A u g u s t 1, 2001
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School Board’s Derry Jackson Apologizes
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Apology7 Not Sincere
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Charles H. Washington
E
d it o r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B
u s in e s s
M
ogy.
D erry Jackson, who is black, said
several days ago that Jew s run the
country and the school board, oftenat
the expense o f black students.
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
1 have read transcripts o f Mr.
Jackson’s interview with The Orego
nian. I have read his written apology.
I have reviewed the videotaped School
B oard in teractio n betw een M arc
Abrams and Derry Jackson that started
this situation. All this, in addition to
reviewing the m edia coverage.
I said that D erry Jackson should
apologize to the com m unity for the
anti-Semitic com m ents he made.
I have worked in public service over
30 years, and in that time I’ve have
m ade a few mistakes myself.
I know what it m eans to apologize.
I know a sincere apology when 1 hear
one.
Mr. Jackson’s statem ent does not
cut it. His future is now in the hands o f
the voters.
Vera Katz
Mayor, Portland
A sst . P ublisher
Michael Leighton
C
opy
E
d it o r
Joy Ramos
C
r e a t iv e
D
Wednesday. Jackson issued the
follow ing statement:
First o f all, 1 would like to sincerely
apologize to the students served by
the Portland Public School District and
to the students o f the State o f Oregon.
My first obligation is to the quality o f
education provided to all o f our chil
dren and to the importance o f the re-
spect for diversity that is our strength.
Second I sincerely apologize to the
Jewish Com m unity for any statements
that may have been construed as divi
sive or in any w ay dam aging to the
hard work that has already been done
to bring the Jewish and African Ameri
can com munities into a cooperative
relationship.
Thirdly, I apologize to the Portland
Public School Board for the em bar
rassment and diversion m y statements
have caused. I absolutely realize the
w eight o f the task w e as a Board are
charged with. I intend to do m y best to
fulfill m y charge as a Board m ember
toward the quality o f education prom
ised to our children.
ir e c t o r
Robert Parker
4 7 4 7 N E M a r tin L u th e r K ing,
Jr. B lvd.
P o rtla n d , O R 9 7 2 1 1
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Fax 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5
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Board Needs
Replacement
T he Portland N ew Party, w hich
was in large part responsible for Derry
Ja c k so n ’s elec tio n to the school
board, condem ns his recent anti-J^w-
ish and anti-gay statem ents.
Because o f these and other ac
tions, w e believe that Mr. Jackson is
unable to effectively carry o u t his
duties as a school board m em ber. The
party w ill begin a search for his suc
cessor.
T he Portland N ew Party spoke to
thousands o f voters and distributed
tens o f thousands o f pieces o f litera
ture urging D erry Jack so n ’s election
Jackson helped craft and signed onto
a detailed NP platform o f the “P ro
gressive P arents.”
N ow , there is am ple evidence that
Mr. Jackson has abandoned this plat
form.
M r. Jackson’s statem en t— “ I see
Jews running everything,” running
the country and the school board —
is classic anti-Sem itism . His subse
quent apology does not recognize
this.
N or does he recognize the anti
gay bias in his recent statem ents that
gays “choose their behavior.”
D erry Jackson is no longer a m em
ber o f the Portland N ew Party. Mr.
Jackson resigned from our organiza
tion after we publicly criticized him
for breaking his agreem ent to uphold
the ban on m ilitary recruiting in our
schools.
H ow ever, w e recognize our re
sponsibility to the volunteers, vot
ers, and com m unity w ho expect and
deserve better than they got. The
N ew Party is beginning the search for
a replacem ent, som eone w ho will be
credible and responsible to the chil
dren, parents, and com m unities who
are left out and locked out o f quality
education in Portland.
Rev. Cecil Prescod
Chair, Portland New Party
Multnomah
Commissioners
Urge Resignation
T h e M u ltn o m a h B o a r d o f
C o u n ty C o m m issio n ers se n t a le t
te r to D e rr y J a c kso n Thursday,
u rg in g him to resig n fr o m his p o st
on th e P o rtla n d S c h o o l B oard.
