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Pag« 4 Section I Portland Observer, June 1, 1983 EDITORIAL/OPINION Legal terrorism by Dr. Manning Marabie "Front the Grassroots" _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ a_______________________________________•___________________________ Recovering the NAACP This Saturday the N A A C P national board took the first step to return that organization to the people with the vindication o f Benjamin Hooks and the reduction o f the powers of board chairman, Margaret Bush Wilson. The often-publicized power struggle between the executive director and the board chairman is more than a struggle for personal influence. It is a struggle over the direction and philosophy of the association. Ms. Wilson was able to turn the traditionally weak chairmanship into a position o f power. Filling a vacuum created by the aging Roy Wilkins, Ms. Wilson became the association’s leader. When Hooks came on board in 1977 she refused to give up authority to the executive director and the association became a two- headed monster. Ms. Wilson launched the N A A C P in a new direction. A member o f the Monsanto Chemi cals’ board o f directors and close to the corpo rate world, she put the N A A C P in bed with the very powers that have perpetuated racism and oppression o f black people. Rather than rely on financial and political support from the N A A C P ’s traditional supporters — the black community, progressive whites and some seg ments of labor — she encouraged corporate donations and corporate memberships. Wilson led the national board to adopt the “ trickle down” theory — that corporate profits will trickle down to the unemployed poor. This is best revealed in the board’s 1977 statement on energy (written by power company executives). Ms. Wilson and the board refused to allow floor discussion at the National Convention that year in spite o f angry opposition o f many o f the elected delegates. The statement included an endorsement o f nuclear power and, unbeliev ably, endorsement o f natural gas deregulation — an action that will put the price o f home heating beyond the reach of millions o f black people living in the cities of the east. The N A A C P board simultaneously endorsed truck deregulation, a move that will consolidate the profits of the large trucking companies and put many small truckers out o f business. Ms. Wilson’s leadership of the N A A C P was clearly for the interest o f corporate profit, not for the millions o f black people suffering from unemployment, poor housing, lack of medical care, deficient education and all the ills that befall a group of people that are set aside for use as cheap labor or cannon fodder. Hooks never publically denounced this policy, or openly challenged Ms. Wilson, but we must believe that much o f the so-called “ power struggle” was based on his desire to return the N A A C P to the people. His suspension, reinstate ment, and the overwhelming support of the national board and the membership give Hooks the authority to take the N A A C P back where it belongs — fighting for the basic civil and human rights of black people and all Americans. When the N A A C P finds itself in opposition to the corporate structure — as it will — it must re member whom it represents and why. No recovery in sight While the Reagan administration is praising itself over the so-called economic recovery and various economists are arguing about whether the recovery will be long or short, strong or weak, the nation’s workers do not sec much to indicate “ recovery.” While the nation’s unemployment rate dropped only one-tenth o f a percentage point (seasonably adjusted), Oregon’s rate dropped .6 of a percentage point in April to an unemploy ment rate o f 10.4 percent. Much o f the small improvement was in lumber and wood products and in construction, while other sectors of the economy remain stagnant. There are still 148,700 persons officially un employed in Oregon (drawing unemployment compensation or registered with the State Em ployment Office). In some counties, where there have been mass lay-offs or plant closures, o ffi cial unemployment is still at 14 to 20 percent. The wage and salary index has gradually de clined since 1979, now indicating that wages are just slightly above the 1977 level. Millions o f unemployed workers, without income or health insurance, ineligible for un employment compensation or welfare, losing the homes and possessions they have worked for years to purchase — many of them with no mills or shops to return to — do not believe recovery is here. Letters to the Editor________ Racial commissions funded To the Editor: In your editorial o f March 23 you suggested that racism was my motivation for