Peg* 2 Portland Obaarvar Juna 11,1M1
Burundi: Looking good
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Self-serving in the Senate
Last week the residents o f Albina heard on
TV that the Senate Committee had adopted a
"M c C o y '' am endment to the House reappor
tio n m e n t plan. This am e n d m e n t w as p e r
petrated by Senator Bill M cCoy - the State's
only Black legislator - w ith o u t co n su lta tio n
w ith the Black c o m m u n ity . M cC oy pushed
this plan to dilute the political im pact of the
Black voters because he knows he would have
a d iffic u lt time being elected in a district that
has a large percentage of Black voters.
Mr. McCoy has not identified w ith nor been
respon sive to the Black c o m m u n ity . This
m ove on his p art d e m o n stra te s w h y those
citize ns -- Black and w h ite - living in Inner
N o rth e a st Portland w ant an o p p o rtu n ity to
elect a representative.
A fter a democratic process the House drew
a district that would be approximately 44 per
cent Black (this could hardly be called a Black
ghetto as infered by Mr. McCoy). Prior to this
decision the Observer and a number of com
m unity organizations sponsored a com m unity
forum at which 4 plans were presented by their
pro p o n e n ts. These plans were discussed in
detail. Mr. McCoy was not there.
The fo llo w in g week, Glen W halon, C hair
man of the House Committee on Elections and
R e a p p o rtio n m e n t, held a fo rm a l hearing in
Northeast Portland. The com m unity represen
tatives and citizens w ho spoke, dem onstrated
overw helm ing support for the one-d istrict
plan. Mr. McCoy was not there.
The House a d o pte d a plan th a t was very
close to the plan favored by the co m m u nity.
Mr. McCoy was not there.
Following the adoption of District 18 by the
H ouse m any o f th o s e persons w h o had
favored other plans endorsed the new House
plan.
N ow w e have th e M cC oy A m e n d m e n t -
designed to fu rth e r the political am bitions of
one man. Is this democracy at work?
There has been an air of expectation - the
prom ise th a t at last th is c o m m u n ity , an in
tegral c o m m u n ity of com m o n in te re st, th a t
has been so badly divided and neglected by
our elected officials, w o uld finally be able to
elect a representative. Now we learn -- fro m
TV - that those hopes have been dashed, at
least tem p ora rily, by the self interest of one
man.
B u ru n d i is a tin y c o u n try (som e
w hat s m a lle r th an the state o f
Oregon) that borders on Zaire to the
West, Tanzania to the East, Uganda
to the n o rth -e a s t and R w anda to
the s o u th . Z a ire ’ s e con om ic p ro
blems are by now legend; w h ile
c o rru p tio n in high places (and low
ones to o !) has sadly come to be ac
cepted as a way o f life. O f late Tan
zania has been b u ffe te d by
economic woes and drought as well
as the w a r w ith Id i A m in . A fte r
e ig ht years o f some o f the w orst
economic mismanagement ever seen
anyw here, to pp ed by a c iv il w ar,
Uganda’ s p lig ht has been well doc-
cumented.
W ith neighbours in such straists,
it is a ll the more am azing that this
little East A frica n country has man
aged not o nly to escape the merry-
g o -ro u n d o f p o ve ty and decling
standards o f livin g but has actually
prospered. Burundi is today one o f
few tru e success stories anywhere
one cares to lo o k . H e r success,
iro n ic a lly , has come a b o u t as a
result o f the b itte r , b lo o d y feuds
that wracked the country in the 60s
p ittin g the H u tu against the T u tsi.
In that unhappy civil war only a few
years a fte r independence, as many
as 100,000 were k ille d b e fo re the
carnage was fin ally halted.
The current governm ent, headed
by President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza
who toppled M ichel M icom bero in
1976, has done an adm irable job o f
resuscitating the economy, and virtu
wiping out corruption. This is all the
more remarkable given the fact that
B u ru n d i is la n d -lo c k e d and must
rely on T a n za n ia or U ganda or
Z aire th ro u g h w hich a ll her trade
must pass.
