Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 1986)
- • • I I ' fc jl Page 2, Portland Observer, July 2, 1986 -! EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY I Senate Tax Bill, Good Legislation The Tax Bill approved last Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee was a good piece of legislation. The Bill, which was sponsored by Oregon Senator Bob Packwood, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been called the most radical tax reform legislation in more than 40 years. Now the Tax Bill must be approved by a House Senate conference committee. Under the Bill, six million low income tax payers will pay no taxes at all - tax rates for both individual and business will be reduced - instead of 15 tax brackets, there will be only two tax loopholes for the wealthy will be eliminated. As with any legislation, there will be losers. For example, under the Senate Bill, businesses would lose a $38 billion yearly subsidy for equipment purchases; impose a minimum tax limiting the value of deductions for equipment; eliminate most individual tax shelters; and repeal deductions for contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). Making wealthy individuals and corpora tions pay their fair share of taxes is what makes the Senate Bill a good piece of legislation. For too long, this nation's tax laws have favored the rich and big business The Senate tax plan is the first plan in recent memory that favors the common citizen and not special interest groups. Call to Conscience Challenges U.S. Policy in Southern Africa by Jerry Garner use nonviolent protest to challenge policies that strengthen Apartheid Call to Conscience asks citizens to join with others to engage in acts of public protest, as conscience leads them, including participating in de monstrations, vigils, leaflet distribu tions. and appeals Io the Congress and the White House CTC is supported by the following organizations American Committee. Episcopal Church People for a Free Southern A frica . National Black A group o f organization» opposing the system of Apartheid in Southern Africa has formed the Call to Consci ence (CTC) Call Io Const lence is modeled on the Pledge ol Resístanse used by Central Amens an activists CTC is a pledge taken to demand that the United States government, its institutions and its cor porations cease all actions supporting injustice in Southern Africa Acting on moral and religious val ues. individuals and organizations w ill Caucus of Stale Ixgislators. National Black United Front. National Free South Africa Movement. National Namhia Concerns, National Political Congress of Black Women. Southern Africa Support Project. Trans Africa, United States Sludcnt Association, and Washington Office on Africa Under the system o f Apartheid. 26.000.(MX) Blacks are denied the right to vote, to live and work where they choose, to own a business or trade, or to live with their families as equals with the 6 m illion White South Africans “ Black Mayors: A Mixed Review" Dr Manning Murable Along the Color lane" The recent electoral defeat ol incumbent Mayor Kenneth A Gibson of Neward highlights a national trend in black politics a growing degree of alienation between big city mayors and their black constituents First elected mayor in 1970, Gibson was seeking an unprecedented fifth term against three challengers Highly confident throughout the campaign. Gibson was shellshocked when voters gave their mandate Io Sharpe James, a black college professor and city councilman Soundly defeated. Gibson now admits that he "never saw it coming ” He should have Gibson was the first black elected mayor o f a Northeastern city Initially, he brought into office a number o f escellent appointments In the past sixteen years. Newark's health care has improved markedly, and black infant mortality talcs declined ('rim e dropped over 6 per cent. and nearly 11 .UIX) apartments lor families and (he elderly were renovated or constructed But Newark's other problems were so severe that only massive Federal intersen lion could have turned things around For a decade. Gibson called tor a "M arshall Plan" Io rebuild U S central cities But no major aid ever arrived Newark's socioeconomic base, already declining when Gibson w aslirst elected, was shattered in subsequent scars th e number of restaurants fell from 917 in 1970 to 24b this year Retail stores dropped from 1.X69 io 1.794 Hotels fell from 32 to lb. drug stores. 205 down to 59 In a m ajorcity of over «»).000 people, there are currently no bowling alleys, six movie theatres, and only one large supermarket The decline in businesses meant a loss of jobs As ol February. 