Page 4 Portland Observer, January 5,1963
17,0 electio.nJiîlReaganism
EDITORIAL/OPINION
"F ro m The Grassroots"
Prison decision no answer
In a long awaited decision U.S. District Court
Judge John Burns decided that overcrowded
conditions at Oregon State Penitentiary are not
a denial o f inm ates' rights. He did order the
Slate to im prove medical care, food handling
and fire safety.
This decision reverses an earlier decision in
which Burns had found that overcrowding vio
lated the Constitution's ban agains cruel and un
usual punishment.
The State should not be com placent in the
face o f this decision. It is a documented fact that
levels o f violence at the prison have risen along
with the severe overcrowding. There is also the
long range picture to consider: inmates who do
not receive proper health care, counselling, edu
cation, work assignments, etc., w ill come out o f
prison having learned noth in g except to hate
those who have imposed these co n d itio n s on
them. N o th in g w ill have happened to enable
them to live productive lives or to reject a return
to crime.
Proper sentencing that would divert persons
guilty o f non-violent crimes to treatment, resti
tu tio n and co m m u n ity program s w ould free
space in the maximum security prison for those
who require that security. This, along with ade
quate funding, could provide time, space and
programs for those who could benefit from re
habilitation programs. Not all prisoners would
succeed, but the current position o f warehousing
prisoners for longer and longer periods and then
turning them loose w ith nothing serves neither
the criminal nor the public.
Where were they?
I wo days before Christmas the home o f a Sa
lem fam ily was burned and racial epithets paint
ed on the house and fence. The fam ily— Robert
White, a Libyan, his wife Betty, black, and their
five-year-old daughter were out o f town at the
tunc o f the fire and robbery.
I ast week the Salem Human Rights Commis
sion held an emergency meeting to determine
how they could best assist the fam ily and how
they should address the com m unity about the
blatant racism.
Strangely absent was any outpouring o f sup
port and assistance. Usually when a family is hit
by fire or other disaster, especially at Christmas
time, they are inundated with help from neigh
bors and other com m unity residents. Perhaps
the people o f Salem were put o ff by the racist
nature o f the tragedy; perhaps they d id not
know how to approach the situation.
However, the Human Rights Commission did
get some offers o f assistance and concern and a
few community organizations were represented
at the meeting.
I hose significantly absent were the black citi-
zens o f the Salem area and the leadership o f the
black organizations that serve that part o f the
state. Were they kept away by whispered ru
mors? Were they too busy to attend? D o they
not consider this attack on the Whites to be an
attack on all black people? What w ill this lack o f
involvement in such a serious even, in their com
munity say to Salem’s white citizens?
Apologies
In the December 29th edition o f the Observer
we contused the record o f Judge 1 ee Johnson. It
was not Johnson who had problems with the law
in C alifornia. but then-Multnomah County Dis
tric t A tto rn e y H a rl Haas. O ur apologies to
Judge Johnson and to M r. Haas.
Ii is our point o f view that the appointment o f
I ee Johnson by Governor Victor Atiyeh to the
position o f Circuit Court Judge was one o f politi
cal expediency and based on his record as A tto r
ney General is no, in the best interest o f those
black defendants who appear before him.
[Continued fro m page I column ft)
by R o ttilo Naranio
Maxico
Letters to the E d ito r ----------------
Prisoners like crime series
I had once th o u g h t th a t the
q u a lity o l your newspaper had de
creased. set I tind that I was mistak
en 3 our a rticles e n title d “ B lack-
on black crim e” were well received
here at O .S .P . I feel that this series
addressed a serious problem in Ihe
black co m m u n ity, a problem that
we as a people must learn to deal
with.
The a rtic le ab o ut S tephanie
Brown and her struggle was another
newsworthy article W e need more
women like her who are determined
to be successful regardless o f the ob
stacles.
T h e refo re , keep the good, posi
tive and in fo rm ative articles com
ing. because they are well apprecia
ted.
L .C . Moore
Legislature faces crucial session
|f 'on tm u ed fro m page I column ft)
sion should be no d iffe re n t. In all
likelihood, the economic debate req
uisite to in n o v a tiv e jo b c rea tio a
policies will not occur at the legisla
tive level And in all likelihood. O re
gonians expecting help fro m the
State will be disappointed.
