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Editorial articles do not necessarily
reflect or represent the views o f
(Elje P o rtla n d (©bseruer
This Way for Black Empowerment
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B y D r . L enora F ui . ani
hat The “Get-Tough-On-
Crime’' Wave Got Us
Several stales have plans to
new prisons called “super-max" pris
ons - short for super maximum secu
rity. Advocates for these new and
expensive jails tout them as a break
through in protecting society from
the most hardened criminals. The
super-max prisons lock down inmates
23 hours a day, strip search them on
the way to one hour of recreation,
deny them TV, books and newspa
pers and any contact with the outside
world. These horror chambers are the
latest product bei ng sold to the Ameri
can public by one of the country’s
fastest growing and most aggressive
industries - the prison industry.
The prison industry - which em
ploys more full time workers than any
Fortune 500company except General
Motors - has a hugely powerful lobby
and the support of politicians who
want to prove to the public that they
W
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are tough on crime. The super-max
prison building program is aboom for
the prison industry, but not for the
public which isbeingdrastically mis
build
led and misinformed about the state
of crime in America and the options of
how to respond.
M uch o f the p u blic p ressu re
for the super-m ax prisons -- which
in sta te s like Illin o is w ill co st
$ 1 4 0 ,0 0 0 per bed to build, m ore
than the cost o f the average house
— co m es from re p o rts th at v io
lence inside prisons is on the rise.
A ssa u lts betw een p riso n e rs and
by p riso n e rs a g a in st guards have
in creased o v er the last 10 y ears,
and c o rre c tio n s gu ard s are lo b
bying for g re a te r p ro te c tio n for
them selves. Som e c rim in o lo g ists
d isp u te these re p o rts as “o v e r
b lo w n ,” but a c lo se r look at the
p a tte rn o f v io le n c e in side the
p riso n s sheds lig h t on how the
p riso n lobby has been able to win
su p p o rt for th ese grossly e x p e n
r s p
sive and inhum ane p ro jects.
Since 1980 the prison population
in America has tripled. The get-tough-
on-crime wave which created manda
tory sentencing, three strikes you’re
out, and no opportunity for parole
filled the prisons with mainly non
violent, drug offenders. Sixty-five per
cent of the prison population - now
estimated at close to a million and a
half, the highest of any western in
dustrialized democracy - are non
violent offenders.
C o n se q u e n tly , if vio len ce is
on the rise in sid e the p riso n sy s
tem , it m ust be the case that the
p riso n sy stem its e lf is m aking
inm ates v io len t. T o then consign
th o se p riso n e rs to the new su
per-m ax system m eans th at we
h av e c re a te d a p riso n sy ste m
w ithin our p rison system , an in fi
nite re g re ss o f cru el and unusual
p u n ish m e n t.
Som e p ro p o n e n ts o f the su
per-m ax system , including p o liti
e
c
c ia n s lik e C o n g re s s m a n B ob
M cCollum o f Florida, chairm an o f
th e H o u se S u b c o m m itte e on
C rim e, argue th at the su p er-m ax
system is needed to c o n ta in the
“ s u p e r-b a d ” c rim in a l -- th o se
w ho c a n n o t be r e h a b ilita te d .
W hile it m ay be true that som e
p riso n e rs are so angry, so m e n
tally ill and so im balanced th at it
is q u e s tio n a b le w h e th e r th ey
could re -e n te r so ciety , the broad
issue o f re h a b ilita tio n is really
the issue o f w hether or not we
believe th at peo p le can ch a n g e . I
believe they can. People so m e
tim e do d read fu l things. I d o n ’t
think it fo llo w s that they w ill a l
w ays do d read fu l th in g s.
We have got to refocus and rein
vest in rehabilitation. If we d o n ’t
we will be trapped in an endless
cycle o f crim e, incarceration, vio
lence and more brutal punishm ent
- all at extreme financial and human
cost to our country.
t i v
e
s
P .O . Box 3137, P o rtla n d , O R 9 7 20 8.
