p « fle 2 P o rtla n d O b servar O c to b e r 16,1980
ED IITORIA<L /0 P IN IO N
When it rains, it pours
Watch those appointments!
Tho
m o f i n n zU
M
: — « — ___ — __________
-
The m
question
of appointments
to public
commissions and committees is a puzzle to
many citizens who see the same few people
appointed over and over, going from commit­
tee to committee. The problem is more acute
to minorities since they are fewer in number
and usually less visible. The appointing of­
ficials usually know few, if any, minority
people first-hand to learn to depend on a few
advisors or "power brokers" to recommend
appointees to them.
This "power broker" system has limited the
access of most minority people to the decision
making process and expanded the influence of
a few. This has prevented the minority per­
spective from being adequately represented.
The result is a few people serving on many
committees - sometimes ten and twelve at a
tim e, some of them either worn out or
inadequate to deal with the assignment. Let a
person once become the leader of a minority
organization and, if he behaves, he will be on
numerous committees for life. In the mean­
time, there are thousands eager but never
selected to serve.
This is not a new issue; we have brought it
up again and again to our public officials and
to candidates, yet the practice of repeatedly
appointing the same people continues. The
worst offender is the Portland School District,
which not only repeatedly selects the same
people - but once it selects them it leaves them
on the committee forever. There seems to be
m
l
By Fungai Kumbula
i
no appointment, period on some school
district committees; they are for life.
The School Board made a step toward
changing the practice by opening the
desegregation monitoring committee to all
who would like to participate. Now if thev
would announce that fact to the public and
reveal th e time and place of the meetings
more people might like to participate. W e
recommend that the district open all of its ad
visory committeess to those who are in ­
terested, rather than seeking those who will
not disagree.
The failure to provide the non-English
speaking students with bilingual education
amounts to deliberate compounding of the dif­
ficulties that impede and prohibit their access
to decent and responsible places in the
American social order. This causes language
difference to become a liability that con­
sciously and inadventently holds up students'
ethnic identities to ridicule. The views and at­
titudes the external society will express more
freely toward them are markedly different from
what they think of themselves. The expec­
tations and ambitions they may share as an
outgrowth of their own past and culture can
be conveniently misunderstood and misinter­
preted by those who may capriciously and ar­
bitrarily categorize any non-dominant peoples'
ethnic attributes, behavior and aspirations as
debased and non-conforming. The process of
these students defending and maintaining
their self-identity with dignity and security in a
multi-ethnic nation will be seriously jeopar­
dized.
Any goals the new Asian students may at­
tempt to achieve in accordance with American
prescribed formulas for success could be
disastrously frustrating. The pattern of
Not since early 1968 had anything
remotely resembling this had been
seen. D r. A p o llo M ilto n Obote,
Uganda’ s only elected Prime
M inister, was ousted in 1969 by
Field Marshall Amin. At the time o f
the coup, Obote was in Singapore
attending a Commonwealth Prime
M inisters’ Conference. It is in ­
teresting to note that Amin had the
backing and support o f Britain and
Israel. The then U.S. President,
Richard M. Nixon, concurred with
the ouster o f Obote because they all
felt he was getting “ too radical.”
What followed this tragic event
and naked intrusion on Uganda’ s
internal a ffa irs is now public
knowledge. Am in’ s excesses and his
eventual fa ll from grace are well
documented. It was w ith this in
mind that Kampalans had thronged
into the streets, remembering the
There are two exceptions to this "power-
broker" rule. Governor Atiyeh, though not
making enough minority appointments in our
opinion, has reached out and brought in some
new faces. This week, for example, he appoin­
ted Art Alexander to the new commission of
Foregin Language and International Studies
and Bill Nickelberry and Marc Hannibal to thé
Governor's Council for Health, Fitness and
Sports.
County Executive Don Clark occassionally
announces openings in the press and en­
courages application. This week he asked for
applications for appointment to the Mult-
nomah County Juvenile Services Commission
We hope in coming months to see appoint-
ments less restricted to certain people and
organizations and more representative of the
community as a whole.
Help! don't hinder
"Troubles are like chickens; they
come home to ro o s t.” No one
knows that better than the current
leaders o f Uganda. Its ’ been
eighteen months since the fall o f Idi
Amin Dada. When the victorious
jo in t Tanzanian-U nited N ational
Liberation Forces rolled into the
.capital Kam pala, in late ’ 78,
thousands o f Kampalans paraded in
the streets. There was dancing in the
streets; women kissed the soldiers
and decorated their weapons with
flowers.
