Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1981)
P«fl« 2 Portland Observer January 29. 1961 EDITORIAL/OPINION Who is the constituency? The number of Black elected officials in the United States has increased by 6.6 per cent between July 1979 and July 1980. Yet Blacks are grossly under represented in elective o f fices throughout the country. Blacks now hold one per cent of all elected offices, tw ice the per centage of 19769; Blacks make up eleven per cent of the total population. There are only nineteen Black o ffica ls for every 100,000 Black persons, w hile there are 252 n o n -B la ck elected o ffic ia ls fo r every 100,000 non-Blacks. Blacks in Congress increased to 18 this November, making them 3 per cent of the 97th Congress. Forty per cent of the Black elected officals are on the municipal level; twenty-five per cent are in education positions. The third largest group is in judical and law enforcement positions. The leading states are Mississippi, Lousiana, Illinois, M ichigan, and the D istrict of Colum bia. W om en co n stitute about 20 per cent of the Black office holders. This d irth of Black elected o ffic ia ls c o n tinues while the Voting Rights Act that made gains in the South possible is in danger of ex tinction, and while the nation is becoming in creasingly conservative. On the local level, there are few Blacks elec ted inO regon. C urrently Gladys and Bill M c Coy, Charles Jordan and Herb Cawthorne in the Portland area and few on the horizon. W h a t is the a lte rn a tiv e ? In th e tw o u p c o m in g e le c tio n s -- fo r the S ch o o l Board position now held by Wally Priestly and in the Newhall/Beem an race, and in the contest fo r City Council - the deciding factor w ill have to be w hich candidate is the m ost sensitive and responsive to the Black com m unity. W hat is the past record? W h a t are the p e rso n 's in terests and how do they relate to the c o m m u n ity? W here are the ties -- p o litic a l, economic ®r.d personal? A fte r e le c tio n w ill the ch a n n e ls of c o m m u n ic a tio n be open? W ill the new e lecte e retu rn to the c o m m u n tie s w h ere he s o u g h t votes, ask for advice, explain opinions, and a t tem pt to represent the interests of those w ho most need representation. Elected officals -- whether Black or w hite -- will not serve the Black com m unity unless they see it as their constituency. A lth o u g h Blacks are only a small part of the School District and of the City, they will have a unique part to play in both and only those w h o see and u n d e r stand that role should be supported for elec tion. Another Point o f View from KATU If applause is a sign of approval, then at least one law proposed by Oregon's Governor A tiy e h w ill receive p o p u la r s u p p o rt by the legislature. It is a law that w ould make racial harassment a felony crime punishable by fine and imprisonment. W hat's the recent record? Recently, a man wearing Ku Klux Kian robes openly walks the streets of Grants Pass evoking only the mild curiosity of passersby. In Portland, signs carrying racial slurs are posted along 82nd Avenue. And in M ilw a u k ie , the hom e of a racial m inority is subjected to a rock-throwing attack w h ich breaks w in d o w s , the fin a l act over a period of weeks that was preceded by verbal abuse. In v e s tig a to rs said n e ig h b o rs d id n 't seem particularly aroused. Governor Atiyeh's answer to this ''shocking and damnable act of racial intolerance” is the proposal of making racial harassment a felony crime. Do we need such le g isla tio n ? One w o u ld think not since federal civil rights legislation has been around fo r tw e n ty years. But, a p parently the N A AC P, the Urban League and the A m erican C onference of C hristians and Jews thinks such legislation is necessary. And, so do we. Letters to the Editor_________ Supports Cawthorne school board vote Dear Editor: W a lly P riestley strikes again -- like a kid who doesn’ t get his own was, lie threw a stick and now w ill ave the game. W rapped in his cloak ol righteousness, working lor the poor and B la c k .. against the establishment, he w ill soon