Page 4, Portland Observer, M ay 1,1966
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Mayor Bud Clark: call anytime
Last week our general manager received a call
from Mayor Bud Clark’s aide who said our April
24th editorial was unfair. He was immediately
directed, as all our readers, to write a letter to
the editor.
Ironically, our editorial board felt that par­
ticular editorial was rather tame. We pulled our
punches when we wanted to say how inexperi­
enced the M ayor’s staff is by the way they han­
dled the Stevenson’s tragedy. It was the Black
United Front who called for an inquest and the
Mayor responded to the community’s demand
for justice.
We wanted to say how the police union was
really running the department but we gave Chief
Penny Harrington the benefit o f the doubt.
We wanted to say that the lack o f a definite
condemnation o f racism among the rank and
file o f the police bureau makes Portland ripe for
a long, hot summer. Bu, when members o f the
rank and file sell T-shirts which say, “ Don’t
choke ’em, smoke ’em,’ ’ that says it for us.
Mayor Bud Clark rode to victory because o f
the way his predecessor handled the oppossum
incident. It left a bitter taste in our mouths that
we cleared up at the voting booth. The fact that
officers involved in Stevenson’s death were also
involved in the oppossum incident, clearly
proves an element exists within the bureau which
has no business exercising the authority o f a
policeman.
Mayor Clark’s aide should be thankful for an
independent, outside analysis o f an institution
riddled with racism and reeking with political
nepotism.
Oregonian promotes racist views
How racist is The Oregonian newspaper when
it comes to cataloging the progress, aspiration
and failure o f desegregaiion in Portland?
Well, according to their 7-day scries penned
by educational writer Kathie Durbin, The Ore­
gonian is and continues to be among the perpe-
traters o f institutional racism, sloppy journal­
ism and disseminating a bankrupt analysis.
In a classic example o f a character assassina­
tion, The Oregonian libeled the principal of
Harriet Tubman Middle School, Herman
Washington. And the majority o f individuals
quoted by Durbin told our educational writer
that their words were taken ou, o f context or
misquoted. A glaring example o f a deaf inter­
pretation o f source material was the incorrect
usage o f one o f our editorials.
Durbin, who couldn’t see beyond her own
racism, said one of our editorials demanded
Tubman teachers to upgrade the writing skills
of Black students in light o f only one Black stu­
dent out o f 15 winning an essay contest. This is a
classic misquote. We used the essay competi­
tion as an example o f systematic miseducation
Bill Gray: first Black vice president?
Along the C olor Line by D r M anning M arable
It's no secret that the Democratic
Party’s leaders are now desperately
attempting io repudiate their ties to
liberalism, the welfare state, and
in the district and called for a district-wide ap­
proach to attack the low expectations o f class­
room teachers.
Not only were the individual segments flawed
and flowered with regressive terms such as call­
ing low-income Afro-American children “ poor”
but Durbin’s editor allowed the district to excuse
their pitifully poor Affirm ative Action record on
the pages o f Portland’s only daily newspaper.
The Oregonian’s underline theme of integra­
tion is insidious, outdated and destructive.
Readers were left with an impression once Black
children are mixed with white children, their
achievement scores will rise. This angle uncon­
sciously promoted white supremacy.
As consumers we have power over The Ore­
gonian. I f you read a passage that you know is
incorrect, call up the reporter and the editor.
Historically, The Oregonian has never repre­
sented progressive, low-income or people of
color adequately or accurately. Their series on
desegregation slandered, libeled and defamed
our children and community. Therefore, their
reporters are not to be trusted and their product
is not to be believed.
the legacy o f the Great Society. Last
month's defeat o f Gary, Indiana,
mayor Richard Hatcher as party sice
chair and the dillution o f the "special
interest” caucuses concerned with gay
and progressive causes are signs that
party officials are moving aggressive­
ly to the right In late February, a
group o f conservative Democrats
from the South and West announced
the formation o f an "independent
council." led by "neoliberal" Repre­
sentative Richard A Gephardt o f
Missouri The goal o f this group,
according to Georgia Senator Sam
Nunn, is to move the Democrats hack
into "Mainstream Am erica" — in
short, to reduce or eliminate the in flu ­
ence of Blacks, Hispanics, women's
groups, and organized labor.
In the House ol Representatives, a
similar lush to the right has occurred
In an interesting move, a pragmatic
"n co lib e ra l" has been named to re­
place t ongressman James Jones as
chair ol the powerful House Budget
t ommitlee.
Although elected to Congress only in
1978. he has impressed conservatives
and the corporate media for "preach
mg fiscal austerity." According to
/Juvmcvv HopA, the new budget chair
is regarded by "some business lobby­
ists as one o l the lew congressmen
capable o f persuading his fellow
Democrats to rein in social spend­
in g ." What is most surprising, how
ever, is that this new Congressional
powerbroker. who tells his friends he
is a “ closet moderate,” is Philadel­
phia's Black Congressman Bill Gray.
Gray's roots are similar to those o f
other civil rights leaders The son
and grandson o f preachers. Gray is
also a Baptist minister. On his second
Black Caucus complained that Gray
attempt, he defeated longtime Con­ had "sold out to the Boll Weevils io
gressman Robert Nix for C ongress
gel the budget jo b ." More surprises
During Gray’ s first yeas in Congress,
were in siore when the “ Free South
his voting record was extremely pro­ Africa Movement” began this winter.
