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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1982)
Page 4 Portland Observer, February 4,1982 EDITORIAL/OPINION M,lll0nsf0r El Salvador war ____________________________________ __________________________ Where is the leadership? Neither the Governor nor the Legislature has dem onstrated the leadership and responsibility necessary to meet the State’ s .deficit in a sane and human way. The deep budget cuts proposed by Governor Atiyeh would badly cripple many helpless and defenseless people in the face o f a serious depression. They w ould cripple the State’ s education system and natural resources for years to come. This is not a responsible road to take. The Legislature does not know what it wants. The Democrats have tried to avoid deep cuts in higher education and human services by fin d in g other sources o f money -- a small surcharge on the income tax, a reduction o f property tax relief. They have been unable to get the votes necessary to do anything. Now comes the time to compromise. Here’ s bettina the Legislature gives in and the people least able - the poor, elderly, young and sick - w ill be the ones to suffer. 1 Bill threatens rights of all The United States Senate has succeeded -- quite easily with a 58-38 vote -- in passing an anti-busing measure that would prevent courts from using transportation as a desegregation tool. This bill is more than a trend o f the times -- a trend toward the restriction o f civil rights o f m in o ritie s and void in g past c iv il rights legislation and p o licy. It is a step tow ard allowing congress, and perhaps later the White a llo w in g Congress, and perhaps later the White House, to remove the civil, human and Indoor meet gets new life This weekend’ s Oregon Indoor Track and Field Meet was a smashing success w ith its first sub-4 mile and upsets o f stars Carl Lewis and Alberto Salazar. The new track and its potential for record setting should bring back the crowds that once witnessed this fine event. Those who made the track possible through their donations and labor must be thanked and congratulated for their service to the youth o f our community. It was rewarding to see local high school and college youth competing and succeeding along with world class athletes. SOME ECONOMIC PROGRAM FIRST HE MAKES US AS POOR AS XHURCHMICE, THEN HE GIVES U S CHEESE ! Letters to the Editor Social programs do not belong with states To the editor: In President Reagan’s State o f the Union address, he proposed that by 1984 the states assume control o f over 40 social programs. The H is panic Political Action Committee is against this concept. H istory has already proven that state governments do not respond equitably to the needs o f all o f their citizens. W hile Oregon might be an exception, not all states will make an effort to implement the policies o f equal opportunity, fair housing, civil rights, or equal educational ac cess. President Reagan, by giving re sponsibility o f these programs to the states, without sufficient funds, will be setting states up for failure. Our own state legislators are currently struggling to balance our state bud get and are having to cut back im portant funding for human services and higher education. I f states re ceived limited funds for programs and tried to implement current fed eral program s, these programs would be destined to fail. This destiny to fail will encourage states to spend limited federal dol lars meant for direct services on other projects such as newer and bigger public service buildings, or merely supplementing existing state program s. This would be a total abuse o f these dollars. They very abuse President Reagan is trying to avoid. The H ispanic P o litica l A ction C om m ittee recommends that if these programs arc administered by the states that the following be iden tified specifically for each program: program d ollars, program goals, target populations to be served, and im plem entation procedures. This would assure that women and m i norities have equal access to these services in every state. Gale Castillo President, Hispanic Political Action Committee Portland Observer » IM II» ■ ■ H ? r* u on I s ■■ New^pap«r J ■ ■ ■ Publishers Association l I = V Th« P o rtland O b ttr v tr tU S P S 959-660) if published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company. Inc . 2201 North Killings worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland Oregon 972OB Second clast pottage paid tt Portland, Oregon Subscriptions «10.00 per year in Tri County area Postm aster Send address changes to the Portland O b ttrv tr. P O Box 3137, Portend, Oregon 97206 member N ê WW peb Aatoclatlon - Pounded IM S A. Lee Henderson. Publisher A l McGilberry, Managing Editor 283 2486 A I Wilhams, Advertising Manager National Advertising Representative A m algam ated Publishers. Inc. N e w York The Reagan Administration plans to send, immediately, $55 million in m ilitary assistance to the govern ment o f El Salvador, to be followed by over $110 million by October 1st. Officials say $25 million is needed to replace helicopters and other a ir craft, about half o f El Salvador’s air power, destroyed in a guerrilla a t tack on an airbase near San Salva dor last week. Adm inistration officials said the increase in military aid is to support the ruling ju n ta , to resist guerrilla demands fo r a negotiated settle ment. and to build toward a general election in M arch. Guerrillas reject the idea o f an election during a reign of terror that prevents broad pan ici- pat