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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1982)
Portland Observer, November 10, 1962 Page 5 Please, no tears te U N IO N AVENUE GLASS z? by Herb L. Cawthorne It was a sad scene. In the midst o f the gathering for the 12th Annual Congressional Black Caucus* Legis lative W eekend prayer breakfast, Andrew Young asked the leaders to cry. He asked them to cry in •‘con fessing a sense o f hopelessness and helplessness," according to the Washington Post. Tw enty years o f progress down the d ra in l and the answer: Tears! Speakin on this "s a d scene," Tony Brown o f Black Journal said, "te ars ” do not produce an agenda nor a solution. Tears, while sooth ing for a short time, do not make a platform, or a movement, or lead to action. Here in our com m unity, there is no sense in shedding tears over the loss o f our chance to gain represen tation in the Oregon House o f Rep resentatives. A n d , fra n k ly , th a t’ s about all I ’m hearing. Crying about too many candidates. Crying about who ran and who d id n ’ t. C ryin g about "Johnny-come-latelics.” But tears will never make a program or a movement. Tears w ill not produce action. W hat leads to action is an honest analysis and a firm resolve never to repeat the same mistakes again. The inexperience and lack o f vi sion among blacks in P o rtla n d showed its n arro w -m in d ed head early in the reapportionm ant p ro cess in the 1980 Legislature. Some wanted the black com m unity split into m ultiple districts, with smaller percentages spread across three or four districts. Others wanted a sin gle district including all o f the black community. The positions hardened immediately— no room for compro mise, no room fo r discussion, no room for cohesion. The m u ltip le d istrict folks were Uncle Toms; the single district sup porters were, to the other side, phony and unrealistic nationalist; and, to both sides, the undecided were merely m arking tim e to take care o f their own personal political fortu n es. T he seeds o f division which characterized the campaigns were foretold by the divisions dur ing the reapportionment process. The reapportionment process was complete. We had our district— 44 percent black. A ll we had to do was organize to win. The problem was that there was no collective thin kin g , involving a broad base o f the com m unity, on what criteria were needed to ensure victory. One group thought "black ness" was the only criterion. This superceded campaign organization, financing, political skill, knowledge and energy. Another group thought “ friendship” was the criterion, even i f that " f r i e n d " was destined to lose. S till others thought "d e s ire " was the best measure. This meant that anybody who wanted to run should ru n . A fte r a ll, i t ’ s a free country! Still other probably didn’t even try to make any judgements, but simply said, “ I ’m voting for the one who goes to my church.” In other words, the leadership o f the black com munity failed to pro tect and expand the interests o f the people in the com munity. For u lti m ately very costly reasons, we would not think big enough to focus on the long-range improvement o f black political power in Oregon. In stead, we thought small. When a host o f candidates came fo rw a rd , black leadership should have gotten together, developed cri teria, analyzed the relative strengths o f candidates and potential candi dates, and then chosen sides. The choice would have then been based on an understanding o f the Legisla ture, projections on where the state is going, and what skills and know ledge could best protect our interests and advance State government in these times. It would have been d iffic u lt. It may have caused some bad feelings for a temporary period o f time. But the black press, blacks in key posi tions, com m unity-m inded in d iv i duals, and candidates themselves could have argued and argued be hind closed doors. There could have been proposals, counterproposals and b arte rin g , u n til the slate was lim ite d to a m anagable num ber. B u t, no, we had to take rigid stances. W e w anted, in our own separate perceptions, the "perfect” black. There was no such candidate. But almost every one o f those run ning was better than Ed Leek, who ultimately won. When it comes to keeping the black com m unity in place, who needs a better mouse trap? Divide and conquer works so well I No tears! We blew the opportun ity. But all is not lost. Beginning shortly after the new sesion o f the Legislature is called to o rd er, we should start planning fo r the next election in 1984. A com m ittee o f people, representing a broad base of the c o m m u n ity — R e p u b lic a n s , Democrats, activists, social