4 Portland Ob—rye,, April 8,1963
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Racism: A national disgrace
There is a m ajor effo rt by the national news
media to label Congressman H arold Washing
ton, Democratic Party candidate for M ayor of
Chicago, a racist.
Sure, Bernie E p to n , the Republican Party
candidate, is appealing to the racism o f white
Chicagoans they say. But Washington— in his
call for un ity and his heavy cam paigning to
black voters— is also appealing to racism, they
add.
Yes, it is understandable that black Demo
crats would support a black D em o crat, they
concede. It also is normal that whites might pre
fer a white candidate, they continue.
The important fact that many national (and
Chicago) news sources fail to mention is that
black Democrats are supporting the Democratic
Party nominee— while thousands o f whites will
abandon their party and vote for Epton— prob
ably the first Republican they ever voted for in
their lives.
They are not voting for Epton because he
holds to the same political philosophy as they
do; they arc not voting for his background and
experience. They are voting solely because of his
color.
On the fifteenth anniversary of the assassina
tion of Dr. M artin Luther King, Jr., we cannot
fail to note that Chicago was King’s most d iffi
cult campaign. It was in Chicago that he said:
“ In the North there are brothers and sisters who
are suffering discrimination even more agoniz
ing, in a sense, than in the South. In the South,
at least, the Negro can see some progress, where
in the North all he sees is retrogression.”
Chicago’s reaction to Washington’s campaign
for M ayor is not just a Chicago affair or a re
flection on the Democrats. It is a national dis
grace and it is perpetuated by the government
functionaries and the national press.
Tax reform should be priority
The House Revenue Committee has held a se
ries of public hearings around the state to hear
citizens’ suggestions on how the legislature can
increase or shift taxes fro m one group to
another.
A t the P o rtlan d hearing C h airm an To m
Throop attempted to prevent speakers from ad
dressing the sales tax because Oregon now has
no sales tax, even though sales tax options are
before the legislature and may well appear on
the ballot. He lectured the large audience to sit
back and relax and admonished them to express
their own ideas and not criticize the ideas o f
others.
Throop’s attempt to avoid opposition to the
sales tax disintegrated when Russ Farrell out-
shouted him in a long defiant attack on the sales
tax and its promoters.
Businessmen extolled the attributes o f the
sales tax. The Portland Association of Teachers
made a long presentation on the need for more
money but did not address the method of raising
(hat money. Office building managers wanted to
shift the taxes to consumers; old-timers said they
couldn’t pay more.
None o f the stop-gap measures being dis
cussed by the legislature— each with its refunds
or exemptions for the poor and loopholes for
the rich — w ill provide a long-term answer.
Rather than patchwork, Oregon needs a new tax
structure. The corporate and personnel income
taxes and property tax need to be restructured to
ensure that taxes are based on ability to pay, and
they should be the prime source o f income for
the state.
I f the Revenue C om m ittee can’ t develop a
simple and equitable plan perhaps it should hire
a consutant to do so. The continuous hassle over
who will pay for state services cannot go on for
ever.
Letters to the Editor
W e share the sorrow o f the family
o f Trina Hunter at her untimely and
unnecessary death. We share the an
ger o f her fam ily and friends at the
way the case is being handled by the
police. I t ’s clear that police negli
gence— their failure to take her fam
ily's and T r im 's own pleas for help
seriously and th eir to ta lly in a d e
quate search for her— was responsi
ble for Trina's death.
H er fam ily and friends tell how
their pleas for help fell on deaf ears
because T r in a was black and had
been arrested for prostitution. Law
enforcement officials have made it
c le a r, tim e and tim e ag ain , that
women's lives are worth nothing to
them and that if you’ re black a n d /
or you've been a prostitute, you de
serve what you get. In Seattle, the
murder o f a dozen women over the
last year, many o f them involved in
prostitution, still remains unsolved.
In th eir a n ti-p ro s titu tio n c a m
paign last year, M ay o r Ivancie and
Police C h ief S till tried to foment a
vigilante atmosphere against prosti
tutes. They invited individual men
and the police to have free reign to
harass any w om an w alkin g the
street at night. The prostitution laws
used in this kin d o f cam paign
against women and the prejudice in
the police force were responsible for
(T h e Observer welcomes Letters
to the Editor. They must be signed
and include the writer's address. We
reserve the right to edit for length.)
•*« M«» •
the inhuman behavior o f police in a
situation like T rin a 's . W e'd like to
know why harassing prostitutes is a
police priority yet when they could
save a woman's life they do nothing.
The issue of whether or not Trina
Hunter was a prostitute, voluntarily
or not, is totally irrelevant to whe
ther or not she deserved police pro
tection and assistance. Y et, police
officials are quoted as saying that it
was not clear w hether she was
forced into prostitution or involved
••willingly.” Are they saying she de
served her fate?