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A. Phillip Randolph, Labor Leader Extraordinary
T
ecent articles here have
dealt with |h e America!
labor m ovem ent both in i
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I .a bor land its relati
can American wo r
waysanadvantageousf
the latter group.
The only important t
union of the e¡
tl$
intobeingiti
called the4iBr
R
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(SLditor
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Letter to the Editor
Do we have a problem in Oregon
with our Judicial system? Do attor
neys and judges investigate com
plaints against them selves ad
equately? The Oregon Judicial Fit
ness Commission sends a form letter
in response to a complaint against a
judge saying investigations are con
fidential and 99% cleared
What profession is 99% right?
If you’ve experienced problems
with justice in Oregon, perhaps you’d
like to join us. We think the Oregon
Bar is the source of the problems in
our judicial system. The Bar has a
monopoly including control of the
Professional Liability Fund from
whichdamagescanbepaid. Inshort,
they not only make the rules, but pass
judgment on their mistakes.
To correct this situation we believe
ajudicial council of elected lay people,
2 from each Legislative District, re
place the present system and investi
gate complaints against judges and
attorneys and decide who is right or
wrong and what damages should be
paid. All findings wouldbe made pub
lic.
Testifying before the Legislative
Judicial Committee accomplishes ab
solutely nothing, sad to say. Giving
Oregonians the opportunity to decide
for themselves how to make justice
more just in Oregon seems the only
way to go, which, of course, means a
Ballot Measure.
Lee Nation's Chief
Civil Rights Enforcer
resident Clinton has settled
on a Chinese-American pub
lic interest lawyer to become
nation’s chief civil rights enforcer.
But that seem ingly harm less
choice is drawing fire from some con
servatives who plan to oppose Bill
Lann Lee’s nomination unless he dis
avow s the ‘ radical and activist
course” pursued by his predeces
sor.
Both Lee and Deval Patrick, the
previous civil rights chief, cut their
legal teeth at the NAACP Legal De
fense and Educational Fund, which is
disliked by conservatives for its un
yielding support of affirmative ac
tion.
P
herefore, sleeping accommo
dations had to be provided, at
least for those who could afford
comfort o f a ‘pullman car’ rather than
a ‘chair car.’ The amenities of this
mode of travel were attended to by a
cadre of thousandsof black “pullman
porters” who, initially, were poorly
paid and mostly dependent upon tips.
But many thousands of black families
were supported by their earnings.
Enter A. Phillip Randolph.
As m ight be e x p e c te d , o rg a
n izin g th ese w orkers to b etter
th e ir co n d itio n was a m ost d if f i
cu lt task. The P ullm an C om pany
was a fo rm id ab le foe, capable o f
the m ost extrem e ta c tic s, in c lu d
ing lo c k o u ts and v io le n c e by
h ired goons. But stro n g , c o m m it
ted b lack men hung tough during
th ese tim es o f ex trem e racism .
W hen, unlike to d ay , you did not
run out and get a p a rt-tim e jo b
u n til the strik e w as over. “E y e
w itn e ss: T he N egro In A m erican
H isto ry ” c h a ra c te riz e s the g reat
union leader.
“A tall, scholarly man, Randolph
was respected for his knowledge of
history and economics as well as his
Lee is the group’s Western re
gional counsel, based in Los Ange
les.
the
‘ The fact that Clinton has once
again gone to the same well to pick a
nominee sets off alarm bells,” said
Clint Bolick, director of litigation at
the conservative, W ashington-based
Institute for Justice.
Bolick said the NAACP is out of
sync with most Americans' viewson
civil rights and that Lee - who will
oversee a shop of 250 lawyers - must
pledge to pursue a less strident
course than Patrick or face opposi
tion.
