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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1981)
a«fl« 2 Portland Obaarvar. A u g ^ t 37. ia t i EDITORIAL/OPINION The gathering storm By Fungai Kumbula Retreat from justice As the Reagan a d m in is tra tio n Corporation and Citibank have $2.4 81 t o 6 l. continues to flirt more openly with m illio n o f th e ir stock divested by Labour has begun to participate the racist South A fric a n regim e, Swarthmore College. in the anti-apartheid battle in a ma o f the law by g a th e rin g abo ut him in even people o f good conscience through M a y : Riverside C hu rch , fo llo w jo r way also. T he U n ite d A u to g reater num bers th a n ever b e fo re . T o the out the country are gearing up for a ing S w arthm ore’s lead, withdraws W o rk e rs , U A W , recently a n average citizen - who just votes and pays the more concerted counter-offensive. nounced that it was callin g fo r a an operating account worth some $6 Though there has been very little in m illio n a n n u a lly fro m C itib a n k , b ill - this was an insult in the extreme. clause in its contract with Chrysler the news recently regarding the e f again, protesting the recent loans that would bar investing new pen No, we do not believe M r. Groener’ s friends forts o f the various an ti-aparth eid sion funds in five companies that should desert him in a time o f trouble. But the movements, all has not been quiet Citibank had extended to the apart heid regime o f South Africa. have refused to abide by the S ulli ritual o f ceremoniously returning to his side is on the home fro n t. Consider these Church groups, between the peri van P rin ciples. The com panies divestment efforts taken so far this a signal that cannot be missed. od February to M ay, targeted 26 US named were A lleg h en y In te r n a O ur M ayor was prom inately there -- and our year: corporations fo r their involvement tio n a l, Dresser In d u s trie s , E aton January: the trustees o f M o u n t in South A fric a . T he resolutions C o r p ., N ew m ont M in in g and US Governor dropped by. Only Attorney General H olyoke College in Massachusetts Steel. The U A W statement went on presented to these c o rp oratio n s Dave F ro h n m a ye r was fo r th r ig h t w ith his voted to sell their stock in the First ranged from demands to honour the to call for a move “ from an invest decision not to attend. N ational Bank o f Boston, General Sullivan Principles to calls for a ces ment freeze to outright divestment, The public is disillusioned w ith its govern Motors and M o b il O i, C o rp ., three sation o f sales to the South African fro m a lim ite d em bargo on arms companies they hold stock in which m ilitary to out and out withdrawal m ent. The people w o u ld lik e to see a high and trade to a total embargo.” have consistently refused to cut their from South Africa. Some 12 states and 10 cities, example o f conduct on the part o f its p u b lic business ties with South Africa. The among them C a lifo rn ia , C on n ictl- o ffic ia ls - a standard to be emulated by the stock sold was w orth over $2 m il A direct result o f these resolutions cu t, Illin o is , In d ia n a , M assachu was the winning over o f 5.74% o f the common citizen. lion. setts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebras shares at Continental Illinois Bank, F e b ru a ry : H a rv a rd U n iv e rs ity W hat was in the m inds o f those w ho ka, New York, O hio, Oregon, Wis 6 % at the Bank o f Am erica, 7% o f attended we cannot know - but the p ictu re sells $50 m illion worth o f C itibank consin and W ashington D .C . have Citicorp, 10.34% at Wells Fargo and notes and certificates in protest over taken some legislative action in re they painted was “ business as usuall” . a hefty 10.8% at Crocker National. C itib a n k ’ s recent loans to the gards to the South African problem. Loans to South A frica have, there government o f South Africa. F lexing th eir muscles, legislators fore, begun to make investors a little M a rc h : D r . W illia m H o w a rd , could have quite an im pact, econ w ary when one considers that President o f the National Council o f om ically, when one considers that church groups alone could not have Churches and D r. Leon S ullivan , public employee pension funds, in commanded such figures. fo rm u la to r o f the notorious S u lli 1979, am ounted to some $179 b il van P rinciples, hold a jo in t press P ro testing C itic o rp 's loan to lio n . P ub lic and p riv a te pension conference to denounce bank loans South A fric a , the Archdiocese o f funds together form a pool o f capi to South A fric a , specifically the re M ilw a u k ie recently