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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1986)
C rs F ran cas ? ;h 3 'n - ?-> paper . oca U n iv e rs ity c f Crcgan L ib ra ry n e, OrSRon 97<J3 Volume XVI. Number 17 PORTLAND OBSERVER March 5. 1986 25cC opy TwoSections Prisoner Support Group Struggles for Family Visit Law by B ob Lothian Oregon People lor Prison Altern.i lives is gearing up lor another legisla In c assault Ihe support and lobby group lor prisoners and their families plans to try once again this session to get a fam ily visit h ill passed Ihe legislature has turned down a family visit hill sponsored by the group lor the last two sessions During the last session, Governor Vic Ativeh withheld his support o f the bill "T h e governor hadn't read the hill, he didn’ t know what was in it and he probably didn’t care." said OPPA spokeswoman Jackie Holmes Holmes, a Northeast fAirtland rest dent, said the h ill's purpose is " to hold the family unit together" by guarante emg extended family visits and other privileges Ihe OSSP supported an in novative 72 hour visit policy where whole families could gel together in a trailer on prison grounds lo r 72 hours Before the bill was tabled, the visit length had been cut to 24 hours, she said '' I married behind the wall It's a real strange relationship sometimes," said Holmes, whose husband has two years remaining in an Oregon institution " I'v e got two teen agers at home who still need that kind ol bonding," she said about the importance o f keeping ihe family unit together Oregon does not have a family visit law even though C a lifo rn ia and Washington have had such laws lor years, she said Holmes said Ihe group w ill continue to lobbv lor more rational visitation rules, so that arbitrary treat mem can lx- avoided "Iro m whoever on ihe front desk may not have had the right amount ot coffee that morning " Holmes repotted that even though the bl.uk population in Oiegou makes up about 6r r ot the total. 49'» ot Ore gon prison inmates are bias k Yet. " I find that bl.uk women are not meeting in gioups sux h as these we need to lx- m eeting." she said Holmes also reported that Ihe superintendents ol the loui state prisons have ollered Io meet with the < >I'PA Io discuss a unities! proposal lot a bill to present to the next legislature Ihe group w ill hoist a statewide meeting. Saiuistay March 22. I p in at Jason l ee Chinch in Salem Holmes can be reached at 2H4 6422 Another group, Waiting Outside, which operates under Ihe umbrella ol lbs- Society ol St Vincent slel’aul, ol lers weekend titles to Salem lor prison ers' families Van shiver I aura I event said Ihe rules leave Sunday s at II a m Irom Ihe Justice Center, at the comer sif S W Main aiul Madison .Streets St Vincent slel’aul director ol sixaul services I inda Hunter said that in addi lion to the rules. W ailing Outside oilers a suppssrt network toi prisoners' families On the ageiula now. she said, is an effort Io stop prison guards Irom punishing families along with the pris oners with arbitrary rules What we need iodo is bring these people together to lobby lor some new law s," Hunter said Watting < >utsistc also needs a large van or used school bus, she added I he group can be contacted at 215 7K37 Educator Says Quality Schools Are Key to School Integration b y Jerry G arner "O nce quality education becomes the priority, yo u 'll find that parents who put their children in private paroc hial schools w ill place their kids back into the public schools " Ihese state ments were made by l.aval S W ilson, superintendent o f Boston public schools Wilson, who is a graduate ot the University o f Chicago and North western University, is the first Black to head the Boston school system, which is the oldest in the country Wilson believes that integration can be achieved by toe using on quality edu cation "T he fixu s should be not on Irving to attract parents and students bac k into public schools, but on provid ing the hest possible program for young people attending public schools,” said W ilson W ilson said once schtxil ad ministrators do that, "w e enhance the image ol the schools It becomes well known that the young people in the sys tem are achieving and are receiving the best program that money can buy . " On the topic ot high school dropout (one o f tour high schtxd students drops out before giaduation), Wilson said schools must identify which youngsters have the potential tor dropping out He believes such students need to spend a lot more time in school than others "Educators may need to require stu dents who are substantially below level to stay in schixtl an extra tew hours or even on the weekend to improve their s k ills ," said Wilson Wilson also commented on the Reagan's administration proposed plan to abolish the Department ol Education and merit pay for teachers He said that Io dismantle the education department would he a travesty and trying to im plement a merit pay plan for teachers would be very d ifficu lt and com pli cated Black Male Joblessness, Destroying Black Families by Jerry G arner I ately there has been a great deal of discussions on the state o f Black America Unfortunately the majority of it has been negative The focus o f the disc ussions has been the social decay of many Bl.uk families and their com munities One ot the main causes tor this is the high rate o f joblessness among Black males Black males arc becoming increas ingly useless to their spouses (both legal and common law j; children and communities the overall unemploy ment rate tor Blacks over the past quar ter o f a century has been generally more than twice than that among whites Black teenage unemployment nation wide is around fifty percent Joblessness has resulted in many Black males taking unemployment as a routine part o f their life They become disconnected from the dominant soci ety . that preaches the virtue o f a honest day s work, " fo r an honest day’ s p a y ." This cycle o f joblessness has resulted in the increase in the number o f Black families headed by women Mmost half of all Black households are headed by a female Many Black males grow up in such families without ever seeing a traditional fam ily o f father and mother Lacking positive role models and their exclusion from the labor mar ket, many turn to crime as a mean of economics Others stand on street cor ners, consuming alcohol or drugs this scene can he observed in Portland and other communities across the nation Despite the seriousness o f Black males joblessness, the federal govern ment has done little in addressing the problem In fact, the critics blame the increase in Black male unemployment on the domestic policies o f the Reagan administration They alledgc the ad ministration has abandonad civil-rights enforcement, affirmative action prog rams and reduced job training prog rams The Reagan administration has shown little concern for the plight of unemployed Black males On the other hand, he has lobbied for an increase in funding for military and the Contras Tighting in Nicaragua The President is asking Congress for $100 m illion for the Contras this year and a military budget o f $3116 billion for the next fiscal year African .Market held Io benefit the Black Educational Center was rnjoyable Io all who participated in the lively event. Vendors sold food. African a rt, arts & crafts, and hooks to name a few. I he B .E.C . hopes Io have other African Markets. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Albany Busby, 6 years and Maco Hamilton, M years, enjoy the Black United Eront's Annual Gospel Concert at M t. OHvet Baptist Church. The concert was held Saturday. Ehe B l'E also took Ihe occasion to present appreciation awards to Rev. John Jackson, Vessia Mixing, Karen Powell. Richard Brown, Charlotte latwis, l.anita Duke and Bobbi Gary. (Ptmto: Richard J. Brown)