Portland Advocate_1981-11

1 Pa ~6 COMMUNITY RAP & RECOGNITION Michael Mitchell Student Personally, I don't really know Mr. Prophet so I can't really say whether I feel he is going to serve in the in– terest of the Black community or not. But I think its good to have a Black superintendent maybe he can serve as an example of just what Blacks can accom– plish in this system, and as you know it has been so hard for Black people to progress in this system because of all the bias that exist. Having Prophet looks good, we will have to wait and see. Evelyn Crews Band Coordinator My first opinion was one of surprise, because I did not think they would pick a Black man for superintendent. After the surprise wore off then I became suspicious of what the intent was of choosing him and what the new superintendent's intent was in taking the position considering that he comes from a school system that has a great deal of Blackyeople in it. I think that possibly the Board felt that he could control rather than work with the Black community here and I am simply taking a wait and see stance. What IsYour Opinion OnThe Selection Of A Black Superintendent For Portland Public Schools? Gilbert Miles Shipyard Worker I think that is a "right on" thing because we have more Blacks out here that are qualified to takA positions like that, and by the same token, they have a lot to contribute to imr prove the school system. I think they need more people with different ideas and from different walks of life to come in and try to make the system work better than what it has been. I think that hiring a Black superin– tendent is a big step towards pro– gress. Although I do not know how long he will stay there, because if he is honest, he is dangerous since the world is corrupt. But I am glad to see that it is my brother that is in there, because I am glad to see ANY Black do well. Photos by: Kamau Jean Vessup Civil Rights Investigator My opinion of the selection is that he was the most quailfied. Basically I don't think they had a choice. Some– one Black and someone with the neces– sary qualifications, I think that he is highly qualified but I think I will take a wait and see attitude to see what he's going to do for Black child– ren in Portland. I think that his strict miltary background could serve as a problem for the Black com– munity, I don't think that it's going to be an asset to the Black community. I think that he might tend to be more hardline in terms of having any type of open communication with the Black community. Julius Moore longshoreman My opinion is that he is going to have to show me that he ·is going to do some– thing about the amount of Black child– ren being suspended from school. · If he can prove to me that suspensions will be on an equal basis then I am all for him. But I am still puzzled about how they came about his selection all of a sudden after Ron (Herndon) made the statement about them having already made their selection then they select Prophet which was an about face. I believe that they had already planned to pick -a white superintendent and the way it looks now they are trying to program the one we got.