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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1983)
4 Section I Portland Observer, September 28, 1983 The Right to Live EDITORIAL/OPINION by Dr. Manning Marable M B E ju s tta lk to Reagan President Reagan has proclaimed Minority Enterprise Week, as have presidents before him. But Ronald Reagan has done everything to make life more difficult for minority and small businesses. His “ Reaganomics” has depressed the economy, raised interest rates, created high rates of unemployment and business bankruptcy. Minority businesses — usually undercapital ized — must compete against large corporations that pay lower interest rates and can purchase in quantities that provide better prices. Some white businesses begrudge the little that minorities do have, taking advantage of minority goal and set-aside programs to pick I HAVE A DRUM' THE THEME OPT&OAVS MAPCH ON WASHINGTON their own pockets and to cut out minorities. Compliance agencies look the other way until the job is done and the money is gone. Commissioner Charles Jordan’s attempt to put teeth in the City of Portland's program by assessing financial damages on those who don’t comply is bringing him the wrath of fellow councilman Mildred Schwab. Reagan has also created a climate of racism so that businessmen and others do not feel that they have to obey the laws designed to profit m i norities. It is to their credit that many minority-owned businesses are surviving the depression and that they will grow and prosper. H undreds of thousands HONORED MARTIN U/THÉG nos I odious aspect o f all cist and authoritarian move- ments is their doctrines o f racial or genetic superiority H itler’s psycho«- ic belief in racial purity led millions o f Jews to the gas chambers, as well as Slavs, political dissenters, homo sexuals. and the physically handi capped. Reaganomics shares the same contempt, in a diluted and more subtle way, for Am erica’s poor and minorities. Reagan reduced infla tion by hiking national unemploy ment rates by four percent or more: by 1983, at an annual rate, this in crease meant 148,000 additional deaths, including almost 4,000 addi tional suicides, 2,000 additional deaths from cirrhosis o f the liver, and I6.0CC additional admissions to state mental hospitals. Those are the statistical costs in terms o f human life each year due to Ronald Reagan. These Americans were not executed or gassed in H itle r’s ovens, but they are just as dead as the victims of previous human disasters There are other subtle ways to undermine the right to live. The National Association o f Children's Hospitals is suing to overturn feder al anti-discrimination regulations which protect infants born with physical handicaps. The regulations opposed by hospitals would half federal funds to any healthcare insti tutions which starved children to death, or which denied basic medi- The Duvalier dynasty o f H aiti is facing political instability after a quarter century o f rule. In the 12- ycar period after succeeding his father, Francois or "P apa D o c,” the young hie time president Jean- Claude or "Baby D o c" has been harassed by moderate and left-wing opposition, but now he confronts unexpected problems. There is open discontent o f the oligarchy, denun ciation by the Catholic Church, and protests by the peasants. Until his death in 1971, Francois Duvalier ruled the infrastructure o f the country’s economy, only sharing it with courtesans. On taking power, his son had to deal with the upper middle class bourgeoisie, an elite of mulatto landholders, merchants and importers composed of 6,000 families with annual incomes greater than 554,000 who control 46 percent o f the economy but pay only 3.5 percent o f the taxes. He brought this segment into the governmental affairs with his marriage to the daughter of a businessman, one of the principal figures o f the mulatto bourgeoisie. The business oligarchy now wants to install its own men in the dynasty. It has lost faith in the inept presi dent and is alarmed at the low world prices o f coffee, sugar and bauxite. Ebony poll favors Black president Readers were asked to vote for one o f five political and civil rights leaders: Reverend Jesse Jackson of Operation P U S H ; Maynard Jack son, former M ayor o f Atlanta; W alter Fauntroy, Washington, D .C . delegate to Congress; Richard Hatcher. M ayor o f Oary, Indiana; and Maxine Waters. California Stale Assemblyman. Jesse Jackson received 61.6 per- cent o f the votes cast. Andrew Young. M ayor o f Atlanta, a write- in, was second with 11.6 percent. Others were. Maynard Jackson. 