Portland Observer. April 20, 1983 Page 5
7-Up boycott update
Street Beat
by Ron Herndon
The black com m unity and its
friend* are showing they will not put
their money into a corporation that
discriminate* against black people.
The 7-Up boycott is still on and
gaining more and more support. It
will continue until Portland Bottling
Company develops an affirm ative
action plan that ensures black peo
ple w ill be hired throughout the
company.
A ll m ajor supermarkets in the
black community have had a notice
able drop in their 7-Up sales. A big
thank you to everyone who has
stopped purchasing 7-U p and all
other products distributed by Port
land Bottling Company: Nehi Pro
ducts. R .C . C ola, S quirt, A A W
Root Beer, Paul Masson Wines,
Wild Irish Rose, and Perrier Water.
A special thanks to all of the busi
nesses that have agreed to support
the boycott.
We launched the boycott of Port
land Bottling Company because for
the past couple of years they had no
black employees. This is particularly
offensive when we see black people
such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Magic
Johnson and Geoffrey Holder being
used in national advertisements pro
moting the products sold by P o rt
land Bottling Company.
boycott Portland Bottling Company
rushed out and quickly hired some
black people— four up to now. Re
member, the same move was made
after the riot. Isn’t this strange—be
fore the boycott they claimed they
couldn’t hire anyone because of bad
economic condition*. We are happy
four black people have jobs and
hope they realize the black commu
nity made their employment possi
ble.
H ow ever, tokenism is not
enough. The boycott w ill continue
until the company developes a hir
ing plan that ensure* black people
are hired throughout the company.
Last year black people in America
spent $3.7 billion ($3,726,834,800 to
be exact) on soft drinks. Locally and
nationally we must demand that our
purchasing power be translated into
job* and economic development for
the black community. In Portland
the 7-Up boycott has shown we can
do it.
From what we have determined
the company had no black employ
ees between 1963 and 1967. A fte r
riots in the black community, Port
land Bottling Com pany quickly
hired two black people. From 1967
until 1977 it appears as if they had
only those two black employees;
from 1977 to 1983 we haven't been
able to find any black employees.
This sordid hiring practice is in a
company that employed over 123
people, and during the summer o f
1982 hired 23 tem porary people,
none of whom were black.
As expected, after we started the
by Lenita Duka and Richard Brown
Qua Taylor
Post Office Employee
I think it is the best thing that
could have happened in Chica
go. I t ’s the right step for black
people in that city. It would put
Chicago in its rightful place as a
city.
Now (hat the mayoral election is
over in Chicago the Street Beat team
asked, “ How do you feel about the
political happenings in Chicago and
Washington’s victory and Epton’s de
feat?" •
Jessie Verner
Retired
I think he was the best person
for the position. In politics they
always rip each other ap art.
And a fte rw a rd they come to
gether for the good of the city.
Washington Hot Line
Jim Doherty
Selea Manager
Being a Republican I didn't
have much of an opinion. I still
think it was a racial issue. I
know Chicago. I think that
Washington w ill change the
Democratic Party forever.
by Congressman Ron Wyden
I usually use this space to report
to T h ird District residents on the
key concerns before the Congress
and my thoughts on those issues.
This week, however, I want to re
port what Third District residents
are thinking about the important is
sues facing Oregon and the nation.
Some 22,000 of you responded to
my constituent questionnaire earlier
this year, making it the most respon
sive poll to date.
According to your responses, a
majority o f you (63 percent) would
not— given the current deficit situa
tion— retain the next installment of
President Reagan’ s tax cut due in
July. 34 percent would retain that
cut, while 4 percent had no response
to that question.
On other issues:
•77 percent of you would cut mili
tary spending to help lower the fed
eral deficit. 83 percent would cut
foreign aid to help achieve that goal,
while only 29 percent would favor
additional social spending cuts.
•Asked about a series o f pro
posed changes in Social Security, 63
percent opposed accelerating sche
duled payroll tax increases, while 20
percent favored that option. 61 per
cent favored basing cost-of-living
adjustments on increases in either
wages or prices, whichever is lower,
while 20 percent opposed this move.
