Page 2 Portland Observar July 16. 1981
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Cloak and dagger government
The veil o f secrecy is s te a d ily being
tig h te n e d as th e US g o v e rn m e n t seeks to
restrict information available to its citizens and
others.
The governm ent seeks to exclude the FBI
and the CIA from the Freedom of Information
law, restricting citizens' access to these agen­
cies' files on them. There is also a law pending
that would make it a federal crime to reveal the
names of intelligence agents or even of FBI in­
formants.
C urrently there are 21 bills in Congress to
restrict use by the press of Freedom of In fo r­
mation Act.
Also there is a bill th a t w o u ld allow w ire ­
ta p p in g of reporters and e d ito rs by federal
agencies w ithout a warrant.
In addition to the crack down on the press'
rig h t to kn o w and to in fo rm the p u b lic
anything other than that inform ation stamped
w ith the approval of the various government
agencies, the g o v e rn m e n t has m oved to
remove from public access foreign news that
has not been filte re d th ro u g h AP or UPI. In
May, delivery of newspapers from Cuba was
stopped by the Treasury Department.
M any o f the n a tio n 's universities are c o n ­
cerned about the new secrecy requirements in
federal research grants. The new rules make it
a federal offense to even discuss w ith a foreign
scientist any research results th a t m ig h t im ­
prove m ilita ry te ch n o lo g y w ith o u t S tate D e­
partment approval. The rules bar participation
of foreign students, make research sites " o ff
lim its", and could interfere w ith scientists' par­
tic ip a tio n in in te rn a tio n a l professional m e e t­
ings. The Pentagon is try in g to m o n ito r and
restrict all research that m ight led to weapons
in n o v a tio n , b u t d is tin g u is h in g these fro m
"basic research" is d iffic u lt if not impossible.
All of this makes the logistics of research d if­
ficult - to say nothing of academic freedom.
A nd the g o ve rn m e n t w a n ts its citize n s to
w a tc h each o th e r. A lth o u g h m o s t th e ft of
secrets is by corporations against their c o m ­
p e tito rs , the p u b lic is being w arned against
"s p ie s ." A public service radio spot discusses
" w h ite c o lla r c r im e " and asks w o rk e rs to
w a tc h fo r fe llo w e m p lo ye e s w h o m ig h t be
selling corporate secrets to fo re ig n natio ns -
our "ene m ies" abroad. Listeners are asked to
report any suspicious activity to the FBI.
Fighting for neighborhoods . . .
Former Mayor Neil Goldschmidt was in the
audience at the Moday School Board meeting
to show his support for the Board's action in
closing Adams High School.
Am ong those w ho praised the board's a c ­
tio n w ere Doug Capps, fo rm e r assistant to
M ayor G o ld sch m id t and cam paign aid to
Charlotte Beeman and Dean Gisvold - the new
board members who reversed the decision of
the p revio us board to reta in A dam s; Ernie
Bonner, director of the City Planning Bureau
under G o ld sch m id t; Pauline A n d e rso n ,
president elect of the City Club and w ife of
Port o f Portland executive Lloyd A nderson;
and Sue Keil, fo rm e r sch o o l d is tric t a d ­
m inistrator and currently C ity/schoo ls liaison
for Mayor Ivancie.
One has to w onder w h y these residents of
Alam eda, Vancouver and the Oregon Y acht
C lub are so hap py a b o u t the clo s u re of
Adams - it's not their school.
Or perha ps th e y are ju s t h a p p y th a t
everything is under c o n tro l again. As Capps
said, w ith Dean and P a uline in ch a rg e the
board w ill be m ore decisive and give be tte r
leadership. W e must w onder, though , better
leadership for whom?
This does seem to be a reversal fo r Gold
schm idt th o u g h . It w a s n 't long ago th a t he
fo u g h t Dr. B la n ch a rd over plans to close
sch o o ls in S o u th e a s t. A n d he has a lw a ys
talked for neighborhoods . . .
