Pag« 2 Portland Observer, June 27, 1964
American institutions behind times
by l.amta Duke
GR A SSR O O T NEW S. N. W .—
Byron Kunisawa delivered the
keynote address to the second an­
nual Ethnic Minority Conference
whose 1984 (heme was "Problems
and practices related to Ethnic
M inority issues and Mental
Health "
Kunisawa was born in a concen­
tration camp in Utah and raised in
an all Black housing project in
Oakland, C alifornia. He was the
keynote speaker at the first Ethnic
M inority conference and the
knowledge he disseminated still
rings in the minds o f those who
heard him in December, 1982.
On Friday, June IS th, the 300
ears absorbed his innovative
analysis called, "Systemic Change:
Reality Therapy for the 8 0 's .*’
Although geared for mental health
providers and social service
organizations, the inform ation
Kunisawa shared could benefit the
total community.
He categorized four reasons for
abusive behavior in the 80's—bio­
medical, situational, cultural and
systemic. In explaining situational
abusive behavior, Kunisawa said,
"People are now placed in circum­
stances that they are unfam iliar
with so they are unable to cope.”
He indicated that a "fast**
lifestyle may aggravate abusive
behavior. " In California we have a
special type o f abuse. When the
going gets lough, the tough go
shopping."
The biggest cause for abusive
behavior
comes
from
the
American system and its in ­
stitutions. "This system excludes,
discriminates and it oppresses. We
have science without hum anity,
education without culture and
government without morality," he
added
According to Kunisawa. the in­
stitutions that run America are
outdated and are designed for the
white population to be dominated
by white males. "And this does not
reflect realistically the conditions
of the 80’s. It was built on the rule
of 8 0 /2 0 . The vital few benefits
from the trivia many.
" W e are among the very few
countries o f the world who have
not changed our m ajor in­
stitutions.
I( is causing a
significant amount of difficulties.
It used to only impact the "colored
m ino rities", but because of the
eroding of society, it is now impac­
ting the trivia many," he added.
The dysfunctional system effects
the vital few when other countries
exceed America’s productivity.
"O ur problem is we are beng ex­
ceeded in technology transfer.
BYRON KUNISAWA
These countries which have
modified their institutions, have
the capability o f transferring
technology at the rate o f (heir
growth.
"W e are stuck with 200-year old
institutions trying to pass on 21st
century technology.
Kunisawa said the Reagan ad­
ministration has made it clear that
progress can be backwards
He advocated social service
providers to encourage those
Howto make sure
you make the right energy
choices for your
home.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
around them to vote.
Prior to concluding his address,
Kunisawa left the audience with
this poem:
" T o be only but yourself
In a world that is doing its best
Night and day, to make you like
everybody else
Means to fight the hardest battle
any human being
Can ever fight. And to never
stop fighting."
Contact your Pacific Power Electric Store lo r the (acts
Voting hampered by obsolete practices
by Lamia Du k t
G R A S S R O O T N E W S . N. W —
Voter registration practices that ex­
clude the grassroot populace from
voting are hold-outs from the
system of 1986 where the propertied
classes in the North and South in­
stituted
poll
taxes,
double
registration, restrictions for Blacks
and women and complicated voter
registration forms.
These exclusionary practices are
now reinforced by incumbent
politicians who do not want a new
electorate
from
the bottom
threatening and challenging their
political careers.
This message was delivered by
Frances Fox Piven, author and
university professor, who provided
both a historical analysis and
present day facts as she addressed
the N ational Lawyer G uild C o n ­
ference Friday, June 22nd at Port­
land State University.
Piven said there are many states
where a person can register in only a
few designated sites. "These states
may set the local voter registration
services in the back o f private
businesses and at American Legion
halls with no sign out front that
tells people "R egister to vote
here.” In Mississippi, you have to
register twice—once for municipal
elections and once for national elec­
tions. In Massachusetts, the law
charges local election officials with
deputizing volunteers to register
voters. The problem is, those o f­
ficials. many of whom are up for re-
election, do not believe volunteers
are 'necessary.'"
In states where voter registration
by m ail is allowed, like Oregon,
citizens have to go to the Board of
Elections to obtain the mail-in for­
ms. " In Oregon , if a group wants to
help in the local registration effort,
they are only given a small number
of forms."
Piven added that once people get
the forms, they often find them con­
fusing, cumbersome and covered
with fine p rin t. "These voting
registration procedures leave the
burden of deciphering them on the
citizens.”
She indicated that these ex­
clusionary practices accounted for
the lower voter turnout which is just
now starting to turn around. "W e
may be at the beginning of another
surge in electoral participation. This
one is much larger and on a
significant enough scale to overturn
the system of 1896."
Piven believes that a democratic
counter-revolution occurred in 1896
when rich industrialists squeezed the
Populist movement which was com­
prised o f fam ily farmers and uf-
dustrial workers, out of the pobticll
process.
"T h is resulted in the pattern of
the 20th century where only one-
half o f the electorate v o te d ," she
said. " T h e opportunism o f the
Democratic par'y and the influence
o f big money distorted the
operations of the political party and
public policy."
Piven also believes the 1980 elec­
tion resulted in a shift in environ­
mental and social policies which in­
creased the number of the poor and
the very rich.
" T h e current policies o f our
national administration can only be
understood as the assertion o f
property rights at the expense of
some very elementary human rights
that we thought we had won long
ago."
But she hears a murmur spreading
across the country as the increase in
women. Blacks arid unemployed
turn out to vote. She encouraged
Guild members to assist the process
o f overcoming voter registration
hurdles. Piven added that there are
between 13-20 lawsuits filed
challenging state laws and local
practices that make voting a
challenge rather than a simple
process.
