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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1983)
Page 2 Portland Observer, June 15,1983 Police report w ar on Johns' Grassroots Nows, N . IK — Sur rounded by a blitz o f publicity, Portland Police Bureau Public In formation officer Dave Simpeon announced the results o f the Bureau campaign against prostitution. “ O n Juneteenth " . . .Th at on the 1st day o f Janu ary, A .D . I K ) , all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part o f a S U U , the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United Sutes shall be then, thence forward, and forever free----- " (The Emancipation Proclamation, January I , I K ) ) G RASSR O O TS N EW S, N .W . - Due to historical circumstances be yond President Abraham Lincoln's control, he was forced to free human beings who were stolen from Africa with the assisunce and con sent o f his government. This event is recognized by the descendants o f former slaves as “ Juneteenth." In Portland, at Bethel A .M .E . Church, a committee was formed to educate the public on Juneteenth. Ms. M arion Jacobs says the premise o f Juneteenth is to celebrate the Em an cipation Proclamation. It was issued officially on January I , I K ) . President Lincoln was reluctant about passing this Proclamation because some o f the officers in the Union Arm y did not want blacks to serve, while others needed th em ." Ms. Jacobs suted that this reluc tance displayed itself as many o ffi cials refused to read the Emancipa tion Proclamation. " In Virginia, seventeen blacks were hung because they read the Proclamation to their fellow blacks.” The name Juneteenth comes from June 19. This is the day the word that they were free reached some of the slaves. “ This date is not univer sal among blacks. In Washington, D .C . it is celebrated in January. In other parts o f the country it is celebrated in February. Juneteenth is our Fourth o f Ju ly." Clara Peoples provides an addi tional thought to the celebration of Juneteenth. "1 feel it is about time that we as black people stand up and be counted for our own freedom, as well as enjoying the freedom o f the Fourth o f J u ly." W hat should June teenth mean to the youth o f 19837 "T h a t they should stand up with pride and be proud to be black as we were taught. Whatever you are, just be the best. Have pride in your own race. That is what Juneteenth should m ean." Ed M itchell, another member o f the Juneteenth committee, answers this question another way. "June teenth means freedom and responsi bility. Oftentimes we take our free dom for granted and forget that there has been some dues paid. W e are still paying. Just look at the un employment figures for our young people. W e hope this weekend to try and drive home the point that even though we have come a long way, we have still got a long way to g o ." H .H . Nukes believes Juneteenth should be an observation rather than a celebration. " A t the end o f the Civl W ar black people in the slave states were faced with the question, 'W h at does this piece o f paper mean to us?' Newspaper ac counts related to when black people heard o f the issuance o f the Emanci pation Proclamation. They went to the streets and they danced and they marched a id made speeches. The theme o f most o f the speech making was that although we were no longer slaves, we are not yet free. W hile we observe Juneteenth in its colloquial form, it is a period o f time when we need to rededicate and continue fighting that Civil W ar that still keeps us in a posture o f servitude and bondage." (W riter's note: Junteenth will be celebrated at Bethel A .M .E . Church as an outdoor street festival starting Friday, June 17-19. Happy June teenth!) Court sets theater price Testimony in a condemnation trail to set a price for the Paramount Theater began Tuesday. Owners o f the 3,000 seat theater on Southwest Broadway want S9.3 million for their facility while the City has offered $2.2 million. The building is to be renovated for use as a public performing arts center. ✓ M a y 29. we launched some intensive enforcement having to do with pros titution in various areas o f the com munity where it has grown intoler able. We hive arrested 112 men and 72 w om en." H e stated that 41 o f the men were not Uken into custody al though there remain outstanding warrants for them. “ The emphasis has been against the 'Jo hn .' the 'tric k ,' the customer who has created the problem by being here. W e think it has been suc cessful to a limited degree. The rest o f the system has to support the arrest. It has to be meaningful if we are arresting the same people over and over again. W e are going to have to have some place to put them. Fines are good up to a certain point but we run into the same prob lems with the lack o f jail space." Simpson defines the campaign as being successful in the area o f the 'Johns.* M ark Tcppola, Vice President of the Central Eastside Industrial Council, agrees with O fficer Simp son that the sweep to mop up the 'tricks* has been successful. “ This is probably the most effective pro gram that we have had. It has re duced the problem in terms of visible street prostitution." Teppola says the problem created by prostitution in an established business area is one o f harassment. " I t creates a very unhealthy busi ness situation. You have the prob lem with pimps and fighting. N o one really knows the answer to solv ing the problem o f prostitution. Education is an important area and these billboards assist in that process o f educating.” Teppola believes the three billboards that are up around the city have been effec tive. " A lot o f 'Johns' might not have been aware that this was a crime situation." The billboard sutes, " I f you arc looking for a prostitute plan on getting arrested.” The ironic thing about the billboard that was picked by the Police's PR department as the stage for their announcement, is that someone browned oui the *ar* in arrested, so the billboard reads. " I f you are looking for a prostitute plan on getting 'R ested'." Dave Simpson, public Information officer for the Portland Pollen Bureau, reports on the Burnau'a campaign to atop prostitution, (Photo: Richard J. Brown) TEST DRIVE OUR EXCITING NEW CAR LOANS FIRST. Right now a First Interstate Bank loan is as economical as a subcom pact. As fast as a turkxharged sports car. And as powerful as a heavy-duty pickup. Our new auto loan interest rates are the best in years. And with the right credit information, we'll normally process your application in one day. Once you've arranged l your financing, you’ll have more leverage to negotiate the price of your new car. Come in soon or call. 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