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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1988)
June 3, 1983. P ortla nd O bserver, Page 3 One-Third Of A Nation Continued From Page One B la c ks A n d T h e C o n s titu tio n by David M. Maxfield Smithsonian News Service John Hope Franklin, Duke University’s eminent professor of legal history, cannot forget the experience. In a recen; talk at the Smithsonian Institution on "Race and the Constitution,” the pro fessor recalled a painful time in his life — a 1945 train trip during which he and 44 other blacks were “ crammed into a half-coach designed for 20 passengers." Ahead was a full coach occupied by six German prisoners of war, who, he remembered, “ took much delight in our discomfort." 8 Dismayed by “ cake and ice cream” celebrations of the birth of the Constitution in light of the country’s historic treatment of black people, Franklin and other noted legal scholars set off fire works of their own at a national symposium called to examine the impact of the 201-year-old docu ment on American minorities, b The symposium was jointly organized by the Smithsonian and the Joint Center for Political Studies, a W ashington-based public policy organization con cerned with black affairs. The two-day gathering of history and c o n s titu tio n a l law scholars addressed issues of the highest ^Im portance to m in o ritie s — matters of civil rights, hous ing, employment, education and family life related to constitu tional decisions. racism honed by white Ameri cans, not with slaves, but with free black Americans." As the ac count of his train trip revealed, this treatment has been insidious for blacks. • In 1640, when three Virginia indentured servants — one black, two whites — ran away and then were caught, the local magistrate “ set the stage for racial discrimi nation that would persist for more than three centuries,” Franklin said. To punish the white ser vants, he added one year to their indenture. The black was inden tured for life. Franklin • M a ssa ch u se tts, iro n ic a lly , taxed free blacks but barred them from voting. And at the outset of the Revolutionary War, Gen. Washington preferred not to en list blacks at all — until the going got tough from King George’s firepower and 5,000 men were called. Racism’s Roots r Franklin, however, believes an other factor is central to explain the lingering difficulties of his people. “ I have come up with the proposition that it was racism, a • Before the Civil War, Franklin continues, "one looks in vain” for any indication of national policies of citizenship and equality for free blacks. The first U.S. Congress that met in 1789 barred free blacks from becoming naturalized citizens; the next Congress re stricted the m ilitia to white men. That policy, Franklin noted, “ not only lacked in grace but in gra- tituoe” for blacks’ contributions to independence. • The states’ records were no better. From the admission of Maine in 1819 until the end of the Civil War, every new state wrote a constitution that barred blacks from voting, just when the vote was being extended to many whites. Tennessee, North Caro lina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut actually disen franchised blacks. • And after the Civil War, despite the promise of Reconstruction amendments, racial discrimina tion ruled the land. “ Whites could not bring themselves to believe that blacks were entitled to the Same rights they enjoyed," Frank lin asserted. “ This was tne oasis for the policy and practices that persisted” in the 19th and 20th centuries. A fundam ental question — "why blacks have had such d iffi culty rising to a status of equality” in the land that pledges allegiance “ to liberty and justice for a ll” — was addressed by Franklin and Mary Frances Berry, a University of Pennsylvania his tory professor and member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. ■ The unemployment rate for Blacks in 1986 was 14.5 per c e n t-m o re than twice the rate of 6.0 percent for whites. Among Hispanics, 10.6 percent were unemployed.’ As of April 1988, unemployment for whites had de clined to 4.6 percent, while the rate for Blacks stood at 12.2 per cent and for Hispanics at 9.3 per cent.” ■ M inority group members are far less likely to have a college education. In 1986,20.1 percent of whites over 25 had completed four years of college or more. The rate for Blacks was 10.9 percent, and for Hispanics only 8.4 percent.” ■ As of 1986, Black life expec tancy at birth was 71.4 years — ex actly four years less than for whites.” ■ In 1985, the mortality rate among youngest Black infants (under 28 days) rose nationally for the first time in 20 years. By itself our black infant mortality rate would rank the U.S. 28th in the world in keeping babies alive in the first year of life.” ■ The immunization status of nonwhite infants has grown sub stantially worse in recent years. The proportion not fully immu nized against polio rose by 55 per cent between 1980 and 1985. The percentage not fully immunized against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) increased by 68 per cent. In the same period, rates of immunization against various dis eases among white infants either improved or worsened only slight ly.” ■ Of the 1.05 million high school seniors who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in 1985, just over 70,000 (9 percent) were Black and few more than 17,000 (3 percent) were Hispanic. Furthermore, of the black stu dents, 73 percent scored below 400 on the verbal section and 64 percent scored below 400 on the math portion. Of the Hispanic students, 59 percent had verbal scores below 400 and 45 percent had math scores below that level. For whites, only 31 percent had verbal scores below 400 and only 22 percent had math scores that low.” Rapid progress in eliminating these disparities may prove more difficult for the dsiadvantaged among the new one-third of a na tion than for many of whom Presi dent Roosevelt spoke. Minority Americans are burdened not by a sudden, universal, yet temporary economic calamity, but by a long Cleo’s cruiting personnel reflect society in general. For example, there is a serious shortage of skilled Black personnel. With regard to signals eman ating from the White House on racial harmony, Mr. Phillips in dicated much confusion has been generated. The executive man date is the driving force that in fluences the interpretation of policies and court decisions in the area of civil rights. Recently the tendency has been directed toward a negative impact. Out of that dilemma has emerged chal lenges from white males who feel threatened by any activity that would enhance employment op portunities for Black people. Iß Dick Bogle Kathleen Saadat heads up the state affirmative action program. In addition to that, the handicap initiative has also been added recently to her responsibility. Miss Saadat acknowledged that she gets a tremendous amount of cooperation from participating agencies. It is the function of her office to ensure that each activity complies with the laws of the State of Oregon regarding affir mative action. To this end she must maintain consistency in the overall guidelines and goals among the various departments. At the same time she must pro mote affirmative actic with a zeal that gives it a t /minent highlight in the functioning of all groups. She is concerned with the number of persons filling the v ? f- w? i ★ HOUSE SPECIALTIES ★ Chitterlings • Meatloaf • Mix Greens • Beef Stew Catfish • And Many Other Southern Dishes Including: Cleo’s Zesty Ribs In Sauce — HOME COOKED DESSERTS — Come See 'Luberta' F or Some Down Home C ookin’! MEMBERS & GUESTS S 7 ' 0 / \ INNER-CITY \ * % SWAP MEET \ /V June 17th, 18th, & 19th — 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 1834 N.E. Alberta (formerly Y.O.A. Club) California Style Shopping Arena • Vendors Needed • NEW or HAND-CRAFTED ITEMS ONLY CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION: (503) 288-4527 ® numerous career slots and also with their promotional oppor tunities. Miss Saadat and her small supporting staff of two other persons get involved with developing goals and programs for the various protected groups. Rather than wielding a big stick she assists the affected agencies to overcome those barriers which would interfere with their achieve ment of certain affirmative action goals. The numbers are impres sive. About two per cent of the total state work force is Black. That statistic reflects a greater per centage of the state’s Black population in general. Miss Saadat hastens to caution that those numbers are biased be cause they do not reflect the specifics of the distribution. She cites, for example that 31% of white females are clustered with in the upper income bracket while at the same time the represen tation of Black women is less than one per cent. This is a disparity that has commanded a lot of attention from her office. Further, Miss