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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1981)
Uro F rano F or the children o f A llanta and f o r a ll children who are hungry, s u ffe r and live in fear. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Black United Front march against racism attracted 1500 marchers w ho shared event w ith dem onstrators across the nation. PORTLAND OBSERVER April 9. 1981 Volume XI Number 25 25C Per Copy USPS 959-680-855 Reapportionment discussed One o f the h otte st issues in the past ten years has been the a p portionm ent o f legislative districts in the Black co m m u n ity. In 1971, then Secretary o f State Clay Myers d iv id e d the area w ith the highest p o p u la tio n o f Blacks in to fo u r House d is tric ts and fo u r Senate d is tric ts . H is reasoning: th a t it w ould be better to have a little in fluence in four districts than a lot o f influence in one. The c o m m u n ity disagreed - a lth o u g h there were some w ho fa vored the plan and opposed a “ g e rrym a n d e re d ” d is tric t to en compass the Black co m m u n ity. A lawsuit was filed, but failed. Recently several proposals have emerged. The O regon Assem bly For Black A ffa ir s , m eeting in January, app ointed a Task Force w hich has developed a p ro p o sa l. T h is plan w o u ld d iv id e the area between the 80-N freeway and the C o lu m b ia R iver and between the Willamette River and 42nd Avenue, in to fo u r House D is tric ts . One d is tric t w o u ld in clu d e St. Johns to P o rts m o u th : A second w o u ld cover Portsm outh to U nion, N orth o f F re m o n t. A th ird w o u ld be N orth o f Fremont, from the U nion to 42nd Avenue. The fo u rth w ould go fro m the W illa m e tte to 42nd, South o f Fremont. Henry said the plan would place an equal number o f residents in each o f the fo u r districts. They are esti mated to be approxim ately 15 per com bined w ith an inn er southeast cent B la ck, a lth o u g h the d is tric t north o f Fremont and east o f Union area similar to the current district. A th ird p ro p o s a l, endorsed by would have a higher percentage and the O bserver, w o u ld draw the St. Johns would be lower. The legislature, which is respon western boundary at 1-5, including sible fo r re-districting, is leaving the the area below F re m on t to the re a p p o rtio n m e n t o f M u ltn o m a h W illam ette, the Southern boundary C o u n ty up to the Senators and would be Broadway and the N o rth R epresentatives elected fro m ern C olum bia. The Eastern bound ary w ould be a pp ro xim a tely 18th, M ultnom ah County. south o f Fremont. R epresentative R ick Baum an, These bound aries w o u ld be w ho has no vested interest in the design o f N o rth and N orth ea st a djusted som ewhat to insure the d is tric ts because he is elected in proper num ber o f residents in the Southeast P o rtla n d , adheres to ar?a. It w o u ld be a p p ro x im a te ly the one district theory - that Blacks 45 percent Black. would be better represented if a sub The p o litic a l re a lity is that sta n tia l p o rtio n o f the p o p u la tio n current legislators w ill not want to were in one d is tric t w ith enough e lim in a te themselves fro m the votes to control the election o f that districts where they are now known, legislator. He is p ro p o s in g a d is tric t th a t o r place themselves in the same would be bounded on the South by district with strong incumbents. The F re m o n t, on the N o rth by the Observer's plan places Represent C o lu m b ia R iver, on the East by atives C hrest and C h e rry in one 33rd Avenue, and on the West by d is tric t, Priestley and K a fo u ry in another. Since the d istrict in which the 1-5 freew ay. Between K illin g s w o rth and F re m on t the Priestley and Kafoury both current western boundary w ould be moved ly live is the d is tric t w ith the pre- to the W illam ette. Inclusion o f the pondence o f Black vo te rs, each are«r between 1-5 and the Willamette would have to decide whether to run against a strong Black candidate. is necessary because that area can not be in clu d e d in the St. Johns Bruce B roussard, in e ndorsing d is tric t w ith o u t givin g it too many the p la n , said the residence o f residents. Bauman's plan provides c u rre n t le g isla to rs sh ou ld n ot be a district that includes most o f the d ecidin g fa c to rs in d e te rm in in g area p o p u la te d by B lacks, and is the new districts - but the a b ility o f nearly 40 percent Black. Black voters to elect the person they The area south o f F re m o n t, believe w ill m ost tr u ly represent them. Police forum scheduled The Observer w ill sponsor a com m un ity fo ru m to address problems between the Police Bureau and the com m unity and to discuss proposals fo r improvement. For several years there have been charges o f police harassm ent and b ru ta lity and counter charges o f over-reaction. The purpose o f the forum is to try to fin d specific actions