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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1981)
Paga 2 Portland Observer January 15.1981 EDITORIAL/OPINION Who, if not us, will be responsible? Two years ago Steve Buel was elected to the School Board, joining Wally Priestley, who had already served for three years. Those were three miserable years, under constant attack by the six establishment-oriented Board mem bers and their Superintendent. N ot long a fte r B u e l's e le c tio n a vacancy developed. There was no Black on the Board and dese g re g a tio n had becom e the m ajor issue - the coalition had recommended school pairings, the Black United Front was threaten ing a school boycott, HEW was investigating charges of discrim ination. Herb Cawthorne - BUF organizer, Coalition co-chairm an, w riter for the Observer and Oregonian, TV host and Portland State University employee - accepted the challenge of seeking the a p p o in tm e n t. W ith the solid support of Priestley and Buel, he finally received the appointment. Cawthorne w ept at the podium that night, believing that for the first time a Black person had been selected for a political position from am ong the ranks o f Black m ilita n c y . His pledge was to always represent the interests of all the students of the district - but most of all to rem ain true to the c o m m u n ity th a t had made his selection possible and to the Black children who had suffered the abuse of an un just system. So upset was J o n a th a n N ew m an over Cawthorne's appointm ent and the changes it fo re to ld , that he resigned. His position was fille d w ith the solid s u p p o rt o f Buel and Priestley, joined by Cawthorne - w ith Sarah Newhall w ho became the fo u rth m ember of the tenuous coalition that became know n to its distractors as "The Gang of Four." M onths of agonizing work follow ed as the board attempted to write a new desegregation p o licy th a t w o u ld be equitable, w o u ld stay w ith in the law , and w o u ld s a tisfy Black demands. After m onths of com m ittee work - w ith C aw thorne unsure of w h a t he w anted and under pressure from both sides, Joe Rieke and Blanchard stalling, and Frank McNamara becoming increasingly hostile - the decision passed from the committee to the full Board. Then, Buel and Priestley gave their full sup port to the Black United Front's proposals and to C a w th o rn e 's e ffo rts ; N ew hall jo in e d on most issues. The final policy was not brilliant or in n o v a tiv e , b u t a fte r m ore th re a ts of boycott it became acceptable. Although there is no evidence that the quality of education was greatly enhanced, many of the injustices were removed. After making every attempt to work with the S u perintend ent, C aw thorne fin a lly decided that Blanchard could neither im plem ent the new p o lic y nor w o rk e ffe c tiv e ly w ith the Board. Finally, in J u ly, he joined w ith Buel, Priestley and Newhall and voted to terminate the Superintendent. An unsuccessful recall at tem pt and personal attacks by the press and C o rre c tio n : The picture o f Frank Turney attributed to Thomas Gordon was taken by Denise Bartells. the business e s ta b lis h m e n t fo llo w e d , b u t Cawthorne weathered the storm. W hy was the Superintendent fired? Quite s im p ly , to enable the Board to hire a new S u p e rin te n d e n t w h o w o u ld have an educational philosophy and a moral c o m m it ment to educate all of the district's children in a humane and Just m anner, w ho w ould deal openly and honestly w ith the public, and who w o u ld be responsive to the d ire ctio n of the Board. The most serious question facing those who voted to term inate Blanchard was, w ho w ill select the new Superintendent? Will the same establishm ent - oriented faction select a new B lanchard? Or w ill the fo u r S ch o o l Board members w ho consider themselves populists make that choice? Surely, the new Superin tenden t w ill re fle ct the philo sophy of those who select him. A fte r discussions w ith several consultants, the d e cisio n w as made to re c ru it a new S u perintend ent early this S pring, w hen the best candidates are available - and before the board members elected in March take office in July. This not only assured looking at the best candidates but allow ed the cu rre n t Board - w ith heavy in flu e n c e fro m the m a jo rity c o a litio n (B uel, P rie stley, C a w th o rn e and New hall) but w ith assurance to respect the wishes of the three remaining Board members and any new members that m ight be elected - to choose the new Superintendent. Thus, the fo u r m em bers w h o had re w ritte n the desegregation plan and who had fired the old S u perintend ent w o u ld set the stage fo r the future. M onday n ig h t, C a w thorne changed all of th a