A new kind of urban rioter
By Dr. Manning Marable
Two recently published reports -
one assessing the M ia m i race u p ­
rising o f May, 1980, and the other a
review o f the impending fiscal crisis
o f m ajor m etropolitan centers in the
a fte rm a th o f Reganom ics - have
m ajor implications for the future o f
A m e rica n so cie ty. The 48 page
study in M ia m i, funded in part by
the F ord F o u n d a tio n , co n clu d e d
th a t the Black u p ris in g was “ u n ­
precedented in this century.”
Several fa c to is discussed in the
report seem particularly significant.
In most urban uprising in the past,
the great m a jo rity o f those arrested
by police a n d /o r N atio na l G uards­
men possessed p rio r arrest records.
In W a tts , the re p o rt p o in ts o u t,
a bo ut 73 percent o f 3,435 a d u lts
arrested had p rio r records. In New­
ark tw o years later, 7.2 percent o f
1,169 a du lts had records. But the
M iam i Rebellion broke this pattern:
less th an o n e -th ird o f the Black
adults arrested had p rio r records.
These statistics are confirm ed by my
impressions o f L ib e rty C ity ’ s ghet­
to, where I witnessed or personally
ta lk e d to scores o f so-called
“ lo o te rs ”
w ho
were school
teachers, p osta l w o rke rs and
m echanics. These were men and
women o f all ages, cutting across a
w ider socioeconom ic p ro file than
ever befo re experienced in an
American urban uprising. The study
continues, many o f those arrested
“ held jobs and did not otherwise fit
the stereotypical image o f a rio te r.”
There are tw o fo rm s w h ich the
phenomenon o f urban violence can
assume. This first is the classic pat­
tern o f the J-curve, in which mem ­
bers o f an h is to ric a lly d is a d v a n ­
taged or oppressed com m unity may
experience a general rise in s o c io ­
econom ic e xp e cta tio n s. P u b lic
p o licie s to w a rd the oppres ed
subgroup are libe ra lize d; a great -r
degree o f s o c ia l/c u ltu ra l m o b ility
is a llo w e d ; c iv il and p o litic a l
societies d is trib u te m ore fisca l
resources to those in need. Philan
th ro p ie s assist in cre a tin g an im ­
proved e du catio na l and social en
vironm ent for the disadvantaged b'
sp o n so rin g a p le th o ra o f w ell-
meaning projects. But such projects
were never funded on such a scale as
to empower a broad strata o f Black
people.
M ost sectors o f the oppressed
comm unity never benefit from these
liberal reform s. The expectation o f
fu n d a m e n ta l re fo rm has been
created, and not unlike “ Pandora's
B o x ,” gives b ir th to an alm ost
euphoric and idealistic demand fo r
perm anent change. Since lib e ra l
a d m in is t r a t io n s in e v it a b ly
bureacratize “ change,” and because
m any sincere but o fte n m id d le ­
headed professionals w ith o u t any
real social e m p ath y fo r the o p ­
pressed d ire c t the re fo rm is t
program s, many generally result in
an expanding m ood o f fru s tra tio n
and a lie n ta tio n w ith in the low er
classes. Any incident - the needless
incursion o f policemen into a Black
“ jo in t” on any Saturday night, for
instance - can spark an explosion.
The rio tin g that occurs is n ih ilism
armed with a m olotov cocktail. The
symbols o f the system are burned to
the ground; those in the streets who
are picked up by the p o lice have
usually been in the city ja il before.
Between 1964 to 1969, this was the
classic pattern o f urban and racial
violence.
But M ia m i was d iffe r e n t. The
rio te rs were a ctu a lly urban rebels.
They wete not those w ith nothing to
lose, “ but th e ir c h a in s .” They
m arched to the very center o f the
c ity , chanting, “ we want ju s tic e .”
The rebels understood, perhaps im ­
p lic itly , that the system which con­
tro lle d ih e ir lives, and the life o f
th e ir c o m m u n ity, was s tru c tu ra lly
unable to give them justice. In lieu
o f a broad-based, serious p o litic a l
lea de rship th a t c o u ld have been
channelled the collective outrage in­
to a ra d ic a l social agenda, the
rebellion stru k "spontaneously yet
s y s te m a tic a lly ” at w hites, p o lic e ­
men, w h ite -o v n e d p ro p e rty , and
even at the establishm ent Negroes
who counselled patience and calm.
