Page 4 Portland Observer, November 17, 1982
Crime and racism
EDITORIAL/OPINION
by Manning Marable
"From The Grassroots' ’
Part I I o f a Two-Part Series
police man was m urdered in a
bom bing. The police arrested a 15-
year-old form er Panther, Duane
Peak, w ho had been on drugs and
We hear so o fte n about the v ic ­
was previously suspended from the
tims o f brutal crime. The natural re­
Panthers fo r rash m isconduct and
sponse
o
f
many
people
is
to
advo­
th
e ft. Peak firs t confessed to the
d is a b ility p aym en t fo r in ju r y re s u ltin g fro m
cate the death penalty, m andatory
crime and at first implicated no one.
chemical warfare.
sentencing, and g ivin g greater
Later, police were able to get Peak
The new m em orial is a step to w ard recogni­
powers to the police and law en­
to state that Rice and P oindexter
tio n o f the V ietnam vets. The governm ent now
forcement officers. But what about
were behind the bombing. A t a pre­
those victim s o f crimes com m itted
lim in a ry
hearing, Peak even
must investigate the damages w rought by chem i­
by the U .S. governm ent, the F B I,
confessed under oath that the police
cal exposure and begin to accept re spon sibility
and the legal system? Thousands o f
"th re a te n e d " him w ith the electric
fo r these men it exposed to deadly and unknow n
Am ericans involved in black and
ch a ir, and that nam ing Rice and
consequences.
H ispanic lib e ra tio n movements,
Poindexter was what the police had
w om en’ s rights a ctivists, a n ti-n u ­
wanted him to say.
clear leaders and labor activists have
To further prove their case, police
been the victim s o f government ar­
searched Rice’ s home and claimed
son, mail tampering, illegal wiretap­
to " f i n d " traces o f dynam ite. Tw o
The State o f W ashington has launched its new
ping, false testim ony in c o u rt,
federal courts later held the search
state lo tte r y — an a tte m p t to raise new fu n d s
bombings, and even assasinations.
to have been illegal. Soon a fte r.
w ith o u t increasing taxes. State o ffic ia ls project
T h ro u g h o u t the past decade,
Rice’ s house was burned, elim in a t­
earnings o f $20 m illio n .
there have been a series o f p o litica l
ing the possibility o f further demon­
black
prisoners
across
the
A good percentage o f the income to the State
stration o f the inaccuracy o f police
U
.S
.—
Angela
Davis
in
C
a
lifo
rn
ia ;
testimony.
o f W ashington w ill be fro m Oregonians w ho are
Ben Chavis and the W ilm ington Ten
The Omaha police and FBI
eager to strike it rich. The dollars these Oregon
in N o rth C a ro lin a ; Im a ri Obadele
seemed determined to convict Rice
residents spend in W ashington could be going in
and the Republic o f New A fr ik a
and P oindexte r, even i f it meant
to our own state coffers.
Eleven in M ississippi; Assata Sha­
freeing the real m urderers o f the
The State Legislature needs to make a sincere
kur in New Jersey; Im ani H arris in
police officer. They suppressed facts
Alabama; Gary Tyler in Louisiana;
which w ould have helped to v in d i­
study o f the advantages and disadvantages o f a
George
M
erritt
and
J.B.
Johnson
in
cate
the two activists. 19 days before
state lottery and determine i f it w ould be o f ben­
Missouri; Delbert Tibbs in Florida;
the
bombing
murder, police arrested
e fit here. T h e re w ill be a trem endous push to
the C h a rlo tte T hree— D r. James
three men, one o f whom was
fin d a replacem ent fo r some percentage o f the
G ra n t, Charles P a rke r, and T .J .
another expelled Panther, fo r pos­
property tax. A state lo tte ry could help fill that
Reddy — in N o rth C a ro lin a , and
session o f dynamite. In A p ril, 1971,
vacuum.
many more.
