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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1984)
Pay« 4 Portland Obaerver. September 12. 1984 F e ito w HEAiDG Of STATE - pEO fLE EDITORIAL/OPINION IHey see hu 6 e DEKT s , failing banks AND SU-V-Hl&H INTEREST ARE WORRIED ABOUT THEIC FUTVREÇ Douse the flame of inequality I he recent disclosure o f institutional discri m inatory hiring practices in the Portland hire Bureau should not go unnoticed or u n challenged. With only 17 people of color and one woman employed as fire fighters, out o f 565. there is evidence that the administrative commitment to a ffirm a tiv e action is not indicative o f the bureau’s hiring practices. The situation suggests a confrontation between two concepts: equality us a theoretical right and equality as reality. I he C ity is at the cutting edge o f a serious dilemma. T o provide employment opportunity to all taxpayers who want a share of the rapidly dwindling right to be employed while keeping their budget in the Black. In June, ‘ 84, the M e tro p o lita n H u m an Relations Commission released an evaluation that found the city exceedingly low in the num bers o f people of color and women employed. M H R C questioned the city’s commitment to a f firmative action and fairness in its hiring prac tices. “ In the first nine months of 1983-84, there were 37 positions where a woman or m inority were among the top three candidates, and they were not hired,” M H R C revealed A flu tte r o f memos circulated from C ity Commissioners to bureau heads with a verbal com m itm ent to a ffirm ative action, attached. The situation at the Portland Fire Bureau is one example where a city commissioner did not prac tice what she preached. The Portland Fire Bureau is not unlike other governm ental entities, where an " o ld b o y” hiring network ambushes affirm ative action. This practice prevents people of color and women from ever filtering into the system to help bring about change. The city commissioners should take the in itia tiv e by basing appointm ents on un derutilization of people o f color and women, and they should review the policy of only hiring those who score number one on the civil service exam, when the degree o f difference between number two and number three is not that great. The C ity Council has the responsibility to douse the flame of inequality in city government before it engulfs the city with employees who are not reflective of the population or its taxpayers. Letters to the Editor _ _ ------------------- , i. One only please / « i he Editor: Once again, Black political leaders are displaying a lack of political wisdom Three Black can didates running lor the same office is not the best strategy low ard 'honalide political power.' All can didates are well qualified and have good ideas that will benefit the Black community and the C ity of Portland The fact is, io win the vacant seal in the City Council, only one Black candidate should run It is time to advance beyond in dividual ambitions and become a block-busting power Black politicians, therefore, must be willing to sacrifice personal power and replace it with togetherness power. Black political organizations must take a firm stand on this issue, lor it is “ Political Suicide". Herb C aw thorne, Dick Bogle, Kay T o ra n , Oregon Rainbow ( oahtion, Black United Front and all those in the political arena, “ in ihe name of G o d ” let us organize from a block-busting position and show our true strength. "Together we stand, and divided we fall.” The time is NOW l.et's all gel together Vernell Carter Christ was Malcolm To the Editor: The Christian church no longer understands her role in terms of revolution and change She has ■ - become status quo oriented and stagnant, in so doing, she not only betrayed her founding fathers but she betrayed ihe Christ whose gospel she yet claims to be preaching. Generations of Black preachers have lost sight o f the radical and revolutionary nature of the C hristian gospel They have forgotten that Jesus the Christ stood in opposition to the religious, political and social status quo of his day because he found those positions to be oppressive and de humanizing to his people Christ was a Malcolm X . One of the reasons it is so easy for us to forget about Ihe real reasons and the real meaning behind the death of Christ, is the fact that, if we tan do so we can then absolve and remove ourselves from suffering and struggle. M any Black people in America and the Caribbean are suffering from what I choose to term the A fro-S axon M e n ta lity . In short, achieving all o f the status and suc cess symbols of the caucasoid com munity. The Afro-Saxon Mentality is the psychological urge to be caucasoid, and so strong is the urge that men who have