ion. The Reaaan Reagan administration con- con tinues to see the El Salvador conflice as "communist subversion" rather than a struggle for human rights. Last week the adm inistration pre pared the way for added aid by cer tify in g that the ru lin g ju n ta is making "concerted efforts" io pro tect human rights and has achieved "su b stan tial c o n tro l" over its se c u rity forces that are accused o f slaughtering its people. The strength o f the guerilla forces is increasing, as is government vio lence. Raymond Bonner, a corres pondent for the N ew York Times, and a Washington Post reporter, re cently saw the charred remains o f dozens o f bodies in M o zo te and nearby villages in M o razo n p ro vince. Survivors said government soldiers had killed 733 peasants, mostly women, children and old people. This past weeekend 20 civilians were pulled out of their homes and murdered in the capital city, San Salvador. Apologies O U r appologies to M a ry Jean Berry for the typographical error in her poem. H is Eyes B eheld the Prom ised L an d , published in our M artin Luther King special. The last line was not part o f the poem. Can Prophet do the job? (Continued fro m page ! col. 6) o f those students to Jefferson High School pushed Jefferson's minority population over 50 per cent. Unkept Promises lations issued thereunder.” Transfers also shall: "M eet the condition that the per centage o f m in o rity students in either the originating or the receiv ing school which will be increased by reason o f the transfer shall not in the year in which the transfer is first made exceed 30 percent." D uring the summer o f 1979 the District was investigated by the O f fice o f Civil Rights in response to a complaint filed earlier by the O re gon M in o rity Educators O rganiza Conflict grows, tempers flare tion. The District was found in non- com pliance by Region X but The philosophical c o n flict be with political pressure properly ap tween the policy and plan extends to plied the W ashington. D .C . office the School Board members them found that although " th e burdens selves. placed upon the Black students un The "integralionist" philosophy der the District’s voluntary plan are is represented by Frank McNamara. disproportionately greater than the The only Board member remaining burdens imposed on w hite stu from the “ old board" days when ra dents," the district was still not in cial policy was made almost exclu non-compliance. sively by Blanchard and Board Among the reasons given for this member Jonathan Newman, he still finding was (hat Superintendent clings to the philosophy set by that Blanchard had reported that the regime. M cNam ara repeatedly rais District "now actively recruits white es the moral and legal issues o f de and Black students to participate in segregation, expressing his belief its desegregation p ro g ram s" and that children should be educated in " a ll A lbina area students are now an integrated setting to prepare for a assigned to a middle school, so 351 multi-ethnic world, Black transfer students will no long M cN am ara expresses fears that er be involuntarily bussed under the (he increase o f Black students in Administrative Transfer program ” schools that had been previously de O f course the middle school was not segregated (reached a student popu adopted by the School Board until lation o f less than 50 per cent minor the following April (the finding was ity) will bring about legal action by made in July o f 1979) and Tubman the Justice Department or open the did not open until the fall o f 1980. It district to a successful lawsuit. was, and still is, located outside the M cN am ara discusses these con community. cerns whenever the Black communi The apparently serious considera ty ’ s concerns are discussed— whe tion o f the Board o f placement o f ther the placement o f Tubman M id Tubm an in Southeast Portland or dle School or the right o f students to other district locations brings the attend neighborhood schools. p o ten tial reopening o f this com McNamara's detractors arc quick to plaint, as docs the District’ s failure recall that he expressed no concern to attract white students to predom over the forced bussing o f hundreds inantly Black schools. o f Black children, that he supported Same old policies the idea that whites could not be forced to bus, and he apparently The increasing percentage o f disregarded his integrationist philos Black students in traditionally Black ophy when closing o f Adams and schools exacerbates a widening con W ashington/M onroe (over the op flict withing the School Board over position o f the community) pushed racial policy. Jefferson over the 50 per cent mark. The Board discussions leading tc the "Comprehensive Desegregation Plan" o f A pril, 1980, were frought w ith tension and h o stility among Board members and between some Board members and Dr. Blanchard. For this reason, although the new plan was a definite departure from the previous practice o f involuntary busing for Black students in an at tempt to achieve numerical desegre gation, the existing policy was not addressed— and it remains. The policy still on the books states: ” . . . that this School Board: 1. Acknowledges the affirm ative duty o f this School D istrict to re duce and elim inate racial isolation o f m inority children in its schools and to achieve and m aintain a ra cially integrated educational p ro gram for the benefit o f all students o f this School District. 