Burundi’ s enviable economic per
fo rm a n ce is fir m ly ro o te d in
agriculture w hich provides 64% o f
her G N P and 90% o f her fo re ig n
exhcange. The m a jo r cash crop is
corn, 30,000 tons o f which are pro
duced annually and sold to Europe
and the U.S. Tea and sugar are two
m a jo r crops. A suger re fin e ry w ill
soon be opened w ith fund from the
A rab Bank fo r Econom ic Develop
m ent in A fr ic a and sh o u ld make
B u run di not o nly s e lf-s u ffic ie n t in
sugar but a net exporter also. The
icing: creation o f over a thousand
jo b s and ern om ou s savings in
fro m p o ve rty, inadequate sch o o lin g , d ila p i
dated housing and poor health.
Black children, already facing life w ith e x
treme disadvantages, will be most hurt by the
proposed cuts:
- Reagan w ill a b o lish a ssistan ce fo r
homeless children contained in the A d option
A ssista nce and C hild W e lfa re A c t of 1980,
which would financially assist adoptions.
- A 20 percen t cu t in e d u cation program s
w ill harm m illio n s o f d isa d va n ta g e d Black
children w h o are c u rre n tly p rovid ed special
program s to com pensate fo r in ferio r educa
tional opportunities.
- A t least $1 b illio n w ill be c u t fro m
medicaid, a program that provides health care
to 13 million poor children.
W hile planning increased m ilitary spending
and tax cuts for the w ealthy, the a dm in istra
tio n callously ignores the p lig h t of the m ost
needy - the nation's children.
‘Live anti Let Live! Right?
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
The very d e s c rip tiv e a rtic le by
Pam Sm ith entitled ‘ ‘ AC T-SO : No
E xce lle n ce? ” serves to a le rt my
o ffic e to the need fo r c la rific a tio n
o f N A A C P ’ s ACT-SO program and
its intent.
The A C T -S O (A fro -A c a d e m ic
C u ltu ra l Technologicasl, S cientific
O ly m p ic s ) is a N a tio n a l N A A C P
program which focuses on youth in
grades 9 through 12.
A C T -S O is a cam paign to d is
cover, develop, nurture and reward
academic achievement among this
nation’ s Black high school students.
It is a p ro gram roo ted in the firm
c o n v ic tio n that Black yo u th s can
succeed in the classroom (at the
superior levels o f achievement con
s ta n tly d isplayed by Blacks in the
a th le tic arenas o f th is n a tio n ). It
is the goal o f AC T-SO to afford the
same respect fo r Black academ ic,
cultural, technological and scientific
achievement that we give our heroes
in the w orld o f sports.
The program is relatively new and
each year we seek to improve and re
fine.
There are n a tio n a l g uidelines
which we expect the local N A A C P
chapters to fo llo w when they are
sponsoring an ACT-SO program.
N o w here in the n a tio n a l
g uide lin e s is a fig u re 90% or any
other figure se t.
N A A C P ’ s A C T -S O p ro g ra m is
an “ inclusive” one it is not an “ ex
clusive” one. It is the intent o f our
National AC T-SO program to serve
to m o tiv a te young people, to en
courage our branches to reach out
and serve the comm unity.
We seek to in v o lv e parents,
” teachers, other c o m m u n ity groups
in a process w hich puts the youth
and their present talent and poten
tial for growth at the center.
W inning the top National prizes is
not the p rim a ry purpose fo r A C T -
SO. The process, the competition at
the local level and the National level
must flo w fro m b ro a d e r perspec
tives than the prize.
There are occasions when o u r
local comm ittees may lose sight on
the true purpose. There are also
some instances where judges move
beyond their assignment which is to
a pp ly th e ir kn ow led ge to a
measurement o f the perform ance
before them. Judges are not expec
ted lo g o beyond that function.
