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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1982)
Page 4 Portland Observer, April 29, 1982 EDITORIAL/OPINION U.S. arms spending: A black issue by Manning M arable From the Grassroots, A p ril 1982 Since last fall, the entire Western wot Id has been rocked by the spec tre of nuclear holocaust. Millions o f Europeans, outraged by R onald sponsored by the Observer, BUF, A. P hilip Ran Reagan’s incredible assertions that a nuclear confrontation with the So dolph Institute, the Black Social W orkers Asso viet U n io n could be “ lim ite d ” or c ia tio n , n e ig h b o rh o o d o rg a n iz a tio n s , and even ‘ 'w in n a b le ," dem onstrated others, to give citizens an o p p o rtu n ity to study against the arms policies o f the U .S. M a jo r leaders in Europe and the the four options that had been presented. United States denounced Reagan's Representatives o f these o rg a n iz a tio n s and decision to deploy 572 Pershing 11 others spent hours attending hearings and talking and cruise missiles in W estern w ith legislators in Salem to offset the influence Europe in 1983. Religious and intel o f the Oregon Association fo r Black A ffa irs and lectual advocates o f peace have ini tiated teach-ins against the arms some elements o f the N A A C P , w hich wanted race. But in the face o f this chorus the district divided. o f criticism , Reagan has proven to Now the c o m m u n ity m ust com e to g e th e r be quite ignorant to the realities o f again to select a candidate and to support that world m ilitary a ffairs. Despite the fact that the U .S . currently has candidate w ith w o rk, money and votes. 10.000 strategic nuclear warheads to Five black candidates are competing to repre the Soviets' 7,000 he asserted in a re sent this d istrict. W ith the black vote split five cent press conference that “ the So ways it is statistically im possible fo r any black viet Union does have a definite mar c a n d id a te to w in w ith o u t p ic k in g up a large gin o f superiority.” U .S. arms pro white vote. On the other hand, the leading white duction was essential, Reagan de clared. A fte r a first nuclear ex candidate can w in w ithout a single black vote. I f change, “ they could absorb our re this district is to be represented by a black per ta lia to ry blow and hit us a g a in ." son. then one candidate must be selected. Even rabidly pro-defense Senators had to confess that Reagan “ didn't When this person is selected the co m m u n ity know what he was talking about.” o rg a n iza tio n s, social clubs, churches, lodges, As the debate over nuclear disar neighborhood associations, etc. must com m uni m am ent deepened, there was a curious absence o f rhetorical input cate w ith their members and supporters. from most o f the noted black C ivil The c o m m u n ity ’ s leaders must reach ou, to Rights leadership and the Congres the w hite residents to explain w hy this d is tric t sional Black Caucus. Black spokes must be represented by a black person. persons in the media had denounced I f the o p p o rtu n ity is lost now it w ill be years Reagan’s New Federalism proposals as “ b a rb a ric ," and they attacked before the black co m m u n ity has the chance to administration policies on social ser elect its own black representative. vices and unem ploym ent as “ cruel." Yet all this sound and fury signified, to this observer, a regret table yet h abitual failure to grasp the relationship between domestic and international policies in any co herent fashion. an executive session when o n ly the B oard, ad The current attitude that prevails m in is tra tio n and press were present and at a There is strength in unity House D is tric t 18 is the d is tric t established and designated as the state’ s o n ly “ m in o r ity " d is tric t— a d is tric t where m in o ritie s are in the m ajority and black people make up a high per centage o f the population. This district did not come easy— it was a hard- won v icte .y. The com m u nity had been divided fo u r ways in 1971 by then-S ecretary o f State Clay Myers— four House Districts and fo u r Sen ate D istricts— giving the black com m unity little influence in any district. During the 1981 legislative session the decision again had to be made. Across the nation black com m unities were divided and gerrym andered, losing much o f their elective power. In O regon the results were different. T hroug h the e ffo rts o f the O bserver, Bruce Broussard, Ronnie H e rnd on. Robert P h illip s , Bob Boyer and others the Legislature was per suaded to preserve a “ na tu ra l c o m m u n ity ” in the creation o f District 18. A lthough some legis lators fought to serve their own vested interest, Gretchen K afou ry and Rick