Black faces and who have suffered the reality of the Black co nd itio n , can seemingly brush aside their blackness and em brace values that are caucasoid Although C hristianity has its - ' ___________ roots in Africa, it has become loo exclusively Aryon to suit Black people. C hristianity encouraged slavery, taught Black inferiority and self hatred, denied Blacks positions of leadership and arrogantly denied African customs and culture Not only did C hristianity condone slaves, it gave slavers missionary zeal in "doing their duty to G od." I'm inclined to believe that it is the role of the church to struggle against the forces of injustice and to struggle against the structural inequity of this society. It is interesting that Christ's priority for living was to liberate his people— not God the Father, who is analagous to our " re lig io n " — but people: Christ lived in God for people, because Christ was so much in God It is necessary that one's philosophy nourishes and sustains his work Christ the living revolution and "church,” reached people's philosophies or religion or reason for being through tending to their prim ary needs — providing them with food, clothing, shelter, and even "community” —a safe en vironment of persons like them selves. Dr Jamil Cherovee The Observei we/twnrs I elters /<» Ihe Editor Letters should be short, and must contain ihe nr tier's name and address taddresses are not print edl Lhe Obseiver reserves the right Io edit fo r length Wow! The Observer survey: M A IL TO Portland Observer P O Box 3137. P o rtla n d OR 97208 We at the O bserver want to know how you feel about the paper. Please help us by filling out this survey. The information about you, our readers, will help us tailor our news and adver tisements accordingly. Thank you. A B O U T THE O B S E R V E R W hat do you particularly likn reading in the O bserver? Do other menitiers of your household read the Observer ’ □ Yes [ No If Yes', how many?______ Are you married? W hat is your sex? I I Yes L . No Female W hat is your ethnic origin? Hispanic Asian Are you a How often do you read the Obaerver? weekly every other week occasionally Perhaps President Reagan's greatest publicity coup in the past year has been the widespread belief that the adm inistration's policies have produced an "econom ic recovery.” Technically, there has been a marked decline in unem ployment rates. From December 1982 to December 1983, Ihe unem ployment rate declined from I I to 8.5 percent. As of July, 1984, the Reagan A dm inistration proudly reported that only 8.5 m illion Americans were jobless, roughly 7.5 percent of the labor force. How ever, the Joint Economic Com m ittee of Congress noted recently that real unemployment is still worse than ever. The Labor Department does not count "discouraged workers" in figuring the labor force These are women and men who have lost their jobs, have exhausted all unemployment compensation, and who have not “ a c tively" applied for a new job within a month or more. If discouraged workers are counted, the real rate of unemployment in creases to 9.7 percent. Then there are millions more workers who have part-tim e jobs who would like to work full tim e, and m illions of others who are employed on a tem porary or marginal basis at minimum wage levels, which cannot support a family. The Reagan A d m inistration counts none of these marginally employed adults in their unemployment statistics. And the total number of Americans who were either out of work, underem ployed, or who were in families whose incomes were halted or disrupted between June 1983 and June 1984 was 71.2 m illion. The Reaganites and conservative Democrats have suggested several "solutions" to the unemployment crisis. One popular scheme is " W o r k fa r e ," in which welfare recipients are ordered to work at a public jo b in order to receive benefits. In theory, w orkfare provides the poor with occupational skills which permit them to be com petitive for other jobs. But in prac tice. it is little more than slave labor. Democrat [ 50 64 (Continued from Page I, Column 4) Nicaraguan workers, and what is their relationship to the govern ment? • What relations exist between the labor movements of Nicaragua and the U.S. and how can these relations be strengthened? Upon their return, the Oregon delegates w ill report back to the Multnomah County Labor Council and many other local labor bodies including Painters, Carpenters, Let ter Carriers, Hotel and Restaurant Employees, Laborers, Clothing and Textile Workers. Bakers, Food and Com m ercial W orkers, Teachers. Electrical W orkers, and T V and Radio Artists. In ad dition , the delegation plans to produce a com prehensive written report The P o rtla n d O b server TU SPS 959 6801 i t published every Thursday