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B y H uch B. P rice
P resident ,N ational U rban L eague
T he form al indictm ent for second-
deg ree m urder o f the four N ew Y ork
C ity police officers that shot A m ad ou
D iallo, an unarm ed W est A frican im ­
m igrant, to death in a fusillade o f 41
shots m eans that p articu lar d ram a has
m o v ed into a new phase.
So, too, has the pressu re his sh o ck ­
ing d eath -an d o th e r c o n tro v ersial in­
cid en ts acro ss th e co u n try in v o lv in g
w h ite p o lice an d p eo p le o f c o lo r-h as
g en erated to refo rm q u estio n ab le p o ­
lice p ractices an d attitu d es.
But at this point is w orth rem em ber­
ing w hy this horrific incident has be­
com e a watershed: JustaskM iguel Lora.
M iguel Lora, 23, w h o w orks in a
m ental health clinic, lives in a part o f
the B ronx in N ew Y o rk C ity w here
drug-trafficking is a serious problem .
L ora is one o f the n e ig h b o rh o o d ’s
m an y residents w ho are law -ab id ing.
B u t that fact d id n o t p rev en t h im
from b eing sto p p ed b y tw o p o lice
o fficers one m o rn in g last su m m e r as
h e w as o n h is w ay to w ork.
T h e officers o rd ered h im to p u t
th e cu p o f co ffee he w as carry in g on
a c a r hood, p u t h is h an d s u p , and
sp read his legs. O ne o ffic e r frisked
him -and then, as L ora turned to gather
the O regon H ealth D ivision are p ara­
lyzed by fear o f controversy o v er last
y ear s record 235 drug related deaths
in O regon controversy over last y ear’s
record 235 drug related deaths in O r­
egon (117 in M ultnom ah County).
W hat makes these healthofticials freeze
like d eer in a beam o f headlights is a
classic ‘C atch-22.’ O n one level it’s a
legal and philosophical conflict be­
tw een cops and doctors, jailers and
:i
S u bsc r ibe to
tZ T tje
^ o r t la n b
(D b e e ru e r
The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $60.00
per year. Please fill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to:
healers. A t another level it’s ignorance
and rigid attitudes even w ithin the pub­
S ubscriptions
lic health itself. “H ow can you save
som eone bent on killing them self,”
lam ented one state health official w ho
The Portland Observer • PO Box 3137 • Portland,OR 97208
Name:
A d d re s s :.
C ity , State:
Z ip-C ode: _
T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
am
T h e lo c a l p a p e rs h av e b e e n re ­
p o rtin g o n B o ise n e ig h b o rh o o d th e
p a s t few m o n th s. M o st o f it h a s
b e e n n e g a tiv e . T h e re p o rts h a v e
b e e n a b o u t p ro b le m s . T h is le tte r to
a sk th e c ity to h e lp fin d a so lu tio n .
T he city and the transportation D e­
partm ent w ill m ake a decision regard­
ing the future o f B oise N eighborhood
on A pril 12, 1999 w hen they decide to
destroy or open theFailingStreetBridge.
T he jo in in g o f th e B o ise N e ig h ­
b o rh o o d to th e rest o f the c ity w ill b e
decided fo rev er o n th at day.
F o r y ears B o ise h as b e e n u n a b le
to cro ss o v e r th e fre e w a y u sin g th e
F a ilin g S tre e t B rid g e b e c a u se it w a s
clo sed d o w n d u e to th e h ig h c rim e
rate in B oise. N o w w e h a v e o n e la st
c h an ce to o p e n th e b rid g e o r h a v e it
re m o v e d fo rev er.
C rim e rate is d o w n 3 8 % in the
B oise N eighborhood. T hat is the g o o d
new s. M any o f the problem s in the
Boise neighborhood experience are
because o f city actions in the past and
the current housing policies. T he 1-5
cut this area o f f from the advantages o f
(E Ije
J J o r t la n b
his things and go, the o th e r o fficer
began frisking him a seco n d tim e.