Letters to the Editor
relationships that emerge when language
communication is one way and balanced to
serve the wishes of the school authorities and
personnel will be of real disadvantage to the To ihe Editor:
powerless students. Bilingual education can­
not solve all of the problems for non-English
Much thanks fo r the Portland
speaking student. However, it is the most ef­ Black United Front photo, which we
fective educational program for equipping used in our September 24th issue.
As a former Portland resident, I
them to: define clearly their goals and
wish Black United Front and the
aspirations; respond to the serious questions Observer all possible luck in the
that arise as to how the educational process struggle.
can implement better their achievement; ex­
Sincerely Yours,
plain with greater clarity the multiple con­
Julia Adams
fusions and dilemmas they need help with in a
the Guardian Newspaper
different cultural environment; interact with
33 West 17th Street
more substantive meaning to problems that
New York, N.Y. 10011
are directly related to their refugee status.
Good luck
By Floyd McKay
In the long run, other decisions the Portland
Board makes this year may prove to be more
important than racial policy. Children of all
races will be affected by school closures and
finance. But the racial debate dominates
because it is really a struggle over who runs
the city's schools. The issue is in doubt.
In the past, paid administrators ran the
schools in partnership with what might be
called the progressive wing of Portland's white
business and professional community. They
went so far as to screen candidates for the
Board. White or Black, nearly every member
of the Board until recently was blessed by this
establishment support. The present Board
chairman, Herb Cawthorne, is the first Black
member who doesn't owe his position to the
white leadership. Therein lies the roots of the
recall.
In the pure fact that a majority of the pres­
ent Board was not selected by the same
establishment that selected prior Boards. The
Candidates
(Continued from page I col. 3)
hold a candidates' fair on October
26th at 7:30 p.m. at 232 S.E. 80th.
Many national, state and local can­
didates will be present. Coffe hour
will follow.
A special presentation on the
Portland C om m unity College and
the Novem ber tax base w ill be
presented to members o f the
given reasons for recall are drivel...the real
reason is control. And until control is decided,
the school system cannot move forward. If thé
recall group really cared about performance,
the recall petitions would be stopped.
It is a fact that the new middle school
opened with enrollment above expected and
with a 50-50 racial balance. Because the Board
and its new administrators worked in the
neighborhoods to make it happen. It is a fact
that a potentially destructive boycott has been
sidetracked...because the Board and its new
staff were willing to talk to their critics.
There is at last a policy to involve the com­
munity in school closures, a no-win issue. And
despite the problems of the summer and the
recall, some semblance of order is emerging
from an inexperienced Board. The Board did
name as superintendent a man with impressive
professional qualifications and the respect of
his peers. If this is the record of an irrespon­
sible and immature Board -- as the recall
people charge - then the same charge could
be leveled against any recent Board. But per­
formance is not the issue here. The issue is
control, and it has nothing to do w ith
education.
(broadcast on KGW TV on 9 2 801
National Council o f Negro Women
on October 30- th. 7:30 p.m. at King
Neighborhood Center.
A VR EC w ill hold com m unity
forums to address ballot issues on
October 26th at City Hall and on
October 27th at PCC Cascade, Por­
table No. 2. Both meetings are at
7:30 p.m. (234-1416)
KPTV will air League o f Women
Voters
sponsored
candidate
debates. October 19th, 10:00 p.m. -
Candidates for Secretary o f State
and Candidates for State Treasure;
November 2nd, 8:00 p.m. - " I t ’s
Your Choice” and at 10:30 p.m. -
Candidates for U.S. Senate.
For registration inform ation call
Operation Big Vote, 231-0770, or
the Multnomah County Registrar
248-3720.
Farmer supports Paulus
To the Editor:
Farmers o f Oregon have a friend
in the Office o f Secretary o f State.
Looking back on the legislative
record o f Norm a Paulus, we
remember her as a leader in the
passage o f the farm labor b ill in
1971 (w hich G overnor M cCall
vetoed for political reasons), and
the bill to provide tax credits for
construction o f migrant housing. In
1975 Norma successfully led the
cause o f the farmers against the
proposal o f G overnor Straub to
NOTICE
Public education should provide all non-
English speaking students with the services
appropriate to their particular categorical
needs in this society. Two way com ­
munication is of primary impprtance. Bilingual
education is the correct method for removing
harmful am biguity from the institutional
setting in which student-teacher relations
should be a two-way learning process.
I he cost ol the Observer has been
increased to 25« per copy. The sub­
scription rate will increase to $10.00
per year beginning November 1
1980.
condemn the farm land along the
Williamette River.
