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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1981)
F ra n : For the children o f A tlanta and for all children who are hungry, suffer and live in fear. Students, parents fight to save high schools C leveland students attended in mass wearing green berets; \ \ ash- ington M onroe students earrried a c o ffin labeled “ broken prom ises” and Adams students played it eool. Students, parents and s ta ff pre sented all ot the reasons why their schools should not be closed. C leveland based th e ir plan on excellent academic program s and a socio-econom ic group that does not want to go to W ilso n . “ Sold across the u s e r" and “ Save South east" they said. Adam s presented an alternate plan th a t w o u ld p ro te c t the three school w ith the largest num ber o f students in their attendance area - C ra n i, Adams and Jefferson. They proposed that L in c o ln , Cleveland and W a s h in g to n /M o n ro e w ould be closed. O ther elements o f this plan are: m ove S kylin e fro m L in c o ln to Roosevelt; move C hapm an to Jefferson; move A insw orth, Sylvan and the C leveland d is tric t to W ils o n ; m ove H a y h u rs t fro m W ilson to Jackson. M ove M t. T ab or students fro m W a s h in g to n /M o n ro e to F ra n k lin ; D unniway to F ranklin; Buckman to Grant. Move Beaumont from Grant to Adams. W a s h in g to n / M o n ro e appealed to the s e n s itiv ity o f students and their em otional needs. Monroe and Washington were merged four years ago and have built a creditable pro gram. The m edical/dental program is one o f the best on the coast. The school would like to retain its voca tio n a l program s, and a vocational s k ills ce nte r, and co n ce n tra te on career education. The ESSA Parent Advisory Com mittee also offered a proposal. They emphasized that any closures should consider the newly adopted de segregation plan. They recommend ed th a t L in c o ln be closed; th a t Jefferson and Adams be retained. They recom m ended th a t Tubm an be placed at Boise, w ith Boise younger c h ild re n going to E lio t. I f this idea is rejected hey prefer co m b in in g Jefferson w ith Adams in the Adams building. Other recommendations were that the In te rn a tio n a l Studies program fro m L in c o ln and the M e d ic a l/ Dental program from W ashington/ Monroe to to Adams. A l Ja m ison , speaking fo r the committee, said “ emotionalism and escalated politics are not the k e y ,” th a t fo u r key elem ents sh o u ld be considered: educational advantage, money saved u d e n tilie d fo r better education, e q u ity, parent in v o lv e m ent in selection o f s ta ff and curriculum . A c itiz e n co m m itte e th a t spent several m onths studying the issues in v o lv e d recom m ended closin g Adams and W ashington/M onroe. S u p e rin te n d e n t F e n w ick re commended closing C leveland and W ashington/M onroe, w ith transie: o f many o f the students to I incoln and W ilso n , and merger o f J e ffe r son and A dam s in the Adam s building. This would free the Jet lei son b u ild in g lo r T ubm an M id d le School. P u b lic hearings on school closures w ill continue over the next two weeks, w ith a decision made by the School Board in May. PORTLAND OBSERNER April 23. 1981 Volume XI Number 27 25Cper copy Jo rd a n d iscu sse s p o lice issues flv .VvewM.v/ Askari A Southern Oregon State College faculty member has been chosen the a rb ilra to r fo r the M ay 26 a rb itra tion hearing on the Portland Police A s s o c ia tio n 's appeal, o f the d is missal o f tw o P o rtla n d Police o ffic e rs . C om m issio n e r C harles Jordan told members o f the N orth east C o a litio n o f N e ig h b o rh o o d s I uesday night. He said there is a “ 50-50” chance that the a rb itra to r w ill rule against his decision to fire the tw o officers who admitted leaving dead possums m fron t o f the Burger Barn restau rant. Jo rd a n said th a t he had been advised by his law yer th a t “ a r b i tra to rs n o rm a lly go b o th ways; sometimes they try to keep the C ity happy, sometimes they try to keep the Bureau happy. It would disturb me g re a tly i f they reinstate d the officers because what I am trying to do w ith the Bureau w ould be