For the children o f Atlanta and fo r
all children who are hungry, suffer
and live In fear.
L
Cawthorne gains support for school board suit
School Board member Herb Caw­
thorne has threatened to tile a fed­
eral suit against the P o rtla n d
school d is tric t i f the School Board
proceeds to close both Washington?
Monroe and Adams High School.
A fte r a series o f p u b lic hearings
the School Board voted to close only
one high school - W a shington
M onroe Dean G isvo ld and (. har-
lo tte Beeman w ho w ill jo in the
Board on Ju ly I has announced
th e ir in te n tio n to vote to close
Adam s p rio r to next Septem ber.
Chairman Joe Reike has scheduled a
special board meeting July 2nd to
consider the closure.
C aw thorne charges th a t closing
both schools w ill have a dispropor­
tio n a te e ffe c t on Black students,
and in his suit w ill claim that district
policies that removed Black children
fro m th e ir n e ig h b o rh o o d high
schools have caused the destruction
o f those schools.
“ I have received an overw helm ­
in g ly p o sitiv e re s p o n s e ," C aw ­
thorne to ld the Observer Wednes­
day. "T h is reflects a concerted un­
d e rstan d in g among Blacks and
whites for the basis o f my statement
th a t closing W a s h in g to n /M o n ro e
and Adams together has a disporate
impact on Black students and poor
whites. It is unfortunate that a legal
challenge cannot embrace the
negative im pact on various socio­
economic classes and races; the poor
white students are almost as poorly
regarded as arc Black students. In
the response I'v e received, whites
have shown a sensitive appreciation
fo r the constraints o f the legal ap­
proach and fe ll o u r arguem ents
speak fo r them as well as fo r Black
students.
"T h e negative responses have ac­
cused me o f b la c k m a il, h o ld in g a
gun on the board, backing them into
a narrow corner and eliminating the
possibility fo r harmonious relation­
ships am ong and between board
members.
" I f the 'N ew Board' would have
had the good grace and the in ­
telligence to respect the present
b o a rd ’ s decision, though not per­
fect, then the necessity for a defense
outside o f the b oa rd ’ s deliberation
process w ould never have occured.
It is outrageous to think that leaving
students w ith o u t assignments fo r
the co m ing year, leaving teachers
unassigned in large num bers,
generating b o u n d ry changes and
differing assignments for multitudes
is w o rth closin g a school in the
summer months. The psychological
im pacts arc d e s tru c tiv e , the ad­
m inistrative im plem entation w ill be
greatly compromised, and the ‘ New
B o a rd ’ w ill begin its term w ith an
inescapable a ire o f secrecy and
callouse dealings.
It is lim e fo r the Black c o m ­
m un ity and whites who understand
to realize the callousness the Board
now p ro je c ts is a p a rt o f the
n a tio n a l p sych ic, w hich says to
public o fficials that sensitivity, con­
cern and com m itm ent to discnfran-
chize people is no longer in vogue.
" T h a t p sychic seeps dow n in to
(Please turn to Page 6 C ol I)
PORTLAND OBSERVER
June 18. 1981
Volum e XI Number 36
26C Per Copy
One shot shoots the future
P ro te s t o f S e n a to r B ill M c C o y ’s s u p p o rt
reap p o rtio nn -.en t plan d iv id in g B lack n e ig h b o r­
hoods was posted by a picket of M cCoy s home in
North Portland.
(Photo: Richard Brown)
Voters picket McCoy's home
Grassroot News N .W . - On Sun-
day, a pp ro xim a tely 65 com m un ity
residents, under the leadership o f
the Black United Front, picketed the
home o f State S enator W illia m
" B ill” McCoy.
The picket was called to show dis­
agreement w ith the M cCoy Amend­
ment adopted by the Senate C om ­
m ittee on G overnm ent O p eratio n
that changed the reapportionm ent
plan adopted by the House and
diluted the Black vote. The original
plan would have the district w ith a
44 percent Black vote. The d istrict
redraw n by M cC o y w o u ld d iv id e
and decrease the percentage o f
Blacks in the resulting district.
Ronnie Herndon, co-chairman o f
The Black U nited F ro n t, explained
fu rth e r reasons fo r the d em on­
s tra tio n . " T h e Black c o m m u n ity
came out in large numbers and said
we w anted one representative
d is tric t fo r the Black c o m m u n ity .
B ill McCoy did not come to any o f
those hearings and d id n ’ t address
any one in the c o m m u n ity . When
that proposal got to the Senate, he
told them that the Black community
did not want to be segregated. This
shows that he does not understand
what self-determ ination vs. segre­
g a tio n is, in a system that lim its
your rights. In this case, the com ­
m u n ity said they wanted one
d is tric t.”
H e rn d o n responded to the ac­
cusation that if Blacks were in one
or a hundred districts. Black people
just w ouldn’ t vote as a group here in
P o rtla n d . " W e ll, th a t’ s why we
(Please turn to Page 13 Col 3)
Commissioners receive $1. vote
The L e g is la tiv e fu ll W ays and
Means C om m ittee acted upon the
budget requests fo r the C o m ­
missions on Black and Hispanic A f­
fairs.
