Pag« 6 Portland Obsarvar M arch 12.1961
Property tax relief available
Representative Hardy Myers. Speaker of the House, listens atten tively as A tto rn ey Frank W ilson
exp lain s legal im p lic a tio n s of p ro p o sed R acial H a ra s s m e n t B ill. A m o n g th o s e a tte n d in g the
Legislative Brunch, sponsored every other S aturday are: M a tth e w A k o m , R uth S p e n ce r, Burna
Wingert. and Mildred
Senator Frank Roberts, Representative Barbara Roberts and Representative W ally Priestley will be
the guests at the M arch 21st meeting, 9 30 a m at Bourbon Street
(Photo: Richard J Brown)
Cell Talk
By Asm ar A b du l SeifuUah
A ka Joe West
“ Racism exists in all instutions,”
or so said a high ranking Black o f
fic ia l rece ntly. H ow ever, w h a t’ s
disturbing is that since it ’ s common
know ledge, why isn ’ t som ething
meaningful being done to eradicate
it? T h e ir acknow ledgem ent o f
racism w ith o u t active struggle
against it, o n ly com pounds its
assault upon its victims.
I t ’ s u n fo rtu n a te that a rticles
about racism , d is c rim in a tio n and
b ru ta lity arc prevalent in the news
service u n til the silent m a jo rity
speaks out against its perpetuation.
Consequently, I feel i t ’ s my duty as
a Biackman to concentrate on it as a
subject until relief is fo rth w ith . I'm
sure that there are those individuals,
state o ffic ia ls and prison ad
m inistrators that would rather have
silence on these disturbing issues but
then there are already enough
people in the cover-up business.
Consequently once again I have
one o f those d irty stories to report
to you. I ’ ve been hesitant to w rite
about it because I honestly believe
that there are members o f the prison
a d m in istra tio n who w ould like to
stop the spread o f racism ,
d is c rim in a tio n and b ru ta lity . I,
therefore, commend Superintendent
C upp, Assistant S uperintendent
Keeney and Security C hie f U hitley
for their efforts to rid Oregon State
P e n ite n tia ry o f these elements.
However, it’ s becoming increasingly
apparent that racism, brutality and
discrim ination are rooted deeply in
to the fram e w o rk o f the prison
structure fo r th eir e ffo rts to have
great impact on daily life behind the
walls.
Recently it came to my attention
that racism and b ru ta lity are being
perpetuated by members o f the
O .S .P. s ta ff. I he c u lp rits o f these
deeds are c o rre c tio n a l o ffic e rs
whose responsibility it is to oversee
the daily movement and security o f
inmates.
A couple o f weeks ago, a w hite
correctional o ffic e r was accused o f
circulating Ku K lux Kian member
ship card to w h ite inm ates. S ub
sequently an investigation was con
ducted by the Oregon State Police to
ascertain whether or not there was
s u ffic ie n t evidence to w a rra n t
dismissal o f the o ffice r in question.
I was personally assured by Superin
tendent C upp th a t i f s u ffic ie n t
evidence were gathered, the o ffic e r
would be dismissed if possible.
The o n ly p ro ble m at th is p o in t
seems to be fin d in g a w hite inmate
that received one o f the cards to
come forth with testimony. I'm sure
you can see the f u t ilit y in seeking
out a e m pathic w hite inm ate in a
w hite m a jo rity in s titu tio n . I
th e re fo re , im agine th a t the racist
canine w ill return to work to spread
more o f his odious racist germs. He
is protected by a union, civil service
re g u la tio n s and the b ig o try o f a
system reeking with racism.
This past week a group o f five (5)
white officers were accused o f using
excessive force in re s tra in in g a
Black inmate who refused to take a
shower. The brother was allegedly
handcuffed and physically abused
and was called a "N ig g e r” to boot!
The incid en t was rep orte d by a
C hica no inm ate w ho was an eye
witness to the alleged assault. He
has offered to take a lie detector test
to substaniate his claim. It was then
reported to Executive Assistant o f
M in o rity A ffa irs , Ron M artin, who
subsequently reported it to Captain
W h itley, who conducted a p rim ary
investigation and called the Oregon
State P olice to fu rth e r investigate
the m a tte r. Once a g a in , we were
assured th a t the o ffic e r(s ) in
q ue stio n w o u ld be dism issed i f
possible. W hat’ s surprising is that in
the fir s t case, the o ffic e r was
suspended w ith pay w h ile the in
ve stiga tion was co nd ucte d , but in
the second in c id e n t, the o ffic e r(s )
were le ft on the jo b d u rin g the in
vestigation. There has been fu rth e r
ev idence o f in tim id a tio n o f pote n
tia l witness by one o r m ore o f the
officers in questions. Its the opinion
o f the w rite r that these reprobates
and scoundrels w ill do anything to
protect their bastardly deeds.
