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