Page 8 Portland Observer March B. 1881
Chilean speaks
on women's
organizations
Shant) Hill d a m a n . . , . » , p ro p ., a . , ol Futon b .d m . d . bV h i. m a th .,. D i . n . Hill
Hill teaches Futon bed - making
Diane H ill is a true believer in a
new version o f the old expression
" i f you make your bed, then lie in
it” because that is exaetely what Ms.
H ill does -- she's a bedmaker who
specializes in handcrafting Japanese
Futon beds which fill her home and
that of other northwest Portlanders.
W ith three years experience and
about 600 special order Futons
behind her, Ms. H ill has decided to
teach others how to make their
Futon and lie down on it (plus fold
it to create a sofa) in a six-week
com m unity services class at P ort
land Community College’ s Stadium
Center starting Wednesday, April I,
from 7-9 pm. Cost is $17.
Ms. H ill cites several features o f
the Futon which has Portlanders
leaving their waterbeds and sleep
mattresses behind. The Futons are
portable, foldable to take up much
less space than a bed, comfortable,
made o f natural fibers, and less ex
pensive than a western style bed -
materials for a single w ill cost $25,
for a double $30, plus PCC tuition.
"T h e first time I saw a Futon I
thought it was really, really nice -
natural fibers, soft, and smelled so
good,” Ms. H ill said. Her firs t
Futon was m ail-ordered from an
east coast firm for her son Shanti’s
crib. Soonshe ordered one for her
self, then for friends, and then one
to take apart and re-sew so she
could begin a Futon business in
Portland.
" I think they arc popular because
they are an alternative bed and
natural,” Ms. H ill said. "People are
tired o f foam , and box springs
surrounded by foam , and tired o f
waterbeds and all that bulk. I ’ m in
to health and holistic life style and I
th in k a Futon blends well w ith
that.”
Ms. H ill said she sees the place
where she rests as more than just a
place: " I ’ ve become more aware o f
the sim pler things, aware o f my
surroundings, o f the fibers I put on
my body and the food I put into it.
To sleep on a Futon means to
surround your body w ith natural
fibers for a third o f your lifetime.
M any countries
of
L atin
America, women are playing an in
creasingly important role in the lib
eration processes o f those countries.
In Nicaragua, women made up a
large .number o f the combatants in
the Sandanista army, and today are
a strong force in the revolutionary
governm ent. In C hile, the firs t
organizations o f resistance that ap
peared after the September, 1973,
m ilita ry coup were prim arily com
Sherrian Hagar W arren i . a p o tta r /a r ti.t, poat. and N ortheast ac
posed o f women. The Association
tiv
is t w h o w ill s h o w and d iscuss her w o rk at th e In te rn a tio
o f Fam ilies o f the Disappeared
W
om
en s Day Festival. M arch 7th at the D o w n to w n YW C A.
Prisoners; wm en’ s committees in
the unions, etc. One o f those
organizations is the Organization of
Families o f Politcal Prisoners.
Virignia Alarcon is a 22 year old
former political prisoner o f Chile’ s
m ilita ry d icta to rsh ip and w ife o f
form er p o litic a l prisoner Ricardo
Alarcon, who was held for 4 years in
Chile prisons. Virginia has a 4 year
old son. She and her fa m ily were
expelled (they are all native born
Featuring
Chilean citizens) from Chile this last
fall by the m ilitary government for a
The Exotic "Cattani Lingerie of California
period o f twenty years. They current
ly live in Canada.
M rs. A larcon w ill speak on
March 7th at 7:30 p.m. at St. A n
drews Church, 806 N.E. Alberta.
On the same program, a member
o f the Latin Am erican Resource
te n te r, La Pena, in Berkeley,
C alifornaia, w ill speak on the new
Reagan A d m in is tra tio n and its
policy toward Latin America. The
meeting is part o f the "International
Women’ s Day” celebration.
Presenting to Some
and
Introducing to Others
I
s
Date: Sunday -
arch 29,1981
Time:
5:00 - 9:00 PM
Place:
“On The Rocks"
15N.W. 6th
Interested in c u rre n t books
a bo ut A fric a n L ib era tion ?
Visit:
JO H N REED BOOKSTORE
In the Dekum Building
519 S W. 3rd Avenue
Sixth Floor
Cell Talk
Or call: 227 2902
Bv Asmar A bdul SeifuUah
A ka Joe West »404040
The year o f 1981 should be one of
rededication fo r Black people. It
should be one o f total commitment
to involvement in the workings o f
the system. The system is simply the
economic, social and p o litic a l
mechanism that effects Black
peoples lives. We can no longer af
ford to sit on the sidelines while
politicans and evangelists decide the
course o f our lives. Protest is hollow
as long as we continue to use it as a
rhetorical sign for egoism. Our ac
tions must speak louder than our
words.
These lines are w ritten w ith the
hope that Black people in the
greater Portland area w ill begin to
reevaluate their position on the
economic ladder. Economics should
be one o f our prim e goals in our
struggle fo r freedom. W ith that
thought in mind I wish to inform
you that there is a means fo r
economic security w ith in the
criminal justice system in Oregon.
