Page 2, Portland Observer, January 9, 1906
NOTARY
Voter turnout high in new Black district
by l.um ia Duke
GRASSROOT NEW S. N .W .- A
legislative d istrict w ith one o f the
highest voter turnouts just happens to
he one of Oregon’s newest — District
18.
In (he special election fo r C ity
Commissioner, Post ion 4, six out of
28 precincts went for candidate Dick
Bogle, the rest voted for Herb Caw-
thorne. But city-wide, the majority of
the precincts ra llied behind Bogle.
W h ile the c ity -w id e voter tu rn ou t
edged toward 24 percent, 13 precincts
in District 18 had voter turnout be
tween 25 and 32 percent.
In the p rim ary election (M a y IS,
1984) for m ayor, Bud C lark won in
all 28 precincts w ith voter turnout
between 40 and 62 percent. Robert
Phillips, president o f the Black Social
W orkers o f O reg o n , designed and
fought for the district.
" W e made the d iffe ren ce in the
mayoral race. W e have come a long
way and we are more active as voters.
District 18 has received several visits
by politicians who in the past ignored
the district,'* he added.
Phillips said the purpose o f draw
ing a d istrict w ith a heavy concen
tration o f Afro-Am erican voters was
to give them a voice in the legisla
ture. " W e wanted to ensure proper
representation and accountability. In
the past, this was not the case. Now,
posure. And that is why Reagan is in
the W h ite House and Bogle is on
the Council,” he said.
H erndon also criticized M ay o r
C la rk ’s staff composition. "T h e re is
no excuse in 1985 not to have an
A fro -A m e ric a n on s ta ff. H e was
elected because o f Biack support
and on Jesse Jackson’s coattails. In
terms o f h irin g , we are getting the
same message we got from Ivancie's
administration."
Ross Danielson, a former precinct
captain, said D istric t 18 cannot be
taken for granted because it has de
livered the most votes. " W e have
good rank and file involvement with a
unit of purpose," he added.
it is difficult to find someone in Dis
trict 18 who is not aware o f who their
representative is."
Ronnie H ern do n , co-chair o f the
Black United Front and an unpledged
delegate for Jesse Jackson, said prior
to redistricting the A lb in a area had
one o f the lowest voter turnouts.
“ Now, we have one o f the highest. It
shows a tremendous am ount o f po
litical m aturity."
H erndon questioned the selection
of Dick Bogle as City Commissioner.
"M ost o f Portland felt Jordan's scat
was a Black one. The Black commun
ity (D istrict 18) felt C aw thornc was
more q u a lifie d . But the C ity made
their decision based on television ex
Gail Washington, a precinct person
who observed the redistricting proc
ess, predicted the election o f a white
candidate in 1982 because loo many
Blacks ran for the seal. She added,
" I ’ m delighted to know that trend
was reversed. W e are really and truly
becoming politically aware. W e are
not helpless. People now understand
(hat (hey can make change."
M argaret C a rte r w ill represent
District 18 as the first Afro-American
female in the Legislature. "T he voting
jsattern in District 18 is behind people
who are involved in the community.
Voters want an elected o ffic ia l who
will go to bat for them ."
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Volunteers learn about South Africa
by Robert Lothian
Peace Corps veterans from the Port
land area were filled in on South A fri
ca Sunday.
Mark Cheatham, of Portlanders Or-
yinizcd for Southern Africa Freedom,
addressed about 20 ex-Peace Corps
volunteers at a meeting of Returned
Peace Corps Volunteers o f Oregon.
They were gathered at the Willamette
Center downtown.
M arie Herm anson, founder and
form er chairw om an o f the Peace
profit aid groups. “ It was that kind of
work which propelled me to jo in
PO SAF,” he said
Cheatham found " a resurgence o f
racism" in tht U.S. when he returned.
