Page 4. Portland Ofanrw , J ir e 12. 1965 EDITORIAL/OPINION New labels: same product Politics ’84 replaced the faces at City Hall and in the city’s bureaucracy. But the end results re­ main just as unfair, discriminatory and regres­ sive as if the old administration never left. Smiling, with a rose in one hand and the city’s machine in another, the new administration has dealt with crisis after crisis: a budget deficit, lay­ offs in essential services, and the Stevenson trag­ edy. Unfortunately, the decisions made and im­ plemented are no different than the previous ad­ ministration. Affirm ative Action are just words. There has been no real improvement nor are there any signs indicative o f changing de facto discrimin­ ation in city employment. created great P.R. for Portland. And whatever benefits derived from this selection were choked away with the life o f Tony Stevenson. And there is every indication to believe that the incompe­ tency involved in Stevenson’s death will remain on the force as the police union maintains vari­ ous ingredients o f a police state in Portland. Some members o f this new administration are ignorant, insensitive and elitist. If Portland is ever to progress, we must remain mindful of the thorns in the City o f Roses and work toward a collective solution. A different face in politics has not produced a different policy. And the illusion o f liberalism in Portland is slowly lifting to reveal the realities o f racism, the new admin­ istration is a perfect example o f a different label with the same product. Choosing the nation’s first female police chief SUMMER A V H COME SEE OUR EXCELLENT SELECTION- NEW&USED cftgSl Nordstrorns A $60 0, u»«d C8t a N «* rtiiTcbee®0 _ io o 9 ei U V°u P frort* 'STlLuJn O'd*- gj U.S. helping South Africa Along the C olor Line by D r. M anning M arable A third argument against divest­ ment ts that it could lead to “ disinvest­ ment" — the total withdrawal of all U.S. firms from South Africa IXsinvest- inent would increase Wack uncmplov merit rates, which in turn could create severe social tensions and acceteraie political repression against Blacks and other nonwhiles. But this fails to take into account that the white workers are disproportionately represented in U.S.- owned firms, and that the total labor- force employed by such companies is less than two percent of all adult work­ ers. What do the majority of Black trade uiiKHi leaders who have no ties to the aparthcxJ regime say about U.S. dis­ investment? I eaders of the federation of South African Trade Unions (E O S A T U ) and the Council o f U n ­ ions in South Africa, as well as the unaffiliatcd Black unions such as the General Workers Union and the South African Allied Workers Union state that total American divestiture would not destroy apartheid, but that it is absolutely essential in put­ ting political pressure on the white minority regime. As Thetnbi Mkalipt, chairperson of E O S A T U ’s (. hemical Workers Industrial Branch in Port bltzahetlt, stated in 1984, "apartheid has been promoted by the employers and the government to divide the white workers from the Black work­ ers Whues see themselves in a privil­ eged position because they are lavored by apartheid. . .” The “ only w ay" to build while-Black unity in the w ork­ place is when “ there’s no more whites- only jobs." Divestment would make it more difficult for the apartheid political economy to guarantee priv­ ileges and low unemployment rates to whites. It would certainly increase the cost of spare parts for existing machinery, curtailing some of the surplus which goes to whites. Sullivan at signatory companies, as a whole, still preserve the “ Jim C row ” system of whites in top positions and perpetuate African inequality. Critics o f divestment are quick to warn that such action is “ irrational” because it would disrupt institutional portfolios. College boards o f trustees could be charged with “ fiduciary irresponsibility.” A clean bill of health on apartheid might bankrupt institu­ tions, some have claimed But as of 1984, 40 universities had invested more than J175 million in stocks linked to apartheid. Between 1979 and 1984, divestment legislation was passed in the states o f Massachusetts, Michigan, Philadelphia, Washington, D .C ., and in other cities and states amounting to another $4?5 for tw o years B o . 3 ,3 7 I I Portiani, OR 972OG Mr» œ -t Street Apt f*i > * 6 J J ! Oregon fej f i ™ Newspaper ■ ¡MM Publishers IM « w • Asso» ia, ion • Portland Observer ZD ,0 « “ The A x ite m , O t a n r r tU SPS 9 » « D i a putxahad «vary Thuraday by Exw Puttatim g Company. Ine.. 1«O N E KMnga worth. Portland. Oragon 9 72 ,1. P o « Otite» Box 3 ,3 7 . Portiani, O ago n 9720« Sacond d a a poataga paid a, Portland. Oragon «aA’tiWAl « •S 'l’l« Tha Portland O to rrw r wax aatatoaahad xi 1970 MEMBER Subacnpnona 115 00 par yaer n the Tn C o unty area P o a , maata» Sand addraaa changaa Io tit» Portland O tn m e r. P 0 B o. 3 ,3 7 Portiani, O a g o n 9720B A IJred L. Henderson. E d ito r/P u b isher a ix a r i a a Mtoeittlon - Foundad ,BM e- D r M anning M arable teaches po­ litical sociology at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, ‘'Along the Color L in e ' ’ appears in over HO news­ papers internationally Letters to the Editor Contact: Kenneth B. Long J p ORTWND OBSERMER o f stock price performance showee that over time corporations without South African investments did no­ tably better than those involved ir South A fric a ." There are really few argument* against divestment from apartheid which hold up after sustained examin­ ation. But we must be clear that eco­ nomic disengagement will not lead to the immediate end ol apartheid. I per­ sonally favor the passage o f H R . 