organiz ations, office holders, and so o n - should pull together both a set o f criteria and a process. The criteria can be endorsed by the community after a series o f discussions and for ums. The process can indicate to prospective candidates what is the baseline o f expectation for gaining support. The candidate who gains this support will have the full weight and commitment o f the community behind him or her. And that candi date will not lose! W e’ve shed enough tears. I t ’s be hind us now. I f we act in the next two years, keeping the big picture in mind, arguing together but staying together, we will enjoy the taste o f victory in November, 1984. What is done is done. Our advan tage is the future. 'Hidden' racism sinks Hidden racism and low turn-out o f minority voters are considered to be the deciding factors in Thomas Bradley’s narrow defeat by George D eu k m ejian . W ith all precincts counted, Deukmejian led by 31,000 votes out of the 7.5 million cast, the closest gubernatorial race in C a li fornia this century. Bradley refused to blame his loss entirely on racism. “ I said from the beginning I did not believe race would be a significant factor; I nev er said it would be no factor,” Brad ley said. Bradley blamed the high turnout o f voters opposing gun con trol for his defeat. T H O M A S BRADLEY The " h id d e n " racist vote was mentioned during the campaign by D eukm ejian's campaign manager, B ill R oberts, who predicted race would be an underlying and possibly decisive vactor. The remark led to Social Security system, and move the scheduled 1990 Social Security tax increase up to 1984, allow ing workers to deduct their Social Se c u rity tax fro m federal income taxes. ¡R A s : Also this week, the H e ri tage Foundation, a conservative re search group, suggested that moving to an alternative retirement system may be the best way out. Under the Heritage plan, workers would be al lowed to put all or part o f their So cial Security contributions into ex panded In d ivid u al Retirement A c counts (IR A s ) o ffe red through banks and other private lending in stitutions. The Social Security sys tem as we know it would be phased out over tim e, but benefits o f cur rent retirees or workers on the verge o f retirement would be guaranteed. Taxing Benefits: Still another set o f Social Security reform proposals has come from the business-backed Em ployee Benefit Research In s ti The depth o f the anti-black feel ing confused pollsters because the respondents would not tell the truth. "Essentially the exit poll technology d id n ’ t w o rk. The polls, including ours, were based on presumptions which were obviously off. ” The exit poll (question o f voters leaving the polls) by C aliornia Poll L u c io u i H icks, tw o-term Presi dent of the Branch, said the biennial election is the tim e fo r the m em bership to express itse lf. M any members never attend a m eeting, Hicks said, but arc quick to criticize that the Branch "n e v e r does any thing." Anyone who is a member 30 days before the election o f the Nom inating C om m ittee (October 17) is eligible to serve. Get in touch with one o f the members o f the Nominat ing C om m ittee or call the Branch Office from 3 to 5 P .M . in the after noon to obtain further information or to leave the name o f a candidate. T h e num ber is 284-7722. I f you cannot get an answer telephone 659- 2524. The N om inating Committee will bring its report to the N A A C P regu lar meeting Sunday, November 21, at 4:00 p .m . at Hughes M em orial C hurch, I I I N .E . Failing. At that time other nominations by petition w ill be received. The elections will be held December 12th. Forms for the written petition are available at the N A A C P Credit Union Office, 1- 5 p.m ., 2752 N. Williams Ave. 289-8887 * IOS N .l U N IO N AV. The Catlin Gabel School 39th Annual RUMMAGE SALE Memorial Coliseum Exhibit Hall November 11,12 and 13 Thursday & Friday, 9 AM to 9 PM Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM 2.5 acres o f everything under the sun, including the kitchen sink! Dress a ch ild for under $5.00. Fresh merchandise daily. ■ Professional Pest a? Control Supplies a A. For Do-it-yourself y’ II Homeowners fi Call: 286-6252 ★ KEMI-KIL PRO DUCTS* tute. This group suggests that one way to get Social Security back on track would be to tax half the bene fits as regular income, then return the resulting revenue to the trust fund. The institute would also speed up scheduled Social Security tax in creases, and require participation in the system by federal employees and other groups which do not currently contribute. H elp From O ther Funds: House M a jo rity Leader Jim W rig h t also decided to speak out on Social Se curity this week, suggesting that the Social Security system be bolstered w ith revenue fro m other federal sources. Wright mentioned offshore oil drilling revenues and excise taxes on alcohol as possible sources. Tax C redits: Rep. W rig h t also raised the possibility o f giving tax credits to people who choose to con tinue working after age 65. W right said such a move could save $23 bil lion over the next three years. 