Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1982)
Page 4 Portland Observer, June 30, 1982 EDITORIAL/OPINION Middle school best for Adams The School Board w ill soon determine the fu tu re use o f the John Adams H igh School b u ild in g . Some o f the most frequently dis cussed options are: reopening the building as a neighborhood high school w ith a vocational emphasis; using it fo r C o lu m b ia /W h ita k e r Middle School; leasing it to Portland Commu nity College; renting it or leasing it fo r non school use. Adams is by far the d istrict’ s best building and is considered by many to be one o f the fin est school buildings in the nation. It must be retained for public school use. Portland Com m unity College continues to express interest in a cq uiring the b u ild in g , promising to expand and enhance vocational programs now housed at the Cascade campus. There is no doubt that John Adams HS would provide beautiful facilities fo r PCC, but we believe that the current Cascade Campus can accomodate facilities for their new program. Also, there is a serious question regarding the commitment to the former Model Cities com munity made when the college accepted nearly three-quarters o f a m illion dollars to establish the Cascade Campus. This money was given at great sacrifice to other programs and projects with the belief that the vocational programs to be provided by a community college would be an asset to the community’s young people. There has been much discussion over the years about how w ell that com m itm ent has been kept. The general consensus o f commu nity and students alike is that it has not— that Cascade has been the orphan o f the PCC sys tem. H o p e fu lly , w ith a new president, that trend has been reversed. But the commitment to o ffe r q u a lity educational program s fo r Model Cities residents and to be a positive in fluence in the com m unity should be carried out at the existing campus. The best use fo r the Adams bu ild ing is to house C o lu m b ia /W h ita k e r M id d le School. This school is now located at tw o campuses, both in dangerous, industrial areas far from the c h ild re n ’ s homes. Placing the schools at Adams would allow most children to walk to school, would elim inate high transportation costs, would avoid the shuttling o f staff from one campus to the other, and would provide an excellent facility fo r the middle school stu dents. This building, w ith its shapes, auditorium , playing fields and adjoining park would be the perfect site for C olum bia/W hitaker—a middle school that has been neglected. W ith a facility like Adams available children should not have to go to school amid trains, trucks and indus trial plants. Whether the building w ill ever be used as a high school again is pure speculation, but the need fo r facilities fo r C olum bia/W hitaker is real and immediate. Congressman Ron Dellums of California will ba the featured speaker for the Observer'» Achievement Awards Banquet on July IBth at tha Hilton Hotel. Honorees are: Earl Wantland, president. Tektronix; V.F. Book er, president. American State Bank; Harry Qllckman. execu tive vice-president of the Trail blazer«; Cora Smith, owner of Cora Smith Hair Design; State Representative Gretchen Ka- foury; County Executive Don Clark; City Commissioner Charles Jordan; Edna Robert son, Coordinator for the North east District Neighborhood Of fice. Woman of tha Year: Linda Williams, The Oregonian; Msn of the Year. Ron Herndon, co- chairman, Black United Front; Outstanding Community Ser vice: Ruth Haefner. The banquet will be held at 7:00 with no-host cocktail hour preceding T ictaets are available at tha Obser ver office, Stevens & Sons. Meier and Frank, and Houee of Sound. CONGRESSMAN RON DELLUMS The debt trap Athletes sacrifice for liberation Much ado is being made about the South A fric a n athletes c u rre n tly v is itin g Oregon State University wrestling coach Dale Thomas. South A frica is barred from all recognized amateur sport and any athlete that competes with a South A frica n is barred from amateur competition for life. Thomas, as a representa tive o f our state and o f OSU, has repeatedly insulted all o f us by his relationship with South Africa. Now that some South A frica n athletes are visiting Thomas, there is great sympathy ex pressed for the black athletes. Now that blacks are allowed to participate on some teams, they are being punished along with the white play ers. F irst barred by apartheid in th e ir own cou ntry and now by a U nited Nations rule, they seem to get it both ways. The fact that young people cannot be allowed to compete fu lly is a sad commentary on society. The answer is not to l i f t the ban against South African participation, however. As long as apartheid is the law in that nation the rest o f the world must find every way possible to pro test. The ban on athletic competition is an im portant protest. Those bla ck South A fric a n athletes who fin d themselves in the middle must sacrifice the joys o f international competition but their sacrifice is small when compared to the sacri fice o f those in South A fric a and throughout the world who give their lives for freedom and justice. Letters