Page 4, Portland Observer, March 20, 1965
in n o ves catch no Meese
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Shape up, Oregonian
Portlanders o f color, progressive concerns, and is-
sues affecting low-income Oregonians are being
misrepresented by the homogenized, status quo re
porting by Portland’s only daily newspaper — /h e
Oregonian
It’s unfortunate that there has yet to emerge a
daily competitor to compare the elitist journalism
decimated by The Oregonian. We still have a bitter
taste in our mouths as we recall the sharecropper’s
attitude and double standard superimposed by The
Oregonian's editorial board on former Commis
sioner Charles Jordan.
Jordan stated tha, a person o f color could replace
him on the C ity Council to ensure adequate repre
sentation o f all Portlanders. The all-white male edi
torial board hinted that Jordan’s remarks were re
verse discrimination. Pnor to the general election,
Jordan accepted a position as Park Commissioner
in Austin, Texas. The editorial board said Jordan
owed it to the voters to serve his term.
The double standard o f journalistic racism met
the deadline as other white politicians who upgraded
their lives were given a sendoff with praise while
Jordan receive the brunt o f their criticism.
Because o f the business-as-usual status quo, per
spectives employed by their political reporters The
Oregonian could not see stagnant Frank Ivancie’s
predictable defeat in the prim ary election. They cov
ered the mayor’s race with blinders on as they ig
nored Bud Clark and a large percentage o f their
readership.
Their basic reporting o f events, individuals and
issues affecting Portlanders o f color is paternalistic
at best and racist at worst. Whenever there is a re
medial program covered, an A froA m erican is pic
tured. Our youth are given ink as king as they are
dancing, singing or involved in sports.
In reporting the disaster last week at Harriet Tub-
man Middle School, The Oregonian reporter de
fined Tubman as the school built by “ loud protest
from the Black United Front.” This is far from the
truth, and the results o f this under and mis-reporting
perpetuate stereotypes in the majority community.
Their art critic did an injustice to the Member’s
Callery, a group o f Afro-Am erican artists and pho
tographers, by printing a review o f their exhibit on
the day it closed. There are hundreds o f other re
views published days and weeks in advance. It was
not fair to their readership to inform them o f an
exhibit on the day i, ckised.
It would require pages upon pages to recount the
narrow, racist and uncreative journalism fostered
by Jhe Oregonian. The bottom line is that we are
not being served journalistically by them. And as
subscribers and readers, we should not allow this
type o f journalism to continue unchallenged. Chal
lenge their journalistic racism and poor Affirm ative
Action record. It makes no difference if an editor is
Black when a rainbow perspective is not incorpo
rated in its journalism or in the newsroom.
In 1964, a study conducted by the American So
ciety o f Newspaper Editors reported o f the 49,6iX)
professionals in the newsrtxxn, only 2,862 were
Black. The study also found that 61 percent o f the
nation’s 1,693 dailies did not empkiy any people o f
cokx on their staff. There is no excuse fix this j<xir-
nalistic apartheid, especially when progressive issues
are getting front page coverage.
We have an investment in how people o f color
are represented. And until structural changes occur
in mass newsprint, we will continue to monitor and
challenge our interpretation by outsiders.
t
A
Street eat
The Street Beat team gave Portlanders a
chance to rate the mass media with, “ How
would you evaluate the coverage the media
gives issues and individuals?”
by Lanita Duke and Richard J. Brow n
ON SOUTH A FRICA
Mighty Clouds
of Joy removed
from cultural
boycott list
Unity in A ction, an organization
lha, aims lo end the collaboration o f
artists with the apartheid regime in
South A frica, has secured a Id le r o f
agreement from gospel recording a rt
ists, The M ighty Clouds o f Joy,
pledging that they “ w ill not be return
ing to South A frica until the situation
as it now exists is completely turned
around.”
A planned picket o f the scheduled
January 26 performance o f the group
at the Beverly Theatre in Beverly
Hills was averted owing to timely and
productive discussions between the
group’ s manager, Zachary Glickman.
and Unity in Action during prcceed-
ing weeks.
Unity in Action has property noti
fied the United Nations Center Against
Apartheid, A frican Nalional Con
gress, and at filiate organizations. As
is customary. Unity in Action grate
fully acknowledged other activist pro
liberation forces whose concerted,
very visible, and embarassing protest
demonstrations were the major force
which brought about this victory.
The Mighty Clouds o f Joy agree
ment signals yet another major break
through for local, national, and inter
national anti-apartheid forces who
are continuing the campaign to keep
artists and athletes out o f South
Africa.
The Cultural Boycott barring artis
tic collaboration with the racist apart
heid state is part o f United Nations
and Organization o f African Unity
imposed sanctions intended to isolate
the inhuman regime. The U N. has
termed South A frica ’ s system o f forced
racial separation and oppression “ a
crime against hum anity.”
The following is the text o f the
Mighty Clouds o f Joy letter sent to
Mr. Ron W ilkins, chairman o f the
cultural boycott:
"D ear Ron,
“ During the telephone conversa
tion last week between myself, on be
half o f The Mighty Clouds o f Joy,
and you, the cultural boycott imposed
by the United Nations on South A fr i
ca was explained to me.
"W hen The M ighty Clouds o f Joy
went to South A frica several years
ago, they went as ministers o f the
gospel o f Jesus Christ. Neither they
nor myself were aware o f (he cultural
boycott. There was no intention on
their pari for (heir presence in South
Africa to mean that they in any way
approved o f the apartheid or the
ruling government.
"Since our discussion, I can assure
you that The M ighty Clouds o f Joy
will not be returning lo South A frica
until the situation as it now exists is
completely turned around.