t. He - along w ith N e w ha ll - vo te d to a b rig a te his re s p o n s ib ility to the people to select a proper S u p e rin te n d e n t. He denied Priestley and Buel the rig h t to influence th g v decision. And he denied him self a deciding role. Priestley w ill not be on the Board next year when the decision is made. W hether Newhall is reelected or not, the pow er w ill sh ift. M c Namara, Scott, Rieke and the new member or m em bers w ill m ake the d e c is io n . B u el's o p in io n s w ill be discarded by the m a jo rity . Cawthorne w ill have his choice be ignored w ith Buel or a p p ro ve the se le c tio n o f the others. The m o m e n tu m fo r change has been thrown away. The choice of the new Superin te n d e n t - the m ost im p o rta n t d e cisio n the School Board w ill make in this decade will be made by Frank McNamara and Bill Scott. The o p p o rtu n ity for the Black com m u nity and o thers w h o have stru g g le d so long fo r quality and equity in education to participate in the selection of the new school S u p e rin te n dent has been lo st. Now w h o w ill represent Black children? LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters are welcome, but only those bearing Signatures, current addresses, and telephone numbers where the writers may be reached during the day will be considered for publication. If the Observer cannot verify authorship, the let ters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing and become the property of The Portland Ob server. W riters’ names may be withheld should unusual circum stances dictate anonymity. I etters should be addressed: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 3I37, Port land, Oregon 97208. Portland Observer The Portland Observer (USPS 959 600) is published every Thurs day by Exie Publishing Company, Inc . 2201 North Killingsworth. Portland, Oregon 97217 Post Office Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon 1st Place Best Ad Result ONPA 1973 Subscriptions $10 00 per year in Tri-County area Postm aster Send address changes to the Portland Observer, P.O Box 3137, Portland. Oregon 97208 5th Place Best Editorial ONPA 1973 The Portland Observer was founded in October of 1970 by Alfred Lee Henderson Bruce Broussard Editor/Publisher Ml [Oregon g l jj 1 Publishers < I Association |i N ew spaper MEMBER N e W A peb Áttocittion • founded IM S 1st Place Community Service ONPA 1973 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 sentinal to warn of impending and existing racist trends and practices, and a defender against persecution and oppression The real problems of the minority population will be viewed and presented from the perspective of their causality unrestrained ana chronoically entrenched racism N ational and international arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression of Third World peoples shall be considered in the context of their ex pkxtatron and manipulation by the colonial nations, including the United States and their relationship to this nation s historical treatment of its Black population 283 2486 N ational A dvertising R epresentative A m a lg a m ated Publishers. Inc N e w York Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award NNA 1973 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1975 3rd Piece Community Leadership ONPA 1978 3rd Place In depth coverage ONPA 1979 o«“NA’IfXlAi M r. Tekere goes out By Fungai Kumbula There are tw enty cabinet ministers in the government o f Zim babwe. In the eight short months that Prime Minister Robert Mugabe has led the new nation, none has at tracted more attention than Edgar Zivanai Tekere. He is the Zimbabwe African National U nion’ s (ZAN U , the governing party) secretary general and, as such, the third most powerful figure in the government hierarchy. At 43, he is also one o f the youngest and was widely regard ed as the leader o f (he so-called left wing of the party. He was appointed M inister o f M anpower Planning and his ministry was praised as the one making the fastest progress in the Zimbabweanization campaign. He had been very impatient with what he regarded as the slow pace o f Zimbabweanization and was openly critical o f the "lin g e rin g remnants o f the Sm ith-M uzorewa e ra ." He has equally harsh words for Joshua Nkomo, the then Minister of Home A ffa irs and head o f Z A P U , the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union, the ju n io r partner in the governing co a litio n . He talked o f a need to "crush Nkomo, the self-styled King of the matabele” - the Matabele are the second m ajor ethnic group in Zimbabwe forming 15^« of the total population. The Shona make up the bulk o f the other 8O°7o. O nly a few months after he assumed his post as Manpower Planning Minister, he was arrested and charged with the murder o f an elderly