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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1986)
X • . I- * • ‘A « ‘. l v < i • • ’ , - • • .1. -*• . .. »■MI« »... ..aspapef R°o«i v e ra tty of w « g o " L ib ra ry Or*<rOH 97403 Ur I r f f t f l C “ «* Volume XVI, Number 26 PORTLAND OBSERMER May 7, 1986 25c Copy TwoSections c«a>/wMmc*. tv ,«•< Community Organizes Against Crime />v Hub huhuin Save Our Ncighborhixxls From Street Crime kicked o ff its spring anti- crime drive Thursday mghl with a rally at King Neighhorhixxl Center Providing inspiration for the rally was the King School chorus, singing a nxivmg rendition o f “ We Are the W orld " Master ol ceremonies Muhaiiimcd Napehlhcn took over the pixlium " D o you think they w ill have a future.’ .” he asked, gesturing toward the children The rally audience o f 125 included neighhortxxxl representatives from all areas o f Portland affected hy crime Save Our Ncighborhixxls From Street Crime is a 30-membr committee o r ganizing a city-wide anti-crime coali tion from those ncighborhixxls Committee representatives outlined a campaign including community pat rols, anti-prostitution billboards, court watches, a petition drive, school post ers and picketing o f drug houses Neighhorhixxl residents then had a chance to express their feelings about tail space, police attention to street crime and lack o f initiative from City Hall Ron Herndon, co-chair of the Black United Front, urged the audience to look to their ow n resources and not de pend on City Hall “ Nobody w ill ride in and save us by sundown," Herndon said " I he only way the problem is going to be solved is if we do it ourselves." Herndon suggested that residents start h lix k watches as a minimum step He called for a community escort ser vice for elderly persons on their way to the store or bank, and he asked church deacons to come out a little early on Sunday mornings to protect chur- chgoers Herndon also called tor community anti-crime patrols. at Columbia V illa, a low-income hous mg project in North Portland plagued by crime Ihey appear to be helping, the representative said I hot neighhorhixxl resident George Mueller told of the successful efforts o f the F lio t/K in g Crim e Prevention Committee a match against drug deal ing at the comer of Alberta and Grand, in s ta llin g tw o a n ti-p ro s titu tio n b illlxu rd s on Union \v c , and pressur ing residents of a " n x k house", selling cocaine, until the house was shutdown “ We're moving ahead, but we're not moving ahead lust enough,” Mueller told the audience Mueller received an award recently lor his citizen work against crime During the segment tor questions and comments from tlx- audience. Vernon neighborlxxxl resident Sherry Ross drew a laugh with her suggestion about how to deal with criminals turned out ol ja il for lack ol space “ Maybe we ought to just handcuff them to telephone poles,” Ross said She added, " I think this is a wonderful neighhorhixxl and I think we can re deem it Vernon neighhorhixxl leader Irene l ate reported on the picketing ol a drug house carried out hy Tate and eleven neighfxirs Dirty needles were showing up daily in her yard, according to l ate, who said she counted as many as 50 customers an hour going into the house " I sat in my kitchen and watched," she said I he drug business declined alter the Saturday morning picket. late said “ He's still doing it but he doesn't have the business that he used to It dealing out o f the house picks up again, late said, “ W'c've still got our picket signs At the -Save Our Neighborhoods from Street Crime lW n r, w;,fe (he Ming -W e \r e The W o rld .” R ally" last Ihursduy the children of King School got Photo by Kichurd J. Brown “ You have individuals out there who there's no other way to do i t , " Herndon The patrols are already being or- have declared war on our community. said gamzed and w ill likely uppear in North east Portland this spi mg. said a commit tee representative Patrols have started Students Enjoy Exchange Court Decision Major Victory b\ Hub Laihian In A pril, the students got together tor a scavenger hunt downtown, where they teamed o ff and searched tor clues at City Hall, the K DIN Tower and other landmarks Planned for later in May is a “ rap session” at Catlin Gabel, where the teen-agers w ill have a chance to tell each other what's on their minds Saturday, they got together at the Lake Oswego home ol Warren's brother, G Ray Warren. Associate Dean ol Admissions at Reed College High schixil students from Northeast Portland and Catlin Gabel Schixil in Southwest Portland got together for a bar -b-que Saturday “ We call it a cultural exchange,” said Regena Warren, a counselor at the Northeast Youth Service Center Warren said that six students con tacted through the youth service center and six from Catlin (febei have been getting together informally this spring to get to know each other and share experiences C a tlin Gabel students and high school students living in North/Northeasl Portland got together Saturday at a barbecue in ladle Oswego. Photo hy Richard J. Brown *" T ; i • . • / . 