Regardless o f one's o p in io n on
X yster's m ulti m illio n d o llar b a il
out request or on plant closure legis
la tio n , it is clear that the State o f
t )regon's past efforts to create jobs
have fa lle n far short o f the g o a l.
One reason for this failure has been
the las k o f clear, well-constructed
iob creation policies.
Instead o f asking tough questions
and seeking h ard -h ittin g answers,
leg islators have c a v a lie rly tossed
money after ihe problem (through
corporate subsidies) in Ihe hope that
<
w ithing the electoral system. O ver
$90 million was spent in the 32 Sena
torial races. Usually, the candidates
who marshalled the greatest fiscal
backing was victorious. In New Jer
sey. Democratic candidate Frank R.
L a u te n b e rg , a m illio n a ire b usi
nessman. spent $5 m illion (including
$2 .6 m illio n o f his own m oney) to
purchase a Senate seat His Republi
can challenger, Representative M il-
licent Fenwick, spent $2.7 million in
the p rim ary and general elections.
In the M innesota general election.
Democratic nominee M ark Dayton,
another m illionaire, spent $5.7 m il
lion in an unsuccessful effort to un
seat R epublican incum bent D a vid
Durenberger, who was only able to
come up with $2.7 m illion. A total
o f $1 billion was spent on the 1982
U .S . election campaigns.
M oney was an im portant reason
for the modest number o f losses suf
fered by the Republicans. A c co rd
ing to one source, in most dose-ly-
contested Congressional races, Re
publicans outspent Democrats by an
average o f almost $100,000.
Second, racism played a m ore
c ritic a l role than in previous elec
tions. The number o f black House
members increased by fo ur, and in
Brooklyn alone, two new black Rep
resentatives, Adolphous Towns and
M a jo r R Owens, were elected But
R obert C la rk , J r., a black Missis
sip pi State R e p res en tative, lost a
very close House race to a conserva
tive w hite Republican whose cam
paign slogan, " H e ’ s one o f u s ,”
sm acked b la ta n tly o f redneck r a
cism. In C alifornia, all the polls pre
dicted that Los Angeles mayor Tom
B rad ley should have little tro u ble
defeating Republican state attorney
general George Deukm ejian. Three
weeks p rio r to the e le c tio n , h o w
ever. Deukm ejian’s close friend and
cam paign m anager, B ill R oberts,
bragged that "ra c e " was a factor in
D e u k m e jia n 's
fa v o r.
R oberts
predicted that in a close contest, at
least fiv e percent o f C a lifo r n ia 's
white electorate would vote against
Bradley for the sole reason that he
was b lack. Roberts was p io m p tly
dism issed fo r his c a n d o r, but on
election nig h t, his words were a f
firmed by white voters. Bradley lost
the election that every pollster pre
d icted he w ould w in by less than
50.000 votes out o f over 7.4 m illion
cast. In another C a lifo rn ia race the
slate's highest ranked black elected
o ffic ia l, W ilson Riles, was also de
feated. C a rl H o lm a n , president o f
the N a tio n a l U rb a n C o a litio n ,
noted ruefully that racism continues
" t o be a potent negative p o litic al
fa c to r — w hether in C a lifo r n ia or
Mississippi."
T h ird , and p ro b a b ly most deci
sively. the true test o f the meaning of
any election is found on W all Street,
am ong the n a tio n ’ s p o w e rfu l c o r
porate elites. Significantly, they sur
veyed the so-called Democratic vic
tory and breathed a collective sigh
o f relief. The day after the election,
the Dow Jones in d u s tria l average
jum ped 43.41 p o in ts, closing at
1 ,0 6 5 .4 9 p o in ts, its highest level
in h is to ry. C o rp o ra te executives
noted q u ite ca n d id ly th a t the
incoming Congress was less inclined
to endorse the extrem e “ supply
side" programs o f radical Reagan-
iles. and that a bipartisan consensus
o f “ m o d e ra te " R epu b licans lik e
Howard Baker and Robert Dole and
more conservative Democrats such
as James Jones and D an Rosten-
kowski would forge policies which
benefited big business. Reagan him
self may no longer be in the political
'driver's s e at," but the visious au
sterity o f "Reagam sm " can and will
continue through Congressional at
tacks against workers, national m i
norities. the elderly and the poor.
