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Page 2 Section IV Portland Observer, January 20.1903 Urban League: State o f the state by Lanila Dukt Q r a s s r o o t N t » i. N . IF .— As the daw n o f 1 9 1 ) arrives we co n tem plate w hat to expect fro m the new year by critically examining the old year. In many ways, 1982 was not a very good year for Afro-Americans. P o litic a lly and ec o n o m ica lly we were tak en three steps backw ard and one step forw ard. The consen sus o f the National Urban League's “ T h e S tate o f Black A m e ric a , 1982“ is th a t the status o f black Americans is stagnant. Freddye Pettet. Executive Director o f the Portland branch o f the Urban League, said these findings did not surprise her. “ M y reaction is one of disappointment because we are still fighting the same battles we had to fight twenty years ago. As a race we still have the same problem areas. There have been a few gains, but by and large we still have m ajor prob lems o f discrim ination in em ploy ment and housing. O u r economic situation is getting worse rather than better. So, I 'l l have to adm it I was not surprised, just disappointed, be cause we are still facing those same problems." Digesting the events and emotions o f 1982, w hat can we expect from 198)7 M s. Pettet replies, " M o re of the same. W hat we have to do is to w ork harder w ithin our own com m u n ities to m ake changes in the area o f ta k in g care o f our young people and our e ld erly . W e must continue to try to make the system work for us as it does for other com munities." A lth o u g h " T h e State o f Black Am erica, 1982" dealt with national issues such as the dismantling o f A f firm ative A ction and sluggish eco nomic grow th, Freddye Pettet says the n atio n al problem s just reflect the crisis we have in Portland. "O u r youth unemployment is the same as the n atio n al average (w ell over 60 percent). The whole attack on low- income people that is happening at the Federal level is also at the local and states levels in Oregon. The d if ference betw een the fed eral and stale level is that the state has the ca pacity to deal w ith its low -incom e blacks and other citizens. I f it reaiiy w anted to m ake a d iffe re n c e , it could. In other cities this could not be done; but in Portland, it ’s possi ble. I f the private sector wanted to change the unemployment status of young black m ales, they co u ld . There appears to be a lack o f a total commitment towards improving the lives of the com m unity." She says the reason for the lack of a commitment to the black commu n ity is racism. “ W hen you look at the economic conditions o f the state o f O regon it ’ s as bad i f not worse th an in o th e r co m m u n itie s. B usi nesses are closing, large and small. Even as bad as the situation is for business, i f one small business took one or two young people they could make an im p act." T h e n a tio n a l re p o rt concluded that a war is being waged on low -in come people across the country. Ms. Pettet believes the lack o f a policy to solve the plight o f low-income peo ple is hurting the low-income popu lace. “ A n y tim e a p o licy im pacts people negatively, black people are im p acted m ore than the general population. I don’ t think enough e f fort or time is being spent to look at what local or national government can do. One o f the problems is that not enough im p ac t is o ccu rrin g fro m the m in o rity co m m un ities. There are not enough people sitting dow n and planning a strategy that w o u ld inclu d e a ll people. E v e ry thing now is done in a crisis situa tion. However, w e'll get to the point where this is not the case and blacks and m in o rities are involved in the front end o f planning where there is some specific thought given to how our community can be positively im pacted by w hatever policies come o u t.” “ T h e S tate o f Black A m e ric a , 19 82 " paid p articu lar attentio n to the focus away fro m A ffirm a tiv e . U nions are one problem . “ Unions in O reg o n have reacted the same way Unions everywhere have. Their concern and main focus is for their membership and by and large their m em bership have not had large numbers o f minorities and women. I do not think unions have been as sup portive o f affirm ative action as they co u ld , alth ou g h there are isolated incidents where a few union leaders helped break the barriers. But when you have econom ic d iffic u ltie s where you have large numbers o f people being laid o f f , unions are b attlin g fo r seniority. In some un ions m inorities and women are the first to be laid o ff. W hat you see on a national level you see here in O re g o n , but in smaller numbers " T h e whole direction o f a ffirm a tive ac tio n scaled dow n fro m the federal level to the state means it ’s not a high priority any more. For a state like O regon it is u nfo rtu nate because some o f us think a ffirm a tive action was never a high priority. In our local governmental staffs— County, C ity and State— blacks and other m inorities are employed only FREDDYE PETTET in the a ffirm a tiv e action area and not in the policy-m aking area. So, we can see that the people who are making the laws are themselves not c o m m itte d to a ffirm a tiv e a c tio n , just by looking at the m ake-up o f their staffs." 