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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1984)
lir a F rancas Sehoan-Newopapar Roos» U n iv e r s 't y o f Oregon L ib r a r y i.ugen«, O raron 974J3 —.. —-J — Planning for future a Ì ■ Æ Lorenzo West: Champion Black Studies faces threat Page 10 Page 2 PORTLAND OBSERVER Volume XIV, Number 14 January 25, 1984 25 C Per Copy No economic recovery for Black Americans H A S H IN G TO N . D. C. — D iclar ing that, “ the plain, ugly fact is that there is no recovery for Black A m er icans,” John E. Jacob, President of the National Urban League, assert ed Black America is in a disastrous state and predicted that, “ deep changes in the economy and the freeze in racial progress," will be its vital concern in 1984 Jacob made this observation as he released " T h e State o f Black A m er ica— 1984,” an annual report by the National Urban League that ex plores in detail the experiences of Blacks over the past year in a num ber o f crucial areas. "Overall, unemployment dropped to 8.4 percent (as of November, 1983), the lowest figure in two years, but Black unemployment was 17.3 percent, a decrease from other months to be sure, but still at a level that in any sector of our society would justify the use o f the term ‘depression.’ ” The N U L 's Hidden Unemployment Index, which tabu lates workers not included in official government statistics piaces the Black unemployment rate at slightly above 33 percent— twice the rate ot white hidden unemployment. This year marks the ninth year that the National Urban l eague has issued "T h e State of Black A m er ica" report and in that time it has achieved a reputation as the most comprehensive and authoritative study on Black Americans published on a regular basis. The N U L 's specific recommenda tions are: 1) A Universal Employment and Training System should be estab lished that will guarantee the unem ployed productive work and the skills training necessary to obtain and hold a job. 2) Congress should immediately implement a jobs creation pro- gram(s) whereby employment op portunities are made available to the long term unemployed, especially in (he areas o f the highest unemploy ment. 3) A bi-partisan joint committee o f the House and Senate should be created to exercise oversight for all social service and human resources programs to assure that they fu lfill the purposes for which they were formulated, that they are administ ered fairly, and that they are ade quately funded. 4) The nation's welfare system, which varies from state to state, should be federalized through na tional funding which would assure that financial assistance, including food stamps, would bring families to at least poverty level Social ser vice programs such as food stamps, school lunches and others that serve the poor and disadvantaged should be funded at levels adequate to meet the needs 5) The tax system should be modi fied so that families earning pover ty-level incomes no longer lose a sig mficant portion o f their meager earnings to income and payroll taxes. 6) There should be increased led cral funding for a variety of preven tion, vocational and health related initiatives that deal with teenage pregnancy. 7) The Congress, the appropriate federal agencies, and the General Accounting O ffice should regularly and objectively monitor the impie mentation ot block grants 8) The Department o f Justice should withdraw briefs opposing a f firm ative action in cases now before ! Please turn to page 10 column 4) Meese replaces French as A.G. Joahua Kimmona. 3. maata "Famoua Amoa '. Wally Arnoa of chocolata cookla fama visitad Portland to promota Oragon Litaracy. Inc., a n .w ly fundad adult litaracy program (Photo: Richard R. Brown) Wally 'Famous Amos' pushes Portland adult literacy campaign by Lam ia Duke Grassroot News, N . W. — Sur rounded by an enthusiastic group o f all ages. W ally Am os— the famous Amos o f the chocolate chip cookie — munched out at the King Neigh borhood Facility for Oregon Liter acy, Inc. In 1975. Amos, who was once the Jackie Robinson o f the theatrical- agency business, started mass-pro ducing his cookie with moral and fi nancial support from Helen Reddy and M arvin Gaye. He said, “ M y background in pro motions made it easy for me to pro mote myself. “ M y involvement with illiteracy started with a reading program in Hawthorne, C alifornia. The librar ian devised a program to get chil dren interested in using the library by giving a bag o f Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies.” Amos donated 1,200 bags to the library, and later became the nation al spokesman for the Literacy V o l unteer o f America. “ It hurts me to see adults and children who do not know how to read. I ’ m a perfect example o f read ing and achieving, and I think it should be followed.” Shirley Randles, director o f Oregon Literacy said the problem of non-readers is statewide. “ Educational interruption and various other reasons are the cause. Unemployment and non-reading goes hand in hand.” A new North-Northeast Coopera tive Literacy Project will reach the inner Northeast where college work- study students teach adults to read. Amos told his audience, “ You can be a success in whatever you do. Just look at me. I didn't invent the chocolate chip cookie, but I did put a little bit of me in each cookie. I was resourceful. You have to be, too. Create a base and maybe the cookies will crumble your w ay.” The resignation o f R onald Rea gan's A tto rn e y G e n e ra l, W illia m French S m ith , is being proclaim ed as good news by the advocates o f c iv il and hum an rights and free speech. The jubilation is dampened by the appointment o f his successor, Edwin Meese I II . D u rin g his three years in o ffice. Sm ith reversed the Justice D e p a rt ment’s civil rights policies, opposing affirm ative action goals and busing to achieve school desegregation. Sm ith, a corporate lawyer, is one of Reagan's closest and earliest poli tical associates. S m ith served as Reagan's personal attorney and in vestment advisor and was a member o f the C alifornia governor’s " k itc h en