'i, 1 • ’ '• » Ihey listened to the Gap Band, watched basketball on T V , played dominoes, and of course talked “ We share a lot in com m on," said Wilson senior Tracey Moore, of North cast Portland Mixire was “ having tun getting to know each other better," she said C a tlin Gabel senior Korean Backstrand said she had met other young people through the exchange that she probably wouldn't have met other wise Very tew minority students at tend Catlin Gabel, an expensive private schtxil where the tuition is $6,350 a year, she said But others' reasons for liking the ex change weren't so serious " I can relax and 1 don't have to do any hom ework," said Grant sopho more Mychal Garrett Things turned serious again w hen the fixxl appeared bar-fvqucd hambur gers, ribs donated by Cason’ s Fine Meats, potato salad, baked beans, chai lah bread, peach cobbler and banana pudding One thing they toon had in common " I 'm tixi fu ll. " as one teen agcr pul it Catlin Gabel teacher Sue Smith started the exchange with a phone call to Warren at the Northeast Youth Ser vice Center Smith thought the project was a good idea tor Catlin students, she said, because the schixil has few minor ity students and no minority faculty "Y o u lixik around campus and all you see is white faces," Smith said “ It just looks one-sided, and the cur riculum is very m ajoniy-onented." Backstrand said there were only three black students at Catlin "Senior year they have a black history class," she said. Smith said an outcome o f the inter- cultural exchange could he more minor ity students and faculty at the schixil, although that was not her only purpose She said the exchange fits in with Cal lin ’ * educational philosophy, which stresses experience The exchange w ill continue next fall, and possibly expand into the high schools, said Northeast Youth Service Center counselor John Frazier ' The kids seem to be getting quite a bit out o f if," Frazier said for Blacks bx J trrx darner Mychal Garrett of (»rant H.S. and Maura Sullivan of Catlin Gabel ponder If the Mary of St, Mary School is the Mary in the clue "See Mary where you park your car' across from the metal currency cinema." Wrong, Mary turned out Io be the parking lot attendant across from the K O IN ( enter Cinemas. The two were participating in a scavenger hunt that was a joint effort by the Urban league and Catlin Gabel. Photo by Richard J. Brown I • • ♦ V • • '■ • a 1 - -A a ' The recent U S Supreme Court De vision staling lhal prosecutors could not remove prospective jurors simply be cause they belonged to the same race as tlx- defendant, was a major victory tor both Black |urors and defendants Fundamental to a fair system of jus lice is the right to a trial by jury Histor ically , Blacks have been excluded from jurors by prosecutors through the use of jx-remptory challenges Peremptory challenges are used by prosecutors to exclude jurors for no reason it the pro secutor believed might he hostile to their case I his practice has resulted in Black* and other minorities not being judged by a jury o f their peers Which accounts lor sonx- of the disparity in the convic tion rates between Blacks and Whiles As of now prosecutors, if chai lenged, must meet a heavy burden of showing racially neutral reasons for excluding jurors of the same race as the defendant Ihc two cases which led Io the court decision involved suits filed by two Black defendants who were found guilty by all-W hite juries In January o f this year, the court ruled 6 3 that a Black man convicted in 1961 ol murdering a 15 year old girl in California, was entitled to a new trial because Blacks were systematically cxcluiled from the grand |ury that indi cated him The case which led to last week'* court decision involved the removal o f four Black prospective jurors on peremptory challenges, from the trial o f a Black burglary suspect in Jefferson County Kentucky The ruling by the court, overruled a prior court decision that has stixxl since 1965 I'nder the old ruling, the court held that a defendant challenging the exclusion of jurors must show a sys tematic pattern o f discrimination Ihc court's decision could remove some o f this disparity This is because trial outcomes are affected to some ex tent by whether the case is heard by a jury or a trial judge Research indicates that juries tend to he more lenient than judges ft ♦ • » •• * V . * a I - « <1* ’ • L" -A t '. 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