Rice and Poindexter were convicted
Some o f the most b latant ex­
fo r firs t degree m urder and sen­
amples o f vio la tio n s o f justice
tenced to life im prisonm ent. Four
against black people arc not widely
days after their conviction, the three
known, or remained obscured in the
suspects holding dynam ite were
back pages o f newspapers. Take,
quietly released and all charges were
fo r instance, the twelve-year cases
dropped.
o f the odds. There are people and organizations
o
f
David
Rice
and
Ed
Poindexter.
Since 1971, the authorities have
w orking to im prove opportunities.
These tw o young black men were
tried to bury all traces o f the truth in
The in fig h tin g , the petty jealousies, the revel­
civil rights activists in Omaha, Ne­
this case. Peak was sent out o f state
ation o f our shortcomings should be done in p ri­ braska. As local organizers o f the
under the Federal W itness-Reloca­
vate, not in the pages o f the w hite d a ily. M ore Black Panther P a rty, they spon­
tion Program. He has since “ disap­
co n s tru c tiv e w o u ld be an a tte m p t to organize sored free breakfasts fo r black c h il­
peared.” Thousands o f pages o f
dren,
obtained
medical
care
fo
r
the
FBI material now available indicates
p o litic a lly to take advantage o f o p p o rtu n itie s
poor,
and
assisted
black
people
a
clear frame-up. Amnesty Interna
that do exist and to force open the d oo r to new
in dealings w ith the police. By late
tional now lists both Rice and Poin­
opportunities.
1968, the FBI placed the Omaha
dexter as probable "p ris o n e rs o f
Black Panthers on their prim e " h it
co n scie n ce "; three organizations
lis t,” harassing members, and u n ­
have petitioned the United Nations
d e rm ining the chapter by illegal
on their behalf; form er U.S. A tto r­
means.
ney General Ramsey C lark has rep­
On A ugust 17, 1970, an Omaha
resented Rice in appeals; but as o f
Need more than memorial
The U nited States dedicated a m em orial to the
Vietnam W ar veterans this week. The m emorial
sim p ly lists the names o f the dead. Its lack o f
words reflects the nation’s continuing indecision
over the war.
The U.S. was involved in Vietnam fro m 1954
to 1975. A pproxim ately 11,250,000 served in the
m ilita ry between 1964 and 1975, about 2.2 m il­
lio n serving in V ietnam . N early 42,000 died in
a c tio n ; 8,000 fro m accidents o r n o n -c o m b a t
action; 350 fro m suicide. A nother 270,000 were
w ounded, in c lu d in g 21,000 w ho were disabled
and 5,000 lost limbs.
A b o u t 570,000 men were classified as “ d ra ft
offenders.” O f these 200,000 were charged, w ith
8,750 co n v ic tio n s ; 3,250 served p riso n term s;
30,000 le ft the c o u n try o r went u n d e rg ro u n d ;
cases against 198,000 accused were dropped.
There is m uch c o n fu s io n and d iffe re n c e o f
opinion about the purpose o f U.S. involvem ent
and the results, i f any. A lth o u g h the w a r has
been over fo r seven years, the p ro b le m s it
brought live on. The veterans have been denied
proper medical care, have not received the gov­
ernm ent help p rovid ed earlier veterans, s u ffe r
psychological and physical problem s in clu d in g
“ delayed stress syndrom e,” have been refused
Consider state lottery
Accentuate the positive
There has been a great outcry regarding a se­
ries o f articles in the O regonian on various as­
pects o f the black com m u nity. That newspaper
seldom carries news as fe a tu re item s on the
b la ck c o m m u n ity b u t is c u rre n tly c a rry in g a
series which covered several pages in the Sunday
issue and has continued th ro u g h the early part
o f the week.
The questions being raised are: W h y now ?
W h o is the anticipated audience? W h y are the
articles carrying m ainly negatives w ith few posi­
tives?