Bauman came fo r ward to help and W ally Priestley gave up certain re-election to support the district. The re d is tric tin g issue was h o t a ro u n d the state but co m m itte e c h a irm a n G len W h a llo n brought the election co m m itte e ’ s o n ly hearing outside o f Salem to King N eighborhood Facil ity. M any citizens and organizations testified; even the Republican Party came forw ard in sup p o rt. Before ca llin g the hearing W h a llo n and other legislators attended a com m unity meeting Too many police The presence o f u n ifo rm e d , armed police at Board meetings began during the adm inistration o f D r. James F e n w ick, fir s t w ith an o ffic e r sta n d in g in the h a ll. L a te r tw o o ffic e rs to o k seats in the fron t o f the room , near the Board. W e are dismayed at the show o f police force at recent School Board meetings. D u rin g the hectic days o f the Newm an Plan and the C o m m u n ity C o a litio n fo r School Inte g ra tio n , the rem oval o f Benson’ s p rin cip a l, the u n p o p u la r B eaum ont d e cisio n , m any people packed the Board meetings but no police o f f i cers were in sight. In recent weeks the police presence has be come overpowering. N ot only were several pre sent d u rin g Board m eetings when d e m o n stra tions did occur; but they were in evidence during sparsely attended special m eeting on S unday, a fte r the B la ck U n ite d F ro n t had p ro m is e d that no dem onstration w ould take place. W e understand that the presence o f school police in the build ing is a safeguard against vio lence to the Board, demonstrators or the public. W e m ust m e n tio n th a t these o ffic e rs , on the w h o le , have been p o lite , h e lp fu l and even frie n d ly . H o w eve r, they co u ld ju st as w ell be lounging in their o fffic e only a few feet away as pacing the halls, guarding the stairs, and being present in the meeting itself. The board is an arm o f the citizens, meeting in democratic process to make vital decisions fo r us a ll. S urely the atm o sphere w o u ld be m ore conducive w ithout this police presence. among too many blacks is the belief that arms control, or nuclear disar mament, are not essentially “ black- oriented issues." Relatively few black students and faculty, for ex ample, participated in the 1950 cam pus teach-ins and demonstrations against nuclear arms proliferation last fall. It is even conceivable that some blacks actually support greater arms spending, because this will generate new jobs in defense plants. M o re likely is the fact that blacks generally are so conditioned by the prism o f race that they find it d iffi cult to relate to the nuclear arms issue. Establishing the relationship be tween the economic and political in terests o f U.S. blacks, and by exten sion, all T h ird W orld people, with the current arms race, begins with one basic question: what are the long-term costs o f nuclear arms pro liferation? Foremost, for black peo ple and others, is the survival o f hu manity and world civilization. P o litic a lly , it is im perative that Am erican blacks and progressives do not get caught in the logic o f (he simplistic, red-baiting anticommu nism. President Reagan was the first to denounce the Soviet Union’s pro posal to freeze nuclear weapons as a “ propaganda p lo y.” In one recent speech, Reagan declared irrationally that a “ freeze simply isn't good enough because it doesn't go far enough. We must go beyond a freeze." Reaganites argue that any serious discussion o f the Soviets' arms proposals within (he context of U .S . domestic politics is akin to treason. However, we must recognize that historically, o f the two major super powers, that the U .S .S .R . has been much more willing to decscalate the arms race than the U.S. has been. In the 1930s, the Soviet U nion p ro posed a general and complete world disarm am ent. In the 1950s and 1960s, the U .S ., not the Soviet Union, initiated the majority o f new and dangerous nuclear weapons sys tems. In 1946 the Soviets called for a ban on the storage and production o f all nuclear weapons, with a sub sequent destruction o f stockpiles. In 1977, General Secretary Brezhnev called for an agreement to stop the entire world’s production o f nuclear weapons sim ultaneously. In M ay, 1978, according to one recent press account, “ Moscow advocated at a special U N General Assembly ses sion on disarmament that the major powers enter into an international agreement ending production o f nu clear weapons o f every type and on gradually liquidating stockpiles. It also called for an end to all nuclear testing, and agreement banning first-use o f nuclear weapons, estab lishment o f nuclear free zones and destruction o f all nuclear arm s.” In these last