Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1982)
Portland Observer, February 18, 1982 Page 5 Massa knows best Street by Ronnie Herndon, co-chairman, Black United Front M uch has been said concerning T u b m an M id d le School. T h e key question is this: W ill the School Board keep its prom ise to locate Tubm an at Eliot School? W ith its deception and chicanery the Board seems determined to repeat an old lesson for the Black com m unity— Black people who believe promises by white institutions probably also believe a “ fat hog can see his ru m p .” As old folks say, “ W h ite folks giveth and while folks taketh a w a y .” T o some this may sound harsh, but a fte r being lied to for fou r hundred years in A m erica it would be childish for Black people to believe anything to the contrary. The Black community fought for a middle school in our com m unity so it could serve our children who do not have an assigned m iddle school. In early 1980 the Black United Front said the school should be placed at Eliot. We reached that decision after careful study and de liberation. Less than fifty neighbor hood children attend Eliot because the neighborhood has been virtually destroyed by Urban Renewal (Black Removal). The vast m ajority o f the children currently attending E liot are bussed in. Our thinking was that the existing Eliot program could be moved to another site or the c h il dren could return to their neighbor hood schools. I f the Middle School was placed at any other school in our com m unity hundreds o f Black children w ould be forced out o f their school and once again coerced into attending schools outside their community. In A p ril 1980 the Board agreed with our logic and voted to put the middle school at Eliot. Money was set aside for renovation; a commit tee was later form ed to hire an ar chitect— they decided the job should go to the Eugene firm owned by M r. U n th ank. Then in December 1980 someone either on the Board or in the A dm inistration decided to stop all preparations for work on Eliot. When the architect’s contract came to the Board for approval the matter was tabled. N o clear exp lan atio n was given. In the spring o f 1981 Superinten dent Fenwick came out with a plan that would have put the m iddle school at Jefferso n . This id io tic scheme was opposed by every o r ganization in the Black community. Though we forced the board to re treat on this bit o f lunacy, still no work was being done on Eliot. Our repeated questions were met w ith shuck and jiv e . In the fall o f 1981 the Board showed it was devoid o f ethics or integrity by deciding to re open the question o f where to put the middle school. Translated, that means they d o n ’t want to put it at Eliot. The main reason why the Board is trying to wiggle out o f its promise is that many a fflu e n t white fam ilies who live outside o f the Black com munity send their children to Eliot. For years w e ll-to -d o w hite folks have taken advantage o f E a rly C hild h o od Programs in the Black co m m u n ity, w hile neighborhood Black children were kept out o f these same programs. This is P ort land Public School’s version o f Rea ganomics, take services from poor Black children and give them to af fluent white children. T o cover up this selfishness and racism, stories began spreading that Eliot would be a poor site for a mid dle school because it was built on a landfill and further expansion might slide it down on the freew ay. The districts own report on Eliot makes a lie out o f this lame excuse. Over a year ago school district staff stated it would not be a problem renovat ing E lio t, they would use the same construction techniques that have been used on sim ilar buildings throughout the school system. As a m atter o f fact this technique, sink ing steel pilings in the ground, had to be used in building portions o f the new administration building and was the same method used to build Eliot school. Strange we have yet to hear any rumors o f some eminent catastrophe lurking around the ad ministration building. Once again every major Black or ganization has voiced its support for Eliot; as a community we are united on this issue. In the face o f our unity and concern for our children, Reike, O isvold, M cN am ara and Beeman want to play p lantation politics— “ D o n ’ t y’ all know Massa knows best.” The last line o f this putrid re frain says, “ Promises to the Black com m u nity are made and broken quicker than New Y e a r’ s Resolu tions.” The only way this community got a middle school was by fighting for it. W e must be prepared to fight harder and smarter to keep it where it was promised. In M ay we will be asked to vote on a levy for Portland Public Schools. W hy should Black people vote Yes while School Board members vote No on keeping prom ises made to help our children? Why continue voting to give money to a system that is controlled by a board which shows such total disrespect for values like honor, ethics and in tegrity? Washington Hotline O ur Street Beat question this week is, “ H ow do you feel about the registration for the draft?” Jacqueline Carey, fie ld rep.— " I f I was a man I w o u ld n ’ t sign up. I don’t think it’s necessary to register. I f I had a son who was o f age I would have him explore other alter natives.” Leroy Fleming, w o rker’s aide— A t the present time they say That there won’t be an involuntary draft 5ut the way things are going in other countries they can't avoid it. Rea gan is going to have to go back on his word because the volunteer army is not ready.” by Rep. Ron Wyden Q. In its la text budget proposal, the Adm inistration has called f o r a number o f changes In the Medicare and Medicaid programs. I f enacted, what would these changes mean f o r consumers? A . The biggest problem with the President's health care proposals is that they do not offer any real solu tions to the problem o f escalating health care costs. All they do is shift the burden o f paying for the care. For the consum er, that m ian s a higher health care tab, as well as re duced service. And that is no answer at all. Let me step back