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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1985)
. ■ • • • -U .- ■ H I ■ Portland Observer, January 9, 1985, Page 11 1985 The legacy lives on in Portland, Oregon Margaret Carter / have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day fo r their bodies, education and culture fo r their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom fo r their spirits. I believe that what self- centered men have torn down, other-centered men can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars o f God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule o f the land. “A nd the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid. ” I still believe that we shall overcome. —Martin Luther King, Jr., Oslo, 1964 I still have a dream today that one day the industries o f Appalachia will be revitalized, and the empty stomachs o f Mississippi will be filled, and brotherhood will be more than a few words at the end o f a prayer, but rather the first order o f business on every legislative agenda. Martin Luther King, Jr. — 1968 ,,-ai^safeiatfc. Reymundo Martin by Lamta Duke by hinita Duke GRASSROOT N EW S. N .W . — Margaret Carter, Oregon’s first A fro- American female to serve in the Legis lature. called Dr. M a rtin Luther King a "trailblazer ” She added, **lt is not enough to say that you should be there. You just have to be there. A nd Dr. King paved the way fo r many to be there because the C ivil Rights movement blazed the tra il fo r many elected o f ficials." As an educator Carter said she fell King gave America an education in fairness and non-violence. "W e live in a society where people act out violence. Hut the marching and non-violent confrontation led by Dr. King showed America what can be ac complished without force." GR A SSR O O T N EW S , N .W . Reymundo M a rin , d ire cto r o f the city’s Metropolitan Human Relations Commission, has the responsibility ol m o n ito rin g the eq u a lity o f change that Dr. Martin I uther King paved. " D r . King appealed to the dignity o f all people. He used the C hristian ethic with a greater purpose in mind bringing the oppressor up to the level o f hu m a n ity.” M a rtin remembered the spark started by Rosa Parks when she said she could not take it anymore. Parks sat down in the while section of the city bus and the Montgomery Hus Boycott was underway. Mann said King’s non violent tactic touched the minds o f Americans. "H e dal not match hate with hate or force with force." M arin sees the co rre la tio n be tween the struggle o f Hispanic Am er icans to those o f A fro -A m e rica n s. “ We were considered ’ colored’ and xhools were segregated. We had a poll lax and were disfranchised from our land. Dr. King was speaking fo r all o f us. VKe were recipients o f the legacy D r. King started in the South. He helped us assert ourselves." M arin is concerned about the cu r rent trends in C ivil Rights, or lack o f C ivil Rights. "T h e interest o f industry and business may bypass the C ivil and Human Rights o f the individual,” but he is proud to assist in the dream o f Dr. King by keeping alive the legacy o f Brotherhood. On A p ril 4, 1968, the day King was assassinated. Carter was attending classes at Portland State University. " I felt the world had turned gloomy. Ev eryone who was against Dr. King helped pull the trigger,” she added. According to Carter, the daily ob servations and reporting o f the C ivil Rights movement by the mass media placed America face to face w ith her internal racism. " U n t il people saw the inequality around them, they were not w illin g to face the oppression o f Black and low-income p e o p le ," she said. Carter voiced a concern about the future. “ We have become lackadai- MARGARET CARTER sical about A ffirm a tiv e A ctio n and C iv il Rights. T his is due to Ronald Reagan and the change in the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. It is now the C ivil Wrongs C o m m issio n ," she noted. How w ill Rep. Carter keep Dr. King's dream alive? " I plan to re introduce a divestment b ill. It w ill be one o f my top priorities in office. Dr. King raised the consciousness o f America in regards to oppression at home and aboard. I would like Oregon to remove their investment in racism." History has thrust upon our generation an indescribably important destiny—to complete a process of democratization which our nation has too long developed too slowly, but which is our most powerful weapon for world respect and emulation. —Martin Luther King, Jr. In observance of MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY The staff of the PORTLAND OBSERVER 2701 N. Killingsworth Street • Box 3137 • Portland, Oregon 97208 • (303)283-0900 *• *, THE PEOPLE A T PACIFIC POWER