be o ff to his place o f o b scu rity in the State Legislature. U n fo rtu n a te ly , he’ ll p robably surface again in A lbina- Land when there is another press worthy evil to conquer. P rie s tle y ’ s vote against H erb C aw th o rn e , as a second-term ( hairm an ol the P ortland Public School Hoard, and your e d ito ria l opinion supporting Priestley’ s vote was not su rprising. How ever, the innuendo that Herb is a “ s e ll-o u t" is ludicrous and doesn’ t deserve a comment. I want to c o n g ra tu la te H erb C awthorne fo r an outstanding job as Chairm an during those d iffic u lt tim es o f change on the school b o a rd . H e rb ’ s steady, p roblem soismg skills are still needed to help make the necessary changes to come. I hanks fo r stay ing in there Herb, and keep up the good work. Ocie H. Trotter ( E d ito r 's N o te The e d ito ria l neither supports Priestley’ s vote nor implies a “ S e ll-o ut.” I o become a “ s e ll- o u t" s o ^ . iiiin g must be gained in return.) Patient diplomacy works best To the Editor: A ll A m ericans share a sense o f p ro fo u n d re lie f and jo y at the release o f the U .S. hostages. In celebrating their return home, it is im portant that we do not lose sight o f an extremely important lesson. T hat lesson is th a t patient and persistent diplom ancy, despite the m any fru s tra tio n s , was in the end successful. No hostages were lost, no Am erican or Iranian lives were taken in combat. In o u r jo y at the retu rn o f the A m e rican hostages, we should remember the continued suffering o f other people in the region. We now face the co nstructive task o f b u ild in g better relations w ith Iran and her neighbors, and we can begin by urging our government to turn its efforts to support for peace between Iran and Iraq. Even a foreign policy dedicated to peace-making, however, shouldbe tru ly noninterventionist. We in the United States have learned from our experience in Ira n over the past several years that our armaments, o u r investm ents and our g o ve rn m ental su pp ort cannot fo r long shore up a regime which violates the rights o f its people. We have learned th a t U .S . in v o lv e m e n t w ith repressive regimes id e n tifie s the U n ite d States as an accom plice in wrongdoing in the eyes o f those who have suffered. We now hope fo r a dom estic dialogue designed to shape a U.S. fo re ig n p o lic y w hich is tru ly n o n in te rv e n tio n is t. We hope the U.S. w ill call upon the other countries o f the w o rld , in c lu d in g the Soviet Union to join in creating a world in w hich each n a tio n is free fro m repression and from external in te r ference. a; African Diary By Fungai Kumbula The past year, 1980, w ill long be remembered fo r great changes a ll over the A fric a n c o n tin e n t. C o m p ilin g a list o f the highlights o f the year is a bo ut as easy as w ritin g a book on Black A m e ric a n m usic. The lis t below is ju s t a ra n d o m choice: West Africa: January 7: C ou p in M a u rita n ia topples the government o f L t. C ol. Mohammed Mahmoud Ould Louly. ,t. C o l M oham m ed K o un a O u ld Haidala takes over. January 17: A n e x p lo s io n at a Texaco o il well in N ig e ria ’ s Rivers State cause what o ffic ia ls describe as the "w o rs t case o f o il p ollution in Nigeria’ s h istory.” F eb rua ry I: G uinea (C o n a k ry ) jo in s the M a n o R ive r U n io n , an econom ic and c u ltu ra l u n io n in v o lv in g the G a m b ia , Senegal and Sierra Leone. March 3: Several people are killed when students take to the streets in Sierra Leone to protest increases in the cost o f transportation. March 27: The then now govern ment o f W illia m T olbert in Lib eria bans the o p p o s itio n Peoples Progressive P arty, setting the stage fo r the biggest upheaval in L ib ria n politics. A p r il 12: 28 year o ld M aster Seargent Samuel K. Doe suc cessfully topples the Tolbert regime ending 130 years o f True W hig party rule. A p r il 15: T o m ark the sixth an niversary o f the coup that brought him to power, Niger President Seyni Kountche, releases tormer President Hamani D iori from prison where he had been “ residing” since his ouster in 1974. A ls o released was D jib o B a kary, leader o f the o u tla w e d Sawaba Party. J u ly 5: The gove rn m e nt o f M auritania outlaws slavery! September 24: Ghana’ s president H illa L in m a n m arks the fir s t an niversary o f his civilia n government by declaring a broad amnesty. N ovem ber 15: C ou p in G uinea Bissau to pp les c o u n try ’ s fir s t president and brother o f founder o f the P A IG C lib e ra tio n m ovem ent, Luis Cabral. Coup leader and er st- while prim e m inister, Joao Bernar do Vieira takes over. N ovem ber 25: U pp er V o lta P resident Sangoule L am iza n a is to p p le d in a bloodless coup fo llo w in g a teachers’ s trike and a tw o day general s trik e . Lam izana had come to power in a similar coup in 1966. December 2: L e o p o ld Sedar Senghor who has led Senegal since independence alm ost tw enty years ago announces that he w ill retire at the end o f the year. His hand-picked successor is Prime M inister A bdou D iouf. Central Africa: January 4: David Dacko, Central A fric a ’ s President, bans all strikes to q u e ll the ris in g tid e o f a n ti government protests by disgruntled teachers, u nem ployed y o u th and others. The treasury is s till v irtu a lly dry due to the very quick hands o f one “ Em peror” Jean Bedel Bokassa ousted in 1979 and now liv in g in exile in nearby Ivory Coast. January 12: Renewed fig h tin g in C had between F ore ig n M in is te r H iesein H a b re ’ s F A N (A rm e d Forces o f the N o rth ) and those o f fellow cabinet members M aham at A b b a Said and A d o u m a Dana dooms the coalition government o f Chad. F ebruary 18: T h irty fo u r people accused o f c o m p lic ity in the atrocities a ttrib uted to Bokassa go on tr ia l in the C e n tra l A fric a n Republic. Most are found guilty. A p r il 15: A h m a u d o u A h id jo , ru n n in g fo r a f if t h year term as C a m e ro u n ’s C h ie f o f State (President), is declared the w inner, polling 99,99r o o f the vote. May 20: Amnesty International, a civil rights m onitoring organization, releases a 23 page report accusing he M ob utu Sese Seko regime in Z aire o f o p e ra tin g p o litic a l d e te n tio n camps "w h e re deaths by sum m ary e xecution, to rtu re and s ta rv a tio n are c o m m o n .” Despite denials by M o b u tu w ho is a tte m p tin g to get b ad ly in te rn a tio n a l loans, a su b sequent re p o rt in September c o n tains even more a llegations o f the same gruesome nature. A u gu st 24: Z a ire ’ s fo re ig n m in is te r, Nguza K a rl Bond, sen tenced to death in 1977 fo r alleged c o m p lic ity in the fir s t Shaba in vasion but since rehabilitated, is ap pointed Prime Minister. December 15: H isein H a b re ’ s forces, engaged in a b itter struggle for control o f Chad fo r most o f the past tw o years, fin a lly flee across the b o rd e r in to C am eroun befo re the com b in e d fo rce o f P resident G o u k o u n i O u e d d e i’ s forces and their L ibyan allies. For now, Chad is relatively quiet. December 19: Deposed “ E m p e ro r” Jean Bedel Bokassa, f o r m e rly o f the C e n tra l A fric a n R epublic but now liv in g in exile in the Ivo ry Coast, is tried in absentia on e ig ht charges. He is accused, am ong o th e r th in g s , o f em bez zlement, cannibalism and personal involvement in massacres. Next W eek: East A frica and The H orn. Jimmy and USA undisputed winners To the Editor: Freedom fo r the hostages has been an event w hich b ro u g h t jo y and r e lie f to everyone b ut the p o litic a l re h e to ric e x to llin g th e ir s a crifice and v a lo r and is not ju s tifie d by the fa cts. The 52 Americans were confined fo r a long time (14 months) under undesirable circumstances. No one relishes con fin em en t but aside fro m the c o n finem ent, the hostages did what the rest o f us d id fo r 14 m on ths; they stayed alive. I am paranoid enough to believe th a t i f J im m y C a rte / and R on ald Reagan th in k the hostages d id something e xtra ord in ary, they did. But it m ust have been m ore than stay alive. Back in N ovem ber o f 1979, the Americans at the embassy were left to tw