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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1981)
I Í . . I . . I L.— — — ** — I« 2 Portland Ob» ™ « ' April 2 , 1 — EDITORIAL/OPINION Malagasy: Island paradise By Fungai Kumbula tsoa. The current President, Rat- the clear blue skies and the spotless siraka, seems to have done quite a Three hundred miles east of the beaches are just intoxicating. Mozambican coast in the Sea of job of stabilizing this island Th Malagasians do not help mat Shaka. (sometimes erroneously ters any at all either. Like their paradise. called the Indian Ocean) lies one of Malagasy does not boast too counterparts throughout Africa, the most beautiful islands in the many resources and so her pace ol they have an irrepressible zest for reasons and also th a t in v e s tig a tio n s and world. The island in question is development has been rather slow life and living. Here and there one and not quite at pace with her young disciplinary findings cannot be made public. If Malagasy perhaps better known by bumps into home-grown and self- th is is tru e , changes should be made in the its old name M adagascar. At population. She is still heavily taught troubadours. Using drums, 300,000 square miles in area, it is dependent on former colonial ex next contract. A lthough the union is charged banjos and a wide array of in almost twice as large as California. ploiter, France, for much of her w ith representing its members, the protection struments fashioned out of the sim Though separated from the trade and foreign exchange. As the of a fe w "b a d c o p s " is a disservice to those African mainland by the Mozam plest m aterials, they accompany African Economic community en themselves singing as they go about who w ant to provide a public service. It is un bique Channel, Malagasy is part of visaged for the mainland takes their everyday busines be it vending fortuna te th a t all police officers are tarnished the African continent and belongs shape by the turn of this century, or working at some craft or driving by the acts of a few and the quiet consent of to the Organization of African Malagasy hopes to benefit from that Unity as well as several other intra- a cab. and become healthier economically. They are by no means wealthy, others. African organizations. It is Lying on the beach looking over but that is only because we tend to A n o th e r q u e s tio n th a t needs to be a d populated by Africans and descend the hazy blue Sea of Shaka with count wealth in terms of dressed is the Probasco Case, w h y its orders ents of the Polynesians and Mayay- green plam fronds providing shade possessions. In terms of content sians. The island is therefore, a mix are n o t ca rrie d o u t, and w h o sh o u ld be in the background under the bluest ment, there is hardly a people of African and Polynesian culture of blue skies, it is easy for one to m onitoring the police in this regard. anywhere on the face of the earth to producing a unique and interesting imagine that one has died and gone rival them. A co m m u n ity co alitio n - based som ew hat hybrid. straight to paradise. One can easily Since gaining independence from If there is one word that can be forget the real world of polluted on the successful C o m m u n ity C o a litio n fo r France in 1962, Malagasy has had used to describe Malagasy, the word skies, crowded freeways, guns, School Integration - is in the form ation stages. her fair share of problems; is “ green.” Everywhere one looks, possums and the like. When I finally This is a forum that can study and investigate there is a proliferation of green and developmental, political, economic screw enough courage to walk down the Police Bureau from all angles. It should be a profusion of flowers. Malagasy is and unfulfilled expectations. There that long, long aisle, you know have been two coups, first against for lovers; Malagasy is for the greated w ith pleasure by the C om m issioner where I will be going for my honey President Tsiranana and then again and by the po lice u n io n . A ll re co rd s, in fo r young-at-heart; Malagasy is for the moon! st his successor President Ramanan- romantic. The flowers, the green. m a tio n and perso n n e l sh o u ld be m ade availa ble in th e in te re s t o f an in d e p e n d e n t assessm ent o f ju s t w h a t is g o in g on in the Welcome police coalition We com m end Comm issioner Charles J o r dan for his decision to terminate tw o police o f ficers involved in the "possum incident . This decision was essential to the encouragem ent of proper po lice dem eanor and to p u b lic respect. , We do not think the decision has gone tar enough - at least n o t yet. Only a com ple te revelation of the facts on activities leading to the incident, the incident itself and the co n duct of the investigation w ill allow the public to believe that only tw o officers were involved. We also cannot accept the explanation that the in c id e n t was n o t racial in in te n t. True, every act of a white against a black is not racist in intent - but we believe this one was. W h a t happens n e xt is c ru c ia l. P o rtlan d needs a good police force - one that can and w ill protect citizens and treat all citizens w ith re sp e ct. T h a t respect has been to o long lacking. Abuse by the police has been reported repeatedly and yet the