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Baginning next waak. Graasroot Now«. N W . will publish a
of articlM on "MOVE'« Confrontation in Philadelphia."
Volume XV, Number 32
June 5, 1985
25C Copy
PORTLAND OBSERVER
,
Two Sections
u»H ■»«■TA*
Witness in Nicaragua
by Robert Lothian
Attorney Mark Kramer ha« last minute word»
with Ron Herndon before the hearing on Herndon
and other» charged with attempted tre»pa««ing
while attempting to talk with the Honorary South
African Conaul Calvin Van Pelt
(Photo: Richard J Brown)
Herndon discusses Black issues
by Nathaniel Scott
Lloyd D. "T o n y ” Sievenson’s
death was a tragic, senseless incident.
It reminded the Black community
that while things changed at the com­
mand level o f the police department,
nothing much, if anything, has
changed among the rank and file
since the infamous opossum incident.
Yet in the wake o f that head wrenching
ordeal, Ron herndon, co-chairman
o f Portland’ s chapter o f the national
Black United Front, is looking for
ways to heal wounds and make Port­
land truly, one city.
The trauma o f “ Tony” Steven­
son’s death is etched in Herndon’s
fact. The remembrance is there, and
so is the pain. The tired lines o f ne­
gotiation can be seen when he forces a
smile But Herndon is a forgiving, if
not a forgetting man. And while the
senseless killing o f any Portland c iti­
zen — Black, white, Hispanic, Asian
or Native American — stains the
credibility o f those paid to serve us,
Herndon wants the city to move on
and become what it should be: a city
o f the people; a city that provides
subsistence for the people; a city that
learns by its mistakes, and a city that
vows not to let history repeat itself
In the midst o f a very busy sched­
ule, Herndon took the time to speak
candidly about what he perceives to
be some crucial factors involving
Portland and the Black community.
Presently, he began, Portland’s
police force totals some 700 officers
and o f that figure, only 17 are Black.
Tha third annual Black Woman*« Oatharing bald Saturday wa« antar-
taining and Informativ« for aN thoaa who attandad Sl»tar» from ovar
BO yaara oM "and looking good" to thraa-month old Taanim Saflya
Dunham, hald by bar mothar Adrianna Crua. attandad
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
The main thing lX»ug Spence has to
say after living in Nicaragua for 14
months is that tf Congress votes to
continue funding for CIA-backed
contras, many innocent people, in­
cluding children, w ill be killed.
"T h a t the human result o f ’ put
ting pressure on the Sandtnistas ,
he said dunng a recent visit to Portland
Spence just returned from Nica­
ragua after 14 months as a Witness
for Peace volunteer. Witness for
Peace, an inter denominational relig­
ious group, sends volunteers into
war torn parts o f Nicaragua to w it­
ness attacks and in some cases put
themselves between civilians and
attacking contras.
Room and board for the volun­
teers is provided, along with a $35 a
month stipend, said Spence.
A beekeeper from Skagit County,
Washington. Spence said he would
rather leach beekeeping than be so in ­
volved in defense against the war
"B u t it w ill be quite a while before
Nicataguans have time for beekeep­
in g ," he said.
Spence said he traveled to most
♦ ' parrs o f the country and talked to
many Nicaraguans, gathering testi­
mony about the war.
During a visit to the Atlantic coast
town o f Siuna, he and townspeople
were awakened one night by gun
shots announcing a contra attack.
"They were shooting into the town,
he said.
A guard was mounted — Spence
said the entire town was armed. Luck­
ily. two contra groups merging on the
town failed to link up and the attack
failed. " I t was a very tense n ig h t,"
said Spence.
Herndon believes we need more
Black police officers who understand
the community. But what we don’t
need are Black officers who think
they have to be cruel,” he said.
Herndon said there is a problem
with existing policies within the police
department. He maintains that it goes
beyond dialogue because the ques­
tion is: “ Are they (the police) going
to follow their policies?”
Still in all. Herndon feels that Chief
Penny Harrington is the best possible
choice for the jo b and he hopes that
she w ill reach out to the community
for the help needed to implement her
cultural awareness training.
Jobs are another thing that are on
Herndon’s mind. He said everyone is
talking about jobs for youth because
that’s an explosive situation, seething
with the possibility o f not. However,
he maintains that "jo b s are not just
needed for the kids, but their fathers
and mothers need jobs, loo. We need
to concentrate on making industry
more responsible to Black adults,' he
said.
On the other hand. Herndon sees
one possible solution to the job prob­
lem for youth.
He said, " I think they (the city o f
Portland) should do like the Mayor o f
Washington,
D.C.
(Under
the
M ayor’s working plan) every kid over
14 years old is guaranteed a jo b .'
While praising Portland’s Black
leadership, especially during the po­
tentially explosive Stevenson inci­
dent, Herndon criticized one o f the
comm unity’ s political figures.
Herndon doesn’ t understand how
or why State Senator Bill McCoy vot­
ed down Senate Bills 624 and 625.
