R*
For the children o f Atlanta an d /o r
all children who are hungry, suffer
and live In fear.
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Jordan removal spurs march on Ivancie, City Hall
A march is scheduled fo r noon
today (Thursday) to protest the
re m o v a l o f C o m m is s io n e r C h a rle s
Jordan from his position o f Police
Com m issioner by M ayor Frank
Ivancie. The march also protests
the method used to appoint a new
police ch ie f on the same day the
Bureau was removed from Jordan.
The Black community is united in
its anger and frustration over Ivan
cie’s move and interprets it as an ef
fort to placate the Portland Police
Association’ s protest over the firing
o f two police o ffice rs who threw
possums in front o f the Burger Barn
resturaunt.
Several main themes arise in
community discussions o f Ivancie’s
action: no Black o ffic ia l w ill he
allowed the authority to fire white
men, especially w hite police o f
ficers; Jordan’ s effo rts to change
policy including removing sergeants
fro m the union, new firearm s
policies, the a ffirm a tiv e action
process recently upheld by the Court
o f Appeals; Jordan's opportunity to
select a new chief; the campaign
promise made to Jordan and the
Black com m unity that Jordan
would retain the bureau and could
select the new chief; the method and
timing used by the Mayor; the selec
tio n o f a new ch ie f w ith o u t com
munity involvement.
Hopes fo r change in the bureau
have been dashed by talk o f “ law
and o rd e r’ ’ and a “ policem an’ s
policeman” .
Linda Johnson o f C R IB told a
press conference Wednesday. “ In
recent weeks there was an air of an
ticipation and o f change, in the at
titude o f the P ortland Police De
partment then under Commissioner
Charles Jordan . . . The winds o f
change began to indicate that
possibly the police adm inistration
would take responsibility for the ac
tion o f the police on the street. But
the winds o f change have died sud
denly and unexpectedly w ith the
Sunday n ig h t-like massacre by
Mayor Ivancie. We are concerned at
what looks like the apparent rever
sal o f candor and comm unication
with the police department.”
Ronnie Herndon, chairman o f the
Black United Front, said although
the M a y o r’ s o rig in a l promise to
allow Jordan to retain the Bureau
was surprising to him, the fact that
Ivancie has now broken that
promise shows that his promises are
“ not worth the paper they are w rit
ten on.” Ivancie made the promise
to a meeting o f the M e tropolitan
Club prior to the election as well as
to Jordan privately.
Herndon, saying inat he has been
harsh in his criticism o f Jordan, said
Ivancie’s move was not just for the
d o w n fa ll o f Jordan but was a
message to the Black com m unity
that Blacks are not supposed to be
in positions o f power. He also ob
jected to the quick selection o f the
new chief, saying that citizens had
’no opp o rtu n ity to know what the
criteria is fo r selecting a chief and
whether anyone else w ould meet
that criteria.
Charles Flake, PUS Black Stud-
sents, said problems have existed in
the Police Bureau for fifty years and
it was im possible fo r Jordan to
make the needed changes in three
years especially when the police
union opposes every change.
Freddyc Petett, Executive Direc
tor o f the Portland Urban League,
said she fears the removal o f Jordan
signals a return to “ the old ways"
o f policing. She called on citizens to
let the M ayor know o f their
displeasure and put him on notice
that they do not intend to let the
police bureau go back to “ business
as usual” .
Regarding C h ie f S till’ s request
(Please turn to Page 9 Col 1)
PO RTL4ND OBSERVER
June 4. 1981
Volume XI Number 33
26< Per Copy
Cawthorne: Children come home!
School Board member Herb
Cawthorne called on Black parents
who have children attending schools
outside their com m unity fo r pur
pose of desegregation to bring them
back to the com m unity. “ The
School Board cannot accept schools
where there is natural integration,
yet they expouse their pie-in-the-sky
values about in te g ra tio n . The
schools they protect are lily-white.
This should show parents what the
Board th in ks about integration .
They should began to bring their
children home and stop subsidizing
schools outside o f the community.
This just drains o f f the students,
decreases enrollm ent, causes poor
programs and then is used as an ex
cuse to close the schools.”
Caw thorne was responding to
statements by Dean G isvold and
C harlotte Beeman that they w ill
vote to close Adams High School
when they assume th e ir board
positions July 1st.
