For the children o f Atlanta and fo r
all children who are hungry, suffer
and live in fear.
Cancer survival rate tied to economic status
By Harold P. Freeman, M.D.
It is had enough that a man
should he ignorant, fo r this cuts him
o f f fro m the commerce o f men's
minds. It is perhaps worse that a
man should he poor, f o r this con
demns him to a life o f stent and
scheming in which there is no time
f o r dreams and no respite fro m
weariness. Hut what surely is worse,
is that a man should he unwell, fo r
this prevents his doing anything
much about either his poverty or his
ignorance. " G .H . I. Kimball
It is well known that cancer is the
second most common cause o f
death among Americans. In 1900,
one out five patients w ith cancer
survived in this country. Because of
advances in diagnois and treatment,
today one out o f three cancer
patients survive. Progressively in
creasing survival is the goal, with an
eye toward wiping out cancer in the
coming decades. Although to date
survival improvements have been
achieved almost exclusively through
the development and application o f
techniques o f early diagnosis and
adequate treatm ent o f tum ors by
forms o f local therapy such as
surgery and ra d ia tio n , it is well
known that the most profound ad
vances await the discovery o f the
fundamental causes o f cancer and
all changes which occur within the
host once the cancer process is
initiated. Once this level o f under
standing is achieved, it is anticipated
that we w ill be close to deriving the
concepts that w ill lead to cancer
prevention.
While intensifying research that
hopefully will lead to cancer preven
tion, it is necessary at the same time
to apply currently known diagnostic
and treatm ent techniques to all
segments
of
the
Am erican
population in order to achieve the
highest possible cancer survival rate
in the light o f current knowledge.
The concentration o f resources on
high risk groups is an accepted
medical principle in attempting to
substantially effect improved cure
rates whether one is dealing with in
fectious disease, neoplastic disease,
or other form s o f illness. As an
example, note that the five year sur
vival rate fo r white women w ith
breast cancer i f 65 percent com
pared to 50 percent for Black
women. Note also that the five year
survival rate for cancer o f the colon
among whites is 46 percent com
pared to five year survival in Blacks
o f 19 percent. In both o f these
forms o f cancer, Blacks represent a
high risk group for death from can
cer. Presumably with proper resour
ces, appropriate measures could be
taken which w ould raise the five
year survival rate o f Blacks w ith
these and other forms o f cancer to
the level which is known to be
achievable in the white population.
of
Econom ic Status and Survival
c a n c e r p a tie n ts : Several
studies have demonstrated the
relationship between low economic
status and death from cancer. The
C alifornia Tumor Registry in 1963
showed that the survival rates o f
cancer patients adm itted to city
hospitals between 1942 and 1956
were s ig n ifica n tly less favorable
than (hose o f patients adm itted to
private hospitals. The poor
prognosis was found in this study to
be due to the advanced stage o f
disease in the poor at the tim e o f
diagnosis. L ip w o rth concluded
based on a study in 1970 that the in
fluence o f socio-ecoomic factors on
cancer survival cannot be rejected.
He noted a sm aller percent o f
localized tum ors among the in
digent. He further stated that treat
ment delays are more frequent
(Please turn to page 6 col. 3)
PORTLAND OBSERNER
June 26. 1961
Volum e XI N um ber 36
25C Per Copy
USPS 959-680-855
Blacks scarce in educa education
P o lice C h ie f Ron S till discusses p o lic e
procedure and policy w ith com m unity residents at
P olice/C om m unity Relations Forum,
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Still promises police changes
Meeting with citizens at the June
20th Police/Com m unity Relations
Forum sponsored by the Observer,
Chief Ron Still related some o f the
things he is doing to change the
practices and image o f the Police
Bureau.
S till said he has asked all com
manders and division heads to write
assessments o f their organizations,
explaining policies and procedures,
needs and potential personnel
changes. When he receives those
reports he w ill begin to make struc
tural changes.
Concerning Internal A ffa irs , he
Bruce Broussard, publisher o f the
Observer, w ill be guest host on
K E X ’ s “ Northwest At N ig h t’ ’
program on July 1st from 7.00 to
11:00 p.m. His guests w ill be Herb
Cawthorne and Freddye Petett. Call
"the program at 225-1190.
plans to wait for the report o f the
Task Force appointed by Com
missioner Jordan. Then using it and
other in fo rm a tio n he w ill make
changes. He plans to provide more
information to complainants about
the facts and results o f the in
vestigation, but w ill not open the
records to. the public. He is opposed
to citizen review boards, believing
citizens do not have an adequate
understanding o f police work. He
w ill not review old cases that com
plainants feel were not adequately
resolved, but w ill look at current
cases.
Still proposes a mobile “ walking
beat” - officers would drive to a site
and then walk - to allow officers to
become better acquainted with the
public. He has ordered that racial
statistics not be asked o f persons
who call for police help.
He stated that he is not opposed
to hiring Black officers but does not
see them as a solution to problems
between the police and the Black
commuity. He will ask the Civil Ser
vice Board to establish a procedure
where all those who pass the police
exam w ill be placed in a pool and
any can be hired. That would
elim inate the “ list o f th re e " and
assist hiring minorities.
A report recently released by the
House Com m ittee on Education
demonstrates that m in o rity em
ployees still do not have equal op
p o rtu n ity to the state’ s school
systems.
Oregon law prohibits discrimina
tio n in any public elementary,
secondary, or com m unity college
and in higher education and in any
related program financed by money
appropriated by the legislature.
D iscrim ination is defined by state
law as “ any act that unreasonably
differentiates treatment, intended or
unintended, or any act that is fair in
form
but d iscrim in a to ry
in
operation, either o f which is based
on age, handicap, national origin,
race, m arital status, religion or
sex."
The law grants power to the
Superintendent o f Public Instruc
tio n to enforce the law by
withholding state funds.
State policy defines affirm a tive
action as "a method o f eliminating
the effects o f past and present
discrim ination, intended or unin
tended, that are evident or indicated
by analysis o f present employment
patterns, practices and policies.”
The com m ittee found at public
hearings that there is a vast d if
ference in opinion adm inistrators
and members o f the affected classes
on affirmative action and its results.
Institutional officials reported that
they are complying with affirmative
action
requirem ents,
while
m inorities and women charge
systematic discrimination.
The study found the ad
ministration o f local school districts
and the State Departm ent o f
Education to be white male
dominated and indications that this
is prepetuated by an internal
prom otiona l
procedure
that
discriminates against minorities and
women.
The State Superintendent and the
five department heads are w hite
men.
In the $31,00 plus salary range
there are 19 employees; only one is
m in o rity ; one is female. O f the
department’ s 14 minority employees
(401 total empoyees) eight are in the
$25,(XX) - 30,000 range. M inorities
make up 3.6 percent o f the depart
ment’ s work force.
Although more than half o f the
employees are women, they are con
centrated in the lower pay ranges.
The heaviest concentration o f
women (34.4 percent) is the $7,000 -
13,(XX) range while the heaviest con
centration o f men (39.1 percent) is
in the $25,000 - 30,(XX) range.
Elementary and
Secondary Schools
Minorities are under represented
in teaching, adm in istra tio n and
counseling; women are under
represented in secondary teaching,
administration and counseling; men
are under represented in elementary
teaching.
M in o ritie s are largely non
existent in administration. O f 227.5
superintendents, only one, an
associate superintendent, is Black.
There are 25 addition al Black ad
m inistrators - out o f a to ta l o f
1,039.
There arc 19 m inority elementary
principals, including seven Blacks
and six Indians, out o f a to ta l o f
763. There is one Black high school
p rin cip a l, fo u r Indians, one
Hispanic and one Asian - out o f a
total o f 308. A ll o f the female high
school principals (7) are w hite.
There are 24 minorities employed as
c u r r ic u lu m
s p e c ia lis t s ,
library/media personnel, and school
psychologist out o f a total o f 1,158.
There is no Black or Hispanic coun
selor or psychologist.
M inorities are also vastly under
represented in teaching. There are
no male m inority pre-K or kinder
garten teachers in the state’s public
elementary schools. There are 104
Black elementary school teachers,
and 243 other m inorities, out o f a
total o f 12,085.
There are 47 Black secondary
teachers, and 179 other m inorities,
out o f 10,258 secondary teachers.
There arc 49,205 pu b lic school
employees in the state. O f these 538
(Please turn to Page 6 Col 3)
He advoctes on-going, mandatory
tra in in g
on
new
policies,
procedures, laws and cu ltu ra l
awareness. He w ill involve minority
persons in designing cu ltu ra l
awareness programs.
Because prostitution is a concern
to the community, he will emphasize
enforcem ent. He suggested that
citizens sit in on tria ls to demon
strate their concern. He w ill work
w ith com m unity people to insure
that arresting prostitutes on Union
Avenue w ill not drive them onto
neighborhood streets.