to the Editor Jewish group opposes Lebanon invasion To the editor: As a local chapter o f a national Jewish progressive o rg a n iza tio n , P o rtlan d New Jewish Agenda wishes to respond p u b licly to the new crisis in the M id d le East. W e wish to add our voice to those call ing for a comprehensive negotiated settlement o f the Israeli-A rab con flict. The fo llo w in g statem ent was adopted at the chapter’s last general meeting, June 27th. We are uncom promisingly com mitted to the survival and flourish ing of the Jewish State o f Israel and believe that all fair-m inded people must support its existence and se curity. We believe that a just peace in the M id d le East can be possible only with the mutual recognition o f Israeli and Palestinian n atio n al rights and the co-existence o f the Jewish State and a Palestinian Arab State. No less than Israel, the Pales tinian people has the right to self-de termination and an independent na tional existence. We think the invasion o f Lebanon and the continued aggression in and around Beirut lessens the prospects by strengthening those on both sides wno believe a negotiated Israeli-Pal estinian peace is neither possible nor desirable. We do not condone ter rorist acts against Israelis, but such “ ■ ■ flH ■ ■ * - M ' Oregon Newspaper ‘Publishers Association J ft ™ MEMBER N e WA {\PER M tocietlon - Founded 1995 actions in no way justify the current Israeli response. The terrifying toll o f this massive invasion in lives and suffering will perpetuate the cycle o f mutual mistrust and violence, add ing obstacles to a negotiated peace settlement. Although the short-term security o f Israel has no do u bt been en hanced by the destruction o f P L O centers in Lebanon and the partial destruction ~ f the Syrian air force, we see this invasion as contradictory to the long-term security o f Israel. T he long-range repercussion o f these acts will mean greater hostility towards Israel, the continuation o f a catastrophic arms race between Is rael and the surrounding A ra b countries, and the prolongation o f tension and a disasterous economy that have made life in Israel so d iffi cult in recent years. A lth o u g h Is ra e l’ s desire fo r safe and secure borders is understandable, a truly secure bord er cannot be attain ed through m ilita ry means, but only through the establishment o f peace ful relationships with neighboring states and the Palestinian people. Even the strongest and most a d vanced o f armies cannot deter a people questing for a homeland. Recently a prestigious study mis sion to the M id d le East which in cluded Philip Kluznik, former presi dent o f the W orld Jewish Congress and form er B’ nai Brith president, issued a report which stated: “ In our view, there can only be a d u r able peace with a negotiated settle ment, and there can only be a nego tiated settlem ent i f there is a fa ir com prom ise between the Israelis and Palestinians. A winner-take-all solution favoring the more powerful party will perpetuate conflict.” We strongly concur. We urge both Jews and non-Jews who support a peace initiative in the M id d le East to express themselves everywhere and in particular to the Israeli am bassador and the U .S . State Department calling for an im mediate ceasefire, withdrawal o f Is raeli and Syrian troops from Leban on and the commencement o f inter nationally supervised negotiations toward providing a national home land fo r the Palestinian people as well as security for the Jewish na tional homeland o f Israel. Portland New Jewish Agenda F or your information: Am bassador Moshe Arens, O f fice o f the Israeli Embassy, 3514 In te rn a tio n a l D riv e , W ashington, D .C . 20008. The Secretary o f S tate, U .S . D ep a rtm en t o f S tate, 2201 “ C ” Street N W , W ash in g to n , D .C . 20520. Portland Observer The P o rtla n d Observer (U S P S 969 600) i t published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, Inc , 2201 North Killings worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland. Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon Subscriptions: 110.00 per year in the Tri-County area. P o s t m a ster Send address changes to the Portland Observer, P O Box 3137, Portland. Oregon 97200 A l McGUberry, Editor/Publisher A ! Williams, Advertising Manager 283-2488 National Advartiaing Representative A m algam ated Publishers. Inc. N a w York ( by Manning Marable “’From The Grassroots” The current economic recession has become a depression for black A m erica. M ost black economists and C iv il Rights leaders have a t tacked the Reagan Administration’s austere fiscal and social policies for worsening an already terrible eco nomic c o n d itio n fo r blacks. The majority o f this group targets one is sue, unemployment, as the central dilemma for government action. Yet even i f C E T A and other jo b p ro grams were restored to former lev els, another m ajor problem would still exist that undermines the stabil ity o f black, Hispanic and working class households. This underpubli cized problem is consumer debt. For all Americans, indebtedness has become virtually a way o f life. Installment credit increased $20 bil lion in 1981, to $333 