A permanent rainbow coalition to
defeat Reagan in November, and to
keep fighting for people's needs
beyond then, must be forged. This
was the overwhelming consensus of
participants in a National Lawyer’s
Guild workshop held in Portland on
Saturday. June 23rd. Discussants at
the workshop entitled, "Using the
electoral process to obtain economic
rights: building upon the movement
from the 1984 campaign.” included:
Gerald Lenoir, member o f (he
Steering Com m ittee o f the King
County (Seattle) Jesse Jackson for
President Campaign, Arthur Kinoy,
professor at Rutgers University
(New Jersey) and co-chair o f the
National Committee for Indepen­
dent Political Action; Bev Stein,
member of the Steering Committee
o f the Oregon Jesse Jackson for
President Campaign, and Margaret
Morris, who led her nurses' union
through a strike at Cook County
Hospital (Chicago), coordinated her
precinct for the Harold Washington
Cam paign, and ran for state
representative in 1984.
" T h e rainbow coalitions that
were organized during the course of
the campaign," said Kinoy, "must
continue as permanent organ­
izatio n s." By building on the
forces unleashed by the Jackson
campaign, Kinoy said, two things
can happen: "O n e— the possibility
of defeating Ronald Reagan, and,
secondly, laying the basis for
building a post-November united
powerful political force in this coun­
try."
Kinoy said he had no confidence
in the ability of the Democratic par­
ty leadership to get enough people
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advertisers
1«*
s*1
to vote against Reagan in Novem­
ber. He said the Democratic
establishment will simply not raise
the crucial issues that will get those
people to the polls. Kinoy spoke of
the possibility o f an invasion o f
Nicaragua, and of "(h e conscious
attack on every single advance of
the women’ s movement, o f the
Black movement, of the Latino
movement, the old people's
movement, the gay and lesbian
movement in the country by the
Reagan adm inistration. He called
these attacks a "carefu lly worked
out plan to take us back to the worse
days o f corporate control in this
country.”
Kinoy urged his fellow Lawyer's
Guild members to remember Ron
Herndon's message from the
previous evening: " W e are not
going to win on any single of these
issues unless we all get together."
He urged everyone present to par­
ticipate in "T h e building of an in­
dependent, united mass based per­
manent political force in this coun­
try committed to the struggle against
the corporate power structure ...if
we stand together we are what, a
minority? Nonsense, we’ re the
majority!"
Portland’s Bev Stein reviewed how
effective the Jackson campaign
organized as an insurgent political
force, has been here in Oregon. She
outlined the objectives of the rain­
bow coalition here in Oregon and
noted, "W e will only be as strong as
we are ...allies." The first (ask, she
said, must be to "push back the
right wing grab for ideological
hegemony."
Seattle Black activist Gerald
Lenoir called the response o f the
Black com m unity to Jackson's
PORTLAND
OBSERVER
campaign, " A new stage in the
movement for Black lib e ra tio n ."
The Black community," he said, "is
now strategically placed to be in the
forefro nt o f political struggles
stemming from the need for im ­
mediate reform."
Lenoir commented on the ex­
treme differences in the vote totals
for Jackson in the white and Black
communities and, especially,
amongst union members. "A n y at­
tempt (to build an independent
political force) that doesn't take in­
to account the racial split in the
working class," he said, "is doomed
to failure.”
Fifteen Oregon-based social
change organizations providing
outreach and education to minority
groups are collectively more than
$20,000 richer, thanks to grams
from a Eugene foundation.
The grants, ranging from $300 to
$1,700 per group, were part of the
spring funding cycle of the McKen­
zie River Gathering (M R G ), tax-
exempt foundation that began eight
years ago with a $300,000 bequest
from a Eugene couple. The original
funds long since granted, MRG now
raises all its money from donors.
This year, M R G has so far given
out more than $40,000 in 31 grants
to groups throughout the state, ac­
cording to the foundation's direc­
tor, Peter Jensen. He said MRG has
given a total of $1,123,000 in grants
since it was established.
Not all groups which seek MRG
grants are successful. All proposals
were considered by M R G 's 16-
member grantmaking committee.
The committee's final recommen­
dations were then form ally ap-
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Margaret M orns emphasized
"Keeping those people registered,
keeping those people active." She
became involved in the H arold
Washington m ayoral campaign
when her daughter asked which
candidate. Daley or Byrne, was she
going to support since, "That Black
man (W ashington) doesn’t have a
chance." Morris said her reaction
was "M y God, is this the future my
daughter and her generation en­
vision?" and then joined the cam­
paign. She said the Washington and
Jackson campaigns both proved,
"There’s a door opening, you can at
least get your foot in the arena."
Oregon groups receive
financial assistance
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proved by M R G ’ s board o f direc­
tors.
Organizations seeking grants
from M R G are subject to specific
criteria, Jensen explained. Number
one among them, he said, is that
they must be "working actively for
social change." Other requirements
are that the groups seeking funding
must operate in a democratic, non-
discriminatory manner; be located
in Oregon, and be unlikely to
receive sufficient funding anywhere
else.
Oregon groups serving ethnic
minorities that did meet the foun­
dation's criteria and received funds
from M RG this spring include:
• Anisias
Indigena,
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Oregon, South A m erica, and
Micronesia;
• Black United Fund o f Oregon,
Portland-. $1,300 to support cor­
porate and government fundraising
to benefit Black citizen-action
groups in Oregon;
\ (Please turn to Page 13. Column 3/
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