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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1985)
Page 4, Portland Observer. February 13,1986 EDITORIAL/OPINION Bell resignation shatters apathy D uring an era o f indifference, apathy and in activity regarding A ffirm a tiv e A c tio n , the shining light o f in te g rity and principle illum inates fro m Eugene, O regon. D e rric k Bell stepped d ow n as Dean o f the U n iv e rs ity o f O regon Law School because he refused to be involved when the institu tion sidestepped A ffirm a tiv e A c tio n and refused to hire an Asian-American woman. His actions should renew hope and rekindle a fig h tin g s p irit in us a ll. H is to ric a lly , it was the action o f one who stood up fo r fairness which set o f f a chain reaction in the populace and social change occurred. B ell’ s in d ivid u a l stand fo r A f firm a tiv e A c tio n is in league w ith Rosa P arks’ refusal to sit in the back o f the bus, M artin Luther K in g ’s M arch on W ashington, M alcolm X ’s de velopment o f self-determ ination and Rev. Jesse Jackson’s quest fo r the presidency. Bell w ould not p a rtic ip a te in the h ypocrisy which could not differentiate between equality as a theoretical right and equality as reality. Bell's resignation makes a case fo r equal o p p o rtu n ity and fu ll equality as he stands on the shoulder o f the C ivil Rights movement. I f all public adm inis trators resigned over A ffirm a tive Action inactivity and hyp o crisy the c o u n c il cham bers statew ide would echo w ith silence. The rem arkable element about Bell’ s resigna tion is that he did not have to do it. He was secure and isolated in Eugene, Oregon. N o one w ould ever have know n if he had played along w ith the crowd. But Bell had to live w ith him self and his selfless actions should shatter the apathy o f people o f color and wom en in positions o f power w ho allow A ffirm a tive Action inactivity to continue. As much as we hate to lose an A fro-A m erican as a Law Dean, we as a people have gained strength, power and direction from Bell’s actions. He proves that integrity s till exists and the case fo r A ffirm a tive A ction is not closed. Letters to the Editor The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typed or neatly printed and signed with the author's name and address fad- dresses are not published), We re serve the right to edit fo r length. Mail to: Portland Observer, P. O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 should allow youth the opportunity to learn new approaches in growing up. Once again, we appreciate your contribution to the program. Let me know i f you would like to join us again. Successful session Support recycling To the Editor, To the Editor, Thank you so much lo r your parti cipation in our Project Care program on Sunday, January 20. Wc feci that the w orkshop was a mosi worthwhile experience for all o f Just a note to com plim ent and (hank you fo r your support during 1984 o f the Association o f Oregon Recyclers and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association's program to educate the citizens o f Oregon on the benefits o f recycling their used news paper. Oregon has the highest used news paper recycling rate o f any state in the United States or province o f Canada. We, as a state, have achieved this us. The numbers in attendance was the truest recommendation and evidence that we arc on the right course in try ing to open other avenues o f co m m unications fo r parents and teen agers. Also, we feel that these sessions Street VERNA SHEPHERD eat d is tin c tio n in a large part through recycling e ffo rts. Local com m unity involvem ent is the key. Thank you very much for your support. "It's only me. mother s helper ED W A R D P SPARKS Patient seeks others What about terrorism at home? To the Editor, As a scleroderma patient who has suffered alone fo r to o many years w ith a disease that few people have ever even heard o f, I am attempting to locate others who suffer from sclero derma (systemic sclerosis). M y New Y e a r’ s re so lu tio n is to correspond with as many scleroderma patients as possible. Doctors tell me there are 300,000 o f us. Perhaps your readers can assist me in locating oth ers lik e m yself. I can be reached at 21 Brennan Street, No. 21, Watson ville, C A 95076. D IA N E W ILLIA M S On M onday, February 11th. a divesture bill was introduced in Salem. The Street Beat team asked, “ Should Oregon withdraw pub lic investment from South A frica?” by Lanita Duke and Richard J. Brown Along the Color l.me by Dr. Manning Marable High on the list o f foreign policy objectives o f the Reagan adm inistra tion’s second term is the acceleration o f the war against "te rro rism ." Nica ragua, Cuba, Libya, Syria, and the Soviet U nion have been repeatedly assailed fo r their support o f interna tional terrorists. U S. Aid to the con