Oregon Advance Times_1968-08-01

The Oregon Advancef[IMES Publishing Company, Inc., q~n-profit corl)(>ration, Publisher Chairman of the Board •••••••••••••••••••••.•.•.•..··•.... Rozell Gilmore Vice-Chairman ••••••••••.•.•••••••••••.•• : ...•..•... Hazel G. Hays Offices at 714-1/2 N. E. Alberta, Portland. Phone .•..•....• ·. . : . 288-6409 Mailing Address ••••••.••••••• Post Office Box 11274, Portland, Oregon 9721 I , Subscriptions: By mail, $4.50 per year in advance. By carrier, 40¢ per month (voluntary) STATEMENT The Oregon Advance/TIMES goes to press weelcly to serve residents of the !';orth-North– east Central area of Portland with news about the life of our community; information on the opportunities before us; discussion of the social and political issues that confront us. The Oregon Advance/Tl~ES gives to our community a newspaper which factually reports the news of our area and aggressively seeks the full rights of our ciuzens. It will pro– vide a forum for community expression and help people become more conscious of their obligations to themselves and their community. In all this, the truth, as we see it, will be consistently presented. Page 2 Vol. 1,. No. 28 August 1, 1968 Peale Ollice,, Needed The last edition of the Ad– vance/TIMES carried a letter written by Joyce James, explain– ing what appeared to be police brutality, especially when it in– volved two young girls. Word reached the Advance/ TIMES office that there was poor journalism on the report– ing and handling of the issue. However, the quality of journal– ism was not at stake. What the community wanted to know was ''did this incident really happen in Portland?'' The police de– partment, even though it does not seem able to acquire black po– licemen in any number, appears to be somewhat reasonable. Of course, a question-mark cer– tainly is in order when within a month two incidents involving black women being insulted by police officers appears in the news media. The first incident occurred at Vancouver and Russell. The black woman was a visitor to the City of Roses. She was a delegate to a human rights con– vention. She came into the area to see what soul people were do– ing and to enjoy some music and soul food. However, things didn't turn out exactly right, so she and a white friend left the Cotton Club and started across the street for a taxi. They were no doubt jay-walk– ing, and therefore stopped and questioned by the police. The lady revealed in The Ore– gonian that the policeman treated her very rough. One wonders if the police have a hang-up when it comes to dealing with people in the Williams and Russell area. Do they assume that anyone walking in that area after dark is cheap and looking for some unlawful activity? Or do they assume that all black people like to be treated without re– spect? Surely this must be a con– cern for the police and the city authorities. When one takes note of the letter written by Joyce James, the question again arises as to why all the extreme :measures in dealing with a couple of young girls. Do the police have a , hang-up in believing that all teenagers are just a bunch of spoiled brats? Do ,they approach teens with a chip on their shoul– der? We all realize that today's youth are hard to work with. However, who is to blame? Tl).ey are a product of society. Of course, one other question comes to "mind and that is this: Do the police see the black youth through a different set of glasses? This truly isn't an unreason– able question to put forth. The southern police saw the black person as someone to subdue and put in his place. No one ever could define that place, but the police worked hard to keep the black person there. It is hoped that most of these ques– tions are false. It is hoped that the policemen in Portland are different from those in other cities where so much hatred for "cops" exists. Someone may criticize the quality of journalism, but the Oregon Advance/TIMES is not trying to fit traditional news– papers. We have a people to support. We provide a media for them to be heard. We are not as interested in the anxiety of a few who think that such let– ters will cause ill feeling as we are in the way people in the black community and through– out Portland are treated by the "peace officers." It would do well to reorientate the police to its rightful role in society, the role of making peace and recon– ciling the extremis who are hard at work to destroy the very so– ciety that gave them birth. Edito, Comment, On Cleveland Riot, Now that the insurrection in Cleveland is over and 10 per– sons dead, mostly black, what gains have the residents achieved? The sad fact is that instead of gaining, the area has no doubt suffered a setback. First of all, it has created division and , suspicion among blacks. Many of the residents stated disap– proval of the actions. They were dumbfounded to see the bodies of dead youths who