com prom ised c o nside rab ly, because I am try in g to dem and a high level o f professionalism that I th in k the public deserves.” In response to q ue stion in g co n cerning the recent poll conducted by the Oregon Journal, which suggest ed that the C ity is divided over his d ecision , Jo rd an said he has received fro m fiv e to six hundred letters on the matter, and only about 85 to 90 have expressed disapproval o f his action. A c c o rd in g to J o rd a n , P o rtla n d p o lic e o ffic e rs had been warned p rio r to the possum in c id e n t that p o lic e m isco n d u ct w o u ld not be tolerated, because the ( i t y had just agreed to a cash o ut-of-co urt settle ment because o f police harassment directed at a private citizen. D uring the meeting, members o f the N ortheast C o a litio n o f Neigh borhoods said they believed the May 26 hea rin g sh o u ld be open to the p u b lic , b e lie v in g that the a rb i (Please turn to page 3 col I ) Police, com m unity forum topic F o lk s in g e r and p o et E liza b e th C o tto n v isits Black Educational Center See story on Page 6 (Photo: Richard Brown) POIC banquet feaures Sullivan Reverend U r. I eon H. S ullivan, fo un de r o f O p p o rtu n itie s In d u s trialization (. enter ( ( ) l( ), w ill be the featured speaker at the annual c o m m u n ity banquet o f P o rtla n d O p p o rt uni I ies In d u s tria liz a tio n ( enter (PO IC ) on A p ril .10, 1981, al 7:45 p in., in the Oregon Ballroom o f the M arriott Hotel. U r. S ullivan, speaking from his vantage p o in t as a leader o f the N a tio n ’ s largest in d u s tria l c o r poration, created a furor in the cor porate com m unity by propounding the “ S ullivan P rin cip le s.” Sim ply put, the “ Sullivan Principles” call upon c o rp o ra tio n s and investors doing business in South A lric a to use th e ir fu ll econom ic weight to end Apartheid (racial separation) in that white-m inority ruled country. In 1964, U r. S ullivan came in to n a tio n a l prom inence when, as pastor o f the 5,000 m em ber Z io n Baptist C hurch, he m arshalled the support o f private businessmen in Philadelphia to found the first O p portunities Industrialization ( enter (P O IC ). Now an aggregate ol 140 training centers worldwide, O. I .( 's job.-train and fin d jobs fo r the un skilled poor who otherwise would be denied access to econom ic self- sufficiency. The event at which Ur. Sullivan is to appear marks the 13th year that Portland 0 .1 .C., has been operating a training center in Northeast P ort land. During that tune, 10,(XX) Port landers have been e n ro lle d in tra in in g , w ith over 75 per cent a t ta in in g fu ll e m p lo ym e n t. N atio n a lly, O .I.C .’ s have a history o f success unmatched by any other job-training program. Tickets to the banquet, or further in fo rm a tio n , may be obtained by c a llin g P o rtla n d O .I.C ., at (503) 287-1271. I ast Saturday the Observer spon sored the firs t in a series o f co m m u n ity fo ru m s on Police- C o m m u n ity R ela tion s. Speakers were Norm Monroe, Urban l eague o f P o rtla n d ; Reverend John Jackson, Albina M inisterial A llia n ce; C ap ta in Vern M cCabe, N o rth Police Precinct; Stan Peters, P o r tla n d P olice A s s o c ia tio n ; and Robert I amb, U.S. Department o f I usi ice. Norm Monroe told the gathering that although w hite crim e is more prevelent Blacks are more likely to be arrested, to serve time in prison, and to serve longer sentences. Blacks and Indians make up 34.2 per cent o f O re g o n ’ s prisoners. “ Blacks are more apt to be vic tim ized by the justice system.” Bob l amb said police community relatio n s is the most troublesom e area his department has to deal with across the n a tio n . C o m m u n ity relations program s usually fa il, he said, because they “ lack input from m in o rity c itiz e n s .” I hey must be judged on how they im p ro ve re la tio n s w ith the m ost h o s tile citizens and on how they im p rove the police bureau. Captain McCabe said he has seen some improvem ent in the past live years, since he organized the Police Precinct Councils. One problem, he mentioned, is that it is not possible to get all o f the officers together to discuss p ro ble m s. He th in k s the