As was m entioned p re v io u s ly , I
believe th a t the high o ffic ia ls o f
O.S.P. are concerned and are doing
the best they can under the circum
stances. B u t, u n fo rtu n a te ly , the
cover-ups are reinforced by fellow
o ffic e rs w ho are e ith e r a fra id to
speak up or condone the actions o f
their fellow officers. It's impossible
fo r the Superintendent or any other
a d m in is tra to r to be on the spot
when these incidents take place --
plus the a d m in is tra to rs are in a
position where they have to try and
s a tis fy b o th sides. It sh ou ld be
evident from both o f these isolated
in c id e n ts th a t there is a need fo r
more Black co rrectio na l officers at
O .S.P. I therefore appeal to mem
bers o f the com m un ity to push the
program here at O.S.P.
There are w hite rnad-dog o v e r
seers loose in O.S.P., I fear that the
situation w ill worsen before it gets
better. In conclusion remember that
George Jackson was kille d because
he allegedly had a gun in his a fro .
“ Pleasant dream s Y 'a ll because
they might come in the m ornin g!”
Two years a fte r im p le m e n ta tio n
o f the state’ s P ro p e rty T ax R e lie f
Program , m any residents s till are
not ta k in g advantage o f the
p ro gram . M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ’ s
Assessment and T axa tion D ivision
w ill accept claim s under the
progiam u ntil A p ril 1, 1981. Home
owners who have filed and received
property tax re lie f last fa ll on their
present residences should not file
again. T h e ir tax re lie f w ill be con
tinued autom atically. Homeowners
who have changed the use o f their
property must n o tify the assessor o f
the change; those who do not must
pay back any state payment plus a
20 per cent penalty.
The Property Tax Relief Program
was enacted by the 1979 O regon
Legislature as a separate program
(in a d d itio n to b ut n ot p a rt o f
H AR R P). The qualifications for the
PTRPare:
1) The applicant must be owner
o f record. Owner o f Record means
th a t the in d iv id u a l(s ) has a deed,
contract or assignment o f contract
for the property filed upon, and that
the docum ent must be recorded in
the C ounty Deed Records.
2) The applicant must occupy the
property. The property must be the
a pp lica n t’ s princip al residence, on
June 30.
3) The applica tion must be filed
w ith the C o u n ty Assessor in the
C o u n ty w here the p ro p e rty is
located. The last day fo r filin g an
a p p lic a tio n in a c a le n d a r year is
A p ril I,
4) The application remains in ef
fect on the p ro p e rty u n til the
property is sold or the owner moves.
As long as the a pp lica nt owns and
occupies the property, only one ap
p lic a tio n m ust be file d . The a p
p licant does not have to file every
year. (However, when the property
no longer qualifies due to sale or the
a pplicant m oving, the a pplicant is
<00ft N f
»**var’
Cl
1503) 287 4029
B 'o a d w a y
P o rtla n d
value on their home and receive a
lower tax bill, Wilcox said.
For more inform ation, citizens
may call the property tax relief of
fice, 248-3221.
required to n otify the County
Assessor of the disqualification.)
Indidivuals who file and qualify
for the Property Tax Relief
Program have a lower assessed
Boneless H am s FwHy Cooked S*nok«d, Mo#
lb *2“
B eef o r M e a t Franks Oscar Mayor I-lb PLg 1
Sliced M e a ts Land O' Frost
2 '/l Io 3 O1 PVg 4 8 c
fille t of Snapper
«. $1”
H alibut Roast
Kippered Salmon
P ork Loin Roast
Pork Spare Ribs
c ^
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f ^
m s*
$141
Country StyU
P ork Link Sausage
Corned B eef Brisket Murphy ftorwleu *b 1
Chicken Hoagies
Chicken Breast
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SE 20th b DIVISIO N
SE 72nd b FLAVEL
NE 15th b FREMONT
W BURNSIDE at 21st
SAN RAFAEL 1910 NE 122nd
Forest Grove 2329 PACIFIC
Oregon City 878 MOLALLA
Candy 1051 SW 1st
LLOYD CENTER
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14410 SE DIVISIO N
3955 SE POWELL
NE 74th ft GLISAN
HILLSBORO 960 SE OAK
O e g o n 9773?