C o m m issio n er L isa N a ito was on
va ca tio n a n d n ot p resen t.
A c o p y o f th e B o a rd 's le tte r is
b elo w :
Dear Mr. Jackson:
T h e B o a rd o f M u ltn o m a h
C ounty C om m issioners, along w ith
m any oth er O regonians, are gravely
co n c ern ed ab o u t y o u r recent co m
m en ts ab o u t Jew ish people. W e
co n d em n such com m en ts ag ain st
an y group in o u r com m unity. W e
are especially d istu rb ed th at in your
ap ology sta te m en t, y o u failed b o th
to accept p erso n al re sp o n sib ility
for y o u r rem ark s an d to reco g n ize
the sev erity o f y o u r statem en ts.
T hose o f us se rv in g in elected
o ffice h av e a re sp o n sib ility to ad
here to th e h ig h e st sta n d ard s o f
conduct. T h is is p a rtic u la rly true
w hen it co m es to th e ex e c u tio n o f
o u r d u ties rela ted to th e o ffic e in
w hich w e serve.
Y o u r re m a rk s a b o u t J e w is h
peo p le - and y o u r e a rlie r rem ark s
co n cern in g gay p eo p le - fall u t
terly belo w th is sta n d ard . T h ese
statem en ts (and m ore im p o rta n tly
the o p in io n s b eh in d th e m ) have
irrevocably dam aged y o u r cre d ib il
ity. T hese types o f rem ark s h av e no
p lace in o u r co m m u n ity .
W hile you have sta te d th a t you
h a v e n o th in g a g a i n s t J e w is h
p e o p le , y o u r s ta te m e n ts w e re
d eep ly o ffe n siv e , reg a rd le ss o f the
co n tex t in w h ich th ey w ere m ade.
T he v ast m a jo rity o f th o se w ho
espouse racism do not believe them
selves to b e racist. I f you lo o k at
y o u r w o rd s a n d s e e n o a n ti-
S em itism , w e w o u ld u rg e y o u to
look again. W h atev er reflec tio n
m ig h t be a p p ro p riate on y o u r p art,
the needs o f th e co m m u n ity are a
d ifferen t m atter. I f th is co m m u n ity
does not stan d up an d se p arate
its e lf from y o u r sta te m en ts, w e are
sending the w ro n g m e ssag e to our
children.
W e ca n n o t to lerate rac ism , hate
and d iv isiv en e ss in o u r co m m u
nity. W e jo in o th ers an d a sk th at
you resig n y o u r sch o o l b o ard p o si
tion. T he stak es h ere are h ig h -
m e e tin g th e n e e d s o f o u r
com m unity’s children m ust be p ara
m ount.
Derry Jackson, Portland Public
School Board Member
O ur
id e a o f a b e a u t if u l
DAY A T T H E B E A C H .
On October 6, hundreds
of PGE employees and
their families will once
again volunteer to pick up
tons of trash during the
SOLV Fall Beach Cleanup.
We also signed on to
sponsor two days of SOLV's
inaugural Oregon Legacy
Walk, which will raise
funds to support volunteer
efforts. And there will be at
least one PGE employee
Diane M. Linn
Maria Rojo de Steffey
Serena Cruz
Lonnie Roberts
walking every mile.
Dumpsite cleanups,
graffiti removal, planting
projects—PGE employees
are there.
PGE is proud to support
SOLV because we share
their goal: to leave a
clean, beautiful legacy for
our children.
For information about
SOLV, or to volunteer, log
on to solv
Portland General Electric
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Finally I apologize to the voters in
Portland w ho placed their trust in me to
lead our education system into excel
lence. I intend to continue to work
tow ard the best standards and prac
tices set out by the state o f Oregon and
the Portland Public School Board.
Opinions Issued on Jackson Controversy
STAFF
E
Editor's Note: A Portland school
board member who m ade devisive
statements about Jew s to The Orego
nian newspaper issued a written apol
i