• In responding to the same Social
Security reform question, 32 percent
liked the idea of funding part o f So
cial Security from general revenues,
while 36 percent did not. 36 percent
favored gradually increasing the re
tirement age to 68, one month at a
time, but 32 percent did not. 38 per
cent would abolish the earnings tests
and include Social Security as taxa
ble income, while 31 percent would
not.
•Still responding to the Social Se
curity question, 82 percent favored
requiring federal employees who
have worked less than 3 years, and
all new federal employees, to pay
Social Security taxes. Only 12 per
cent opposed that proposal. 31 per
cent also supported delaying cost-
o f-liv in g increases u ntil October
(fro m July), while 30 percent op
posed this option.
•F in a lly , 69 percent o f you fa
vored taxing the Social Security ben
efits of the wealthy, while 22 percent
did not. Only 31 percent would keep
Social Security benefits as they are
now, even if it means raising Social
Security taxes. 49 percent opposed
this option. 39 percent supported
the idea o f finding new sources of
revenue, such as taxes on the oil in
dustry or luxury items, to help f i
nance Social Security. Only 31 per
cent were in opposition.
•W ith respect to solving our un
employment problems, 72 percent
o f you said that, as a short-term
solution, you would support a jobs
program similar to that approved by
the House during the Lame Duck
Session. Only 23 percent opposed
that option.
•For the long-term, 51 percent of
you said the governm ent should
play an active role in stim ulating
economic growth and job creation.
39 percent felt we would be better
o ff if the government left the private
sector alone.
•Asked how important you felt it
was for Congress to pass wilderness
legislation in Oregon, 50 percent felt
it was very im portant, 27 percent
though it was somewhat important
and 17 percent thought it was not
important.
•Asked the same question with re
gard to legislation that would allow
timber companies to renegotiate un
profitable federal contracts, 34 per
cent felt it was very im portant, 36
percent said it was somewhat im
portant and 19 percent thought it
was not important.
•Finally, 71 percent of you said it
was very important to adopt legisla
tion to preserve the Columbia River
Gorge, while 18 percent felt it was
only somewhat im p o rtan t, and 9
percent felt it was not important.
THE BLACK UNITED FRONT’S
Third Annual March Against Racist Violence
Saturday, A P R IL 30th
Begins Alberta Park, 19th €r Killingsworth. 12:00 NOON
Rally: King Park, N.E. 7th b W ygant. 2:30 p.m .
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Charlie Splrea
Cannery Worker
Annette Johnson
Housewife
I felt real good about it. I was
proud. 1 felt bad about those
Democrats not voting for him.
If I was there I would have vot
ed for him.
I ’m glad he won. The always
want to bring up dirt on our
people. Being black, they do it
all the time.
Denise Roberta
Administrative Asslstent
I think it was a poor cam
paign, like most political cam
paigns. The one in Chicago was
a little worse than most.
Coleman Young on Chicago
(Continued fro m page I column 6)
you use whatever instruments you
can; it’s affirm ative action by ap
pointment. In my own case, I con
centrated first on the Police and Fire
Departments, aiming for a 30-50 re
sult that reflected the realities o f De
troit. ’ ’
The critical starting place for
W ashington, too, is law enforce
ment, believes Young. " T h e C h i
cago Police Department is known
across the country as a law unto it
self. When police use high-handed
physical tactics, almost invariably
the minority population is on the re
ceiving end. The result is the aliena
tion of large segments of the popu
lation. In Chicago that means His
panics as well as blacks. Washing
ton will have to gain control o f the
Police D epartm ent and its com
mand structure to do something
about that."
The point is not simply establish
ing racial balance, he adds. " T h e
idea is to foster cooperation be
tween police and citizens, because
unless you have that you can't do a
damned thing about crime."
Despite an impressive string o f
m unicipal victories. Young feels
that the growing number o f black
mayors has not yet become a politi
cal force to reckon with on a nation
al level. They are, he argues, caught
in a local trap: lim ited to a local
electoral mandate based on local
black m ajorities whose voices are
too feeble to be heard in Washing
ton.