“ I consider their statements ex
trem ely detrim ental to the com
munity, to the hope for integration,
and I believe detrim ental to the
school d is tric t as a whole. They
didn't even have the respect to wait
until they were on the board before
they began to paralize the actions of
the current board.
the process, he added that thoir
statements are "a slap in the face to
the com m unity” and shows “ com
plete
disregard
fo r
the
psychologically wellbeing o f the
students who are hanging in lim
bo.” A ll o f the students who curren
tly
attend
Adams
and
W ashington/Monroe do not know
where they w ill attend school next
year, as well as the graduating 8th
graders. “ I f Adams were to be
closed, there would have to be ad-
r lustments in the feeder patterns o f
Cleveland, F ra n klin , G rant and
M adision and this should not be
done in the summer after school is
Cawthorne said he had beei
ready to close three high schools bu
would not close both Washington,
Monroe and Adams. “ When I sav
that they were u n w illin g to com
promise and close Clevland insteai
o f Washington/Monroe, I decided
would not close Adams.”
Cawthorne said he does noi
believe some members o f the boarc
are aware o f the tension in the
community. “ I think the new boarc
members who d o n ’ t have the
courage to come forw ard and tell
their plans. If Adams is closed - “ I
hope the commuity reacts.”
Coalition requests 'new high school'
DR M ARY BERRY
Berry addresses Urban League
Dr. M ary F. Berry w ill be the
speaker at the U rban League o f
Portland's Annual Banquet Thurs
day, June 4th at 6:30 p.m . at the
Hilton Hotel.
Dr. Berry is Vice Chairman of the
U.S. Commission on C iv il Rights
and a Professor o f History and Law
at How ard U n ive rsity. She was
assistant Secretary for Education in
the Carter Adm instration, heading
the Education D ivision o f HEW
with a $13 billion budget.
Prior to her service at HEW, she
was Chancellor o f the University o f
C olorado at Boulder. She is a
graduate o f Howard University and
the U niversity o f M ichigan Law
School.
T h e N o r th e a s t- S o u th e a s t
C oalition fo r a New High School
has subm itted a proposal to the
School Board, asking that Adams
and W ashin g to n /M o n ro e High
Schools be combined, in the Adams
building, with a new name.
The prim a ry goal is to create a
t o p - q u a l i t y c o m p r e h e n s iv e
educational program in the location
that w ill provide a n a tu ra lly in
tegrated and diverse socio-economic
area.
The new school would include the
suudent bodies from both schools
and the three magnet programs
from Washington/Monroe; Health
Services (M e d ic a l/D e n ta l); Food
Services;
E arly
C hildhood
Development. Magnet status would
be given the computer program now
at Adams.
The com m ittee has received
com m itm ents from Providence
Hospital, Holladay Park Hospital,
Emanuel Hospital and Betu Kaiser
Hospital to assist the medical/den-
tal program.
The Food Services Magnet would
fit in existing facilities at the school.
Adams already provides hot lunches
fo r St. Charles School and the
magnet could offer low-cost meals
to elderly citizens in the area.
Lunches for business people in the
community is another option.
Adams now contains a child care
facility. The child care magnet could
be installed at no cost and would be
enhanced by the p ro xim ity o f the
program. It is also near Meek and
Vernon Elementary Schools, Head
start programs. Providence C hild
Care and Shrines Hospital.
The Computer Science program
now at Adams provides o p p o r
tunities fo r students at all levels.
Elevating this program to magnet
status w ould draw students from
throughout the distria. A computer
magnet could also be linked to other
programs, fo r example with P ort
land Community College.
Another important consideration
is the em otional s ta b ility o f the
students. The Monroe students have
already gone through the closure of
Monroe High School, consolidating
w ith W ashington,and now the
closure o f W ashington. These
students and those fro m the
Washington district have not been
assigned new schools and arc to be
divided among Jefferson, Cleveland
and F ra n klin . The W ashington
students were under direct threat o f
THE PETER ALARID STORY CONTINUED...
closure until three years ago when
M onroe was moved to their
building.
Adams has been under fire
through most o f its existence, have
been neglected by the district, and
has faced probable closure fo r
several years.
The committee proposes a five
year written commitment from the
School Board. The comm ittee
would continue to work on volun
teers to insure a smooth transition.
Bob Nelson, Chairm an ofthe
Concordia Neighborhood Associ
ation and leader o f the community’ s
e ffo rt to save Adams, said a com
mittee met w ith Superintendent
Fenwick to ask why nothing is being
done about the School Board’ s
director to move three o f the
(Please turn to Page 9 Col I)
'Have no memory of it'
By Nyewusi Askari
This is the co n tin u in g story o f
Peter A larid, who suffered serious
head injuries, while incarcerated at
Rocky Butte ja il. Recently, a
$200,000 suit was was filed against
the officer alleged to have inflicted
the injury..