sold $300,000 tal exceeding some $650 billion and cent $150 million loan Citibank had worth o f C itib a n k bonds. In C o n control up to 20% o f common stock been party to. n ecticu t, a recent b ill that would and 40% o f the bond market. A p ril: Brandeis U niversity sells have gone beyond the provisions A ll in d icatio n s are th a t, as the $300,000 w orth o f US Steel stock and recommendations o f the Sulli politicians hatch more sinister plots a fte r the com pany had refused to van Principles passed the Legisla as regards South A frica, the people suspend its operations in South A f ture by a vote o f 101 to 35 before it are rising up in arm s, becom ing rica and refused even to honour the was vetoed by the governor. An at more sophisticated and learning the much maligned Sullivan Principles. tempt to override the veto fell just rules o f the game and the most e f M ay: Newmont M inin g, Tim ken shy o f the (w o-thirds vote needed: fective language: money. A fte r a few faltering steps that have brought some economic gain to Blacks, m inorities and women over the last twenty years, hopes have again been dashed by the Reagan A dm inistration. The A d m in is tra tio n has fo llo w e d o th e r repressive measures by recom m en din g a i re la x in g o f gove rn m e n t a ffir m a tiv e a c tio n regulations over its contractors. Whereas now o n ly those companies em ploying 50 o r m ore workers and doing at least $50,000 in govern m ent business need c o m p ly w ith fe d e ra l , regulations on hiring and prom otion, Reagan would like to restrict these rules to only those companies w ith 250 workers and $1 m illio n in government jobs. It so happens that about 75 per cent o f the employers now covered would be o f f the hook. The reason reported fo r elim inating rights is to “ keep the paper w ork dow n’ ’ but actually this is one o f a long series o f proposals to free business fro m those regulations that protect the workers and the public. It is a tact th a t ju s tic e has never come to Black people in this co u n try w ith o u t the fu ll torce o f the law. W ith the federal government w ith dra w ing, there should be no illu sion that p riv a te em plo yers w ill h ire m in o ritie s and women in reasonable numbers. In a tim e o f high u n e m p lo ym e n t, w ith a large p o o l o f unem ployed persons seeking w o rk, this change o f regulations insures that the o p p o rtu n itie s o f Blacks w ill be severely restricted. Again, the rights and needs o f the A m erican citizens are being tram pled in the quest fo r the dollar. T A * 9W.1&T Partying Prisoners walk a narrowing path to justice A poor example o f the high standards o f out1 elected representatives was set this weekend as the state’ s politicians flocked to the home o f State Senator Richard G roener fo r his usual fund raising party. C losely fo llo w in g findings against Groener by the State Ethics Commission that included wse o f his p o s itio n fo r personal g a in , the S tate’ s p o litic ia n s and w o u ld -b e -p o liticia n s Slowed their disain fo r the law and the spirit By William Bennett Turner Pacific News Service The Trickle-Down Theory Letters to the Editor Working people lose again To the Editor: President Reagan has got a lot o f nerve going on vacation fo r fo u r weeks in the middle o f the air con trollers strike. I wonder how long air controllers have to work before they get fo u r weeks vacation? I know it must be more than the eight months Reagan has served as Presi dent. In my opinion, Reagan's arrogant attitude toward working people in this country is only equaled by his stupidity. I f he thinks he can fire the trained personnel in the control tow ers and the rest o f us w ill b lithely continue to fly the unfriendly skies, he’ s out o f his m ind . The F .A .A could hardly keep the system work ing safely with 17,000 air controllers and I don't see how they’ll do it now without them. And forget trusting my life to m il itary personnel. Remember their fa mous Iranian hostage caper? They had those planes cracking up on the ground! The arm y can’ t run the airports, factories, hospitals or offices o f this c o u n try . W o rk in g people do th at and we want decent working condi tions, four weeks vacation after one year’ s em ploym ent, and pay pen sions that keep up w ith in fla tio n . W h a t’s good enough for the Presi dent is good enough for us. Marcia Cutler Portland, Oregon Don’t say it in public Open Letter To The School Board In my request for agenda time at the August 10 Board meeting, I sug gested we were seeking a “ yes,” “ no’ ’ or “ go to hell” answer to our request fo r co m m u n ity in v o lv e ment. This was in regards