Page 10, Portland Observer, August 28, 1985
Prostitution: legalize
or decriminalize
by Nuthaniel Scott
(Photo: Richard J Brown)
LEWIS WINCHESTER
Albina Human Resources
director to retire August 31
a member ol the board ol directors to
by \uiham el S< o il
I ewis W inchester, the director o f
the Albina Human Resource L enter at
N I Vancouver Avenue and Alberta
Street, w ill re tire August 3 I o f this
year
Winchester has worked for the slate
fo r 30 years, lie began in 1955 as .1
case w orker w ith the M u ltn o m a h
t ounty Welfare Department. A t that
tune. Winchester said there were prob
ably a h a ll dozen Blacks w o rk in g
lo t the department.
‘ H e a lth is the th in g that really
prompted me to re tire ,'' Winchester
said " I hase very low energy. At limes
I very nearly black out fro m dizzi
ness." W uichester said he sutlers Irom
a nervous disorder
" I ’ve been drilled o f energy and de
cided to pull back and re g ro u p ," he
said.
Winchester has been director ol the
Albina center since August ol 1980 I li
se! up the In s t center in the A lb in a
district in 1969. I he center was located
at Union Avenue and Alberta Stieet.
" I am going Io lest a while and then
my wile and I plan to travel abroad."
W inchester said. " M y w ife was in
Kenya lo r the w om en’ s fo ru m and
we intend to go back to Kenya."
WiiKheslet has been cutting back on
his activities but he still wants to serve
llie community “ It lean get ins physi
cal condition back logethei, I'll prob
ably get back into community service
as an advisor," he said.
Since moving to Portland in 1954,
Winchester has served the community
in a number ot positions He has been
street crime; served on the Multnomah
( ounty Advisory Committee; the Vo
cational R e h a b ilita tio n a l Regional
A dvisory C om m ittee; the C itizen's
Advisory Committee for the Depart
ment o l H um an Services; and the
Ilo a n i ol Menial Health and Project
recovery. In a d d itio n , Winchester is
a member ol the National Association
ol Black Social Winkers
Winchester considers his most sig
nificant accomplishment to have been
Ins ability to help people who lound
themselves in need o f (lie center
" I he satisfaction is in know ing
that I did what I could and the people
do recognize th a t ," he said. "T h e
thing I would lie most concerned about
is that the center continue to function
as a u n ifie d vehicle fo r the A lb in a
com m unity."
Winchester m aintained that his
philosophy has always been " to pro
vide service in a human and dignilied
manner."
When W uichester became director
ot the center in 1980 he had 11 people
working under him Icxlay that figure
has been cut to sis “ Our budget has
lx-en reduced slightly each budgetary
period the last tw o sessions o f the
legislature,” he said.
Winchester said, " I am lo o kin g
fo rw a rd to retirem ent. Il's quite a
strain to be involved in a political situ
ation You have to please many people
and quite often you can’ t do what you
want to d o , firs , I am going to rest; do
some traveling and then get back into
community sen ice."
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Ibursday, August 22, at the down
town branch o f M ultnom ah C ounty
l ibrary, Radical Women, a voctahst-
feminist organization, held a meeting
about P rostitution. The meeting was
billed as "a feminist perspective on the
prostitution debate."
A drienne W eller, organizer fo r
Portland’s radical Women, said "Rad
u a l Women call fo r legalization o f
prostitution society-wide."
Much o f Weller’s speech refuted the
C ity t lu b ’ s recent report calling for
the legalization o f p ro s titu tio n in
zoned areas.
No su rp risin g ly, many n e ig hb o r
hoods, especially the poor and less
in flu e n tia l ones, asked: what areas
w ould be zoned fo r p ro s titu tio n ?
Naturally, most of those in the North
cast felt it w ould be zoned to the
Northeast where a large percentage o f
the c ity ’s prostitutes congregate on a
daily basis.
W eller's argum ent, in part, said,
" I h e C ity Club report |gtves| no rea
son why p ro stitu tio n exists.” Weller
said p ro s titu tio n has existed "sin ce
private p ro p e rty ” has existed and
women have been the so-called "p ro p
erty o f men."
While women are more than hall of
the w ork force, "T h e y are taught
their value tv in s e x u a lity ," W eller
said, adding, "the Moral M ajority at
tempts to torce women to slay in the
home."
Weller m aintained that in July o f
'83 the " c it y C o u n cil unanim ously
passed" a resolution calling for prosti
tutes to be fined However, she added,
fro m July '83 to July '84, 17 men
were arrested lo r pim ping; 362 men
were arrested for seeking the services
ot prostitutes, and 1,402 women were
arrested lor prostitution
"R a d ica l Women believe it is the
height o f hypexnsy to victim ize wo
men twice by making them criminals
for p ro s titu tio n ," Weller said " D e
c rim in a liz a tio n is had, legalization
w ill give w om en‘ talus. It would give
them (prostitutes) in addition to other
things, access to social security."
"Z o n in g ,” Weller concluded, " w ill
add to stigma instead o f elim inating
it.”
K it D raham , a financial manage
ment expert who wrote the minority re
port to the C ity C lub's report, said,
“ Legalization dears not mean what the
word says. To decrim inalize means
you remove all laws.”
Draham said the city o f P ortland
has as many male prostitutes as it docs
female prostitutes, but "th e C ity pro
tects male prostitutes."
Draham m aintained that a class-
action suit is needed in P o rtla n d .
“ Somebody needs to sue Portland tor
millions,” she said.
Draham said the C ity has nothing
to gam by making prostitution arrests
because the C ounty gets the money,
f urthermore, she said, “ If the neigh
borhoods quiet down the police don’t
bother prostitutes."
