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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1981)
Portland Observer M arch 19,1981 Page 7 ACT-SO holds motivation meet Sports Talk By Ron Sykes, Sports Editor Benson’ s Techmen closed the Oregon A A A boys tournament by posting a 74-71 basketball victory over the crowd favorite H illsboro Spartans. Coaches throughout Oregon believed all year that H ills b o ro w ould capture the title and ranked them No. 1, until they were upset by C entral C atholic. These same coaches failed to vote Benson in the top 10 until five weeks had gone by and the Techmen were rolling over everyone in sight. It was only after Benson demolished Lakeridge, the No. 7 team by 30 points, did they finally open enough eyes around the state to garner enough votes to break through. Most coaches in Oregon believe the P .l.L . is just a bunch o f run and gun players dom inated by Black players, which prompted Benson’ s Dick Gray to say after capturing the title, “ not bad for an undisciplined, selfish, c ity team. Those refined gym rots o f ours showed them how to play the game.” Gray was un doubtedly upset over the way some coaches regard his team and the P.I.C. Not to reprimand our fine Oregon coaches, but it would certainly be nice i f they would open their eyes and minds to the fact that good basketball and talented players do exist in the P .I.C . Sure the P .I.C . entry from Jefferson was blown out early by Hillsboro, but that was like one small area in Portland; the Jef ferson district against the entire city o f Hillsboro. Jefferson just doesn’ t have enough athletics to choose from , therefore, making their chances o f having the much needed big people fo r lesser than the large area o f Hillsboro. And when the tourney MVP was announced, my vote was fo r Ben son’ s Gregory West. Greg came through after facing so much adver sity throughout his senior year. The bone chips in his ankle that sidelined him after six early games did not prevent him from displaying his talent. Some athletes probably would have quit after being a star ter, and then being replaced in the lineup by a ju n io r. But, not this young man. Greg has been a battler throughout his athletic days. Remember this young man is a 14 year pitcher in the Irv in g Park Senior League. One day Greg was on the mound and having a little d iffic u lty . The bases were loaded, and there had been a few errors now o f which were W est’ s fa u lt. When the manager halted play and called West to the sidelines to replace him on the m ound, and a lte r a b rie f conver sation Greg said, “ Just leave me in and I’ll get them out.” The manager did and Greg fulfilled his promise. T hat’ s what this young man was then and apparently is now. I know because I was the manager. Also on the PNB team was Grant’ s A ll-C ity guard Terrell Cage, Benson’ s A n thony Camel, and form er G rant ace, D arryl M otley, w ho’ s now in the pros, Andre H urst, G rant basketball, and Eric Ross, Grant basketball. These fine athletes excelled on the diam ond as they now do on the hardw ood. There’ s some small college somewhere in this land that can certainly use a West or Cage on their team. H illsb o ro guard Dean Derrah did not live up to his A ll- Star billing despite scoring 26 points in the final game. Derrah, who has a scholarship in a lay-a-way at OSU is perhaps a step slower and a day late. At 6-4, he had an advantage playing guard in high school. But, he'll Find things a lot tougher in the PAC-10. And just got to believe that Jeffer son's M arshall Haskins can play somewhere. Haskins is intelligent and has m oie moves than Bckins Van Lines. So, the Beavers chocked again, this time losing to Kansas State, a team they were favorite to beat by 9'/i points. But, can you really feel sorry for a team that only scores 48 points, as the Beavers did? Certainly not. These Beavers are not losers and should be proud o f their ac com plishm ents. The best team d id n 't win last Saturday at Pauly. We’ ll remember the good times and let those U C L A fans at Pauley remember last Saturday. The best collegiate basketball conference? The Big Ten. As o f this writing they had M in nisota, Purdue, and Michigan alive in the N IT , and In diana making a good showing in the NCAA. Sure they lost Iowa, a tour ney fa v o rite , but that was five representatives. Take LSU now to win it all. AC T-SO , the A fr o Academ ic C u ltu ra l Technological S cientific O lym pics, w ill be holding a M otivation Gathering. It w ill begin at 7:00 p.m ., at the M att Dishman Community Center, 77 N.E. Knott, on Tuesday, March 24, 1981. At the gathering, the ACT-SO committee w ill proudly present Ms. C ynthia Hodge as the evening’ s guest speaker. Ms. Hodge is the first and only practicing Black female dentist in the State o f Oregon. This event w ill be open to all students, teachers, parents, coun selors and any other interested per NEW! Cell TalU THE 25 HOUR CONTACT LENS IS HERE By Asmar A bdul Seifullah aka Joe West As the weather changes from the chilly grip o f winter to the warming welcome o f spring - so changes the attitudes o f inmates. Prison is a very seasonal kind o f place. During the cold, rainy months the prison and its inmates seem to hybernate. They feed upon stored energy as Decem ber greets the new year and A p ril showers welcome the flowers in May. Like a bear coming out o f its den to return to its hunting grounds the prison population return to the big yard, the hunting ground. Already there are indications o f the tension and stress the long hot summer w ill bring. The lines are being drawn, territories are being claimed. The girl boys are painting themselves with mascara, they are tin tin g their hair, adorning them selves for the ho-stroll. The muscle freaks w ill discard their shirts and flex th e ir muscles fo r flesh man tans. The Blacks prepare to lo w /rid e in invisible el-dogs and marks-sevilles w ill be in abundance this year. There will be little worries about the price o f gas or how far a dollar w ill go. The blow pipes and o u tfits w ill be fille d w ith pure cocaine and heroin as the prison fat cats prepare to relive old