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by Ron Harris
Crack: New Danger in Communities
In the last three years, accord-
ng to a new Drug Enforcement
Administration report, crack (a
highly addictive cocaine deriva
tive) has rapidly spread to 46
states — all but the most sparsely
populated areas of the country.
Using such phrases as ‘‘dramatic
increase,” ‘‘serious problem ,”
and ‘‘escalating to alarm ing
levels,” the 22-page document
details the rapid emergence of
this terrifying drug on the streets
in many m id d le -size c itie s ,
smaller towns and even rural
areas in America.
"Never before has any form of
cocaine been available at such
low cost and high potency," the
report said of crack, a drug which
is "inexpensive, highly addictive”
and “ physically and emotionally
destructive.”
The report has come just at the
time when President Reagan de
clared that "the tide of the battle
has turned and we are beginning
to win the crusade for a drug-free
Am erica,” citin g surveys that
showed cocaine abuse among
high school seniors and other
young adults dropped 20 percent
last year.
But many local officials con
sider that White House rhetoric is
not reflecting the whole picture at
the community level. "Just saying
no’ is not enough," Peter F.
Luongo, director of a youth treat
ment program in Maryland, told
the Los Angeles Times. "W e’ve
got to do something.”
The new crack tra ffic k in g
organizations, partly composed
of m em bersorform erm em bersof
big city street gangs, make exten
sive use of teenagers both as
pushers and couriers. Young peo
ple, many under the age of 16, are
tempted by the prospect of plenty
of spending money, nice clothes,
fancy cars, and the weapons that
have become part of most crack
operations. Individual organiza
tion s; are reported to be selling up
a|
to $3 m illion of crack a day in
larger cities.
Apart from lowering prices to
bolster crack use, big business
marketing techniques are now
being adopted in some areas to in
crease customer sales, every
thing from packaging crack under
brand names (like “ Airborne" and
"Sudden Impact” ) to sales com-
alone will not lead to a drug-free
America.
Even in a police state as tightly
controlled as the Soviet Union,
there is a drug problem. “ There
has always been every type of
drug available in Moscow,” re
cently said a medical doctor who
defected to America. “ At night on
streets near Red Square, you can
get anything you want — women,
men or drugs.”
For those who work with drug
users at the street level in
American cities, there is broad
agreement that we cannot elimi
nate a social problem like drugs
sim ply by m aking it also
criminal problem.
To fully handle why someone
takes drugs now, it is often
necessary to resolve what was
p e titio n s w ith in tr a ffic k in g
organizations.
The initial response to the
sweeping crack wave has been to
call for increased law enforce
ment resources to effectively
drug networks and the violence
and killing that follows them. But,
as we have learned through years
of escalating drug abuse, this
wrong before they took them.
The w ar-to-end-all-w ars on
drugs, the only one that has a
hope of truly brining about a drug
free America, cannot just attack
drugs and their pushers. It must
also focus on better ways of deal
ing with those problems that lead
to drug abuse. Trying to punish
those who use drugs has more
than proven to be an ineffective,
incomplete solution.
While drug abuse is rampant in
America, reducing efforts to stem
the flow of drugs into the country
might be disastrous. But without
a more direct attack on those fac
tors leading to drug abuse, crack
and other drugs will be a part of
the American landscape for many
years to come, available to any
teenager or adult alike who cares
to seek them out.
See related articles
on Page 7
The Other Type of Gang: Skinheads
by I.R. Macrae
Crips, Bloods and Asian gangs
have got officials and citizens
worried, and with good reason.
Well-organized, sophistaicated
and armed with deadly weapons,
they have been linked to drug-
Dushing, prostitution and numer-
□us other crimes. While often
3ne type of gang mem-
jer is a different breed,
lowever, motivated not
ay greed but by hatred,
pure and simple.
»nt, most gang activities are
ivated by desire for fast, large
its to be made by dealing in il-
drugs, pimping or trafficking
olen goods. One type of gang
nber is a different breed,
iever, motivated not by greed
by hatred, pure and simple,
/ell inform ed sources de-
be the skinheads as young
Its who hate "everything and
ryone..." but have a particular
dge against Jews and racial or
nic m inorities — especially
April 13, 1988
"The Eyes and Ears of the Com m unity”
Volume XVIII, Number 22
Asians and African Americans.
Their activities range from pass
ing out hate literature and scrawl
ing g ra ffitti to harrassm ent,
assault and, in at least two cases
in Portland, murder.
Neo-Nazi groups such as the
Aryan Brotherhood are known to
be actively recruiting among the
skinheads. It seems the young
punks find the ideology of hate
provides at least the pretense of a
rationale for their violence. Not
that they need a raionale to attack
or harrass. Among recent in
cidents: two skinheads approach
ed a white person waiting at a bus-
stop, asking for money. When the
person refused, he was beaten
with an umbrella. A white youth
was “ cut-up" by two skinheads,
and a white street corner preacher
was beaten when he refused to
assent to the superiority of the
white race. Most victims, how
ever, are minorities. They include
a security guard at Lincoln High
School, an African American
woman attacked near Lloyd Cen
ter, and most recently, an Asian
man beaten as he emerged from a
Chinese restaurant in Old Town.
