P age C6
J anuary 10, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver
Birthday
Observed
At PSU
Portland State University will join
the larger community in celebrating
the accomplishments of Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. Tuesday, Jan. 16,
with a two-hour presentation taking
place from 11 a m. to 1 p.m. in Park
way Commons North in Smith Cen
ter (1825 SW Broadway).
The celebration, which is free and
open to the public, will include per
formances by the PSU Faculty Staff
Chorus, testim onials by Randy
Nathan of UISHE (United Indian
Students in Higher Education) and
by Ruben Siena, Director of Chicano/
Latino studies at PSU, and a brief
lecture by Rev. Isaiah Jones Jr., OSU
campus minister
"We’re taking this time to join the
nation in acknowledging the accom
plishments of Rev. Martin Luther
King.,” says Phil Harder, ecumeni
cal minister at PSU’sCampus Minis
try. “We hope toeducate people about
the significance of Dr. King and his
work. And we hope to remind people
of his themes of unity, peace and
justice for all.”
Harder is particularly pleased at
the participation of Isaiah Jones Jr.,
OSU campus minister.
at a rally?
Reluctantly, he rearranged his
schedule, and on March 18 he spoke
at Mason Temple. Fifteen thousand
people packed the huge old building
to hear him speak.
King loved addressing large
crowds, and that day he was at the top
of his oratorical form Elated by the
cheers, impressed by the sense of
commitment in Memphis, he impul
sively agreed to head a demonstra
tion for the strikers. "I will lead you
on a march through the center of
▼
Continued to page C7
We rea lize
e ve ryb o d y is d iffe re n t.
B u t th a t doesn t m ean th e ir
o p p o rtu n itie s have to be.
For some, a power com pany’s obligations end at
reliable electrical service. At PGE we take our
leads thousands
from Selma to Montgomery.
~
demonstrators
com m itm ent a little fu rth e r. Through volunteer
-----------" "
support and donations we foster numerous projects
ASSASSINATION
Continued from C5
At 10:30 a.m., they landed in
Memphis. It was King's third trip to
the city in less than three weeks, but
it was not a place he particularly
wanted to be. He had come to sup
port the city's striking sanitation
workers, but every moment in Mem
phis was one less he had for his
principal order of business that spring
of 1968: the Poor People’s Cam
paign.
For months, King and the SCLC
had been planning a massive demon
stration to dramatize the plight of
poverty-stricken Americans. It was
an ambitious undertaking.
King envisioned a great march in
Washington, D.C., and the construc
tion in the capital of a “poor people’s
city” of shacks and shanties that
would remain standing until Con
gress approved sweeping antipoverty
legislation. But all sorts of problems
threatened to derail the campaign
and to keep it on track King wanted
to give it all his time and effort.
Still, the 39-year-old minister
could not say no to his friends in
Memphis. Overwhelmingly black
the garbage collectors of Memphis
were badly paid, overworked, and
had no job security, no insurance, no
pensions.
When it rained, the black workers
were sent home without pay, whereas
their white supervisors were permit
ted to wait out the storm and draw
their wages.
In February 1968, the garbage
collectors went on strike, demanding
higher pay and better working condi
tions and benefits. The local govern
ment refused them point-blank, and
as the strike dragged on it became a
paramount issue for the black com
munity. In March, some black minis
ters appealed to King. Would he speak
t. ^ Z A livet
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IN S U R A N C E
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Rev. Jeffery W. Jackson
Senior Pastor
Assistant Pastor
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Saluting
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partner and long
time friend,
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“M o r a ls c a n n o t be le g is la te d , b u t b e h a v io r can be re g u la te d . T b e la w
c a n n o t m a k e a n e m p lo y e r love m e. b u t i t can beep b im fro m re fu s in g to
h ire m e l»ecause o f tb e c o lo r o f m y s k in .'
- - M a r t i n L u t k e r K in g J r.
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“Injustice anywhere
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-M artin Luther King Jr.