Page 2 Section I Portland Observer, February 22, 1984
Blacks bid for power in 1980's
by M ik e A lexander
I l i t the p res id e n tial p rim a ry
season. Jesse Jackson’s candidacy is
the focus o f a resurging movement
for Black political power President
Reagan p ro claim s " A m e r ic a is
back"
and
W a lte r
M o n d a le
promises to bring it back further. As
the election approaches, 16 of Black
families in Am erica struggle to sur
vive below the official poverty line.
Black u n e m p lo ym en t rem ains at
depression levels, Black elderly live
in fear o f fu rth e r budget cuts to
lessen the fed eral budget d e fic it.
W hat happens beyond 1984? How
can Blacks "organize for power" in
theSO's?
The answers to these questions
w ill be the focus o f a m a jo r c o n
ference, e n title d " O rg a n iz in g for
Black Power in the 80’s” at Atlanta
U n iv e rs ity M a rc h 2-4 w hich the
N a tio n a l Black O rg an ize rs C o n
ference (N B O C ) says is o f historic
im p o rta n c e . N B O C co-convener
N elson Johnson o f G ree n sb o ro ,
N .C . explains, "Unless we think the
conditions o f Black people are going
to get b e tte r, ra th e r than worse
regardless o f whose elected , i t ’ s
clear th at we must fo rg e greater
u n ity betw een the thousands o f
o rg an ize rs , ac tiv ists, progressive
p o litic ia n s , clerg y, and students
arou n d the c o u n try who are
struggling to achieve Black political
pow er."
T h u s , he adds, N B O C ’ s o b je c
tives in hosting the conference are to
"b rin g together as many organizers
and activists as possible, across a
m y ria d
of
id e o lo g ic a l
and
o rg a n iz a tio n a l lin es, to fo rg e a
unified view on the road ahead for
the Black lib e ra tio n m ovem ent;
begin the process o f b u ild in g a
stru c tu re to s o lid ify the u n ity ;
d evelop a co m m on p ro g ram that
w ill enhance our local work and tie
it together and, lastly, put fo rth a
clear view on the situ ation facing
Black people and o ur struggle for
pow er."
According to D r. M ary Hoover of
C a lifo r n ia , a n o th e r N B O C co
co n vener, the ce n tral purpose o f
N B O C , since it was fo un ded at a
conference at Fisk U n iv e rs ity in
D ecem b er, 1982, is to fo rg e a
u n ifie d core o f dedicated Black
organizers and activists to " f i l l the
void in leadership in the Black
liberation m ovem ent." Since then,
she said, the $0 veteran and newer
ac tiv ists, representing clerg y,
a c a d e m ic ia n s , p o l i t ic ia n s ,
grassroots organizers, and students
w ho met to soberly assess the
situation facing Black America after
tw o years o f Reaganomics and in
creased racism and racist violence
has "established groups in over 40
cities, worked to build the March on
Washington, and began supporting
Jesse Jackson for President before
the idea o f a Black candidate was a
viable discussion."
N B O C credits Jackson fo r " t a p
ping and arobsing the tremendous
sentim ent am ong Black people to
fig h t fo r p o litic a l p o w e r ," b u t,
Johnson said, "th ere is no group of
organizers who are themselves u n
ited enough to consciously organize
and direct the m ovem ent tow ards
s e lf-d e te rm in a tio n .
That
task
rem ains to be com pleted and it is
crucial if the movement is to reach
its potential."
N B O C hopes the o pp o rtun ity to
speak to perhaps 1 0 0 0 -1500 such
organizers w ill lu re Jesse Jackson
h im s e lf to give the m ain presen
tatio n at the conference S atu rd ay
night M inister Louis Farrakhan of
the N ation o f Islam is already com
m itte d to speak on F rid a y . F r a n
cisco Cam pbell, a representative o f
the g overn m en t o f N ic a ra q u a ,
where Johnson said a " U . S . in
vasion is im m in e n t," is scheduled
for Saturday, as are representatives
from the African National Congress
and the P ale s tin ia n peoples’
movemeni.
