a
For the children of Atlanta and fo r
all children who are hungry, suffer
and live in fear.
An economic analysis
Nation makes war against Black women
by Dr. Manning .Marable
Among the leading fighters in the
struggle for Afro-Am erican libera
tion have always been Black
women. The tra d itio n o f m ilitant
activist Black women runs deeply
throughout the entire Black ex
perience -- from H arriet Tubman
and Sojourner T ru th in the nine
teenth century to Ida Wells Barnett,
Fannie Lou Hamer, Angela Davis,
Barbara Sizemore, W illie Rae Reid
in the twentieth century. This is no
historical accident.
However, it is no secret that for
many years sexism has been a
problem w ith in the Freedom
Movement. There have been too
many instances o f brothers who
have underestimated the need to
struggle against the special op
pression o f Black women. There
have been too few instances where
Black men have attempted to be as
honest and critical in their relation
ships w ith sisters as they have en
deavored to be with their white op
pressors. Too many Black men have
been silent partners in the war ag
ainst Black women.
Black women who live alone or
who are the sole parent figure
within the families are often the vic
tims o f poverty and unemployment.
Statistics from the M arch, 1980
report o f the Bureau o f the Census,
reveal a pervasive pattern o f exploit
ation.
sons. This contrasts w ith white
fam ily means o f 2.86 persons and
3.22 persons, respectively.
There are 2.430,000 Black fam i
lies or households where a husband
is not present. 1,195,000 o f these
families are below the poverty level
established by the federal govern
ment, a percentage (49.2) that is
slig h tly higher than that o f
Hispanics (49 percent) and much
higher than that o f whites (30.1 per
cent). Black families are larger than
white or H ispanic fam ilies. The
mean size o f the Black family with a
female head was 3.64 persons; for
those fam ilies below the poverty
line, the mean figure was 3.93 per
Black families headed by women
without a male present also tend to
be somewhat larger than those o f
white or Hispanic women. Here the
statistics reveal what our experience
with the cruel and harsh realities of
poverty tells us -- that the more
children Back fam ilies led by
women have, the greater likih o o d
that the fa m ily w ill be poor. For
example, the Census reported that
there were 633,000 Black families
headed solely by women that had
three persons. O f this number,
293,000 or 46.2 percent were below
the poverty line. 244,000 Black
families with women heads had five
persons in the household. O f this
group 152,000 or 62.5 percent were
impoverished. For Black families
w ith women household heads
having seven or more persons in the
home, a staggering 28.6 percent
(134,000 fam ilies) were below the
poverty line.
Poverty is often a product of poor
schools a n d /o r the lack o f
education. 333,000 Black female
fa m ily heads have less than an
eighth grade education. O f this
group, 173,000 or 52.1 percent live
below the poverty line. O f the
144,000 women with an educational
level o f grade eight, 96,000 or 66.9
percent live below the poverty level.
Vet due to the duality o f the bur
den of race anc class. Black women
who do excell in education arc far
more frequently without work than
their white or H ispanic counter
parts. 358,000 Black female
householders have attended one
year or more o f college. O f this
number, 96,(XX) or 26.7 percent are
below the poverty line. This percen
tage exeeds that for Hispanics (19
percent) and fo r whites (10.7 per
cent)
M illio n s o f Black and brown
women were pressured in to the
(Please turn to Page 5 Col I)
PORTEND OBSERMER --
City wins affirmative action appeal
The O regon I o u rt o l Appeals
has reversed the decision by C ircuit
Court Judge C liffo rd B. Olsen, who
had declared the P o rtla n d ( iv il
Service B oard’ s “ tw o -lis t" system
u nconstitutional. Rule 3740 allows
the a p p o in tin g a u th o rity o f a ( it s
bureau that has been determined to
have a w ork force, to request a list
o f m inority applicants front which
to hire.
I he Portland Police Association
sued, charging that the ( n il Service
Board did not have the authority to
institute the new system, that it in
terferes with the bureau’ s ability to
hire the most q u a lifie d applicants,
that it denies equal p ro tectio n to r
w hite applicants, that it would in
jure the Association and its mem
hers, and that it w o u ld endanger
police moral by selecting less q u a li
fied employees, and that it w ould
create in te rg ro u p h o s tility , resent
ment, distrust and tension.