billion. When combined with home mortgages, the total personal debt is a staggering $1.5 trillio n . In growing numbers, thousands o f Americans have been forced into bankruptcy courts. In 1978, 179,194 declared bankruptcy; last year, the num ber soared to 456,914. Current estimates for the number o f persons who are in se rious financial debt— on the verge o f b an kru p tcy— have now passed 4.5 b illion. M illion s o f others sur vive by "kitin g credit” — borrowing from one credit card to pay o ff another creditor. W ith over 10 m il lion Americans out o f work, the im mediate prospects for many more bankruptcies seem likely. Indebtedness is a special problem fo r lower income people— non- unionized blue collar w orkers, blacks, and single women with chil dren. Black families below the pov erty level had a median annual in come deficit of $2261 in 1978, com pared to median income deficit o f $1753 fo r poor whites. 261,000 black families owed $3,OOO-$3,999. 146,000 were in debt between $4,000-$4,999, and another 182,000 were behind by $5,000 or more. For black families with related children under the age o f 18 in 1978, the me dian income debt was almost four thousand d ollars. Black fam ilies with female heads were in debt by $2,440. 215,000 black female-head ed households owed $3,000-$3,999, and 262,000 were in debt by at least $4,000. The Reagan Recession has in creased the necessity for black and working class households to go into debt in order to m ain tain fo o d , clothing and shelter. In the 1973-75 recession, over 75 per cent of all un em ployed workers received some kind o f federal or state compensa tion. Under Reagan, that figure has dropped to 37 per cent. Indebtedness has profound social costs which are seldom explored sys tem atically by economists. Debt is probably the most significant factor in the creation o f marital strife, and a prime reason for divorce. Twelve years ago, only 83 black men and women were divorced fo r every 1,000 who were m arried. By 1980, there were 151 black men and 257 black women divorcees per 1,000. According to some researchers, by the year 2,000, eight out o f ten black households will be fatherless. The short term solution to the economic crisis is n ot, th e re fo re , more federal government jobs for the unemployed. The strategy must include a reorganization o f p rio ri ties w ith in the p o litic a l economy and the governm ent. A ll human beings should be guaranteed cer tain economic rights— a good job, a decent home, free public healthcare, free education. The debt trap is the means by which big corporations saddle the burden o f higher prices onto the backs o f A m erican con sumers. U n til we have an economy that places people before p ro fits, bankruptcies and consumer in debtedness will continue to exist. Thanks for support To the editor: As an update to the community, the Jazm in C o m m u n ity M arching Band wishes to thank Band parents and community residents who sup ported and cheered us on Saturday, June 12th upon our entry into the G ran d F lo ra l Rose P arade. The Band received scores o f 10-10-10-9; although not officially entered. We would like to share this with you as we are your community musical per forming unit. Our existence in part, is due to and rests w ith you. A ll youth who play an instrum ent or wish to, w ill find us M on d ay through Friday at the King Facility (4815 N .E . 7th) from 7 :0 0 a .m . to 12:00 noon. Our goal for 1983 is to bring a southern trad itio n al band festival to the northwest. We need your donations o f funds, in s tru ments, or a number o f resources that you have more than one o f or are not in immediate use. Instrum ents: used, but usable. Stereo: or parts o f — tu rn ta b le , speakers, etc. Tape recorder: reel ,0 reel or cassette. Sheet music: prac tice material for brass-woodwinds- percussion. Records: instrumentals especially. Reeds: fo r all w o o d winds. Musical repair kit: or parts of. Evelyn Crews Jazmín crashes Open letter to Rose Festival Association Gentlemen: The Jazmin C om m unity M a rc h ing Band, led and directed by M r. Thara M em ory, provided a superb performance for the Rose Festival P arade. The fine music, c o lo rfu l uniform s and showmanship o f the band was a key ingredient in the suc cess o f the parade. Residing in the P o rtla n d black com m unity, I never realized such talent existed under my very nose. These are tru ly fine, talented and am b itiou s young people and I ’ m sure the exposure from the Rose Festival Parade will certainly gain them recognition in future events to come in our great "C ity of Roses.” I would like to commend the Rose Festival A ssociation for another overwhelm ing success and for the opportunity o f allowing these young black people to take part in one o f the n atio n ’ s m ajo r celebrations. I truly enjoyed the entire parade in spite of the rain. A gain, thank you for a jo b well done. Levan Johnson, Sr. (E d ito r’s note: The Jazmin Rand was not invited to participate in the G ra n d F lo ra l Parade, b ut "crashed. ”) Subscribe today! Receive your Observer by mail. Only $10 per year Portland Observer Box 3137 Portland, OR 97208 Name Address City____ .State -¿¡P - J