the Police Bureau and the police officers could take to police their behavior and to better understand the neighborhood and citizens. Also, to find ways the com m unity can relate positively to the police. Participants in the fo ru m w ill be union president Stan Peters; Deputy Police C h ie f G ary Haynes; N orm M o n ro e , U rb a n League o f P o rt land; and Reverend John Jackson. The fo ru m w ill be held at B o ur bon Street R estaurant, S aturday, A p ril 18th, at 9:30 a.m. The public is urged to participate. Jefferson/Adams merger asked School S u p e rin te n d e n t James Fenw ick has recom m ended that Jefferson H igh School be co nso li dated w ith A dam s, in the Adam s b u ild in g , and that W a s h in g to n / M on ro e and C leveland be closed. Tubman M iddle School would move into the vacated Jefferson building. The im p act o f the p ro p o sa l is to close the three in n e r-c ity east side schools and use the students io p ro p up west side schools w ith declining enrollm ent. W ashington/ M o n ro e w o u ld be closed and its students fro m Boise, E lio t, Buck- man and sent to Lincoln. Cleveland w o u ld be closed and its students fro m A b e rn a th y , B ro o k ly n , L le w e llyn , S illw ood and D uniw ay assigned to Wilson. W oodlaw n west o f the 1-5 free way w o u ld go to 6 -8 th grade at P o rts m o u th ; Vernon 6-8th grades would go to Beaumont and then to Grant. K in g , E lio t and H u m b o ld t 6-8th grades w ould go to Tubm an, relocated at J e ffe rs o n . N o high school assignment was made. A c co rd in g to Fenw ick th is plan w o u ld send a ll students o f each ele m e n tary school to one m id d le sch oo l, and a ll m id d le school students to one high school. Questions im m ediately asked by representatives o f the Black co m m unity are: - W hat happened to the C o m prehensive Desegregation plan? - W hy are east side students in cluding a high proportion o f Blacks- sent to the west side in a “ one way bussing" form ula. - W h a t happened to the pledge to retain both Jefferson and Adams High Schools? - W hy w ill the o n ly high school in the predom inately Black area be closed? - W here w ill T u b m a n students be assigned fo r high school - to the west side? Has th eir assignment to Adam s been considered and how w o u ld th a t a ffe c t A dam s’ population? - W hy w asn’ t assignm ent o f Beaum ont to Adam s, and assign m ent o f W a s h in g to n /M o n ro e to Grant considered? - Why should Black students from W o o d la w n and V e rn o n , new ly assigned to C o lu m b ia /W h ite a k e r, now be moved to P o rtsm o uth and Beaumont? W hy w asn’ t c lo su re o f L in c o ln and tra n s fe r o f its stu de nts to Roosevelt and W ashington/M onroe considered? It appears th a t m ost o f the c h ild re n w ho are to be s h u ffle d around again are the same children who have been shuffled around fo r the last ten years. D e m o n s tra tio n s against the p ro p o sa l have a lre a d y begun. A series o f h earings, b e g in n in g A p r il 15th, w ill be held w ith the fir s t d ecision to be made by the School Board on M ay 11th. A rally w ill be held at Jefferson High School, M onday, A p ril 13th at noon to s u p p o rt re ta in in g Jefferson in its present location. A ll parents, students and citizens are asked to participate. • P u b lic hearings on school closures w ill be held A p ril 15 and 16 at 7:30 and M ay 6 and 7, M ay 14 at 7:30 p.m ., at the Education Service C e n te r; and on A p r il 22, 23, 29 and M ay 12 at 7:30 at Benson High School. Jones pushes stock investment by Kathryn H a ll Bogle There are dollar signs in the eyes o f Nick Jones. When he settles his lean and lanky 6’ frame into a chair at his brokerage office. You can see the d o lla r signs g litte r. Nick thinks dollars, talks dollars and stocks and more dollars. N ick Jones - stock b ro k e r. The only Black stock broker in town. A good many people have never re a lly ta lked w ith a stock b ro ke r, nor thought about stocks fo r them selves. N ick w ants to change a ll that. “ What I want to d o ,” says Nick, “ is to get m in o ritie s interested. Some brokers ask an investment o f $5,000 or even $10,000 before they w ill ta lk seriously about stock in vestm ent. Bu, I have a d iffe re n t form ula. “ 1 believe in sm all-dollar stocks. I ’ m ta lk in g a bo ut sto cks under $5.00 a share. They should grow i f the people w ho are o p e ra tin g are also share h olde rs, have invested th e ir own m oney, and i f the com pany is aggressive. “ I am w illin g to ta lk serious business w ith anyone who has $500 to invest, or as much over th a t as they w ant. There can be a num ber o f ways to invest and have yo u r money w orking fo r you. “ Banks pay good interest and your money is safe there,** Nick acknowledges right up front. Then he quickly points out the warp and woof of his belief: “ A stock market (Please turn to Page 6 Col 1) Nick Jones checks latest stock quotations. (Photo: Richard J. Brown)