S till pledged continuin g com
munication with the community.
Board rejects CJO suspension
The Portland School Board failed
to pass a proposal by Board member
Wally Priestley that the Community
Juvenile O ffic e r Program - a
program that places uniform ed
police officers in the schools as
teacher/counselors - be terminated
and Herb Cawthorne motion that it
be temporarily suspended.
Priestley proposed that the
School D istict n o tify the Police
Bureau that it w ill not tolerate
police crime and abuse o f police
power by terminating the program.
In light o f the creeping increase o f
police power and police abuse in this
society, he said the school district
must draw the line fo r its con
stituents and support their concerns.
Cawthorne asked that the
program be suspended until the new
police leadership convinces the
Board that its com m itm ent is
genuine. He said he is not im-
pessed with the curriculum and con
siders the program to be one o f
communication - allowing students
to know police officers.
A lthough he had in itia lly sup
ported the program, largely because
he trusted Commissioner Jordan's
leadership, he changed his mind af
ter reading M ayor Ivancie's
statement in the Oregonian Sunday:
“ Then, in the last four years, you’ ve
had a Black Commissioner in charge
of the Bureau after Neil reassigned
it.. But yet, at the same time, a lot
of the racial problems and miscon
duct on the part o f the police - and
the administrative breakdown as far
as the SID operation - happened
under that Commissioner.”
Calling the statement a “ disgrace
and very, very unfortunate" he said
the statement makes it easy for the
white community to think the police
problems were the result o f having a
Black Commissioner. If he had said
incom petent, a poor manager, I
w ouldn't have a problem. But the
main characterization was "B la c k ."
Because o f significant changes in
police leadership, he said, the Board
has a responsibility to insure that
the people coming into the schools
are guided by leadership that has the
confidence o f the Board.
Stating that i f he were white,
Jordan would still be police Com
m issioner, he added “ The op
position from the M ayor and the
lack o f support by liberals is racism.
There is a double standard when the
person is Black.”
Cawthorne associated the crisis in
the police bureau with that in the
schools. A lthough there had been
com plaints o f abuse fo r years,
nothing was exposed without out
side pressure. It was the same in the
school d is tric t. Teachers and ad
m inistrators knew Black children
were being abused but did not fight
fo r their students and no changes
were made u n til the com m unity
brought pressure to bear. Suspend
ing the CJO program would bring
pressure on the police bureau to
make changes.”
(Please turn to Page9 Col I)
C alvin O. L. H en ry and R e p re s e n ta tiv e J o h n
S c h o o n v ie w m e m o ria l p la q u e at g ra v e s ite of
Black pioneer Reuben Shipley.
Plaque marks pioneer burial site
On May 30, 1981, a m em ofial
service was held at M ount U nion
Cemetery for Reuben Shipley, the
first Black resident o f Benton Coun
ty-
Reuben Shipley was born a slave
in Kentucky about 1800, taking the
surname o f his master as was the
custom. He became overseer o f a
large plantation in M issouri, then
came to Oregon with the Shipleys.
The master had promised that when
they arrived in Oregon, Reuben
would be given his freedom.
He saved $1500 and bought eighty
acres between C o rvallis and
Philomath, where he raised a family
V
»
o f three daughters. He had married
Mary Jane Holmes one of the three
children of Robin and Polly Holmes
who were freed in Oregon’ s firs t
court decision over slavery.
When another settler suggested
that the property at the top o f the
hill near the Shipley’ s cabin would
be a good place fo r a cemetery,
Shipley gave the property to Benton
C ounty w ith the stip u la tio n that
Blacks could be buried there
In 1861 the transaction was com
pleted and twelve years later Reuben
and one daughter who had died o f
smallpox, were buried there.
Mary Jane married R.G. Drake in
1875. She lived in Corvallis until her
death, then moved to Salem and
eventually to P ortland where she
died in 1925. She was buried next to
her two husbands and her children
at the Mount Union Cemetery.
A t the May 30th service a
m em orial plaque was dedicated.
Speaking at the ceremony were
Representative John Schoon, Calvin
Henry and Elizabeth Mchagan.
author o f “ A Peculiar Paradise: A
history o f Blacks in Oregon, 1788 -
1940 "
The plaque reads: “ On May 11,
1861, Reuben and M ary lane
(Please turn to Page 10Col 3)