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Wear black ribbon for Atlanta's Black children
T w o leading n a tio n a l Black
o rg a n iz a tio n s have called fo r all
A m ericans to wear a Black or
co lo re d rib b o n as a gesture o f
respect and universal empathy fo r
the bereaved families o f the murder
ed and missing children in A tlanta
until the case has been solved.
The C oalition For Black Colleges
and the N a tio n a l Black C h ild
Development Institute have joined
forces to launch a nationwide Black
C h ild re n ’ s Cam paign on behalf o f
the slain and missing children. The
slogan o f the C am paign is, “ We
Must Do M o re !” Its objective is to
focus as much p u b lic a tte n tio n as
possible on A tla n ta ’ s c h ild re n so
that A m e ric a w ill respond to th is
crisis w ith the deliberate speed that
it demands.
“ We in the national Black com
m u n ity have a c o lle c tio n respon
s ib ility to do everything we can to
eradicate a ll fo rm s o f in ju s tic e
against them. This assault on Black
lives, reminiscent o f a bygone era o f
k id n a p p in g s
and
ly n c h in g s ,
challenges A m e ric a ’ s m o ra l c o n
science w ith a g ra v ity th a t is u n
p a rallele d in m odern A m e rica n
h is to ry ,” says T ony B row n, fo u n
der and c o -o rd in a to r o f The
C oalition For Black Colleges.
He continues, "A m e ric a is being
held hostage to the suspicion and
fear which besieges not only Atlanta
and B u ffa lo , but every A m e rican
c ity u n til the k ille r or k ille rs has/
have been brought to justice. White
A m e ric a , th e te fo re , indeed a ll
Am erica, has a great i f not greater
stake in solving the A tlanta murders
o f children and the B u ffa lo murders
o f Black men i f the great Am erican
ideals em odied in the D ecla ra tion
and the C onstitution are to be main
tained.”
S adly, the deaths and d isa p
pearances o f A tla n ta ’ s Black
c h ild re n coin cide w ith a perio d in
w hich n a tio n w id e c o n d itio n s fo r
many Black c h ild re n have reached
deplorable and disgraceful levels.
In a recent s tu d y , the N a tio n a l
Black C hild Development Institute
c o n firm e d th a t v a s tly d is p ro p o r
tio na te numbers o f Black child re n
face in e q u ita b le and unnecessary
obstacles to th e ir d e ve lo pm e nt in
virtua lly every sphere that can affect
their lives. “ I f both the situation in
A tlanta and the incredible fact that
42 percent o f Black children live in
poverty are viewed in a larger con
text, it becomes inescapable that we
c a n ’ t a ffo rd to w a it any lo n g e r.
O n ly the concerted and consistent
m o b iliz a tio n o f the B lack com -
(Please turn to page 4 col. 1)
Governor Atiyeh on the Black agenda
By Nyewusi Askari
G overnor V icto r A tiyeh pauses to discuss issues of special con
cern to the B lack c o m m u n ity . (P h o to : R ichard J . B ro w n )
On M a rch 9, 1981, Oregon
Governor Vic Atiyeh spoke at P ort
land State U n iv e rs ity . H is to p ic ,
" B ig o try in the State o f Oregon, ”
was delivered in the S m ith C enter
B a llro o m . The G o v e rn o r was in
vited to the campus by PSU’ s Black
C u ltu ra l A ffa irs Board. Later that
same a fte rn o o n , G overnor A tiye h
granted the Observer the fo llo w in g
interview.
Observer: Governor, why d id y o u
purpose the Racial Harassment B ill.'
Governor A tiyeh: Well, I was just
p la in a n g ry ! I have said several
times, as a m atter o f fa ct, ju s t re
cently as to da y, that I rea lly hate
bullies. I d o n ’ t know why. I guess
it ’s a combination o f things. Bullic
in tim id a te and make people feel
bad,
and
o f course
racial
harassment o f the Black fa m ily i
M ilwaukie, where the fam ily had t ■
fear fo>- »h«r lif e . „ it ’ s an emettioru»
reaction.
I was angry. I was asked could I
send the State Police just to cruise
the area. I called them up rig h t
away, and was d e lig h te d at the
response. There was no hesitancy. It
was more than the Governor calling
the State Police.
O bserver: Has there been a
n o tice a b le change o f a ttitu d e
to w a rd yo u, since the tim e yo u
announced the p ro p o s e d R acia l
Harassment Bill?
G overnor A tiye h: No. I think we
are a little more alert security wise. 1
d o n ’ t have a very high regard fo r
some o f these people. They are
liable to flip or something, and there
is always someone w ho w ants to
shot a Governor, not a Vic Atiyeh,
but a G o v e rn o r, a M a y o r, a
President o r w hatever. So we are
more alert.
There is no reason fo r it o th e r
than we are a little more concerned.
