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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2004)
5 l?l ^Juvtlanò (iDbseruer Page A2 May 05. 2004 Crips Gang Founder Brokers Peace Turns live around to help kids photo by S ta n le y “ T ookie" W illiam s, fo u n d e r o f the Crips s tre e t gang. (NNPA)— The authorof nine children’s books promoting peace, a man who says he has dedicated his life to helping youth, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee whose life has been made into a movie starring Jamie Foxx, is second in line to be executed by the State o f California. Stanley "Tookie” W illiams has been on death row in San Quentin for 23 years. The co-founder o f the notorious Crips street gang, Williams transformed his life during a six-year stint in solitary confinement. Williams, who admits and apologizes for his part in creating the Crips, maintains his innocence in the crimes that sent him to death row— the murders of four people during two robberies that netted $120. “I apologize to you all, children of America and South Africa, who must cope every day with dangerous street gangs. I no longer participate in the so-called gang- continued on page A6 il!t P o r t l a n d (Ifr b s e r u c r _________ USPS 959-680________ Established 1970 474 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 E d it iir - i n -C h ie f . P u b l is h e r : Charles H. Washington E d it o r : M ichael L eighton D is t r ib u t io n M ana g er : M ark W ashington C r ea tiv e D irecto r : Paul N eu feld t O f f ic e M anager : K athy L inder R e p o r t e r : M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Interstate Max Opens to Festive Crowds Max tra in s on In te rs ta te Avenue were ja m m e d with passengers a n d each s ta tio n was fille d w ith tra n s it riders oN the o p ening day o f light-rail tra n s it in north Portland. A bout 2 1 ,0 0 0 rides were taken betw een dow ntow n and the Expo C enter Saturday as area re sid e n ts trie d o u t the new lin e and visite d m any o f the c o m m u n ity ce le b ra tio n s h e ld along the Yellow Line. A bout 1 6 ,7 4 0 rides were taken on the new extension Sunday. Prisoner Abuse Outrages Arab World Photos undermine American claims to high moral ground (A P) — T he reported abuse o f Iraqi prisoners by U.S. sol diers th reaten s to underm ine part o f P resident B u sh ’s ratio n ale fo r u n s e a tin g S ad d am H ussein: that the U nited States had ended a regim e that was torturing and abusing Iraqis. T h e d isc lo su re s u n d erm in e A m eric an claim s to a m oral high g ro u n d as th e U. S. tries to put d o w n a g ro w in g in su r gen cy an d gain in te rn atio n a l su p p o rt in Iraq. “ S ad d am H ussein e n c o u r ag ed an d to le rate d th is k ind o f b e h a v io r - th e U .S. d o es n o t,” B ush sp o k esm an S c o tt M c C le lla n said M o n d ay , re p o rtin g th at the p resid e n t had c a lle d D e f e n s e S e c r e ta r y D onald H. R u m sfeld to m ake sure any g u ilty so ld ie rs are p u n ish e d . E v en so, the alleg a tio n o f m is tr e a tm e n t o f p r is o n e r s “ m ak es the U .S. an d co a litio n fo rces a le g itim ate en em y in the ey es o f m ore A rab s than w as th e c a se b e fo re ,” said A n th o n y C o rd esm an , an e x p ert on M id d le E ast secu rity issu es a, th e C e n te r fo r S tra Jaym ee R. C uti m istre atm en t o f d e ta in e e s fo l lo w in g the Sept. 11 te rro r a t ta c k s, in c lu d in g th e c o n tin u ed h o ld in g o f 6 0 0 on a U .S. b a s e in G u a n ta n a m o B a y , C uba. “ T h is ju s t r e c o n fir m s an im a g e th a t w e a re n o t tr e a t in g p r is o n e r s th e w a y th a t c iv iliz e d p e o p le s h o u ld ,” said Iv o D a a ld e r, a fo re ig n p o lic y a n a ly s t at th e B ro o k in g s I n s titu tio n . “ W e n e e d a fu ll c o u r t p re s s by th e a d m in is tr a tio n to d e m o n s tr a te th a t Am erican s o ld ie rs s ta n d be h ind a pyram id o f th is is u n a c c e p ta b le b e h a v n a ke d Iraqi priso n e rs a t the Abu Ghraib p riso n An Iraqi prisoner who reportedly was told he io r, th a t if it h a p p e n e d p e o p le n e a r Baghdad. (AP p h o to s /C o u rte s y o f The New would be electrocuted if he fell o ff a box. w ill be p u n is h e d , th a t if it is Yorker) ta k in g p la c e th a t it w ill s to p .” teg ic and In tern atio n al S tu d “T h is has been a very d iffi d ay th a t U .S . so ld ie rs “ are A m n e s ty I n te r n a tio n a l, a ies. cu lt p erio d . I d o n ’t th in k it is th ere to h elp , not to h u rt.” L o n d o n -b a s e d h u m a n -rig h ts “ A n y th in g sh o rt o f a co u rt- to o late fo r us to g et th is rig h t, “T he actions o f a few , I trust, g ro u p , a lle g e d a m o n th s -lo n g m artial o f g en eral o ffic e rs w ill b u t I d o n 't th in k w e h av e a lot will not overw helm the g o o d “ p a tte rn o f to r tu r e ” o f Ira q i be seen th ro u g h o u t the region o f tim e to turn th is a ro u n d ,” ness that com es from so many p r i s o n e r s by c o a litio n as a c o v e r-u p .” said S an d y B e rg er, P resid en t o f o u r soldiers,” Pow ell said. tr o o p s , a n d c a lle d fo r an in T h e w o rld w id e c irc u la tio n C lin to n ’s n atio n al secu rity a d M ore U .S. so ld iers w ere b e d e p e n d e n t in v e s tig a tio n . A o f p h o to s sh o w in g U .S. so l v ise r. ing rep rim a n d ed , a se n io r U .S. le a d in g a s s o c ia tio n o f Ira q i d ie rs h u m iliatin g and ab u sin g T h u s far, U .S. o ffic ia ls have m ilitary o ffic ia l said M onday S u n n i M u slim c le r ic s c a lle d Ira q i p ris o n e rs at th e U .S . co n d e m n e d the p riso n e r tre a t in B ag h d ad . Six U .S. m ilitary fo r an in te r n a tio n a l in v e s