I he ( ourt o f Appeals found that
(lie new rule does not interfere with
the C iv il Service Board's role, since
the board was established to insure
that appointm ents to C ity jobs are
made on the basts o f tunes and
mem I uness is to be determined by
an open c o m p e titio n exam in a tion
and all who pass the exam ination
are q u a lifie d
I lie ( iv il Service
Board refers qualified applicants to
llie ( ity, but does not hire.
I he ’ rule o f three" provides that
when a vacancy occurs the ( iv il
Service B oard sends a list o f the
three in d iv id u a ls w ith the highest
scores to the h irin g a u th o rity . Flic
hiring authority must hire one o f the
three, or subm it in w ritin g or ex
planation and request a new list.
Ih e C o u rt fo u n d that the new
rule allows that another list be sub
m itted. " F ile C ity charier requires
the Board to certify upon request by
the a pp ointin g a u th o rity the three
highest scoring a pp lica nts lo r Ihe
relevant vacant c iv il service
position. Rule 3740 does not inter
tere w ith th is req uirem en t in any
wav. It s im p ly a llo w s the B oard,
upon proper show ing, to c e rtify a
second list o l eligible applicants in
addition to the required one. I here
is nothing in the C ity which permits
the Board fro m c e rtify in g another
list.. Rule .3740 sim ply inform s
P ortland’ s departments, bureaus,
and offices ol the way the Board
proposes to deal with one basis for
requesing a new or addition al list
of potential employees."
Under Rule 1740, the hirin g
a u th o rity who so requests w ould
receive the regular list o f the top
three applicants and an additional
(Please turn to Page 10Col S)
A fric a n L ib eratio n Day will
be observed May 23rd w ith a
march beginning at King Neigh
borhood I aeility at 12:30 I’ M. A
program w ill follow at Irving
Park, including speakers, music,
dancers, poets, food and
displays. I -veryone welcomed.
Community offers policing proposals
Saturday, Mav 23rd, theculm ina
lio n ol several weeks ol public fo r
ums on police/cotnm unity relations,
sponsored by the Port land O bser
ver, w ill come to I tin t ion w ith the
presentation to police a u th o ritie s
and the public ot a senes o l recom
m endations and proposals lo r im
proved p o lic in g o l the N o rth
Northeast area.
Am ong the public o ffic ia ls who
have participated in the forums are
Deputy d u e l Smith, North Precinct
( a plain M c( abe, In te rn al A ffairs
D ire ctor Aichele, ( n n in iu n ity At
la irs D ire c to r ( a p ta in D aily and
several p o lice o ffic e rs fro n t the
Police Bureau; Stan Peters, Port
land P olice A s s o c ia tio n ; D is tric t
A ttorn ey M ike Shrunk ami Deputy
D A B a rry S cheldahl; Bob I am b,
U s D epartm ent o f Justice; M ik e
Bails, Public Defenders’ Office.
Some o f the concerns that have
been discussed are: I ack o f citizen
inp ut h i policy m aking and in the
com plaint process; dissatisfaction
w ith
the c o m p la in t
process;
b r u ta lity , harassm ent, abusive
language and excessive fo rce by
police o llic e rs ; lack ol response to
citizen concerns; excessive patrols ol
certain areas; excessive force when
responding to crowd situations i.e.,
p arks; new c row d c o n tro l o r d i
nances that restrict citizen's rights;
lack o l e nforcem ent against
p ro s titu tio n ; hick o f Blacks on the
lo rc e ; and need lo r unproved
training.
I he to ru m s grew out o t p u b lic
response to the "possum in c id e n t,"
which was seen as a serious racist act
against the Black com m unity . I his
act, peipetrateil bv police o fficers,
lias escalated into a situation where
possums have been th ro w n at the
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty C o u rth o u s e ,
the home o f an in te rra cia l couple,
ami llie N A A( P o il ice.
Although llie possum incident is
considered to be a symbol o f police
a ttitu d e to w a rd Ihe Black c o m
m u n ity , tlie to ru m s have again
brought to rth discussion o f many
long-standing serious co m p la ints
regarding police o pe ra tion s in the
com m unity.
I lie forum s, which have enabled
face-to-face contact between police
o ffic ia ls and com m unity members,
have dem onstrated that there b a
lack o f comm unication - that police
adm inistrators aie not aware o f the
deep concerns o f Black citizens -
that co m m un ity expectations and
police e xpe ctatio n s are not Ihe
same.