referring the Hispanic and Black Commission bills (H B 2355 and H B 2356) to Ways and Means instead of Hum an Services and Aging. You said that sending the bills to Ways and Means, when there was no appropriation attached to them, would guarantee that they die in committee. These bills estab lish the Black Commission and the Hispanic Commission. But both of these commissions also wanted state money to spend, not just to be es tablished. It seems your fears were unwar ranted after all. The Black and His panic Commission bills passed out o f Ways and Means on M ay 16 and passed the Senate on May 18. The bills which would appropriate the state tax dollar funding for the Commissions, H B 5058 and H B 5059, pased the House on M ay 19 After being assigned to Ways and Means, these bills both passed (he Senate on M ay 27. The fact (hat all of these bills passed (he Senate tells me that my referrals were very helpful toward getting these commissions estab lished and funded. I served on the Ways and Means Committee for Williamsburg (Continued fro m page I column 6> goods. A point o f conflict during the 1982 conference and after was the U .S. effort to ban its Western allies from trading with the Soviet Union. The W illiamsburg document says, “ East-West economic relations should be compatible with our security interests." The Williamsburg conference did little to solve the world economic crisis. For Reagan, it offered an opportunity to demonstrate leader Ml M»l »- ship away from the eyes of the press and to get through the conference with no overt conflict. A repeat o f his gross behavior during and after the 1982 conference was avoided. Nothing occurred that will aid the people o f the U .S. or the other nations represented. M ore than 22 million people are unemployed in these nations and the leaders of Western Europe are aware that it will require substantial restructuring o f their industrial bases to put their people back to work. many years. I speak from experience when I say that members o f the Committee do not react well to peo ple saying a bill doesn't cost any state funds on one hand and asking for money to make the bill work on the other. Edward N. Fadeley Senate President NAACP (Continued fro m page I column 6) Board members and members have contended that political in fighting and bickering has hurt the organization, causing confusion over policy and direction. They add that the association has antiquated procedures, inadequate staff and declining membership. Ms. Wilson sent Hooks a letter suspending him because he refused to turn over internal records that she said she could use to support her charge of incompetent management. Following the Saturday meeting. Hooks said " I am happy, of course, to have been vindicated. . . I intend to go forward. The association must go fo rw ard ." Ms. Wilson, on a speaking engagement in Chicago, indicated she will not resign. Portland Observer 0»»‘ *'« » ,, Tha Portland Obiervrr (U S P S 959 6801 i t publish»«! every Thuisdav by t i e Publishing Company Inc 2201 N oilh Killings worth. Porttafxl, Oregon 97217 Post Office Bo« 3137. Portland Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland. Oregon Th» Purtiand O b w e ' MEMBER NÊWA ïep AsaaeiaMen - Founded 78M was estabhthad in 1970 Subscriptions H O 00 per year tn the Tri County area P ost m a s te r Sand address changas to the P ortland O b s trv rr P O Boa 3137. Portland Oregon 97308 A lfre d I.. Henderson. Editor/Publisher A I Wilhams. Advertising Manager 283 2486 Adv. rt,„ nB Amalgamated Publishers Inc New York As thousands o f Americans are beginning to m obilize for the Twen tieth Anniversary March on Wash ing ion , D .C ., which w ill be held on August 27, it is imperative that we understand what the Freedom Movement represented in the 1980’i. and where we stand today. M artin Luther King, Jr. fought for racial equality for Black Am eri cans, and his “ 1 Have A D ream " speech which was delivered at the 1963 M arch has inspired millions across the world. M artin also stood for economic justice for the poor of all races, and prepared a Poor Peoples' M arch on Washington in early 1968. M artin had (he courage to follow in the steps o f D r. W .E .B . DuBois and Paul Robeson, to call for world peace and an end to U.S. militarism. The FB I countered M artin by harassing his fam ily, il legally wire-tapping his conversa tions. blackmailing him, and dis rupting his organization, the South ern Christian Leadership C onfer ence. In the end. he was assassinat ed. Other civil rights and Black Power activists suffered his fate: Fred Ham pton. Ralph Feather- stone. M ark C lark, Medgar Evers, and dozens more. The FBI and local government agencies were responsi ble for the arrest o f 749 Black Pan ther Party members in 1968-69, and for the killing o f 27 more. This pattern o f “ legal terrorism " was checked slightly by Attorney General Edward H . Levi's "G u id e lines on Domestic Security Investi gations" issued in A p ril, 1976. But with the economic and political turmoil o f Reagamsm, the U .S . gov ernment has reversed itself to keep the lid on the impending social crisis. O n August 9. 