Page 2, Portland Observer, February 18, 1987
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
A N IW S S IR V K f
COMMISSION FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
"K e e p Y our Eyes On The P rize"
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Mississippians as they explain w hy they continued to try
to register to vote, even as their leaders were assassi
nated. their homes and churches burned to the ground
As Unita Blackwell, now mayor of Mayersville. M issis
sippi notes. " I guess our courage came out because we
didn t have n o th in ’, so we co u ld n't lose n othin'
But
we w anted som ething for ourselves and for our chil
dren. and so we took a chance w ith our lives."
This deep com m itm ent is echoed again and again
throughout the series But it is particularly evident in
the young people
You see it in the eyes of young
dem onstrators in Birmingham , you see it in the stride
of the student sit in leaders in Nashville. Young people
are not only the followers, they are the leaders the
strategists of this M ovem ent
For this reason it is crucial that young people, parti
cularly, see EYES ON THE PRIZE
They must know
o f the courage and co m m itm e n t o f others their age
w hich produced significant changes in this society
They and their adult counterparts must also understand
that this kind of Movem ent is possible again, and that
they must take an active role in sustaining it
As the Rev C T Vivian notes at the beginning of
the program
I The M ovem entl was a clear engage
merit between those w h o wished the fullness o f their
personalities to be met and those who w ould destroy
us physically and psychologically
You do not walk
away from that! This was w hat Movement meant
Movement meant that finally we were encountering on
a mass scale the evil that had l>een destroying us on a
mass scale
You do not walk away from th a t1 You
continue to answer it "
As this country experiences a level of racial violence
the depth o f w hich we haven't seen since the ,960's.
we w ould all do well to heed those words EYES ON
THE PRIZE w ill air for the next few weeks over PBS
television stations nation w ide Call your local station
fo i day and time
Then tell your friends and your
churches for the role o f the church is everywhere in
evidence And gather the family around for a program
whose power and joy you w ill not soon forget
g
MONEY
Drug Testing of T ra n sp o rtatio n Good Idea
The recently announced plan by Transporta
tion Secretary Elizabeth Dole calling for stiff
drug testing rules for transportation workers
is a good idea
OF THE UNITE I) C H U R C H OF CHRIST
So many strong, m oving images are contained in the
TV series. EYES ON THE PRIZE, that one is hard-put
to isolate |ust a few This m agnificent 6 hour documen
tary of the Civil Rights M ovem ent shows, more than
anything else, how the people of this nation, and parti
cularly the A frican American com m unity, became the
best that they could be during this time Personal cou
rage and sacrifice, intelligence and fortitude all are
represented here, not only in the leadership, but in the
regular people w ho sustained the Movement
In the first segment we are shown Mose W right, the
elderly uncle of 14 year old Emmett Till Till had been
taken from his bed one night for saying, "H oy. baby" to
the w ife of a w hite store owner
Till was later found
floating in the Tallahatchie River This was Mississippi
in 1964 and no one expected the w hite men who killed
him to be convicted, and in fact they were not What
made this case so different was the personal courage of
both Till's mother and his uncle Under threat of death
and w ith no protection, Mose W right stood in a tense
courtroom and pointed to the w hite murderers In this
lone act of personal courage he foreshadowed the kind
of strength and com m itm ent w hich w uuld indelibly
mark this period
In the M ontgom ery Bus boycott segment we are
shown an entire Black population w hich refused to ride
the busses for 381 days because they w ould no longer
be pushed to the back of the bus They walked 6. 7,
and often 8 miles a day, through tw o winters
Mrs
Georgia Gilmore, w ho walked those many months,
explained the unity of the people in this way "T hey
had been mistreated, and mistreated in so many differ
ent ways, until I guess they were tired and decided they
just w o u ld n 't ride
In the school desegregation segment we hear from
the Little Rock 9. now adults, but then only teenagers
W e hear them speak, almost o ft handedly. of the
threats and the physical violence that they were sub
jected to every day w hen they integrated Central High
School in Little Rock. Arkansas in 1957.
