» “
* • •»
K rs F ra n ce s S ch5?n-
t . ’.’. v - 'r a '. t y o f
For •! e children o f Atlanta
and fo r all children who are
hungry, suffer and live in
fear.
Citizen coalition forms, while police demonstrate
Representatives o f m in o rity
organizations met Wednesday
evening to take the firs t steps
tow ard form ing a com m unity
coalition to investigate police/com-
munity relations. Convened by Raul
Solo-Seelig, chairm an o f the
Hispanic Political Action Commit
tee, at the request o f the Black
United Front and others, the group
agreed to pursue the potential o f a
city-wide coalition.
Am ong the possible issues of
study are: administration, training,
civilian îeview board, employment.
The issues will be further identified,
then each participant will obtain the
endorsement f his organization. The
issues selected will become the basis
fo r form ing a com m unity-w ide
coalition. The plan - expressed by
Armando LaGuardia, chairman o f
the Metropolitan Human Relations
Commission - is to create an
organization that can study the
issues, obtain factual inform ation,
make recommendations to the City,
and gain public support fo r its
recommendations, in a manner
similar to the Community Coalition
for School Integration.
In the meantime, the P ortland
Police A sso ca tio n is planning a
march o r Friday m orning to
demonstrate support fo r O fficers
Craig Ward and Jim Gallaway, who
were term inated fo r their par
ticipation in the “ possum incident” .
Stan Peters, union president, said
the incident was unacceptable and
required discipline but that te r
mination was “ excessive and inap
propriate” .
In itia lly thieatening to sue on
behalf o f the o ffice rs, Peters has
announced that he will seek binding
a rb itra tio n so that an outside ar
bitrator w ill determine whether the
terminations were justified.
Com m issioner Charles Jordan
announced last Friday that the two
officers would be terminated, that
six officers have been cleared and
that the investigation ot the
remaining two officers continues.
Jordan denies racist intent in the
incident, saying that police
harassment is also directed at white
citizens in other parts o f the city. He
said that because o f the unique
power the police have to stop,
detain and arrest citizens and to
carry guns, such harassment cannot
be tolerated.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
April 2. 1961
Volum« XI Number 24
250 per copy
City HCD proposal draws fire
Citizens again fired com plaints
against the C ity ’ s Housing and
Community Development proposal
at Wednesday’ s C ity C ouncil
meeting. Most disagreements con
cerned citizens participation, w ith
drawal o f neighborhoods now ser
ved, and funding o f “ se lf-h e lp "
projects.
Presenting the proposal to the
C ouncil, H C D d irector Chuck
Olson said reduction o f ap
proxim ately $2 m illio n w ill cause
reductions in staffing and in fu n
ding o f projects. In assessing needs,
his staff has determined that middle
income
neighborhoods
are
achieving their rehabilitation goals
but low income neighborhoods need
help and “ we need to recognize this
factor.”
The response is to limit funding to
low -incom e areas, to increase
assistance to rental property, to
fund economic development projec
ts and to consider n o n -p ro fit self
help projects.
He proposed
rem oving Piedm ont, W oodlawn
and parts o f Sabin, Foster-Powell,
Concordia and St. Johns from the
H C D program . Also the home
security locks program , sidewalk
ramps fo r the handicapped and
street trees would be discontinued.
Preston-Kennelworth and a part of
Foster-Powell would be added.
The Community Economic Dev
elopment Task Force - a coalition of
com m unity and neighborhood
organizations including the Black
United Front, COSSPO, Urban In
dian C ouncil, P A C T, Northwest
District Association - called on the
City to produce a manual to inform
citizens about HCD and to develop
a citizens board. They asked that
assistance to rental units require
protection o f current tennants, that
HCD money not be used to sustain
public works, and that a process be
developed for non-profit agencies to
apply fo r funding fo r self-help
projects.
The League o f Women Voters
recommended
funding
fo r
rehabilitation and development of
dow ntow n housing sponsored by
non-profit groups.
The Sabin and Piedmont neigh
borhood associations objected to
being removed from HDC funding.
Piedmont asked to be designated as
an “ inner N ortheast” neigh-
hood rather than “ outer N o rth
east” . Sabin objected to having its
area s p lit, w ith part no longer
eligible, when funds could be direc
ted at the needy through income
regulations.