“ I to ld h im I w a s a lr e a d y
search ed ," L ora to ld the N e w Y ork
D aily N ew s," an d he said, ‘Y o u ’re a
tough g u y ’ and took m y b elt o ft so
m y pants w ere slip p in g dow n.
“I know it’s a drug area, but I live
here,” Lora continued. “Iw o rk . I’m a
taxpayer. I never com m itted acrim e."
Lora w as one o f 100 black and His­
panic m ales betw een the ages o f 14 and
35 the new spaper’s reporters random ly
interviewed on the streets o fN ew \ ork
R ecently, officials at a sm all, all­
m ale, academ ically rigorous C atholic
high school in H arlem arranged for
police to conduct a daylong sem inar
for the students on how to behave w hen
stopped by police. T hey did so be­
cause so m any o f their students-even
w hile w earing the sch o o l’s distinctive
sw eater-are routinely stopped and have
theirclothing andschoolbags searched.
S to ries lik e th is fro m A frican
A m erican and L atino adolescents and
adults, m ales an d fem ales, hav e been
flooding the p u b lic d o m ain in the
recently. Their findings: That a “start­
ing” num ber o f them -81 said they had
been stopped, patted dow n and ques­
tioned w ithout being arrested.
“ ‘Y ou fit the d e sc rip tio n ’,” the
afterm ath o f the D iallo killing.
T h e y ’ve h elp ed p ro v o k e the m ost
intense n atio n al d is cu ssio n o f p o lice
d e p a r t m e n t s ’ r e l a ti o n s h ip w ith
p e o p le o f c o lo r -th e p ro b le m , o f
p ap er w en t to say, “ is the co m m o n
refrain heard by h ig h sch o o l an d c o l­
leg e students, w o rk in g m en and fa­
thers as the reason for th e intrusion.
A c ro s s th e c ity , in B r o o k ly n ’s
B e d fo rd - S tu y v e s a n t n e ig h b o r­
h o o d , 1 7 - y e a r - o ld J a s o n P e rr y
to ld th e N e w Y o rk T im e s th a t he
ta k e s it fo r g r a n te d h e w ill b e
s t o p p e d b y p o li c e o u t o n th e
s tre e ts a ro u n d h is h o m e a f te r d a rk .
“ T h e y s e e a b la c k b o y w a lk in g
d o w n th e s tr e e t a n d o f c o u rs e
t h e y ’re g o in g to s to p y o u .”
course, ex ists e v ery w h ere, not ju s t
w ith p eo p le o f co lo r-th e p ro b lem , o f
co u rse, ex ists e v ery w h ere, n o t ju s t in
N ew Y o rk C ity -sin ce th e late 1960s.
W h a t is c le a r fro m th e a c c u m u ­
la te d e v id e n c e is th a t th e u se o f
ra c ia l p ro filin g w h e th e r o n c ity
stre e ts o r in te rs ta te h ig h w a y s -a n d
th e la c k o f b la c k a n d H isp a n ic o f­
ficers o n th e s e p o lic y it p ro d u c e s
a m o n g p e o p le o f c o lo r a n d w h ite s
o f c o n sc ie n c e .
W hat is also c le a r is th at th ere is a
grow ing m u lti-racial ethnic co alitio n
w isely requested anonym ity.
A s the num ber o f drug related deaths
continues to soar each year, it becom es
painfully obvious that this problem is
killing m any w ho h ad no intention o f
com m itting suicide. E ven w ith the ob­
vious social disapproval and stigm a
attached to illegal drug addiction, only
extrem ists w ould support a death pen­
alty for that alone. Y et in effect, that’s
........................
a
exactly w hat is taking place.
