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)