Neo-Nazi groups such as
the Aryan Brotherhood
are known to be actively
recruiting among the
skinheads.”
One of the most serious skin
head incidents to date occurred in
1986 when a member of the San
Francisco gang called the "San
Francisco Bashers” came to
Portland via Richard Butler's Neo-
Nazi training camp in Idaho. Like
many skinheads, "Basher Dave,
as he was called, was a devotee of
heavy-metal music with its fre
quent allusions to Satanism and
fascism. It was not surprising,
therefore, that he gravitated to
Satyricon Nightclub in Old Town
where he enjoyed the music be
fore com m itting murder. Last
year, another Old Town murder
was attributed to the skinheads
when a group of them beat a tran-
sient to death.
Neil Crannell, member of the
Portland Police Bureau's Gang
Unit, believes that w hile the
overall numbers of skinheads re
main small, they are bolder now
than they have been in the past. In
creased publicity from television
talk shows and town meetings
may be part of the reason, but
Crannell thinks that most are
simply aware that they w ill pro
bably spend little time in jail. Most
of their activities are m isde
meanors, he explains, so the
chance of incarceration is small.
Another source noted that the
skinheads are “ just not that well-
organized." Black and Oriental
gangs are much more dangerous
at the present time, he said. Ac
cordingly, most funding and
police work has focused on the
latter. However, Mayor Bud Clark
has asked the M e tro p o lita n
Human Relations Commission to
investigate the skinheads in the
aftermath of the most recent at
tack.
Oregon Bank
Scholarship Established
Dr. Matthew Prophet, Superintendent of the Portland Public Schools,
shakes hands with Joseph H. Johnson, President and Chief Executive Of
ficer of Oregon Bank, who has established a scholarship fund for members
of minority groups with an interest in a career in financial services.
Oregon Bank announced April
11 that it has established an Ore
gon Bank Scholarship Fund to
provide two scholarships annual
ly to be awarded to graduating
Portland School District High
School seniors. The purpose of
the scholarship is to assist
graduating seniors from minority
groups who have an interest in
and the potential for a career in
financial services.
Dr. Matthew Prophet, Super
intendent of the Portland Public
Schools, said, "I am very pleased
to welcome the Oregon Bank
Scholarship into our financial aid
program for graduating seniors. It
expands the opportunities in
higher education for our stu
dents, while it encourages our
highly qualitifed candidates to
study in Oregon.
According to Joseph H. John
son, President and Chief Execu
tive Officer, “ We are excited
about the potential this program
provides for attracting minorities
into the financial services field. At
the same time, we are endorsing
the Oregon public education sys
tem for its ability to educate and
prepare individuals for banking
careers. We are pleased that the
possible opportunity to work at
Oregon Bank during summer va
cations will not only provide addi
tional funds for the student's
education but also provide hands-
on experience in the Bank.”
The scholarships provide the
equivalent amount of a full year's
tuition at a public four-year col
lege or university in the State of
Oregon and is renewable over a
four-year period. Scholarships
w ill be awarded on the basis of:
1. Personal and academic
achievement and potential.
2. Membership in a racial or
ethnic m inority group.
3. Record of participation in ex
tra curricular activities, both in
school and/or the community.
4. Grade-point average of 3.0 or
combined SAT score of 1050.
5. Availability for employment
at the Oregon Bank during sum
mer vacations while on scholar
ship.
Application forms may be ob
tained from the college counselor
at any Portland Public High
School. Finalists w ill be inter
viewed by the Oregon Bank and
recipients will be notified by June
1, 1988.
Oregon Bank has assets of $1.2
billion and 56 branches through
out Oregon. The Portland-based
commercial bank is a subsidiary
of Security Pacific Corporation,
based in Los Angeles, and is ad
ministered by Rainier Bancor
poration headquartered in Seat
tle.
FCC Grants
Approval for
Black-Owned
Radio Station
Christopher Bennett of
Seattle, Washington, an Afri
can-A m erica n b u s in e s s
man, announced today that
the Federal C om m unica
tio n s C o m m is s io n has
granted approval of a license
for the operation of Oregon's
first Black-owned radio sta
tion. The station w ill operate
under the call letters KAAR
(1480 AM) and w ill feature a
24-hour contemporary soul
format.
The station will be located
at 510 S.W. 3rd Avenue in
Portland (Postal Building).
Resumes and air tapes are
now being accepted. Inter
views are scheduled to com-
mense on Friday, April 15,
1988. Interested applicants
are encouraged to apply by
calling 222-1480.