It is true that racism exists in Oregon, that the
opportunities fo r black people in all areas o f life
are restricted by racism , th a t black people are
not among the true decision makers or the pow ­
er brokers o f the city, that black advancement is
controlled by whites. The articles, though o u t­
lining the problems and deficiencies o f the black
com m unity, fa il to reveal the causes— to expose
those w ho restrict the rights o f others. It is that
revelation that we w o uld like to see in O regon’s
most in fluentia l daily. But we do not expect that
the decision m akers o f P o rtla n d w o u ld be ex­
posed.
W hat does concern us is that so m any black
people were so quick to criticize and p o in t out
the deficiencies while fa ilin g to describe the suc­
cesses. Yes, there are many black people who are
achieving. There are businesses that are succeed­
ing; there are people who are succeeding in spite
Organize
The Observer offers the public an o p p ortun ity
to com e together and address le gislative c o n ­
cerns. The O regon Legislature not o n ly makes
the laws and determ ines how they w ill be en­
force d, and co n tro ls the state budget, but has
the p ow er to in ve stig a te and redress w rongs.
This is an o p p o rtu n ity to in fo rm the Legislature
o f its obligation to this com m unity as well as the
rest o f the state and to have direct in p u t to the
legislative leadership.
The meeting w ill be held on December 4th at
10:00 a .m . at The Rustlers R estaurant across
fro m Sears. Guest in clu d e R epresentative Ed
Leek, Dist. 18; Rep. W ally Priestley, D istrict 17;
Senator B ill M cC o y, and House Speaker n o m ­
inee G ratton Kerans.
We hope to see you there.
ITS W5GU5BNG!
the ™ MILLIONS ON
T V A N D R N M S ,. TOW....
Letter to the Editor
Support DePriest and Oregon Symphony
To the editor:
November 7th, I had the pleasure
o f attending a perform ance by the
Oregon Symphony Orchestra under
the superb d ire ctio n o f one James
DePriest. He is indeed the Maestro
E xtra o rd in a ire . Genius can barely
scratch the surface in describing this
man’ s exceptional talent. M y chest
swelled w ith pride as the audience
gave this dynam ic man a standing
■ "'« lio n . W hat made it more as­
(Continued fro m page 8 col. 6)
Baez by a 5-0 decision.
The crow d did not like the deci­
sion and expressed their anger at the
referee as he climbed out o f the ring
by booing, and displaying the tw o
The last fight matched thrcc-tim c
O lym pic Cham pion T e o filo Steven­
son (C uba) against cu rre n t W orld
ill
MEMBER
N W A PER
Ajsoc/ahon - Founded 1895
Portland Observer
NAT'OWAl
A!McGUberry, Editor/Publisher
A ! Williams, Advertising Manager
that has had proper exposure to
black people, but it is indeed somi
o f the most g lo rio u s m usic eve
heard. It is music that is technical
s k illfu l and th o ro u g h ly c n jo y a b li
when perform ed by such exceden
m usicians as those o f the O rcgor
Symphony. Again, I urge the blacl
community to attend the Symphon)
and witness a memorable perform
anee by Maestro DePriest. He is in ­
deed a rare jewel o f great price and
he is one o f our own.
Ms. W B Wilson
C h a m p io n
T y re ll
Biggs
(P h ila d e lp h ia , Penn.). In the first
round T eofilo seemed hesitant while
T y re ll was dancing and th ro w in g
quick left jabs. In the second round
both boxers were m oving q u ickly.
Teofilo had Biggs down on the can­
vas with a right in the middle o f the
round for the automatic 8-count but
Biggs did not appear to be injured
or dazed. In the closing seconds o f
the round, Biggs was downed again
by a right hand but this time he was
unable to get back up. A fte r the
fig h t, in an interview fo r the press,
Biggs said that the 3l-year-old Teo­
filo is " n o t too old to fig h t” and he
had surprised him w ith a "crushing
body blow to the ribs.” T e ofilo de­
clined the press in te rv ie w and in ­
stead chose to sign autographs and
present kisses to some o f his prettier
fans.