The m ajority o f prostitute w om
en, like T rin a H u n ter, are mothers
struggling to bring up their children.
When women turn to prostitution
becaue it is the o n ly way to feed
their families, who can say that they
are doing it voluntarily.
It is unusual to be cam paigning
for an o u t-o f-s ta te candidate, but
we are outraged at the turn o f events
surrounding the candidacy o f Dem
ocrat H a ro ld W ashington o f C h i
cago! H o w e v e r, as o f M arch 24,
Jane Byrne has withdrawn from the
cam paign, not on principle but on
technical difficulties. I perceive it to
be racism at its highest fo rm and
want to speak out against it as force
fully as possible.
I believe you agree, that we in
Oregon want to support Democratic
M a y o ra l cand idate W ashington
m o ra lly and fin a n c ia lly . Please
m ake your c o n trib u to n , in any
It is fo r these reasons th at the
U.S. Prostitutes Collective has been
organizing nationally for the aboli
tion o f all laws against prostitutes,
They are also campaigning for v i
able altern a tives fo r w om en who
w ant to leave p ro s titu tio n , fo r
money to be diverted fro m costly
prostitution crackdowns toward the
protection o f all women fro m vio
lent crimes o f (his k in d . W e want
the police to be made accountable
fo r their actions to w ard a ll w om
en, black and p ro stitu te women
a lik e . They should be made ac
countable for their gross negligencr
in Trina's case.
U.S. PROS (U .S . Prostitute?
Collective) Support Croup
Sonya Avison
am ount, to O regon Democrats for
Washington, 3415 N .E . 19th Street,
Portland, O R 97212. Checks should
be made to Citizens for Washington
Campaign. W e w ill collect the con
tributions and send them directly to
the H aro ld W ashington campaign.
The election in Chicago is April 12.
There w ill be a reception on F ri
day, A pril 8th, from 5:30 p.m . to 7
p .m . at the P o rtla n d P la za Party
Room, 1500 S .W . F ifth , Portland.
O R . Please jo in me. B ill, A rn o ld
and Rosie Biskar, other elected o ffi
cials, and Dem ocrats fo r refresh
ments and conversation.
Gladys McCoy,
Chairperson, Oregon Democrats
for Washington
Portland Observer
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W hether they are fo r or against
what Jesse Jackson calls the "P ro p
osition.” a number o f blacks across
the country who have been involved
in discussions o f the p o litic al p ri
maries and the 1984 elections are
being queried, or chided, or lectured
to by whites and other blacks on one
question: " W h y consider a black
presidential candidacy?”
Since the m edia generally has
tended eith er to present the nega
tives or to q u o te one w ell-k n o w n
p ers o n a lity
in o p p o sitio n to
another, perhaps it might be useful
to note some o f the reasons why the
p o s sib ility o f sup po rtin g a black
candidate in the Democratic prim ar
ies is under very active consideration
by a good m any people w ho are
neither on ego trips nor candidates
for straitjackets.
Some o f the reasons go back as
far as conversations about a C a rl
Stokes candidacy in 1972 even be
fo re S h irley C h ish o lm made her
run. Some o f them fed into the in
formal discussions o f issues and tac
tics over many months in 1982 and
1983 p rio r to the first flo a tin g o f
this latest version o f such an initia
tive.
What follows is an admittedly in
complete rendering o f some o f the
ideas and feelings that have given
rise to increasingly serious consider
ation o f this "Proposition.”
M a n y blacks f e e l they have not
fa re d too well at the hands o f white
candidates an d o f a p a rty th at has
been long on promises and short on
regards f o r loyal support.
For some it was the short sh rift
given the Congressional Black C au
cus budget last year even by c o l
leagues w ho p riva te ly ad m itted it
made sense; o r the M e-to o is m o f
D em o cratic members o f Congress
on votes harm ful to blacks, Hispan
ics, cities and the p o o r. O r fo r
others it was w hat was seen as the
anti-m inority bias o f the Hunt Com
m ission's delegate rules; or the
crum bs o rig in a lly a llo tte d by the
Democratic National Committee for
black voter registration. Even those
black Democrats with strong ties to
w hite cand idates a c tu a lly began
voicing their unhappiness long be
fore the notion o f a black candidacy
took form.
One o f the minor rites of the pre-
presidential primary season over the
past several campaigns has been the
rapid-recruitment d rill as white lib
eral and moderate candidates hasten
to acq u ire black s ta ff. Some o f
these, like their Hispanic and female
counterparts, serve reasonably well.
But past history suggests th at a
black candidate could hardly be less
sensitive regarding black and other
m in o rity constguencies than some
earlier white candidates have been.