I have g otten some m a il, u su a lly
anonym ous; have had some things
directed at me from the N ationalist
S o cialist W h ite Peoples P a rty or
som ething lik e th a t, but 1 am not
fe a rfu l. M y pulse beat doesn’ t go
up.
O bserver: A re yo u agreeable to
amendments that would A ) require
the D A ( D is tr ic t A tto rn e y ) to
present racial harassment cases to a
G rand Ju ry and BI the a d d itio n o f
civ il penalities?
Governor A tiyeh: Yes. I ’ ll look at
it. I ’ ll look at anything that might be
an improvement o f the bill.
Observer: What is y o u r p o s itio n
on the South A fric a n D ivestm ent
Bdl?
Governor A tiye h: I don’ t see any
positives in it. My attitude clearly is,
i f I th o u g h t it w o u ld have any
salutary a ffe ct, I would be suppor
tive. But at the present moment all I
can see is, it returns less to public-
employees, and I am ta lkin g about
pub lic investm ent. O ur pub lic em
ployees w o u ld s u ffe r because the
return would not be as great as the
returns o f the funds. I ’ ll take it a
little bit farther.
I f the U n ite d States were suc
cessful in a b o y c o tt, I th in k i t ’ s
going to hurt the Blacks down there
(S outh A fric a ), because we are
talking about their economy. I think
we are going to hurt the people we
w ant to h elp. Now th is doesn’ t
mean that I ’ m supportive o f a pa rt
heid. I have talked with a represen
ta tive fro m South A fric a . He has
indicated some very positive steps
fo rw a rd . There have been a recent
change in governm ent p o lic y , and
from what I understand, things are
m o vin g in the rig h t d ire c tio n in
South A frica , but they are not there
yet.
It looks like to me, a no win deal
a ll the way. W e’ d be better o f f by
stating the public position or say we
d o n ’ t fin d th is type o f system ac
ceptable or have the leadership o f
the U n ite d States a p p ly m ore
pressure, I th in k , is far more mean
in g fu l and w ill not hurt the people
o f South A fr ic a , o r the people in
O regon. In th is case, I ’ ll give you
another " f o r instance.” It relates to
something that already happened.
President C a rte r said to Ira n ,
“ We are going to b oyco tt. We are
n ot going to send you anym ore
wheat unless you set o u r hostages
free.” Well, our hostages did n ’ t get
o u t, and the o n ly ones th a t rea lly
s u ffe re d were the U n ite d States
wheat farmers, including Oregon’ s.
And then the President said to
Russians, “ Unless you get o ut o f
A fg h a n is ta n , we are g o in g to
b o y c o tt the O ly m p ic , and a ll we
h u rt were o u r A m e ric a n O ly m p ic
athletics. Out o f those boycotts, the
only ones I can tell were h urt were
A m e rican s;
not
Ira n ia n s
or
Russians.
I f it had a p ro d u c tiv e re s u lt, I
w o u ld say, g re a t! It w o rk e d ! I
c o u ld n ’ t th in k th a t the Russians
were g oing to get o u t o f
A fg h a n is ta n because they wanted
A m e rican s to p a rtic ip a te in the
Olympics.
So I just try to be realistic about
it. I want to achieve the same results
that most people want, but I th in k
there are better ways o f doing it.
O bserver: B ills have been in
troduced to require State agencies to
in c lu d e th e ir A f fir m a t iv e A c tio n
re c o rd a nd g oals in the budget
process. A n o th e r re q u ire s p e r
form ance evaluation o f managers to
in c lu d e A f fir m a t iv e A c tio in . D o
you support these bills?
G o v e rn o r A tiy e h : The fir s t one
looks like a quota type o f thing, and
I d o n ’ t s u p p o rt q u o ta s. I can say
that now because, we have a record
o f a p e rfo rm a n c e th a t I th in k is
m o vin g in the r ig h t d ire c tio n , so
people can u n d e rsta n d th a t th a t
doesn’ t mean that I don’ t want A f
firm ative Action. I ’ m getting it, but
not on a quota basis.
I fin d it interesting th a t the A n
nual Report o f Kay Toran and our
A ffirm a tiv e A ctio n o ffice , that our
percentage o f employment and state
em ployem ent was ju s t a b o u t at
ta rg e t, as to the n um be r o f
m in o ritie s that are invo lved . That
was not a goal o f ours. I mean, we
did n ’ t say we had to hit this percent.
We d id , b ut we d id n ’ t do it on a
quota or percentage basis.
We are constantly reviewing A f
firm ative A ction from Kay’ s office.
She is constantly w orking w ith state
agencies and division heads. She has
good com m unications w ith them. I
have a great sense th a t there is a
com m itm ent, in the state agencies,
by department and d ivision heads,
and I th in k we are m o vin g in the
right direction.
O bserver: W hat are y o u d o in g
w ith y o u r budget process to guard
the interests o f the p o o r, i.e .,
w elfare, e d u ca tio n , a nd e m p lo y
ment?