The
recent
release
of
a
Congressional study, w ritten by the
Joint Econom ic C om m ittee, raises
the p o s s ib ility o f m ore M ia m is in
the coming months. Based on an ex­
tensive critiq ue o f 275 cities across
the country, the report predicts that
the Regan a d m in is tra tio n ’ s budget
cuts w ill levy a dea thb low against
SUMMER 7987
Save the Voting Rights Act
IN ORDER. TO E Q U A L IZ E THE B U R D E N OF SCHOOL
CLOSURES BETW EEN THF BLACK AND W HITE COnUHNITIL S
THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS DECIDED TO CLOSE A D A M S
by Eddie A H illiains
Jo in t ( enter Jor P o litical Studies
SUMMER Z9£2
UE 7TT PLEASED 70 ANNO UNCE TH AT ENOUGH
M ONET U flS SAVED B Y C LO S IN G A D A M S HIGH
LAST YEAR THAT IT NOU U IL l NOT BE
NECESSARY TO CLOSE
JACKSON HIGH
A FTE R A L L ...
/T^N /vt k
Portland Observer
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and critic of discriminatory practices and policies, a sentmal to
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urban areas. “ Because o f the
magnitude o f the proposed Federal
cuts and the abruptness w ith which
they are lik e ly to be im plem ented,
many econ om ic
d evelopm ent
in itia tiv e s w ill be re v e rs e d ,” it
argued. “ The p o p u la tio n o f many
cities w ill be forced to forgo certain
service and to pay more fo r others,
and an increasing num ber o f cities
w ill find themselves on the brink o f
¡fiscal collapse."
O f the 36 c itie s surveyed w ith
populations exceeding 250,000, the
o v e rw h e lm in g m a jo r ity were in
severe fiscal straits. A b o u t 70 per­
cent recorded deficits in 1980, and
almost 90 percent expect deficits this
year. On average, these cities receive
about o n e -th ird o f th e ir revenues
from the slate and federal govern­
ments. Any substantial reduction in
federal fin a n c ia l o u tla y s w ou ld
wreck havoc w ith urban budgets.
Outlays fo r water and sewage lines,
streets, lib ra rie s , e tc ., w o u ld be
seriously reduced. “ In the near
term ,” the study suggests, “ short o f
im periling the health and safety o f
its residents, cities w ill have to raise
taxes, user charges and fees to com­
pensate fo r d im in is h e d Federal
assistance.” The burde n o f the
fisca l c ris is , w hich in c lu d e B ir ­
m in gh a m , J a c k s o n v ille , M ia m i,
O a k la n d , B a ltim o re , St. L o u is ,
Philadelphia, N ashville, M em phis,
New Y o rk C ity and N e w a rk , a ll
have s ig n ific a n t m in o r ity c o m ­
munities.
As o f this w ritin g, the nightmare
o f Reagonomics seems very likely to
be ratified and signed. What w ill be
its net impact on urban crisis?
O f the short-term prospects, there
can be no doubt: a disastrous and
perhaps irreversable decline in the
q ua lity o f economic and social life
fo r m illions o f Americans. Even the
Congressional report described the
probable results o f the new budget
as “ g r im .” S ocial services de­
pending on federal s u p p o rt w ill
g rind to a s ta n d still; p u b lic school
teachers, a d m in is tra to rs and s ta ff
w ill be fired ; public tran spo rtatio n
w ill be forced to increase fares and
cut service at o ff-p e a k h o u rs;
q u a lity o f health care a va ila b le at
o u t-p a tie n t c lin ic s and p u b lic
hospitals w ill decline. The prospects
fo r more urban unrest on the scale
o f M iam i appear inevitable.
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Community Leadership
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In depth coverage
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,0 « “
*»
I be V o tin g Rights A c t, In s t en­
acted in 1965 and extended in 1970
and in 1975, is now before the U.S.
