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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 1984)
Page 2 Portland Observer. July 18, 1964 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL Asian caucus gives Jackson full support Hispanics urge fight on immigration bill by Chuck Goodmacber by Chuck Goodmacber A s ia n -A m e ric a n s jo in e d w ith o ther m in o rity groups at the Dem ocratic convention in d em an ding full recognition o f their right to equal o p p o rtu n ity . A speech by Jesse Jackson was the ap p aren t highlight o f the Asia-Pacific caucus meeting M onday morning. The caucus o f Asian and Pacific delegates also pledged th eir fu ll support to the m in o rity p la tfo rm planks submitted by Jesse Jackson and G ary H art. Jackson urged the delegates to " v o te conscience, conviction, and ca n d id a te. W e must not e q u i v o c a te .” Jackso n ’ s speech em phasized his plank calling fo r no- first-use o f nuclear weapons. " F o r Asians, it means a 'no second use',” he said. Jackson also attacked. “ The kind of thought process" which led to the k illin g o f a C h in e se -A m e rican in Detroit when the killers thought the man was a Japanese national con trib u tin g to the loss o f jobs in D e tro it. H e said we cannot allow Asian people to be scapegoats for our economic problems. "W h ile our managers learned to fire p eo p le," he said, "Jap an ese managers learned to hire and make room for people.” " It 's time for a change,” Jackson c o n tin u e d , " w e must redefine A m erica." T he A s ia n -A m e ric a n delegates gave Jackson a standing o vatio n , and T o m H s ie h , ch airm an o f the caucus, told Jackson, " W e ’re with you all the w a y ." "R ig ht o n ,” was Jackson's reply. Congressman Robert M atsui o f S acram en to , C a lifo rn ia , to ld the Obterver, “ The Asian caucus is very ac tiv ely supporting the m in o rity planks, and in fact, they are doing everyth in g they can to get it p ass ed ." M ats u i added, " H e (Jackson) was a pioneer fo r all o f us.” Some Hispanic delegates boycot ted the firs t b a llo t fo r the D em o cratic n o m in a tio n to urge Democratic party leaders to kill the Simpson-Mazzoli imm igration bill. T h e b ill passed the House o f Representatives on a 2 1 6 -2 1 1 ro ll- call vote and is now before the U.S. Senate. The H is p a n ic caucus is u nanim ously opposed to the b ill because, they say, sanctions against employers o f illegal aliens w ill be p re ju d ic ia l against all L a tin o s . Congressman Robert G arcia, o f the South Bronx, said Tuesday, the fate o f the b ill is as im p o rta n t to Hispanics as the defeat o f Ronald Reagan in November. " E m p lo y e r sanctions hanging over brown and Black faces,” said Garcia, "is something we cannot a f ford. We know what discrimination is. We have lived it .” The move to boycott the roll-call vote ran in to staunch o pp o sitio n fro m prom inent H ispanic elected o ffic ia ls w ho appeared satisfied with previous statements opposing S im p s o n -M a zzo li by M o n d a le . H ow ever, even while San A n to n io M a y o r H e n ry Cisneros urged Vota Paaca M delegates not to o b s tain , the vast m a jo rity ch an ted , " a b s ta in , a b stain.” M ario Oldedo, national president o f the League o f U n ite d L a tin American Citizens (L U L A C ) spoke in fa v o r o f the b a llo t b o y co tt. " W e 'r e saying that rhetoric is not enough." he said. Cesar C h avez also urged the delegates to abstain from voting and also to spread w ord o f the new boycott o f n o n -u n io n grapes. H e said there are no federal labor laws protecting farmworkers and enforce ment o f state laws by the cu rren t Republican governor, D u km ejian . is almost non-existent. Speaking from the floor, Cynthia C h avez-K elly, o f W yo m ing , urged her fellow delegates to boycott the b a llo t. H isp an ics, she said, must "m a k e the strongest statement we can ...w e will no longer tolerate the in s titu tio n a liz a tio n o f racism through enactment o f this b ill." The 271 H isp an ic delegates and 92 alternates alm ost unanim ously supported Jesse Jackson's planks for voting rights and affirm ative ac tion and for G ary H a rt’s anti-inter vention plank. (Photo Richard J. Brown) Not the man, the plan Not the rap, the map by Lanila Duke Buy American (Photo: Richard J. Brown) New power force inspires Black caucus by l.anila Duke S A N F R A N C IS C O — D u n n * the D em ocratic N a tio n a l C o n ven tio n , the Black Caucus met daily, to plot strategy, w ith renewed em p o w er m ent b ro u g h t ab o ut th ro u g h in creased voter registration, the elec tio n o f C h ic a g o 's M a y o r H a ro ld W as h in g to n and P h ila d e lp h ia 's M ayor Wilson Goode, as well as, the p re s id e n tia l cand idacy o f Jesse Jackson. These combined factors made the Black vote a vitally important force in the 1984 campaign. Their force is re fle cte d in 1,000 delegates— the largest number of Black delegates in the h istory o f A m e ric a 's body politics. Som e o f these delegates co m plained th at, " o n e party writes us o ff, w hile the other party takes us fo r g r a n te d ." T hey were also dissatisfied with the ineffective op position mounted by congressional Dem ocrats to some o f the Reagan adm inistration's policy initiatives. These sentiments led Jesse Jackson to call on Blacks to, "R eneg otiate their compact with the Democratic party.” R ich ard H a tc h e r, vice-ch air o f the Democratic National Committee and M a y o r o f G a ry , In d ian