In the post fig h t aw ard cere­
monies, M ark Breland (B ro o k ly n ,
N .Y ., and A d o lfa H o rta (C uba)
were presented awards for outstaru
ing performance for their rcspectis
teams. M ark Breland had defeatc
C andclario Dubcrgcl 3-2 in the I4 ‘
lb. division and A d o lfa H o rta hai
defeated B ernard G ray (B o y n to i
Beach, Fla.) 4-1 in the 125 lb. divi
sion.
The Brcland-Duvergel match hat
to share the spotlight w ith anothe
crowd reaction. The A B C -T V cam
craman was up on the apron o f tin
ring blocking the view o f some fans
One upset Ian shoved his way intc
the press section near the ring ant
tried to pull the cameraman dowr
by the camera power cord. The far
was grabbed by security and ejected
fro m the arena before his p u lling
had any effect on the cameraman
but the camcrman did fin a lly step
down from the apron. Minutes later
the Ian was allowed to return and he
received a hero’s welcome from the
crowd as he shook his clasped hands
above his head in a victory salute.
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to u n d in g was, this o v a tio n was
being given to a black man o f re­
noun in the world o f classical music.
I was a b it saddened however that
there were only two black people in
the audience, myself and my friend
w ho accom panied me. The black
com m unity o f P ortland should go
to the Sym phony and give Maestro
D eP riest m ore s u p p o rt. I realize
classical has not been an art fo rm
Loss angers Reno crowd
-JUST ID WOO OUR
W OM DTHE
WORST RURT IS.,.
international obscene gestures. San­
tiago had been loudly booed after he
had refereed the I47 lb. match but
now the crowd reaction had become
more threatening. About I0 security
police moved into the area near the
ring to provide safe conduct to San­
tiago. Santiago did not at first want
a security escort but fin a lly consent­
ed after a fan rushed fro m his scat
and threw a crum pled cup at him .
En route down the aisle, an irate fan
trie d to push his way th ro u g h se­
curity to throw a punch at Santiago
but the blow was deflected and the
fan was ejected from the stadium.
Oregon
Newspaper
I Publishers
Association
now, Rice and Poindexter s till are
behind bars.
Today, the miscarriages o f justice
s till continue unabated. Last O c­
tober 28, four black men inside Gra-
terford Prison, Pennsylvania, des­
perate fo r humane treatm ent and
dignity, were driven to devise an es­
cape plan. The attem pt ended in a
five-day hostage stalemate, where
six civilian employees were held by
the prisoners. The four men now are
charged w ith "a tte m p te d escape,
kidnapp ing, possession o f in s tru ­
ments o f crime and conspiracy.”
One o f the black men, 32-ycar-old
C alvin W illia m s , w rote to me last
week: "S in ce 1971 I have been ac­
tive in the struggle. The media has
depicted us as Madmen and the only
support we have gotten has been
fro m w hite liberals. As o f yet we
have no support w hich is badly
needed; we are cut o ff from every­
one on the outside. No one w ill
touch us in the P hiladelp hia area,
and the only aid we get legally or
otherw ise is fro m few brothers in
these holes (hat are struggle-con­
scious. You are our last and only
hope.”
We cannot depend upon the crim ­
inal justice system to provide equal
treatment to black men and women
when it is obvious that the system it ­
self perpetuates racism and inequal­
ity . We must take p o litic a l action
now in order to fight for black free­
dom: ( I) Send tax deductible contri­
butions to the R icc/P oindextcr Le­
gal Defense Fund, c /o Calvin Mem­
orial Presbyterian Church, 3105 N.
24th Street, O m aha, Nebraska,
68110; (2) W ire or w rite Nebraska
a u th o ritie s to free Rice and P o in ­
dexter, and demand that fcdcrul dis­
trict court judge Warren K. Urbom
release all FBI files for examination;
(3) support and defend the right to a
fa ir tria l fo r all black prisoners, in ­
cluding the "G ra te rfo rd F our” ; (4)
Oppose the election o f any p o li­
tician who demands the death pen
ally and mandatory sentencing w ith­
out parole; (5) Be aware o f the
grow ing use o f power exercised by
the crim inal justice system, and the
escalating prison p o pula tion. The
next political prisoner may be you.
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