ti A rm y -ru n A bu G h ra ib prison m en t as an ab e rra tio n . Bush p o lic e w e re a lre a d y fa c in g g a tio n . A n d I r a q ’s in te r io r has further stoked international e x p r e s s e d “ d e e p d is g u s t.” c h a rg e s. m in is te r d e m a n d e d an Ira q i d isap p ro v al o f th e U .S. and S e c r e t a r y o f S ta te C o lin T h e a lle g a tio n s co u ld re in ro le in th e ru n n in g o f all p r is B ritish o ccu p atio n . P o w ell to ld rep o rters on M on- fo rce to the w orld an im ag e o f o n s . The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submis sions Manuscripts and photographs should he clearly labeled and w ill be returned i f accompanied by a self addressed envelope. A ll created design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage w ith out the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the com position o f such ad. © IW 6 T H E P O R T L A N D O BSERVER A L L RIG HTS RESERVED, R E PR O D U C TIO N IN W H O LE OR IN PA R T W IT H O U T PER M IS SIO N IS P R O H IB IT E D Farrakhan Condemns Alleged Abuse (A P) — N ation o f Islam leader Louis Farrakhan condemned the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by the U.S. military Monday, saying it was the latest example of U.S. unjus tified violence against Islamic nations. “The whole Muslim world is seeing this, and the whole Muslim world is rising in anger and hatred that has never been,” Farrakhan said in a 1 1/2 hour speech before several hundred supporters at the National Press Club. “Soon it will be that no American will be able totravel, because they will kill Americans in the Arab and Muslim worlds,” he said. The P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r-O re g o n ’ s O ld e s t M u lticu ltu ra l Publication--is a member o f the National Newspaper Association- Founded in 1885, and The National A dvertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. New York. N Y . and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver PosrxMsro;: Send address changes to Portland Observer P0 Box 3 1 3 7, Portland, OR 97208 Periodical Postage paid In Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 peryear Farrakhan criticized the war in Iraq, citing the lack o f evidence o f weapons of mass destruction in the country and the unproven link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Farrakhan also cautioned his supporters against blindly supporting Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the presidential election, noting that thecandi- date has refrained from supporting slave repara tions. “I know you are Democrats and I know you want Sen. Kerry to win,” he said. “But I say to the black leadership, don’t lead people to the polls before you put up an agenda.” 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 FAX 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - 0 0 1 5 NAACP May Sue Over Excessive Force Kerry Invites Sharpton reAPrsSportlandoheer^room sit>schpbon@pa1landobseberarn ads@portlandobsener.com dassifieds@poi1laodobsener.com ,------------------------------------------------------ Subscribe! Fill out. Clip out & Send to: *’•’ P ortlauh (Dbseruer Attn: Subscriptions PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208 s u b s c r ip t i o n s are ju s t $60 p er year (please include check with this subscription form) N ame :____________________________ A ddress : ________________________ T elephone : ■J Police pattern of behavior cited (A P )-C incinnati police used excessive force in subduing a 350-pound black man who died shortly after the struggle, a civil rights leader said. A pathologist concluded that Nathaniel Jones suffocated dur ing the struggle, said Calvert Smith, chapter president of the NAAC People. Smith said the pathologist's results show that police must share responsibility for Jones’ death. He said the NAACP was considering a federal civil rights lawsuit. A prosecutor closed the case March 22, saying an investiga tion persuaded him that police committed no crimes. Smith said the NAACP hired its own forensic pathologist, who concluded that Jones, 41, suffocated during the struggle with the officers. "This reflects a pattern o f be havior by the police that has resulted in the deaths o f too many African-American men in this city,” Smith said. Jones was at least the 19th black man to die in violent con frontations with Cincinnati po lice since 1995. Police union lead ers said the men who died threat ened officers with weapons. Jo n e s’ struggle with police occurred Nov. 30 in a fast-food restaurant parking lot. A vid eotape from a police car showed Jones knocking o ver one o f ficer before officers jab b ed or struck him tw odozen times with n ig h tstick s for alm ost three m inutes until he was h an d cuffed. The officers — five whites and one black — were put on administrative leave for a week and then returned to duty. Smith said the NAACP report found that Jones bears some re sponsibility for his death be cause he had consumed drugs that could produce combative behavior. to Share Podium Sen. John Kerry, the forerun ning Democratic nominee for presi dent, invited his former opponent Rev. Al Sharpton to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Boston this summer. The invitation came out o f a Black Entertainment Television interview with nightly news an chor Jacque Reid. “If he wants to do it, he can do it," said Kerry in an interview ex cerpt released by BET. “I think he'll add something.” Kerry said Sharpton would have apositive impact on the campaign, praising the New York political Al Sharpton leader for the frank, forthright and often humorous rhetorical deliv ery that set him apart from other Democratic challengers. This invitation comes amid scru tiny o f Kerry’s com m itm ent to d i versity among upper echelons of government. t