• • «. ? í . ‘ - / t
»MMM
X - i—
Page 2. Portland Observer, April 23, 1986
The Challenge to Black Journalists
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Along the Color Line by Dr Manning Murable
McClure-Volkmer Bill Will Increase Violent
Crime
Il was ironic that a day alter the U S House o f
Representatives approved a B ill weakening the
1968 Gun Control Act, two FBI agents were killed
and five more were wounded during a shoot out
with two hank robbery suspects in Miami
The B ill which was sponsored by Rep Harold
L. Volkmer, D. M o ., and James A McClure,
R Idaho, would make it easier to buy and sell
firearms; to carry them across state lines, and lim it
gun dealers' record keeping requirements which
increases the number o f people who can legally sell
firearms without keeping records
In addition, it permits dealers to transfer guns
from their commercial inventories to their personal
collections. Iron) which firearms can then be trans
ferred toothers without keeping records
Despite opposition of the B ill by police organi
zations, the House approved the B ill by a 233-1 X4
vote.
I tie passage of the M cClure-Volkm er B ill by
the House was a bad decision For it w ill lead to
more tragic incidents such as the one which occur
red in Miami
The presence ot guns increases the severity of
crimes committed Common sense suggests as
much — no other hand weapon is so efficient at
killing a human being
In the U S , there are 9 7 murders a year tor
every KM).(MM) people Guns are a factor in more
than halt the murders that result from arguments
between husbands and wives o f other people who
know each other
The vote by the House circumvents efforts by
law enforcement officials to control violent crime
in this country Instead the House caved in Io the
National Rifle Association (N R A ), who spent an
estimated SI 6 m illion to get the B ill passed And
by doing so, w ill increase the level o f vmlent crime
in this country
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
World of Voluntarism
H\ (im e rn n r Vh .l/ive/i
There are thousands o f stories in the world o f
voluntarism This is one of them
A retired Salem fireman heard an emergency
cail on his CB radio, and it turned out to be from a
motorist stranded somewhere north o f Anchorage.
Alaska
I he Salem man. whose CB picked up the long
distance dispatch because o f unusual weather con
ditions. phoned state police in Anchorage. They
followed up on the tip Not only did they find the
motorist, but they also reported back that in
another hour he would have frozen to death
This is an unusually lar-reachmg example o f the
work o f members o f Oregon REACT — Radio
Emergency Associated Communications Teams
( )n A pril 2 3 .1 w ill recognize Oregon REACT as
the Civic Division w inner o f the 1986 Governor’ s
Voluntarism Awards
I began these awards for exceptional Oregon
volunteers in 19X3 because I wanted to recognize
and to encourage
the generous work o f Ore
gon's tens o f thousands o f unselfish volunteers
You may know REACT best as the people who
serv e coffee, tea. chocolate and pop at rest areas on
the weekends; on a busy holiday weekend, they
may serve 500 gallons o f beverages at a single rest
area Our donations pay for most ot REACT’ s
volunteer work
Other Oregonians whom I w ill recognize as
winners o f this year's voluntarism awards are:
Individual Division: Joseph E. “ Joe" Burns o f
Hermiston whose wide-ranging community ser
vice includes heading the city council, chamber of
commerce, library and hospital boards, airport
committee, school and city budget committees,
and Hermiston Development Commission The
development commission was instrumental in ob
taining the Coachmen housing and Lamb Weston
potato plants for the Hermiston area
Business Division: Davidson Industries of
Mapleton, whose ever present voluntarism in
cludes building the high-school track, renting a van
to send the basketball team to the slate tournament,
providing computers for schools, painting a local
church, and donating money, material and equip
ment to build a m illion dollar. Oly nipic-size p<x»l
Special Recognition: The crew o f the U S S
Cushing, now in Portland, more than 30 o f whom
volunteered to collect, spin, deliver and stack
firewood for low income seniors Even after the
worst o f winter's weather had passed, these men
still were helping Most o f the crew members come
from outside the Northwest
Each o f these winners — Oregon REACT, Joe
Burns, Davidson Industries and the U S S Cush
ing crew
are making their communities better
than they found them
Volunteers set a powerful example.
Lor example, during the holidays Davidson In
dustries gives its employees hamburger, much ot
which quietly reaches the kitchens o f the elderly
and the needy
That is why voluntarism was the centerpiece of
my lirst inaugural address in January 1979
"T h e increasing role o f government in our
live s." I said then, "has been a temptation to
abandon our sense of community.
“ Instead o f caring for one another, we hire gov
ernment to do the job
"A g in g parents who gave us love turn, in their
need, to social workers
"C hildren who need firm hands on their shoul
ders are committed to the custody o f the courts
' ‘Our tax dollars have too often been used to buy
escape from personal responsibility, and we are the
p»M»rer for it.
When we trade the joy o f helping others for the
anonymous exercise o f paving tax dollars to buy
services, we — all o f us — are the losers
"M y friends, government can do many things,
but it can't hire love.”
Support Our Advertisers!
Say you saw it in the
Portland Observer!
Í
p o r tw n d observer
115 fex one yea»
125 tor tw o
Boa 3137 Portland OR 97208
*
1 * SVll
SiJ?