It does not look good for the future,
especially w ith a glut o f heroin on the
C
— 67 in 1988 to 235 in 1998, a
from
nearly 200 percent increase. H eroin
related deaths w ent from 37 in 1988 to
streets and even playgrounds these
days, "drug counselors w arn that the
179 in 1998, a nearly 500 percent
increase. In 1991, forreasons unknow n,
only 39 people died statew ide.
Dr. Ernest D runker (1), a professor
o f epidem iology at M ontefiore M edi­
cal C enter/A lbert Einstein C ollege o f
toll likely w ill stay high because the
addictive drug is cheap, potent and
w idely available,” according to a Feb.
10 report from the A ssociated Press.
R eports from the O regon M edical
E xam iner’s O ffice offer grim credence
to that dire w arning. F or every year
since 1988, w ith the notable exception
1991, drug related deaths in O regon
ive seen a sieauv
wem
have
steady increase. It w
ent
M edicine reports on drug-related re­
search in the January-February issue o f
the Journal Public H ealth R eports, the
official journal oftheU .S . Public Health
Service.
mercase. u
Even though die J e d e ra H to se m *
F ailin g S treet B rid g e?
T o so lv e th e p ro b lem o f the B oise
N eig h b o rh o o d w e n eed to address
so m e o f th e o th er p ro b lem s as w ell.
T h o se w ill b e ad d ressed one at a tim e
in the p ro p e r venue.
W ith all o f all o f Boise's problems,
w e had a 33% crim e decrease from
1992-93 to 1997-98. O n Failing, the
direct street to the bridge, w e have
closed dow n all but one drug house and
the residents are w orking on keeping
drugs out o f the area. W e have in­
c re a s e d a w a re n e ss a n d in v o lv e d
hom eow ners and renters are learning
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o f $ 3 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 to c reate an d su stain
O P B . A t p re s e n t less th an 4 % o f
channel 10’s p rim e tim e sc h ed u led is
d ed ica ted to O re g o n issu es, O reg o n
stories, O reg o n cu ltu re.
W e im ag in e P u b lic telev isio n that
m irrors th e v itality a n d c reativ ity o f
o u r state. T e le v isio n th at en g ag es us
in th e im p o rtan t issu es th at co n n ect
T elev isio n that tells the
sto ries o f w h o w e are, how w e got
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p eo p le to ex p ress th em selv es. T ele
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in th e g lobal eco n o m y . T h e list o f
th in g s w e co u ld b e d o in g w ith this
ex trao rd in ary m ed iu m goes on.
F or th ree years in d ep en d en t p ro­
d u cers and others h av e been m eeting
reg u larly w ith O P B m an ag em en t to
aw ak en them to th e o p p o rtu n ity for
creatin g telev isio n tru ly v ital to the
health o f o u r region. T h at ap p eal has
fallen on d e a f ears. P lease w rite y o u r
state rep resen tativ es to e n co u rag e
them to earm ark th e $ 3 ,3 5 0 ,0 0 0 re ­
qu ested b y O P B to create p ro g ra m ­
m ing, ‘fo r’ ab o u t an d ‘b y th e p eo p le
an d co m m u n ities O P B S ervice. A n
additional tw o h o u rs a w eek w o u ld
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Sincerely,
T om C h am b erlain
Daily N ew s recently, “It becom es a
w hole new ball gam ew hen people from
all different parts o f N ew Y ork start
participating in this kind o f action.”
S he an d m a n y o th e rs u n d e rsta n d
th a t th is is a “ b a ll g a m e ” b o th at
th e p o lic e a n d la w -a b id in g c iti­
z e n s c a n -a n d m u s t - p l a y to g e th e r
in o rd e r to w in .
m ent reports drug use has been in
decline since 1979. D rucker reports
that betw een 1978 and 1994: drug-
related em ergency room visits have
gone up 60 percent (from 323,000
annually to 518,500) and overdose
deaths increased by 400 percent (2500
to 10,000). D rucker also draw s a direct
correlation betw een increased heroin-
related fatalities to a dram atic rise in
purity (from 6.7 percent in 1981 to
41.5 percent in 1996) and notes as
contributing factors both a sharp de­
cline in price and abundant supply.