Rumors have circulated fo r weeks
th a t S u bco m m itte e #1 w ou ld
recommend to the fu ll committee a
$1.00 general funds a p p ro p ria tio n
for each Commission.
Senator Deb Potts (D- M edford),
C hairperson o f the Subcom m ittee
made the report that recommended
a $ 1.00 general fund app ro priatio n
fo r each plus a $25,00 other funds
lim itation for each.
The o the r fu n d lim ita tio n w ill
make it possible fo r the Commission
to receive g ifts , grants and
donations up to $25,000.
Representative Ton Van Vliet (R-
C orvallis) objected to the Subcom­
m ittee re p o rt sta ting th a t the fu ll
co m m itte e should a p p ro ve the
$110,000 fig u re fo r each C o m ­
mission that has been included in
Governor Vic A tiye h ’ s recommend­
ed budget.
However, Rep. Van Vliet received
no su pp ort fro m any co m m itte e
members fo r this position.
Rep. Van Vliet and Senator Frank
Roberts (D -P o rtla n d ), voted no on
the Subcommittee recommendation.
Nevertheless, Senator Roberts, who
has a significant number o f Blacks
in his d istrict, did not support Rep.
Van V lie t’ s a tte m p t to get m ore
d o lla rs. F u rth e r, Senator R oberts
did not explain his no vote.
Rep. Vera K atz (D -P o rtla n d )
wants all the special commissions to
be combined (Black, Hispanic, In ­
dian and Women) to form a Human
Relations Commission. This comes
even though the G o v e rn o r’ s Task
Force on M in ority A ffairs published
a report delineating reasons why a
com bined C om m ission w ould not
function effectively at this time.
Kay Toran, the Governor’ s Direc­
to r o f A ffir m a tiv e A c tio n , ex­
pressed her disappointm ent at the
tw o C om m issions not receiving a
larger recommended appropriation
from the Ways and Means C om m it­
tee. " I recognize that this is a d if­
fic u lt tim e fo r legislators to make
decisions a bo ut budget requests,
(Please turn to Page 13 Col 5)
This spring M ark Renwick had a
dream. Since the age o f six he had
planned to be a professional boxer
and was well on his way with several
im p o rta n t amateur wins. He pla n ­
ned to announce his p ro fe ssio n a l
debut on May 6th.
On M arch 27th a police b u lle t
ended that dream. At the age o f 23,
M a rk R e n w ic k ’ s career ended.
"H o w do you tell a man his career
has ended at 2 3 ," he asks.
R enw ick was b orn in P o rtla n d
and attended John Adam s H igh
S chool, where he p a rtic ip a te d in
gym nastics, w re stling and karate
His mother describes him as a well
behaved boy, determined, interested
in sports, but not caring much about
his school work.
A t the age o f six. Renwick was in ­
trod uce d to b o xin g at M t. Scott
/C o m m u n ity C enter and im ­
m ediately knew he wanted to be a
fighter. Coached by Ed M ilberger,
he became known in boxing circles
as a winner. In 1977 he was Pacific
Northwest Super Crown Champion;
in 1980 he won the Oregon Golden
Gloves and in September o f 1980 he
was second in the western states in
Golden Bear, where he lost to the
n a tio n a l ch am pio n in a s p lit
decision. A m o ng his e a rlie r o p ­
ponents was Sugar Ray L eonard.
Althoug he wanted to participate in
the 1976 Olympics, his father decid­
ed he was too young.
Renwick was said to have the en­
durance, stamina and coordination
to be one o f the better pros in the
nation -- perhaps a W o rld C ham ­
pion.
On March 27th, Renwick’s dream
ended when he was shot in the
m outh by P ortland Police O ffic e r
Stephen W. Mosier.
Renw ick said he and his g ir l
friend were having an argument; she
ran out o f the house and he ran after
her, not w anting to fig ht in public.
Back in the house the argument con­
tinued. Then the door was knocked
in and tw o police o ffice rs ran in to
the house th e ir guns dra w n . They
to ld the young lady to leave; she
did..
“ I was angry. I was very angry,”
Renwick said. " I shouted at them
and ask why they were there, what
they were d o in g w ith those guns,
whether they had a search warrant. I
told them to get o u t.” Renwick ex­
plained that he picked up a piece o f
m o ld in g th a t had been shattered
when the door was smashed in and
held it in his rig h t hand (he is le ft
M a rk Renw ick
(Photos: Richard J. Brown)
handed). He shouted, " W h o ’ s
going Io pay for this. I ’ m not going
to pay fo r this.” He said the officer
was also shouting, "S h u t up or I 'll
shoot.”
" I reached down and started to
break the molding with my foot. He
must have said som ething and I
looked up, because suddenly my
face blew apart. I could see my face,
b lo o d , teeth fly in g in fro n t o f my
eyes. I thought I was dead.”