The racism was evident in racial stereo
typing in T V and in attitudes of whites
on the street, he said. One woman he
tried to talk to recently outside the
South African consulate in Portland,
for instance, said C heatham , told
him that A frican s " c a n ’ t even feed
themselves,” let alone govern a coun
M a rk C h eath am fro m P ortlanders O rganized
for South A frican Freedom addresses a group of
Corps group, said about h a lf o f all
Peace Corps veterans served in Africa,
including about 200 from Portland.
Hermanson, who has been picketing
outside P o rtlan d 's South A fric an
consulate on Wednesdays and F ri
days, said the invitation to P O S A F
was extended so her group could be
come better inform ed. " O u r primary
purpose right now is to educate our
selves," she said. Hermanson served
with the Peace Corps in the African
country o f Cameroun.
Although not a Peace Corps vol
unteer, Cheatham said he did spend
five years in Kenya working with non
up only about 16 percent o f the popu
lation own 86 percent o f the land.
“ They control 10 percent o f the econ
omy — every productive resource is
owned by whites. And white wages are
five times that of Blacks.”
"Everybody has servants among the
whites. If you are white it’s practically
a crime to be poor. Whites reap tre
mendous benefits from this system,"
a system that is driven by the exploita
tion of Black labor, he said.
Another essential prop for the apart
approximately 20 ex-Psace Corps volunteers.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
try. When he offered other info rm a
tion, " I don’t care” was all he got in
response, he said.
" I think it’s real important to break
through the ’desire not to know* that
people have,” said Cheatham. "R a c
ism in the U.S. and South Africa are
two examples o f the same phenome-
non.
In South A frica, he told the Peace
Corps veterans. Blacks representing
over 80 percent of the population have
been restricted to reservations that
am ount to about 13 percent o f the
total land, "la n d that is absolutely
barren," he said. But whites who make
heid regime is the trade and other
support it gets from the U.S. and Eu
rope, said Cheatham. Over 50 percent
o f South A fric a ’s G N P comes from
foreign trade, similar to third world
countries, and one-fifth o f that comes
from the U.S. America is the number
one supplier of goods to South Africa,
he continued, and total U .S . invest
ment in the country adds up to 15 bil
lion dollars. Also, said Cheatham ,
" W e are increasing our m ilitary ex
ports to South Africa,” from one-half
million in 1980 to over $18 million in
1983.
And just as the U.S. says that Cen
tral America is its backyard, so does
South Africa consider the Black-ruled
states o f M o zam b iq u e, Botswana,
Angola and Z am b ia to be its back
yard, not hesitating to invade across
their borders in (he interest o f " n a
tional security.”
Cheatham then outlined fo r the
Peace Corps people the three main
U.S. campaigns to pressure the South
African government: divestment, re
moving South A frican consuls, and
banning the sale o f kruggerands. " It
worries the South A fricans greatly
that Americans are talking about cut
ting economic ties with South Africa,"
he said.
One o f the ex-Peace Corps volun
teers listening was Stewart Bentley
from Portland. He spent two years in
Botswana developing solar energy
projects. Botswana, an independent
country the size of Texas with a popu
lation o f one m illion, borders South
A frica to the north. "T h e re was al
ways a possibility o f South A fric a
coming across the border," under the
guise of hunting down anti-apartheid
guerillas, said Bentley
Botswana is dependent on South
A fric a econom ically and in other
ways, he said. "Everything that was
m anufactured, fru its, vegetables,
everything like that came out o f South
Africa.’’
Bentley said that bringing small
solar hot water projects to rural vil
lages and solar electric systems to
health clinics left him with a sense of
satisfaction, although the program he
worked on had some bugs. " I liked
working there,” he said. "T he people
were very frien d ly tow ard A m e ri
cans."
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Abdirahman A. Hassan, president of the Association of African Stu
dents at P.S.U.; Dr. William Little. P.S.U. professor and Omar Issahak
(far right) are briefed by attorneys prior to their attempt to see Calvin
Van Pah, Honorary Consul to South Africa. As with previous attempts,
the trio wes arrested and cited for trespass.
(Photo Richard J. Brown)
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