Portland observer., June 10, 1982, Page 4, Image 4

Page 4 Portland Observer, June 10, 1982
EDITORIAL/OPINION
The great sugar rip-off
The Reagan Administration has promised the
Caribbean nations a “ mini-Marshall Plan” to
help build their economies. This aid is to be in
the form of minimal assistance to private busi­
ness, opportunities for investment for U.S. cor­
porations, and some duty exemptions for Carib­
bean products.
The minimal benefits o f the token aid pro­
gram will be wiped out by the Administration’s
new sugar quota.
The U.S. government has already taken steps
to limit sugar imports. Earlier this spring duties
charged on im ported sugar were increased,
which directly decreased the payment to the ex­
porting country. This action crippled already
suffering sugar industries o f many Caribbean
countries. Although world sugar prices are low,
often lower than the cost o f production, the
added duty raised the delivered cost to above
that required by the government subsidized U.S.
sugar producers, enabling U.S. producers to un­
der-bid foreign producers.
Now the Administration wants to cut imports
from 4.6 m illion tons to 2.8 m illion tons this
year. Unfortunately many of those nations that
the U.S. has targeted for aid are the same coun­
tries that will be hard-hit by the loss of a market
for their major crop.
A prime example is the Dominical Republic,
already in deep economic trouble. A large per­
centage o f their sugar mills w ill be forced to
close, with devastating effects.
The Central American countries, Brazil, and
the Philippines, traditional suppliers o f the U.S.
market, w ill be especially hard hit since they
have been producing and selling sugar at a loss
for years, requiring huge government subsidies
that cannot be increased or maintained.
The drop in U.S. imports will harm all sugar
producing nations since the excess dumped on
the world market will lower prices.
A single stroke of the pen will bring starvation
to many Third World people. Will the American
consumers reap the benefits o f this market man­
ipulation? No. Look for an increase in the cost
of the sugar on your table.
Congraaaman Ron Dalluma of
C a lifo rn ia w ill ba th a fe a tu re d
sp eaker fo r th e Observer'»
A ch ievem e n t A w ard s B anquet
on July 10th at the Hilton Hotel.
Honorees are: Earl W antland.
president, Tektronix; V.F. B ook­
er. p re s id e n t, A m e ric a n S ta te
Bank; H arry Q lic k m a n , e x e c u ­
tive vice-p resid en t of th e T ra il­
blazers; C ore S m ith , o w n e r of
Cora S m ith H air D esign; S tate
R e p re s e n ta tiv e G re tc h e n Ka-
foury; C o u n ty E x e c u tiv e Don
C lark;
C ity
C o m m is s io n e r
C harles J o rd e n ; Edna R o b e rt­
son. C oordinator for tha N o rth ­
east D istrict N eig h b o rh o o d O f­
fice. W o m an of the Yeer: Linda
W illiams, The Oregonian; M an of
the Y ear, Ron H e rn d o n , co-
ch airm an . B lack U n ite d Front;
O u ts ta n d in g C o m m u n ity S e r­
vice: Ruth Heefner.
Another try for District 1
Representatives o f the black community are
attempting to organize to elect a black person
to represent District 18 in the Legislature.
In the P rim ary E lection, five black
candidates filed and all were ou trun by Ed
L eek, a white. In a smaller field, a black might
well have won.
In an attempt to find and promote a candi­
date, the community is in danger o f recreating
the same situ a tio n . Tw o groups have
organized to begin the process but, unfortun­
ately, neither group had discussed plans with
the other.
The Northeast C om m unity Congress is
supporting Reverend John Jackson, who is a
Democrat. Law requires that to be placed on
the ballot, a person registered as a Democrat
must be nominated by a d iffe re n t party. He
cannot run as an Independent. Jimmy “ Bang
CONGRESSM AN RON DELLUMS
Bang” W alker has taken the in itia l steps to
form a new party, but he wants an open
convention — not one where the candidate is
already chosen.