Renwick was shot in the m outh
w ith a h o llo w p o in t b u lle t. H is
mouth was filled w ith shrapnel; the
bullet lodged against his spine. He
never lost consciousness during the
20 m in u te w a it fo r an am bulance
and was taken to Emanuel where he
underwent surgery. He was placed
in intensive care under police guard.
The hospital called Mrs. Renwick
at 1:00 a.m. (the shooting ocurred at
11:30). She was to ld that he had
nearly bled to death, that there was
no heart beat. " B u t the police said
there was no serious in ju r y , " she
said. The hospital spokesman said,
“ D on’ t gel your hopes up.”
R enw ick d id s u rvive and a fte r
three days he was sent to Adventist
hospital where he was placed in the
Rocky Butte ward -- chained to the
bed. " I had tubes in my nose, in
each a rm , dow n m y th ro a t; I
couldn't move. But they chained me
to the bed.”
Renwick said he had never been
arrested but when one o f the guards
threated to let him go i f there were
no arrest papers, he was arrested
and read his rights. The charge was
A tte m p te d A ssault I I ; the b a il
$1,500. "T h e grand Jury refused to
indict me. I d id n ’t get to testify.”
R enw ick
s till
has tro u b le
sw allow ing; his speech is affected.
Pieces o f shrapnel are s till in his
face; they w ill w o rk th e ir way out
p a in fu lly through the skin, through
his gums. The most p a in fu l is his
tongue. " T h e d o c to r said I w ill
always be in pain I w ill have more
(Please turn to page 4 col. I)
anxiety itself is unhealthy and has its
own e ffe c t on reducing n a tio n a l
security. W e deny the frig htenin g
im m ediacy and m ag n itu d e o f the
threat o f nuclear w ar because it is
incomprehensible. This denial is an
appropriate protection against sour­
ces o f an xiety which cannot be
eliminated, such as the inevitability
o f one's own d e a th , but it is a
serious obstacle to coping w ith
rem ovable th re a ts . Yes, nuclear
war is a removable threat.
The cuts in social and health ser­
vices w ill cle a rly u n d erm in e the
national security by reducing the life
and health
fo r
m illio n s
of
Americans and by increasing costs.
Most social and health services are
vital and positive in th eir effects,
saving millions o f dollars by preven­
ting m ore serious and expensive
problem s. F or exam ple, there are
H e a d s ta rt pre-school tra in in g ,
maternal and child health services,
com m unity m ental health centers,
public health clinics and hospitals,
pollution control programs, and oc­
cupational health safeguards. Think
o f the problem s th at w ill arise if
these program s are devastated
M a n y o f the program s help poor
and disadvantaged people who are
(Please turn to Page 13 Col 5)
Social cuts, nuclear war budget linked
By David Pollock, M.D.
I would like to address the links
between increased military spending
and decreased spending fo r social
and health services. The two actions
are com plem entary in the view o f
the Reagan Adm inistration -- social
and health services are to be sacri­
ficed to the m ilitary in the name o f
in fla tio n fig h tin g and n a tio n a l
security. The two actions are linked
in an o th er way: they are both
reprehensible and unacceptable in
that they will be extremely harmful
to the health o f the nation.
Increasing the m ilita ry budget
heads us further and faster toward
nuclear w ar. T he existence in the
w o rld stockpiles o f g reater than
40,000 nuclear weapons supervised
by thousands o f personnel greatly
increases the chance o f nuclear war
by accident, hum an e rro r, or
deviant b e h a v io r. A nuclear ex­
change would undoubtedly lead to
widespread destruction and death.
We have estim ated th at the blast,
firesto rm s, and acute io n izin g
radiation from he detonation over
Portland o f a one megaton nuclear
weapon, a rela tiv e ly small device,
would k ill 466,000 people outright
and leave 247,000 injured. O f P ort­
la n d ’ s surviving physicians, we
m ight expect a ra tio o f one fu n c­
tioning physician per 1,000 acutely
injured persons. I f each physician
spent only ten minutes in diagnosis
and treatment for 20 hours a day, it
w ould take eight days to see each
p atien t only once. C le a rly , the
medical community is unable to deal
w ith the health consequences o f
even this limited nuclear attack.
A widespread nuclear exchange
has been estim ated by the U .S .
N ational Security Council to cause
140 m illio n dead in the U .S ., 113
m illio n in the U .S .S .R . T he sub­
sequent long-term climatic changes,
degradation o f the ozone layer, and
fallo u t contam ination o f the food
chain would threaten the very sur­
vival o f life on this planet.
W hat is the meaning o f national
security, the term which is used to
justify increased m ilitary spending?
It should mean that we secure the
life and health o f the majority o f the
population. For the government to
h urtle us even closer to nuclear
destruction does little to instill a true
sense o f national security. The talk
o f war, the misguided belief that a
war could be won, leads most o f us
to grave fears fo r the fu tu re o f
h u m a n ity and the E a rth . The
J