Psge 2, Portland Observer, October 3,1964
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Voting may save lives
Voice Your Concern! Vote!
O n November 6, Americans will make a
choice that will decide the quality o f their life for
the next five years.
The end result o f this next Presidential elec
tion will shape constitutional b w , develop or
diminish the inner city and re-awaken colonial
ist ambitions or affirm a nation's right for self-
determination.
I f the last four years are any indication o f the
next four, people o f color, low-income and the
progressive elements o f America are in trouble.
This week the Supreme Court resumed its
path to the right through judicial decrees which
curbed affirm ative action, enabled prosecutors
to use illegally obtained evidence and granted
police officers greater leeway to search individ
uals, vehicles and homes.
The tune the Supreme Court has set legiti
mizes the street rap o f "justice being just-us.”
Prisons, across the country, are filled to capa
city as economic, educational and consciousness
gap cements criminal behavior as an alternative
life-style.
Financially, the rich have gotten richer, and
the poor poorer as the median income of Black
families dropped to h alf that o f white families.
The unemployment rate for people o f color is
twice and sometimes triple the rate o f whites.
A nd the number o f those who live below the
poverty line are increasing.
As the traditional media concentrates on Rus
sia and Reagan playing "tic k -fo r-ta c k ," the
mounting unrest in Southern A frica is being
down-played.
Blacks in South A frica are ready to die as they
demand to be treated as human beings. The rac
ist policies o f "constructive engagement" with
South Africa uncovers the hypocritical foreign
policies o f the present administration.
Talking out o f both sides o f its mouth, the
Reagan Administration condemns Nicaragua
for not holding elections the way America says
to hold them, while condoning elections in
South Africa that exclude 73 per cent o f the
population.
People o f color, the poor and progressive are
politically between the devil and the deep blue
sea.
The Republicans want a cost-benefit analysis
on oppressing the oppressed while the Demo
crats pay lip service to the ideas o f Freedom,
but they have yet to embrace the rainbow o f is
sues surrounding jobs, peace and justice.
There is too much at stake nationally, interna
tionally and locally to sit this election out. This
may be the only time your voice will be heard.
Brush up on the facts, read political interviews
and analysis because an informed voter is the
best voter.
Voice your concern. Vote November 6!
are concerned about.
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln, the 16th
President, signed the Emancipation
Proclamation, giving every citizen the
right to vote. H e used the troops to
guard the polling places while Negroes
voted.
In 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes was
elected 19th President by one ( I ) vote
by promising the south, in exchange
for their vote, he would pull the fed
eral troops o ff polling places.
When this happened, the Ku Klux
Kian, W hite Citizen Councils, Night
Riders, Night Raiders Squads, Black
Codes, Segregation, Poll Tax, Dis
qualification, Death Threats, loss o f
jobs and credit forced Negroes from
the Polls. Lynching, beatings, hang
ing was an every day occupation
In 1901 (ieorge H . W hite o f North
Carolina was the last Black Repre
sentative from the South to serve in
Washington during Reconstruction.
In 1928 Oscar DePriest was elected
Congressman from Chicago; in 1967,
Edward W . Brook Senator from
Massachusetts.
In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson was
elected 36th President and in 1963 he
signed the “ Voting Rights B ill" that
restored the right o f every citizen to
vote again.
In listening to both candidates out
line their policies if elected:
When the now-President stated
words to the effect that he would re
move the reins o f federal government
from the States' affairs, my mind
went back to Rutherford B. Hayes,
the 19th President when he removed
military control from the voting
places. The KKK must have heard it,
also On Sunday, September 2, 1984,
they burned crosses in Chicago. An
article appeared in the Chicago De
Votes count
Letter to Editor:
H e is always reaching and striving
for more. The more he gets the harder
it is to keep.
In America the highest pinnacle
one can reach is the President of the
United Stales o f America. Am eri
cans will do almost anything to reach
that height. When he gets there he
stands alone. N o other person can fill
that slot until he vacates it. The Pres
ident has vested in him lots o f power,
honor, prestige and confidence.
‘H e can only reach this pinnacle by
people voting for him in free elec
tions. one vote at a time. There have
been presidents elected by one vote.
His term o f office can only last four
years. His performance in that term
will be judged by the people who
placed him there. H e can only be
elected to serve one more four years,
even if he has been a good president.
He will do anything, but anything,
excluding nothing, to get his second
term.
In 1980 we elected our 40th Presi
dent, Ronald Reagan. Between the
first and the 40th president, many
served more than one ( I ) term; many
were shot; some killed; some forced
from office. Being President is no
easy task, but it is still the height o f
every American to become President
o f these United States.
In 1984 we will elect our 41st pres
ident. There are two (2) candidates
running:
one
Republican,
one
Democrat
Every American o f voting age has a
constituiional right to help make that
choice.
This is what Concerned Citizens
fender August 27, 1984 entitled, "R e
cruitment Efforts by K K K .“ Litera
ture was also distributed in Indiana.