a, said only a m in o rity w ith in those one thousand Black delegates were for Jackson. " H e has 400. I f all one thousand had supported Jackson, we w ould be sitting here w ith the power in our hands to decide who the next president will be." H a tc h e r predicted that w ould have happened i f , " O u r n ation al leadership had stayed together." He d id not buy the argum ent that p rag m atic politics overru led the progressive candidacy th at Jesse Jackson offered " T h e r e is noth ing p rag m atic about not acting in your own best interest. In the end, Jackson is the fu tu re o f this co u n try. W h a t he represents is what America is going to be. I could not face my children if I did not support Jackson in this ef fo rt.” M a y o r H a ro ld W ashington ad dressed the caucus by stressing the m ain goal he w ould lik e to see pushed— " P u ttin g people to work in m e a n in g fu l, g a in fu l jobs. O u r constituents want jobs, not excuses. T h e D e m o cratic p arty must tra n scend candidacy. It is a co a litio n that has to reach out to people. I f n o t, they are going to turn to the streets. Then we w ould have problems." Richard Hatcher. Democratic National Committee vlca-chalr and Mayor of Gary. Indiana. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) G ra ttr o o l N e w t coverage o f the Dem ocratic N a tio n a l C o n ven tion was made possible through a grant from Professional Training System, D r. Edward W ard . Ja'Bells Beauty and B arber S u pp ly, Brooks and T ate E m p lo y m e n t A gency, M rs . Betty Smith and other private con tributions. S A N F R A N C IS C O — In his last public speech before addressing the Dem ocratic N a tio n al Convention, T uesd ay, July I7 ( h , p residential candidate Jesse Jackson quoted ac tor Ossie Davis in addressing Black delegates, saying, " It 's not the man, it's the plan. I t ’s not the rap, it’s the m ap." Jackson urged Black delegates to "v o te conscience and co n victio n " on the first ballo t. " T h e y want to use us until they use us up. But so far, we don't have a vice-president or a campaign chairm an." Jackson's four minority platforms: A ffir m a tiv e A c tio n , fairness in the voting process, no-first-use o f nuclear weapons, and real reduc tions in m ilita ry spending, were receiving challenges from M ondale supporters. The issue of quotas was among the main points o f conten tion as labor tried to suppress sup port. But Jackson said, " W e have got to have a ffirm a tiv e actio n to offset negative action. We are still training our bosses to be the boss.” W ith the same type o f d e te r mination that he utilized throughout the campaign, Jackson appealed to Black delegates for unity. " W e are together on more issues than we are a p a rt. W e must keep our agenda above politics. No mat ter who gets the votes, we have got to live together. NEW YO =3. AFL -CIO Cabla cara and New York atara. IPhotoa: Richard J. Brown) "Access becomes recess unless we come together. Keep your eyes on the p rize. W hich ever way your politics goes, we are the backbone of the progressive planks in the Democratic platform We represent the c rea tiv e, cu ttin g edge o f new politics in the world order. We have got too much going for ourselves to take 'no ' for an answer.” Gays, lesbians march for equal justice by Chuck Goodmacber The lighter aide of lebor dumpa Reagan at march on Sunday. IPhotoa: Richard J. Brown) O ver 150,000 supporters o f gay and lesbian rights turned out in San Francisco fo r a m arch and ra lly Sunday a fte rn o o n . The d em o n s tra tio n was intended to impress D e m o cratic delegates, and the American public, with gay political strength and o f the m oral basis o f th eir appeals fo r expanded civ il rights. L ater that evening, O reg o n 's deleg ation was treated to a welcoming party at the home of San Francisco pro m inent gay activist, Jerry E Berg. S ix ty -fiv e gay persons are delegates or alternates to the con v e n tio n . N o n e o f the O regon delegates are openly gay. A plethora o f signs and banners reflected the diversity o f concerns w ith in the gay and lesbian c o m m unities and em phasized the presence of gays across the nation. One contingent chanted, "G ay s, straights, Black and white/Together we s tru g g le /T o g e th e r we f i g h t , " and groups representing gay Am erican Indians, lesbian and gay Asian-Americans and Black gays all took part. One man held up a sign p ro c la im in g , "G ay, Jew ish, Democrat and I vo te!". M arch ers also carried signs declaring their home states which ranged fro m New H am p sh ire and Georgia to Colorado and Alaska. W ith few exceptions, the gay c o m m u n ity is so lid ly D e m o cratic and o rg an izers hoped the m arch w ou ld spur active o p p o sitio n to Reagan. Said Karen Clark, a lesbian state represen tative fro m M i n nesota, " T h is m arch w ill help m obilize gay and lesbian voters to show they have a stake in defeating Reagan.” T h e D e m o cratic p la tfo rm in cludes planks supporting gay civil rights, increased funds to com bat A ID S , and an end to regu lation s banning gays fro m the m ilita ry . “ They need u s," said San Francisco S u pervisor H a rry B r itt, " a n d we need them ." Jerry E. Berg, an attorney serving as a com m issioner on San F ra n cisco's p o w erfu l Board o f P erm it Appeals, hosted a lively reception Sunday n ig h t, fo r O re g o n ’ s delegates and alternates, at his Tw in Peaks home. He was raised in Salem and his mother served as an Oregon delegate to the I9 6 0 D e m o c ra tic convention.