Congress. It is scheduled to expire in
A u g u s t, 1982, and laees an u n ­
certa in fu tu re . I be V o tin g Rights
Act lias been the single most e ffe c­
tive p ro te ctio n o f the rig ht to vote
lot Blacks and Hispanics. Hie May,
1981, issue o f EO CUS, the J o in t
(. enter fo r P o litic a l Studies’ m o n ­
thly newsletter, was devoted entirely
to the V o tin g R ights A c t. T his
re fle c ts the J o in t (.e n te r's very
stron g c o n v ic tio n , buttressed by
research as w ell as keen o bse r­
vations, that the Voting Rights Act
should be renewed fo r another ten
years.
The V oting Rights Act is needed
now m ore th an ever. It is needed
both as a protection and as an incen­
tiv e to m in o ritie s in the p o litic a l
arena. It is needed as a b u lw a rk
against slick devices to discourage
m in o r ity p o litic a l p a rtic ip a tio n
a lto g e th e r or to d ilu te th e ir votes
and mute their voices.
There is yet another com pelling
reason fo r renew al o f the V o tin g
Rights A ct. It is clear now that the
decade o f the eighties w ill confront
all o f us w ith new realities flo w in g
fro m co n se rva tive p o litic s and
economic stringencies.
Already the potential effects o f a
d ra s tic re d u c tio n in the federal
budget are w ell k n o w n . The
p ro m ise d and m uch hoped fo r
“ safety n e t" cannot possibily spare
a ll those now strapped in p o ve rty
and defenseless against the long
knives o f the b u d e t-c u tte rs . The
retreat o f the federal governm ent
from the management and oversight
o f c e rta in so cial pro gram s w ill
inevitably mean that m inorities and
the p o o r w ill have a h arde r tim e
having th eir voices heard and their
needs met at the state and lo c a l
level.
U nder these circum stances, the
o nly real safety net that m inorities
and the poor can rely on is their own
capacity to influ en ce the p o litic a l
system. As voters and as public o f­
fic ia ls , they can seek to steer the
flow o f d rin d lin g federal dollars to
those in greatest need. The V o ting
Rights Act, in large measure, makes
this possible.
Renewal o f the Voting Rights Act
is high on the agenda o f Blacks and
Hispanics. However, as w ith other
high p r io r ity issues, they can
hardly a ffo rd to stand on the side­
lines hoping someone w ill rescue the
most im portant piece o f civil rights
legislation ever passed. M in o ritie s
themselves must lead the fig h t fo r
renewal. They must dem onstrate --
in the states and cities as well as in
W a shington -- ju s t how much im ­
portance they attach to the Act.
There are a lot o f p o te n tia l sup­
p o rte rs o f the V o tin g R ights A ct
w ho are w a itin g to see i f we care
enough to go to the mat fo r its sur­
vival. II we do not, they can easily
assuage their conscience by saying:
“ It Blacks and H ispanics are not
w illin g to fig h t fo r th e ir v o tin g
rights, why should I b o th e r? ” On
the o th e r hand, a stron g d e m o n ­
stration o f support by m inorities in
all quarters -- leadership, churches,
o rganizations, students, w orkers.
p ro fe s s io n a ls , indeed everybo dy
right down to the individual voter --
w ill serve as a magnet fo r others. At
the same time, such massive support
fo r the V oting Rights A ct w ill help
to open the eyes o f certain members
o f Congress who are now opposed
to the Act.
Protecting the right to vote is not
an issue fo r m inorities alone. It is an
issue
fo r
a ll
A m e rica n s.
Businessmen who sincerely believe
in c o rp o ra te social re s p o n s ib ility
can find in the effects o f the Voting
Rights Act many reasons for adding
th e ir s u p p o rt fo r its renew al. In ­
s titu tio n s o f higher education and
the scholars who run them know full
w ell how im p o rta n t the A c t has
been, and s till is, in p ro te c tin g
m inority political rights. The South,
as a re g io n , was lib e ra te d by the
V o ting Rights A c t, and its leaders
should be in the forefront o f efforts
to prevent any re tu rn to the dark
past we would all like to forget.
M any o t the tr a d itio n a l c iv il
rights allies have rallied to the sup­
p o rt o f v o tin g rig h ts . T hat is en­
couraging. However, more allies are
needed.
Be concerned!
Be informed!!
Know the facts!!!
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