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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1982)
Portland Observer, May 13,1982 Page 7 The Black United Front urges you to vote for our choice On the change in decision Loving Vests by Herb Cawlhorne I am continually asked, "A re you happy about the Board’s reversal on the Tubm an issue?** I have mixed em otions. I am pleased that the community has regained .what it had already won in April o f mSO, after a long process. ' On the other hand, I am disap pointed that we had to go through so much pain and heartache to achieve it. Someday soon, black people will be able to deal w ith is sues in a "norm al** process where from the beginning there is respect enough to encourage dialogue. Then we won’t have to disrupt meetings, boycott, hold mass gatherings in the churches, and spend so much valu able energy on simply getting recog nized. When the Board made the initial Boise decision, all we got was indif ference. Then the Board got an angry reaction. Then there was dia logue. W hen the Board has dealt w ith the white com m unity— and I have seen this first hand again and again— there is never indifference anywhere in the process. The whites seldom have to get so angry. D i alogue is the first place they begin, not the last resort. The difference boils down to the degree o f respect. Basically, this whole struggle has been as much to gain respect as it has been to regain the placement of the Middle School as promised. Some members o f the Board and the com m unity point to Jackson H ig h School and say, “ See, we made those people mad to o , and they are white." But the Jackson decision was also wrong. It was as wrong as closing Adams in the summer months. Yet, the insensitivity shown the Jackson community was a fluke, the excep tion rather than the rule. U sually, the white communities rarely face such insensitivity. The black com m u n ity has endured it year a fte r year. On the prospects The struggle over the Tubman is sue is another step in the "g re e n ing” o f the black com m unity. For the last five years, we have been ma turing. The process o f cooperative e ffo rt is not com plete. But i t ’ s moving along well. The beauty o f the struggle this time was that so many different ele ments o f the com m unity made a contribution. Tactics varied. Timing was sometimes d ifferent. Ways fo stating the issues were not the same. But the basic understanding was shared by all. In the heat of the bat tle, there was more tolerance o f the m inor differences. We did not get caught in our own self-defeatin g crossfire, shooting at one another over small details which, ultimately, make no difference. The prospects for fu rth e r change are great. W e need to keep building. On Ron Herndon 1 think Ron Herndon is rem ark able. He has courage and vision. I was told by one person that Ron must be the biggest egotist in town because he continually refers to the leadership o f M artin Luther K ing, Jr. They act as though Ron is trying to say he is M artin Luther King, Jr. But M artin Luther King belongs to all people, and especially to black people. He is our example. A ll Ron attempts to do is remind us that the same criticism s our struggle gets today are no different than the criti cisms aimed a, Dr. King. The tactics King used taught us. A n d , like all good students who honor the m aster, we have taken what we have learned and gone out in to the w orld to practice. Ron Herndon knows this psychological trap that some people try to put on him. H e re ’ s what happens: A great black leader is built up so high that we everyday black folk put his pic ture on the m antle and read his words and praise him on his birthday. But when we take the les sons of greatness and apply them to our struggle, we are accused o f tak ing a sacred image and dragging it through the mud. As I said, Ron H ern d o n is re m arkable. He knows that our his tory and our leaders belong to us, firs, and foremost. On M a tt Prophet I want everyone to know that the Tubman issue could never have been solved without the skill and patience and negotiating ability o f M att Pro phet. So all you people who started pecking at him with petty criticisms before he could unpack his bags, I hope you have the integrity to admit tha, the criticisms were premature and unwarranted. He did the very best jo b possible in a very d ifficu lt situation tha, was not o f his m ak ing. Washington Hot Line by Congressman Ron Wyden Q. This weekend. P resident Ronald Reagan announced a two- p a rt proposal f o r nuclear arms re ductions. What do you think o f this proposal? A. I am pleased that the President has gone on record in support o f re ducing nuclear arms. Any reduction in present levels o f ballistic missile warheads, as proposed in phase one o f the President’s plan, is certainly welcome. Phase two, which calls for a ceiling on all strategic nuclear forces, including sharp reductions in missile throw -w eight, is equally welcome. The problem with the President’s proposal is that It does not go fa r enough. Wha, Americans and many people around the world are clam oring for is a halt to the insane nu clear arms race— a freeze on devel opm ent o f new nuclear weapons. Under the President’s proposal, new weapons and nuclear lemons such as the M X missile and the B-l Bomber could still be developed. Harold W illiams The Person, Community Worker, Candidate ‘' Your Best Choice *1 Paul and Geneva Knaule endorse Harold Williams for State Representative for District 18. Geneva and I are supporting Harold in this race for State Representative no, only because we have the greatest respect for Harold as product o f this community, but mainly because he is qualified to do the job in the legislature to represent this district. All too often, we have a person up for a position o f leadership or a political office who does no, have enough experience or is