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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 1986)
Mr» Franacs Setaan-? în a p a p e r r.oea U n iv e r s it y o í O reron L ib r a r y • ne, Oregon 97403 Volume XVI. Number 33 PORTLAND OBSERVER June 25. 1986 TwoSections Overt Acts of Racism on the Increase in U.S. b\ to » ,. S S IB R ,p . .n d » ... 600 -•" d -d . »»» .P P P ~ . °< '» • — » « ''C , l.aM week .i iji ivin in» idem inCkvc larul resulted in a Bluvk man wounding X \A hues .«lu i a moh had gatlteicd out side his house Il's- AAhue crowd was protesting the presence ol a Hl.uk lam il> in their contmunits This Cleveland uxident is iust one example «»I the uu leasing nuiul'ci «*1 racial incidents occurring nationwide Othei examples include . t Deccmhci Portland a B x.1 man w as vt.ihhcd to death bv a AA hue man who wanted to break in a new knife w ith the blood of a nigger I he victim was accosted as he rode his bicvcle along Union Avenue on his wav home limn work • in 1981 hi Mobil \ im i a Black teen aged bov was killed hv two Ku klux Klansmen alter they beat him with a tree limb cut Ins throat three times, strangled Inin with a rope and left his hods dangling trom a tree I he murderers said they killed the victim because "lie w as Hl.uk. and to show tlie Kian's strength in Alabuma • In Philadelphia ol Uu year, more than UK) AA lutes marched around the home of an interracial couple lire night before. about »)*» marched around the home ot a Hl.uk lamily , shouting ' we want you out • in i.hiuic v . Massachu etts a Black girl at an elementary school was taunted bv While kids attei an employee was made up as Aunt Jemima' and entertained elementary school students in the mostly White Boston suburb • In Portland, Oregon, two While police officers assigned to the train mg unit sold I shirts which read. "D on't Choke I in. Smoke 'I ni on the date ot the tuncial ol a Hl.uk man wise was strangled Io death bv While officers Historically, the United States has been a racist siuieiy lu the years since the passage ol the l‘)<>4 ( ivil Kiglits Hill, race relations have improved greatly I his is due to the government s active participation in programs de signed to promote racial equality and the leaching ol compassion toward others by parents to their children In spile ol this, racism continues to he a major problem in the I lilted Stales as we enlcr the 21st century What is more shoe king is the lac t that the major ity ot Americans don't seem to care In tact, racist. White supremacist organizations like the Aryan Nations Church, the- Covenant. Hie Sword and Arm ol the lord. Neo Nazi, the Posse Conntatus, the Christian Defense Ixague. the Ku Klux Kian, and the ( )rder have been ac tive in a campaign ol terror across the nation These hate groups all believe in a pseudo Christian doctrine called "Identity Membeis are anti Asian, anti Black, anti Jewish, and anti Hispanic Adherunts ol these groups believe Christ was not a Jew, but an anccster ol British, Germanic and Scandinavian peoples Usually, these extremists back their so called Christian beliefs with vio fence In December ol last year in Seat tie, 10 members ol the neo na/i group the Order were convicted in the I S District Court on 20 counts ol a 21 count indictment charging them with racketeering, conspiracy and a number of other lederal crimes I ast November at a Portland Motel. ChW 600 Rally in Support of Harrington by Bob Lothian „ ., , w . r * ■ ***** As he finished his comments honoring former Police Chief Penny Harrington, Herb Cawthorne asked the 600 Harrington supporters gath ered at terry Schrunk Plaza Sunday to rise and give her a standing ovation. Applause and cheers filled the plaza across from City Hall as Har rington stepped to the microphone. "This is the best day I've ever had," said Harrington, who had a "People for Penny" button pinned to her gray suit. Harrington pledged to the crowd of well wishers that she would m t give up her efforts to reform the Portland Police Bureau "They need to understand that they work for you . . and that you have a right to tell them what to do," she said, drawing more cheers and applause "I pledge to you that I am not going to go away," said Harrington. "They need to change, and I’m going to make them change Will you help me?" Harrington said she will continue her efforts by working with com munity groups to reform the bureau from the outside. She urged her supporters to write the mayor and city commissioners to request that the new chief be selected from out side the state. Harrington also said that state laws need to be changed so that binding arbitration in disputes with the police union does not allow the chief's decisions to be overturned That happened when the two officers who sold the 'Don't Choke 'Em, Smoke 'Em" T shirts were reinstated after they were fired The two hour rally, sponsored by a group called "People for Penny," was held in a festive atmosphere under sunny skies As a group of three women musicians entertained, children played with balloons that said, "People fqr Penny." Volunteers passed around a peti tion asking that the Mayor and City Council continue the programs started by Harrington Over $200 was collected, and a stack of cards filled out with names of volunteers willing to help on the campaign Nine speakers honored Harring ton for her achievements during a Portland Police Bureau career that spanned 22 years, a careet capped by her becoming the first woman police chief in a major American city. "Yes, woman," forced to president Portland because she was a was the reason she was resign, said Cawthorne, of the Urban League of As she began to impie ment changes seen as contributing to better police community rela tons, rank and file officers and bureau management, largely male dominated, refused to follow Har ringtons leadership, Cawthorne said. State Representative Margaret Carter urged the formation of a broad based coalition to continue the work of opening up comrnun ication between the Police Bureau and the community Raymundo Marin, executive director of the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission, commended Harrington for starting a cross cultural training program for offi cers, for communicating openly with the black community during times of crisis, for opening up recruitment of minority officers, and for protecting the rights of His panics by refusing the immigration service access to the police data system "Penny . . . you have given hope to women and ethnic minor ities that it is possible to achieve,” Mann said Sandy Nelson, chairwoman of the Buckman neighborhood asso ciation crime prevention committee, reported that burglaries in Buckman were reduced by almost one third due to the work of the Juvenile Services Unit set up by Harrington Rodney Page, director of Ecu menical Ministries of Oregon, praised the volunteer jail chaplain corps set up by Harrington. She achieved "one of the finest records in such a short time of any police chief this city has ever had," Page said Harrington's program to re form the bureau was a "new blue punt for peace and justice in this community," he said Chrys Martin, representing the Portland Institute for Managerial and Professional Women, praised Harrington's managerial skills "I saw her leadership qualities lead to success in nearly everything she tackled, " Martin said "You bet I support her,” said Northeast Portland resident Liberty Lacy "She wasn't there very long, but she won't be forgotten," Lacy said Rick Rickett, a Southwest Port land resident, praised Harrington for trying to remove a "bigoted mentality" from the Police Bureau "They came in like an attack force in the black community and she was telling them that they work for us," Rickett said. "She said she was going to work for the black community and that s why I'm here " te n \ (¡tiffit i the le.ulei and founder ol the Older. Robert Mathews, med two shots at I HI agents wounding oix- agent Mathews and other Neo Nazis hail conu- to Port land to attend a general meeting in which membeis would disc uss plans es tablishing a new headquarters near Mount Hood I wo weeks later. Mullu-ws was killed during a R.-houi ci, fi with I *>ii | HI a.'c’n is o ii W liidhev Island. Washington on December S, I9K4 Vets ol overt i.u isiii are not iust li miled lo anti Semitic groups Histori cally. government otlnials. the legal svsieiti. and tlx- religious community have sanctioned ot piacliced racism I I k - same holds true today, examples iik lude • An apjxiiniec bv tlie Reagan Ad ministration s to the copyright In bunal co authored a fxxik in 1MH2 that slated Ameiic.in Blacks "insist on preserving then jungle lieedoms, their women, their avoidance ol pel sonal lesjxmsibility ami then abhorr ence ol tlie work ethic • Jeny I .dwell, lender ol an oigani/a lion called Litvrlv federation ami lormer le.ulerot tlx- Moral Majority, once called South African Bishop Desmond lulu, who is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, a plumy” I .dwell navels throughout tlie world promoting tlx- White South klrnaii govern mcnl • I act December a ledeial judge in Birmingham. Alabama ordered lormer governor George ( Wallace lo devise a plan lo icimive remnants ol segregation liom Alabama univcr cities. • In August ol IdK A. a While real es late broket tried lo lure an under cover inloimailt lor SI million lo miiidei M.ivot llamld Washington • k Reagan a|>jxuiitec lot a lederal judge position was rejected by tlie Senate Judiciaiy Committee I he nominee was Jetterson Beauregard Sessions, III ami was accused ol fx'ing anti Black Sessions once re ferred lo tlie NA At P as uii American and Communist in spired" Ads ot overt racism are not limited to While. Ihcie .lie now Black racists such as Clarence M Pendleton. Jr , Chamnan ot tlie U S Commission on Civil Rights Pendleton lias lejrcaledly defended the Reagan Administration's assault on allirmalive action and civil rights Pendleton has labeled Black civil lights leaders as "immoral ami lactsi I ixiking ahead, prosjccls lor heller race relations in this country are bleak I his coimliv s relationship with South Africa has altcnalcd Blacks It is tlie prcccption ol many Alro Americans across the United States that President Reagan is a racist Reagan s attack on affirmative action programs ami lack ol sensitivity to legitimate concerns ol Blacks has reinforced this belief Also, there arc many hale groups o|x'iatiug throughout the U S Shortly after the conviction ol the III members ol tlx- Order. Moms Dees, loumler ot Klanwaich. a branch ol tlx- Southern Poverty I aw ( enter in Birmingham, Alabama, said this, I know there arc many hard core, neo ii . izis around tlial this verdict won t do anything lo slop them I he real hard core leadership in the Man has turned neo Nazi these people are still out there Harrington said her relations with the Black community alienated police members by Jerry Garner Former Portland Police Chief Penny E. Harrington »axJ her re lations with the Black community angred »ome member« of the Police Bureau and the Police Union "I feel my relations with the Black community alienated some of the officers and the Police Union. I would say that half of the officers in the Bureau approved of my efforts to improve the Department image with the Black community, and the other half didn’t," said Harrington. Harrington made this statement during an interview from her West Linn home. She was asked if racism is a problem with the Portland Police Bureau? "Of course, racism vt. -r ' ■ * ; " r»' •• t v r t H .- - is present in the Bureau Not only can racism be found in the Bureau, it can be found in most institutions in the United States " When Harrington was asked how widespread racism is in the Bureau, she said, "there was no way to measure how widelpread racism is in the Bureau," but she knows that it is there. I am aware of the presence of racism in the Bureau. Black officers used to report to me informing me about the racist jokes they over heard W hite officers telling." Harrington said until the Bureau hires more minorities and officers, change their attitudes, relations bet ween minorities and the police will continue to be volatile " "When I was in charge of per sonnel, we hired several minorities (especially Black officers). The Police Union was totally opposed to what we were trying to accomp lish," said Harrington. Harrington said the Union made accusations that they weren’t fol lowing the rules She also said the Union was against her minority recruitment push she was planning before she resigned Harrington was asked why the Union and some members of the Bureau were against the idea of recruiting more minorities? "I don't know Maybe the Union thinks we are going to somehow cheat and Í7 ‘A*' <• * give minorities an advantage in get ting hired. They (the Police Union) don't understand affirmative action The former Chief stated that she tried to change the attitude of police officers in an effort to improve relations with minorities. It is really tough to change attitudes Attitude is what gets the police in trouble with the public all the time Attitude is what caused the T shirt incident, attitude is what caused the oppossum incident, and attitude is what the majority of citizens com plain about." Harrington said there are two ways to change attitudes One way is to change behavior and the other is to change the rules There * ; «**• . A . • ' ■ ' fore. I implemented some real strict rules on how officers treat people and the way they talk to people I put a ban on being discourteous to the public. I told officers if you are disrespectful to people, if you are rude, and if you swear, you will be disciplined " She said. "If the police get in a habit of treating citizens courteously, their attitude would change also " Harrington said another way to change the attitude of officers is to bring in more minorities "If there were more minorities on the police force, the White officers would change their perception of min orities Equally important, minority officers then would have a little ' k. , • ‘ •. • ■ . more moral supjiort and speak out more when things are wrong They won't be as isolated as they are now ." Harrington said as long as Stan Peters is President of the Police Union, relations with the Black community and the jiolice will con tmue to be strained "For example, he once called Ron Herndon, Co chairman of the Black United Front, a vulture When he makes state ments that are perceived as racist, people say they don't want to work in the police bureau if this is the type of officers that are thore. His statements give the bureau a conf on page 4 • • . " -, - ‘« '. F t * V
