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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1986)
a *, z* -. • ; • H t» f i ¿.v.’î/?> .’c i f - ’_À ^ii-.< .- a '—A..*.- <. .. »"a»A* 1» »-«-»—■ —■“•< EDIT0RIAL/0PINI0N System is Needed to Fight Crime Health Clinic Facing Financial Crisis Once again, the North Portland Nurse Practitioner Community Health Clinic (NPCHC) is facing a critical fi nancial crisis The clinic is a noo profit, tax exempt corporation in Oregon, and is the only Black American run pedial nc clinic in the state Since 14X0 it has provided primary pediatric care Io young people in the Portland Met ropolttan area regardless ol their ability to pay Why is it that a clinic that provides such worth, and value Io North Portland should have such financial w orries’ The primary source ol the problems is the states Medical Cost Containment Law. which was intended to reduce the cost and increase the coverage ol Ore gon's welfare recipients Unfortu nately, this plan has resulted in the dc velopment of eight big medical organi zations known as PCO's (Primary Care Organi/alionsl which arc M I) run, and regulated clinics I he containment law does not recognize clinics run by Nurse Practitioners. Naturopathic Doc tors or Chiropractic Physicians A real cost savings to the stale, to remove lower costs lor services, and preventa tive oriented prolessions' As a result, Mariah Taylor N P . and Director of NPCHC has faced a dramatic reduction in her welfare load which had heen as high as 45% in 14X4 With more indi gent (non covered| patients and fewer AlX'/wellarc patients the non-profit clinic has had to rely on contributions and grants to cover its operating budget Hopefully, we can reverse the ten- dencytor the state legislated dcscnmi nation against alternative health prac titioners Yet the NPCHC is in an im mediate crunch and public support is necessary to keep the doors open Please feel tree to contact the clinic for more information about how you can help at (503) 2X4-5234 or better yet. send your donation check directly to. Nurse P ractitioner C om m unity Health Clinic (NPCHC) 5311 N Vancouver Ave Portland, OR 47217 P S Speaking of Salem policies Who is (jenny Burk’’ As past president ol the Oregon Medical Association and reci pient ol nearly SUM). (MX) in primary contributions, to run against meumhent State Senator Walt Brown, she may well be one of the highest supported special interest candidates in this year's elections Ixt us watch carefully those candidates who receive 5 and $10,(MX) individual contributions, for the in terest on these monies may be in direct conflict with the interests ol the Oregon publ ic Letters^ to theEdito£ You don't have Io be a fanner lo know that "you reap what you sow " You've probably also heard that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks Both ol these principles (trom the Bible) apply to elections where it is very important to look closely at both the seed and the heart Bad seed planted in government has resulted in a moral catastrophe in our society Abortion, divorce, homosexu ality, drugs need we say more ’ A permissive society elects permissive representatives who compromise even the most basic tenets of morality by giving legal status to sin The rotten- ness is evident every whee Voters will soon make choices based on their own heart If your heart is not touched by the murder ol twenty mill ion unborn children (abortion), then you'll probably vote on the basis ol some other issue But your permissive ness has predictable consequences, Your hoped for prosperity will be eaten up by the social costs of what you choose lo ignore But if your heart is touched by the tragedy of abortion (and we hope it is), we urge you lo vole from your heart Choose representatives who can boldly plant good seed w ithout compromise How else can our nation return to right eousness ’ Please don't ignore your own heart Don't damage your own moral integrity (if not your own Christian faith) by supporting politicians who arrogantly oppose your moral values and good judgment In other words, don't let yourself be smooth talked by some political slick into selling your soul' Don’t sujiport those who support abor lion' Brian and Bertie Adrian 457 W Manne Drive Aslona. OR 47103 I hc whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the Inundations of our nation until the bright day ol justice emerges ministration, has gone on record as ig noring Poor jvcople II is generally ag reed that Amerikan workers are more trouble than they 're worth I hey don't have to work, since they get weltare and tood stamps Poor European Caucasoids and Black Amctikans began their history in Amenka as property ol the United States Government II ap pears that the wheel of history is com ing lull cycle for poor folks in Amenka as it has done before and each time the cycle is complete. Poor folks linds it self excluded, alone and contused over having somehow lost the progress and status that was thought to have been gained Mr Reagan is now talking about cut ling forty domestic programs Around this nation, daily through the newspap ers and television there are many little noticed articles and newscasts that should he ol the greatest interest to 1*001 Black and Caucasoid Amerika it it is sincerely interested in safeguarding "Freedom " and maintaining the gains of ihc last decade It's a known tact, that U S Blacks combined have a gross national product ol One hundred billion dollars II we were a nation, that would give us the seventh largest GNP in the free world It has been staled that money is power The condition