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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1982)
Next week: Special Edition C r jr o n &74 j 3 Dr. M artin Luther King, Jr. Observer 1981 Citizen Achievement Awards Skating in St. Johns Page 1 & 3 PORTLAND OBSERVER January 14, 1982 Volume XII, Number 14 January 14, 1982 Two Sections Dr. King's dream fading ••I . we must sue “ I believe we —a can, ceed, we must continue to replace despair with hope in those who have been and continue to be the victims o f d is c rim in a tio n ," C iv il Rights Commission Chairman A rth u r J. Flemming told a Portland audience Monday. The chairman, who was recently fired by President Reagan fo r his strong support o f civil rights, said the nation is at the crossroads with respect to the human rights and civil rights movements. We are " c o n fronted with a icgressivc movement in the era o f civil rights." 1 4 DR ARTHUR J FLEM M IN G Following the C ivil War and the adoption o f the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, Congress passed laws that recognized the responsibility and obligation o f the federal gov ernment to take the lead in imple menting these rights. Soon a fter— during the post-reconstruction peri od—the government turned its back on its responsibilities and obliga tions and the nation accepted "sep arate but equal." This period lasted until the 1954 Brown decision, which was follower by a series o f civil rights legisla'ior, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act. "T h e nation has reasonably good laws and very good court decisions, but now is engaged in implementing those laws and court decisions." "Y ou can't implement civil rights ■ . . . . laws and decisions without disturb ing the status q u o ," Flemming ex plained. “ When you disturb the sta tus quo you create opposition be cause some persons have a stake in preserving the status quo. They want to preserve it at all costs.” It is out o f this opposition that re gressive movements develop. The opposition has a well-defined strat egy that involves id e n tify in g the methods needed to implement civil rights laws and then to do every thing possible to weaken or elimin ate those methods. The strategy o f the regressive movement includes placing riders on appropriations bills. For example, "anti-busing" riders are attached to education bills to prevent courts from ordering busing—one o f the necessary moves to providing for desegregation. In past years this strategy has been unsuccessful because it was op posed by the a dm inistration. In 1980, President Carter vetoed an an- li-busiug measure. The Reagan ad ministration supports anti-desegre gation and anti-affirm ative action legislation. Evidence o f the Reagan adminis tration leadership in the regressive movement is a recent decision by the Internal Revenue Service that w ill allow non-profit tax-exempt status to schools that for rea ---- -- discriminate ------ .wi IM- sons o f race or religion. "Taxpayers who support the federal government w ill be supporting discrim inatory policy in private schools___Now if a private school wants to follow a policy o f segregation it can enjoy a tax-exempt status." The executive board also has indi cated it is considering a suit to re verse the Weber decision— an im portant Supreme C ourt decision that supports voluntary affirmative action plans. The adm inistratio n has expressed its opposition to a ffir mative action as a tool to achieve equal employment opportunity.” Flemming emphasized that the people do not have to accept the idea that the nation is going into a "p o s t-re c o n s tru c tio n " era again. “ There is a tremendous opportunity to generate grass-roots support and Washington w ill liste n ." This sup port should come from the thou sands o f citizens who have exper ienced the benefits o f school deseg regation and from employers who have successfully and a ffirm a tive action. Flemming, who continues as Chairman o f the Civil Rights Com mission until his successor is named and approved by the Senate, has ac cepted a position as director o f the C o a litio n fo r Q u a lity Integrated Education—a broadly based organi zation that w ill organize opposition to anti-desegregation moves. Flemming was informed by tele phone that he was to be removed from the Commission. A ll Commis sioners serve at the pleasure o f the President. He was o rig in a lly ap pointed by Richard Nixon and served during the Ford and Carter administrations. This summer, under his direction, the Commission published a study o f the effects o f Reagan’s proposed budget on civil rights and programs designed to implement equal oppor tunity. The report included the im pact on personnel costs in the en forcement agencies such as the Equal Employment O p p o rtu n ity Commission and the Labor Bureau; the impact o f budget cuts on pro grams related to opening opportun ities fo r minorities such as CETA, Legal Services C orporation, Com munity Health Centers, education, federally subsidized housing, etc., and the impact o f block grants. " I n stitutio n o f block grants to states without strict federal guidelines will have a serious impact on T itle VI which makes it illegal to discrimin ate in the delivery o f services." Flemming spoke to approximate ly 360 persons who gathered to hon or the 1981 Peyton Award Winner, Father Bertram G riffin o f St. A n drew Catholic Church. The annual award is sponsored by the M etro politan Human Relations Commis sion. sion. Observer Annual Citizen Achievement Awards Woman of the Year Man of the Year Long Service Linda Williams When Linda W illiam s came to Portland from Mtssissipppi in 1979 lor a reporting job at the Oregoni an, " I 'd heard it was a progressive city and a progressive stale." Since then she’s changed her mind. " I have been unpleasantly sur prised by some things. Portland is more conservative on social things, like racial relations, than it likes Io a d m it," she says. "A n d I did not expect to be called names on the street." Williams has also run up against criticism o f her professional work in Portland. As the Oregonian’s City Hall reporter, she was smack in the middle o f the mayor's reaction to the 'possum incident and the result ant reinstatement o f two policemen temporarily fired for their involve- Please turn Io page V Ronnie Herndon Ronnie Herndon, 36, was raised in t oftccville, Kansas by his grand parents. A fter high school he spent three years as a Vista volunteer in l ast Harlem . W hile considering plans to complete his college educa tion, an older sister advised Hern don to attend the best school he could find—perhaps a small college. At that time Reed College had scholarships for Black students so Herndon applied and was accepted. " I was quickly disappointed. They glorified Europeans, saw no need to study anyone but Europeans, and then there was the usual institution al racism.” Herndon, with others, fought to have a Black Studies program at Reed. Their efforts included a build ing takeover. Please turn to page V Ruth Haefner At 88, Ruth Haefner is supposed to be retired. But she’s too busy. A founding member o f the Oregon Gray Panthers, she joined national president Maggie Kuhn and others in picketing the W hite House Con ference on Aging last fall in W ash ington. D C .. charging the Reagan adm inistratio n w ith stacking the delegation. " I hey weren't doing anything and the administration isn’ t doing anything. In fact they’ re going to take things away,” she succinctly declares. A ttacking Reagan's policies toward seniors is only the most re cent in Ms. Haeliier's long lifetime of social activism. Starting with her 1937 move to Oregon from Iowa (her birthplace), she was a home Please turn io page 9