19X6. Newark's unemployment rate reached 12 6 percent Many problems Gibson faced could have been addressed by vigorous leadership, and strong, grassroots organization by community groups Instead, jvower led to managerial malaise and corruption th e administration's critics have long noted that in competence quickly became the norm under Gibson Rutgers I inversus Professor Hilda Hidalgo observes, " Politic al loyally fee ame more of a criterion lor a person getting a job or keeping people in positions " U lti mately. Gibson's lame promises were no longer satisfactory ( tther black mayors share Gibson's woes In New Orleans two months ago. the handpicked mayoral candidate ol outgo ing Mayor Frnesl Mortal was trounced al the polls by his opponent, bl.uk city councilman Sidney Barthelcmy The election was in many respects a referendum on the eight year tenure of Mortal, New Orleans' first black mayor Prohibited from running for a third term. Mortal selected his close alls. Stale Sen W illiam Jefferson, a black Harvard law graduate as his nominal successor During a hitter mayoral campaign, a pro Jefferson radio commercial attacked Barthelcmy as "favoring whites " Barthelcmy ‘s strong victory represented two distinct constituencies Eighty six percent o f all whites voted lor hint, plus an additional 2X percent o f the black electorate Crude racial appeals backfired, more fundamen tally, blacks who did support Barthelcmy wen? indirectlv expressing a vote o f "n o confidence" in Morial One year after the disastcrous bombing and urban tire preccpitated by the MOVE incident in l*hiladelphia. Mayor W ilson Goode remains besieged The event which claimed the lives of six adults. 5 children, and destroyed 61 homes, has never been justified Even Goode's panel selected to investigate the case stated in its public report that the mayor was ' ‘ grossly negligent'. displaying a “ reckless disregard for life and property Hundreds of Black Philadelphia coni munity leaders continue to call for his resignation and even prosecution Now Goode's white corporate backers have begun Io distance themselves from the mayor's prob Icms Ralph Widner. the executive director ol the Greater Philadelphia First Corporation, recently staled "There is a w klesprcad perception that you can't rely on his word " t wo short years ago. Goode was seriously considered as Mon dale's vice presidential running male Now. his political life appears to he virtually over In the late 1960s. many black political activists believed that the election of more Afro-American mayors would help solve the systemic problems of urban poverty, racism, un employment. and police brutality What we've learned from New ark. New ( irleans and Philadelphia is that race alone can be no viable litmus test for political success. Unless p o liti cians are responsive Io community based interests, and with out extensive grassroots mobilization and continued efforts to empower poor, black and Hispanic constituencies, the eleation of black Democrats as mayors is almost meaning less Ih Murirung Marable will became Professor of Pohln al S< i t in i ami 5<s lologs al Purdue University. H er Lafayette. Indiana. beginning this July 'Ahum the Color I me " ap pears in more than I A ll newspapers internationally Letters to the Editor "D o u b le S tandard Of J u stice People around the world recog nize that so called Christian cauca •oid Amenka is moving toward the abyss created by its own racist arrogance. misplaced priorities, rampant materialism, and ethical bankruptcy The Reagan admini stration doesn't recognize interna tional law I was taught to believe Law is a refinement of man's asspi ration to be civil, responsible and orderly. Civility promotes sensitivity to human feelings, thoughts and actions. Responsibility rejects fatal istic determinism. Orderliness espouses the rational and purpose fui orientation of action and organi zation. So one could say Law con sciousness is in part a product of constitutionalism which is a species of legalism Legalism is an ideology committed to rule following. Rule following is a form of rational decision making and, in the case of constitutions, power allocating. Thus, ever since the Constitutional Convention there has been a prac tice in the United States of attemp ting to solve great political and social problems through the process of law. including especially judicial solution than slavery and race rela lions in the United States. So I would say it is unwise to ever put too much confidence in the Court as the saver of Blacks. Yet fidelity to and respect for law enables many to transcend their callous incivility, selfish irresponsibility, and willful disorderliness. Law may be peda gogical as well as prescriptive On the whole, lawyers, the care takers of our Constitutionalism, _________ n .- a » Publishers Asso, .itmn ity, injustice and racism Mr Wil ham H Rehnquist, will attempt to imprison the Supreme Court by a rigid framework of rules, rules which tend to glorify form over substance I've been unable to find anyone who could possibly charac tenze Me Rehnquist as sypathetic to individual or human rights He's essentially a law and order man, guided by Frankfurtian notions of formal equality He will point the Court in whatever direction Mr Reagan's winds blow and backlash counter currents flow Nominee Rehnquist is the signal that the role of the Supreme Court as a protector of Black causes may soon come to an end This would mean that poor or working people can no longer depend on the Court to deliver the justice denied them by other less sympathetic Amenkan institutions The United State Supreme Court, as an institution, historically has not served as especially beneficial role