Priestley takes to School Board
Jordan gives police, school program go-ahead
Police Commissioner Charles
Jordan and School Superintendent
Jim Fenwick told a small gathering
o f school officials that the juvenile
o ffic e r/s c h o o ls program w ill go
forward immediately.
Jordan explained that the present
age demands that the police be more
responsive to the needs of the com
munity than previously, that it begin
to deal with prevention of juvenile
crime rather than response to crime.
Regarding the public controversy
over the program, the opposition by
a large segment o f the Black com
m unity, he said there have been
some ‘ ‘ birth pangs” but “ we have
been able to cope and deal with
them the best we can.” As a result,
the program w ill be flexible to
respond to the needs o f various
communities.
The new program w ill place
uniform ed police o ffice rs in the
middle schools to teach, act as con
sultants and form relationship with
young people in an effort to deter
them from crime. The broader pur
pose o f the program, according to
Jordan, is to expose the officers to
“ good children” and through them
to change the negative attitudes and
_
behavior o f police on the streets.
The Black United Front has said
that the police bureau should deal
negative and racist attitudes o f its
officers d ire c tly , not through
children. As a result o f the op
position, Jordan said, the program
will be flexible enough to respond to
the needs of various communities.
Dr. Fenwick said he welcomes the
program and is strongly committed
to its success. Public reaction to a
new program is predictable and he
recognizes the validity o f different
points o f view. He explained that he
is sensitive to communities where
there are questions or opposition
(not all o f them m in o rity com
munities) and that he respects and
appreciates their concerns.
Principals have been advised to
PORTLAND OBSERVER
¿»«mi««*
hose narents
excuse children w
whose
parents c do
not want them to participate. Jor
dan explained that although some
children w ill not participate, the
majority o f parents will not bother
to excuse their children.
School Board member W ally
Priestley has asked that the program
be referred to the School Board for
discussion at its O ctober 13th
meeting.
Volum e XI N um ber 1
October 9, 1980
25Cper copy
BUF asks United Nations help
The Black United Front has filed
a com pliant w ith the U nited
Nations, charging that racism and
discrimination experienced by Black
people in Portland are a violation o f
the United Nations C harter, the
Universal Declaration o f Human
Rights, International Covenants on
Human Rights, and the Helsenki
Agreements.
The specific charges against the
City o f Portland and the State o f
Oregon are:
• Crimes committed by Portland
police against Black people, where
60% o f the people killed by Port
land police during the 1970’ s were
Black in comparison to only a city
wide Black population o f 6%.
• Portland has more than 700
police o ffice rs, and only 13 are
Black.
• The City has a current plan to
put police in the schools to teach
Black children the police are good
and fa ir when dealing w ith our
people.
• Oregon leads all States in
America in its rate o f incarceration
o f Black people, and the State o f
Oregon’ s Black population is only
3%. In addition, the Oregon state
prison was recently cited as being an
inhumane system.
• E ducational genocide exists
w ith in the C ity ’ s pu b lic school
system. Black children are poorly
educated or miseducated due to
their scoring low er than other
students on achievement tests year
after year, they are suspended or
expelled from school at dispropor
tionate rates as compared to the
m a jo rity student population, the
school system has very few Black
role models as teachers, ad
m inistrators, support s ta ff, and
Black parents have no voice in
educational goals they have for their
children.
• The creation of a colonized state
fo r Black people by uprooting
families due to urban renewal or ex
pansion, resulting in the most
dilapidated housing conditions in
the City.
• A denial or refusal for bringing
about economic p a rity w ith the
m ajority community. A very high
rate o f unemployment exists among
the Black population 30 - 40% for
adults, and 50 - 60% for teenagers.
• There are 525 jobs in industries
located in our community which are
owned by whites. Only 25 o f the
jobs are held by Blacks.
• D isallow ing o f Black com
m unity
and
cu ltu ra l
self-
determination. Local Black artists
have been consistently denied an
o p p o rtu n ity to exercise their
cre a tiv ity . O ut o f 120 school
buildings only one honors a Black
person, the City does not have one
street named after a Black person,
and as a result o f such disregard the
honoring o f Black people who have
contributed so much is limited.
The appeal to the United Nations
is not new. Previous appeals were
led by W .E .B . D uBois, Paul
Robeson and Malcom X.
The appeal is a follow up to a
letter sent to President Jim m y
Carter, asking him not to appear in
the presidential debate scheduled
for Portland. The debate has since
been cancelled, but the BUF has not
received a reply from the President.