The P o rtla n d program this year
grew to its largest size. The leader
ship involved persons all along the w
ay, and we feel these volunteers gave
their best in trying to serve.
The failure to select winners at the
loca l level to go to the N a tio n a l
Convention was a mistake which we
Close Lincoln, or close them all
To the Editor:
In
the
a rtic le
h eadlined
“ C o a litio n requests new high
school,” the 9th paragraph contains
the sentences: “ These (M o n ro e
students) and those from the Wash
ington D istrict have not been assign
ed to new schools and are to be
d iv id e d am ong J e ffe rs o n . C leve
la n d ,
and
F ra n k lin .
The
W a s h in g to n students were under
direct threat o f closure u n til three
years ago when M onroe was moved
to their b u ild in g .”
Portland Observer
Bruce Broussard
Editor/Publisher
M ■
M tM M *
■ ■
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
MEMBER
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1st Place
Community Service
ONPA 1973
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Best Editorial
ONPA 1973
The Portland Observer was founded in October of 1970 by
Alfred Lee Henderson
The Portland Observer is a champion of justice, equality and
liberation; an alert guard against social evils, a thorough analyst
and critic of discriminatory practices and policies a sentinal to
warn of impending and existing racist trends and practices; and a
defender against persecution and oppression
The real problems of the minority population will be viewed and
presented from the perspective of their causality: unrestrained ano
chronoically entrenched racism N ational and in te rn a tio n a l
arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression of Third
World peoples shall be considered in the context of their ex
ploitation and manipulation by the colonial nations, including the
United States, and their relationship to this nation's historical
treatment of its Black population
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The governm ent in B u ju m b u ra ,
the c a p ita l, has also had the fo re
sight to recignise the value o f trees.
A date is set a side when every
Burundian must plant a tree!
The tree -lin ed streets and th ick
woods everywhere are examples to
gladden the hearts o f anyone who
has a love fo r and an a ppreciation
o f nature. Alm ost $4 m illion w ill be
spent over the next several years on
another tree planting campaign and
the g overnm ent is e s ta b lis h in g a
peat industry fo r use as fuel and so
further conserve Burundi’ s trees and
valuable hardwoods.
O n ly
in
his
m id - th ir itie s ,
President Bagaza and his g ove rn
ment have done w onders fo r th is
b u b b ly young n a tio n and set an
example that all A fric a and the res
o f the w o rld should be p ro u d to
im ita te and em ulate. M aybe this
youthful vigour can be injected into
the Kagera Basin D evelopm ent, a
jo in t venture in which B urundi has
been join ed by Rwanda, I anzania
and Uganda.
Burundi: definitely to be included
on any progressive itin e ra ry o f
A frica.
NAACP 'ACT-SO' process breaks rules
Black children will suffer first
Black children w ill receive more than their
share of harm from the Reagan budget cuts. A
recent report by the Childrens' Defense Fund
sh o w s th a t even before the cu ts Black
Children, youth and families are worse off than
whites in every area of American life.
A report reveals:
- Almost 10 million U.S. children receive no
regular health care.
- M ore than 18 m illio n ch ild re n under 17
have never seen a dentist.
- More than 50 percent of private insurance
plans exclude prenatal care; about 90 percent
e xclude fa m ily p la n n in g ; ab o u t 50 pe rce n t
leave gaps in coverage of newborns.
- Poor children have twice as many hospital
stays, spend more days in bed, and lose more
days from school than children w ho are not
poor.
- Black children have an infant mortality rate
almost twice that of whites.
- Black children are tw ice as likely to suffer
By Eungai Kumbula
Honorable Mention
Herrick Editorial Award
NNA 1973
2nd Place
Best Editorial
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1975
3rd Place
Community Leadership
ONPA 1978
3rd Place
In depth coverage
ONPA 1979
“ N
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> „0»“ NAT.O
a I.
