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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1983)
Environment influences leadership Follow his lead by Dr. William Lillie, Head. Department o f Black Studies Portland State University is injustice you confront injustice. by Lamia Duke He spoke out against poor housing, poor police protection and the un W ith in the leadership o f A fro - equal distribution of wealth in this Americans in P ortlan d , no other country. I do not sec any of the peo comes closer to Dr. M artin Luther ple with King’s picture in their home King than Ronnie H erndon, co- doing what King believed in doing. chair o f the Black U nited Front. What set King apart is that here Herndon says he does not deserve was a man who could have been that honor. “ T h a t is the kind of quite com fortable in fit in to the compliment I could never accept. ‘ black Bourgeoisie.' He had the The best that any of us can do is try education and the background and in our own way to advance the cause he would be alive today if he had of liberation for black people.” not taken on unpopular causes. I History tells of a conflict between would like to ask the black middle Dr. King and another great leader. class of Portland when were they in Malcolm X . But was there really a volved in helping their fellow conflict or was one man ahead of blacks. the other? “ There were conflicts " I think that many of us are quite and at certain times each man was hypocritical o f King. When they critical of the other. But if you look want to impress their white friends, at what happened when Malcolm X they talk about King. It is easy to began to change his philosophy and talk. I just wish some of us would when King began to change his, they back up our talke with actions and were saying the same things. Both conviction. If you do not try to help men spoke out against the Vietnam black people out now, when will you war. H istory w ill show that M a l ever do it. And if you don’t, try not colm X was critical of the War first; to fake people out by telling them King followed at least six to seven that you love King. You might love years behind. Both men said clearly your job or that little title you have, that black people should organize but if you really love King you themselves to gain justice, freedom would do some of the things he did and equality. The most important for black people.” item is that that both gave their lives The elements about Dr. M artin for black people in this country. If Luther King (hat Ronnie Herndon Malcolm had lived, then King would respects (he most were his courage, have agreed with many of the posi conviction and intellectual honesty. tions that Malcolm took." “ You could see King develop in just How does Herndon feel about a few short year. To go from the bus Dr. King? “ He was one of the most boycott to speaking out against the important leaders to come out of the W ar in Vietnam is an example o f 20th century. What he has done for this man's evolutin. He stood alone black people across the country is in many o f his battles. When he immeasurable. He was able to get came out against the war many of the black church out there on the the other so-called civil rights lead picket lines. Many people today say ers criticized King. This was hard they really dig M artin Luther King being criticized by your peers but but (hey do not live the philosophy King stood fast with what he that King taught. King said is there believed in and it cost him his life.” Most scholarly analyses of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement either focused on leadership or community organiza tion. These analyses exclude any dis cussion of the political and socio economic factors of the environ ment. I have argued that leadership of black organizations has histori cally been influenced by three pri mary factors. These are I ) the envi ronment factor; 2) historical devel opment of the area; and J) the or ganization proneness of the local community. The environmental factors refer to those political, social and eco nomic conditions which influence the development of community or ganization and leadership. This is il lustrated by the creation of the Women s Political Council in Mont gomery in 1951, by Mrs. Robinson of Black Alabama State College The Women's Political Council provided the initial impetus for or ganizing the boycott. Mrs. Robin son mobilized the members of her council to appeal directly to the black masses of the city. Mrs. Rob inson adopted a political maneuver which took cognizance o f the exist ence of black leaders whom she placed in a position from which re treat would be both difficult and embarrassing. The historical de velopment of the area is also very significant. It determines the role and organization relationship lead ers utilize in relating and interacting with the power structure of the local community. The traditions of a re gion determine the relationship which exist betweeen white and other minority groups. The development of a new politi cal culture by blacks during World War II was the result of the follow ing. I) the A. Philip Randolph’s threat to lead a march on Washing ton D.C. to protest job discrimina tion in Federal Employment and; 2) the migration of large numbers of blacks from the South to the North provided opportunities for the de velopment of a national economic, political, and legal support. The major contributions made by Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Montgomery boycott, according to Lewis Killian was possible because of his extraordinary skill as an ora tor and a philosopher These skills allowed for his ascendancy to a position of a national black political leader in (hat King had both the white and black community support. His legitimacy in the black community stemmed from his scholarly achievements and his extraordinary skills as an orator. His appeal within the white community was also possible because of his philosophy, principles and theology. According to Killian, King reduced the complex problem of the segregation and unequal social structure to a simple spiritual equation: segregation is evil, integration is good. At the same time, he showed his followers concrete ways to attack the visible, accessible symbols of evil. Afterthe movement led by King RiRie-WDDNJRy DANCE ŒWANY Constitution applies to all. . . by l-anita Duke Grassroot News, N. IF .