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superceded campaign organization,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.
The first two books printed in Puerto Rico, in the year
1806, were two volumes of verse by the Spanish poet
Juan Rodriquez Calderon.
We do .tot do business w ith South Africa.
I
The mast efficient gas furnace in
the world
Anctil Sheet Metal Co.
Heating b Air Conditioning
2S1 0762
American State
Bank
AN INDEPENDENT BANK
Head Office
2737 N. E. Union
Portland, Oregon 97212
y
>