Both my brother and I graduated
fro m W a s h in g to n H ig h School -
lon g b efo re present day students
were born. M y sons graduated from
W a s h in g to n in 1968 and 1970 re
spectively. Washington High School
and I are 2 o f a very few P o rtlan d
in s titu tio n s born on the West side
and moved to the East side o f P o rt
land to stay. I have not participated
in any o f the hearings or meetings o f
the current School Board decisions
about what high schools or elemen
tary schools to close.
When our sons were in school, we
su p p o rte d and to o k issue w ith
procedures and issues a ffecting the
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education o f our sons and their con
temporaries. We regard this activity
as the responsibility o f every parent.
In doing my p a rt, I was harassed,
accused, occasionally thanked, o f
ten laughed at, and little supported
by other parents (at least openly).
The donim ation o f the East side o f
Portland by the West side most cer
ta in ly appears e vident in the
decision to close East side schools
fo r the m ost p a rt. The lack o f in
terest in P ortland schools and their
relationship to P ortland neighbor
hoods has been neglected by all but
a handful o f C ity Council members.
In the M ultnom ah County library
the o th e r evening, 1 scanned
m ic r o film o f the O regonian. The
December
20,
1953
Sunday
O reg on ian c a rrie d the h eadline
“ New W H S gets S chool Board
n o d .” The new W H S p re lim in a ry
plans was pictured by an architect’ s
drawing and it was located - get this
- on 82nd. ( In N .E . P o rtla n d ). It
was la te r nam ed M a d iso n H igh
School.
We live on the SE corner o f the
W a s h in g to n , M a d is o n , M a rs h a ll
High School districts. Students who
attend M t. T a b o r and Glencoe
Be concerned!
Be informed!!
know the facts!!!
have requested the local chairm an
and the branch officers to correct in
tim e fo r P o rtla n d ’ s top winners to
attend the N A A C P N a tio n a l C on
vention and the N a tio n a l O lym pic
run-offs.
During the b rief period N A A C P ’s
AC T-SO has been operating, there
have been several instances where
young people who failed to capture
a top prize returned the next year
and to o k a p rize , in one instance
here in our Region, the young lady
took the top prize o f $1,000.
We believe the e ffo rts o f the
judges to stimulate young people to
do th e ir best stems fro m the very
best in te n tio n s . H ow ever, the set
tin g o f a high m ark o f 90% and
e lim in a tio n o f a ll the contestants
fro m c o m p e titio n at the N a tio n a l
level is c o n tra ry to the N a tio n a l
policy and guidelines.
Y our assistance in helping us gel
the word out to the com m unity w ill
be very much appreciated.
Sincerely yours,
Virna M. Canson
N A A C P Regional Director
(E d ito r’ s Note: The N A A C P has
announced th a t I isa M c C o n n e ll,
Julia Black and C indy P hillip s w ill
represent P o rtla n d at the national
competition.)
schools w ent to a ll three high
schools according to the preference
o f them and th eir fa m ilies. T rans
portation had a lot to do with which
students went where, as did tra d i
tion.
Since the 1950s, in conclusion, I
can rem em ber d iscussion about
closin g W a s h in to n H ig h S chool,
Monroe (once G irls Polytechic) was
later added to the list, then merged
with Washington.
I w ou ld lik e to propose (1) that
L in c o ln H ig h School be closed
rather than another East side high
school. (Linco ln property would be
advantageous to the C ity to enlarge
the stadium or to build low income
housing close to d o w n to w n P o rt
land) or (2) close all the high schools
in d is tric t N o. 1; add a year to the
M iddle schools, and provide Secon
dary Education through community
colleges. High schools closed should
become
c o m m u n ity
schools,
operated independent o f school
district No. 1.
1 also suggest th a t T ri-M e t
provide bus service across tow n or
the convenience o f secondary stu
dents, as well as other citizens.
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