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Pag«? 9
PORTLAND OBSERMER
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Volume XVI, Number 1
November 6 1906
250 Copy
Two Sections
Frank Wilkinson:
life dedicated to civil rights
name to the N a tio n a l t o m m itte e
Against Repressive I e g isla tio n
(N t ARI ) In 1968, N t A R I joined
with the Japanese-American t ilizens
le a g u e in a successful three-year
cam paign to repeal the 1980
Emergency D e te n tio n A ct, w hich
authorized the establishment ol con
ccntration camps fo r political dissen
lets in tunes ot " n a tio n a l emergen
cy.”
W lien W ilkin so n was asked about
c iv il lib e rtie s p ro te c tio n under
President Reagan, he said, " I am 72
sears old and I'v e seen m any
Presidents President Reagan is trying
to turn back the clock on a ffirm a tive
a c tio n , school in te g ra tio n , and
protection o f 0, Bill ot Rights such as
the M uand,1 Ruling and Ihe Iscohedo
R u ling A n o th e r reason w hy I say
civil liberties ate under attack today
m ore than in the past is because
t ongress members (both Democrats
Zn Jerry Harrier
JIM EVANS
(Photo Richard J Brown)
Peace Corps volunteer reports
on four years in Lesotho
m Konert 1 omian
lim I vans returned home recently
a lte r spending nearly lo u r years in
Southern Africa.
Evans, 32, taught high school
science lor isso seats as a Peace ( orps
volunteer in Lesotho, a sm all, land
locked country completely surrounded
by South A frica He also spent a year
managing a drought relief project for
the Peace ( orps in Botswana, a large
desert c o u n try that borders South
Africa ns the north, and he traveled in
Z im babw e, Z a m b ia , T a n za n ia ,
Kenya, Uganda and Zaire.
Originally from Framingham, M A ,
I vans is visiting friends in Portland.
In I esotho, he taught general
science and biology to 200 teenagers
at an A nglican m ission school neat
the village o f Ha Moleniane, about 24
miles from Maseru, the capital Most
ol the 100 Peace (. orps volunteers in
the country while he was there Iron,
198 I to I 9 8 ( were teachers, I vans
said I esotho has a teacher shortage,
so the Peace ( orps teachers tille d a
need lor the country, he said.
I esotho was a British protectorate
lo t 100 yeats, and many o f his
students had a good understanding ol
I nglish, I vans said I earning I nglish
can he a lib e ra tin g experience lo r
people in the area, I vans believes,
because it gives them a connection to
the w orld and a hedge against being
manipulated through their know ing
only a local language
I he village was named a lte r the
local chief, according to I vans, who
said that the tribal clan system ol the
country 's Basotho people remains in ­
tact I am ilies co n tin u e to live in
round stone and mud houses groups
in fam ily compounds, he said, and a
system o f chiefs extends up to the
king, Moshoeshoc II. greal grandson
o f I esoiho’s founding chief.
I vans' photos showed a d ry ,
mountainous country with tew trees
Most o f the population ol one and a
half m illion is crowded into a narrow
plain between the (.aledon River and
a m ou n ta in range. The average in ­
come is about $200 a year, I-vans
said. Villagers are not starving or sul
fering severe health problem s even
though drought conditions exist now,
he said, because the people lake care
ol each other and because the country
receives considerable foreign aid The
staple dtel is/xz/xz (heavy corn bread),
nee, cabbage, and some meat, and the
people wear western style clothes and
occasionallv tra d itio n a l blankets, he
said.
“ I t ’ s fa irly disease-free because ot
the clim a ctic c o n d itio n s ”
m ainly
dry with occasional snow in (he winter
and tem peratures up to 90 in the
summer, he said
A ccording to 1 vans, the Basotho
people once occupied a wide area ot
what is now some ot South A fric a 's
best la in ,la n d Pressured bs the ex
pansion ot A frika n e r settlers on one
side and Z ulu people on the o ther,
they came together under the leader
ship o f Moshoeshoc, repelled the set
tiers and became .1 B ritis h proles
torate in about 18(1) I lies lost much
ot their rich tain,land, however
(h o u g h independent, I esotho is
dominated bv South A ttica politically
and econom ically " I hey’ re at the
meres ot South A fric a ,” he said
W h ile citizens ot B l.u k ruled
I esolho generally have mote Ireedom
than Blacks in South A frica, I esotho
has been in a slate o l virtual m artial
law since 1971 and its 6(I day deten
non law is sim ilar to that ot South
Africa, he said
Lesotho does provide sanctuaiv to
refugees fro m South A fric a , and
Prime Minister I eabua Jonathon oc
castonaliy makes hatsh statements
against apartheid. I vans said
Bui South Africa finances a guerilla
movement to destabilize I esolho, and
the South African arms has attacked
across the border, allegedly in pursuit
o l A fric a n N a tio n a l ( ongress
guerillas I orty people were k ille d
d u rin g a South A fric a n ra id in
Maseru, according to I vans
"E co n o m ica lly, 1 esotho is totally
dependent on South A lric a ,” he con
tinned C o rn grow n in I esotho to r
the c o u n try 's staple co rn bread is
processed in South A fric a and comes
back at in fla te d prices, and many
I esotho workers leave their homes to
work in South African mines, he said
Being a m in o rity fe lt strange at
first, but the Black people he worked
w ith made hint feel welcome, I vans
said Still, he said, "People see whiles
as symbols ot wealth, plus you always
stand out in a crow d People know
your every move.”