6.1 percent; Rep. Fauntroy, 4.6 per cent; George Stale Senator Julian Bond (write-in), 34 percent; Hatcher, 2 percent; Waters, 2 percent; Imam Warithuddin Muhammad. American Muslim Mission (write-in) 1.4 percent; former Congressman Barbara Jordan (write-in), 1.3 percent; and M ayor o f Los Angeles Tom Bradley (write-in), .9 percent. Letters to the Editor UNDBCRO PLAYS POLITICS To tha Editor: New Clear Vision o f Oregon, a non-profit voter education lobby, has asked City Commissioner M ike Lindberg to use his elected position Io provide the public with hearings on Portland-based nuclear weapons production. For five weeks not only did Lindberg refuse to get the iuue on the City Council agenda, he alto refused to meet with the group to explain his position. In response, a number o f New Clear Vision mem b en and staff went to Lindberg's office to present the Commissioner with lists o f Portlanders concerned about involvement in the nuclear arms race. Once again, Lindberg was not available to talk with citi zens, but on the very tame day did find time to give Channel 12 News a M S I s- private interview in his office and behind closed doors. The result was slanted and inaccu rate reporting. O n the 10:00 news show, Channel 12 broadcast that: “ Other commissioners had refused to meet with New Clear Vision and that (he group had indicated it would work against Lindberg in upcoming elections." Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact o f the matter is no other com missioner has had the opportunity to refuse, and, as an educational lobby. New Clear Vision will never endorse any particular politician. What we will do is communicate to voters which elected officials are taking action to be responsive to the anti-nuclear movement, and which are playing politics with an issue of such public importance. In truth, many New Clear Vision members will continue to vote for M ike Lind J a ff Llddlcoat C o d lr a c to r o f C o m m ltta a a N a w C lear Vlalon 222 6701 (Continued fro m page I column 6/ control. "D u rin g large altercations there are a lot o f charges being flung back and forth. When there is a large group, the officers will try and disperse the crow d." As other ques tions were asked Shrunk directed them to seek answers from the po lice department. One observer said, " I t seems (hat every question thrown at you you throw it to someone else. This man (Johnson) is hurt and the people's feelings are hurt. The people want questions answered and it seems that vou are fair, but you keep say ing that you are not responsible.” However, Shrunk commended the group for their willingness to I ! Portland Observer the old national security volunteers or “ tontons macoutes,” the Leopards and the 5-3, a unit o f specialists trained by the U.S. Special Forces. The 5-3 are recruited from the uni versity students and children o f the well-to-do to watch the behavior of the upper class. Abroad there are groups which advocate change through pressure on Duvalier and groups that favor armed revolution: the Hector Riobe Brigade, based in Canada; the Haitian National People's Party, headquartered in Florida, are exam pies o f the former. Advocating re form are the Social Christian Party, the Christian Democrat Party, and the Union o f Progressive National Democrats, based in Venezuela. Late in 1982, representatives o f the groups in exile — those advocat ing peaceful methods and those ad vocating armed revolution — met to attempt to coordinate their efforts. In the meantime, the economy and the government o f Haiti are being supported by foreign aid: Canada, $10 million; France, $6 million; U.S. $4.4 million. The Reagan administration has ear marked $5 million from its Carib bean Basin Initiative. stand up and try to solve the prob lem. "There has been one arrest and that arrest was (he result o f you sitting down and giving enough in formation to these officers so they could put it down on paper. They were able to sit down with an attor ney from my office to file charges." A juvenile was charged with reck lessly endangering a person's life and attempted assault. The assault was on Charles Bran don who was standing on his porch, during the incident in the park, when three shots were fired at him. The apartment manager. Kenneth Schmid, said, “ I went down to North Precinct and I wanted to know why there was no PR between the Police Department and our ten ants. I got nothing from them. On Sunday, I told the police that I was the new apartment manager and asked the officer what was going on. He told me this was police business — stay out o f it ." Henry M o tt, one o f the residents, said, "This was not an isolated inci dent. During the summer we have reported all of them to the police and they took everything we said as being funny. The police have been very passive about coming to the aid o f Blacks.” M o tt also said he feared for the safety o f his fam ily. "W e are protected by the law, and if the law is not responding I want to know why. W e don’ t want, nor do wt need, a racial thing out here." Portland s largest olack-owned newspaper, PORTLAND OBSERVER Subscribe today! ’ — The Porr/and O iiir n r r ettaWnhed m 1970 Subacrtptnna 115.00 par year In the Tn County area P o tt m a tte r Send addreaa chanyea Io the /■orrtond OZurryer. P O Bo» 3137. Portland Oregon 97208 A lfre d L. Henderson. Editor/Publisher A ! Williams, Advertising Manager whose production in H aiti is man aged by transnationals. They want an end to the Duvalier reign and a rearrangement o f the economy. The Catholic Church was one of the regime's bastions until Pope Paul Il's visit last March. In 1966, Papa Doc achieved a concordent with John X X I I I by which he was permitted to appoint the prelates of (he Haitian hierarchy. This close re lationship was maintained until this year. After Pope Paul 11 criticized human rights violations and poverty, the Haitian bishops began to de nounce the repression. Since 1980, trade union organiz ing has provoked peasant agitation. Eighty percent, or 1.2 million, peasants are unemployed; life expec tancy is 51 years. The agricultural enterprises run by U.S. corporations pay $1.50 for 12 hours o f labor. Since 1980, peasants have tried to flee this situation through illegal emigration. Besides the h alf million “ boat people" who have come to the U .S ., thousands have gone to the Bahamas, Jamaica or Franch Antilles. The lifetime president cannot fully trust the army, which has been purged repeatedly in the last 10 years. Duvalier must depend on police groups and counterinsurger.