Sharon M cC orm ack, speaking
fo r the Northeast C o a litio n o f
Neighborhoods, asked that H C D
give proper n o tific a tio n p rio r to
removing neighborhoods and that
Piedm ont and Sabin be retained.
Other suggestions were: retain locks
program, retain handicapped ramps
and lighting, provide better in fo r
m ation fo r neighborhoods. Mrs.
McCormack said a clear definition
o f “ economic development" and a
p olicy as to what services can be
provided by H C D are needed.
"C itizen participation is hampered
because we d o n ’ t know the
policies.”
Linda Johnson o f the Black
Committee for Economic Develop
ment recommended an advisory
board made up o f persons elected by
affected neighborhoods and that
first source agreements be required
o f assisted businesses
Steve Rudman o f R A IN ex
plained that local government w ill
bear more o f the responsibility o f
dealing w ith social and economic
problems and should be a "provider
fo r” rather than a “ provider to ” ,
The role of local government should
be to assist citizens to develop
volunteer programs to help them
selves, and to provide technical
assistance and seed money.
With the anticipated loss ol other
federal funds, HCD money - which
has been used m ainly fo r single
fam ily housing rehabilitatio n and
public works - is seen as one o f the
few rem aining sources fo r neigh
borhood development.
March against racism
The Black United Front w ill hold
a March Against Racism on A p ril
4th, the anniversary o f the
assassination o f Dr. M artin Luther
King, Jr.
Beginning at noon in A lb e rta
Park, 19th and Alberta, the march
w ill conclude with a rally at King
Neighborhood Facility.
The march w ill be held in con-
ju n c tio n w ith the N ational Black
United Front and chapters across
the nation to protest the continued
and increasing racism. Reverend
Herbert
D aughtry,
national
president o f BUF, said in Portland
last week that the march will address
three main sources o f violence —
abuse o f police power, terrorism
and mass k illin g s - as well as the
more subtle variety.
Making up for the WIZ fascinates Nia Gay, who found her way to "The Tinman'a" dressing room
during Portland performance.
(Photo: Richard Brown)
Little joins law profession
the ever-growing importance o f law
in this society and how inadequately
we were represented and decided to
do something about it. She went
back to Lewis and C lark Law
School and spent four years o f some
very rigorous studying.
“ It was very hard going back to
school w ith all o f my household
responsibilities. The attitude o f the
professors was something else;
something like T V ’ s ‘ Paper Chase.’
Law school assumes incompetence
on the part o f the student. I had
been w orking fo r several years, I
was an adult and I knew I was a
competent professional woman but
I had to sit and endure fo r four
years o f being told my head was full
o f mushl (my husband) B ill was
very supportive, however, both
Financially and morally.”
By Fungai Kumbula
It would be quite accurate to say
that lawyers run this country. A
cursory look will reveal that a good
percentage o f the Senators and
Representatives are form er prac
tising attorneys or have some legal
background. Then there are the
judges that interpret the laws and
punish offenders. In industry, cor
porate lawyers are becoming the
most pow erful new elite. As the
country tilts towards more and more
litig a tio n , the legal profession
assumes greater and greater sig
nificance in our daily lives.
The legal profession is like every
ither segment o f American life in
te sense that it too has very little
m inority representation especially
ihe private sector. In the public sec
tor, m in o rity representation is
slightly higher due to state and
lederal requirements for the hiring
of minorities. The private sector has
no such obligations and there is, in
the entire state, probably one Black
male who would fit into the accep
ted concept o f the “ downtown law
MONICA LITTLE
p a rtn e r.” There are no Black
females. Even in the public sector,
there are only a handful o f Blacks.
It was this realization that drove
M onica L ittle to school after she
had graduated w ith a degree in
public administration. She realized
M onica graduated from Lewis
and Clark in June o f last year but
even then her problems were far
from over. She sat fo r the Oregon
Bar Association exam so she could
be licensed to practice in Oregon.
That was an experience in itself. In
(Please turn to Page 4 Col I)
*
R o n Marla Davia apanda a aunny Spring day In tha RUNT garden. RUNT provldaa training and
damonatration projacta In homa anargy alternative#.
(Photo: Richard Brown)
• r
M B