W hat can black Am ericans learn
from the recent elections? I think we
have to view the electoral failure to
check Reagamsm as indirectly a pro
duct o f our own in a b ility to reach
lo w e r-in c o m e b lacks, the jobless
and blue collar workers, and to mo
b ilize this constituency w ith in the
ele cto ral process. D esp ite the
N A A C P ’s im portant efforts to reg
ister blacks, we must redouble our
local e ffo rts in vo ter ed u c a tio n .
O nly about one out o f every three
black w ho were over 18 years old
votes; less than one q u a rte r o f
blacks who earn less than $10,000
income cast ballots. Had truly vigo
rous voter education campaigns in
side the black com m unity occurred
last m onth, the number o f progres
sive blacks elected to public o ffic e
would have increased dramatically.
M o re im p o rta n tly , we must not
be deluded with modest Democratic
gains to believe that Reaganism has
been checked. W e must fight to cre
ate legislation which democratizes
the U.S. electoral system, which en
courages T h ird P a rty challenges,
and which facilitates access to the
media. Blacks and the oppressed do
not have a b illio n d o lla r c o ffe r to
express our views on television. We
must m o b iliz e our n um bers, d e
m anding the right to p ro p o rtio n a l
re p res en tatio n inside the g o v
ernm ent, and must prepare an all-
out assault fo r 1984 against all
" R e a g a n ite s " inside b o th m a jo r
parties.
House burning remains unsolved
Thinking about Watt«?
To the editor:
T h e c o n v e n tio n a l w isdom c o n
cerning the recent Novem ber. 1982
elections concurs that Reagam sm
was largely repudiated by American
voters. H ouse o f R epresen tative
Speaker T ip O 'N e ill termed the 26-
seat loss o f the Republicans in the
House **a disastrous defeat fo r the
President** and a "victory** against
Reagamsm.
N o th in g co u ld be fu rth e r fro m
the truth, unfortunately.
O n the positive side, the midterm
elections produced several construc
tive gains for blacks, Hispanics and
working people A number o f reac
tionaries and an ti-labo r candidates
were defeated Most of the 77 fresh
men m em bers o f the H o u se in
fo rm e d the N e w York T im e t in a
pre-election poll (hat they would be
"opposed to trim m ing domestic so
cia l p ro g ra m s .’ * F ifty o f the new
legislators stated that they "w ere in
fa v o r o f canceling the scheduled
1983 cut in income tax ra te s ," and
54 “ strongly opposed increasing the
age for eligibility for Social Security
b e n efits." It was in the South that
the Republicans suffered their worst
reverses. D e m o c ra tic challengers
won three Republican House seats
in V irg in ia , and also d e fe a te d a
series o f reactionary Republican in
cumbents in N o rth C arolina, South
C a ro lin a . A lab am a, and West V ir
ginia.
D em o cratic leaders p oin ted out
repeatedly that the 26-seat gain was
the highest gain in off-year elections
in decades It is true that all parties
which have won the Presidency lose
a number o f seats in subsequent off-
year elections. Under Kennedy, for
exam ple, the D em ocrats lost fo u r
seats in 1962 D uring N ixo n 's first
term in 1970 the Republicans lost 10
seats, and more recently, in 1978 un
der C a rte r, the Dem ocrats lost 12
seats.
But given the current econom ic
situ ation , w ith general u n e m p lo y
ment above 10.4 percent, and black
joblessness exceeding 20.5 percent,
ihe Democrats should have a ttrac t
ed even greater support In two ma
jo r slates, C a lifo rn ia and Illin o is ,
R epublicans w on g u b e rn a to ria l
races; in the Senate, the Republican
m a jo rity o f 54 to 46 rem ained the
same Reaganites inside the D e m o
cra tic P a rty , the n o to rio u s “ b o ll
w eevils'* or S o u th ern C o n s e rv a
tives. were uniform ly reelected back
in to Congress over token R e p u b li
can opposition.
W h a t lessons can we co n clud e
from the off-year election?