-s: Pier Park site of racial attack berg, but that has nothing to do with what we must do as an organization. What we must do is pursue moral legislation. And al though Channel 12 and M ike Lind berg would like to make it seem as though we are an unreasonable group, the proposal we are asking for public hearings on has already become law in cities from Garret Park, Maryland to Ashland, Ore gon. We are working within the sys tem, but a system which allows elect ed officials to avoid public account ability, which allows the press to be manipulated by elected officials and through silence allows murderous weapons to be produced is a system that needs changing. ! News fo r and about ! you. The A o r r / « a 4 O t w r v r r IU S P S 859 5801 it p u b h th td (v a ry Thuitday bv E»W Publi»hiny Company. Inc . 2201 North Killinyt worth Portland O ity o n 97217. Pott O H ict Bon 3137. Portland Ortflon 97208 Second c la tt pottaye paid at Portland Oregon MEMBER D etroit’s United Comm unity O m budsman. an organization o f volun teers involved in human rights and social welfare, has been at the fore front in protesting the National As sociation o f Children's Hospitals* suit. In his view, there is a direct danger that if babies with handicaps were deliberately destroyed, then Black and Latino children could be next. “ I f rights can be taken away today because o f a defect, rights can easily be taken away tomorrow from any race or sex that a bigoted judge considers to be naturally de fective,” Seigel states. Other Detroit activists who support Seigel’ s pro tests include Nellie Cuellar, head of the Detroit chapter o f (he National Association o f the Black Aged; Eric Gentile, author o f (he Michigan Handicappers Civil Rights Act; and Rose Bell, a leader o f D etro it’s United Neighbors, a neighborhood food and self-help organization. Can hospitals police themselves against racism or prejudice against handicapped babies? Seigel raises another decisive question: " I f we let (his go through, why don't we elim i nate federal enforcement o f all civil rights laws, and let integration and voting rights be protected by ethical boards picked by those doing the discriminating? Could that be the next step?" The defense o f civil rights cannot stop at the color line. I f must be expanded to include all Americans subjected to discrimina tion. Haiti regime faces new problems AND VOWED T& REGISTER The results o f the Ebony poll are in with a resounding 67.1 percent vote for a Black presidential candi date. Ebony asked its readers to respond to the question: Should a Black seek the Democratic presidential nomi nation in 1984? And i f so. who should it be. O f those participating in the poll, 67.1 percent said yes; 21.5 percent ««id no; 11.4 percent were undecid- cal care to those with handicaps Why do the hospitals oppose such humanistic legislation? They assert that Washington should not dictate the decisions properly left to parents and doctori. Hospitals' “ ethical boards” would police themselves in life-and-death decisions. This litigation raises a number of disturbing moral and political ques tions. People who have the ability to make conscious decisions, who exer cise free w ill, must be allowed the right to decide if they wish to die — for example, cancer patients or those who are otherwise terminally ill. Similarly, I support the right of any woman the freedom to decide whether to have an abortion. Here, the state should have no authority to dictate what happens inside a woman's body. But what o f the child who is born with a mental handicap, or with any o f a number o f the birth defects which can occur? I do not think that a hospital board o f so-called neutral participants, nor even the child's parents, should close the door to the experience o f life for any handi capped child. In such cases, there is an obligation for the federal govern ment to subsidize whatever costs are involved to ensure the right to live for these thousands o f children. Can the rights to live o f a Black. Latino or poor child by guaranteed by a "majority vote” o f any hospital board? Ronald L. Seigel. the Director of 283 2486 N a tio n a l A dvertising R ep resentative A m e lg e m e te d Publishers Inc N t w York I ■ M.ul Io Portland Observoi I Bo» 313? _ Portland Oregon 97208 PLEASE PRINT N a m e ________ A d d ress _____ C i t y ___ ______ a a WWWWIU M R « « I U O I C to tha Portland Observer. □ I have enclosed my chac money order for 9 15, for one year subscription