He recalled strange feelings evoked
during visits to South A fric a " A s a
w h ile going to S outh A lr ic a , I
w o u ld n ’ t count on ta lk in g to that
many Blacks Il's a very tense place.
The place I felt the most tense was in
Johannesburg People scented very
scared a New Y o rk C ity k in d ol
thing.”
I tank W ilkinson lias been lighting
fo r c iv il rig h ts alm ost a ll o l his 72
sears
W ilk in s o n
planned on
becoming a mm islci atie, gt.iduating
tio in 1 ( 1 \ in 19(6 However. .die,
taking .1 tour ot the wo, Id, he changed
his mind and em baiked instead on ,1
career in public housing
In 19(9, W ilk in s o n became
Secreiarv ot the ( itiz e n ’ s H ousing
( o u n cil ol I os Angeles, .1 private,
p u b lic interest g ro u p designed to
promote the construction o f low rent
integrated public bousing In 1942, he
joined the I os Angeles ( its Housing
Auihoriiv During his tenure with the
H ousing
A u ih o r iiv .
W ilk in s o n
became .1 national authority on slum
clearance W ilk in s o n was the In s t
manager o l the firs t integrated
housing in W a its in 1942 II was
during this period the I BI started to
follow W ilkinson around
" I found out tive seats ago that in
1942 the I BI s ta lle d fo llo w in g me
around m ini 19X0 " W ilkin so n was
called before Ihe House ( omm ittee
o n l nan,ei lean A c tiv ilie s ( I I I \ ( 1
and asked 10 name all the
o rg a n iza tio n s to w hich he had
belonged since I9 ( | Refusing lo a n
swet, he was fire d fro m his jo b In
198 (, W ilk in s o n became executive
secretary o f the C itizen's (. omm ittee
Io Pi eserve American freedom I lie
o rg a n iz a tio n wav dedicated to
abolishing H l)A (
In 1988, W ilkinson wav invited to
Atlanta to circulate a petition among
Black church leaders in Georgia Ihe
purpose ol line was to keep H l A(
out o l Ihe South " I I I A( was
coming to pul a subversive label on
the Southern ( hristia n I eadership
(S( I ( ) and M a rtin I uther King, I,
and Sr. " A s soon as I a rrive d in
A tla n ta , I was subpoenaed bs
H l A t M vselt. along w ith tin late
( a tl Braden, another ( iv il liberties
organizer, declined to answer on the
I irst Amendment grounds "
W ilkinson and Braden were cited
(Photo Richard J Brown)
FRANK WILKINSON
lo r co n te m p t and lost in the I S
Supreme C o u rt bv liv e to lo u t
decisions I lie iw o were sentenced lo
one sear in fedeial prison
W ilkinson said Bus about Ins prison
sentence " I agreed to make a lest
case, knowing I would piobablv lose
and go lo ja il, bul there are times
when Ihe best place lo be is in jail
Beloie entei 1 ng prison, W ilkinson
and B laden were h o n o ie d w ith a
reception bv M orehouse ( ollegc
Among those who allended the tecep
lion in
I,
1961
was M ailin I uther King,
la te r I),
K ing and H o w a rd
Schom ct (secretary o l the W o rld
( o u n cil o l ( hutches) and others
p e titio n e d to r th e ir Ireedom . Both
W ilkinson and Biaden were released
in 1962
A lle i his release, W ilk in s o n te
tinned to the National ( omm itiee to
a b o lish H I A t
It was fin a llv
abolished in 1978.
