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Tm P ortland O bserver • J une 26. 1996
P agi : A3
Burning Puts Portland On Racist Map
Continued from front
▲
league who has been in the front of
bringing the city together.
In a statement after the fire, the
Portland league decried racial ani­
mosity that has permeated the state.
The recent burning o f a cross in
the front yard o f a disabled African-
American man’s house in Gresham
states clearly that racial harmony still
is an unfinished agenda in Oregon
I he Free M e th o d ist C hurch
burnings raised a plethora o f ques­
tions about whether the issue o f race
relations has been adequately ad­
dressed. Majority o f black Orego­
nians say no way.
"W e are saddened, we are dis­
mayed, but we are not surprised giv­
en the current national climate on
racial issues such as affirmative Ac­
tion" says the Urban League, which
seems to sum up the frustrations o f
many blacks.
Community leaders are leery of
attributing the Portland church arson
to racism, many especially govern­
ment and non-government agencies
officials saying that the fire incident
left indelible racial stigma in the face
o f Portland
"I felt such pain in my gut about
the fact that it's here too," said Port­
land Mayor Vera Katz.
"It’s an expression o f hatred and
violence in building that ought to be
filled with love and peace and com­
munity We cannot accept acts o f
violence or hatred in this communi­
ty ”
Human Rights advocate, Helen
Cheek says the arson that has en­
gulfed predominantly black church­
es nation-wide, and now in Portland,
reflects a new tide in racist attitudes.
“ When a group burns a church in one
part o f the country, that gives others
the courage to go and do this here,”
laments Cheek. “ It feeds into the
racist feelings that are already there.”
Pundits, who once defended the
state as progressive and liberal, are
shrinking in the face o f protruding
racial disharmony.
Skeptics are pointing to the noto­
rious hate crime in 1988 that saw the
death of27 year old Mulegeta Seraw,
the Ethiopian immigrant, who was
beaten to death by three skin heads
outside his South East apartment.
"Over the past 15 years a good bit
o f racism has migrated to our part o f
the country." observes Steven Gadner
o f the Coalition for Human Dignity,
a Portland based Civil Rights Group.
"There has to be a political pressure
brought to bear, to say that these
incidents have to be pursued and
prosecuted"
Historians say the state’s past is
filled with racial acrimony. Blacks,
for example were barred from living
in Oregon in the early '20s and '30s.
It was only in 1959 that the legisla­
ture made a constitutional amend­
ment which allowed Blacks to stay
here.
Thousands o f African-Americans
w ho I iv ed in the state at the turn o f the
Century, according to historian Dick
Pintach, were subject to Jim Crow,
or de facto segregation, and restrict­
ed to menial jobs And in 1919 the
state legislature defeated a bill to
give blacks equal access to hotels,
restaurants and other public places.
"It was dangerous for blacks to go
places," recalls Portland historian E.
Kimbark MacColl.
Pockets o f racial-driven militia
exist in Chants Pass and other parts of
the state This recent fire may well
have further dented the state's pro­
gressive image.
Except that Police investigations,
rule out racial animosity in the burn­
ing o f Immanuel Free Methodist
church, area residents fear an upris­
ing o f future incidences.
A wild wind o f arson blazed the
church in North Portland during the
wee hours last Thursday morning.
The fire smeared the plastic chairs
Are Minorities Soft on Crime?
There is an old myth that blacks
are softer on crime than whites. A
recent survey by the Joint Center for
Political and Economic Studies, a
W ashington-based think tank, tells a
different story.
The center found that an over­
whelming majority o f blacks favor
stiffer laws and sentences for drug
use and violent crime. More than
seventy percent o f blacks support
three-strike^ laws and nearly fifty
percent backed the death penalty.
But old myths die hard. The Joint
Center survey probably w on’t be
enough to convince many whites
that blacks d on’t allow racial sym­
pathies to blur their judgm ent and
objectivity when it comes to dealing
with black criminals.