“ Please accept this document in ihe
spirit in which tl was written and
utilize it as you see fit in helping to
stop the apartheid in South Africa.
“ Sincerely,"
Z A C H A R Y G L IC K M A N
Manager,
The M ighty Clouds o f Joy
Letters to the Editor
The Observer welcomes tellers lo
the editor. Tellers should be typed
or neatly printed and signed with the
author's name and address fad
dresses are not published). We re
verve the right to edit fo r length. Mail
to: Portland Observer, P. O. Hox
3137, Portland, OR V72OH
Nate Nickerson
M ental Health Director
" I don’i Ihink minorities
arc portrayed very fairly.
But the minority media does a
good jo b .”
Chris Jenkin»
Drivwr
Carl Buchanan
Security
"Sometimes ihmgs are oui
o f proportion. They go far out
on one thing and not far
enough on others.”
“ Il depends on (he issue.
They are pretty correct, but
un the recent clerk’s stnke, they
left a kx o f information out."
Michael M cCorm ack
Upholstery W orker
“ Seems stale, The same old
things are reported. I would
like to see something on the
human side and more hunxx
Rachel Warier»
Student
P re ach er
“ Sometimes they print things
that aren't true just to sell pa
pers.
ft
WXl •
R o b e rt N e w s o m
“ Not so gtxxl. I’ve been
other places where the cover
age was better."
Portland Observer
«satoisat
T he Portland Observer /U S P S 959 6801 it published every
Thursday by E«ie Publishing Company. Inc 2201 North Killings
worth Portland. Oregon 97217. Post Office Bos 3137, Portland.
Oregon 97208 Second class tx»staqe pawl at Portland Oregon
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'QU®**'
M «\»a»»a
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Tha Portland Observer was estab« ned m 1970
MEMBER
««•deration - Foundad (MS
S ub K n ptioni «15 00 per vasi in thè I r County area P o ti
m a tta r Send addrett changst lo thè P aritene Observrr. P O
Ho» 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208
Alfred L. Henderson. Editor/Publisher
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283 2486
National Advertising Representative
Am algam ated Publishers. Inc
N ew York
No more "nigger"
To the Editor,
This is written by a white man. I f I
can be allowed an observation on the
Black human condition, I wish to
make it here, for there is something
that bothers me greatly. It is a word.
The word is "nigger.’ ’
It is a blight, this word, one I thought
was eradicated from all bul the igno
rant plantation mentalities o f the
Deep South. It is a word I grew up
learning was an evil part o f the irra
tionality o f racial distinction.
Ycl the other day. near my house in
Northeast Portland, I witnessed a
Black man call his young son "rugger."
A Black friend o f mine was shcaked
when I told hint this story. “ He called
him W H A T ? That is really terrible.”
He said even among his friends, " n ig
ger" is reserved fo r heated arguments
on the basketball court.
But I frequently hear Blacks ad
dress each other this way. Perhaps as
an insult among friends it has a harm
less role, no differently than we may
say " m o ro n " or "lu n a tic " in fun.
But when I heard a man call a child
^0“
”
Boa 3137 Portland OR 97288
"n ig g e r," there seemed to be some
thing angry and derisive in the use o f
the epithet. Even a white man calling
a Black man “ nigger" can be vaguely
undcrstixxJ But to use it on another
Black — and a child — is truly wrong.
Truly objectionable.
Black men call each other nigger
The statement begs to become a ques
tion, for disbelief is inherent: Black
men call each other "n igger"?
Dick, Gregory wrote, 20 years ago in
his autobiography, “ Nigger": "A n d
now we’re ready to change a system,
a system where a white man can de
stroy a Black man with a single word.
Nigger."
Has anything changed?
I wonder how the realist Gregory’s
words could be reversed in such a sad
fashion, and by Blacks. Not whites.
Is it rebellion? By calling each other
"nigger,” do Blacks seek to deny the
potency o f the epithet used against
them by whites for so many cruel
years?
Is it pride? To turn a name of shanx-
into an expression o f amaradene'*
I don't think this is what Rosa
Parks had in mind. They called her a
nigger and it must have hurt. James
Meredith was shot and the bullet
said, "nigger.”
Rev. M arlin Luther King's elo
quence o f 1961 might have been very
different if he had imagined Blacks
calling each ixher (he very thing lynch
mobs aixl corrupt not p o la r wielded
when killing and humiliating Black
men, women and children.
“
115 for one yea»
$25 for two years
Rev. King would have spoken not
o f a Dream but o f a nightmaie.
I try to imagine what that little boy
must think when his father calls him
"rugger.” I think he is too young to
know the power o f words, even care
less ones. But he is not too young to
FEEL them. His father’s intent may
not be negative, but the boy’s sub-
conscxxis is mature, and the word is
nothing casual “ Nigger" has rxx be-
come impotent with age. It is power
ful and learsome If it has a contem
porary purpose of protest ix cixnara-
dene, those nx-anings seem minute com
pared to the real, ingrained force o f
the wixd
For ihe boy knows that to call an
other person "n ig g e r" is another way
o f crushing his w ill, o f denying his
humanity.
KIRH Y N E U M A N N REA
Thanks for good
coverage
To Ihe Editor,
I want to thank you and others at
the paper responsible fo r this very
favorable coverage o f an event I wish
could have Deen avoided.
II was not the happiest way to end
my deanship, but I am heartened by
the reawakening o f A ffirm a tiv e A c
tion concerns spurred by my action.
Thanks again fo r your good co v
erage
D E A N D ER R IC K BELL
8!W