by Erne Pubtiehing Company, Inc , 2201 North Killings worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Post OMice Bo« 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208 Second class posiege paid at Portland Oregon DOwn DYes The Portland Observer was established in 1970 MEMBER L No C Republican □1624 Bo» 3137. Portland, Oregon 97208 L. independent L12534 I 65 £t over W hat is your approximate family income? I under »10,000 □ » 1 0 ,0 0 0 to »20,000 »20,000 to »30.000 »30.000 to »50,000 I ¡»50,000 or more [235 49 A n o c lt llo n - Founded 283-2486 Subscriptions »15 00 per year in the Tri-C ounty atea P o e t m a t t e r Send address changes to the P o rtla n d Observer. P 0 Rent TM» Alfred L Henderson, Editor/Publisher A l Williams, General Manager IS PORTLAND OBSERNER I I □ □ N atio n a l A d v ertis in g R e p re s e n ta tiv e A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc New York Silt? 115 tor one veer S26 tor tw o veers B oi 3137 Portland OR 97208 STATE m m Apt CZ) -t > O 3 5» ZIP . 7 *1 • Nicaragua Portland Observer Black W hite Native American UO ther W hat is your highest level of education? [ grade school [h ig h s c h o o l some college [ college graduate school W hat is your age group? sectors of the economy, and from old industrial civilian sectors (steel, auto, etc.) to “ areas o f needed civilian expansion." The bill also calls for decentralized, "non-federal planning for sustainable recovery and fu ll em ploym ent” by town, city, state government agencies, with direct input from neigh borhood associations, women's and civil right . groups. The long-range goal of If is "bottom -up” planning is to fo ite r genuine economic democracy, and cutting the average work week to 35 hours. It is absolutely imperative that all constituencies from the Rainbow C o a litio n — Blacks, Latinos, fa r mers, women’s groups, progressives in trade unions, etc. — push the Hayes jobs b ill at local levels through educational meetings and public demonstrations. Various groups, including the N ational Congress of Unemployed Organizations and trade union locals, are mobilizing members to lobby for this bill. Last year, unem ployment cost the nation over $200 billion in unpaid taxes and benefits, a guaranteed income of job not only makes solid economic sense— it is the most fundam ental moral and human right of all. In New York C ity last year, 27,000 welfare recipients had benefits cut or halted for months for " fa ilin g to meet work require ments.” Nearly all welfare recipients do not object to working— but they receive less than half of the salary normally given to nonwelfare em ployees with identical skills for Ihe same jobs. Few of the workfare par ticipants ever obtain permanent, "regular” jobs; none of them may join the public employee's union, by court order; and their use by the city weakens the unions and reduces the number o f positions for full time workers. A second strategy o f the reaganites, the proposal for a "subm inim um wage" for youth, would reduce positions for adult workers and tend to lower the overall wage scale for service workers and manual laborers. Congressman Charles Hayes (D- lllinois) recognizes the inadequacies of these and other "solutions" to the jobs crisis. " W ith residents of urban ghettos and areas which suf fered disproportionately from in dustrial decline, reaching twice the national average, it is obvious that new and innovative strategies" are needed " to attack this critical p ro blem .” On June 14, Congressman Hayes introduced before Congress, H .R . 5814, “ The Income and Jobs Action Act of 1 984," which in comprehensive scope and political vision is one of the most profound documents in recent years. The “ Income and Jobs Action A c t" declares that “ every adult American able and willing to earn a living through paid work" should have the human right “ to a free choice among o pp o r tunities for useful, productive and fulfilling paid employment at decent wages Those unable to work have the right " to an adequate standard of living that rises with increases in the wealth and productivity of the society.” H R. 5814 calls for one percent of the annual Pentagon budget to be transferred to a new “ Conversion Planning O ffic e ” which would promote planned con version "fro m military to civilian" •At M M I • W hat is your occupation? How did you obtain this copy of the O baerver? I subscribe picked it up at a distribution outlet by Dr. Manning Marable "From The Grassroots” Are there children under 18 living with you? L No [ Yes If'Y e s ', how many? Are you registered to vote? A B O U T YO U R SELF Reagan 9s political hocus-pocus Male Do you own or rent your home? W hat would you like to see more of in the O baerver? OBVIOUSLY, WE HAVE To ’ '; v . 3) 3: • • •. . •