white farmer. As was to be expected the in te rnation al media had a field day: " i t couldn’ t have happened to a nicer gu y,” the headlines screamed, barely able to conceal their glee. They immediately started speculating that the “ removal o f the hot-head would rid the moderate Mugabe o f his most pressing embarassment.” Through his lengthy trial, they maintained a constant vigil, like a death watch, and kept insisting that the outcome o f the trial would be the true test of the road that Zimbabwe is to take in the days ahead. In spite o f the fact that this was only one man involved, the international media opted to put the whole government on trial. Late in November, The Zimbab we High C ourt found Tekere in nocent o f the m urder charge and released him . The tria l judge, an elderly white hold-over from the Smith years, declared Tekere guilty but he was overruled by the two assessors, Zimbabwe’ s equivalent of a jury. Thus absolved, M r. Tekere went back to his job as Manpower Planning Minister. This past week, in the firsj major cabinet shuffle, M r. Tekere was dropped as Zimbabwe Manpower Planning Minister. Prime Minister Mugabe, in announcing the change, stated that Tekere was not being fired, just relieved o f his duties for the time being to give him time to recover from his trial ordeal. So for now Mr. Tekere leaves the spotlight and we shall just have to wait and see what his exit will mean. In the same cabinet shake-up, Home A ffa irs M inister Joshua Nkomo was transferred to the less pow erful post o f Public Service Ministry. His handling o f the Home A ffairs M inistry which is in charge o f the police had come under in creasing fire from various segments o f the Zimbabwean populace. This move alone places all security responsibility dire ctly under the Prime M inister’ s control. Former Public Services M inister Richard Hove, a ZAN U confidante, merely traded jobs with Nkomo. Red Year of 1980 By Dr. Manning Marable In a year when Black politics was dom inated by white te rro r, the bizarre and tragic story o f Buffalo, New York stands alone. On the night o f September 22, fourteen year old Glenn Dunn was sitting in a parked autom obile when a lone gunman shot him in the head with a .22 caliber revolver. W ith in 36 hours, three more Blacks were executed in similar fashion; 32 year old Emmanuel Thomas, gunned down at a street corner; 43 year old Joe Louis McC oy o f Niagara Falls, and 32 year old Harold Green. Two vehicles carrying white men invaded the funeral services o f Dunn, screaming racist epithets in front of a Black church. One o f the vehicles exhibited a mannequin's head mounted on the hood. Several weeks later, two more bodies were discovered. Parler W. Edwards, a 7 1 year old taxicab driver was savagely beaten to death and stuffed in the trunk o f his autom obile. 40 year old Ernest "S h o rty " Jones was bludgeoned to death and was found on a boat launching ramp in the B uffalo suburb o f Tonawanda. Incredibly, both men’ s hearts were removed front their bodies. The day after Jone's death, 37 year old C ollin C oll was almost strangled to death as he sat in a local hospital recovering from surgery. A white man entered C oil's room and proceeded to choke him while shouting " I hate niggers.” Eyewitness descriptions o f the assailant, who escaped, were similar to those o f the gun murderer. Bar- bar Banks E ditor o f the B u ffa lo Challenger, a Black weekly newspaper, observed that in " a t least two separate incidents Black victims of attacks or harrassment by white (one incident very possibly in volving the killers) gave statements and license plate numbers to police and the authorities either lost the in formation or did not report it.” As late as m id-October, only 3 white men had been questioned by police officials. District Attorney Edward C'osggove adm itted that the in vestigation had made little i f any progress. To Banks, most Buffalo Black people were "a b le to place this particular tragedy in a historical and nationw ide perspective. In short, aside from understanding that violence against us is nothing new, most o f us know that it’ s hap pening all across the country.” Black and progressive white people rallied against the new rise of racism. On October I9, five thousand people demonstrated at Buffalo C ity H all to denounce the murders. The rally was sponsored by tw o hundred religious, educational, socialist and labor groups. Speakers included Black Dem ocratic State Assemblyman Authur Eve, the Reverend Charley Fisher o f BU ILD , a civil rights ac tivist coalition, and the Reverend Bennett Smith o f B u ffa lo 's Operation PUSH. In A tla n ta , over two hundred people volunteered to make door- to -d o o r searches fo r the missing Black children. Over 1500 people demonstrated against a rally of Ku Klux