"W hen you have this kind ot
power at your fingertips, it’s very
I
Sincerely,
Helen Solem
Reform Party-O regon, Court
Watch
POBox58
Vernonia, O R97064
5034298400
important to have someone who is a
law enforcement official and not an
activist ideologue,” said Bolick, who
rallied opposition to Lani Guinier,
Clinton’s initial choice for the post in
1993. Her nomination waseventually
withdrawn and the Senate later con
firmed Patrick for the position.
But L ee’s defenders - who in
clude racially m ixed civil rights
groups. D em ocratic and R epubli
can politicians, and C linton - say
his 20-plus-year record speaks for
itself.
L e e ’s successes include a 1985
law suit that won housing for resi
dents displaced by Los A ngeles
highw ay construction, a 1987 case
against the Lucky Stores su per
market chain that rem oved barriers
to the hiring and prom otion of
women and m inorities and a 1991
case that led C alifornia to expand
efforts to screen poor children for
lead poisoning.
I
c rim in a tio n in all p lants w orking
on N atio n al D efense C o n tra c ts...
for the first tim e since the E m a n
cipation Proclam ation, a president
o f the U nited S tates had issued
an o rd e r p ro te c tin g the rig h ts o f
A frican A m e ric a n .”
But A. P h illip R andolph w as
not th rough. To d ra m a tiz e th e ir
d em and for e q u a lity once again,
civ il rig h ts le a d e rs p lanned a g i
g an tic m arch on W ash in g to n for
A ugust 28, 1963, in sp ire d by
R an d o lp h , now age 75. B lacks
cam e by the h u n d red s o f th o u
s a n d s , M a rtin L u th e r K in g ’s
S o u th ern C h ristia n L e a d e rsh ip
C o n fe re n c e , R oy W ilk in ’s
N A A C P, Jam es F arm ers C O R E ,
W hitney Y o u n g ’s U rban L eague,
and John L e w is ’ S tu d en t N on-
V iolent C o o rd in atin g C om m ittee
(SNCC).
And the g reat crow d liste n e d
to Dr. K in g ’s fam ous “ I have a
d re a m ” speech. T here is still a
dream to be fu lfille d for A frican
A m ericans, but surely it has been
kept aliv e to a large e x te n t by the
efforts o f that extraordinary union
lead er, A. P h illip R andolph
Civil Rights Journal
More Police Brutality
I etterto the Editor
Thank you for informing the public
of MHRC’sCommunity Dialogue on
Apology to Black Americans for Sla
very. However, your header for our
release reads: Apology for Slavery De
bated. MHRC ' sCommunity Dialouges
on Race Relations arc not aplatform for
debate. We facilitate opportunities for
the community to openly and honestly
address the issue of race — to work
together toward mutual understand
ing and respect.
Hie Metropolitan Human Rights
Center appreciates your long tenure of
service to our community._________
abilities as an editor and public
speaker. He rejected all efforts of the
employers
to frighten or to bribe him
the
and soon won pay increases for his
8000members. His union became part
of the AFL and Randolph became the
first Negro’ to hold a seat on its
executive board, a position he used
to prod unions who discriminated
against minorities.”
n the late 1930’s blacks bit
erly p ro te ste d th e ir e x c lu
sion from the n a tio n ’s d efense
in d u strie s as W orld W ar II a p
p ro ach ed . T he p le a se o f black
lead ers for full p a rtic ip a tio n in
the w orkforce w ere ignored until
A. P h illip R an d o lp h c alled for a
“ M arch on W ash in g to n : the A d
m in istratio n w ill n e v e rg iv e A fri
can A m erican s ju s tic e until they
see m asses - th o u sa n d s o f blacks
on the W hite H ouse L a w n .” Four
d ay s before the m arch w as to
begin R an d o lp h and o th e r le a d
ers w ere inv ited to the W hite
H ouse to m eet w ith the P resid en t
and his C ab in et.