is t s lo w ly in the w in d when Jimmy allowed the Shah to enter the c o u n try . The Shah was n o t a popular dictator (what d ictator is?) and Jim m y had been warned that possible trouble could occur at the embassy i f the Shah were allowed to e nter. The S hah’ s interests were given a higher p rio rity than the lives o f the Am ericans at the embassy. The exaggerated praise o f the hostages has c e rta in ly m uted criticism o f Jimmy for this act. The aborted raid on the embassy would certainly never have freed all o f the hostages. Some o f the hostages and some Iranians w ould have been killed. Human lives could be sa crificed in o rd er th a t Jim m y C a rte r rid h im s e lf o f a p o litic a l lia b ility and have a better chance at re-election. A g ain the exaggerated praise served to soften criticism fo r this mindless endeavor. The feeling o f re lie f and jo y was shared by everyone b ut the p ro fu s io n o f w elcom e home cerem onies and the fla g w aving mobs require more explanation and justifica tion . The hostages appeared to be in the vortex o f a propaganda warefare between Iran and the U.S. govern ment. The Iranians wanted to focus on the v illa n y o f the Shah and his regim e and the c o m p lic ity o f the U .S . in s u p p o rtin g a ruthless d ic tator. The U .S . d id n ot w ant to ta lk about past transgressions but want ed the focus on the hostages and th e ir release. The three television networks were w illing proponents o f this focus. L ittle attention was given to the savage excesses o f the regime o f our middle eastern " fr ie n d ” the Shah and v irtu a lly every news p ro gram gave the running count o f days held hostage. The Ira n ia n s were crushed by a m u lti- b illio n propaganda e ffo rt. The e m otional welcome by the mobs o f cheering and c e rta in ly w e ll m eaning Am ericans is just a dem onstration o f the e ffe cts o f a m u lti- b illio n dollar propaganda campaign. Hersche! L. Soles Need criticism To the editor: Y o u r e d ito ria l on H erb C aw thorne and the school board was in fo rm a tive. We appreciate that you are w illing to critize the action taken by M r. Cawthorne. We com p la in to each other that some o f our Black o ffic ia ls do not seem to hear what Black people are saying and we get angry. I remem ber that M r. Cawthorne was critical o f G ladys M cC o y b u t it was to o late. Someone sh o u ld have said something p ub lica lly years before. I f we are a fra id to co m p la in, then no one w ill kn ow we are not satisfied. I hope M r. Cawthorne accepts the c ritic is m lik e a man and re th in k s some o f his decision. He is the only one we have to hope w ill represent us on the school board. Portland Observer Sincerely, Warren A. White Executive Secretary American Friends Service Committee The Portland Observer (USPS 969 6801 is published every Thurs day by Exie Publishing Company Inc , 2201 North Kilhngsworth Portland. Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland. Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon 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 The Portland Observer was founded in October of 1970 by Alfred Lee Henderson Bruce Broussard Editor/Publisher ■ MtMBf A M Oregon Newspaper Publishers a m Association ~ * " MEMBER N e W IA peb 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 sentmal 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 ano chro no ically en trenched racism N ational and in ternation al 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 their relationship to this nation’s historical treatment of Its Black population. 283 2486 N atio n a l A d vertisin g R ep resentative A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc N e w York Willie James 1st Place Community Service ONPA 1973 1st Place Best Ad Result ONPA 1973 5th Place Best Editorial ONPA 1973 Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award NNA 1973 2nd Place Best Editorisi 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1976 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1978 3rd Place In depth coverage ONPA 1979 (,o«“ > NAT.OS»*i HttociH ion ■ Founded IM S • •••’ • ••. .