1982 was a political year in which black Oregonians did not come out and vote as they should. In light o f this, can we exercise political power on our behalf? " T h e problem is we do not use what political power we have. A nd that is the main way to sway political figures. I f you do not vote the politicians do not feel they should listen to you. A lot o f people d o n ’ t vote because they feel o u r numbers are too sm all. I disagreel W e have to use whatever p o litic al clout or influ en ce we have. W e could have made a major difference this past Novem ber. W hen you do not vole this weakens the demands you can m ake." D is tric t 18 w ill rem ain in the minds o f the black community for a long time as an example o f political d is o rg a n iza tio n . Freddye P ettet agrees with this assessment. "T h e re was no logical reason to have six or sev en blacks running within that one district. What we needed to do was • to gel two or three people whom we thought could best represent District 18. Instead everyone saw an oppor tu n ity to get in to politics. N o one was willing to subvert (heir own per sonal needs and am bitions fo r the good o f our community. Hopefully, the co m m un ity has learned fro m this experience and when that seat comes up again we’U do a better job o f strategizing so a black can repre sent the district." W hen you th in k back on 1982, what lodges in the minds o f the Exe cutive D ire c to r o f the U rb a n League? “ The lack o f political o r ganization is one item that w ill stay on my m ind. The whole issue with the schools w ill produce a positive rip p le e ffe c t in 1 9 8 ). O u t o f the whole struggle for quality education came a black Superintendent. The issues with the police will have a rip ple effect in 198) and I ’ m not sure whether it w ill be positive or nega tive. In 1982 a lot was brought into the public’s eyes and this resulted in the Police Review Board. Also, the comm unity came out against crime w ith the m arch against p ro s titu tio n ." Freddye Pettet's New Year's reso lution is, " T o continue the fight to work towards the betterment o f our community. T o try and get positive elements working internally and to continue to speak out against injus tices. These are not new resolutions, just perpetual ones.” She says the community ought to work harder to im p ro ve its e lf. “ W e co n tin u e to reach outside our community for as sistance. But we have the resources w ithin our com m unity to better it. Let’s open up that resource and util ize it in 1983." Both the gas mask and the traffic light were invented by Garret M organ, 1877-1963, a black inventor from Kentucky. • Modem postage stamps came into use in 1840. Englishmen were taxed from 1687 to 1861 for all win dows in their houses over the number of six. The deepest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Baikal in southern Siberria, reaches 5,712 feet. Wa do not do business w ith South Africa American State Bank AN INDEPENDENT BANK Head Ottica 2 7 3 7 N. E. Union Portland, Oregon 9 7 2 1 2 RUNYAN S 880 STORE 9 0 0 6 46 Closed Sunday 3716 N.E. UNION! PRE Project to reduce fear of crime The N atio n al Institute o f Justice ( M J ) has awarded the Police Foun dation S I,8 )O ,)3 4 to conduct an 18- month experiment in two cities de signed to reduce the fear o f crime in inner-city neighborhoods, preserver co m ercial v ita lity in these areas, and, possibly, have an effect on the crime rate itself. James K. Steward N IJ D irector, announced the award and the selec tion of Houston as one site for the ex periment at a ceremony in Houston last week. Also in attendance were Housgon P olice C h ie f Lee Brown and Police Foundation Research D i rector Lawrence Sherman. The experim ental program also w ill be undertaken simultaneously in Newark, New Jersey. Stewart said that the experiments w ill focus on c o n d itio n s in some neighborhoods that generate fear among the residents and provide an environment in which crime thrives. “ In the next few months,” Slew- art said, "Houston and Ncward Po lice Department officials and Police Foundation researchers w ill be en listing the help o f the business com munity and private citizens in form ulating strategies to reduce citizen fear o f crim e. These strategies should be developed by June or July and then given actual testing for 12 months." Stewart, a former O akland, C a li fornia. police o fficial, said that "as every police officer knows, the fear o f crim e co n trib u tes g rea tly to a host o f urban ills: the deterioration o f neighborhoods, the drying up of commercial activities, and a fortress mentality among citizens that leads to abandonm ent o f city streets by the law -abiding." Stewart said the experiments will test the premise that a neighborhood whose character is w ith in the con trol o f the people who live there is generally a safer neighborhood. “ T he o v e ra ll e f f o r t . " S te w a n 4 said, " is based on the belief that a co m m u n ity’ s fear o f crim e may it self be a m ajor factor in the health and future o f the city. The debilitat ing apprehension about crime weak ens the fabric o f an urban neighbor hood's social and economic life. “ P olice departm ents that w ork closely with represenatives o f the lo cal neighborhoods and that expand their concern for crime incidents to also include order problems can re duce unw arranted citizen fear and encourage people to reclaim their streets and comm unities." The central purpose o f the experi ments will be to test strategies for re ducing fear o f crime in a set o f rep resentative and s ta tis tic a lly c o m parable inner-city neighborhoods. A c o ro lla ry o bjective w ill be to test the effect o f the same strategies on (he business life o f the neighbor hoods. T o test the general theories the study w ill exam ine several related questions: •C a n united efforts by the police and co m m u n ity reduce d isorderly behavior in public spaces and so re verse an atm osphere that suggests nobody cares about such behavior? • W ill amelioraton of these factors have a direct effect on reducing fear of crime and perceptions o f a neigh borhood as unsafe? • W ill the red u ctio n o f fear o f crime have a direct effect on reduc ing serious crime itself on the prem ise that a neighborhood that is not fearful may attract less crime? • W i l l a re d u ctio n in serious crime, i f any, reduce public fear of crime? • W ill a reduction o f fear increase a neighborhood’s commercial activ ity? "P o lice alone cannot begin to re build comm unities demoralized by fear. I f they are tru ly to keep the peace, police must work in tandem with citizens and all branches o f lo- DR LEE BROWN cal governm ent that co n trib u te to the health o f the c o m m u n ity ,” Stewart said. Rash Roofing Co. Roofing of all kinds. Guarantee: 90 days thru 1 year. 4011 N .E. U n io n Ave. 287-8474 *tnxs Morning H i m /tsXFUR f S ? R ws Gravity Live Entertainment returns to Fred's Place Fri. Sat. Sun. 9:30 p .m .-2 :X a m. 81.00 cover charge 2611 N.E. Union Ave. ■fii