We hear that same courage in the voices of Black
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
The drug testing program calls for ramdom
screening of airline pilots, railroad workers, air
traffic controllers and other selected transpor­
tation employees. Presently, testing policies
are limited to pre Employment, post accident
or "reasonable suspicion".
Secretary Dole called for a sweeping drug
testing shortly after the Jan, 4 crash of an Am
trak passenger train and a Conrail locamotive
in which 17 people were killed and 174 injured
Drug tests conducted after the crash turned
up traces of marijuana in the blood of the two
Conrail engineers involved.
The public, who use private and public
transportation, are entitled to know that the
people who are serving them are free of drugs.
Nowhere does the private choice to consumer
drugs have more devastating public conse­
quences than on our nation's roads, rails,
water and airways.
No only will stiffer drug testing of transpor­
tation workers prevent future accidents from
occurring, random testing and screening will
save hundreds of lives and reduce injuries.
Citizens who re concerned about the safety
in public transportation, should urge their elec
ted representatives to support legislation sup­
porting random drug testing and screening of
transporation workers
We, the public, are
entitled to a safe, drug free transportation sys­
tem
Freedom and Social Justice
by Alexander R Jones
C hildren H o o k ed on Drugs
If you have a child w ho is very active, or not doinq
well in school, or giving you problems, you must under
stand th.it there are psychiatrists out there jusl w aiting
to do what you w ould allow no street pusher to get
your child hooked on drugs
Dangerous, addictive
drugs
The psychiatric industry has shifted its income base in
the past ten years from treating adults to treating chil
dren The result is that the number of children in psy
chiatm hospitals has gone up nearly 400% in just the
jiast five years
The number of children being diag
nosed w ith "mental illness" is up over 1000%’
Many of tfiese children are being put on Ritalin, an
amphetamine a type of drug know n com m only on the
street as speed
It can have very serious side effects
when the child is on the drug and also during w ith
drawal
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights ICCHRl
has published an inform ation letter w inch outlines many
ot the adverse and oftentim es frightening «‘fleets of this
drug
This list of adverse effects was com piled from
authoritative medical and pharmaceutic al references
They include
• During w ithdraw al or reduction of dosage, children
can tiecome very agitated and even suicidal SUICIDE
IS A VERY REAL RISK DURING W IT H D R A W A L OR
REDUCTION OF DOSAGE
• Ritalin must not tie used on children under six years
old This is a m anufacturer's warning since one of the
long term effects of Ritalin use on children is stunting
of grow th (both height and w eight).
• Ritalin apparently lowers the "convulsive thresh
old
This means children w ith no previous history of
seizures may become epileptic w ith seizures, convul­
sions or fits All such seizures cause permanent brain
damage
And there is more If you w ould like a free copy of
th«> CCHR inform ation letter, w rite to Alexander R.
Jones. Church of Scientology International, Suite
200 316 Pennsylvania Ave , S E , W ashington, D C.
20003
H June« m the Diiector ot Minority »nd Third W orld Affair»
lor the Church nl Scientology IR I International
A lc o h o lis m —The Q u iet
Epidem ic of Ruined Lives
by Dr W illiam Tutman. Ph D
M ANAGEM ENT
A w e e k ly c o lu m n on personal finance d is trib u te d b \
the O reg on Society ot C e rtifie d lA ih lie Aeeoun u n is
Tax
P reparation
A nd
The Senior C itizen
W hen taxpayers reach the age of 65, they become
eligible for several special tax benefits Knowing about
those credits and other tax tips con help seniors avoid
paying more taxes than necessary, according to the
Oregon Society of CPAs.