Bv p roviding an o pp o rtu n ity lo r
police adm inistrators ami officers to
express their own ideas and concer
ns, has d em on strate d a lack o f
knowledge and sensitivity ilia , fur
liter points to the need lo r a better
selection process m il comprehensive
training.
I he F orum S aturday w ill eon
linue the o pp ortu nity lo r the police
bureau p olicy makers, the D istrict
A tto rn e y , and the c o m m u n ity to
discuss the m a te ria l o b je c tiv e o f
opening communication channels.
Trouble brewing
La Rica Coxeff enjoys a spring day at Pennisula Park
(Photo: Richard Brown)
Vancouver youth threatened
By Nyewusi Askari
W hile many residents o f Wash
ington State celebrate the first an
niversary o f the eruption of Mt. St.
helens, the C ity o f Vancouver,
Washington faces a possible erup
tion o f another kind.
Sheriff deputies are investigating
a case involving a 10-year-old Black
child who allegedly was threatened
w ith death, by two w hite, A rm y
National Guardsmen, last Sunday.
According to the report, the
young child was playing in his front
yard Sunday, when the two men,
dressed in Army fatigues, drove by
and one o f them yelled an obscene
racial slur at him. About 90 minutes
tater, the car drove by again.
This time, racial slurs were yelled
again, only this time one of the men
shouted, “ Y o u ’ re going to d ie ,”
shaking his finger at the 10-year old.
Because o f the murders o f Black
youth in Atlanta, the child's father
decided to notify authorities.
The car pulled in to a driveway
around the corner from the home o f
the child. Deputies contacted a man
at the house and were told that the
men were on their way home from a
National Guard meeting.
The A rm y N ational Guard was
contacted, and the names o f the two
men were obtained. When contacted
by the Observer, the Vancouver
Police Department said it was not at
liberty, at this time, to release any
further in fo rm a tio n and that the
case is still under investigation.
Grassroot News, N .W . - “ We
apathy, alienation and injustices?
are in very deep trouble, my
How can we be afflicte d with this
brothers and sisters," the Congress-
negative a ttitu d e when life is not
woman from New York began her
tolerable fo r so many o f our
vivid presentation on comtemporary
brothers and sisters?
life for Blacks and poor Americans.
Her campaigh slogan, “ U n
Shirley A. Chisholm was the
bought and unbossed,” was never
keynote speaker for the Women of
more evident as in her address. "W e
Excellence Salute sponsored by the
used to believe in a quotation that
Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. “ Never
said ‘ what is tomorrow that it can
since the days o f reconstruction
not come today.' My friends say did
have Black people been in so much
tom orrow come today or is today
trouble because p rio r to 1981.
yesterday? We are marching on a
Whenever we fe ll threatened, we conservative quicksand that we
were able to build alliances, but this
d id n 't recognize was slowly begin
tim e out there’ s no one there
ning to engulf us. Does freedom
because o f the changing mood o f
mean to stand on street corners all
this country,” she continued.
across the nation or to become
Shirley Chisholm was elected in
lonely tokens in corporations and
1968, to the House o f Representa
universities, or live in rat-infested
tives. She remains the only woman
houses? As the poor struggle
in the House to have sought the
through recessions, im patient do-
presidency. "Anyone who docs not
gooders in line with mindless budget
advance, recedes. Are we as a ethnic- balancers, are ready to snatch away
group or m in o rity or even as a the social programs. They’ re calling
society, advancing toward a super o ut, times up. Sacrifice is o .k .,
highway o f justice, or arc we when national abundance makes
receding like the red light o f the last sacrifice meaningless. Now (hat the
departing railroad car, from the new politics o f scarcity is upon us,
commitments and achievements that the backs are turning all over this
we’ve been able to make during the country, and no longer are people
past 30 years? Is each o f us bright standing up to be counted. People
eyed and ready to end the injustices, seem to be saying, ‘ the poor, the
or have we become complacent and Blacks ar d Browns have had their
submissive? Are we becoming more two or three decades.* ’ ’
atune to the prevailing attitudes o f (Please turn to Page 12 Col I)
REPRESENTATIVE SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
(Photo Richard Brown)