police are rig h t 99 per cent o f the time. Reverend Jackson said all Blacks are put in the same ca teg ory - treated lik e c rim in a ls and c o n sidered part o f the enemy. ” 1 am just as concerned with the law as the police; just as interested in justice.” Stan Peters e xplain ed th a t the u nion does not set p o lic y but safeguards o ffic e r s ’ salaries and w orking conditions. He said police see th e ir fu n c tio n as a rre s tin g crim inals but are frustrated by lack o f p ro s e c u tio n , plea b a rg a in in g , sentances not carried out, etc. "W e are not sociologists. Our job is getting crimiuals o ft the streets.” E rn ie W a rre n responded that although police are not sociologists they are professionals and should be able to deal with human behavior. Regarding name calling and ver bal abuse, M cNab said racial terms are not to be used but some people o n ly respond to a type o f force. Peters said he is aware that there is some abuse, relating the story o f a white woman and a Black man who were slopped and ligh ts shined in th eir car w ith o u t e xplanation. His use o f the term “ b o y ” b ro ug ht murmers o f disgust. In response to questions on tra in in g , the p u b lic was in fo rm e d that 15 hours in m u lti- c u ltu ra l training are offered in the advanced academ y, but there is no o ng oing tra in in g o r tra in in g fo r o ld e r o f ficers. l amb said that although 85 to 90 per cent o f police work is on socially o rien te d p ro ble m s, tra in in g is fo r hard crime enforcement. Training is (Please turn to pagc4 col. 4) DR SULLIVAN Committee holds hearing here I he House ( o m m itle e on Elec tio ns and R e a p p o rlio n m e n t w ill lurid a hearing mi reapporlionment at King N eighborhood fa c ility on A p ril 30th at 7:00 p in. The hearing, the o n ly one scheduled outside Salem, is the result o f a p u b lic request at a com m unity forum held Tuesday night. R epresentative Glen W h a llo n , c h a irm a n o f the co m m itte e , said that although the hearing on reap portionm ent in M ultnom ah County w ill be held Friday at 8:30 a.m ., in Salem , th is c o m m u n ity w ill be allow ed the extra tim e it needs to discuss and recom m end possible district lines. The re a p p o rtio n m e n t plan fo r M ultnom ah County has been agreed upon by legislators, except fo r the n o rth and inn er n ortheast area. M ost leg isla to rs fa v o r d iv is io n o f the area between St. Johns and 57th A venue, SON and the C o lu m b ia River, at Prescott. This would make one d is tric t south o f Prescott and tw o north o f Prescott. The line bet ween the districts north o f Prescott is not yet determined. The meeting Tuesday was to ex plain possible plans and the advan tages and disadvantages o f placing the m ajor part o f the n o rth /n o rth - cast area n e ig h b o rh o o d s in one d is tric t ( E lio t, Boise, H u m b o ld t, Piedmont, W oodlawn, King, Sabin, Vernon, Irvington and Concordia). The second o p tio n w o u ld be to place portions o f that area in three separate, large districts. Robert P hillip s presented a plan ihat would place most o f the area in a d is tric t reaching fro m 1-5 ap p ro x im a te ly to 3 3rd, and fro m Thom pson to C olum bia in an area that would be 45 per cent Black. He said th is w o u ld m a in ta in the in te g rity o f the business com m un ity on U n io n Avenue and w o u ld in crease the opportunity for Blacks to elect a representative. R epresentative R ick Baum an, who presented an alternative plan, said the le g is la tu re had agreed to design d is tric ts that w uld be con tig u o u s , have equal p o p u la tio n , u tilize n atu ra l boundaries and not divide com m unities o f common in terest, not favor one p olitical party or legislator and not dilute m inority representation. Representative Tom Mason presented a plan that divides the community at Prescott, with two districts in the northern part and one in the South. He agreed that “ with three districts you are diluting (Please turn to Page 2 Col 6) Betterment of police end community relatione wee the topic of concern. Stan Petere, Portland Police Aeeociation, makee a point while Reverend Jeckeon end Bruce Broueeard lieten, (Right), (Photo: Richard J. Brown)