One very im portant source o f income to most senior
citizens is their Social Security bonefits But, just be
cause they decide to retire and collect Social Security
benefits does not mean that they have to stop working
altogether
Senior citizens can continue to work and
collect these benefits as long as they do not exceed
income requirements Persons between the age of 65
and 70 are allowod up to $7,800 of income in 1986 while
still collecting full benefits Those age 70 or above can
work and earn as m uch as they w ant and still receive
full benefits
W hen soniors receive money from sources other than
wages they m ight find that it w ill affect the taxability of
their Social Security benefits
Single taxpayers 65 or older do not have to file a tax
return unless their gross income is $4,640 or more in
1986 Married couples where one spouse is 65 or older
do not have to file unless their joint gross income is
$6,910 or more
If both spouses in a married couple
are 65 or older, together they can earn up to $7,990
before they have to file a return In any o f these situa
tions, taxpayers m ust file a return to receive any re
funds They must also file a return to receive any re
funds They must also file to qualify for any deductions
or credits
If you are 55 years or older and sold your home in
1986, you may avoid taxes on profits of up to $125,000
To qualify for this exclusion, not only must you or your
spouse be 55 years or older at the time of sale, but you
must elect to take this exclusion, w hich is only offered
once in a lifetime, and have lived in the home as a pnn
cipal residence tor three out of the past five years
There are other tax benefits available only to older
Americans If you are 65 or older, or if you are under
65 and totally disabled, you may qualify for a special
tax credit Known as the credit for the elderly or dis
abled, qualified individuals can reduce their tax bills
depending on the am ount of tax free Social Security
benefits they receive, their adjusted gross income and
their filing status
Along w ith these credits, seniors are eligible for an
exemption simply baser) on their age All taxpayers are
entitled to take a personal exem ption w orth $1,080
However, taxpayers 65 and older on or tiefore January
1. 1987 qualify for an additional exem ption Joint filers
can take tw o additional exemptions if both are 65 or
older
W hile AIDS and the '"e w war on illegal drugs con
tinues to occupy media headlines as tw o of the nation's
most pressing social problems, another more wide
spread epidemic quietly eats into the heart of the Amen
can culture Its tentacles reach into all levels and class
es of society from the rich and the famous through
the middle class and dow n to the homeless poor Vic
tim s of this deadly disease come from Black W hite, and
virtually all the races that make up our social fabric
Alcoholism is so prevalent in our society that we
sometimes tend to overlook it as a social and m e d ic a l
problem, at least until a close acquaintance falls prey
It is when we see first hand the terrifying effects fami
lies torn apart, individual careers ruined and an untim e
ly death that we suddenly realize just how real the
situation is
We might also come to appreciate how many of our
other pressing social problems are frequently linked
w ith the addiction and misuse of alcohol child abuse,
unem ploym ent, and divorce, to name but a few
W hich is not to suqgest that alcoholism is the sole
factor contributing to the increase of these But at the
same time, the irresponsible and often violent behavior
w hich accompanies alcoholism very often manifest it
self as other additional social problems
How many people have worked hard to build a decent
career and a family only to have it all come crashing
dow n because of a drinking problem? According to
statistics, as much as 10 percent of the general popula­
tion are alcoholic
There is a tendency that I have observed for people to
look upon alcoholics as simply weak personalities, peo
pie w ho try to bury difficulties rather than deal w ith
them Yet new research is showing that the nature of
alcoholism is far more complex
A recent study of
adopted children in Iowa, for instance, showed that
rather than the 10 percent general population statistic,
1 our of 4 sons of alcoholic fathers became alcoholic.
This study, as well as similar statistical research in
Denmark and Sweden, has prom pted more intense in ­
vestigation of the possibility that alcoholism m ight be
inherited
Meanwhile, a lack of understanding of the
actual causes of the affliction has meant that even some
of the most successful alcoholic rehabilitation programs
in the past have had a heartbreaking problem w ith the
large numbers of people w ho revert back to alcohol
afterwards
Research determined that all alcoholics are so be
cause of past m om ents of pain and unconsciousness
w hich adversely effect them below their awareness
Such incidents, w hich are called "engram s", frequently
occur while a baby is still in the w om b These discover­
ies, verified by a high rehabilitation rate in rehabilitation
programs, show that even if children are separated from
their parents at birth, they often have deeply hidden
'engrams' involving an alcoholic biological m other or
father
Looking for a certified public accountant in your
com m unity? Call the Oregon Society of CPAs, (503)
641 7200
fpORTWND OBSERVER
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