in the lives of Blacks The Court, like all other major institutions in Amenka. has reflected much of the overall racism of the society at large Mr Reagan is behaving and becoming king like, which means he, and especially those in high places closely associated with him, feel they are above the law and governmental tradition That which is corrupt or perverse or smells in the Reagan Administration is over looked rationalized, or disbelieved by the general caucasoid populace Indeed, it appears that the racist and anti Black implication of a movement toward a second post Portland Observer '-»i m > i ■ P r e g i m have served our history and country comparatively well, in spite of their sometimes "brilliant myopia," "superfluous rigor.” and precious rigidity. Public interest and civil rights lawyers are very much in keeping with the fine tradition of public service by some lawyers And even if legal education some times "enervate(s) moral indigna tion" and "inculcatelsl intellectual and oral tim idity," it has produced a lot of fine lawyers who are dedi cated to correcting injustices, pro moting the common good, and ex panding civility Brothers and Sisters remember, knowledge is power Black pro fessionals must obtain and put it at the disposal of the Black Com munity in Portland. Otherwise the Black Community will be cast into outer "darkness," blindly beseech ing and imploring the patronizing attention and feckless assistance of caucasoid professionals and mis sionary imperialists I’m inclined to believe it would be well for Blacks to remember in evaluating and deal ing with caucasoids and their insti tutions. whether judicial, legislative, administrative, or corporate, that "conservatives” are self righteously arrogant; "liberals” are sometimes indulgently generous After reading the Editorial Com mentary, 6/25,86, "Rehnquist Ap pointment Predictable," I'm inclined to believe continuous re evaluation and re assessment of all legal insti tutions, processes and principles are required, if effective legal strategies are to be employed against mequal M C ¡B IW the Portland (Unerser lUSeS , » l«.ta«Zwrt thursdsv by Ex» P u N w Z w iq Company Inc.. 14K) N E X« wonh Portland Orason 97211. P o « Ortlc« Bo« 3137. Portland OraQon 972OB Second claaa prwtaga prad « Portland O a g o n “ I •»>. ax S M kN . * Tba Portland H bserrrr was astatwsrwd »1 19X) C t a r v M W w t V . * » 'W MEMBER NÊWA peb A n o e iH io n ■ rounded 1M 5 S u t*n p lx > n * »15 00 1 * e » e I I » Tit County area Poxt m a t t « Sand adrtraax > - * v “ to the Portland fXMervw. P 0 288 0033 Boa 3137 Portland. Orason 972OB AlfredL Henderson. Edilor/Publuher A l Williams, General Manager N a tio n a l A d v e rtis in g R e p rä s e n ta tiv « A m . i a . „ , . , . d P u b lis h e r. inc N e w Y ork Reconstruction are warmly approv ed and embraced by the majority of the so called Christian caucasoid populace Blacks as an identifiable group will find a great threat to their interests in decisions of the Reagan Rehnquist Court except when their claims are framed in terms remini scent of nineteenth century proper ty interests or coincidental to the nouveau malheureux such as mid die class caucasoid women, the aged, and non smokers Dr Jamil Cherovee “Have Black People Made It?" Hlack People have made it In the suburbs, where we live next door In caucasoid people in houses and apart mcnls and stand in line n u ll caucasoid people in department stores and quick food restaurants Hlutk people have made it to caucasoid schools, where we leant to sjvak caucasoid languages ami tell caucasoid lies just like caucasoid people do Blac k IVople have made it to the beauty pallors, where we straighten Our hail, squeeze Our noses and make Our thick lips thin so we can look like caucasoid people look And. Hlack People have made it away from the used car lots, now we can bus a brand new car and make it to the Capital Gentle in style If these things are what equality is all about, then Black People have cer tainly made it But. do Black IVople have indepen dent land ol Our own where we can grow the toixl Itl.Kk People need to survive ’ No, We don't, but caucasoid people do Do Black People have a government of Our own which makes the lawsthal Black IVople live bv ’ No. We 1I011 I. but caucasoid people do Do Itl.Kk People have an armv of its own that w ill defend I s against foreigners who attack I s ’ No. We don’t, hut caucasoid people do And. do Black IVople have a social structure ol Our own. one that w ill direct Us in Our personal ami interpersonal relation ships? Nil, We ilon I hut caucasoid people do It follows then, that it these things are what equality is all about, Black IVople certainly have not made it I his essay docs at least three things First, it tells I s what we think equality is. and what it actually is Secondly, it tells Us what We are about, anil what We should be about I h itd lv. it implies that there is a link between tlx- two. between ( hir perception of equality ami what We aie about (What We dm Ihe fust paragraph tells Us what We think equality is. and implies that We I uik lion in a certain way because that is what We aie seeking So. We tunclion like simple minded