ap– peared to be quiet and peace– ful. They were angered because a few people could come into their neighborhood and cause the uproar that took place. Secondly. it has caused suf– fering for the law-abiding citi– zens. Some of the activities they were enjoying had to be curtailed. Their youngsters were forced to remain indoors and the general feeling of de– pression was rightfully experi-, enced. Last, it created a tragedy for the only big city black mayor, Carl Stokes. Mayor Stokes is an understanding and compas– sionate man. He visited Port– land in May. and showed all the qualities of being a good mayor. However, because of the riot, he has been forced into an embarrassing position. The very man whom he was trying to help solve a domes– tic problem was in the fore– front of the insurrection. It is sad to realize that some people will use the unrealistic tactics to accomplish realistic goals. This will not work. Sure, the black man has been mis– treated. Yes, he deserves more than his share of the good life in the United States. However, in spite of these truths, the black man must learn from history what other races never learned. That is: '' He who seeks to get what he wants by force will fail!" It has proven true with nations. states and gangs, and it will prove the same for black men who use it. The best way to gain the victory is to continue to force those who interpret the Jaws to re-examine those very Jaws and while doing so, realize that they provide the same free– doms for blacks as they do for others. Profile On Athlete Verdall Adams by Ron Leverett Verdall Adams, the featured athlete of the week, comes from a fainily of four sisters and one brother. Verdall participated in football, bas– ketball and baseball. Honors achieved were third team All-City halfback in football and first team All -City base– ball in his junior and senior year. In addition to tracing his athletic career, we will also discuss Verdall 's views on the school racial problems and goals he hopes to attain in life. Verdall' s athletic career started in the sixth grade at Highland Grade School. Bas– ketball was his favorite sport, As stated by Verdall, "I started playing it first be– cause the older kids would always be playing it on the school grounds," Jokingly he reflects on how Gary Ladd and he exchanged sports in– terest. Verdall encouraged him to play basketball, where– as Ladd started Verdall to playing baseball. Adams' athletic career started slowly due to a cracked ankle which occurred while playing baseball prior to high school entrance. Thus he was only able to perform in basketball and baseball his freslunan year. During his sophomore year, baseball was the only sport in which Ver– dall displayed promise, whereby he won six and lost one game as a junior varsity pitcher. His junior year, he performed in all three major sports. Instead of pitching on · the varsity, he switched to the outfield because "there were too many outstanding pitchers." The position change proved to be advan– tageous because he was awarded a first team All– City berth. He also was the only junior player to perform in the North-South All- Star baseball game. As a senior, he performed well enough to receive honors in football, wa;, the unsung first string basketball player on the team, which won the city championship and placed third in state, and duplicated his baseball honors he re– ceived as a junior. Verdall's baseball ability rated highly enough that the California Angels, a professional' base– ball team, drafted him. Ver– dall tumed down the baseball offer because "I wanted to have at least two years ' of college if I intended to play professionally." Also, Ver– dall realizes he can't play sports all of his life. His main goal in life is to attain a degree in education and retum to Jeff some day and coach. If a professional ca– reer would evolve from col– lege, he would prefer to play for the New York Mets. In pursuing this statement, Ver.. dall remarks "that the Mets have the best major league pitching staff, but lack the hitters." Verdall's decision to attend the University of Oregon is based on two premises: the first, to prove to people that he has the athletic ability, and, secondly, that he can do the academic work. He hopes to try out for the fresh– man team as a halfback or flanker in football and play the outfield in baseball. Other honors which have been bestowed upon Verdall are "Boy of the Month for May," featured by the Oph– mist Club for his outstanding service in the Albina commu– nity. He speaks proudly of this honor whereby he served as the chairman for the com– munity function. To elabo– rate, the service group, com- posed of teenagers and adults, met weekly at the Th1C!.. In their meetings, they would have open discussions of in- terracial community prob– lems. The purpose of the group was to promote better interracial understanding. In VERDALL ADAMS