— — — — —
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O reg o n ian s h av e p a id w ell .n e x cess
els” o f how to achieve this.
T his k in d o f p o licin g hav e to b e ­
co m e the n o rm if th ere is to b e racial
p eace an d p ro g re ss in A m erica.
That is w hy the demonstrations over
the Diallo killing have draw n an increas­
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neighborhood.
W e are w orking to bring o ur neigh­
borhood up to par. W ew orkedw ithT ri-
M et to locate bus stop in areas to de­
crease drug dealers excuses for hanging
out at bus stops. W e w ant a safe neigh­
borhood for everyone. W e w ant a safe
designforthebridgeram p. T h ecitycan
create a design that will discourage
criminal activity and increase accessi­
bility betw een the neighborhoods.
P lease d o h o t k eep us b lo c k e d in
a ghetto. L et o u r p eo p le hav e access
to K aiser, to the #5 b u s an d to the
and they are letting cars keep us apart
O pen the b rid g e, w e are im p ro v ­
ing the M ississip p i A v en u e, O v e r­
look m ay find th at the next jo b th ey
ap p ly for is o n M ississip p i A venue.
O P E N T H E B R ID G E ; L et us b e o n e
to enjoy a red u ctio n in crim e.
In fact, this determ ination m akes
them , not anti-but pro-police as well
as “pro-com m unity,” because w e have
volum inous evidence that the m ost
effective w ay to both reduce and pre­
vent crim e is for police and com m u­
nity residents and organizations to
w ork together. W e have m any ‘m od­
r --------------- —
how to keep the drug elem ent out o f our
n ew light-rail.
I use to live in the Overlook area. I
know the O verlook wants the bridge
closed. T heyaresayingstayonyourow n
side o f the tracks” , “N ot in our backyard,
o f individuals an d o rganizations w ho
b elieve that p eo p le o f co lo r should
not hav e to su rren d er th eir civil liber­
ties so the larg er so ciety ca n continue
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a w hole neighborhood and the city
developed a policy o f increasing subsi­
dized housing in this w alled o ff area.
B oise has 6 4 % o f the h om e units as
rentals; too m any are subsidized hous­
ing. T h is creates an un u sab le n eig h ­
borhood. T o o m any peo p le m o v e in
and o u t o f housing units, kids m ove
too m u ch to feel p art o f a com m unity.
W e have too m any b roken hom es.
W e have too m an y peo p le w ho have
very little o f the A m erican dream .
W h at does this h av e to d o w ith the
© b s e r u e r
Record Drug Deaths
W H O L E O R IN P A R T W IT H O U T P E R M IS S IO N IS PR O H IB ITED .
T he P o rtlan d O b s e rv e r-O re g o n ’s O ld est M ulticu ltu ral P u b lic a tio n -is
a m em b er o f the N a tio n a l N e w sp a p e r A s so c ia tio n -F o u n d e d in 1885, and
T h e N a tio n al A d v ertisin g R ep resen tativ e A m alg am ated P u b lish ers, Inc,
N ew Y ork, N Y . an d T he W est C o ast B lack Publishers A sso ciatio n • Serving
Ï
! ____ ,
It’s A Whole New Ballgame
B y F loyd F erris L andrath
I am so rry to rep o rt th at b o th
M ultnom ah C ounty H ealth D ept. and
P o rtla n d an d V an co u v er.
•« ; • -*4
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
\
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o r p e rso n al u ja g e w ith o u t the w ritten co n sen t o f the gen eral m an ag er,
u n less th e clien t h as p u rc h a se d th e co m p o sitio n o f su ch ad. © 1996 T H E
PO RTLA N D O B SER VER. A LL RIGHTS RESER V E D ,R E P R O D U C nO N IN
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