What are we to expect from
Ronald Reagan?
What does Mondale have to offer?
Every voter should seek answers to
these questions before you give up
your
most
valuable
possession:
YOUR VO TEI
Iris Randle
Kay fie ld M ooty
Directors
Concerned Citizens
Likes our style
To the Editor.
I just wanted to let you know how
much I appreciate your editorials and
articles in the Observer. T K y are so
powerful, educational and penetrat
ing. The Observer reminds me o f one
o f the most prominent newspapers in
Nigeria which also deals with grass
roots issues.
L a n iu Duke’s speech at the Jor
dan f arewell gathering was as if I had
written it. It was powerful and very
moving. She said so much in that
short time. L a n iu , I always appreci
ate you.
Keep up your good work. You are
a great educator o f the community.
We need more like you.
Dupo Sobomehin
Metropolitan Human
Relations Commission
The Observer welcomes Letters to
the Editor Letters should be short,
end must contain the w riter’s name
and address t addresses are not p rin t
ed) The Observer reserves the right
to edit f o r length.
Portland Observer
Ill
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ON SOUTH AFRICA
History illuminates recent events
South Africa is a nation in southern
Africa that is ruled by a dictatorial
white minority. About four million
whites brutally oppress an African
majority o f over 22 milion, 2.3 mil
lion Coloreds (mixed race) and about
800,000 Indians. Recently, the ruth
less repression o f Black protest in
South A frica has received some cov
erage by the national news media.
However, a brief analysis o f past
events is in order to pul the present
situation in the proper perspective.
The internal struggle against the
white racist South African govern
ment has been on-going for over two
hundred years. A n example o f resist
ance met by brutality in this century
occurred in 1906 when Bambattra was
beheaded by the whites to show
Blacks what might happen to those
who resisted repression. Examples o f
more contemporary freedom Tighten
who are punished for non-violent re
sistance are Winnie a rd Nelson M an
dela (banned and imprisoned, respec
tively), W alter Sisulu (imprisoned)
and Steve Biko (murdered by South
African police in September o f 1977).
In 1909 the South A frica Act was
passed which restricted participation
in government and voting to whites
only. A similar act was passed in 1961
that created the Republic o f South
Africa exclusively for whites. Since
I960, more than three million Black
people have been uprooted from their
homes and relocated in “ non-white”
areas o f the country. Thousands have
been killed by South African govern
ment forces simply because o f their
demand for basic human rights and
democracy. In March o f 1960, sixty-
nine Blacks were gunned down in cold
blood for refusing to carry a pass
identification book. In 1976 another
‘thousand Black youth were killed for
demonstrating against an inferior ed
ucational system and most recently,
over the last four weeks, more than
sixty Black South Africans have been
killed by South African police and de
fense forces.
The recent slaughter o f mostly
Black South Africans points out the
irony and hollowness o f the new
“ reforms.” W hile the South African
government boasts about the new
constitution (approved solely by
whites) as a sign o f positive change for
the country, the overwhelming ma
jority o f Blacks, Coloreds and Indians
has totally rejected it as a sham, a
means o f prolonging white power.
The boycotts and demonstrations
that followed the constitution’s ap
proval were brutally repressed. This
vicious repression is what led to the
more than sixty murders by the South
African government over the last
month.
The new constitution only further
entrenches the Black majority into the
inhumane system o f apartheid. It al
lows the white minority to retain
power over the majority population
while offering limited participation in
the government to Coloreds and In
dians. The Black majority, which
makes up 72% o f the South African
population, has absolutely no right to
participation or representation in the
government. This intentional “ over
sight” by the white South Africans in
power will spell doom for the new
constitution. The struggle in South
Africa is for a “ one-person, one-
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vote" system, a multi-racial democ
racy.
In spite o f this reality, the United
States and other western countries
continue to overtly and covertly sup
port apartheid. The Reagan Adminis
tration’s policy o f “ constructive en
gagement" with the South African
government means exporting over
two and a half billion dollars worth of
goods and services to this racist gov
ernment, while importing over one
billion, two hundred million dollars
in South African goods. In 1962, the
total United States involvement in
South Africa was fourteen billion dol
lars, with over 330 United States com
panies doing business there, exploit
ing the cheap Black labor that the
apartheid system provides.
We are left with the question:
“ W hy has this government, based on
racism, lasted so long, particularly
with the m ajority population o f Black
folks, on the receiving end o f the
brutal repression? Once the facts are
in the answer becomes plain — be
cause o f internal divide and rule, a
conscious and thorough building o f
military might and western support
over the years. And now, o f great
concern to many around the world
and here at home, is the Reagan A d
ministration’s continued political,
military and economic support.
But time is running out for the rac
ists in South Africa despite support
from the U.S. and others. South A fri
ca will be free. Twenty-four million
oppressed Black South Africans will
see to it.
F or inform ation about how you
can support black South Africans in
their struggle,
call P O S A F at
230-9427.
W ow! The Observer survey:
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