commenting on the meetings, Verdall feels that lack of communication between races is the main problem of per– petuating stereotype views of each other. For example, "The whites can't be trusted," and "The blacks ai·e superior athletes, but dumb." Next I askedVerdall'sopin– ion pf the racial problem at Jeff. His immediate reaction was that although J t was an interracial school - defacto segregation existed. For ex– ample, last year they had several student panel discus– sions on "how to create bet– ter racial relationships." Verdall thought the main pur– pose •was missed - ''They would talk around the prob– lem instead of offering con– crete solutions." In citing another example which clearly a lack of trust and under– standing of the student body occurred during the student body elections when Verdall ran for President. Verdall came in second - but the irony was that only 35% of the student body voted in the elections. In offering possible solu– tions, he feels that in ocder to promote betterunderstand– ing at Jeff, the blacks and whites will have to start do– ing more things together such as school dances and partici– pation in student body func – tions. The next question which I probed to him was, "Why are there so many blacks playing basketball at Jeff, with only one white making the team last year?" Also, what ef– fect has this had on the total athletic program? Ve rdall's reply was that some of the whites simply do not have the ability or they are afraid to compete. The overall effect on the athletic prngram has resulted in many of the whites transferring to other schools, The next issue we discussed was the idea of busing the Albina kids into suburban areas. Verdall felt the idea was fine "if it was a two– way street." Srating it an– other say, "if the f.lbina kids are bused out, the suburbans should be bused in." \Vhat acn1ally happens is that the suburban areas only want the "cream of the c rop," leaving the 1\lbina area with no lead– ers. .Also, the· white coaches only want the top black ath– letes. In concluding our interview, Verdall has no regrets in attending Jeffe i·son. In fact, he feels that the school has some of the best teachers in the Portland system. The only criticism he has about the Jefferson teachers is that there' are a few who "lack a basic under standing of the students' social and academic background." His closing re– mark was, "If I lived on 92nd Avenue, I would still drive my kids in to attend Jeffer – son. - A trne Jefferson– ian. - Dear Novie- Dear Novie:. Three weeks ago I came face to face with a bad prob– lem. Maybe you can help me solve it, I've been dating a boywhom I'll call Joe. We've been dating for at least three months, but we weren't go– ing together, so I started dating a boy whom I'll call John. J olm asked me to go with him about two days ago, and I accepted. j,'ow Joe is supposed to be real broken hearted. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Did I do the right thing? I don't really like Joe any– more. Mixed-up. Dear Mixed-up: You're John's girl now. There is nothing Joe can do about ito It's thoughtful of you to be concerned about Joe's feelings, especially when you don't like him. I'd ·say Joe was slow. Dear Novie: What do you do around summertime if you don't have any job and you are 16 years of age? It's really hectic. All of my friends work, and it's too late in the summer for me to get a job, too. Could you suggest some– .thing for me to do for at least eight hours? Bored Stiff. Dear Bored: Right, it's too · late to look for a summer job. If you Iike and know how to sew, this could take up some of your time. Or have a talk with your parents and maybe you can cook or clean house and earn money this way. However, )'.OU could con- sider yourself lucky, because once you start working, there is no stopping. Dear Novie: l would like to tell you how ridiculous some people are. A lady wrote in last Sunday's paper, asking if Mrs. Martin Luther King was Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson's sister. How ridiculous! The magazine answered "ridiculous" too. Wondering about the world. Dear Wondering: I read the same article and I really felt the magazine gave the best answer, I, too, wonder about the world. Dear Novie: What dci you do about a boy liking you a lot and you lik– ing him only a little bit? The boy who likes me a lot doesn't want to share me with other boys. I am six– teen and want to meet other young men. Could you please tell me, isn't he being a lit– tle selfish? Help me. Dear Help: Tell your friend right now that you are not his. Tell him that you are going to date others. If you don't tell him now, you might find yourself taken in by pity•••• Dear Novie will be glad to help you with your prob– lems. Simply write Dear Novie, in care of the Oregon Advance/TIMES, 714-1/2 N, E. Alberta. Please try to have your letters in by Friday of each week,