lacking an adequate educational training. This is not the case with Harold Williams. Harold has his B.S. and M .S. degree and has done additional studies in International Relations. Harold has served under three consecutive Governors. First, under Governor Tom McCall as Equal Opportunity Coordinator, Governor Robert Straub, as the State’s A ffirm ative Action Director. And pre sently, as Labor Manager under Governor Atiyeh. Harold has 14 years of governmental administrative experience. Harold is energetic, bright, articulate, and dedicated to improving the image of District 18. Harold will work to attract new business to the district while providing funds to expand existing business. This would pu, the residents in this area back to work. Also, Harold will encourage business to locate in our economically depressed area. In other words, Harold would like to see every vacant business structure on Union Avenue fill with a thriving business, as a start in improving (his district. Harold is interested in streamlining business regulatory requirements for state and local government. Harold Williams as Stale Representative will explore urban growth strategies to increase labor incentives in industrial development; ensure the continued availability and improved utilization o f natural resources; maintain a level of Human Services that will provide a safety net for all Oregonians in need. He will work to develop a comprehensive state wide health care delivery system. In order to provide stable funding for basic school support and higher education, Harold will explore educational revenue sources so that taxes will not have Io be increased. In 1975, Harold was selected as the Portland laycecs “ Man of the Year" which says a lot about the services that he has rendered to this community. His community activities include: member of Portland ( hainber ol Commerce, National Council o f Christians & Jews, and served as Chairman of Portland Model Cities Education committee. VOTE MAY 18th, 1982 FOR YOUR BEST CHOICE, t'did I ik by Hw L o rn m ill«* in H»i I Harold Williams. G uiqw Sharp. Treasmar, 249 8360 • P 0 Bo« 12/6, Portland, OR 9 /2 0 / The President is right to make proposals that, if adopted, will help us step back from the brink o f nu clear self-destru ctio n . But we cannot be satisfied because we havi defused a few warheads. W e w ill still have the capacity— and the evil tem p tatio n — to destroy the earth, c iv iliz a tio n and m an kin d as we know it. Although I realize that the Presi dent’s proposal is intended as a be ginning negotiating position, 1 be lieve he should also lay a freeze on new nuclear weapons on the nego tiating table— and tha, the full force ol U .S. policy should be pu, behind such a freeze. Only then can Am er icans and the rest of the world begin to breathe easier from the fearfu l prospect o f nuclear holocaust. Q. Last week, the Senate Budget C om m ittee came out with an A d ministration-blessed budget propos a l f o r ¡983. W hat do you think o f this proposal? A. I am adamantly opposed to it becuase, once again, it flunks the fairness test. Once again, the de fense budget and other sacred cows are le, o ff w ith only m inor reduc tions while dom estic programs such as education, Medicare and So cial Security are asked to shoulder the brunt o f the proposed cuts. U n der the Budget Committee proposal. Social Security alone w ould be asked to absorb $40 billio n in cuts over the next three years. Not only is this kind o f budgeting unfair, it is unnecessary. I still be lieve we can come up with a biparti san budget that trim s the fat and saves the lean. W e can achieve the kind o f savings we need by eliminat ing waste in the defense budget, roll ing back the bloated tax cut rammed through Congress last year, and trim m ing the sails o f other sacred cow programs. We should n ot— and must n o ,— ask senior citizens, children and the needy to sacrifice still more. Register and Vote for State Representative Democrat - District 18 ★ Hardworking ★ Proven leader ★ Unbought A Partial U a t o f Endorsem ents Ron Herndon Jerri Abrams Ed Edmondson Joan G ordon James H ill Jean Reese H alim Rashaan Shirley Vidal Charles Myrick Linda Johnson Benjamin Priestley Jackie Lynch Kamal Sadiki G loria Stewart Joice Taylor Alice Wysingle "Vesiä has demonstrated heT leadership by fighting side-by-side with the community to ge, the difficult tasks done. Now we can and should elect Vesiä Loving to represent us in the Oregon Legislature!” — Black United Front endorsement 4 /2 9 /8 2 Paid tor by the Committee to Elect Loving State Rep ., Jeannette Allen, 4028 N. Michigan, Portland OR 97217 You are invited to Election Night Party, Billy Webb Elks. 8 N . Tillamook at Williams. 8:00p.m . u n til... ELECT Robert W. Boyer in House 18 Newspaper BOYER Endorsements: Oregonian Oregonian Journal Willamette Week .. Robert W . Boyer, 42, a Water- way Terminals worker and president o f the A . P h ilip R andolph In s titu te ’ s Portland chapter, is best qualified, in terms o f past community involvement, public service experience, tem p era ment, commitment, and philosophy, to be D istrict 18’ s representative in Sa lem. H e is recommended to the vot ers.” — Oregonian, M a y I I , 1982 Organizational Endorsements National Association of Social Workers, Portland Chapter Oregon Black Political Convention, OABA Oregon Credit Union League Oregon State Council of Carpenters Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers Association of Western Pulp & Paperworkers Boilermakers, Local 72 (L.E.A.P. Committee) Columbia District Council of ILW U (Longshoremen) Electrical Workers No. 4 8 ,1.B.E.W. Laborers, Local 296 Metal Trades Council of Portland & Vicinity United Food & Commercial Workers, Local 143 United Steelworkers of America Inland Boatmen’s Union of the Pacific Boyer for House District 18, Gloria Johnson, Treasurer 10 N E Graham, Portland. OR 97212