< m o o
m < Q ft,
3 )2 ^
* ~ = ¡7"
I Slraat
Apt
I
1
C,TV
STATE
O regon
N ew spaper
_ Publishers
z
Ass.
ih o n
5
*
* ö
ZIP
1
Portland Observer
Th» TSwrland O e n rrw r IU S P S 98» «MOI I» pu t*a6ad »very
Thuraday by Ex« RutMatvng Company, inc . 1483 N E KWnga
worth. Portland. Oragon 97211, Roar Odlca Box 3137. Portland.
Oragon 9720B Sacond ctaax poaiaga peal al Portland. Oragon
The f \ * O * * d O to rrw r
N ê W p A l PER
M to c ilia n • founded »BBS
*5 -4 - t
$ I O
ezi
*
X,
w < m
( )ne ol the greatest challenges confronting Black
journalists today is what can he termed the
"paradox o f desegregation." On one hand, the
popular images o f Afro Americans have become
more positive overall since the demise o f Jim
Crow There are Black newscasters on radio and
television, and Blacks on editorial boards Black
professionals in the media seem to have overcome
racial barriers
But this is more o f an illusion than reality A
recent profile ot American journalists was done by
Indiana University Professors David H Seaverand
G Cleveland W ilhoit, which was funded by the
Gannett foundation I he study, entitled "T he
American Journalist." stated that Blacks, Asians
and Hispanics account for roughly 4 percent of
editorial workers, compared to more than 5 percent
in 1971 White females, hy wav ot contrast, have
increased their margin from I in 5 in 1971 to I in 3
hxlay Seaver and W ilhoit discovered in their re
search that the typical journalist is white, male, a
“ political middle-of-the-roader" who knows little
about minorities or then conditions
Such journalists have few reasons to question
the retreat from racial equality . w Inch is the found
ation ol Reagan's civil rights agenda I hey believe
in the myth o f value free journalism, w hich asserts
that the reporter has no right to adhere to certain
ideological views in their interpretation ol society
They accept the position that a Black journalist is
simply a journalist who happens to be Black, and
that he/she has no justification to engage in "a d vo
cacy" in regards to Blacks' deteriorating rights.
What they tail to recognize is that their value free,
nuddle-ot the -roadism is just a cover lor tailing to
confront the systemic, institutional factors which
preserve ami perpetuate white racism in America.
The white media generally refuses to admit that
virtually all journalism is a fo n n o l "propaganda"
in the interests ot certain political, economic, and
social class interests
and that Blacks' interests
never surface on the agenda
Part ot the paradox ol desegregation is that some
Black journalists, in their desire to acquire accep
tance in the mainstream media, often dose their
eyes to the omnipresence ol racial bias and distor
tion When we lead Z < Month does anyone doubt
that we are encountering the interpretation o f
French journalists, with all the historical, cultural
and political baggage ol that tradition When we
read f ’riinJu nr l:\e .\lia . no one doubts that the
perspectives ot Soviet writers advance a particular
view on society and politics And when we read the
Veu York limes. every thing from the selec tion o f
stories to the orientation ot the editorials represents
a type ol bias towards the white corporate estab
lishment
What is the stieial responsibility ot Black jo u r
nalism in the period ol color blind racial discrim i
nation* Black writers must see themselves as part
ol a rich historical tradition, as the latest generation
in the heritage ol tree, democratic-oriented jour
nalists A bnet list would include: Mary Ann
Shadd Cary , editor and founder ol the / ’znizzzr m l
I i ceman hi 1X53, the first newspaper published bv
a woman in North America; Ida B Wells, the
anti lynching activist and editor ot the Memphis
Io n hln’ht. abolitionist editor Frederick Douglass,
publisher ot the \o n h Shir. T. Thomas Fortune,
editor ot the \< n lo rk .-tec. W M Trotter, editor,
ol the militant Boston ( iim n /m n , W .F B Du Bois,
founder ol the NAACP and editor ol the Crisis.
magazine; trade union leader A Philip Randolph,
editor ot the Vrvsrzn'rz. and human rights ;
spokesman Paul Robeson, editor o f Harlem's:-
heedom newspaper in the 1950s
What is ,i Black journalist? As w riters, as part o f
this tradition o l Atro-American critical thought,
we have a responsibility to comprehend that racism
still exists, and that we should never apoligize lor
taking an uncompromising attitude against raciat;
inequality in our work Poverty and hunger s t ill'
exist, and are becoming worse Unemployment,
educational underdevelopment and political under
representation have not yet been overcome. And
our task and challenge, as Black journalists, is to
raise questions revealing these problems, and to
write w ith a critical vision o f social justice and
human equality, the basic values which were em
bodied by the lives o f previous generations o f
Black writers.