“On June 25, 1942, P resid en t
F ranklin D. R o o sev elt issued E x
e c u tiv e O rder 8802 ban n in g dis-
night did not know that something
very wrong was happening. And then,
hey call it the blue wall o f
I can’t imagine how police officers
silence. It’s the code o f si
could
lence which police officers use to allow this critically injured man
to wait some 90 minutes before allow
protect their own, even when they
ing him to be taken to the hospital.
know that the officer is wrong - some
The irony o f all this is that as
times dead wrong. M aybe this time
serious
as these injuries - both physi
the wall o f silence will be pierced and
cal
and
psychological -- must be for
justice will be done.
Mr.
Louima,
at least he is still alive. At
Y ou’ve undoubtedly heard about
least
his
family
members can help
the case o f Abner Louima, the Haitian
nurse
him
back
to health and can
man who was so brutalized by New
enjoy
his
companionship
and love.
York police officers after he was ar
That
is
not
true
for
some
other
victims
rested outside a nightclub that even
ofN
ew
York
police
brutality
and
it is
M ayor Giuliani and Police Com m is
strange
that
it
took
this
sadistic,
sioner Saftr have spoken words o f
shocking attack with its sexual un
outrage and have taken action. It
dertones to provoke a response from
seems that Mr. Louima, who was try
New York city’s mayor and police
ing to break up a fight outside the
commissioner.
nightclub, was beat up in the police
N ew York Times columnist Bob
car on the way to the precinct and
Herbert,
who has been writing exten
then taken to a bathroom in the sta
sively
aboutpolice
brutality, particu
tion house where a toilet plunger
larly
in
New
York
City,
recently listed
handle was driven so far into this
several
New
Yorkers
killed
while in
rectum that it punctured his small
police
department
custody,
often
for
intestine and damaged his bladder.
minor
infractions
o
f
the
law.
It
ap
The officers then took the handle and
pears that these cases have been on
drove it into his m outh so hard it
the rise during the Giuliani adminis
broke his teeth.
tration, which seems to have given
I can only imagine how painful and
the police department free reign as
how humiliating such actions must
long as crime has dropped. Indeed,
have been for Mr. Louima. I can only
there
are some reports that police
imagine how loud he must have yelled
officers
said to Mr. Louima that the
in the midst o f this pain. I can’t im ag
Dinkins
days
are over and the Giuliani
ine how no one — not one — officer
days
are
here.
took action to stop this sick and bru
But make no mistake about it. New
tal display o f force. I can’t imagine
York
City is not the only place that
how anyone in the station house that
B y B ernice P owell J ackson
T
experiences police brutality. Even tiny
East Haven, CT recently found itself
immersed in a case o f questionable
police action, after a young man was
killed by police.
And police officers are not the
only law enforcement officials who
brutalize citizens. Video cameras re
cently caught Texas prison guards
beating and brutalizing prisoners from
Missouri and Oklahoma just after their
arrival in their custody. Most brutal
ity in prisons is never caught on
videotape and never shown on the
nightly news.
It is also true that most law en
forcement officials never engage in
brutality. But as long as they stay
silent, they, too, must bear some o f
the burden o f responsibility.
P o lice b ru ta lity is w rong m o r
ally and w ro n g fisc a lly . A s m il
lio n s o f ta x p a y e r d o lla rs are b e
ing sp en t in se ttlin g law su its
a cro ss the co u n try , y o u ’d th in k
m ore c itiz e n s w ould be o u tra g e d
at th is m isu se o f g o v e rn m e n t
fu n d s. A s long as w e, th e p u b lic ,
re m a in sile n t, w e, too, m ust b e a r
som e o f the re sp o n sib ility .
A n a tio n w hich c o n d o n es law
en fo rcem en t b ru ta lity as the price
for lo w er crim e ra te s is in d an g er
o f h e a d in g to w a rd the e sta b lish
m ent o f a p o lic e state. A fte r all,
th ey d id n ’t have m uch crim e in
the a p a rth e id d ay s o f S outh A f
rica.
J