G overnor A tiye h: I ’ ve said many
tim es, and I personally w orked on
my budget myself, that we’ ve made
some changes in H um an Resources
(Please turn to Page 11 Col 3)
Sarah Newhall seeks school board position
SARAH NEWHALL
Photo: Richard J. Brown
Sarah Newhall, appointed a year
ago to fill a vacancy on the Portland
School Board created by the
resignation o f Jonathan Newman, is
seeking to retain that position in the
March 31st election.
A c o m m u n ity organizer fo r the
past ten years and currently director
o f the C ity o f Portland’ s Youth Ser
vice Center, Ms. Newhall has been
involved in extending services and
program s in the N o rth -N o rth e a s t
area o f the City.
M s. N ew hall jo in e d the Board
d u rin g
the
c o n flic t
over
desegregation, and as a Board
member su pported the m a jo r
elements o f the Black U nite d
F ront’ s proposals. " I supported the
establishm ent o f Tubm an M iddle
School and voted fo r parent in
volvem ent in sta ffin g - although I
want it extended to all schools,” she
said.
She has taken an advocate
p o s itio n on the School Board -
w o rk in g w ith o th e r agencies to
c o o rd in a te and enhance th e ir
services with the school district. She
played a leading role in b rin g in g
together com m un ity fo ru m on the
problem s o f the Southeast Asian
refugees and the local communities'
response to them. She is available to
students and families to assist them
w ith in d ivid u a l problem s w ith the
school district.
“ A n o th e r area o f concern is
d iscip lin e . H erb C aw thorne and I
went o ut in to the co m m u n ity and
ta lke d w ith parents to learn th e ir
expectations. I have worked closely
w ith the Am erican Friends Service
Committee School Program and the
M e tro p o lita n H um an R elations
Commission, especially w ith regard
to the d isp ro p o rtio n a te number o f
Black students being suspended. We
have adopted a new discipline plan
and are targeting those schools that
seem to have p ro ble m s. We are
collecting data that was previously
never available - so we can identify
the problems more specifically.”
A ffir m a tiv e A c tio n : “ I am a
strong advocate o f A ffirm a tiv e Ac
tio n fo r m in o ritie s and w om en.
There have been some sp ecific
changes - E d ith H a rris o n is p r in
c ip a l o f T u b m a n ; H a rrie t A d a ir
heads the Desegregation u n it; B ill
Gerald is at King; A lthea Chavis is
director o f personnel. There has not
been much progress in h irin g per
sonnel, but that is something I plan
to look at more closely."
The d istrict is cu rren tly involved
in a training program w ith the City,
which provides C E T A tra in in g o f
aides so they can become ce rtifie d
teachers. T h is p ro g ra m
was
promoted by Ms. Newhall
W ork experience: ” , am involved
now in a tte m p tin g to im p rove the
q u a lity o f the w o rk experience
p ro gram s. I have w o rke d w ith
o rganized la b o r and P o rtla n d
C o m m u n ity C ollege to pursue an
o c c u p a tio n a l s k ills center th a t
would be an alternative to Benson.
It w ould provide a good academic
edu catio n along w ith v o c a tio n a l
skills.”
School Closures: "T h e Board has
to look closely at the criteria used by
the closure com m ittee, especially
w ith high school closures. We need
to make sure that the impact on the
to ta l c o m m u n ity is e qual. The
decisions are not cast in stone."
B lanchard’ s te rm in a tio n : “ I am
one o f the four Board members who
voted to term inate the Superinten
d e n t’ s c o n tra c t. T his was not a
single issue decision - I felt the need
fo r a Superintendent who could be
more responsive to the wide range
o f c o m m u n ity in p u t, in c lu d in g
Blacks; who had personnel manage
ment skills; w ho could involve the
c o m m u n ity in crea ting a c o m
prehensive plan fo r school funding
and e d u c a tio n a l p ro g ra m s; and
w o u ld be able to p ro v id e in f o r
m ation to the pub lic and prom ote
public support and confidence.”
Levy: “ I support the M arch 31st
school levy. I f the levy fa ils many
programs o f great signifinance w ill
be je o p a rd iz e d . F or exam ple, I
believe we need kindergartens and
support programs in the elementary
schools. The levy is to replace lost
state and federal funds - not to add
to the current programs.”
“ M y goal, as a Board member, is
to p ro v id e e du catio n o f equal
q u a lity in the schools th ro u g h o u t
the d is tric t. I am p a rtic u la rly con
cerned about student achievement.
The education offered by the district
sh o u ld enable every gra du ate to
have the skills and the experiences to
to get a jo b and to c o n tin u e
education, as they choose.”
Or. A u Hilliard autographs a book for Chariaa Myrlek during Blaek
History gatharlng. (Plaasa saa story on Paga I Co, 1).
(Photo: Richard Brown,
r