T h e plenarys, w orksho ps, and
panel discussions w ill focus on
" h o w to achieve and u tilize local
p o w e r.” V ete ra n Black activist
Owen Brooks o f G reenville, M iss.,
the th ird N B O C co-convener, said
" W e want to discuss things from the
standpoint o f how do you take over
locally now. as a prelude to merging
into a m ovem ent fo r power on the
n a tio n a l le v e l." T h e lists o f
panelists, workshop leaders, etc. in
cludes Oakland City Council member
Wilson Riles Jr., Juanita Wade who
coordinated the Mel King campaign
in Boston, M r. Aludin Mohammed
from North Carolina. Phyllis Jones,
E xecu tive D ire c to r o f C o m m o n
C a p ito l in W ash ing to n D .C ., A t
torney Johnnie Walls o f Greenville,
M iss., Den Haskins fro m the G ib
son organization and Jackson cam
paign in New Jersey and Rev. Leon
W hite o f N .C .
A lso
on
the
agenda
are
w orkshops to discuss specific
questions such as the role of students,
w om en, re lig io n , ed u ca tio n and
the m edia in the Black lib e ra tio n
strug g le.
Black
tra d e
union
organizing and Black independent
politics, and a special workshop to
discuss renewed efforts to bring the
U .S. government before the United
Nations for its "genocidal” policies
to w ard s Blacks. Several c u ltu ra l
performances by noted artists O jida
Pen, Jean S in d ab , the H a ra m b ee
Singers, and others are also p la n
ned. The conference registration fee
is $10, $5 fo r students and unem
ployed.
In urging activists o f all stripes to
attend, Owen Brooks reiterated the
p oin t th at Jesse Ja ck so n ’ s can-
didacy is inspiring people who had
little hope to fig h t fo r p o litic a l
power, but, he adds, "th e potential
fo r power can be forged in to real
power only if we unite and utilize all
the rich lessons o f o u r previous
struggles. W e must close ranks
across old lines o f d is u n ity and
organize for power. It is in this spirit
that we call on Black o rg an ize rs ,
grassroots leaders, student leaders,
religious leaders, and professionals
to join this historic "B lack P o w er"
conference in Atlanta.
What’s your stand
on new jobs
and industry
for Portland?
W
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4» 4 m r m f v <4 Itof f * * * L * « d
Jackson campaign
kicks off voter drive
A statew ide d o o r-to -d o o r voter
registration drive is being organized
by the Jesse Jackson for President
cam paign on S a tu rd a y , F eb ru ary
25. Volunteers w ill meet at St. A n
drews C o m m u n ity School at 4919
N.F.. N in th at 9 :0 0 a.m . and noon
for train ing before going out can
vassing.
T h e re are 3 6 8 ,0 0 0 unregistered
e lig ib le voters in O reg o n and
168,000 in M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty .
Jesse Jackson said, " B y and large,
people are unregistered because they
are unm otivated." One of the major
goals o f Jackson’ s cam paign is to
involve these unmotivated people in
the political process.
pir ih
Support
(ÎT) March of Dimes
"Fair Pay" petition = government pay cuts
by Helen M . Erlandson
P e titio n e rs w ill soon be asking
you to sign a petition to put the Fair
Pay Amendment on the ballot. This
am endm ent is a p o te n tia lly lethal
weapon that can be detrim ental to
all employed Oregonians as well as
the unem ployed, retired and small
businesses.
T h e F air Pay A m e n d m e n t, i f
adopted, w ill become a permanent
part of the Constitution of the State
of Oregon. The objective of the Fair
Pay Am endm ent is to save money
for all Oregon taxpayers. This w ill
be accom plished by reducing the
"elem en ts o f p a y ” o f all govern
ment employees to equal the pay o f
those doin g s im ila r jobs in the
private sector. The sponsors o f this
am endm ent d efin e "e le m e n ts o f
p a y " as wages, frin g e b en efits,
vacations, educational benefits, and
literally anything you receive as part
o f your em ploym ent. The "p riva te
s e c to r" is in d u s try , business,
hospitals, restaurants and others who
have non governm ent em ployees.
Governm ent employees, according
to the sponsors o f (he am endm ent
are all c ity , co u n ty and state em
ployees. It is necessary to know the
d efinition s to understand the Fair
Pay A m endm ent. This amendment
has n o th in g to do w ith Federal
Government employees. . .yet.