cabinet.” H e is a long-time parti cipant in conservative Republican circles. Under Sm ith’s leadership. Justice Departm ent policies on civil rights w ere reversed. " S im p ly p u t ,’ ’ he said in 1981, "con sistent w ith the C o n s titu tio n and (he laws o f the U n ite d States, the D e p a rtm e n t o f Justice intends to play an active role in e ffe c tin g the p rin c ip les upon w hich R o n ald Reagan cam p a ig n e d ." T h e D e p a rtm e n t file d many legal briefs w ith the federal courts, attem pting to reverse a f f ir mative action and school desegrega tion decisions. Smith also attempted to influence the courts to lim it access to a b o r tions. He called earlier anti-trust de cisions mistakes, adding that " b ig ness in business does not necessarily mean b ad n e ss ." H e lobbied C o n gress for support of the Adm inistra tion's new im m igration b ill— a bill called "racist" by Mexican and C h i cano organizations. He reversed the C a rter A d m in is tra tio n 's emphasis on white-collar crime and launched a war against violend crime and the drug t r a f f ic . H e a tte m p ted to re verse co u rt o p in io n s u p h o ld in g c rim in a l d efen d an ts’ rights. John Shattuck, director o f the Am erican C ivil Liberties U n io n ’s Washington, D .C . o ffic e , said Sm ith “ has been extremely insensitive to civil liberties in the area o f crim inal justice.” In line for the office o f Attorney G en eral, the highest law -en force ment position in the nation, is E d w in Meese I I I . A lre a d y , the N A A C P and others have protested this appointment. Meese is also a close associate o f Reagan A former deputy district at torney, he served on Reagan's Cali form a Administration as legal secre tary on clem ency and e x tra d itio n and then as Executive Assistant and C hief o f Staff to the Governor. In 1974 he became Vice President o f Rhor Industries and was in p r i vate practice until he became the D i recto r o f (he C en ter on C r im in a l Justice and Management and then a law professor at the U .C-San Diego Law School. H e jo in ed the W h ite House staff in 1981 as Counselor to the President Meese has been close to and sup portive o f Sm ith. In 1981 he «.ailed the American C ivil I iberties Union " a n ongoing lobby opposed to law enforcem ent." Meese has supervised many Jus tice Department activities. He nego- (Please turn Io page 10 col. 4) 9 Portland musician joins 'up With People' chorus M au re en Elise C h a v is , 22, o f Po rtlan d, has been accepted to U p W ith People, the internationally ac claimed educational and en tertain m ent o rg a n iz a tio n . C h av is is the daughter o f M rs. Aletha Chavis and Mathew Davis. Maureen Chavis is a g rad u ate o f John M a rs h a ll H ig h School where she was involved in General Business, Rally and Track A F ie ld . C havis w ill re p o rt to U p W ith People headquarters in T u c son, Arizona in January, 1984 for a five-w eek o rie n ta tio n and staging session prior to a ten-m onth world tour. U p W ith People was incorporated in 1968 on the belief that individuals could play an im p o rta n t ro le in building bridges o f understanding and co m m u n ica tio n between peo ples o f different cultures and coun tries. U p W ith People also strives to offer its cast members a learning op portunity which not only expands the intellect but matures the person. T h e vehicle c a rry in g U p W ith People towards its goals is a profes sional quality tw o-hour show. The performance is a variety o f interna tio n a l fo lk songs, a m edley o f hit tunes and U p W ith People's original m usic. U p W ith P eo p le’ s music is up-beat, celebrates the brotherhood o f m ankind, and attempts to instill a sense o f hope am ong members o f (he audience But, th ere’ s m ore to U p W ith People than just music. D u rin g her year w ith U p W ith P e o p le , C h av is w ill tra v e l over 3 2 ,0 0 0 miles a ro u n d the w o rld , living w ith host fam ilies in each o f the 90 or more cities her cast will vis it H ost fa m ilie s p ro vide lod g in g and some meals and an im p ortan t opportunity for the student to learn more about the rich cultural d iv er sity o f the world. As another part o f U p W ith Peo ple's ed u catio nal dim ension, cast members regularly meet with leaders o f business, ind u stry, government and the arts to learn about, and dis cuss, issues o f local, national and in ternatio n al significance. These ex periences are supplemented by fo r malized learning opportunities that can earn college credit. Each cast itself is something o f a cultural classroom. Students come fro m more than 22 countries, and represent a ll re lig io n s, races and econ o m ic b ackg ro un ds. A ll have g rad u ated fro m high school and most have attended college prior to jo in in g the program . In its 15-year history. U p W ith People has served over 8 ,0 0 0 students fro m 5 1 coun tries. A n n u a lly , U p W ith People re ceives over 10,000 applications for only 550 new positions. F ollow ing each show in a community, local ap plicants are interviewed by A dm is sions Representatives from the cast. Although musical talent is an asset, it is not required for acceptance into the p ro g ram . U p W ith People be lieves positive attitude, m otivation, goals, ability to communicate and a desire to make a positive co n tribu tion to society are p a rtic u la rly im portant traits. As w ith o th e r p ost-secondary ed u c a tio n a l p ro g ram s , each U p W ith People student pays a tuition to help defray expenses o f their par ticip atio n in the program Student tu itio n covers ap p ro xim a tely one- third o f U p W ith People’ s revenue. R em ain in g funds are generated through perform ance revenue, the sale o f show-related products, and tax deductible contributions. M any students raise a portio n o f their tuition through local sponsor ships and fu n d raising a c tiv itie s . People interested in s u p p o rtin g Chavis' e ffo rt to participate in U p W ith People are asked to contact M aureen or M rs. Aletha Chavis at 760-1860 1 è 7^ 4 ► n 4 MAUREEN CHAVIS I
