Reagan's racial policy: The politics of failure
By Norman H ill
In the six m o n th i he has been
president, Ronald Reagan has failed
to articulate anything approaching a
coherent policy on matters o f racial
inequality and poverty. Aside from
generalities concerning the need to
combat d iscrim ination and to
bolster p ro d u c tivity, the Ad«
m in istra tio n shows no sign o f
having given serious thought to the
plight o f what has come to be called
the Black underclass.
This underclass has been a per
sistent fact in the life o f American
society fo r many decades and its
ranks continue to swell. The typical
Reagan Administration response to
the problem o f Black poverty and
unemployment has been to assert
that only the private sector can
resolve the problems faced by
Blacks and others who are poor.
Help business and industry, the
Reagan argument goes, and you will
help poor Blacks and all poor
Americans improve their lo t.
However, a glance at the recent
history o f Black unemployment and
impoverishment gives little in
dication that the Reagan approach
will work.
Since W orld War II, the rate o f
Black unemployment has stood at
roughly twice that o f white unem
ployment. This ratio has remained
constant in times o f economic
prosperity and through periods o f
economic decline; through periods
o f in fla tio n and periods o f price
sta b ility. No m atter how the
economy has been doing, Blacks
seem to disproportionately shoulder
the burdens c f unemployment.
What improvement has been made
by Blacks in the last 33 years can be
attributed to increased education.
Blacks who have received adequate
training and education have made
tremendous strides economically.
Black women college graduates, for
example, today earn slightly more
than their white counterparts. But
the Reagan Administration has im
plemented massive cuts in federal
aid to education and has drastically
cut funding for a number o f training
and employment programs which
seek to prepare minorities and the
poor for meaningful private sector
e m p lo y m e n t — p r e c is e ly th e
in itiatives one would expect the
president to support.
O f equal im portance is the
Reagan approach to “ states’
rig h ts .” The A d m in is tra tio n is a
vocal proponent o f block grants and
o f giving increased power to the
states. Yet it is precisely at the
regional and state level tha t, fo r
historical reasons, discrim ination
remains a significant problem. For
example, due to a variety o f com
plex factors, in the South, Black
workers earn 78 percent o f the in
come o f white Southerners.
Throughout the rest o f the country,
however, the earnings o f Black and
white workers are nearly identical.
An approach which emphasizes
“ states’ rights’ ’ will prove unable to
diminish the discrepancy between
the earnings o f Southern whites and
Blacks. Federal action must be a
component in diminishing these d if
ferences. And it is precisely such
federal intervention which President
Reagan appears to oppose.
Recently,
the
G allup
O rganization conducted a poll o f
the views o f the Black population.
The results are both interesting and
om inous— fo r they indicate a
deepening division between Blacks
and whites, in some measure as a
direct consequence o f the policies o f
the Reagan A d m in is tra tio n . The
Gallup study has found that while
35 percent o f whites were optimistic
about what 1981 would bring fo r
them personally, only 18 percent o f
Blacks expected a better year and 48
percent expected things would be
worse. S im ila rly, in February a
Newsweek poll found that 52 per
cent o f Blacks expected things
would get worse fo r them during
Reagan’ s presidency and only 8 per
cent felt things would improve. In
A p ril, while President Reagan en
joyed a 74 percent approval rating
among whites, only 25 percent o f
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PORTLAND OBSERMER
Riding a white horse
Grassroot News N .W .— Dope One general reason for the use o f
fiends, Stone Junkies and addicts heroin is that the person has feelings
are all terms used to describe that he cannot let out. Most addicts
someone who has used this don’ t feel good about themselves,
derivative o f opium one too many and their identities come from a
times. Heroin has been called dog, peer group where most arc users.
smack, horse and junk. The name They are scared o f failing and are
may change, but the effects remain afraid o f succeeding." An in
the same. Once used, addiction is d ivid ua l from Alpha House
possible and if used enough, addic provided insight into the motives for
tion is reality. Heroin becomes your using dog.
life, the high is your sex and your
“ I started using it when I was in
time w ill be used to gather the the army. I guess I can say it was
money to buy a drug that nourishes peer pressure that got me started. I
the life right from under you.
just wanted to fit in and be accep
“ The thought o f using heroin ted. The basic thing I got out o f
years ago was one o f being a serious shooting dope was the euphoria,’ ’ a
offense. Now today, because o f the former user declared.
