these are the people that represent you in this particular privy council or this legislative body, and it's a trend that has to be reversed. Quarterly: Do you think the Black United Front is going to take on political issues at the polls? Herndon: I hope so. Quarterly: ... i.e. candidates? Herndon: I hope so. Actually, we would be very near-sighted if we didn’t because decisions made by politicians affect the community, and we should be very much involved in the electoral process. 1 think that it will be much easier to prevent something like the development of the Inner Northeast Industrial Council if this community was known as one that will go to the polls, and if you as a politician make that move, you know that there are this many thousands of voters that are going to oppose you the next time around the track as well as oppose you in other ways. Quarterly: Such as? Herndon: Demonstrations, pickets, letter writing campaigns, all of the traditional forms of protest. Quarterly; At the last meeting of the Black United Front I was excited, had the feeling that for the first time here was a major black political force in Portland. Could you describe your own personal feelings? Herndon: Oh. I was very, very... excited is not the word...elated, just proud of the community, the people in the community. It confirmed a lot of feelings that I've always had about the majority of people in this community who are willing to come out and be counted upon if you approach them the right way. Quarterly: Within the framework of black leadership, what damage do you think Cleveland Gilcrease did in the economic front... It seems to me that whole episode made a lot of people skeptical of a black leader who was in charge of a program and for better or worse on paper, however it came out, was accused and convicted of ripping off the neighborhood. Herndon: I think that you look at it from two levels. My feeling was a lot of people...most people that think felt that PMSC and Cleveland Gilcrease did much more for the community than he may have done to hurt the community, and personally I think that the government sure spent a lot of time and energy trying to convict him. The charges that were written up about him in the newspapers were not the charges that he was convicted on when he was supposed to have misappropriated money. That's not what he was convicted on. So I think that the way in which the newspapers jumped on him raised a lot of questions in my mind as to why they were doing it, and the way in which the government dealt with PMSC was not the way in which they deal with other governmental entities. When Richard Nixon was run out of office, no one ever said, "Well you should destroy the Executive Branch.” They only said, “You need to get a new man.” But when they felt that Cleveland Gilcrease had done some things that may not have been appropriate, they not only said, “Let’s get rid of him.” They said, “Let’s get rid of the whole program." So again the reaction to a black organization was totally different than the reaction to essentially a white organization, a white entity, and I thought that it was very harmful to the community when PMSC closed because there were a lot of programs that they had that were very useful to the Anytime you have a movement in the black community that was black led, the liberal communities have not jumped on that bandwagon. community. They started the first weatherization project in the community. Not the city, it was PMSC that started it. A lot of people who currently work for the city, a lot of black people got their start with PMSC. There are a lot of people who got their experience and training with PMSC, They showed that it is possible to train some people who may not have had a lot of experience in the past to perform very well at different levels in the job market. Quarterly; What do you feel about the press coverage you received during the summer, during the negotiations? Herndon: Well, I think that on the whole the press was fair. There were instances in which 1felt that they missed the point or reported it in a way that I felt was inaccurate, but on the whole, I think they were fairer on this issue regarding black people than they have been on any other. Even editorials that appeared in both major papers that essentially said that they did not support the boycott, admitted that there was merit in our demands. I’ve never seen the local press take that kind of positive stance on any issue that affects black people. So overall, I think they were fair. I certainly do take issue with them on the use of the term militant. If you look at a person like Ron Weiden, who advocates for elderly citizens, or you look at Ralph Nader, who advocates for consumers, or Gloria Steinem, who advocates for women. No one ever calls them militant, and again there's a double standard. When somebody black forcefully argues for and champions causes for his people, it has been traditional in this country to label him as radical or militant. Somebody white does this, it’s very unusual for them to be given that same tag? And the dangerous part of it is that “militant” carried with it certain images in most peoples minds which aren’t productive or positive. Most people think of someone throwing molotov cocktails or shooting somebody, breaking out windows. Quarterly: What do you attribute to the lack of liberal support for the Black United Front within the white community? Herndon: Well, you have to just look at the history of the liberals in this country. Any time you have a movement in the black community that was black-led. that addressed itself to black issues, and said that it was going to be controlled by black people, the liberal communities historically have not jumped on that bandwagon. They would prefer something that had more visible white leadership in a white direction. That makes it much more acceptable to them. Liberals have a lot of racism that they have to overcome themselves, and there’s one quick way that you can spot it: their reactions to organizations that beyond a doubt are black- controlled. They get very uneasy about that, and one way in which they oftentimes try to describe it is that, well, isn’t that an example of separatism? Although they never question the fact that you don’t have Catholics leading B’Nai B'rith, you don’t have Jewish people leading the Knights of Columbus. That's an accepted practice in this country, but when it come to black people, any time we take stances and say. well, we know best how to address our problems, and we should be addressing them this way. that’s very quickly viewed as being separatism. Somehow, a liberal thinks that you really don’t appreciate all that he has gone through for you. Quarterly: Looking at long-range goals, in a city that prides itself, although I think mistakenly, as being liberal, how are you going to be able to overcome the power entrenchment that some of those people have at City Hall, at the Portland Development Commission, etc., etc., when there seem to be real lines of division with the liberal community not wanting to deal with the prominent issues facing the black community? Herndon; Well, that will be dealt with just as the school issue was dealt with by organizing the black community. and that’s the only way. You cannot ever depend upon anyone else except yourself when it comes time for you to try to gain your freedom. Other people may help you at certain points in time, but the majority of your resources, the majority of talent, the majority of your entire thrust is going to come from within your own ranks. Our ability to change that will be based upon how well we continue to organize the black community. It doesn't matter how entrenched racists are in this city. The way in which they will be moved or changed, the policies will be changed by the organizational skills of black people in this community and how well we can approach those issues. 1 agree with you it is not liberal. I cannot view this as a liberal city. Quarterly: Somebody had to be doing some lobbying within the school board...to gel them to change as quickly as they did. What do you think was going on in that process, anti who was maneuvering there? Herndon: Well. 1 think the fact that you had Scott and Buel. who were elected and who both supported the Coalition, meant they also were in opposition to certain parts of the Schools for the Seventies. That was helpful. I think that McNamara began to get information that he hadn't had before. I think he was forced to view things from a different point of view which was good because 1think that in the past he has been fed a lot of misinformation by the schools administration. And I think primarily it was just the pressure that the black community was putting on everybody, that led to the changes that were made, but internally 1 think that those were some of the forces that were in work. McNamara being confronted with different information, new information... Quarterly: Do you think the school board administration can carry out what the school board has outlined? Herndon: Not willingly, no. I don't think they will willingly. I don't have confidence in Dr. Blanchard to carry out policies that are directly opposed to policies that he initiated and that he developed. Personally I don't have confidence in him as the person to do it given the kind of attitude that he has shown toward the black community. I mean he was so presumptuous as to make statements based upon his contact with the black community, that responsible black leaders wouldn't Casual, intimate, and family dining in the comfort of our bucket seats. Enjoy fine steaks, seafood, omelettes and sandwiches. Home-style cookin’ and lots of it at pre-gas-shortage prices. The Rolls Royce of Restaurants This has got to be the classiest potata ever. The HOTPOTATA Cafe 422 SW 13th Portland, Oregon 223-7573 17
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz