For the children o f Atlanta and fo r
all children who are hungry, suffer
and live in fear.
Block grants threaten health, education programs
The Reagan budget, recently
adopted by the House and well on
its way to fin a l passage, requires
cuts in dom estic program s o f $50
b illion from what would be required
to m onitor programs at the current
level This is expected to be followed
by a cut o f an additional $80 billion
in the next two years.
Next the adm inistration proposes
to destroy m any o f the social
p rogram s serving the p o o r and
m inorities through the adoption o l
“ com m unity block g ra n ts " to the
states. The effect would be to repeal
66 pieces o f legislation that establish
programs ranging from child health
services. C o m m u n ity Service A d
m in is tra tio n , e du catio n to r han
dicapped c h ild re n , etc. It also
removes federal requirem ents fo r
c iv il rig h ts, citizen p a rtic ip a tio n ,
quality control, priorities, fiscal ac
c o u n ta b ility , freedom o f in f o r
m ation. States would be allowed to
spend the funds as they choose.
The plan is to lump these services
into a series o f block grants, provide
the states w ith 25 per cent less
m oney th is year (less in years to
com e) and to allo w the states to
choose the programs and the target
populations they w ill serve.
There are tw o health b lo ck
grants; one is health services and the
other preventative health. Am ong
the programs that would be repealed
are m ig ra n t h e a lth , research and
developm ent, c o m m u n ity m ental
health, services to the e ld e rly ,
re h a b ilita tio n
fo r b lin d and
disabled, fa m ily p lanning, genetic
disease, etc.
Social service block grants w ould
repeal fo ste r care fu n d s, c h ild
welfare services, child abuse preven
tio n , v o c a tio n a l re h a b ilita tio n ,
p o v e rty program s, c o m m u n ity
economic development grants, etc.
The education block grants would
erase emergency school a id , com
m unity school programs, gifted and
ta le n te d , career e d u c a tio n , a d u lt
e d u c a tio n ,
p rogram s
fo r
educationally disadvantaged, etc.
A n o th e r b ill o f concern is the
Adm inistrative Reform Act that w ill
give the P resident the rig h t to
abo lish any p ro gram by executive
o rd er i f Congress docs not object
w ithin 90 days.
Many believe that these proposals
are just the first steps in a strategy to
a b a nd on fe d e ra l in v o lv e m e n t in
meeting human needs.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
July 2,1961
Volums XI Number 37
26< Per Copy
City of Portland addresses refugee concerns
James Smith received two major awards recently from the School
of Dentistry at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center.
Dental School honors Smith
James S m ith , son o f Russell J.
S m ith o f N ortheast P o rtla n d , re
ceived tw o m a jo r awards recently
from the School o f D entistry at the
U n iv e rs ity o f O regon H ea lth
Sciences C enter in Portland.
S m ith was the re cip ie n t o f the
Ernest A . H u rle y H u m a n ita ria n
Aw ard, presented to those students
who e x e m p lify service to th e ir
fe llo w s, fa c u lty , and co m m u n ity;
and the Stephen P. Peglow
Memorial Fund Award. The Peglow
A w a rd is given to a g ra d u a tin g
senior, nom inated by members o f
the senior class and then selected by
the class and fa c u lty , w ho is most
representative o f a ll the desirable
qualities o f a dentist. In addition to
d em on stratin g useful know ledge,
the awardee m ust have essential
q u a litie s o f in te g rity , h u m ility ,
com passion, s k ill, s e n s itiv ity to
patient needs and dedication to ser
vice.
C om m un ity tensions and acts o f
harassm ent against Indochinese
refugees that caught the attention o f
the s ta ff o f Com m issioner Charles
Jordan last fa ll brought about the
a p p o in tm e n t o t a Refuge C o o r
d in a to r in the C om m issioner’ s o f
fice. D r. P a tricia Rumer has been
appointed to the p o s itio n , funded
by the federal O ffice o f Refugee Set
tlement fo r one year.
The p o s itio n , a c c o rd in g to D r.
Rumer, w ill gather in fo rm a tio n on
refugees in Portland, coordinate ef
fo rts o f groups now w o rk in g w ith
refugees, in v o lv e C ity bureaus in
providing services in a manner that
can in c lu d e refugees, and help
educate the public about the culture
and heritage o f the various refugee
groups living in the City.
“ The m any refugees com ing to
P o rtla n d are changing the C ity ,”
she said. “ The many new c u ltu ra l
groups can b rin g a p o s itiv e ex
perience to the city and I would like
to part o f that process.”
Oregon is fo u rth in the nation in
percent o f refugees. In P o rtla n d
most refugees are fro m Southeast
A sia and are p rim a rily fro m six
groups - C hinese, Vietnam ese,
C am bodians, L a o tia n s, M ien and
H m ong. Each o f these groups has
one or more languages and d is tin
ctive cultural patterns.
considered refugees, are not eligible
for assistance except food stamps,
unless they w o u ld o th e rw ise be
e lig ib le as e ld e rly , d isabled or
dependent ch ild re n . Federal funds
are a va ila b le fo r C ubans b ut the
State o f O regon refused m oney
because it is not allow ed to select
who can come into the state.
A potential fo r increased tension
is the high rate o f unemployment in
the C ity - over IO per cent - and the
c o m p e titio n am ong refugees and
other m in o rity groups fo r ra p id ly
vanishing jobs. Since refugees tend
to settle in lo w -in c o m e areas
already occupied by m in orities and
poor whites, the o p p o rtu n itie s fo r
tension are m u ltip lie d . This poten
tial c o n flic t makes understa nd in g
and c o a litio n b u ild in g even m ore
important.
o rg a n iz a tio n s o f refugee people.
C om m issio ne r Jordan has asked
C ity bureaus to appoint members to
a Refugee Task Force to insure C ity
services are made available.
D r. Rumer came to the jo b well
experienced in community organiza
tio n. She worked in rural develop
m ent in G uatem ala fo r the
American Friends Service C om m it
tee, d id a needs assessment on
H ispanics in P o rtla n d fo r the
United Church o f C hrist; organized
child care and education programs
fo r 4 -C , E cu m en ica l M in is trie s ,
N o rth w e st R eg ion al E d u c a tio n a l
T ra in in g L a b , and N ero and
Associates. She recently received her
d o c to ra te in U rb a n S tudies fro m
Portland State U niversity where she
w ro te her d o c to ra l thesis on the
C o m m u n ity C o a litio n fo r School
Integration.
Refugees who can be expected to
a rriv e
in
the
fu tu re
are
M ghan istan ian s now in Pakistan
and West Germany awaiting accep
tance to the US, E th io p ia n s and
others from the H orn o f A frica , and
g ro w in g num bers fro m C e n tra l
America. A political battle is raging
over whether more refugees should
be accepted. Law now requires that
refugees be “ p o litic a l” and not
“ e co n o m ic” , and in pra ctice
requires th a t they come fro m
socialist nations and not from pro-
US d ic ta to rs h ip s . M an y h u m a n i
tarians now believe that displaced
people w o u ld be b etter served by
loca ting them in nearby countries
w ith fa m ilia r language and culture
than be b rin g in g them to the US
where they are in a strange and not
always friendly environment.
Other refugees coming into P ort
land in c lu d e a few C ubans, E th i
o pian s, A fg h a n is ta n ia n s , and a
sm all n um ber o f East Europeans
and Russians.
The prim ary problem fo r refugees
is em ploym ent; seventy percent o f
the Indochinese refugees receive
pub lic assistance. This assistance,
although provided through the state
A d u lt and Fam ily Services D epart
ment, is I00 per cent funded by the
federal government fo r up to three
years. C ubans, w ho have co n
ditional entrance and are not legally
Dr. Rumer’ s tasks w ill be varied.
She has already begun to meet with
agencies that are providing services
to refugees and w ith the fo ru m o f
refugee serving agencies. She w ill
coordinate their efforts and include
p ro je c tin g Black people in a very
p o s itiv e lig h t and th a t’ s a very
systematic process.”
The conclusions reached by this
segment o f the conference was fo r
parents to screen the T .V .
program s, cut the TV o ff, and fo r
Black people to develop c o n tro l
over various mediums o f the media.
Dr. D errick Bell, J r., Law Dean
for the University o f Oregon was the
keynote speaker as the conference
continued w ith workshops ranging
from Black A doption to combatting
the social oppression o f Black
c h ild re n . In his address, D r. Bell
summarized the educational process
o f intergration.
