ in its capacity to provide sound social focus. This is clearly revealed in its failure to respect (he Black population as another intelligent, complex, human enity. This compels Blacks to reject without reservations the put-down implicit in the capricious thrusting of a white racist sensationalist upon us the same as a slap in the face. In addition. Black people cannot disregard that Shockley's beliefs and at titudes as disseminated over the past dozen years have comforted millions of whites and confirmed their tendencies to treat Blacks as inferior. Blacks are rightfully incensed upon discovering that KGW has openly joined the hordes of the racially cruel and barbaric. An even more gruesome aspect is that the FCC is not likely to develop a will to correct any of this before the Black image is ground to pieces in the racist mills of television commercialism. W hite racism is the pervasive ideology of this community and this nation. M any whites do not deny this. This Shockley thing enables Blacks to see K G W as intending to deprecate Black life and culture, cloud the Black presence, increase degradation and compound misery for Black people. At the same time the dominant population will be made to feel "norm al." A note for the uninformed: Shockley was dismissed from serious attention by thinking Blacks more than ten years ago. The question: Then, why this commentary? The answer: The American nation at this very moment is vic timized with magnitudinous social problems. If the social and political con sciousness of the television media can reach no higher level than w hat w e have witnaassd at K G W . then oppressiveness and inhumanness surely will propel the total society into a state of unsurpassed decadence. You can count on itl