While in Portland, Vice President
Mondale expressed his belief that
the charges are not believable to him
because o f his knowledge o f former
Mayor Neil Goldschmidt.
Copies o f the complaint were sent
to: K urt W aldheim , Secretary-
General o f the U nited N ations;
Salim A. Salim, Representative o f
Tanzania to the U N ; Donald
McHenry, US Ambassador to the
UN; Representative Cardiss Collins,
C hairm an o f the Congressional
Black Caucus; and Amnesty Inter
national.
'They must be held accountable'
The seventieth birthday of Mrs. M artha A nder
son was honored Saturday w ith a birthday party
sponsored by US National Bank. Mrs. Anderson,
who has extensive experience in journalism , has
w ritten a new book "Black Pioneers of the N orth
w est 1800 - 1918" which will be released by Pioneer
Publishing Company in late October.
(Photo. Stephen M . Denny)
Oregon legislator visits Nigeria
By Matthew Akom
. ♦ • *■
Around early September, 1980 a
group o f 20 lawmakers from various
states o f the U.S. travelled to
Nigeria, West Africa, at the request
o f the government. The main pur
pose o f this two-week visit was for
the U.S. lawmakers to serve as
“ consultants” to the Nigerian coun
terparts. It must be pointed out that
Nigeria, which is a federation o f 19
states, fashioned its constitution
after the American model.
Let me digress a little and
acquaint our readers with a brief
background o f the importance of
this A fric a n country to every
Qrcgonian and the U.S. as a whole.
Nigeria is a Texas-sized country in
West A frica with a population o f
about 100 m illion. It accounts for
about one out of every 12 gallons of
oil used in the U.S. Next to Saudi
Arabia, it is the largest exporter of
crude oil to this country and offers
the “ sweet o il,” preferred by most
refiners, due to the low sulfur con
tent. It is estimated that by year-
end, the balance o f trade between
the U.S. and Nigeria will be about
12 b illio n dollars in their favor!
Remember the 1973 Arab O il
lloycott, when tempers and civility
o f most m otorist were severely
tested, the U.S. imported over 50%
o f its crude oil from Nigeria.
Among the lawmakers that were
in Nigeria was an Oregonian, Mr.
Jim Chrest, a N o rth -P o rtla n d
resident and a member o f the
Oregon House of Representatives.
M r. Chrest graciously offered to
share his Nigerian experiences with
our readers in an interview at his
dock work-place, Port o f Portland.
Observer: What was the purpose
o f your visit to Nigeria?
Chrest: At the invitation o f the
National Assembly o f Nigeria, we
went there to serve as “ Consul
tants” to the Federal and State
Assemblies. We spent 6 days in
Lagos (the c a p ito l), 3 days in
Enugu, (West) and 3 days in Kadune
(North) mainly providing exchanges
w ith our peers about our roles,
functions and main p o litica l
processes. The N igerian C on
stitution takes its roots from the
U.S., but it is adapted to the unique
Nigerian traditions and history o f
sectionalism and tribalism. Unlike
the U.S., there is only a federal con
stitution in Nigeria (none within the
states). Each p o p u la rly elects a
G overnor and a State Assembly
with mainly an executive function.
>
Their
State Assemblies are
unicam eral and the N ational
Assembly is bicameral. We even in
troduced the legislators to the role
o f lobbyists in the political system
o f the U.S. (comments, there goes
the neighborhood!)
Observer: What are the m ajor
differences between the U.S. and
Nigerian Constitutions?
Chrest: F irs tly , to combat
tribalism, the President is selected
by overall popular votes as well as
25% o f 36 o f states, plurarity votes.
This ensures a broad-based support
for the leader.
Secondly, five parties are
specified in the Constitution, which
is causing some problems for the
Legislatures, namely, whether to
vote on issues based on conscience
or party affiliation.
Lastly, salaries o f Judges,
Legislatures, etc., are specified
w ithin the co nstitution there are
some others but I think these are
unique features that are embodied
in the largely and specific and
detailed document.
Observer: Are there any recent
constitutional crises?
Chrest: Yes. While we were there,
there was a national debate to offer
(Please turn to Page 14 Col I)
School Board member W ally
Priestley told the press Monday that
the sponsors o f the unsuccessful ef
fort to recall four board members
should be held responsible for the
disruption they have caused in the
school district.