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Hillard discusses Black History
G rassroot News, N .W . - On
M arch 6, at the M a llo ry Avenue
C h u rch , the Black U n ite d F ro n t
sponsored a c o m m u n ity h isto ry
lesson given by Asa H illa rd . D r.
H illard is presently at Georgia State
a fte r h o ld in g status o f Dean o f
E ducation at San Francisco State
fo r eight years. H illa rd entitled his
presentation "F re e Your M in d. ”
The basis premis o f the presentation
was present aspects o f our historical
greatness and clear up some o f the
mis-education that goes along with
A frica and A fro-A m erican history.
Below are some excerpts fro m hts
presentations:
“ We must re tu rn to the source
and to return to the source we must
re w rite the m is w ritte n h is to ry o f
Black people. And th is is the
m is w ritte n h is to ry o f all people
because no one can have a true
h is to ry i f o u r h is to ry is not to ld
c o rre c tly . O u r h is to ry , lik e o the r
conquered people, had to be
destroyed because if you are to be a
slave, you can’ t have a m emory. It
hurt us because false memories were
created fo r other people. For us to
return to the source we must return
to o rig in a l docum ents fro m the
A frica n origins o f civilization. You
must remember that the oldest living
bones found in Europe, and Japan
appear to be the bones o f the small
people who inhibit the hearthland o f
A frica.
“ M ost o f the in fo rm a tio n fed to
the Am erican public is false. There
are also studies which show how the
m inds o f Am ericans are managed
frequently by people who try to get
you to buy what you don’ t need, go
where you don’ t want to go, and do
things that are not in your best in
terest but theirs.
"S ublim inal suggestion is just one
way that it ’ s done. As far as Black
people are concerned, people who
have told our story, almost all have
been w hite, have been lo o kin g fo r
som ething called a p rim itiv e . But
there are no p rim itiv e Asians, In
dians, Whites or Blacks. Prim itive is
a w ord co nq ue ro rs made up fo r
taking land away from other people.
The p rim itiv e was created by
professors and the idea th a t one
group is inferior grew up w ith these
professors. We d id n 't have racism
u ntil we had a concept o f race and
th a t started 200 years ago. You
always had people who d id n ’ t like
each other but a very strange thing
was started a bo ut the tim e
Europeans needed other peoples'
land. This thought enabled people
to come to America and kick out the
Indians and the In d ia n s became
natives and the Europeans became
Americans; go to Australia and kick
the people out, the real Australians
become A b o rig in a ls and the
Europeans became Australians.”
A ll through his presentation. Dr.
H illa rd presented historical facts o f
African history with truth as its only
in te rp re ta tio n . A fte r the presen
ta tio n , D r. H illa rd was asked the
following questions: What arc some
*
o f the problems in education faced
by Black people?
H illa rd : O u r biggest p roblem is
the lack o f a free m ind or low con
scious.
G ra s s ro o t
N ew s:
When
tra d itio n a l scientist deals w ith the
e d u c a tio n a l d e fic ie n c ie s o f some
Black children there is a tendency to
place the blame on the parents. A re
Black parents, because o f the social
pressure imposed by w hite society,
resp on sible f o r the e d u c a tio n a l
deficiencies o f their children?
H illa rd : N o, parents are respon
sible fo r the e d u c a tio n o f th e ir
c h ild re n
but
not
fo r
the
inadequacies in th e ir education. I f
you have good teaching, Black kids
w ill learn like anyone else.
G rassroot News: W hat a ffe c t is
the three year old "B a k k e " decision
having on the e d u c a tio n a l o p p o r
tunities f o r the Black comm unity?
H illa rd : T h a t's one o f the worst
decisions th a t have been handed
down in a long time. The sad thing
is that it made the medical aptitude
test legal.
Grassroot News: W ill the federal
cutback in e d u c a tio n have an
adverse e ffe c t on the e d u ca tio n
provided to the Black comm unity?
H illa rd : Right now, positions that
are held, are supported by federal
funds. M any people w ho h o ld
positions hold the lowest level ones.
So as school d istricts are forced to
cut back, those p o s itio n s are the
first to go.
Hour: 7:00 AM -10:00 P.M. 7 days a week
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