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.