The “ Citizens Committee for a
Responsible School Board” had an
nounced that they had achieved only
approximately 75 per cent o f the
signatures necessary to put the recall
on the ballot, so on the deadline day
fo r filin g , adm itted defeat. The
committee was formed immediately
follow ing the board vote to te r
minate Superintendent Robert
Blanchard and was directed at the
four members who voted for ter
mination.
Priestley holds the recall move
responsible for the Board's inability
to address some of the serious issues
facing the district. “ Had it not been
for the recall, the Board would have
put a much needed tax base on the
November ballot. We w ill have a
serious shortage o f funds next year -
but it would have been foolish to
put a tax measure on the ballot if a
recall movement meant we could
not get public support to pass it.”
The recall e ffo rt prompted the
filing of a 5283,000 lawsuit by Blan
chard, seeking damages for breach
o f contract. P rio r to his ter
m ination, there were indications
that Blanchard would be willing to
negotiate a settlement. Since the
recall effort was announced, Blan
chard has refused to negotiate with
the B oard’ s legal counsel and
persons close to Blanchard indicated
that no settlement would be possible
until the outcome o f the recall was
determined.
Priestley pointed out thaï many
o f those seeking to blame the
present problem with Blanchard’s
contract on the current board were
actually responsible. When in May
o f 1979 it became evident that the
Board would change because Steve
Buel and Bill Scott, both believed to
have questions about Blanchard's
tenure, had been elected to the
Board, the “ old board” extended
Blanchard’s contract. In spite o f in
creasing d is tric t discontent, in
cluding a threatened school boycott,
the “ old board” including Jonathan
Newman, Evie C row ell, Beverly
York, Frank McNamara and Joe
Rieke, voted as one o f their last
orders o f business, to extend Blan
chard’ s contract from July o f 1981
to July o f 1983.
“ They were afraid that a new
board, which included people more
closely identified with the people,
would remove the Superintendent
they had chosen and supported.
They made sure his fu tu re was
secure w ith a long term contract
before they went out of office.”
The same contingent that exten
ded Blanchard's contract sought to
control membership on the Board
through changing the election date
and now through selecting and find
ing candidates, Priestley explained.
Priestley was elected at the May
primary election in 1976, a fact that
met great fear and anger on the part
o f Board members and the ad
m inistration. At their next board
meeting, the board voted to ask the
Legislature to change the election to
A pril on the “ o ff year.” W ith the
aid o f Representative H ow ard
C herry, a form er school board
member, the board persuaded the
Legislature to change the election
dates o f the P ortland School
D is tric t, the Educational Service
(Please turn to Page 10 Col 3)
Mental health clinic organizes
By Nyewusi Askari
The N o rth /N o rth e a s t C om
m unity M ental H ealth Center is
being organized. The services o f the
Center are to be provided both by
core Center sta ff and by selected
subcontract
mental
services
providers (such as Delaunay Mental
Health Clinic, the Center for Com
munity Mental Health, the House o f
Exodus, and the M ultnom ah
County Health Division Northeast
Multi-Service Center).
The Mental Health Center w ill
serve North and Northeast Portland
bounded by the C olum bia and
Willamette Rivers, 82nd Avenue, nd
the Banfield Freeway. I t ’ s 1980-81
budget includes approxim ately
$700,000 o f federal funds and
51,100,000 o f state and county
funds.
The center w ill include the
following service elements:
1. Inpatient services 2. Outpatient
services 3. Partial hospitalization
services 4. Emergency services (24-
hour access) 5. Consultation and
education services 6. Services for
children 7. Services fo r elderly 8.
Screening services 9. Follow-up ser
vices (case management services) 10.
Transitional services 11. Alcohol
abuse services and 12. Drug abuse
services.
The Center intends to provide
com m unity-based planning and
administration o f mental health ser
vices w ithin the catchement area,
assuring appropriate continuity o f
care for persons with mental health
service needs and appropriate
linkages between the existing service
agencies. As the Center board is
organized and staff are retained, a
core Center site w ill be selected
within the catchement area.
A nom inating com m ittee is
currently seeking the names o f per
sons living in North and Northeast
neighborhoods who are qualified
and willing to serve on the Center's
Board o f Directors.
Board candidates should have an
interest in mental health services,
should be representative o f the area
to be served, and should be willing
to devote a substantial amount o f
volunteer time to governance o f the
Center. Persons interested in
(Please turn to Page 2 Col 6)