W ith farmers now a small
minority, it is more important than
ever to have a friend in key
positions. Let’ s recognize superior
performance in public office and
reelect Norma Paulus as Secretary
o f State.
Yours truly,
Grant Henderson
Summerville, Oregon
CORRECTION
The Portland Police Bureau extends its apologies to the Black United
Front lor using their name in its personnel advertisement of October 9, 1980
and to the Albina Ministerial Alliance for omitting its name. The Bureau is
sorry for any embarassment we have caused either o f these organizations.
1st Place
Community Service
ONPA 1973
Portland Observer
Portland Observer (USPS 959 6801 is published every Thurs
P o r t i o n Pub,,#* " 8 Company, Inc.. 2201 North Killin^sworth
Another point o f view
This commentary represents the level of
social thought the Portland Observer believes
is in the best interest of the total com ­
munity...(Ed.,
"good old days.” The fall o f Amin
would be chosen. That had to be
was supposed to usher in a new era;
scrapped when the logistics o f con­
a return to normalcy. It was sup­
ducting free and fa ir elections
posed to signal the end o f
proved to be impossible. Election
lawlessness, insecurity,
fear,
Day has been re-set for December 10
wholesale looting and massacres,
but Uganda watchers say even that
hunger and the scourge o f disease,
may be too optimistic.
spira llin g unem ploym ent and
A recent com munique from
runaway inflation an attack on the
Uganda reports that forces "loyal to
n a tio n ’ s educated, "m angendo”
Am in” have captured two border
(smuggling) and all those other ills
towns. The towns are on the border
associated
w ith
the
“ ad­
with Zaire; Am in’s last stronghold
ministration” o f Idi Amin.
and the one area that has remained
Such has not been the case,
most volatile throughout the last
however, much to the dismay o f all
year and a half. I f true, this would
Ugandans. Uganda’ s outside sup­
be what our elders used to describe
porters, too, have been sorely
as: "p o u rin g o il on troubled
disappointed at the c o u n try ’ s
waters.” Uganda has enough
inability to cope with rehabilitation.
problems without having another
The past eighteen months have seen
full-scale war to fight. Tanzania had
the ouster o f the man first chosen
pulled out h a lf o f her o riginal
to succeed Amin, Professor Ysusfu
10,000 man force and is anxious to
K Lule and the removal and sub­
pull out the rest. Whether or not she
sequent arrest o f his successor,
would be w illin g to send more
Godfrey Binaisa. There has been
troops back into Uganda should the
wholesale starvation and a complete
situation deteriorate any further is
breakdown o f law and order in the
questionable. Econom ically, she
outlying areas like Karamojong.
cannot afford to; she is still trying to
So bad has the situation been that
recover from the financial setback
even trucks sent to these areas with
the war against Amin caused her.
relief supplies have been ambushed
From the average Ugandan, the
and some o f the workers killed.
reported Amin invasion is another
C attle ru stling is endemic. The
major setback and cause for great
governing N ational Consultative
concern. Any other protracted
Council which was formed shortly
m ilita ry co nflict could well spell
after the ouster o f A m in had
doom for the country once called
scheduled elections for the end of
"The Jewel of A frica.”
September so a new government
When it rains, it pours...
1st Place
Best Ad Result
ONPA 1973
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' PO8' ° " ÍC9 Bo,< 3137‘ Portl«"d Oregon
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ootside Tri County area P ostm aster: Send address changes to
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The Portland Observer was founded in October of 1970 bv
Alfred Lee Henderson.
The Portland Observer is a champion of justice, equality and
liberation; an alert guard against social evils; a thorough analyst
and critic of discriminatory practices and policies; a seminal to
warn of impending and existing racist trends and practices; and a
defender against persecution and oppression
The real problems of the Black population will be viewed and
Bruce Broussard
Editor/Publisher
■
presented from the perspective of their causality: unrestrained and
chronoically en trenched racism . N ational and in ternation al
Mt MBfK
arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression of Third
World peoples shall be considered in the context of their ex
ploitation and manipulation by the colonial nations, including the
United States, and the relationship to the this nation s historical
treatment of its Black population.
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Honorable Mention
Herrick Editorial Award
NNA 1973
2nd Place
Best Editorial
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1975
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1978
3rd Place
In depth coverage
ONPA 1979
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6th Place
Best Editorial
ONPA 1973
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Last chance
at this
low price!
$7.50 Tri-County
$8.00 Other
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City:____
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