just a second to discuss exactly what the Administra tion has proposed to do with regards to health care program s. In an unprecedented and unjustified a t tack, the Administration would: •Slash $2 billion from medicaid; •T a k e another $3 b illio n from Medicare; •S ip h o n o f f 25 per cent o f the funding from the Center for Disease C o n tro l, which adm inisters p ro grams such as childhood immuniza tion; and •R educe by 50 per cent, over a two-year period, funding for nutri tion programs for mothers and in fants. W ith cuts like these, it is small wonder health care advocates have suggested the budget should carry a label: Warning: this budget could be hazardous to your health. I agree that som ething must be done to rein-in health care costs in this cou n try. But that som ething mus, be w ell-reasoned, fa ir and com prehensive. The A d m in is tra tion’s proposal is none o f these. T h a t’s why I have introduced an alternative which, although it would no, solve all our health care prob lems, would at least begin to move us in the right directions. M y bill, HR 5084, does this by o f fering incentives to providers to de liver quality health services in a cost- effective manner. It places more em phasis on quality o f care, and less on red tape. As such, it’s a bargain we cannot a ffo rd to pass up— and it’s a perfect example o f the direc tion we should be headin in health care. Q. You held a press conference this week to "blow the whistle" on proposals to accelerate decontrol o f natural gas. Why? A . Because I can thin k o f few things (hat would be more devastat ing for the Pacific Northwest— for business and consumers alike. Consider the fact. Northwest Natural Gas has estim ated that accelerated decontrol o f natural gas would hike prices over night by at least 25 per cent. For consumers that means an av- by Lanita Duka and Richard Brown erage price hike o f some $130 per year. For business, it means an in crease o f between app ro x im a te ly $1,000 per year (fo r small business es) to m illions o f dollars per year (for major industries). That's a tab that neither industry nor consumers w ill be able to ab sorb. for consumers, it may mean making a choice o f whether to heat or eat. For business, it means: •Fewer dollars per expansion; •H ig h e r priced goods which would make Oregon products less competitive; or •Simple belt tightening. A ll o f which means fewer jobs. And with unemployment in Oregon at nearly 12 per cent, that’ s a price Oregon can ill-afford to pay. There is simply no ju s tific a tio n for accelerated decontrol o f natural gas. Phased-in deco n tro l has worked well in stimulating new nat ural gas exploration and d rillin g , and it should be continued. Furth erm o re, it is ridiculous to assume, as some in Washington do, that accelerated decontrol could be tied to a w in d fall profits tax, thus helping to reduce the federal deficit. First o f a ll, President Reagan has strongly opposed a windfall profits tax. And even if he d idn't, it would amount to a $1 billion solution to a $150 billion problem. Why I will not run by Rep. Shirley Chisholm I have decided no, Io seek réélec tion to the United States House o f Representatives. From the time I first became ac tive in politics tw enty-three years ago, I vowed that the remainder o f my productive and creative life would not be consumed by politics. I promised myself that I would pur sue other careers, that I would even tually return to a more private exist ence, and that my energy and spirit would not stay chained to the politi cal millstone beyond the time that I still had the strength and wisdom to break those chains. Today, in good health at age f if ty-seven, my energy remains high and my spirit needs new outlets. It would be u n fa ir to m yself, and it would be wrong to the people I rep resent, if I were to remain at a job that for me has become tedious and frustrating. It has become increasingly d if fi cult to carry the tragic messages back from W ashington to the jo b less, homeless and hopeless Brook lynites. How can I. as a member o f a political and racial m inority in to day’s Congress, hope to put an end to poverty, unemployment and dis c rim in a tio n in B ro o klyn and throughout this nation in the face o f an administration that is cancelling the past fifty years o f human pro gress in A m erica . A stim ulative compassionate role for the federal government is being replaced by a philosophy o f individualistic selfish ness which scorns or ignores the dis advantaged. The tree o f hope, planted by Franklin Roosevelt and nourished over the years with invest ments in our people and in our fu tu re, is now w ith erin g fro m icy winds o f callousness, militarism and despair. M y public service and leadership role for over tw enty years in New Y ork's 12,h Congressional District and on the national level has been rewarding and difficult., 1 am proud o f my role as a leader and a symbol. I am proud o f all my friends and supporters in the nation who have never stopped being my friends and supporters. And I am proud o f my cou n try, honored to have had the opportunity to serve, and still confident (hat the bright sun o f full equality and justice will someday shine on everyone living under our flag. It has been said that "O n e o f the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils o f this world can be cured by le g islatio n .” I agree, and I know that in most cases legislation merely reflects the state o f mind o f the citizenry. By writing, by teaching, by lecturing and by travelling around this land, I hope to help create a new national state of mind that demands change for the better. Joyce Matthews, mental health asst. — “ There shouldn’t be a draft in the first place. I wasn’t impressed at all with what came out o f the Vietnam W a r. T o send young men over to fight for something they know noth ing about is wrong. The older men who are going to send the young men over w on’ t have to fight and die. We seem to always dig potatoes in other p eople’ s yards when we should stick to our own back yard. W e have enough problem s at