memories. These scenes are traditional. They are part o f prison life and they will reoccur year after year. L ittle worry need be given to the above description o f what is to come. I t ’ s what isn’ t rehearsed that worries many o f us. The young- bldods are on the scene. They are still filled with expectations o f youthfulness. Their manhood isn’ t easily supressed as the older more experienced cons. They’ ve got something to prove to themselves that can only be expressed in terms of the young buck displacing the old buck. The young and restless have come to Oregon State Penitentiary ind their growing pains w ill be felt throughout the entire institution. W ith the summer sun comes the realization o f all the things missed, denied...postponed. The men w ill remember old love affairs and how the summer sun was warm and pleasing on their bodies. They w ill remember and they w ill rebel against the state imposed enslave- ment-of their dreams. As the yard fills and the heat beats down upon them they w ill become b itte r and angry. The staleness o f prison life w ill magnify itself tenfold. The lack o f adequate space w ill be a factor, was to what could be a very hot and violent summer. Racial prejudice w ill be a focal point in whether or not the prison explodes. H istorically most prison disturbances have taken racial connotations after things get ro llin g . Such could be the case at Oregon State P enitentiary this summer. In essence, there are many things to be considered as we look tow ard the com ing o f summer. Foremost in our minds should be the overcrowed prison conditins and the projected continuance o f these conditions. If in fact something isn’t done to ease the overcrowding fac tor, court orders and stays o f court orders w on’ t be w orth the paper they are written on. It is tim e fo r the public to re evaluate its position on prison re fo rm . It is not really clear whether or not the loss o f lives in side o f prison is a considered factor in the overall scheme o f things. True, society needs to be protected from hardened criminals, but in so protecting the property and lives o f the free, equal protection must be given to those prisoners who are honestly seeking rehabilitation and productive lifestyles. To sacrifice many because o f the deeds o f a few is a very fa ta lis tic approach to problem solving. We must begin to look fo r more options to in ca r ceration and we must also learn to Z id e n tify those prisoners who can return to society w ith o u t causing risk to the safety o f the community. Sure we can build another prison and another after than but that only means that we w ill be able to lock that many more people up. The BEC shows family films By Nyewusi Askari In a move to offset the absence o f films dealing with Black family life, the Black Educational Center, w ill present the first in a series o f Black educational, family films, beginning March 22, 1981. The first film , "N o th in g But A Man, ” stars Abbey Lin co ln and Ivan Dixon. It is a moving drama of the personal struggle o f a southern Black fam ily. A young, Black railway worker gives up a good job to marry the preacher's daughter. His em otional adjustm ent to the age-old problem o f earning a living to support his family becomes more d iffic u lt because the place is Alabama and the man w ill not play the expected “ Negro” role. C om pletion and showing o f "Nothing But A M an” was done in 1964, and although hailed as a " C la s s ic " by many film critics, it was never given the wide exposure o f its white counterparts. Neverthe less, the film remains an important educational tool for those attempt ing to learn what Black life (Black people) is all about. "N othing But A M a n " is not a "B oggte On D o w n " film . It is not about the street life movement, but rather a rare, cinema glimpse in to the sometimes "invisib le " movement o f the Black fam ily. The film w ill be shown at C on cordia College, Fine Arts Building, N .E. 27th and H ighland at 3:30 P.M., and at 7:30 p.m. Admission is adults $2.00 and children $1.50 (un der 12). Funds from the film will be used to support the Black Educational Center and the con tin u a tio n o f Black film s in P o rt land. Be concerned! Be informed!! know the facts!!! SUBSCRIBETODAY! ONLY $10 PER YEAR Name-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Address..................................................................................... _ _ City--------------------State............. Z ip .............. Portland, OR 97208 Portland Observer / overall goal o f the system should be to return people to society that can function within it. Let us hope and pray that sanity w ill return to our system instead o f the paranoia that now stands in our way. Human values must begin to out weigh property values, people must become more im portant than the dollar as was illustrated in the return o f the American hostages. “ Don’ t forget that prisoners are people too - and that some o f us are very much hostages o f a system that has never made room or opportunity for us! May A llah guide and protect us and may we find the straight way. sons. We urge a ll A C T-S O p a r ticipants to attend. Dessert w ill be served. The AC T-SO program is spon sored by the N A A C P and is par tia lly funded by a $3,000 challenge United States National Bank Grant. This is an excellent chance for the community to show their support o f this program and their continuing support fo r the youth o f the com munity, who are making a positive attempt for theirs and our future. The AC T-SO co m p e titio n w ill take place on May 6th. Winners will compete at the N A A C P N ational Convention in Denver in late June. After years of waiting, the extended wear contact lens is on the market and we have it In stock, ready for you. Work. play, sleep Remove the lenses weekly or monthly but remove them when you please The continuous wear contact lens means trouble free carefree vision for you 224-5367 C o n ta c t Lens Clinic of P ortlan d P ortlond M e d ic a l C enter Dr James H Y oim Optometrist Dr Philip Stockstod Optometrist Vi*o 0 - 1 M o w f mane mg Av< »k,M r - » y r an Af< m-vw-1 C i i V