He doesn’t understand why the
Senator didn’t (and quite possibly
doesn’t) understand the importance
o f those pieces o f legislation to the
Black community. And lastly Hern­
don doesn’t understand why the Sen­
ator seems bent upon division when
cohesiveness is needed.
Recently Rep. Margaret Carter
sponsored a b ill that would make
M artin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a
legal holiday in Oregon. But through
committee and the politics o f politics,
the Senator replaced her bill w ith one
he had orchestrated.
Herndon said, “ He certainly didn't
have any community support and I
hope he w ill go to (Rep. Carter) and
get his b ill to reflect what she had
worked so hard to put together.”
Furthermore, Herndon said, "W e
hope he w ill work to get the divesture
b ill, (the one sponsored by Rep.
Carter), through the Senate "
Bill Collin« and Doug Spanca (left) di«cu«« Spence'« 14 month« In
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Nicaragua
ter at the First Baptist Church o f Co­
rinto, Spence said. That church has a
sister church in Portland, Lincoln
Street United Methodist.
C orinto is Nicaragua’ s main port,
and therefore a major target. "T h e
people o f C orinto are under a lot o f
stress," said Spence. “ They just don't
know from one day to the next
whether their children are going to be
blown to bits by U.S. warplanes or
ships.”
Spence likened the daily lives and
work o f Nicaraguans to rebuilding
the walls o f Jericho. "A s the people
o f Nicaragua are putting their work
into rebuilding a new society by day,
by night they have to stand guard
against attack." he said.
Later, during the “ mig crisis" after
President Reagan’ s reelection, Spence
was in C orinto, Portland's new sister
city. Townspeople (eared a U.S. at­
tack was imminent, he said, especial­
ly since u U.S. warship stood just
three miles o ff the coast, w ithin easy
shelling distance o f the city.
Witness for Peace organized an I I -
day peace vigil near the oil tanks that
had been destroyed in a previous
attack, and a group o f volunteers
went out in an unarmed fishing boat
und stayed between the warship and
C orinto until the ship left, according
to Spence. "T h e people o f C orinto
really appreciated that e ffo rt,” he
said.
The volunteers were provided shel-
Interracial children lack identity
by Robert Lothian
Intcnacia) children live with com­
plex problems that society oflen ignores
Prejudice against mixed marriages
comes to bear on the children. who face
a double racism
The stigma o f interracial rape going
back to slavery is also earned by some
children
They find it hard to identify with the
racial background o f cither parent,
and don’t feel accepted by any racial
group.
Ihcse issues were discussed Saturday
at a conference on interracial families
held at M allory Avenue Christian
Church.
Over 80 adults and 35 children
from throughout the Portland area
and from as far away as Seattle at­
tended what is believed to be the first
such conference in Oregon.
Interracial parents from Northeast
Portland were given the rare oppor­
tunity to share their feelings, said
W illiam Lane, acting pastor at Mai
lory. "T h e conference was beauti­
fu l,” said Lane.
Few support groups exist that can
help interracial families overcome
lack o f communication and isolation,
said Kate Shackford, director o f the
Council on Interracial Brxiks for
Children, sponsor o f the conference.
Participants signed a mailing list with
the hope that a support group may
grow out o f the conference.
Dr. Amanda Houston Hamilton,
a psychotherapist and author ol an
upcoming book on interracial chil­
dren, said that interracial families
lend to pull w ithin themselves and be­
come cut o ff. " T h a t’ s the way we
take care o f ourselves and our pain
is to pull away,” she said.
“ I want people to own the inter-
A-
Dr Amand« Houaton Hamilton talk« to group during tha confarance
(Photo. Richard J. Brown)
on "Chlldran of Intarraclal Famllla»
racialness o f themselves," said Hous­
ton H am ilton. That means for fam i­
lies to talk about it. which too often
isn't done, she said, and for the great­
er society to realize that most people
are o f mixed racial background.
“ Anybody who says they are only
black or white doesn’ t know their
own histo ry," she said.
Jcana Wooley, who spoke on a
panel o f interracial adults, said she
had never dealt with the issue in pub­
lic. " I 'm not racially identified as
Black . .1 often feel caught betwixt
and between. People would ask me
about my fam ily background and I
wouldn’ t want to talk bout it.”
Elisa G rillo Clay, o f Afro-Cuban
background, felt that interracial chil­
dren learn self hate by denying their
m inority backgrounds. “ What ever a
person says they are. just figure that
they know belter than you d o ." she
M R
Kichard Johnson said that, "P e o ­
ple want to know where you’ re com­
ing from if you’ re not all white. I try
to get it out o f the way because I
know they’re coming with more ques­
tions."
" I don't deal with it as a positive
question in most instances," said
Wooley. " H ’s always been to try
and pul me in a b o x ."
" I t ’s really hard for multi-racial
children who cannot disown them
selves because the rest o f the world is
ill,” said Elizabeth Asahi Sato, o f
Asian Native American-white ances­
try. "Racism is really destructive
whether it comes from a white per­
spective, a Black perspective or a
Hispanic perspective."
" I ’ m proud o f being a person first
o ff, and proud o f being two people.
I ’ m just proud to be what I a m ." said
Johnson.
said.
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