adults who. instead of being concerned about establishing standards, are satisfied imitating the standards established by caucasoid people, the reasoning being that it We can be like them, then We are equal to them Needless to say, that type of reasoning is dangerous to Black People's health I he first paragraph tells what We are about. Brolhers/Sistcrs We are about imitating caucasoid people ami playing caucasoid games with Our life We are proof that ignoi.mt people can satisfy themselves with less than what they need W hat are We ignorant o f ’ We arc ignorant ol what equality is really all about I I k - second paragraph tells Us that equality is really about having ihe (lower to establish your own standards, enforce those standards and defend those standards against attack, when necessary It is not about being able Io dress cool, talk slick and live next Io caucasoid people II is about establish ing governments, building armies and providing for the welfare of Luge num bers of (icople I fie second paragraph, by telling Us what equality really is, implies what We should he really about. Brothers/ Sisters It tells Us w hat people w ho are serious and knowledgeable o f world politics are all about It tells Us what people who understand (lower are all about, ami suggest that, if We want equality We should he about that also We must stop settling lor less than what We deserve We should stop settling lor the role of well o ff imitators We should recognize that equality is more than what We have thought it is and recognize that Wc therefore need to nuke .id|ustiiK*nts in Ihe way We con duct Ourselves Then, after making these recognitions. We should act ac cordingly. We should act as serious people in search o f power and self determination (equality ) usually act. I believe it was our Brother i Marcus M Garvey) who said "The so called Negro now stands at the crossroads of human destiny He is at the place w here he must either step forward or back ward It he goes backward he dies, It he goes forward it w ill be with the hope of a greater life Those o f us who have developed our minds sciennrtcally are compelled, by duty, to step out among the millions o f the unthinking masses and convince them o f the seriousness ol the age in which We live " I'm inclined to believe, a successful attack on rising crime rates must con sider the employment problems lacing pixir people What can he done, in the context of the failure o f our moral and political systems, to provide jobs and a decent standard o f living for poor people in Portland ’ What people learn and study has to be relevant Io then needs and at the same time it should enable them to change their condition and their surroundings, thereby chang ing themselves It's obvious the masses ol poor people are being programmed for destruction Dr Jamil Cherovee Welfare Families Decry End of Two-Parent Family Welfare Program On May 9, 1986 the Emergency Board of the legislature ended the two parent family welfare program (ADC UNI which began February 1, 19B6 Families whose benefits have been cut o ff w ill tell w hat is happening to them at a media conference at the Family House. 626 N W 19th in Portland, at 10 30a m on Ju ly 1, 1986 Because of budget deficits in the Department of Human Resources, the Emergency Board voted to stop ADC UN July 1, 1986 and to have it start up again on November 1, 1986 Currently, there are 11,319 people (or 2,736 cases) receiving ADC UN benefits All of these families will lose their cash benefits on July 1. One such family is the Kerths The Kerths have been married for 20 years They have 10 children, and one on the way Last November Mr Kerth lost his job. and has pounded the pavements gib hunting, without success, ever since In March, they began to receive ADC UN benefits ' My wife and I have been forced to separate because wc will have no income as of July 1st," said Henry Kerth "I love my family enough to desert them But I want to work at any wage, anywhere, so that my family and I can be reunited ' "The effect on these families will be devastating,” said Tim Hornbeck er, Director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul "Families who do not split up will be evicted, and end up homeless again, just at the time that the demand on helping agencies is at its height, this July The demand on helping agencies is already up 325% from three years ago With unemployment at 9 1%, the jobs are simply not there for these families." "It is a myth that summer employ ment is available to keep 2,700 farm lies from destitution,” said Terry Ann Rogers, staff attorney at Legal Aid "If the jobs were there, these families would have work and not need welfare One of the parents in the ADC-UN household has to look for work the whole time a family receives benefits ” "Single parent families can still get cash assistance; why should the children in two parent unemployed families be discriminated against be cause of the number of parents in the home?” asked Bob Castagna, Direc tor of the Oregon Catholic Con ference. "Oregon will see families being forced to separate |ust to put a roof over their children's heads Government policy should not play this role." I