1982, new and dangerous C IA Guidelines for covert operations inside the U.S. were approved by Attorney General W illiam French Smith. Last Decem ber, Reagan issued Executive Order 12333, which calls for sweeping "police state-type” authority for the F B I. Three months ago, Smith announced a plan to implement Executive 12333 which would target all groups advocating "political or social change through the use o f vio lence.” Reagan's and Smith's idea o f a "dangerous, violent person" comes dose to being anyone who opposes the Reagan budget, who favors peace over nuclear war, or who is opposed to racism. As journalist Nat H e nto ff observes, the FB I "w ill now be able to investigate persons or groups advocating 'criminal acti vity,* " as well as those who are ac tually conspiring to carry out speci fic acts The FB I will “ clip and file articles, letters to the editor and ads" o f anyone (hey consider suspi c io n . Undercover agents can in fil trate any group, from a Black neigh borhood group concerned about po lice brutality to a coalition opposing the nuclear arms race. The FB I's budget for next year is over one billion dollars. And some members o f Congress are too frightened of the agency to halt the drive toward legal terrorism. As California Con gressman Donald Edwards states, "T h e FBI is more powerful than we are when there's something it w ants." Some Americans still remain un convinced that their police or the FBI would go so far as to assassi nate political activist*. Yet in Greensboro, North Carolina, five activists were publicly executed by gangs of Klansmen and Nazis in 1979. with the cooperation and cer tainly advance knowledge o f local and federal agents. In the middle o f the recent Greensboro grand jury hearings to investigate the murders, a black man, Henry C . Byrd, sub mitted a signed document on April 13. 1983. stating that Greensboro police officers asked him to “ shoot" black activist Nelson Johnson. Byrd states: "W h ile sitting in this un marked car, O fficer Bell pointed out to me Nelson Johnson as he walked into the bookstore. O fficer Bell gave me a .38 caliber pistol, bullets and three addresses where M r. Johnson was likely lo b e found.” W hy would officers sworn to up hold the law conspire to pay some one to execute Nelson Johnson? Be cause Johnson has been under some form o f F B I. army an d /o r police surveillance since 1967. Johnson was a leader o f the Black Power movement in North Carolina, and more recently, was a member of the Communist Workers Party. The FBI fought back by promoting slan ders about his involvement in drugs and schemes to initiate violence. Now there is clear evidence that some law enforcement officers may want to silence him permanently. The recent FBI guidelines, and the evidence from the Greensboro grand jury, converge to form a clear pattern o f legal terrorism. When we go to Washington, D .C ., therefore, we must demand: Who killed M artin Luther King, Jr., and M alcolm X? Who killed Fred Hampton and Ralph Featherstone? Who is planning the murder of Nelson Johnson and perhaps hun dreds o f other Black, Latino and w h ite , political activists? Who is slandering Black politicians such as Congressman Ronald V . Ddlum s and imprisoning black elected o f ficials like Tchula, Mississippi M ayor Eddie Carthan? The March on Washington, D .C . must not simply honor the memory o f M artin , but it must have at its core, an activist, progressive vision o f a democracy without legal terrorism, FBI surveillance, and official murder. W e must demand the revo cation o f Executive Order 12333, and the end to all legal lynchings. Dr. M anning M arable is Director o f the Race Relations institute. Fisk University. Nashville. TN. Quorum of One by Greg Wasson Salem — Friday, Gov. Vic Atiyeh apeared before the Senate Revenue Committee to repeat his call for im mediate, substantial property tax re lief. The governor warned the com mittee that unless the legislature adopts a program of meaningful relief, a Ballot Measure 3 will be en acted into law by the people “ I intend to do everything in my power to see to it that a reasonable and fairly drawn property lax plan emerges from this legislative assembly . (a)nd I will call this legislature into Special Session if such a plan has not emerged when the final gavel has sounded." Tough talk on