For quite sometime Black inmates
have been greatly concerned about
the absence of Black people working
in the crim inal justice system. But
for the purposes o f clarity I would
like to concentrate on the Oregon
Correctional System. There are jobs
available in the existing three state
institutions for minorities - namely
Black people. The people who run
these institu tio n s are ready and
w illin g to hire any Black man or
Black woman that meets the
qualification standards TODAY! If
you need work and don’ t mind
com m uting back and fo rth from
Portland you can get a good paying
job at the Oregon State Penitentiary
TODAY!
W orking within the Corrections
System would in essence accomplish
two goals. First it would provide the
m inority employee with a means of
support, it would also be a means of
eradicating racism w ith in the
system. Because the more Black
people that work in this particular
institution the better conditions will
become fo r Black inmates. A
situation exists behind these walls
where almost all o f the correctional
officers are white - you can imagine
the effect that such a situation might
have on minority inmates.
W hite correctional o fficers are
more apt to be lenient w ith white
inmates than they are w ith Black
inmates. Then there are com
munication barriers that will always
exist between Black and white
people no matter where they are. It
is virtally important that more Black
people seek employment at state
penal in s titu tio n s because Black
people are being confined at a alar
ming rate in the state o f Oregon.
They are being confined and they
are returning to the Black com
munity without receiving the rehab
ilitation promised them. When they
re-enter the community all they can
do are the things that they did
previously. But if Black people ac
tively sought employment within the
system they could then reverse the
re h ahbilita tion o f their confined
brothers and sisters. Racism
wouldn’ t be as prevalent as it now is
because there would be more Black
people on the job to prevent it.
The opportunity exist for a Black
man and Black woman to become
an instrument o f change w ithin the
Corrections System. The work isn’ t
hard, as a m atter o f fact, i t ’ s the
easiest work I’ ve seen in a long time.
True there w ill be barriers to over
come but then that’ s true o f any job
situation that Black people enter
in to . I f you are interested in be
coming a correctional o ffic e r or
counselor or a teacher at Oregon
State Penitentiary please contact
M r. Ron M artin at 378-2443 week-
days only.
I know that most Black people
have a complex about w orking as
policemen of any type but it’s much
better for us to police ourselves than
it is for the man to police us. Sooner
or later, we’re going to have to take
responsibility fo r policing. When
and if we gain the independence and
freedom we’ ve been ranting and
raving about for the past 246 years,
there is going to be a need fo r
policemen. No society can exist
without a police force o f some kind.
The word policem an takes on
negative connotations only when it
is implemented in racist terms.
Once again I would like to stress
the need fo r Black employees at
Oregon State Penitentiary. Times
are too hard to let good paying jobs
slip through our hands sim ply
because we have an adversion to the
description o f the job. The job can
be anything you want it to be as long
as you remember who you are. Con
tact M r. Ron M a rtin (378-2443)
“ to d a y ,” i f you want m eaningful
w ork that pays good. “ Plus the
brothers here need you!”
May A llah bless and protect us
from ignorance and selfish desires
and may our struggle lead us to
spaces pregnant with victory!!!
Bell heads Civil Rights
Johnnie Bell, currently Deputy
A d m in istra to r o f the Wage and
H our D ivision o f the Oregon
Bureau of Labor and Industries will
become acting director o f the
bureau's C ivil Rights D ivision on
February 16.
Bell replaces Gary Gomez who
has resigned after almost two years
in that position. A search for a per
manent director w ill begin im
mediately.
As Deputy A dm inistrator o f the
Wage and Hour Division since 1978,
Bell has been responsible fo r
developing
and
stream lining
procedures, development o f a com
prehensive reporting system fo r
division activities and day to day
supervision of staff.
Her background includes fo u r
years as a project manager fo r the
computer consulting firms, Systems
Improvement Associates, and seven
years in research for Kaiser Foun
dation H ospitals. She holds a
bachelor’ s degree in business from
Southern U niversity in Baton
Rouge
I
Sponsored by
The Oregonian
Ladies"
e*
o<
o°
Admission; $2.50 Single
$5.00 Couple
r't Os
From the Front Door
By Tom Boothe
Good Mental Health is when your head is together, and your
KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM leads you to know exaetely what to do
NEXT...SPIRITUALLY...MENTALLY...PHYSICALLY.
Good Mental Health is when you keep a positive attitude to continually learn
SKILLS, and to know HOW to do what you have to do NEXT.
Good Mental Health is when you do what you have to do well, giving it your
best effort.
i
I
I
I
Good Mental Health is when you have a specific constructive productive
purpose for your life. Cleansing yourself of Disruptive and Distructive at
titudes.
FACT: Good Mental Health has everything to do with Good Physical Health.
FACT: Good Mental Health Jj^s everything to do with Good Personal, Family
and Community Economics.
People who have good Mental Health DO NOT spend large sums of money
on medicine, doctor bills, drugs, booze, street dope, and just plain stupidity.
Exodus is launching an all out Mental Health Offensive aimed primarily at our
youth; your help is needed and will be appreciated by the children who are
enrolled in the Exodus Youth Program.
You can't spend your time or money for a better purpose when you join the
Exodus Mental Health Offensive, building our community into a better and
safer place to live and raise our children...(503) 294-7997.
Provided as a Public Service by House of Exodus