ol Black Amerika is a good example that can be used lo test the credibility of such a statement Be cause even though the money is present in Black Amerika. Blacks remain an impoverished people because their money, like their organizational exper tise, has never been collected and chan neled to meet the specific needs of Black people Dr Jamil Cherovee To the Editor: One of the greatest dangers, the most dysfunctional, on the part of Black leaders, is that ol individualism, even personal ambition, cultism and sell interest A recent anthology of Black leaders recognizes that i t is important for a leader to fill the group needs and requirements in a particular situa tion or set of circumstances le ad ers are more often than not the tongue of the people ’ By this criterion, then, the story ol the outstanding Blikk lead ers of the centuries must, ol necessity, he a chronicle of an arduous light against racism, suffering and injustice Such an awareness ol the commanding presence ol Black group needs was al ways present in such men as Du Bois, Martin Luther king. Frantz I anon and Malcolm X Along with this quality were also the other necessary attributes ol a functional leader a discipline amounting lo a puritanical zeal, an ideology based on historical analysis, a unity ol thought and action and a sense of urgency On August 28, 1461, in Washington. D C . Dr Martin Luther king stated ", one hundred years later, we must face the tragic tact the so-called Negro is still not tree ( )ne hundred years later the life of the so-called Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains ol discnmi nation Ihc so-called Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst ol a vast ocean ol material pros penty the so-called Negro is still languished in Ihc comers ol Amerikan MX ieiy and linds himsell an exile in his own land "There will be neither rest nor tran quility in Amenka until the so-called Negro is granted his citizenship rights I I I When Black Amenka uses the term freedom, exactly what doe» it mean'.’ Freedom can reler to an ungovemed or uncontrolled state, however, an ungov emed status for Black Amenka w ill cer tainly describe a condition that is the reult ol exclusion, while an uncontrol led status will be Ihc hallmark of con Untied disorganization l or almost lour hundred years the Black man has strug gled lo he tree Today he exerc ises his freedom in the name ol democracy His freedom really consists ol being tree lo be without competent leadership, being tree to be without unity of direction, being tree to be dependent, heing tree lo he irresponsible all while being free lo he proud ol his condition In short, it is necessary to examine the capacity of the individual to accept the responsibil ity ol freedom and the conditions under which he will sacrifice his freedom to gain other objectives This society is moving towards a higher degree of organization which mandates that one very important tact must be kept in mind The organization is not a Democracy In order to avoid a position ol continued conflict, exclu sion and inferiority. Black Amenka must organize itself consistent with a redefinition of democracy Black Amerika. because it has taken no col lective responsibility lor its economic well being, is still begging al the door ol (he federal government lor a hand out. while the government through the official actions ol the Reagan Ad PORTLAND OBSERVER The arrest of George Nulph. a state prison inmate accused of raping, sodomizing and kidnapping a Northwest Portland woman, illustrates the venous flaws in the cnminal justice system Nulph. who was on temporary leave from the state prison, was serving lime for the 1476 murder of a Cannon Beach woman N ulphs victim was shot three times in the chest For this brutal crime, Nulph was given a life sentence tor the murder and a 10-year pnson term for second degree kidnapping Ihc kidnapping sentence was to he served con currently with the life term for murder I he following must be asked How can an individual who was given a life sentence tor murder and a 10-year sentence tor kidnapping be allowed hack on the street to commit more violent cnminal acts against society ’ The answer is the com inal justice system is really a non-system By this I mean there is nxi continuity of purpose among component parts in what we call the cnminal justice system Die present compo nents in the criminal justice system work adversely to tine another A true system has a continuity of purpose among its parts This lack of cooperation results in violent and danger ous individuals such as Nulph being released from prison Die courts, corrections, and the police each view the commission of crime and the dispensing ot justice d iffe rently Dlls difference results in each component pointing the linger at one another, and a non-system of justice Our justice system in reality isn't a system at all. but a senes ol segments separated by ditlercnccs in purpose, prac tice and philosophy I 'nt11 these segments come together and function as part ot a whole, society will cxmtinue to be served by an ineffective, nonsystem ol justice South Africa’s Hated Pass Laws Lifting South Africa's hated pass laws w ill have little impact on the black majority, according to a black woman physician who addressed the United Methodist Women’ s assembly in Anaheim, California A pril 14 Dr Mamphela Ramphelc, "b a n n e d " for five years in South Africa, referred to President P W Botha's recent announcement that pass laws con trolling black employ ment and place o f residence w ill no longer lx- enforced Blacks convicted o f or