the governor's part. But it could legitimately be labeled too little, loo late. For Atiyeh to chide the legislature for inaction on tax relief is a classic example o f the pot maligning the kettle for its shading. The legislature came to Salem seemingly dedicated to altering the situation that spawned the nearly successful tax revolt. Atiyeh greeted it with a budget that could be bal anced only with tax increases total ing over $600 million, a clear re versal o f his repeated campaign pledge not to increase taxes and a program that no one in the legisla ture supported. When the House Revenue Com mittee shelved Atiyeh's plan after a week o f perfunctory hearings, the governor dismissed it as a Demo cratic legislature tweaking the nose of a Republican governor. Chal lenging the lawmakers to draft a better plan if they could, Atiyeh contented himself with taking pot shots at the legislature for its in action and traveling to Japan to promote economic development. That's unacceptable, governor. First, the decision needs to be made whether property tax relief is to be provided or not. The Big-3 in the legislative process — Atiyeh, Senate President Ed Fadeley and House Speaker Grattan Kerans — all seem to agree (hat it should. W ith that goal established, tax- planners must face the reality that money to fund property tax relief can come only from a new. or in creased, tax. In his budget, the gov ernor announced that income tax increases were the preferred route. Then why hasn't Atiyeh helped lay the lerminally-revivable sales tax to rest? Continued discussion o f that revenue albatross muddies (he water and prevents formation o f the meaningful program Atiyeh says he wants. Actually, it appeared early in the session like Atiyeh planned to throw his weight around the statehouse more than he had in the past. In February's battle over a fairly in nocuous bill, H B 2373, the governor showed surprising spunk. The proposal contained a plan to use unemployment funds to support displaced workers as they attended retraining classes. Under the exist ing regulations, anyone in school was ineligible for unemployment payments. The A F L -C IO and others wanted to carve out an exception for retraining programs As originally introduced, the bill called for establishment of a wide- open system Business opposed that idea, one lobbyist complaining that the bill was really a full-enrollment bill for community coleges with the tab to be picked up by the business community. The historic connection between the Democratic Party and organized labor is well established, as is the one between the Republicans and management Given that backdrop, (he battle over the bill became part o f a fam iliar war. The House Demo crats and Speaker G rattan Kerans won the first volley. When the unemployment bill came before (he full House, a Republican motion to send it back to committee was defeated almost straight down party lines. Reps. M ax Simpson o f Baker and Bernie Argons o f Klamath Falls were the only Democratic delinquents. W ith the procedural question decided, the lower body then approved the bill 56 to 3. Over on the Senate side, the un employment issue provided a d if ferent view o f the power struggle. It was still Republicans fighting Democrats, but this time with added firepower — Gov. Atiyeh. Through Republican L .B . Day o f Salem, the governor offered amend ments to the bill seriously reducing access to the training money. A t a weekly press conference, Atiyeh de clared that he would “ probably" veto the bill if his amendments weren't accepted. The head o f the Senate Labor Comm ittee, Sen. Margie Hendriksen, D- Eugene, heeded Atiyeh's threats and accom modated the governor’s concerns. When asked about the new-found aggressiveness, Atiyeh acknowledged that he planned on playing rougher with the legislature than he had his first term. “ The old w ay ," said Atiyeh, "w asn't too successful." From this perspective, though, it doesn't appear that the governor followed through on his new role. Simply proposing an unrealistic budget is not a sign o f action. By neglecting to do what needed to be done, Atiyeh may have dealt himself out o f the tax reform game and blown a unique chance to exert some real influence on the decisions made during this crucial session. You stood by while the focus shifted to others in the process, governor. I f you want to recapture it, it will take more than "tough- guy” talk from the sidelines. Receive your Observer by mail— Subscribe todayl Only $10“ per year. Mail to: Portland Observer Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208 Name Address _________________________________ ______ ___________________________________ City____________________ State____________ Zip________