“ Alm ost 30 years after Brown v.
The Board o f Education, we are still
trying to decide whether intergrated
or segregated school are best fo r our
children. During the long struggle to
integrate as required by the courts
and ignored by the rest o f the coun
try , came the slow re a liza tio n that
racism comes in integrated as well as
segregated fo rm s . A n d n obody
knows that better than Black people
in Portland, Oregon.
“ T h is has b ro u g h t back the
remembered revelation that no one
can free us except ourselves. The
education o f our chidlren is too im
p o rta n t to delegate to others.
Parents must be involved as equals
w ith the school. Schools must feel
accountable to parents and teachers
must believe that students can learn.
Teachers must realize that their suc
cess depends upon those ch ild re n
le a rn in g . We m ust insist th a t
schools are id e n tifia b le as B la ck,
not be u n d e rfu n d e d o r u n d e r
staffed. And for contemporary pur
poses, that they not be closed. Our
c h ild re n are o u r fu tu re s . T h e ir
fu tu re depends on e ffe c tiv e
schooling and that’ s something only
we can insure,” Dr. Bell said.
The most popular w orkshop was
“ The Psychological Development
o f Black C hildre n" taught by Jasper
O rm o n d .
The
p sych o lo g ica l
problem s encountered by Black
c h ild re n o u tlin e d by M r. O rm o n d
were S e lf-ha tre d , fear, a lie n a tio n
and dependencey. The needs are
guidance, p ositive reinforcem e nt
and se curity. The base s u p p o rt
system is the c o m m u n ity , fa m ily
and schools. He concluded by asser
ting that the support structure o f the
fa m ily needs to become stron ge r
because the fa m ily is the most in-
fluencial element in the life o f the
Black child.
A n o th e r w o rk s h o p d ea lt w ith
“ Education vs. T ra in in g ” headed
(Please turn to Page9 Col I)
Summer brings the old and the young to Peninsula Park.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
'I am the Black child'
“ I am a Black ch ild .^Y o u have
brought me into this w o rld , about
which I know nothing. You hold in
your hand my destiny. You deter
mine whether 1 succeed or fail. Give
me, 1 beg you, a w orld where I can
walk tall and proud. Train me, as is
your duty unto me, to love myself,
my people and to b u ild our Black
nation.”
G rassroot News, N .W . - Those
concluding thoughts o f the timeless
poem “ I am the Black C h ild ,” un
d erlin ed the sentim ents and
know ledge exchanged d u rin g the
firs t A n n u a l Black C h ild C o n
ference held last weekend, spon
sored by the Black Educational Cen
ter.
The weekend conference operated
under the banner o f “ W ho W ill
Speak F or Us? P re pa rin g Black
ch ild re n to meet the challenges o f
the Future.” It opened with a panel
discussion o f the effects o f media
images on the Black child. Gregory
G udgcr fro m the M e tro p o lita n
H um an R elations C om m ission
opened the discussion. “ The media,
as a whole, has not been very kind
to Black people because the images
projected o f Black people has not
been very accurate. T h a t is very
dam aging, especially to our
children” he explained.
An exam ple cited was a recent
special done by a local T V station
about the In d o -C h in e se . Every
negative rem ark a bo ut the In d o -
Chinese was made by Blacks. The
station’ s reply was that this was not
a deliberate act but at the same time
it was the m ost u nconscionable
act.”
Present at this panel was clinical
p sychologist, Jasper O rm o n d . He
said, “ S e lf-ha tre d and fear is the
result o f the media image projected
to Black c h ild re n . T h is has been
used to mentally control people to a
p o in t where they feel so helpless
about th e ir c o n d itio n s , th a t they
w o u ld begin to c o m p la in to the
white media fo r not protecting them
p ro p e rly . T h a t’ s a hell o f a
statement. This country is based on
a very serious psychological m yth
that w hite people are superior and
Black people are in fe rio r. It is im
p o rta n t fo r the s ta b ility o f th is
country that the myth is constantly
perpetrated.
" T h is is a very insid io us image
being projected through the media
to our children. A t this tim e, I feel
i t ’ s somewhat lu d ic ro u s to expect
the w h ite m edia to p ro je c t Black
people in any positive lig h t. Their
w e ll-b e in g is dependent on not
DANAYAL GILL
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