to use o f buildings you had voted to close. You did not take any action. A t the August 11 meeting o f the sub-committee dealing with closed lo tte Beeman to ld me the Board took no action because they could not use that kind o f language in a public meeting. While I did not like the answer, at least I appreciated the fact that she was willing to explain the Board's position. A t least now our community, and others affected by closed buildings, know where we stand w ith the B oard. T hat is always good to know. Bob Nelson Community Service ONPA 1973 d»V by E«.e 9 Po- 1st Place Best Ad Result ONPA 1973 9 206 Second class postage paid at Portland. Oregon Subscription,: «10 00 pe, yea, „ Tri-County area P o s t ™ . . , . , Sand address change* to the Portland O bw rytr. P O Bo« 31J7 Portland, Oregon 97208 Observ,r " • » founded ,n October of 1970 by Alfred Lee Henderson 7 Bruce Broussard Editor/Publisher MEMBER Oregon N ew spaper Publishers Association MEMBER N N A . A tto c ia tlo n - Founded IM S The Portland O bw ryar to a champ,On of justice. equality and ■beratwn. an alert guard against social eyil*. a thorough analyst »"0 cntic of discriminatory practices and policies. . sentmal to » 8f n ° f imP«nding and a.ist.ng racist trend, and practice,, and a d e fe n d e r against persecution and oppression The real problem, of the minority population will be viewed and c h T n ,#d 'll'*” P e rW C ,'v’ 01 unreMramed ano C hrono,tally en trenched racism . N ational and international X o r l T " ’ "',’ < **’' — ™ <* Third World people, shall be considered in the co nte.t of their e» Ptort^on and manipulation by tn . colonel n, „ on, ,nc|(jd(no (h< r i e a t X ^ t ^ ' 10 nation , htotonci Treatment of rta Bieck population 283-2486 National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, |„c New York 5th Race Best Editorial ONPA 1973 Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award NNA 1973 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Race Community Leadership ONPA 1975 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1978 3rd Race In depth coverage ONPA 1979 ’“ » i . ««no««, I 8W&K •ffWtPAMa fro m 218 in 1966 to 12,397 last outset by court clerks, and the over year. Prisoner petitions are now the w helm ing m a jo rity are rejected largest single category o f federal civ summarily. A prisoner who believes E D IT O R 'S N O T E : The dom inant il litigation. he is sending his p e titio n o f f to a theme o f recent proposals by a spe Some say this volum e threatens judge for his day in court is hope cial advisory committee to President both efficien t ju d ic ia l ad m in istra lessly naive. Reagan is that the answer to crime is tion and the possibility o f justice in A m a jo r problem is th at states more— and longer— imprisonment. in d iv id u a l cases. In d e e d , it is generally provide no legal assistance But with the prospect looming that d iffic u lt to id e n tify m e rito rio u s to prisoners. Those which do o ffe r m pre A m ericans w ill fin d them - cases in a w o rd y sea o f p risoner- legal services program s fin d that sqlves incarcerated the rights o f drafted pleadings. fewer suits are filed, as lawyers re those who are invalidly convicted or In theory, nevertheless, even the solve many prisoner problems ad- poorly treated are already shrinking least favored persons in our society m in is tra tiv le y and advise against rapidly, reports PNS correspondent have access to the courts to c o m frivolous litigation. W illia m Turner. Prisoners' claims plain o f unconstitutional behavior E lsew here, prisoners fend fo r now stand little chance o f reaching a by state officials. themselves as best they can. against ju d g e and ju r y , a developm ent But increasingly, the theory is not the opposition o f resourceful and which has serious constitutional im translated in to re a lity , as the Su w e ll-fin a n c e d state a tto rn e y gen plications. Turner, a San Francisco- prem e C o u rt under C h ie f Justice eral s offices. Cases that survive ini based attorney, is a former Harvard Warren Burger immunizes more and tial screening languish on the court’s Law School instructor who has rep more prison practices from judicial docket. The prisoners have neither resented prisoners in several im port review. This year, for example, the the know ledge nor the means to ant c o n s titu tio n a l cases over the C o u rt reached decisions on three move their cases to trial. Having a past 12 years. prisoner cases. In the firs t, the lawyer is the key to the courthouse C ourt threw out a prisoner's claim door, for there is no effective ju d i I f the proposals o f a special ad that officials had wrongfully confis cial