Klansmen held in Scotland, Connecticut. Hundreds o f people participated in a national march for " Freedom, Justice and against the Kian in W rightsville, Georgia, on September 20. Akbar Ahmad o f the A frica n Peoples Party, the Reverend Herbert Daughtry, foun der o f the Black United Front, and the Welfare Rights O rganization’ s Ethel Matthews participated in the four mile march against white racism. As the storm clouds o f racial con flict gathered, members o f the U.S. Commission on C ivil Rights met in W ashington, D C ., in October, I98O, to express "a la rm at what they see as growing public hostility to vigorous enforcem ent o f civil rights laws." Commission Chair A r thur S. Flemming informed the con ference that the new segregationist strategy to destroy the Civil Rights Act o f 1964 "is to put riders on ap propriation bills which, when added together, can lead to (its) virtu a l repeal.” House and Senate conser vatives had already drafted amend ments to prevent the Education and Justice Departments to halt school busing fo r desegregation; pre vent the Internal Revenue Service from revoking the tax-exempt status o f private schools;” prevent federal spending on programs that use numerical goals for hiring women and m inorities. In short, "to d a y ’ s c iv il rights problem have become more com plex.. .than in the 1960s when Governor George C. Wallace of Alabam a stood in the schoolhouse door to oppose in tegration.” For better or worse, many Blacks concluded that an inform al coalition of white racist vigilantees, the police and government officials were conspiring to k ill Blacks. “ There is almost a hysteria in Black communities because o f the belief that there is a conspiracy,” stated the Reverend Jessie Jackson to the New York Times in late November, 1980. "R acism has become fashionable again and feelings o f guilt toward Blacks have turned to feelings o f h o stility. This country has taken a definite swing toward facism.” Jackson was also convin ced that he and N A A C P secretary Benjamin Hooks were would-be- targets in "p a rt of a calculated plan to murder Black c iv il rights ac tivists.” The interdenominational M inisterial A lliance, a pre dom inantly Black religious organizaton, requested that the Justice Department investigate the possibility o f some sort o f national conspiracy o f white racists. "W e are concerned because looking at the national trend, the killings o f Blacks in B u ffa lo , the missing Black children in A tla n ta and the assassination attem pt on Vernon Jordan, there could be a lin e ,” stated the Reverend Lonnie Smith, an A lliance spokesperson. "W e don’ t know, but we want it looked into.” H isto rica lly, the "R e d Year o f 1980” has several parallels w ithin the Black experience. For some commentators, the modern white backlash which has follow ed the C iv il Rights and Black power movement was sim ilar to the restoration o f Bourbon Democratic control and white supremacy in the South after the Com prom ise o f 1877. For others, the turbulent events o f 1980 amounted to another periodic rejection by whites o f the historical demands o f Black people for political equality and economic- o p p o rtu n ity. Edward E. Elson, chair o f the U.S. Commission on C iv il R ig h t’ s advisory panel in Georgia, expressed this view; "th e mood o f (white) people toward civil rights now is ‘ Enough.’ ” But the parallels must be taken one step fur ther. When a white mob tortured and lynched Blacks in Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1911, Dr. W .E.B. DuBois advised Black Americans to begin to resist by any means necessary. "W e have crawled and pleaded for justice and we have been cheerfully spat upon and murdered and burned. We w ill not endure it forever. I f we are to d ie ," DuBoise thundered, " in God's name let us perish like men and not like bales o f hay." Responding to the bloodbath o f 1919, Black poet Claude McKay stated the inner feelings o f every Afro-American then, as in 1980: I f we must die/let it not be like dogs/hunted and penned in an inglorious sp o t/w h ile around us bark the mad and hungry dogs,/making their mock at our ac cursed lo t./If we must die, O let us nobly die/so that our precious blood may not be shed in vain/then even the monsters we defy/shall be constrained to honor us though dead/o kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!/though far outnum bered let us show us brave/and for their thousand blows deal one death blo w !/w h a t though before us lies the open grave?/like men we’ ll face the m urderous, cow ardly pack/pressed to the wall, dying/but fighting back! Subscribe no w and receive your Observer by mail $10 per year Name____________________________________ _ Address__________________________________ City______________ State________ Zip________