tras in N icaragua, w ho are indeed conducting a bloody campaign o f ter ror, is described as necessary to sup port “ freedom fig h te rs .” U.S. as sistance to the supporters o f the de posed. butcherous Pol Pot regime in Kampuchea is justified because o f the “ te rro rism ” o f Vietnamese troops. Reagan's "constructive engagement" policy o f detente w ith racist South Africa is justified because o f the “ Cu ban te rro ris ts " who are supporting apartheid’s opponents. W hat about “ te rro ris m ” at home? On the periphery o f every lynch mob, and every racist and anti- Semitic organization, there are in d i viduals who com m it no violent acts, yet who are essential to the dynamics o f terror. They are, by nature, loud and crude; they m anipulate racist stereotypes and indulge in chauvinis tic slogans. Such individuals seek no direct responsibility fo r the violence which they have encouraged. O ften they disavow the actions o f others, and call fo r “ law and order” to pro tect private property and to preserve public safety. Technically, their hands are clean, yet their nom inal posture betrays a silent sym pathy fo r the spirit o f mob violence. Such a man is the President o f the United Stales. Ronald Reagan is an ignorant, re actionary bigot — but we must look beyond this aged actor to discern the social class forces he represents, and more im p o rta n tly , the racist and te rro ris tic agents w hich com prise the c u ttin g edge o f “ R eaganism .” When the President announced in Macon, Georgia, “ the South shall rise a g a in,” d u rin g last year’ s national cam paign, no racist in this co u n try could mistake Reagan’ s nostalgia for the Jim Crow era and lynch law By destroying the U.S. C ivil rights Com m ission, un d e rm in in g a ffirm a tiv e action and equal opportunity legisla tion, Reagan sends a vicious message to w hite supremacists and Ku K lux Klansmen that it is "open season” on Black people. We should not be sur prised, therefore, when immediately after Reagan’ s reelection, a gang o f celebrating vigilantes waged a six- hour stoning assault on the home o f a Black fa m ily in a w hite C hicago neighborhood. W ow! The Observer survey: M A IL TO Portland Observer P.O. Bo« 3137. Portland OR 97208 W e 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. Kay Fijak Clerk Nancy Remington Houaawffa “ M y gut reaction is to stay and help, but I really d o n 't know enough about the situ ation to make an intelligent decision.” " I think so. I can't see our state government supporting apartheid. A t least not my tax dollars " ABO UT THE OBSERVER W hat do you particularly like reading in the O bserver? Do other mem tiers of your household rend thn Observer? □ Yes [JN o If'Y e s ’ , how many? Are you married? DYes ( No W hat is your sex? CiFemale Are there children under 18 living with you? No n Y e s If'Y e s ', how many? Do you own or rent your home? Damon Lockridge Unemployed Are you registered to vote? Are you a “ I th in k they should, be cause o f the way they treat Black people over there." ( Male W hat is your ethnic origin? I Black □ W hite IHispanic □ A s ia n ( Native American □ O th e r C Democrat IJ Own CYes □ Rent HNo C Republican □ independent W hat is your highest level of education? [ gradeschool □ high school [Iso m eco lleg e r J college f ) graduate school W hat is your occupation? How did you obtain this copy of the Observer? □ I subscribe □ picked it up at a distribution o utlet. >/• How often do you read the Observer? □ weekly □ every other week Doccasionally '. i • M" Marvin Allen Unemployed Frederick LaVetk Retired "N o , they need it over there. We should try and help.” O regon Newspaper Publishers Beth Zittenfield Housewife Assn, i.itifin 1 W hat is your age group? □ 50-64 [J 66 Erover U 16 24 I ]2 6 -34 ( <36-49 W hat is your approximate family income? □ u n d e r »10.000 □ » 1 0 .0 0 0 to »20,000 □ »20,000 to » » ,0 0 0 D » » , 0 0 0 to »50,000 □ »50,000 or more Portland Observer The P o r tla n d O b s t r v t r <U SPS 959 680) »• pu blished every Thursday by E«»e Publishing Company, Inc , 2201 North Killings worth Portland. Oregon 97217. Post Office B om 3137, Portland. Oregon 97206 Second class postage paid at Portland. Oregon The Portland ( ) b \ r r \r r was estab». ned in 1970 “ W e’ re supporting some thing we don't believe in, but it does provide )obs for the poor people. So, th a t’ s a tough question.’ ’ “ Personally, I d o n ’ t think so. The system o f separating the races is u n fa ir, but is it really that bad?" member Xttocitiion - rounded IM S íZ -rtA ti. ' S -i . • -V Subscription* 115 00 per year in the I r County area P o l l m a s te r Send address changes Io the P o n le n d Observer, P 0 B o « 3137, Portland, Oregon 97708 Alfred I Henderson. Editor/Publisher A l Williams, General Manager 283 2486 N a tio 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. N a w York