review o f prisoner com plaints visory committee to the Reagan ad- cated his property. W ary o f turning without one. m inistartion are acted on, a simple fed eral judges in to small claim s There are o th e r, and doubtless remedy w ill be tested on the pro b magistrates, the C ourt found that, better ways, to resolve at least some lem o f crim e in A m erica: M o re even though officials had acted neg prison disputes. In-prison grievance people will go to prison. lig e n tly , th e ir negligence did not a rb rita tio n is a promising altern a Among other things, the Attorney amount to a deprivation o f property tive, provided that outside impartial General’ s Task Force on Crim e has “ without due process o f law .” arbitrators are used. But prison sys recomm ended a $2 b illio n federal In an Ohio overcrowding suit, the tems resist this idea, perhaps program to help states construct pri Court declared that "prisons cannot because officials fear the introduc sons, the e lim in a tio n o f parole in be free o f discom fort” and decided tion o f outsiders m ight unsettle federal cases, and new lim itations that it was perm issible to confine existing guard-prisoner power rela on habeas corpus p etitio n s from two prisoners in a cell designed for tionships. state prisoners. one. By o utlaw in g double-celling Ih u s, cumbersome and sporadic The upshot is not only the lik e li the C o u rt would have condemned as it is, judicial review provides vir hood o f m ore Am ericans w inding conditions in a majority o f state pri tually the only outside scrutiny o f up in and remaining in prison, but sons, com pelling some serious re what goes on behind the walls. The also the aggravation o f a problem consideration o f the need to incar prison refo rm m ovem ent o f the which alre a d y beleaguers prisons cerate bad check artists, car thieves, early 1970s has now largely d isin and prisoners alike. drug possessors and other non-vio tegrated. Prisons absorbed early In even greater numbers, prison lent offenders at trem endous ta x court rulings u p h o ld ing prisoner ers are suing their keepers to gain re payer expense. rights sim ply by b ureaucratizing. lie f from overcrowded conditions, M ost recen tly, the C o u rt ex Rules and regulations replaced seat- guard brutality, medical neglect, ra empted stated pardon and parole o f of-the pants decision-making, add cial discrimination and mail censor ficials from disclosing any reasons ing to the depcrsolanization o f im ship. Yet, with rare exceptions, their whatsoever for their decisions. E x prisonment while making little dent attem pts to a ir th e ir co m p laints panding on a doctrine it had devel on prison reality. through the legal process— as op oped in o th er cases solely fo r the In the meantime, the new conser posed to bloody riots— are doomed purpose o f denying relief to prison vatism, together with fear o f crime to frustration. ers, the C o u rt in (his case denied and criminals, discourages citizens Before the Supreme C ourt’ s land prisoners any due process p rotec from takin g an interest in w hat mark crim inal procedure decisions tion, unless they are about to lose a happens to people after conviction. o f the 1960s, the courts took a liberty or property interest “ rooted The prison remains a closed world, “ hands o f f attitude toward prison in state law .” This new doctrine cre with h ard ly any in q u iry in to er complaints. In practice, prisoners ates an u n fo rtu n a te paradox: The unspeakable crowded conditions or had no rights enforceable in court; more a state legally limits the beha the broad exercise o f power by state the rule o f law did not penetrate vior o f its officials, the more prison bureaucrats. prison walls. Arbitrariness, corrup ers may invoke due process to re tion and occasional brutality by pri quire fair treatment. But if the state Copyright PNS t vs i son o ffic ia ls sim ply went unques gives wide and unregulated discre tioned. tion to the officials, it completely es T h e W a rre n C o u r t’ s rulings capes judicial review. opened federal courthouse doors to M oreover, even when the validity prisoners trying not only to reverse o f prisoner claims is acknowledged, invalid convictions, but also to sue they o ften meet a dead end in the state officials over unconstitutional trial courts. Such cases are generally ly oppressive prison conditions. The not heard by judges and ju rie s . result has been a relentless upsurge T h e re are seldom tria ls w ith w it in prisoner cases in the fed eral Receive your Observer nesses and arguments. Instead, pris courts: Civil rights cases alone grew oner complaints are screened at the •very week by mail Subscribe Today