Beyond the city boundaries, he
says, political leeway for black may
ors becomes "a matter of favors be
ing exchanged . but you don't win
national power by wheeling and
dealing, you win it by a popular
vote. That's where the continuing
inability of blacks to win outside of
black-m ajority districts comes into
play. Everyone recognizes that there
is no black m ajority in the United
States as a whole. So you are left
with nothing but wheeling and deal-
ing.
Nevertheless, Coleman Young be
lieves there is reason to cheer the re
sults of the Washington-Epton race,
if not the racial bitterness the con
test unloosed. In p a rtic u la r, he
says, Chicago proved that young
people— who did most o f the can
vassing and voter registration—can
once again become involved,
"T h e young are at a great disad
vantage now; there’ s been a clear
deterioration of everything from edu
cation to jo b opportunities. The
face o f unem ployment today is a
young face. Still, some of these kids
have clearly caught onto the excite
ment in Chicago, onto excitement
and a reason to hope. Young people
have historically been the legmen
and handymen of the political pro
cess as well as its future. You can't
do without their enthusiasm."
t> PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE, 198)
One Inch
MHRC destruction ensured
Aluminum Blinds
B
ldelm ar
ISJ mm bknds
Mini Blinds
(Continued from page I column J)
justice. " It ensures that all citizens
get a fair and efficient method o f re
solving disputes." I f the program
is not located in an agency that gives
special attention to racial issues,
there w ill not be equal justice, he
said.
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Calls coming from the M ayo r's
office and City bureaus demonstrat
ed that people were being sent from
one City bureau to another and no
one was dealing with their p ro b
lems, M H R C executive director Lin
da Roberts said. M H R C developed
the mediation program "a n d now
all o f a sudden it doesn’ t fit in
M H R C , but before it was the only
place they sent people."
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Strachan said the great need for
mediation made her even more ada
mant that it be transferred to the
O ffic e o f Neighborhood Associa
tions (O N A ). O N A has taken fewer
cuts and could enhance mediation,
she explained. With only a director
and one clerk, M H R C could not
properly supervise mediation.
Com m issioner Jordan, who is
Commissioner in Charge of O N A ,
said he had no problem in leaving
mediation with M H R C , and did not
see where the transfer would help.
" I don't know why Margaret feels
so strong on this or whether it
should be done this year." He add
ed that the message this budget
change (depleting M H R C ) is giving
to the public is not worth any im
provements it might bring.
Others testified that stripping
M H R C of its research and advocacy
personnel would preclude the
agency doing any advocacy.
Ronnie Herndon, co-chairman of
the Black United Front, said M H R C
has made a significant contribution
to the struggle fo r justice and ha*
provided invaluable assistance to
community groups. All compliance
organizations are separate bodies—
E E O C , O ffice o f C ontrol C om pli
ance, Civil Rights Division, etc. He
told the Council that the vote will
dem onstrate their com m itm ent.
Freddye Petett, President of the U r
ban League o f P o rtla n d , said,
" U n d e r the proposed budget, the
M H R C will be completely disman
tled and its effectiveness as a voice
for Portland’s disadvantages would
be ended. This is intolerable. . . . To
effectively elim inate the M H R C
during a lime o f increasing racism
and bigotry and severe economic
stress on the city's minority and dis
advantages populations* is to effec
tively w rite o f those populations.
This act would clearly exhibit a lack
of concern for the well-being o f alt
minority and low-income residents
of Portland."
Mayor Ivancie and Commissioner
Strachan made it clear that the bud
get proposals came from Com m is
sioner Strachan. She told Com m is
sioner Jordan that she feel* very
strongly about the reorganization.
She supported leaving disability in
M H R C and adding one position to
MHRC.
Commissioners Lindberg and
Jordan o ffered an a lt e r n a t iv e -
transferring M e d ia tio n to O N A ,
leaving disability and fair housing in
M H R C and adding two positions.
No supporting votes were provided
and Com m issioner Strachan p re
vailed.