During the O.J. Simpson trial,
many media commentators and le­
gal analysts were certain that the
predom inantly A frican-A m erican
jury would acquit Simpson. In a poll
o f trial attorneys taken immediately
after the jury was impaneled, seven­
ty percent predicted that the jury
would deadlock or vote to acquit
Simpson based solely on race.
Some experts openly said that an
acquittal would be payback for the
failure o f a jury with no blacks to
convict the four LAPD officers that
beat Rodney King. Others assured
that a Simpson acquittal would be
revenge for centuries o f racial mis­
treatment o f blacks. The jurors pro­
tested that they acquitted Simpson
because o f the lack o f evidence not
his color.
Even if race was a factor, which it
almost certainly was, there is no
hard evidence that blacks reflexive­
ly vote to acquit black defendants.
Black jurors, in fact, regularly vote
to send black defendants to prison.
A defense attorney found this out
the hard way. He said he would do
anything to get as many blacks on
the jury in a murder case involving
his black client. He reasoned that
they were more likely to vote for
acquittal. He partly got his wish when
a predominantly black jury was seat­
ed. Thejury, however, convicted his
client and recommended the death
penalty.
Some blacks use the same false
logic as this attorney when they call
onblack ju ro rsto"nullify' evidence
and acquit black drug users to pro­
test "racially biased" drug prosecu­
tions. The chances ofthis happening
are slim.
Blacks are acutely aware that once
in theju ry box they are under great
public scrutiny to make sure they
don't tilt toward black defendants.
Black jurors often put more empha­
sis on the evidence presented by pros­
ecutors and are particularly sensitive
to the testimony o f the defendants.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. The
victims o f black crime are almost
always other blacks, and that in­
cludes many who serve on juries.
According to the Joint Center, twen­
ty-six percent o f blacks had a friend
or a relative victimized by violent
crime, nearly double the percentage
for whites. Fifty percent o f blacks
considered their neighborhoods un­
safe, nearly double that o f whites.
The high incidence o f murder,
gang activity, and drug dealing in
some black neighborhoods contrib­
ute to the heightened fear o f v iolent
crimes by blacks. They are tired o f
weeping at funerals and gravesides
for loved ones lost to violent crime.
The hardened attitudes o f blacks
toward the death penalty, drug laws,
and three strikes laws reflect this
fear. Despite evidence that blacks
are more likely to be arrested, pros­
ecuted, receive harsher sentences,
and the death penalty than whites,
many blacks still support these mea­
sures.
Blacks have also adopted a hard­
er-line attitude toward crime not only
because they fear for their personal
safety, but because they feel they
have more to lose. Since the 1970s
there has been a fifty-two percent
increase in the number o f black man­
agers, technicians, professionals, and
government officials. Nearly one-
third o f blacks have incomes in ex-
June 25 through July 9,1996
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cess o f thirty-five thousand dollars
annually and more than ten percent
of blacks earn more that fifty thou­
sand yearly. Thirty two-percent at­
tend college and sixty-four percent
o f blacks own their own homes. In
1995, the top 100 black businesses
had gross sales o f nearly $ 12 billion.
Crime and punishment are no
longer issues that only black conser­
vatives talk about Jesse Jackson,
Louis Farrakhan, Kweisi Mfume, and
many black liberal Democrat politi­
cians pay almost as much attention
to the fight against crime as the fight
tor civil rights, affirmative action,
and social programs. They call for
moral crusades against violence,
more personal and family responsi­
bility by blacks, more police, more
gang sweeps, more drug arrests, and
evictions o f lawbreakers from pub­
lic housing.
Eddie Williams, president of the
Joint Center, predicts that crime is a
permanent issue that will force black
leaders "to listen more closely to their
constituents." Let's hope that more
whites listen closely to blacks who
also say enough is enough on crime.
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in the charred Sanctuary o f the 40-
year old wooden church whose con­
gregation is about 70% black
Police are still investigating the
cause o f the arson.