It was d iffic u lt fo r persons in
positions o f authority to believe Ms.
Barboza’s story about her son. And
one by one attorneys contacted
declined to take the case, stating
that “ there was little likeihood that
Peter would recover.” Many felt the
state "should be put to task” for the
injuries suffered, and the county as
well, fo r the b ru ta lity inflicted by
one of their officials whose beating
had resulted in Peter A la rid being
sent to Oregon State Hospital.
A fte r an exhausting search, Ms.
Barboza decided to contact the
Justice Department in Washington,
D .C ., and on September 11, 1980,
received the follow ing, which read
in part:
Dear Mr. Attorney General:
I am forwarding to you for your
consideration, correspondence that
I have received from Ms. Agnes
Barboza regarding her son, Peter
Alarid.
I w ould like to request the
Department o f Justice to look into
Ms. Barboza’ s statements in light o f
possible deprivation o f the c iv il
rights o f Peter Alarid. It would be
appreciated i f your consideration
would include both the possible civil
and c rim in a l ra m ifica tio n o f the
civil rights issues raised by Ms. Bar
boza.
Sincerely,
Edward M. Kennedy
Chairman, Committee on the
Judiciary
On November 20, 1980, another
letter o f importance arrived:
...Dear Ms. Barboza:
Please be advised that the Federal
Bureau o f Investigation has been
requested to conduct an in
vestigation into this matter.
Thank you for bringing this mat
ter to our attention.
Sincerely,
Drew S. Days III
The forum on youth em
ploym ent and recreation
scheduled fo r June 6th has
been postponed.
Assistant Attorney General
-Civil Rights Division
Ms. Barboza’ s cause o f concern
for her son came not from the fact
he was being held in Rocky Butte,
but, as she explains, “ because o f
what happened to my son after he
was confined. He went in to that
place perfectly healthy, and now
he’ s crippled for life.”
C ertain facts support her
allegations.
In a neurological Evaluation
Marked “ C o n fid e n tia l” from W.
Brewster S m ith, M .D ., to Dr.
Weissert (Oregon State H ospital)
the following report was made:
Past Medical History: No major
illnesses or medical conditions
known.
Review o f Systems: The patient
has had some occasional subocipital
headaches. He has otherwise com
plained o f no particular symptoms.
Physical E xam ination: The
patient is short, dark haired, bear
ded young man who appears to be
healthy.
The evaluation continued: “ Two
or three months ago, during his im
prisonm ent, he was involved in a
fig h t w ith guards. Im m ediately
afterwards he became withdrawn,
mute and rig id . He was therefore
transferred to the security ward o f
Oregon State H o sp ita l. Upon his
a rriv a l he was described as being
awake but unresponsive. He was ex
tremely rigid and would not walk.
He generally held his arms and legs
in rigid and peculiar postures. Since
his admission to Oregon State
H o sp ita l, he has continued to be
mute...I feel that the most likely ex
planation fo r the patients bizzare
behavior and lack o f speech is func
tional psychosis.”
A ccording to an investigation
memo from J.EIshire to P.
M argolin dated 7 /1 0 /7 9 , Betty
Shelly, a registered nurse at Rocky
Butte first saw Peter in early May.
She observed him to be detached f
rom his surroundings; his speech
slow and h a lting; w ould respond
verbally but slowly; felt something
was brewing inside o f him and that
it wouldn’ t take much to bring it to
the surface; believed this was ac
com plished on the 18th o f May
when Peter was involved in an alter
cation w ith o ffic e r Gaskell. The
memo stated that “ Upon returning
Peter to his cell, he slipped and hit
his head on the bars.”
From the Rocky Butte files:
5/18: “ Removal o f eyeglasses,
verbal attack by PA (Peter Alarid),
h it his head on the bars while
resisting o ffice rs, o ffice rs use
minimum force to subdue. Feels he
is faking. Guard Gaskell.
5/20: “ Betty Shelly saw him. No
verbal response, seemed paranoid.
She stuck pill in his mouth.
5/21: “ Claude Benson finds PA
on floor o f his cell. Feels PA needs
psychiatric help.
5/21: “ D r. Summers conclude
Jum oks Aekari la filled w ith tha spirit o t the drum, during
P A -is sick. Wants him to go to "Afrlksn” Cultural Night." held May 2Sth, at Portland State Unhzer-
(Please turn to Page 3 Col 1)
shy. See Pa^oFour for related etory.
(Photo: Rlchered Brown)
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