2. Declares the achievem ent o f these goals is a matter o f high prior ity for this D is trict.. . . " The policy directs the Superinten dent to: "Encourage increased enrollment in the adm inistrative transfer pro gram to the fullest extent p ractic able, with particular emphasis on re cruitment o f new transferees in the early elementary grades (K -6 )___ ” The tran s p o rta tio n policy still states: " T ra n s p o rta tio n shall be p ro vided by the D istrict to a student who is a nonresident o f the attend ance area o f a high school in which the percentage o f minority students exceeds 30 percent and who attends a program there which is open to D istrict-w ide enrollm ent pursuant to paragraph 6 o f Board Policy ad opted M ay 27, 1975, page 200.1 o f the Board Policy Book and the regu- M c N a m a ra ’ s philosophy places him in direct c o n flict with Board M em ber H erb Cawthorne and v ir tually all o f the Black community. C aw thorne believes Black parents should have a right to choose whe ther th e ir children should attend school in their neighborhood or transfer. The only way the "right to choose" can be realistic is i f the neighborhood schools are on the same academic level as other schools. Having inferior schools in the neighborhood forces parents to make choices without adequate op tions; not providing a space in the neighborhood school for every child causes heavyhanded recruiting and is tantamount to force. Cawthorne rejects the idea that Black children cannot learn in m a jo rity Black schools. The position o f Caw thorne, the Black United Front and those com m u n ity org an izatio n s that have taken a fo rm al position were ex pressed by Dr. Derrick Bell, Dean of the U n ive rs ity o f Oregon Law School: "T h e fact is that (the) Brown (vs. Board o f Education, U .S. Supreme Court decision) nowhere ordered in teg ration by the numbers, by the percentages. That kind o f integra tion has always been simply a means o f measuring whether school boards who were dragging their feet were, in fa c t, doing anything tow ards complying. " T h e cases u n ifo rm ly held that plans that emphasize education even to the detrim ent o f racial balance were approvable under the Consti tu tio n ----- To require in one way or another that Black parents send their children to a school to effect integration is as wrong and as dam aging, I suggest, as was the pre- Brown school boards’ requirement that Black parents send their ch il dren to segregated schools. In each instance it is the coercion by that group in our society that has the power against that group in (he soci ety that does not have the power. " I suggest to you that the most ef fective way o f in teg rating the schools in this com m u nity and across this country is: slowly but surely remove the long-held belief (hat Black children cannot learn and that Black schools are ineffective." M id d le ground is held by B ill Scott who has said that (he Middle School should be located in the Black com m unity, (hat the u n ila t eral actions o f Joe Rieke and then Frank McNamara in postponing the renovation o f Eliot were probably improper; and that he will support the Eliot site if no belter site sur faces. Scott is not considered a " h a rd -lin e " vote on either side o f the desegregation issue. Philosophi cally favoring desegregation, he has been able to understand the con cepts underlying the com m unity's emphasis on education, not integration. The School Board w ill discuss these issues this spring in an attempt to bring their policies and plans into line. On the side o f " c h o ic e ” and quality education will be Cawthorne and Steve Buel. Bucl, a teacher, is the board member who has most closely follow ed the recom m endations o f the Black United Front in his votes. The integrationist position will be held by M cNam ara with Joe Rieke close behind — his vote determined in large part by the direction from which he believes "litig a tio n ” will come. Dean Gisvold and Charlotte Bee man, new members who were not on the Board during the desegregation decision making are unknown enti ties. Both have expressed concern that Tubman not be permanently lo cated until the desegregation issue is settled. Ms. Beeman has not as yet demonstrated any understanding, or interest, in the Black position, The overriding question is: Can Matthew Prophet bring order out o f chaos? W ill his e ffo rts bring him into conflict with the Black commu nity? W ith Tubman on hold, little has been accomplished by the C om pre hensive Plan except the option for Black students to return to their neighborhood schools. There is little demonstrated progress in Black hir ing; the suggestions o f highly paid expert consultants are largely ig nored; teacher training is voluntary and is planned by uninformed build ing principals; there is little academ ic progress. The Black com m unity appears united behind the " q u a lity education" point o f view and fear that the Board may attem pt to return to the practice o f forcing Black children out o f their neighborhoods to fu rth e r a " o n e w a y " desegregation p o licy. Any threat o f a law suit at this time will not address segregation, but w ill attack the d is crim in atio n against Black children in the area o f academic o p p o rtu n ity and educational result. Can ba do the Job? t an Dr. Prophet settle this issue in a way that w ill provide q u ality education for children and satisfy the desires o f the Black community? O r w ill the d istrict continue to play with fire in its effort to please itself? W ill sentiment for the past prevail, or will the Portland school district provide " E q u ity fo r the Eighties” ?