W ilk in s o n 's g ro u p changed its
and Republicans) aie prone to com
prom ise. A lso we have a Supreme
C o u rt th a t is on a c o llis io n course
with the Bill ol Rights We .lie gelling
decisions from the Burger C ourt that
ate c o n ti.itv to what we w ould have
expected fro m the most conservative
members o f the court during the time
ol La,I W alien
W ilk in s o n said iliat the Reagan
a d in iiiis ti,m o il's a tta cks on Ihe
I reedom ot In fo rm a tio n A ct is an
example ot ihe a d m in is tra tio n ’ s at
lacks on civil liberties
" In
198 (, Reagan issued an
executive order that reclassified over a
m illio n docum ents, that in the past
years were declassified ” I his, says
W ilk in s o n , w ill prevent the public
from knowing about abuse ol govern
rnent powers W ilkin so n said, " i t a
citizen wanted to fin d out w hat the
I HI is doing w illi (he closed tile on
Dr M a rlin I uihet King, he would be
denied th is in fo rm a tio n due to
Reagan’ s executive older Reagan is
living lo denv the public knowledge
that the public must have il we ate
going to move at all down Ihe toad
toward more dcm ixratic norms "
Police misconduct costing cities
/>. J e m darner
I p until 1978, all individual could
not sue a municipality lor damages as
a result ol j'olice brutality 01 personal
injuries. ( Kies and towns were protec
ted by "s o v e re ig n im m u n ity ," a
derivative o l the rule that "th e King
can do no w r o n g ." This im m u n ity
changed in I97K when the I S
Supreme C o u rl ruled that local
governm ents were lia b le lo r c iv il
rights v io la tio n s In 1980 the court
eliminated the defense that a cits, ot
its em ployee, had acted in "g o o d
fa ith ."
I hese tw o decisions by the high
court have resulted in cities across the
nation paying out m illions ot dollars
in damages lo r p o lice m isconduct
Below are a few examples:
• I he city ot Richm ond, ( a lito r
ma was ordered by a federal court to
pay the fam ily o l tw o Black man $(
m illion dollars after they were shot to
death in separate in cid e n ts by tw o
white policemen Ih e ju ry ruled that
the victims’ civil rights were violated
• I lie city o l M ilw a u k ie was o r ­
dered to pay $1 4 m illion lo .1 la,nils
ol ,1 Black in.in who was shot 111 1988
by a while policeman Police coveted
up the murder A three nidge ledetal
appeals court approved the award to
the victim's familv
• Miami officials awarded over $1
m illio n lo the tam ilv ol A rth u r Me
D uffle M c D litlie , a Bl.uk in m a lice
executive, was beaten to death bv live
policemen A lthough one ol the ol
(leers involved in the minder testified
in courl that he was told lo cover up
the killing, the ton, officers who were
charged were found innocent bv an
all white jurv
• As a result Ot the Spis I II In
vestigations Division (SID) scandal m
1981, the cits o l P o rtla n d awarded
hundreds o f thousands ol dollars lo
individuals who were trained bs SID
officers
Ihe above examples ate only a lew
ol ihe many cases in which cities have
paid out large settlements to families
o f victims who were killed as .1 result
ol criminal acts bv Ihe j'olice
N ot o n ly arc cities paying out
monev to victim s’ lam ilies w ho died
fro m police misconduct, citizens are
also being aw atded lie liv sums in
cases ol j'o lice b ru ta lity and acts ol
racism
W hen P o rtla n d p olice o lfu e ts
threw dead oppossums in I,o n l ot the
Buiger Bam Restaurant in Northeast
P ortland, the owner received almost
$7i),()t«i hi an out ot court settlement.
In September o l tins seat, a M u ll
no n iali ( ountv ( irc iitt ( ourt awat
dec! $8,<«io in damages 10 a Portland
man who was detained by j'olice even
a lte r police learned he was not a
suspect in an in cid e n t under in
vestigatton
Besides paving m illions ol dollars
in aw ards, cities are spending him
dreds ol thousands in legal fees Even
il a plaintil I wins nothing, the cost ot
m o u n tin g a defense can s tra in the
budget 1'I cities
I samples ol this can be seen in the
" D o n ’ t ( hoke ‘ I 111. Smoke ’ I m " I
sh irt in cid e n t and the Stevenson's
inquest It cost the city o l P ortland
$40,976 in legal lees m defense ol the
decision bv M avor Bud ( lark to fire
the two officers who sold the I shirts
1
Ihe city also bad to pas a portion ol
the a rb itra to r's $"’ ,780 ice I he law
lirm o l B itk la n d . Koch and Houze
was paid $ I 8,160 bv the city for legal
lees lo t representing j'olicem an Gary
I Bar b o u t, one o l ihe tour officers
in vo lve d in tile death ot I lo yd I)
Stevenson Ih e city paid $16,800 in
legal tees lo r the three other
p olicem en in v o lv e d in Stevenson's
death
Such large awards are draining the
resources
of
many
cities
Municipalities arc facing serious fiscal
p roblem s as a result o l d e clin in g
federal revenues and police miscon
duct I he city reserves mas dw indle
fu rth e r due to an u pcom ing suit by
the fa m ily o l I lo y d I) Stevenson
Stevenson's tamilv is suing the city lor
$18 m illion
Portland's financial reserves are at
the low est p o in t in m ore than a
decade (uven the monev the city has
paid out over the years in awards to
in d iv id u a ls due to p o lice c rim in a l
behavior, it tv not surprising the city
reserves are low
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