The question o f legalizing and or
decriminalizing prostitution is similar
to the garbage dump, everybody wants
it but no one wants it in their back
yard. Citizens in St. John are scream
mg about "the girls" taking oser their
streets and citizens along U nion
Avenue are sick and tired o f the whole
damn thing.
fro m U nion and Broadway A ve
nues to A lb e rta Street seem to be a
haven fo r prostitutes, they can be
seen haw king I heir wares both day
and night. Some prostitutes esen cn
gage in regular conversation with po
lice officers in patrol cars And “ pintp-
m obilcs” cruise U n io n Avenue like
it wav 82nd Avenue
What Northeast Portland citizens
are asking is what can we do? ( >n one
vide they say legalize and on the other
they say decrim inalize But we ate
caught in the middle with these damn
prostitutes.
I dna Robinson, coordinator o f the
Northeast Neighborhixxl office, said,
" I don't believe prostitution should be
legalized ” She added, “ I hat would
be saying i t ’ s a lrig h t to he a prosti
lute."
The Royal Esquire Club's
Community Service Statement
by A.D.S.
Volume V
Community Service Benefit Coming Up!
Portland, Oregon, is a unique slice of America for Blacks, who
are able to produce and perform meaningful services. No
where in the world will you find a place that has the kind of
background and history of racial prejudice toward Blacks, and
yet has so many very successful Black professionals in busi
ness, as well as Blacks in key prestigeous jobs. To name a few
who readily come to mind are: Bill Hilliard, Editor, The Ore-
Homan; James D«Priest, Director, Portland Symphony; Mat
thew Prophet, Superintendent, Portland Public Schools; Mer
cedes Detz, Judge, Multnomah County; Aaron Brown Jr.,
Judge, Multnomah County; Hazal Hayes, Oregon State Pa
role Board; Bill McCoy, Senator, State of Oregon; Margaret
Carter, Representative, State of Oregon, Multnomah County;
Jim Hill, Representative, State of Oregon, Marion County;
Dick Bogle, City Council, Portland; Venerable Booker, Presi
dent, American State Bank, Portland; David Nero, Founder
and Chairman of Nero and Associates, also of Nero Industries,
Inc.; Walter Reynolds, M.D., Founder of Phil Reynolds Medi
cal Center; Henry Scott, Founder and President of Coast Jani
torial Services (Coast Janitorial is the second largest janitorial
service in Oregon); Marion Blackburn, Founder and Owner of
Raleigh Hills Racquet Club; Richard W ashington, Oregon's
first Black commercial artist, 46 years in business; Dr E. C.
Oqbuobiri, electrical engineer and founder of EZAK; Paul
Knauls, very well known businessman of Portland; Alfred Lee
Henderson, Founder, Portland Observer; Gary Ann Garnett,
Editor Manager, Portland Observer; Al Williams, General Man
ager, Portland Observer; Bernice Foster, Founder, Editor and
Publisher, The Scanner; Don Vann, Founder, Vann and Vann
Funeral Directors; Arthur Cox, Founder, Cox Funeral Home;
Thomas Boothe, Founder, Addiction Diagnostic Services;
R. D. Sevier, Founder, Sevier Sanitation Services.
We can all remember those who are no longer with us, some
who are deceased and some w ho have moved on such as
Charles Jordan, Gladys McCoy, several TV news anchor per
sons; deceased Richard Muffet, Sherman Thomas, George
Baldwin, Rosalie Boothe, Ira Mumford, Sidney Porter, Thom
as Johnson, and many others
I know that I have not named many persons who may be
lust as successful, if not more so, than some I have named; to
those I apologize. However, my intent here is to show and
document that out of a population of approximately 30,000
Blacks, success is not denied those who can perform and pro
duce quality services The above mentioned Blacks excelled
out of a population of approximately 700,000 people living in
and around the Portland Metro area.
(Photo Richard J B row n)
CYRIL GASKIN
Cyril Gaskin dies
C yril ( iaskm, 77, died in Ins Inline Iasi week
M r G askin was a founder ot the W estern States G o lt A s s ix ia lio n over 40
sears ago at a tune when Blacks could not join the I S < io |f \ss,x lation or the
Oregon Liolt Yssociation
Mi 1
la ll o f I
\
( icilt Associ.ition
He was also a member o l the Masonic I odgeand the Minna I unis Club.
I he Iannis suggests retnembiances be made in the to ,in o l
n irib iitio n s to
the American ( atnei Sixiely
PSU forms committee
\ 1 11-, l i e . I I I s . i s e.u ot Jet’ .He and
controversy, W illiam Paudlet, dean ot
the college ol liberal .iris and sciences
al P o rtla n d State t tnsetsity. has ap
pointed a com m ittee Io look in to the
leasilnhls ot A triu m studies being in
corp ora led in to the ongoing Intelna
lional Studies Program
Paudler n o tifie d com m ittee mem
bers l)t C a n d ice G o u c h e r. P rim u s
St Jo h n , Dr I a il Rees, Dan New
bens and chairm an I)t Michael Real
don " t o exam ine the situ a tio n as ex
p e d tlio u sls as p o s s ib le ." I he m em o
wa dated Vugust 15 ot this veai.
In a m em o ra n d u m to I>i D a rre ll
M illn e r, dm lo i n the BI.i ' k Studies
D e p a rtm e n t, P audler w ro te : " I he
in itia l com it tee w ill he c barged w ith
the A frican peisjx-clise in connection
w ith the In te rn a tio n a l Studies P ro
gian t curre ntly a s a ila h le a t P ortla nd
Stale I ins vi sit s
|)r M illn e t said, " I teel sets posi-
tise about the committee. Ml the mem
bers ate higlils qualified in researching
I he resources
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