same officers are still on tho stroet We have been told that the union contract precludes reassigning officers for disciplinary A time for unity Bureau and w hy. By Calvin O. L. Henry Two must go If press reports are co rre c t, S ecretary of State Alexander Haig informed the press after the assassination a tte m p t on P resident Reagan th a t he had taken charge of the US governm ent. This is the same General Haig w ho ran the governm ent during the closing days of the Nixon Adm inistration. There were reports at that tim e th a t because Nixon was emotionally unstable, and Vice President Ford did not care to intervene, Haig, as assistant to Nixon, was in control of the government. By declaring him self in co n tro l as Reagan lay in the hospital, Haig demonstrated that he does not understand our system of g o ve rn m ent. The President was s till very m uch in control, and if he were declared incompetent to serve, the Vice President would take charge - not the Secretary of State. In light of Haig's earlier attem pts to become the Chief of foreign policy - a pow er held by the President and Congress - Haig should be dismissed. It seems like only a short tim e ago that US Am bassador to the UN A n d re w Y oung was fire d because of his in d is c re tio n in h o ld in g unauthorized meetings w ith the PLO. Am id a great uproar, his services w ere te rm in a te d . N o w Jeane K irk p a tric k th e c u rre n t a m bassador to the UN has m et w ith m ilitary and intelligence officers of South Africa - clearly a violation of US policy. She should be fired. Both Haig and K irk p a tric k are dangerous people - to this country and to the w orld. We would be better o ff w ith o u t them. There have been many different reports about four dead opossums being thrown in front of a Black- owned restaurant in Northeast Port land. The culprits were uniformed, on-duty Portland police officers. This incident was an affront to all Oregonians. Two white police officers who admitted their participation in the escapade were fired last Friday by police Commissioner Charles Jor dan and Chief Bruce Baker. However, these officers denied that there were any racial implications to their indiscretion. And it was reported that Jordan and Baker said they believed the in cident was not racially inspired but was meant as a prank. They said citizen outrage over the opossum dumping had hurt the department and the officers had to be ter minated. But, should the credibility of Portland police department be the real issue rather than the citizen outrage over the incident? I he editorial writer of the Corvallis Gazette-Times noted that this in cident “ showed there is a lack of discipline in the departm ent that allows officers to goof off when they should be tending to the business the taxpayers are paying them to do.” According to the Corvallis Gazette-Times, “ the officers’ ex planation that the possum affair was an attempt to relieve tensions and get people to laugh again has a hollow ring to it. If that were truly their intentions, they need a little psychological instruction in the department.” On March 25, 1981, the Oregonian reported, “ City Com missioner Charles Jordan charged that ‘opportunists’ in the Black community have ‘exploited the in cident in which policemen threw dead opossums in from of a Black- owned restaurant in NE Portland.’ Bruce Broussard, publisher of the Portland Observer, and Ronnie Herndon, Co-Chairm an of the Black United Front, were identified as the “ opportunists” who held news conferences and organized a march on city hall. Broussard and Herndon are relatively new voices to the struggles of Blacks in Portland. They have not limited themselves with old definitions of Black involvement. And they do not have the complete sanctions of the traditional groups and organizations. But, should they? The Oregonian quoted Jordan as saying, “ the news conferences only promoted ill will, have been an em- brassment to the Black community, and have not had any influence on what 1 will do.” It is unfortunate that these oppor tunistic statements were made, and that more collective efforts were not expended to solve this issue. Per sonalities should not get in the way of solving problems affecting the Black community. Should Blacks be condemned as opportunists just because they are willing to break with traditions, and speak out against wrongdoings by the police in the Black community? On this possum incident, Herndon and Broussard were right to express the citizen outrage. More Black leaders and citizens should have joined the effort of holding the Portland Police Department ac countable for the actions of police men. Many questions are still left unan swered. Was this an example of abuse of power by policemen? Where was the Mayor of Portland on the incident? Is there a need for citizen-police review board? Many whites and Blacks have discussed this incident with me. They were appalled that Portland policemen had so little respect for Blacks or the Black community. It was equally difficult for these in dividuals to understand why this in cident was seen by the police com missioner as not being racially motivated. One white public official stated that if the policemen had dumped dead opossums in front of the Hilton Hotel, there would not be any question about the actions taken. Perhaps the real challenge is yet to come. The old and new voices must work together to insure that the Black community is protected rather than victimized by the police. Letters to the Editor More on possums Portland Observer The Portland Observer (USPS 959 600) is published every Thurs day by Exie Publishing Company, Inc 2201 North Killingsworth, Portland. Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon Subscriptions $10.00 per year in Tri-County area P ostm aster Send address changes to the Portland Observer, P O Box 3137, Portland. Oregon 97208 The Portland Observer was founded in October of 1970 by Alfred Lee Henderson Bruce Broussard Editor/Publisher Sil MM » | Oregon | Newspaper Publishers Association MEMBER «roo - ro u n d e d iM5 t The Portland Observer is a champion of justice, equality and liberation; an alert guard against social evils, a thorough analyst and critic of discriminatory practices and policies, a sentinal to warn of impending and existing racist trends and practices; and a defender against persecution and oppression The real problems of the minority population will be viewed and presented from the perspective of their causality unrestrained ano chronoically entrenched racism N ational and in ternation al arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression of Third World peoples shall be considered in the context of their ex ploitation and manipulation by the colonial nations, including the United States, and their relationship to this nation's historical treatment of its Black population 283 2486 National A dvertising R apresnntstive A m alqam atnd Publishars. Inc N aw York 1st Place Community Service ONPA 1973 1st Place Best Ad Result ONPA 1973 5th Place Best Editorial ONPA 1973 Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award N N A 1973 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1975 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1978 3rd Place In depth coverage ONPA 1979 oa » ‘ M ,» i» C aanaaat To the Editor: As Oregon taxpayers, we need to take a close look at our City govern ment. The situation of boosting police morale by gathering dead animals and placing them in front of a public restaurant, on city time, outrages me. 1 no longer have faith in our city government or our local police department to protect my rights as a citizen or my home from local businessmen like Robert Harris and various high local government officials. Ironically, in two situations, the same family and the same individual have been victimized. My father is To the Editor: The Black community and con cerned citizens from diverse sections of Oregon, have made it known how they feel about the dumping of four dead possums, in front of the Burger Barn restaurant. And, all would seem well and good; the possums have been buried in a secret grave; two Portland police officers who confessed their participation in the dumping, have been fired; and April came in like a lamb. But, all is not well. There seems to be some question concerning who speaks for the Black community. For example, prior to the March 25th demon stration, some Blacks and whites fighting to hold on to the home he has owned for more than 23 years. Without his knowledge, Bob Harris, a close friend to several government officials, purchased my father’s home for $176.35. To add insult to injury, local police decided to raise their morale by dumping dead animals in front of my father’s place of business with no regard for his rights or anyone else’s. We are living in dangerous times when the George Powes of the world remain the victims of their own government. Valerie Powe Robinson were upset that the community chose to express its sentiments without first seeking approval from the city fathers. One of the main ex pressions that emerged from this at titude was “ Opportunists.” It’s amazing that the city fathers and their cohorts should continue to under estimate the Black com m unity’s ability to mobilize its forces to deal with many of the serious problems facing Blacks. No one thought the one-day, school boycott was going to be successful. No one thought hundreds of people (Black, white, red. and yellow) would participate in the dem on stration. What this means is, the city fathers will continue lo under To the Editor: For the two policemen who were fired for gathering and delivering the carcass of dead animals upon private property (a violation of city law), before their dismissal, these policemen should have been required to walk that beat for eight hours with a “ POSSUM" in each hand, with Commissioner Jordan, his Police Chief, and the officers who ignored the incident standing guard. This behavior may have been in nocent and stupid, but these were policemen “ on duty” carrying guns while supposedly protecting the city. Sincerely, Julius Stokes estimate the community’s ability, and the community will continue with its efforts at mass m obilization. This is one of the reasons the word “ opportunists” ended up being the created ex pression of a few. It was not the cry of the Black community. The for real shock waves will come when the city fathers realize that new voices arc emerging from the Black community; voices not dictated by tradition, but by necessity. You see the community knows that it was possums yester day, but it might be our children being dumped on our doorsteps tomorrow. Vt’CM i/s/ A 'kuri K