instances, the C arter A d m inistration denounced the Soviet initiatives for peace as marxist prop aganda. T o say that the Soviets are more com mitted to genuine arms reduc tions is not to say that we accept or agree with all the politics o f the So viet Union, or that we agree with its stands on Afghanistan or Poland. It is to take a stand for peace and in ternational dialogue. It is to say no to nuclear insanity. It is to say yes to life itself. As one lyric poet said in the sixties, “ A ll we are saying, is give peace a chance." The majority o f American people are beginning to agree w ith this peace perspective. One M arch, 1982, G allup opinion poll stated that 72 per cent o f all Americans want this nation and the Soviets to sign an agreement to halt the con struction o f all new nuclear wea pons. Another poll cited in the press declares that 57 per cent o f the pub lic favor a freeze on all nuclear test ing, production and arms deploy ment by the U.S. and U .S.S.R . This is exactly wha: Brezhnev proposes to do. And (his is what Ronald Rea gan rejects. Letters to the Editor Whites must join black protest To the editor: It is time for white people o f con science to take a public stand against the School Board’s decision regarding the Tubman siting. I f the m a jo rity o f the Board w on’ t listen to a united black com munity, then the larger com munity must say we are appalled at the separate and un equal, and therefore racist tre a t ment black people in Portland are curren tly receiving in the forced placement of this middle school. Today many white Portlanders are taking a stand o f conscience against nuclear arms build-up. To condemn nuclear proliferation while ignoring racial injustice would be in consistent. Both o f these aspects o f our economic system, capitalism , destroy hum anity, both take away our right and responsibility to con trol our own lives, and both reflect the system o f unequal power that is ruining our country and threatening our survival as a species. Each o f us must choose between indifference and action. There are complexities to the School Board’s decision, but there is no middle ground to make the choice between right and wrong easier. Sandy Willow National Organization for an American Revolution Tubman choice disregards needs, commitment 'w E SHALL FIGHT OH THE B E A C H E S , WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE LANDING ...OF EUROPE, THAT I S / WE SHALL FIGHT IN THE FIELDS AND IN THE To the editor: The School Board's decision to place Tubman Middle School at the present Boise site is in total disre gard o f both the needs o f the com m unity and (he B o ard ’ s previous com m itm ents. Placement o f the Tubm an school at Boise will mean wide-scale displacement and busing o f hundreds o f elem entary school students who w ill be left w ithout a neighborhood school. The Board has not been able to justify this deci sion educationally or socially to the satisfaction o f the community. The initial decision to place Tub- man at the Eliot site was made in re sponse to the needs o f and pressure from the Black community. Reneg ing on this promise creates a public image o f the Board as both dishon est and racist. We fully support any and all ex pressions o f community dissatisfac tion over this decision. Virtually all m ajor black organizations in P o rt land disagree with (he Tubman de cision. In addition, large sectors o f the white community are disgusted by the deceitful conduct o f the School Board. Further, the Board's threats to crush peaceful, dem o cratic protest through the use o f armed police borders on the type of racist reactionary tactics we saw during the C iv il Rights protests of the '50s and ‘60s in the U.S. History has shown that demands for justice and equality cannot be silenced in this manner. We encourage School Board members to discontinue their repres sive tactics, honor their c o m m it ments to the Black com m unity, or resign from their positions. Heather Conrad and Mindy Spatt Committee to Support the Black United Front Gangle not endorsed To the editor: I am one of the Democratic candi dates for Representative in District 18. It has come to my attention (hat some people have misunderstood my listing my membership in the C o m m ittee to Support the Black U nited Front on some o f my cam paign literature. I was simply listing groups, including Albina Fair Share I ll Portland Observer Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Subscriptions S10 00 per year in the Tri County srea Post m a ster Send address changes to the Portland Observer, P O Box 3137. Portland. Oregon 97206 MEMBER PER Astociation - Founded 1995 A . Lee Henderson, Publisher A I McGilberry, Managing Editor A ! 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