Saadat emphasiz ed that there is an open door career tract for Black people at the state level. She is not in the r> 'f i f i n g business but urges in- t ted parties to monitor offer- ii through the state employ- m it offices and to submit ap plications for any position of in terest. No responsible survey would be complete without a look at the police department. I was curious to know what adjustments had been made since the days of “ Don’t choke them, Smoke them !” mentality. I talked at length with David Simpson, the public information officer. I was at first skeptical about a profes sional whose very livelihood de pended upon how good the police department looked in the eyes of the public. I addressed those issues that could not be conceal ed. He was forthright and candid. Minority recruiting has been em phasized. Even with the freeze im posed on hiring since 1987, the numbers still look good. About 25 new officers will be hired in 1988, two of these will be Black. 3140 N. Williams • 284-7150 Ethnic Cuisine Southern Style OREGON: Status On Human Rights f l Continued froqi Front Page history of oppression and discri mination. They remain largely segregated in minority neighbor hoods and minority schools. For many, full participation in the dominant culture imposes a pain ful choice: to dilute or abandon a rich and distinctive heritage. Above all, they are marked by the color of their skin as different, and therefore more vulnerable. Yet, minority citizens are not separate. They are, in a real sense, the new America. In a few years they will comprise one-third of the nation's children; soon af terward they will be one-third of the nation’s adults. PORTLAND OBSERVER * "The Eyes and Ears of the Community” Ask for Steve or Blanche 288-0033 Also Open Bidding For Concessions Will Be Held On Monday, June 13 At 12:30 P.M. \ ------------------ ----------------------------- ---------------------------------------/ S O U L S V L f f V O f THE ROSE CITY RHYTHM ROLLERS the is t Gladys McCoy - Recruiting will extend outside of the state in order to attract the kind of professional that Portland requires. Among the 700 police officers 22 are Black. There is on ly one lieutenant and one detec tive. The need for the dual recruiting system has diminished because of vigorous recruiting ef forts. It will be abandoned in the future. As far as the public sector is concerned, the state of the State is relative ly o p tim is tic , but everything is not a bed of roses. Gregory Gudger of the Munici pal Human Relations Commis sion summed it up rather succinc tly. “ There is a lot of work to be done with regard to inter-group relations. Employment, housing and services continue to pose pressing problems with regard to our multi-racial society. We must learn to function effectively and to recognize that our bountiful resources, including people, are an asset rather than a detriment.” How far has Oregon come since the repressive territorial code of 1841? You decide! Next week we will take a look at the problem plagued private sector. ■ Continued Next Week / m n u a l THE RECKLESS REXERS PRESENT: "CLOSING FOREVER ” CELEBRATION AFTER 25 YEARS AS A RECREATIONAL CENTER IN THE ROSE CITY COMMUNITY OF PORTLAND, SILVER SKATE ROLLER RINK WILL CLOSE ITS DOORS FOREVER, JUNE 16TH 1988.THIS IS A MOMENTOUS OCCASSION AND HISTORIC EVENT NOT TO BE MISSED. SOUL SKATE OF AMERICA, THE RHYTHM ROLLERS AND THE RECK LESS REXERS INVITE YOU TO HELP US SAY "THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES" ON THE FINAL NIGHT, JUNE 15TH, 1988, FROM 8:PM UNTIL 2:AM. • • • • WE WILL SHARE SKATING, DANCING - DOOR PRIZES - TWO GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAYS - ARTIFACTS & MEMORABILIA - GREAT MUSIC - FRIENDS, OLD AND NEW AND A GOOD TIME!!!! COME ONE & ALL - BRING YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND JOIN THE FUN AT THE 1ST ANNUAL "CLOSING FOREVER" CELEBRATION. TWO GRAND PRIZES: A 19" COLOR TELEVISION & A CD RECORD PLAYER ($600.00 VALUE BE GIVEN AWAY. (YOU NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN) JUST COME AND R EG ISTER . * DON’T MISS THIS HISTORIC EVENT IN THE NORTH EAST COMMUNITY - SIL VER SKATE ROLLER RINK IS CLOSING AFTER 25 YEARS OF DEDICATED REC REATIONAL SERVICE TO THE CITY OF PORTLAND AND THE ROSE CITY COM MUNITY us and CELEBRATE!!! GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY, FAMILY join n ik ii O A III C IZ A T C 8:PM UNTIL 2:AM - SILVER SKATE RINK, 1210 N.E. 102ND, ADMISSION $6.00 -- BE THERE!!!