997 sponsored by Congressman Ronald V. Dellums, which would prohibit holding any current or making future investments in South Africa either in the public or private sector, and would deny lax credits and deductions for all U.S. firms doing business in South Africa, over the more moderate Et.D. 1460/60 615 Gray-Kennedy bill, which prohibits new investments and bank loans to the South African public sector. Yet even the Dellums bill, which will not pass, would only severely cripple the regime. South Africa is a society experiencing funda­ mental social change, in which a Black majority government ultimately will emerge — a fact o f political life which no outside force will halt. D i­ vestment can only help to accelerate the transition to democracy; invest- ments-with-’reforms’ may only retard this process. The debate over divestment is ac­ tually secondary to a larger question: should certain humanistic moral and political principles guide any institu­ tion’s investment policies? Divest­ ment from apartheid is only a first step toward a policy o f "people be­ fore profits.” , .. A Z Williams, G eneral M anager 288 0033 N“ 'or” * * " " « * " • A m a lg a m a ta « , P u b lla h a r. Ine New Vor* I read my first issue o f the Portland Observer last Sunday after mass It is a very informative newspaper It was the M ay 29th issue. The article by Nathaniel Scott was o f great interest to me because, back in 1978, I spent several months in Southern Africa visiting family friends that were missionaries. While in downtown Johannesburg (South Africa! I happened upon a security police action. A Black male about J5 years old was getting the hell beat out of him by two policemen. I moved toward the scene to take some photographs. The two police­ men then grabbed at me and my camera. They pushed me around a bit, calling me names. The policemen were both very upset after checking my I.D ., then started calling me and President Carter names. At that point they released me and told me to beat it. One o f the policemen was while while the other was Black (50 percent o f the South African security police To the Editor, The Portland Observer should be commended for it’s coverage o f the "T o n y " Stevenson travesty. However, upon reading the article entitled "Eterndon discusses Black issues," in your June 5th edition, I couldn’t help hut come away with a sincere feeling o f disappointment. Having the utmost respect for Ron and Nathaniel Scott, the article seemed to add their voices to the growing chorus o f " L e t’s ge, back to business as usual,” and suggested the final chapter on the life and death o f L. D. “ Tony” Stevenson had been written. If this is true, it is indeed a sad day for Portland’s Afro-American com­ munity. What! No boycott o f at least the Shell Station that at least contributed to the negative outcome o f the whole affair? Even a candlelight vigil would have been appropriate the night the grand jury returned its dual verdict — one for the record and the other for the public — to mourn the death o f justice toward the A ft Kan-American «im m unity. I see no redeeming actions being tak­ en on the part o f the City o f Portland and/or the so-called leadership o f the northeast community that warrants the carte blanche being handed those in a position o f responsibility. To my knowledge there has been no commitment made by the M ayor, Chief Harrington or the District A t­ torney, or anyone else for that matter, to even review their hiring practices with regard to the police department. Chief Harrington has demonstrat­ ed from the very beginning her unwill­ ingness or inability to effectively or­ chestrate and coordinate her efforts within the police department or the community. The entrenchment o f the reaction­ ary elements within the police de­ partment and Chief Harrington’s compassion for the community to­ tally neutralized her position and subsequently added insult to injury. And what can be expected from a po­ lice department with a history o f cor­ ruption, negligence and insensitivity toward the African-American com­ munity. Nathaniel Scott’s article and Ron Herndon’s comments, along with othc so-called "leaders” o f the com­ munity, indicated that when " T o n y " died as a result of, at least, civil or criminal negligence, so did the Black community, in my opinion. Have we resigned ourselves to live without justice so we can live with the White man? S H A H E E D H A A M ID Communications A Media Coordinator o f M asjid Muhammad, Portland