T h e F a ir Pay A m en dm en t w ill
rem ove fro m the cities, counties,
schools and state governm ent the
rig ht to set salaries and o ther
elements o f pay for the people they
employ. It w ill reduce the ability of
these governm ent units to o ffe r or
p ro vide incentives to attrac t w ell-
qualified people. This right w ill in
directly be given to the leaders in the
p riva te sector. T h e p riva te sector
w ill set the standard average o f pay
fo r govern m en t em ployees. T h a t
being the case, wages o f n o n
government employees can also be
decreased or increased to set and
d eterm ine the average "wage o f all
clerks, secretaries, carpenters, nurses,
cashiers or w hatever you do in
your employment.
A n exam ple w ill e x p la in the
mechanics of the Fair Pay A m en d
m ent. A tax paid school ja n ito r
may not receive an element o f pay
greater than the average pay o f all
ja n ito rs in the p riva te sector. A c
cording to the sponsors, if a tax paid
ja n ito r is receiving m ore than the
average, his pay w ill autom atically
be reduced. Sounds fair, but is it? I f
the tax paid ja n ito r is found to be
earning less than his counterpart in
the private sector, his wages will not
be automatically increased.
This jan ito r and other underpaid
goernm ent employees w ould have
the right o f appeals. Can you afford
to pay your school a d m in is tra to r
over $1 00 ,0 00 ? T h is is not an
unusual salary for his counterpart in
private em ploym ent. Conceivably,
in a class ac tio n s u it, the courts
w ould ru le in fa v o r o f all gover-
ment em ployees in as much as
Paragraph 2 o f the Fair Pay Amen-
ment reads: " W i l l require fairness
in all elem ents o f co m p en sation
betw een govern m en t u n it and
private sector employees who have
s im ila r
jo b
c la s s ific a tio n s ."
H o w e v e r, the sponsors o f this
amendment deny it would open the
door fo r large numbers o f govern
ment em ployees to receive e n o r
mous salary increases.
The sponsors claim it will result in
saving huge am ounts o f tax money
and w ill cost very little to a d
minister. The amendment calls for a
commission o f five people to serve
five years at $1.00 a year. G overn
ment employees are specifically ex
cluded fro m serving on this c o m
mission. This commission will hire a
s ta ff. T h e s ta ff w ill gather data
from the private sector to determine
wages fo r governm ent employees.
Someone will analyze all the govern
ment positions and compare them to
similar positions in (he private sec
to r. T a x paid nurses w ill be co m
pared to private sector nurses; clerks
to clerks; teacher to teacher; doctors
to d o ctors; a d m in is tra to rs to a d
m in is tra to rs and so on dow n the
line. It is not clear who w ill do this
monum ental task at little cost. The
cost o f liv in g , the needs and
numerous other variables that exist
ill d iffe re n t parts o f O regon must
Portlander helps educate lowans
by L an ila Duke
G ras sro o t News N . W'. — W h ile
Jic mass media constantly reports
the results o f the Iow a caucus, it is
ignoring the resolution adopted by
the 67 precinct caucus on February
20th.
" W e call on the next a d
ministration o f the United States to
end a ll econ o m ic, m ilita ry and
nuclear support fo r South A fric a
u n til South A fric a holds elections
on a one-person-one vole basis. And
im p lem ents
U n ite d
N atio n s
reso lution s on an in te rn a tio n a lly
supervised election in N am ib ia."
This progressive stand from the
farm belt did not occur because the
cows came home. Rather, it was the
result o f a ten-day whistle stop tour
through Iowa by a group advocating
freed om fo r S o uth ern A fric a 's
fre e d o m — a
g ro up
inclu d in g
Portlander, Avel M ayfield.
Mayfield, co-director o f American
Friends
Service
C o m m itte e 's
Southern A fric a Program in P o rt
la n d , jo in e d South A fric a n poet
Dennis B rutu s, N a o m i T u tu ,
d au gh ter o f A n g lica n Bishop
Desmond Tutu, and 14 others from
state and an ti-ap arth eid programs
to raise the awareness level o f
lowans during the bone chilling cold
o f January.
Mayfield stated, "W e went to the
4
A V E L M A Y F IE L D
churches, grade schools and univer
sities with a list o f questions to ask
the presidential candidates.”
She said lowans were unaware of
the situ ation in South A fric a and
their hum anity flow ed as they ab
sorbed the vital statistics which says
th at the B lack m a jo rity can not
vote, they must carry passes at all
times and that the government in
stitutes a policy that resettles three
m illio n Blacks to poor villages
where the in fa n t m o rta lity rate is
greater than 50 percent.