According to Bill Law ofthe Port­
land Police Arson Unit, people are
beginning to volunteer information
The tragic incident seems to have
united the Portland religious Com­
munity. How far this will go, only a
matter o f time will tell.
COMMUNITY
W
h e
IPovtlanb
(iD b s v v tiv r
C a ll 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 -0 0 3 3
DIVERSITY
CRIME S T O P P E R S
Murder/Kidnap
P ortland Police B ureau H o­
m icide Investig ato rs, in c o o p ­
eration with C rim e S toppers, are
asking for your help in solving a
m urder.
On W e d n e sd a y , D ecem b er
20, 1995, at 7:30 in the m o rn ­
ing, on the 9300 Block o f SE
Ram ona S treet, two black m ales
arm ed w ith guns forced a 25-
y ear-o ld black fem ale to stop
her car as she exited her a p a rt­
m ent com plex.
O ne o f the suspects entered
the w o m e n 's car and drove her
aro u n d for a p p ro x im a te ly 30
m inutes. M eanw hile, the second
su sp ect, who was jo in e d by a
third suspect, en tered the w om ­
a n ’s apartm ent and killed her
b o y frie n d , D arrin E zell, who
was 24 -y ears-o ld .
T he num ber one suspect is
describ ed as a black m ale, 20 to
25 years o f age, 5 '6 " to 5 '7 "
tall, w ith a m edium build, and a
dark com plexion.
The suspect has a "d irty ” face,
w ith "ash y " looking lips, and a
S u s p e c t for M urder/K idnapping
with earing illustration.
Hat nose w ith a pointed end. In
his right ear, the suspect w ore
three large gold hoop earrin g s
that w ere in the shape o f tw o
d o lp h in s (see enlarg em en t).
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash
reward o f up to $ 1,000 for informa­
tion, that leads to an arrest in this
ease, or any unsolved felony crime.
If you have any in form ation,
call C rim e S to p p e rs at (5 0 3 )
823-H E L P , you need not give
yo u r name.
MSCO Seeking Help
On February 14, 1996, five and
one-half large trees were cut down,
along with larger branches to stand­
ing trees, on private property.
The trees cut down have an ap­
proximate base o f 26-30 inches and
are from 50 feet to 70 feet in length.
Prior to the cutting, the trees ob­
scured the view o f Mount Hood
from residences located nearby. The
trees are located on the owner's prop­
erty at the following address:
2035 S.E. T ro u td a le Road,
Troutdale, Oregon 97060. Anyone
having information on the person
responsible for cutting the trees are
urged to contact Deputy McLellan
at 255-3600.
¿■nr.
I*
G reek C orps P roject
ook for butterflies in gardens this summer near Boise Eliot school
Z
in North Portland thanks in part to new shrubs and flowers
recently planted on school grounds.
The Butterflies Aren't Free project is another example of
the diversity of Pacific Power’s Green Corps program started four
years ago as an environmental partnership between the company and
the community.
Children at Boise Eliot School joined with the National
Wildlife Federation, Dannon Yogurt and Pacific Power to design and
create a butterfly garden at the school. It will be an outdoor labora
tory incorporated into a schoolyard wildlife habitat. About 40 sixth
and seventh grade students worked with a landscape architect on the
project along with 15 Pacific Power volunteers.
The butterfly garden won Pacific Power’s Green Glove
award, created this year to honor the Green Corps project
demonstrating the most creativity and best coordination with
community groups.
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Pkterod above: Boise [Hot students along math Pacific Power and Hational Wildlife
Mecation volunteers team up to complete the "ButlerHies Brent free"project nt the school
Porifk Power project vohnrteert: lisa irnnlrong lim Berg, Doug Campbel! tea Bane
Doolittle Della Froiier, Da
Dan Hitchcock,
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Mel Howell, h
Hughes, Bed Hughes Mitre PHtmon
Donald Shaw, Patty Simons, Bruce Spiedel, Brnie Wintrier and Dennis Ir
m