An open convention could serve to unite —
not to separate — the community, but it would
have to be a convention in which all registered
voters can participate in the selection o f the
nominee. The campaign o f candidates to
become the nominee would form the ground
w ork fo r the organization and public
awareness that would be needed to win in
November.
We have no doubt that Reverend Jackson
could win the nomination and that this would
make him a stronger candidate in the real
election — the General Election in November.
Starting behind, running on a “ third party”
or on a write-in campaign, is not easy. It can
only be achieved through unity and hard work.
Join the Rose Festival
The Rose Festival is here again. The Queen
has been selected; the ships have arrived. Fifty
events — including the Grand Floral Parade —
beckon.
Black people are scarce in the Rose Festival
— 'he suspicians and atmosphere o f discrimin­
ation linger. Past experiences and current
slights fade slowly.
But the Rose Festival is here to stay; next
year it w ill celebrate its 75th A nniversary.
Black people should share in the economic and
social benefits the festival provides.
Participation at all levels should be sought,
S T 4 Z .T
LooHtMCr FOIL
fro m policy m aking to concessioniers. The
only way the benefits can be reaped by the
black community is from within. The only way
black youngsters w ill be encouraged to partici­
pate — the court, the drivers, the musicians,
etc. — is i f black parents are on the
committees and boards that make the
decisions.
The Rose Festival should include a m ajor
event o f special interest to blacks; it should
bring a fine black band to the parade. This will
happen when the community gets involved and
asks for a piece o f the action.
fiftC
Jackson: Will it secede?
by Tracy M. Smith
Members o f the Jackson Educa­
tion C oalition and the School Dis­
tric t presented th e ir case to the
M ultnom ah County Education Ser­
vice District on June 2. at Cleveland
High School. What may have start­
ed to be a simple school closure has
turned out to be a heated battle be­
tween the Jackson Education C oali­
tio n C om m ittee and the P ortland
School Board.
Gayle C lo p tin , Pat D o o lin g ,
C huck G ilb e rt, and A r t Kayser,
members o f the JEC C . are disap­
po in te d in the P o rtla n d School
Board, to say the least. Members o f
the committee are in agreement that
in itia lly , at the time the Board was
discussing school closures, the
Board needed to save m oney. In
their view, the School District was in
a drier financial predicament. H ow ­
ever, w ith a new tax base to w ork
w ith this is no longer the case. Fur­
thermore, the C oalition agrees that
at the time the Board began discuss­
ing school closures Jackson was the
least p o litica l o f the three westside
high schools. Members said this had
much to do w ith the B oard’ s deci­
sion to close Jackson.
Members o f the Coalition make it
clear that they are not seceding from
the School D is tric t. In th e ir view,
the word ’ ‘ secession’ ’ is radical and
w eird. They claim that the School
District chose the word. The C oali­
tion says it speaks in terms o f form ­
ing a new school district and there is
a law that allows them to do so.
The C o a litio n has m any claim s
against the School Board. A rt Kay­
ser says, "T h e School Board can’ t
provide any justification, their num­
bers are self-serving and they justify
after the fact. Furthermore, the Co­
alition claims that the School Board
has been u n w illin g to meet w ith
them to discuss their concerns. This
d isa p p o in ts them because the
School Board is an elected body and
part o f their jo b is to listen to the
concerns o f people in the School
District.
The School D is tric t througho ut
the night made several references to
ORS 330.535, w hich requires that
any plan dealing with a new organi­
zation be evaluated on whether it
"a ffo rd s greater equalization o f ed­
ucational o p p o rtu n itie s.. .m ore ef­
ficient and economical adm inistra­
tion . .and a more equitable d is tri­
bution o f public school revenues."
The School D is tric t says the p ro ­
posed school district docs not meet
the requirements.
The superintendent listed in his
statement four problems that eman­
ate from a new school district: edu­
cational disadvantages, in e fficie n ­
cies, m a ld istrib u tio n o f school re­
sources, and a disastrous precedent
that would be set.