M a y fie ld also said low ans were
not aw are o f U .S . ties in South
Africa which impose a cold war per
spective (R ussia vs. U .S .) on the
conflict, by increased sales o f high
technology nuclear equipment and
rejection o f the international effort
to censure South A fr ic a fo r con
tinued
illeg al
o ccu p atio n
of
Namibia.
The more direct issue of the U .S .’s
c o rp o ra te expan sion and m a in
tenance in S o uth A fr ic a and the
Reagan A d m in istratio n support of
the racist re g im e , was also a d
dressed.
However, anyone listening to the
three m ajor news networks, outside
of Iow a, could not tell this type o f
advocacy had o ccu rred in Io w a .
Those who watched the debate in its
e n tire ty heard one o f the few
questions, that received applause,
dealt w ith divestment o f funds and
aid to South A frica.
M a y fie ld said she believed the
reason why the m a jo r news net
w orks censured the visit or never
aired the resolution was (heir direct
or in d ire c t investm en t in South
Africa.
" B u t the resolution proved to us
that o u r w ork was va lu a b le . It
proved that Iowa heard us."
also be considered in arriving at fair
pay fo r com p arab le em p lo ym en t.
Thus f a r , the am endm ent has no
provisions to verify the accuracy o f
the data collected from the private
sector.
I f the F air Pay A m en d m en t is
adopted the most immediate impact
will be upon government employees.
The hidden and perhaps the most
lethal impact will be upon those em
ployed in the p riv a te sector, the
small business and the retired. I f the
average pay is set by the private sec
to r, w hat c o n tro ls are there to
prevent large businesses fro m set
ting new salary averages by in
creasing wages u n til the sm all
business is squeezed out and all o f
us, including (he retired and unem
ployed, pay higher prices to com
pensate for these increased wages?
W hat controls are there to prevent
large businesses from reversing such
a tactic and start reducing the wages
o f those in private em ploym ent in
order to further reduce the wages of
government employees?
The F a ir Pay A m en d m en t has
been designed to c o n tro l and set
wages for city, county and state em
ployees. It w ill cost m oney to put
this amendment on the ballot. Once
on the b allo t many o f us w ill vote
"y e s ” w ithout thinking. The most
we need to see is something says it is
going to reduce our taxes. Should
you sign this petition? Before you
m ake a decisio n, consider the
possibility that any legal precedent
that controls the wages o f one group
of people can also be used to control
your wages.
T -S h ir ts
Littl« Brother you need a T-Shirt onl
(Celebrate BLACK History M onth w ith/
"O u r" Shirts I Jesse Jackson for President,
Lift Every Voice and Sinq, Afrikan, I Love
You Cornrows, I love my People, I love you Black
Man. I love you Black W om an, and many more
Order by phone: 282-0400
H E P -T -S h ir tt
MRS. C’s
WIGS
M a n y w ig s priced at »6 910 b >15
ids
so
Death train m akes
Portland run
A special tra in c a rry in g 100
hydrogen bombs w ill pass through
the Portland area early Saturday on
its w ay to the T rid e n t base in
Washington.
The all-w hite train has 17 heavily
armed cars, including 3 for guards,
and is capped with gun turrets. It is
guarded by D epartm ent o f Energy
personel ca rryin g m ach ine guns,
hand grenades and other weapons.
The train left the Pentex plant in
A m a rillo , Texas, passing through
T o p e k a . Kansas early W ednesday
afternoon and proceding westward
through Nebraska It is expected to
reach Pocatello, Id ah o , Thursday
night. The exact route to the west
coast is secret, but according to a
spokesman fro m G ro u n d Z e ro , it
will probably take the Union Pacific
line on the O regon side o f the
C o lu m b ia and cross to Vancouver
or take the Burlington Northern line
on the north bank o f the Colum bia
and go directly to Vancouver.
The exact route will be known when
the train leaves Pocatello.
D e m o n s tra to rs have lin ed the
tracks as the train proceded through
the M id w e s t. For fu rth e r in f o r
m atio n , call Fellow ship o f Recon-
cilliation, 222-7295, or Pax Christi,
244-6099.
Propret»
Featuring w igs à y N A O M I S IM S A ÑO RE D O U G L A S BILLIE b N A TA LIE COLE
Hair Products
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"W e have everything you need."
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Ctoeod tea. t Men. OPIN Tttee. thru tat. 11:90 AM to t:00 PM
I