awaiting trial for violating these laws w ill be freed immediately, the president said in a speech to par liament A pril IK Hundreds o f thousands o f blacks are arrested each year for violating various provisions o f the pass laws Every black over 16 must carry a pocket-sized identity book giving birthplace, ethnic group and whether the person can live in a black tow nship on the edge o f white cities Failure to produce the bxxik is a crime for blacks hut not for white, mixed-race or Asian South Africans A standard identity card for all races w ill be issued beginning in July. Government officials have not said w hether it w ill contain racial informa tion or restrictions Dr Ramphele was banished to a black township 1,000 miles from her home in 1977 after raising quetions about the suspicious death o f a black activist She is now senior research officer at the University o f Cape Town Dr Ramphele told journalists after her address the Botha decision was timed to undermine an anti-apartheid activist strategy, nationwide de monstrations against the pass laws May I She termed the move a government attempt to "checkmate the efforts ot the people to use pass laws as an organizing fo rc e ." Dr Ramphele said the Botha announcement w ill be o f most help to those living illegally in urban areas and w ill remove " a nuisance on the state" the expense ol arresting and processing 200.000 to 300.000 violators a year " L iftin g o f the pass laws doesn't work for the elimination ot black people's poverty and power lessness," she added " I , doesn’t change the power relationship." The government also said it had lifted its ban on a book written lo Steve Biko, a black leader who died in police custody in 1977, according to the Associated Press. A government review com m it tee decided the bxxik, The Testimony of Steve Biko — B link Consciousness in South Africa, is "n o t undesirable" and does not advxx'ate revolution, v iolence or subversion Dr Ramphele said the book has circulated freely despite the ban Lifting the ban is only another attempt to "im prove the image o f South A fric a ," she added If Steve Biko were alive, she said, he would be an effective leader because he worked to unify various liberation movements: "T h a t's why he died " .Asked whether President Botha was able to bring real change to South Africa, the doctor said change must come from the dispossessed, who "m ust lay hands on real power and determine w hat happens to the country’ s resources." She added, "T h e situation is already violent We re talking about cutting short the prolonged period o f violence " The oppressed "m ust come forward and negotiate a new form o f sxxie ty," she said. A major problem is lack o f adequate black lead ers. Dr Ramphele said: "T he articulate ones are either dead or in p ris o n " She believes the gov ernment is searching for "a n honorable w a y " to free jailed black nationalist leader Nelson Man dela. but wants to "save face.” Asked about whether today's youth are a lost generation, she said, " I t ’ s not just this generation but the next generation as well You can’ t expect leadership from 8-year-olds who have been brutalized from birth Explaining her family lives in a black township, she said her 3-year-old has become a "n a il b ite r" from seeing m ilitary vehicles parked in front o f the house Her 8-year-old plays soldiers with his friends Most black children are born into poverty, she said, and. if they survive, grow up in poverty Their education is designed to condition them for perpetual subservience rather than leadership, she added Disintegration o f families has produced children who can't love because they do no, know how, she said Their lack ol knowledge o f security, toler ance or respect has caused them to lose respect for their parents and social institutions With nothing to lose, they are out to destroy a society that denies them their basic needs. The system reacts by imprisoning 8-year-olds, who are abused sexually and verbally in detention and have no access to health care, she said. She quoted Minister o f Law and Order Louis le Grange as reporting the detention o f 2,100 children until the beginning o f this year Asked whether the churches are strong enough to stem the tide o f violence in young people. Dr. Ramphele said ministers are no, trained to minister to people in this situation, and few speak out for justice for the oppressed Bishop Desmond Tutu, recently elected ar chbishop o f Cape Town, is a "’ true prophet" who has condemned oppressors who violate human dignity, according to Dr Ramphele But "there is only one T u tu ," she added. The Ness York Times quoted Bishop Tutu as saying. "T he moratorium and release o f pass o f fenders can only be welcomed However, 1 hope there is not a sting in the tail One has to be very careful they are no, going to find another way o f harassing blacks." »15 lox ona vaa' »2*> for tw o »««ts Hu« 3131 Portland OR 9 ZZI® w, _ X Si-aat C»TV Api STA TI 3J 2 SZ i ) S 5 * ZIP * < S * r* O 3 X Portland Observer * b <Z> -f > 3) , ..o-* Tb« Pfertfanrf O ftw rw r I U S PS 9 ® « 0 1 • putAarted « * » > TTxraday by t i » PutANang Cocnpany. Inc . 1 « 3 8 .1 . KBnga worth. Portland. O a g o n »7211. PoM « B o a B o. 3137 Portland. Oragon 9 7 2 « Second e h « poataga paid M Portland « a g o n TV» Porilattd <T w w iw « *Z ■a» ******* fr a ti. I in 19 X) SuOacrtpnona »15 00 par yaar In it » Tn C ouniy « « a Paa»- m a a tw Sand addtaaa changaa lo tha t o r ia a r f OAawwr. P 0 too 0033 • B o . 3132. Portland, Oregon 9 7 2 « Alfred L. 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