Veterans o f past campaigns were
reminded at one meeting (his winter
that a black candidate would be un
lik ely to repeat the fiasco that re
portedly occurred some years ago.
A white candidate, appearing before
a special convocation o f black p oli
tical and civic leaders, discarded his
original text and treated the aston
ished group to a speech designed to
please the white ethnic voters o f the
region.
Some are convinced that no while
candidate is likely to be able to fe e l
and to articulate the objective needs
and the pain o f blacks as keenly and
insistently as would any one o f the
potential black candidates who have
been suggested.
C ertainly some Of the white can
didates now in the field are regarded
as friends by several black leaders
and have civil rights records ranging
fro m very good to fa ir. But th eir
trumpets so far have sounded an un
certain note, or have been totally si
lent on concerns critical to blacks. A
black ca nd idate, it is argued, w ill
need no in terp reter to express the
ache and anger o f a black Am erica
ravaged by lost jo b s, homes and
businesses, fo o d fo r fam ilies and
schooling o p p o rtu n itie s fo r the
young.
As has been true f o r other racial
and ethnic groups, the presence o f a
black candidate has alm ost always
served as a ca talys t to b ring o u t
black voters— especially among the
ranks o f those who do not usually
register and vote.
A t a time when population shifts
and rule changes have made voter
and the poor more critical than ever,
many feel that the stimulus a black
candidate could provide is a poten
tial lever not to be discarded lightly,
In weighing the possibilities o f a
black presidential candidacy, it has
been considered understandable and
appropriate that both political lead
ers an d n on -p o litician s be consid
ered.
The rationale fo r interest in such
political leaders as Richard Hatcher,
W a lte r F a u n tro y , A n d y Young
(w ho has said he is not interested),
Louis Stokes and other elected o ffi
cials seems self-evident. Jesse Jack-
son, the most cited non-politician,
lik e W en dell W illk ie , has not o f
fered before for public office. Like
Adam Powell and some o f the other
not under consideration, he would
be a political standard bearer with
strong roots in civil rights and reli
gion.
N ot that the basic issue is being
reduced to personalities alone.
Strategies, regional and local con
cerns, m oney, tim in g and a great
many other factors w ill be playing
themselves out as the ultimate deci
sion develops in the course o f the se
ries o f meetings now going on
around the country.
Perhaps the most pow erful m oti
vating fo rc e o f a ll is the often sup
pressed but persistent urge to lake se
riously the possibility o f something
other than second-class citizenship
f o r blacks in the political arena.
In p a rt, the healthy differences
between and am ong equally co m
mitted leaders on either side o f the
question revolve around the hard
choices blacks have had to m ake
fro m the tim e o f the m urderous
m id dle passage to these shores,
through the slave revolts, the tumul
tuous Sixties, the retrogressive
Seventies and the present. Today, as
in times pat, there is m u tu ally re
spectful debate between those who
contend that the tim e is not right
and those who feel that the time has
somehow never been right for m i
norities to challenge the demeaning
dou b le standard that keeps them
fractional Americans.
p articip ation by blacks, Hispanics
by Dr. M anning M arable
Support Washington campaign
To the editor:
by M . C a rl Holman, President,
N ational Urban Coalition
The politics o f the arms race
Prostitution rap excuse for police neglect
To the editor:
W hy a black presidential candidate?
283 2486
N atio n a l A d v e r t í ng R epraaantattva
A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc
N a w VorA
It is clear that a m ajority o f A m
ericans favor a massive reduction in
expenditures fo r nuclear weapons.
W hat has not yet been placed firmly
on the public agenda is a general de
bate to reallocate billions o f dollars
in federal money from both conven
tional and nuclear arms into spend
ing fo r hum an needs— housing,
health care, jobs, and necessary so
cial services.
Economic Notes, a publication of
the New Y o rk-b as ed L a b o r R e
search Association, makes this point
quite clear in its January, 1983 issue
on " L a b o r fo r P e a c e .” Last N o
vem b er, over 1 1.6 m illio n A m e r
icans voted in fa v o r o f a nuclear
freeze betw een the U .S . and
U .S .S .R . In cities w ith sizeable
black p o p u la tio n s , the m argin o f
v ic to ry was between 3-1 and 4 -1 .
W a s h in g to n , D .C . . fo r exam ple,
cast 77,521 voles in favor o f a nu
clear freeze, with only 23,369 votes
against. In P h ila d e lp h ia , the vote
was 231,787 to 75,149; in Chicago,
404,173 to 135,325. 276 C ity Coun
cils across the nation passed freeze re
so lutio ns, and both cham bers o f
eleven state legislatures. Last June,
about one m illio n people dem on
strated to halt the arms race. This
upsurge in the streets and legisla
tures forces Congress to refuse a
Reagan-backed proposal for $1 b il
lion for the production o f the M X
missile last December.