home.” Sharon M cC orm ack, crime p re vention— " I ’m opposed! People on the upper economic scale can find ways to avoid it. And i t ’s only the people with lower incomes doing all the fighting. Also, people with low er incomes w o n ’ t receive all that special training th a t’ s involved in that recruitment hype.” D en n is W hite, unem ployed— “ There shouldn’t be a draft because everyone should have th e ir own opinion about i f they want to go or not. But I had to register last year. Reagan is sitting up in his o ffic e talking bull while we are o ff some where fig h tin g and dying , he w ill still be sitting in his office. So each to their own.” N yew u si A s k a ri, counselor— “ W ell, the way that the nuclear situ ation is in America, 1 don’t think a draft will make any difference. They need m anpow er to fig h t in other countries and it w ill be like V ie t nam . But the next c o n fro n ta tio n will be nuclear or chemical and our soldiers aren't prepared for that.” To your mental health Suicide in teenagers by Edward M . Colbach, M . D. G en erally I have been satisfied with my life. There are some years, however, that I would definitely not want to live over again. M y late teens, from about 15 through 20, were not good years for me. I was very confused about who 1 was and what I would become. I was trying to separate from my parents, yet I needed them in many ways. I was at tracted to girls yet was a fra id o f them and guilty about my own sexuality. Often I was nervous and unsure. A t times I would become very sad. I do rem em ber having some frightening thoughts that may be life was not worth all the trouble. I f most o f you are honest w ith yourselves, I think that you would have to agree with me that being a teenager in A m erica these days is not easy. I t ’s not surprising to me that nationally suicide ranks 2nd as a cause o f death o f adolescents and college students. In Oregon the rate for young males is especially high. In 1980, for example, young males aged 15 to 24 in Oregon committed suicide at a rate o f 27 per 100,000. The o verall rate for O regon is 15 suicides o f all ages per 100,000. Young females aged 15 to 24 in Ore gon had a much lower suicide rate, at 6 per 100,000. I t ’s a common ex perience for those w orking w ith young people, how ever, that fe males attempt suicide a lot more fre q u en tly than males. Most o fte n these attempts involve taking pills or cutting wrists. Males, on the other hand, most often use firearms and perhaps this lethal method explains their higher rate o f completed sui cides. Fatal autom obile accidents, especially single car accidents, prob ably represents suicidal b ehavior more often than is recognized. I think suicidal behavior is clearly a cry fo r some help. A suicidal young woman most often feels un wanted or unloved, and takes some pills or cuts her wrists as a way o f getting some positive response from the world. A suicidal young man o f ten is very doubtful about his mas culinity and drives his car recklessly or plays Russian roulette with a gun to demonstrate to the world that he is indeed a very macho fellow after all. So suicidal behavior re ally is a form o f desperate communication. The disturbed young person is saying, “ I feel lousy and I need some kind o f help but I just d o n ’t know what I need or how I can get it. M ayb e if I show people how much I really h u rt, then maybe something good will happen.” I ’ m not one o f those people who likes to blame the parents o r the fam ily for whatever happens to a youngster. A t the same tim e , though, to a teenager the fam ily is extremely important. Most often the suicidal behavior is a message d i rected at other family members. For example, a father who never been to college m ight very badly want his son to go on to college. Yet the youngster may not be that inter ested in further education and may want to ge, some sort o f job or join the military after school. Whenever the son tries to talk to the father, the older man loses his temper, pointing out that he knows best. I f the son feels too trapped, he might abandon his fam ily or turn to drugs or even attem pt suicide. Such behavior would be the son’s way o f telling his father that he doesn’t feel listened to. Another example would involve a m other who is a fra id to let her daughter date because she is afraid the daughter will get pregnant. O f ten such a mother is struggling with her own conflicts about sex. I f the m other is just too p ro tective, at some point the daughter’s natural tendency towards growth will force her to rebel. She may run away from home or date secretly. O r if she feels especially trap p e d , she may just slash her wrists one evening as a way o f demonstrating to her mother and to the world just how unhappy she is. Whenever there is suicidal beha vior present, it is so serious that an o p in io n should always be sought from a mental health professional. Usually there w ill be no easy solu tion, as restoring good communica tion between the teenager and those he is close to takes time. The most important thing is the willingness o f everyone involved to shoulder some o f the blame and try to w ork with brutal honesty at what attitudes and actions need to be changed. Most important is to get the parents to ac cept the fact that the youngster is an emerging individual who needs to be respected. A t the same tim e the teenager needs to fully realize that his parents may not be perfect but that they are still the best friends he has in the world. D r. Colbach is resident psychia tris t a n d c lin ic a l d ire c to r at the N / N E C om m unity M en ta l H ealth C enter. I f you have questions or w ould lik e to ta lk w ith someone, call N o rth /N o rth e a s t Com m unity M en tal Health Center at 239-9871. N orth/N ortheast Community M en ta l H e a lth C en ter also o ffe rs 24 hour, 7-days-a-week crisis service •hat can be reached at 239-8871. The center is open 8:30 am -8:30 pm M - F, and fr o m 8 am -5 pm on Satur days. Richard J. Brown Photographer Weddings, Portraits'and Special Events O l By appi (503) 289-0707J