Frank McNamara, vice chairper­
son o f the Portland School Board,
also represented the Board. He re­
minded members o f the ESD Board
that secession must meet the legal
requirements o f achieving superior
equalization o f educational oppor­
tunities. F urtherm ore, M cNam ara
said that Jackson never fu lfilled the
1200 spaces fo r students. Its school
p o p u la tio n has been d e clining fo r
years. I f the p o p u la tio n were to
grow in the Jackson area the Board
may decide to reopen Jackson.
Members o f the C oalition firm ly
believe that if Jackson is closed the
Board w ill be bringing to a halt the
most e ffective desegregation p ro ­
gram in the city. A t present. Jack-
son has approxim ately 150 transfer
students. The C om m ittee claim s
that the transfer students arc very
involved in extra-curricular a c tiv i­
ties and Jackson, by far, is the most
preferred westside school.
Kandy F u lle r, a ju n io r at Jack-
son, was one o f the many students
present at the ESD hearing. Kandy
said both parents and students are
involved in the school closure. He
said the students show their concern
in numbers, w hile the parents are
m ore vocal. Kandy was not sure
whether Jackson should secede or
n o t. H ow ever, he d id say that if
Jackson had to close it should se­
cede to slay open. Randy is strongly
opposed to finishing his senior year
at Wilson.
A nalysis
Charles Ford has been a long-time
parent o f Jackson High School. He
has three children that have gradu­
ated from Jackson.
M i. Ford reiterated that Jackson
is by far the superior school in terms
o f desegregation. Ford said Jackson
started a series o f program s when
the school began desegregation. Stu­
dents fro m the N ortheast and
Southwest had fam ily exchanges to
better understand the cultures. He
also said there arc parent groups
that meet regularly to discuss the is­
sue o f race. U n m is ta k a b ly , Ford
says, there is a strong com m ittm ent
by transfer students and parents to
remain at Jackson.
I f Jackson does fo rm a new
school district, w ill they be able to
provide the advantages o f the pre­
sent Magnet Programs, extra-curric­
ular activities and sports programs
that exist in the schools today? The
C o a litio n does not have any c o n ­
crete projections on the advantages
o f a new district. Nonetheless, Pat
Dooling says, the Coalition wants to
continue to partake in these a c ti­
vities. True, the C o a litio n realizes
that they will have to pay to take ad­
vantage o f the programs in School
District No. I but they are prepared
to do so. Furtherm ore, "th e re w ill
be an exchange o f desirabilities and
th e C o a litio n w ill pursue to make
everyone happy.”
Guardian Angels for Portland?
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N ew Vorfc
(Continued fro m page I cot. 6)
rate?
One may raise the question o f the
sig n ifica n ce o f the G u a rd ia n A n ­
gels. Michael Stoops says, "W e are
seeking a new way to fight crime in
contrast to the M a y o r's proposed
•W ar on C rim e .’ ’ ’ Stoops, like so
many others, is thinking o f alterna­
tives in the fight against crime. The
M ayor’s "W a r on Crim e” offers lit­
tle relief to an individual. The ordin­
ances proposed by the M ayor, fo r
the most part, were deemed uncon­
stitutional by the C ity Attorney.
One may say that the G uardian
Angels, unlike many revolutionary
movements, rarely possess autono­
mous ideologies; they are dependent
fo r ideological guidance and ju s tifi­
cation on the prevalent belief system
o f the establishm ent they seek to
support. I f so, it may be profitable
to raise questions about the fate o f
the Guardian Angels. For instance,
arc they rewarded for their services?
I f so, in what m anner and under
what circumstances? Most im p o rt­
antly, how do they adjust if their be­
h a vio r produces a negative reac­
tion? Undoubtedly, there arc many
I
I
questions to answer.
I he Guardian Angels' in v ita tio n
to P ortland may stem from crim e-
control initiated by private persons
who believe the present system to be
in e ffe c tu a l in p ro te ctin g persons
and property.
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