The day afte r this historic vote,
however, the House voted by a mas
sive m argin o f 346-68 to accept a
m ilitary appropriations bill o f $230
b illion. This amount included $2.5
billion for the research and develop
ment o f the M X missile.
T h e obvious c o n tra d ic tio n be
tween m illio n s o f A m erican s d e
monstrating for peace and a nuclear
freeze vs. the adoption o f a $230 bil
lion war budget by the House was
attacked by d em o cratic socialist
Ronald V. Dellums. “ It is very sexy,
it is very attractive now to be for the
freeze; but how do you translate
that commitment into the budget?”
Representatives were guilty o f the
most b la ta n t fo rm o f hypocrisy
when they proclaimed their support
for arms reductions and then "vote
fo r all (he w eapons th at deny the
fre eze— the M X , Pershing I I , the
T rid e n t su b m arine and the B -l
b o m b e r," Congressm an Dellum s
declared.
Several months before, Dellums
introduced an alternative A ppropri
ations B ill ( H R -6 6 9 6 ), w hich re
duced by more than $50 billion the
current m ilitary budget. M oney for
the Cruise and M X missiles, the Per
shing I I and Trident I I would slop.
Dellums* bill was defeated by a mar-
ging o f 55 yes, 348 no, 31 not vo t
ing. Last M a y , the Congressional
Black Caucus proposed an alterna
five budget which demanded spend
ing for human needs and reductions
in w ar p ro gram s. It too was
trounced: 86 yes, 322 no, and 24 not
voting.
W h y the p o w e rfu l m andate fo r
m ilita ry expen diture? P art o f the
reason lies in the political economy
o f m ilita ry spending. Defense de
p artm en t co n tracts w ith m a jo r
c o rp o ra tio n s ju m p e d fro m $7 6.8
b illio n in 1980 to $9 7.4 b illio n in
I $981. The top five defense contrac
tors in 1981 were Boeing, $2.7 b il
lion; G eneral E lec tric, $3 b illio n ;
G en eral D y n a m ics , $3 .4 b illio n ;
U nited Technologies, $3.8 b illio n ;
and M cD on n cl Douglass, $4 4 b il
lion. The entire process is a kind of
corporate welfare from top to bot
tom . Generals (notably form er Se
creta ry o f S late A lex an d er H a ig )
and bureaucrats at the Pentagon slip
and slide between posh, w ell-p aid
jobs in defense-related industries
and the fe d e ra l govern m en t.
Sources ind icate that " p ro fits be
fo re taxes were 56 percent fo r de
fense contractors— higher than any
in the civilian sector. A ll research
and development costs are paid by
the government so that contracting
firms stake relatively little capital of
th eir o w n . P ra c tic a lly a ll defense
contracts are let on a non -co m p e
titive cost-plus basis, insuring high
p ro fits .” For companies with a his
tory o f bad management, a lucrative
defense contract can bail them out
o f fiscal d iffic u lty . F o r instance,
C h ry sler received $ 1 .4 b illio n in
Pentagon contracts in 1981 alone
— the 10th largest defense supplier
in the U .S .
But the merchants o f war also in
sure their profits in other ways. The
Friends C o m m itte e on N a tio n a l
L eg is la tio n , a Q u a k e r lob b ying
group, monitored the legislative ac
tivities o f twelve m a jo r contractors
in the first eight months o f 1982—
M cC o n n el D ouglas. U n ited T ech
nologies,
G en eral
D ynam ics,
Boeing, Lockheed, litto n , Hughes
A ir c r a ft, G ru m m a n , R ayth eo n,
M a rtin M a rie tta , R o ckw ell In te r
national, and F M C . In this period,
these 12 co rp o ratio n s spent $1.2
million to Congressional candidates
in the pre-election period. This was
an increase o f 250 percent over their
expenditures during the entire 1978
election year.
M ost o f the House and Senate
members w ho received these c o r
porate gifts were on the Armed Ser
vices C om m ittee and Defense and
M ilita ry C onstruction A p p ro p ria
tions Subcommittees. Key Senators
received between $ 1 1 ,0 0 0 to
$38,500. In fact, three Senators who
were not even up for reelection until
1986 were given healthy c o n trib u
tions. Is it any wonder (hat the votes
against the D ellum s b ill and the
Black C aucus' in itiatives to slash
m ilitary welfare were so large? Thg
"b e s t Congress th at m oney cah
buy” cannot afford to turn its back«
on its c o rp o ra te p atro n s, w ho in
tu rn escalate the p ro b a b ility o f a
general nuclear or c o n ve n tio n al
war.
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