2030 N. Willis Blvd. (in Kenton) Mon-Fri: 9-6 Sat 9-2 pm______ Ants, roaches, silverflsh, moles, gophers, rats, m ice— ju st about anything! THE BEEPER PEOPLE. found 4 percent who admitted they voted for Deukmejian because they would not vote fo r a black. The Field Poll also found 4 percent who did not vote for Bradley because he is black and 1 percent who would not vote for Deukmejian because of his A rm enian heritage. Also 9 percent o f those who described themselves as liberals but voted for D eu km ejian said they did so be cause o f "p e rs o n a l d is lik e " for Bradley. A nother factor that contributed to Bradley's defeat was the low turnout o f black voters, especially in Los Angeles. A San Francisco Ex- a m in e r /K P lX T V sample o f 2500 voters found that when blacks did vote they gave 93 percent o f their vote to Bradley. Bradley’s campaign strategists have been unable to ex plain why blacks failed to vote in greater numbers to support Bradley. NAACP begins election processes The P o rtla n d Branch o f the N A A C P has elected its nominating Committee for 1982. They are Clyde W h ite , G e rtru d e C ro w e . H a rry W ard, Warren Marple and Sherrian W a rre n . T he Branch Executive Com m ittee is represented by Ward and Sherrian Warren. STO RM DOORS & W IN D O W S SCREEN REPAIRS MIRRORS PLEXIGLASS __how to use it.______________ radley hopes Roberts being Tired. Pollsters indicate race was a signi ficant factor. Hugh Schwartz, presi dent o f Public Response Associates, said his company found the racial factor in the questions it asked. Ten percent o f those surveyed said they thought Bradley would do too much for blacks. Another 10 to 15 percent said they did not know. Schwartz assumed that part o f the second group declined to answer because they did not want to admit racism— thus the "hidden racism" factor. B ¿¿2 • • • • FFe can tell you what to use and by Congressman Ron Wyden ter this week on recommendations for resolving the short-range prob lems o f the Social Security System. The recommendations, which were put together by commission staff, are said to call for the government to pursue a combination o f the fol lowing alternatives: I) speeding up scheduled increased in Social Securi ty taxes; 2) axing future cost-of-liv ing increases; 3) adding federal and other government employees to the system; and 4) turnin g to income taxes for financing. The Self-Employed: M eanwhile, former Social Security Commission er R obert B a ll, a m em ber o f the com mission, is rum ored to be ad vancing his own re fo rm proposal that would force self-employed indi viduals to pay the full cost o f Social Security coverage (instead o f only three-quarters), but with an income- tax offset. Ball’s proposal would al so require government and nonprof it workers to p artic ip a te in the AUTO GLASS STORE FRONTS W IN D O W GLASS PLATE GLASS Ml ______ • Licensed Consultants • Eliminate your pest problems like the pros Washington Hot Line W ith the beginning o f the lame- duck session only weeks away— and the 98th Congress just slightly further o ff— the Social Security re form debate has once again assumed headline proportions. New statistics and new proposals grace the front pages o f major news papers nearly every day. Economists and politicians take advantage o f talk and news shows to discuss the issue. Despite the heightened debate, lit tle if anything is likely to happen during the lame-duck session. The time is simply too short. But Social Security reform w ill definitely be a major issue— perhaps the m ajor issue— o f the 98th C o n gress. T h a t’s why I ’d like to devote this colum n to b ringing readers up to date on some o f the latest proposals: Social Security Commission: The National Commission on Social Se curity Reform is expected to vote la- • • • • -HEW I M t liiM itnc* Claim« lmrrt«U 713 S.W. 12th Street Call 224-BEEP for a free demonstration. Built in the 15th century, the Kremlin in Moscow has walls 12 feet thick and 65 feet in height. The first indoor ice skating rink was built by Thomas L. Rankin at Madison Square Garden, New York City in 1879. It had 6,000 square feet of surface. Tris Speaker, the great American baseball player, was known as the "Gray Eagle’’ because of his gray hair and his speed in playing the outfield. 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