— Judge Mercedes F . Deiz was recently named by Ebony Magazine as an outstanding female judge. Judge Deiz has served Multnomah County with the same backbone and stride as D r. M a rtin Luther King. A l though D r. King was arrested at least 30 limes in his career. Judge Deiz believes that he d id n ’ t break any laws. "T h ere is a constitution which applies to every inan, woman and child. So in terms o f federal laws King and the movement didn't violate any But the sit-ins, marches and the quiet type of protests broke state laws. These state laws were un constitutional and should not have been on the books in the first place.” Judge Deiz doesn't like to specu late on what might have happened if there had been no M a rtin Luther King. “ Dr. King was unique. Some how he galvanized all black people and many whites to see the truth of working together. I'm disenchanted in 1983 to see how we're falling apart. Racism is in no ways eradi cated in the United States, it is not a overt as it was during the 1960s. To day, it's not a question of being la tent. It's just there.” How does Judge Deiz feel about the movement that D r. King in spired? "Whenever people inquire and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference had completed its first task a group of students initiated another phase of the Civil Rights Movement, utilizing a different version o f nonviolent protest which occurred at Greensboro, North Carolina in I960. This event expanded the Civil Rights Movement to include two additional groups; I) Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which was created after Greensboro to control sit-in strikes and; 2) the Congress of Racial Equality. CORE, as the latter was called, was considerably older than SNCC and was a pioneer in this technique of nonviolent action. The third development culminated in the Urban Revolt of 1965 which signified the new demand by the ur ban blacks for redress o f their griev- anmees. The revolt made a very great impact and reformed the po litical and social institutions in A m erican society. This urban revolt movement was a national call for black identity, heritage and develop ment. The leaders of this movement in cluded Malcolm X, Stokely Car michael. Rap H . Brown and count less others. In the fall of I968-69 black students in predominantly white universities began a campaign of campus take-over and black po litical awareness on university cam puses throughout the nation. The political, social and economic- environment of the black com munity has influenced the development of black leaders in the United States. as to who my heroes are Dr. King is on that list. I remember when he came to Portland to speak at an U r ban League meeting. There was an aura about that man that was spe cial. I ’ve never been around anyone since who would let you know that you were around a man who cared about every living person. He said what needed to be said; there was no falsehood involved. H e’s just about the greatest man to come out of this century." Does Judge Deiz feel there are still laws on the books that need challenging? “ There continue to be minor kinds o f laws that are only important to one group that need to be changed. It's taken a long time as women to eradicate the inequality in working conditions and salary. In terms of discriminatory laws I don't think there are any more on the books. A lthough I might be wrong.” The justice system through the A ttorney General and the F B I. wiretapped, sent phony mail and tried to disrupt the movement and personal life o f D r. King. Judge Deiz found this "disgusting.” “ I'm dismayed that any group can take the law into their own hands and use it to suit their own purposes. I ’ m shocked and dismayed that there ever were and continue to be agencies that will violate (he law in order to justify the end results.” February 5-8 p.m, tickets: $5 adults $3 st/sr. cit. Jefferson Perf. Arts Center Available Stevens S Son, Lloyd Center, Meier A Frank, Downtown, Dance Togs, Beaverton; JeHerson M-F, 2 30-4 30 W A N N A S T A R T S O M E T H IN ? Then try th e Union A ven u e . . , ® BATTERY X-CHANGE • FREE Installation • FREE Battery Test • FREE Electrical check 3007 N.E. Union Ave. Exchange 249-0101 If you can measure up, we’ll fit you in. Any average guy i an make il in the Marines If he wants to ig iit l»-mg av rrap - HevaiBie although we re nut kxAing l i » sigiennm . the (< vps has always l i n n a t<aiqli team ti> gun. and we re going to keep it that way II w a iv e gut the drive to lie better than average maybe you can tie < me < 4 us C a ll S q t M L M i t c h e l l . 221 3 0 2 6 THE BEI PER PEOPLE 7 1 3 S .W . 12th Street C all 2 2 4 -B E E P fo r a free dem on stration. Page 12 Section III Portland Observer, January 26, 1963