First, the elections laid bare the lie
o f true d em o cratic governm ent in
the nation by illustrating once more
that money is at the root o f power
new jobs w ould be created — and
th at O reg o nian s w ou ld get those
jobs. Few legislators are asking if
revenue bonds actually create new
jobs; few are asking if jobs in high
technology firm s w ill help u nem
ployed w o o d w o rk ers or th eir
families. No one even knows where
jobs in O reg o n are created , nor
where nor why jobs are being de
stroyed.
The task facing G ilm o re and his
Republican vice-chair. Rep. Donna
Zajonc (R-Salem ), w ill be 'o gener
ate this essential debate and to find
answers for these questions Hardy
Myers, who officially represents the
speaker on the economic develop
ment committee, w ill need to devel
op a high profile if the committee is
to have any c re d ib ility and any
chance o f pushing its leg islatio n
th ro ug h the H ouse. M y e rs , h ow
ever. will be chairing the House Ju
diciary C om m ittee, and Trade and
Economic Development may not be
highest priority.
U ntil a meaningful debate on eco
nom ic alternatives occurs— and it
did not occur during the last gover
n o r’ s race— the ineffective policies
o f the past will remain. And as long
as the D em ocratic and Republican
House leaders toss their discards in
to a d ead -en d econom ic d eve lo p
ment committee, this debate will not
be heard
In the end. the losers will be those
thousands o f Oregonians who voted
fo r the promises and the p la t
forms— and remain unemployed.
C Northwest Legislative Services. Inc . 19*2
" I tovk the opportunity to go to Los
Angeles to see ch ild re n I had not
been able to see in prison," he said.
“ W hen we came back, everything
we owned was d e s tro y e d ." W h ite
was in fo rm e d o f (he fire w h ile in
Los Angeles and left his five-year-
old daughter there with relatives.
M rs. Betty W h ite , who is black,
said she had been the target o f ra
cism when she m oved to Salem in
July of 1981 to be near her husband.
“ Niggers m ove" was painted on the
door and eggs thrown at the door.
"T h e neighbors were shocked,” she
said She had been treated kindly by
her neighbors and did not believe
they were involved. She reported the
incident to the police. She also had
been warned not to allow her child
to play in Ihe nearby park because
she might be in danger.
W h ite, who is Lib yan, expressed
fear fo r his life and said his m ain
hope now is to be able to leave O re
gon. " I t ' s been a racist fig h t ever
M» M«» •.
Oreqon
Newspaper
Publishers
i Asso«'alton
IB
11 1
I
since I came to O r e g o n ." W h ite
does not know if the arson was con
nected to his problems in prison or
was the result o f his getting a man
fired for discrim inating against his
fa m ily , but believes the Kian is o r
ganized and ac tiv e in the Salem
area.
A lth ou gh the neighbors had ex
pressed concern and frien d sh ip in
Ihe Salem n ew spaper. W h ite said
this was not the case. “ W e moved to
a new area; we were the newest peo
ple, the only blacks. T h e children
were to ld they c o u ld n 't play w ith
our child. When we went back after
the fire, the neighbors d id n 't come
up and say they were sorry it hap-
pened.
“ I am a fra id my fa m ily w ill be
h u rt," he said. " I don’t know what
is happening. I am just scared."
T h e Salem H u m a n Rights C o m
m ission is p ro v id in g te m p o ra ry
housing for the Whites and hopes to
serve as a clearing house to arrange
for other needs. W hite said the fam
ily does not have an immediate need
for money but he is concerned with
safety.
The Police D ep a rtm e n t has a d
vised W'hite not to leave Salem dur
ing the investigation o f the fire and
robbery.
It is the o p in io n o f D e tec tiv e
W a lte r F u h rm a n n that (he arson
was not a Kian action but that the
racist epithets were a cover-up o f the
robbery. T he D epartm ent had not
asked for FBI assistance, as is usual
in cases in v o lv in g d e n ia l o f c iv il
rights.
The H u m an Rights Com m ission
will meet Thursday, January 5th, to
decide on a p u b lic response. T h e
special m eeting was atte n d ed by
church and civic groups but the only
person representing the black c iti
zens was P lu m m e r W illia m s w ho
filled in for his wife. M atthettc, who
is 1983 Chairm an o f the G overnor’s
Commission on Black Affairs.
Portland Observer
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