/>»
ItuiiiM t i \ \ u n ui puliin ni mu id I i > i ¡ \ al ( nivale I 'liner
H iunilhm \r»»
ihttitf th e (.'ihn Im e appears n i m e t 140
ut u y tn p n \ m iei ii,innn,ill\
Legislative Report Shows Oregon’s Income
Falling Behind National Average
I he income ot ihe typical Oregonian
lags further behind Ihe nation lhan al
any lime m Ihe pa\l fitly years, despite
ihe economic recovery ot ihe past three
years, according Io a legislative report
released today
The report shows that in I 9X4, Ore
gon [X't capita income ot $1 1.61 1 was
nearly $1.200 below the national aver
age ot SI 2.7X9 lo r every dollar ol
income received by the typical Amen
can, ihe average Oregonian receives
only ahoui 9 1 cents This is ihe lowest
ratio recorded since 1929. when such
statistics first became available
Catching up Io the nalion.il aveiagc
w ill not he easy, according to the re
port Many ot the (actors propelling
Oregon's economic decline involve the
national and global competition con
fronting Oregon businesses The key to
reviving Oregon's economy is tixused
efforts Io increase value added in basic
manufacturing and service severs in
which Oregon has a comparative ail
vantage tvcausc ot its natural resources
or trained labor force
Slate Senator Joyce Cohen and Rep
resentative Jim H ill, Co Chairs ot ihe
Joint legislative Committee on Trade
and Economic Development, said that
Ihe report indicates the need tor a con
tinuing emphasis on dealing with
economic problems in the slate's basic
limber, agriculture and diversified
manufacturing industries
The report, tilled "Losing (¡round
The (¡rowing Gap between (Jrcgon and
National Income" was prepared hy Ihe
Committee's staff, and is based on
economic data collected from 1929 to
19X4 hy federal and slate agencies
"T he data show that ihe programs
Oregon had in place through 19X4 have
done little lo counteract Ihe powerful
negative trends in ihe national
economy." said Senalor Cohen
"We expect lhal the $X5 m illion
lottery funded economic development
program enacted by the 19X5 Legisla
lure Io begin helping m 19X6 and later
years,' .aided Representative B ill
Al Ihe same lime. Ihe Committee re
leased a stall memorandum describing
"T e n Innovative Economic Develop
men) Policy Ideas " The len ideas,
drawn from local Oregon community
programs and from other slates, range
from a new slate economic develop
menl strategy to computerized export
assistance The ideas w ill he used by
Ihe Committee in drafting proposals lor
ihe 19X7 Legislature
The thirty-page report, prepared by
the Committee's staff, contains a de
tailed analysis o f Oregon economic
trends over Ihe past decade The major
causes ot the decline in Oregon income,
according lo ihe report, are related lo
the decline in the competitiveness and
productivity ol basic Oregon indus
tries The major causes include
• A decline in the demand lor Oregon
wood products.
• A loss ol growth in electronics and
other diversified manufacturing.
• t he reverberation o f economic de
clme in growth dependent sectors
such as housing and construction;
and
• the inability of Oregon I inns to he
nefil from the national defense
build up;
This relative income decline is evi
dent in many changes occurring in ihe
Oregon economy I he report indicates
that incomes have declined due to slow
growth and declines in the after-
inflalion wages paid to Oregon man
ufactunng workers, and the replace
mem ot high paid jobs lost in the reces
sion by low-paid jobs during the
economic recovery A shill from wage
and salary earnings lo retirement be
nefits. unemployment compensation
and welfare has also lowered Oregon
income, according to ihe report
Projections o f future income levels
show no immediate reversal of Ihe past
down want trend in Oregon income
levels Data derived from Ihe slate
econometric model — used to predict
tuiure slate tax revenues — shows that
Oregon's inflation ad|usted per capita
income is expected to grow very little
through 19X9 These projections show
the income ol the typical Oregonian
dropping from 91% o f the national av
erage in 19X4 io about 85% of the na
tional average by 19X9
The relative decline in Oregon's in
come since 1979 has had a marked ef
fect on ihe stale's fiscal condition I he
report estimates lhal il Oregon income
had been at ihe national average. Orc
gon would have collected nearly $100
m illion in additional slate income lax
revenues
The report concludes lhal the only
way to increase Oregon incomes is to
increase Ihe value added by production
in basic manufacturing and service sec
tors o f the economy Increasing value
added, according lo Ihe report, depends
on increased investment and productis
ity in industries lor which Oregon has a
comparative advantage.
Copies ol (he full report are available
from ihe Joint Legislative Committee
on Trade and Economic IX'velopment.
State Capitol. Room 132. Salem. Ore
gon 97310
For further information, contact.
Joseph Cortright, 37X-XXII
>
3)
.o«“ ■“ *>•«
'g td & h '
Mtabfcahed n 1970
Sutacnpoona I I S 00 par year n tha Tri County arar
m aa ta t Sand e ir» aa» changa» K> ih» Pententi O tn rrvrr. P O
Box 3137. Portland. Oragon 97308
Alfredi.. Henderson, Editor/Publisher
A I H ill ia ms. (renerai Mu nu ter
288 0033
N a tio n a l A d v a rtla ln g R a p ra a a n ta tlv a
A m a lg a m a te d P u b llahara. Inc
N a w Vori«
on swim r lets jostsavethe « « !» ampprive
It
.• ‘ V t
*
’ ‘
2 V i -• •
> " A •'•*»'
1 ■
ï
r
. ’ '*•'7* ’
•