Hundreds o f Congressmen, religious
gressive. Gray became Congress’
leaders, trade unionists and civil rights
leading figure in the struggle against
apartheid in South Africa. As chair o f activists — including one Republican
the Congressional Black Caucus’ Senator — have gone to jail in non­
"Foreign A ffa irs Brain T ru st," Gray violent demonstrations to protest the
proposed an amendment to the Export apartheid regime's brutality. But Gray
Administration Act. calling for penal­ was not seen on the picket lines; he
was not with his colleagues in Novem­
ties for U.S. firms that make new
investments inside South Africa. In ber and early December when most o f
early 1984 Gray initiated an emer­ the Black Caucus went to jail for a
gency appropriation o f $90 m illion
moral cause. The "p ric e " for the
tor African drought victims, months
Budget Committee chair took prece­
before the Reagan administration
dence over anti-apartheid agitation.
even acknowledged the crisis ol hunger
This month Gray has joined "G e p ­
on the continent. As vice chair o f the hardt’s “ independent council," 'peri­
Black C aucus, Gray helped to write ls- Knowing his growing prestige with
progressive "alternative budgets" in right wing Democrats, the strongest
1982 and 198.1 which would have opponents o f the Rainbow Coalition.
shifted billions o f dollars from the What next? It seems probable that the
m ilitary toward human needs, includ­ insurgent conservative Democrats
ing jobs and health care programs.
need a Black politician with "liberal
Yet along the way there were dis­ credentials" to checkmate the liberals
turbing signs that Gray was maneu­ and progressives inside the party.
vering toward an accommodation
Since Gray is more than willing to
with conservative forces. Joining the cooperate, we might expect a biracial
Approportions Committee in 1980,
Democratic Party ticket in 1988 or, at
Gray sotm impressed Jones as being the latest, by 1992. At the top w ill be
"accomplished on fiscal matters." He someone like Virginia Governor
Charles Robb. Arkansas Governor
provided modest rhetorical support
lor Jesse Jackson's 1984 Presidential
Bill C linton, or perhaps even the
campaign, yet quietly kept all lines o f ultimate yuppie, Gary Hart. In the
communication open to Mondale’s second slot could be Bill Gray, a man
aides Alter the 1984 Presidential who claims that "th e key to politics
campaign, Gray began to talk Ike
is to never let anyone pin a label on
Gephardt and other centrist white yo u ." Sacrificed to this marriage o f
Democrats. Gray informed the press convention could be the vital inter­
that he lasored discussing a proposed ests ot the Black and Hispanic com­
joint spending Ireeze on social pro­ munities.
grams and the Pentagon budget. He
Dr. Manning Marable teaches po­
now protested that the alternative
litical
sociology at Colgate University.
budgets were "largely sym bolic," and
argued that all const it uencie had to Hamilton, New York. "Along the
"suffer a little " in developing a Color Line ’ ’ appears in over HO news­
budget. At least one member o f the papers internationally.
Letters to the Editor
The Observer welcomes letters to
the editor. Letters should be typed
or neatly printed and signed with the
a u th o r’s name an d address tad
dresses are not published). We re
serve the right to edit fo r length. M ail
to: P o rtla n d Observer, P. O. Hox
3137, Portland, O K 972OH
times just plain confusions which are
a direct effect o f the way they are
treated by the staff o f this facility
(CDRS)
I feel that the community is entitled
to know what is going on here and
how it will affect them in the long
run They should be enlightened about
the State Correction Division Sys­
tem, as well as the local corrections
and police department systems. The
incident on May 19, 1985, o f a man
being choked to death in his own
community at the hands o f one who is
sworn to protect should not and can­
not be considered an isolated inci­
dent. Neither can the situation with
the correctional system here at CDRS
and OSP be passed o ff as just an­
other inmate complaining. It is a
very serious matter and affects all o f
the population o f Oregon, especially
the Black communities.
out genocide o f our Black communi­
ties of Oregon, the hands belong to
the Oregon State Correctional and
Penal System. Presently Blacks make
up approximately JO-15 percent o f the
population being housed in state
correctional facilities This number
may not appear to be much, but when
one considers that Blacks do not even
make up 18 percent o f Oregon’ s total
population, one begins to realize the
disproportion as opposed to the penal
population, and this is not by chance
or accident.
The system o f correction is designed
and operated to make money and
Blacks are just considered another
commodity. The release center (cor­
rection division release services —
CDRS) is geared to make people fail
and return to the institutions; there is
no transitional suppoit offered to
men leaving the facility (CDRS). The
men being released back into the
communities are filled with anger,
frustrations, hostilities, and some­
Prison protest
To the Editor,
Another life lost at the hands o f
those who are entrusted with the reso­
lute duty to protect the very com­
munity. I was saddened by the news
o f the killing o f another Black man in
the State o f Oregon, and I convey my
empathy to the family o f the deceased
brother.
But I am writing this letter to the
community to expose another death
grip that has its hands around the
neck o f the Black population o f Ore­
gon. A grip that is systematically
choking the community and carrying
STRESSAL L YNN JOHNSON
P O Box 47632. OSP
Salem, OR 97310
Portland Observer
M
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