permissiveness and a va ila b ility,
" I t ’s a false feeling o f eupfiona. I
heroin use is on the increase. People started
smoking
smack
by
start with using it as a recreational sprinkling a little over weed. I was
drug. But this drug is not like most. overseas and it was cheap. When I
People start fo r the kicks and it came back to the States, the story
kicks y o u ." An o ffic e r from the was different. I was lucky because I
Portland Police Department gave a had a strong mind. I would smoke
contem porary view o f the use. weed and shoot heroin. W hen iny
"Those who are physically addicted tolerance grew higher, I could tell
to heroin need money to support the because I co u ld n 't get high o ff
habit that runs from $100 to $400 weed. When that happened, I would
a day. That’s why 7-, Is keep getting cut down my heroin use and even
ripped o ff and the burglary o f tually stopped." Another user with
homes. You have to do a lot o f a d iffe re n t story about (he same
boosting and stealing to support a false glory.
heroin habit.
From the opium poppies o f
“ The reasons fo r using heroin
Turkey, Iran, India and Mexico,
vary from individual to individual.
horse finds itself being cooked up all
across the country. H is to ric a lly ,!
profit and greed played a part in the '
spread o f this narcotic. Resistance
in China led to the Opium Wars o f
the 1840s and when the British
defeated the Chinese, the im p o r
tation o f the drug flourished.
M orphine is the p rin cip al
derivative o f opium , and dog is
derived from morphine. Pure mor
phine is treated with acetic
anhydride. Afterwards, it is heated
at a constant 85 degrees Centigrade
by independent chemists in what is
known as heroin labs. From labs
overseas, the finished product hits
the golden market. New York. The
Big Apple is said to contain more
than h a lf the junkies in the U S’.
"Y ou can deal with the rats on four
legs and the ones on two better on
heroin than cocaine.” an obser
vation from a former New Yorker.
In the States, w ith one k ilo o f
heroin, you can mix in one kilo o f
quinine and seven kilos o f mannite
in a common kitchen sifte r and
arrive at 20 pounds o f this sellable
sucker smack, with 24 or 26 spoons
to the ounce. Each spoon is worth
about $150. " I don’t make a lot o f
m o n e y," a cocaine dealer stated.
“ I t ’ s the person who sells heroin
because they triple their money with
each score."
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C
1
V
; ? .. ■
Give us a chance: Angela Logan; Chalaunda
Parker, and Sylvia Logan participate In a march
and rplly August 15 protesting the rahiring of
police officers Ward and Gallaway, who deposited
dead oppossums in front of a Black-owned
restaurant. The march was sponsored by the
Black United Front.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown )
Reverend Sam Johnson dies
Photo: Richard J. Brown
Reverend Samuel Johnson,
pastor o f Highland United Church
o f Christ, died o f a heart attack on
August 14. He was 48.
Memorial services w ill be held
Thursday, August 20, at McKinney
Temple.
Rev. Johnson became associated
with Highland Church in 1968 as a
community worker, establishing a
I abauch I iteracy Program funded
by the War on Poverty Program and
housed at the church. He also
established an adm inistrative
training program to leach typing,
shorthand, 10-key adding machine
and sewing.
The first housing cooperative was
established under the 235-J program
and remodeled seven homes for sale
to low income families Members of
several I uthcran, Presbyterian and
United
Church
of
Christ
congregations assisted with this
program.
Highland Community Center was
established in 1969 to operate the
church’ s
social
programs.
I
W orking with T ektronix, a small
electrical plant was established.
Welfare mothers and ex-offenders
were
provided
employment.
Although the program was closed
during the recession o f the early
I97()s, it had provided an oppor
tu n ity for training. At about the
same time, a sewing industry was
started.
Using the parsonage building, a
home for disturbed and deliquent
boys, ages 13 to 17, was opened. In
1973, a home for girls was added.
These homes are now incorporated
under the name o f Yaun Child Care
Centers and provide a controlled,
structured environment in an inter
vention and interracial setting.
Highland Center also currently
operates an educational program
for retarded teen-agers and adults.
Progiess House, directed by Rev.
Johnson until his death, is a work
release program tor persons coming
out o f federal prisons. Mission
House is a home for persons who
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REV SAMUEL JOHNSON