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TOWARD OPEN GOVERNMENT IN OAKLAND: BOBBY SEALE DEMANDS MEDIA RIGHT TO ATTEND SECRET DINNER MEETINGS

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Editorial: THE OTHER P.O.W.'S

With the joy of returning U.S. POWs, how many of us took the time to notice press pictures of the Vietnamese POWs returning from the South to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)?

The few pictures released spoke volumes about how those young men and women, soldiers like our own GIs, were treated in South Vietnamese prison camps.

One point of the agreement on the exchange of POW's was that the sick and maimed of both sides would be exchanged first. Despite strained efforts by the U.S. media to convey some horror about the prison camps of the North that held U.S. prisoners, the pictures eloquently belie these efforts.

These pictures reveal that U.S. prisoners were adequately fed, medically cared for, decently clothed and spiritually fulfilled. The clean shaven, clear-eyed, calm and composed faces and the uniformly neat and clean appearance of U.S. POWs as they left the busses at Hanoi airport that brought them from their camps were in sharp contrast to the troop-surrounded, disheveled, obviously ill and uncared for POWs of the North preparing to return to their homes and families.

One report described the scene this way: "Limping five abreast from their barbed-wire compound to waiting trucks, they looked like a band of limbless lepers, clinging together and clad in faded, patched prison uniforms that could not conceal still raw wounds and places where arms and legs had been … the weaker ones borne on stretchers or on the backs of less maimed buddies… herding the group toward the trucks, South Vietnam's military policemen -- their starched fatigues and strong bodies in stark contrast to the figures before them -- gave the North Vietnamese no assistance in mounting the vehicles' high tail-gates … the results were grotesque. The prisoners floundered, clawed and scrambled desperately in trying to clamber aboard. Some tumbled, others lost crutches or crushed their fingers, but none cried out. Several guards smirked, most watched without expression. It all happened in silence."

Let us remember this scene as we celebrate the return of our own POWs.

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DOLLAR DEVALUATION U.S. EAGLE'S WING'S CLIPPED

Last week's 10% devaluation of the dollar, following hard on the heels of an earlier eight per cent drop, is the result of a massive and unified expression by the rest of the capitalist world of loss of confidence in U.S. economic and political stability.

The U.S. eagle's wings have been clipped. The heights to which it can soar are plummeting. If the greed-hungry, power-mad industrial and financial elite that rule this country's economy are not checked, dark days are ahead for the whole country.

The "Century of the Dollar" is being replaced by an emerging capitalist economic "war" in which the "Euro-dollar", the German mark and the Japanese yen will compete for dominance in international trade and prestige. This will have particularly dire consequences for the American people.

This situation has been caused by an official U.S. trade deficit in 1972 of 6.5 billion dollars. This means that the U.S. has bought from the rest of the world nearly 7 billion dollars more worth of goods than it has sold to the rest of the world. In other words, the U.S. is 7 billion dollars in hock to the major capitalist countries of the world -- and they don't like it.

In self-defense, European and Japanese capitalists have cooperated in forcing the U.S. to lighten that load by bringing down the value of the dollar. Now the stage is set for those countries that sell goods and services to the U.S. to receive returns more in line with what the U.S. receives for its goods and services sold abroad.

The U.S. has fought tooth and nail against devaluation of the U.S. dollar. But, it has been compelled to give in. A united Europe, a single European currency and a single European industrial-financial block emerging from the European Common Market and looking toward what appears to be an opening USSR and Eastern Europe market, is a threat to U.S. hopes. Remember Nixon's talks in Moscow.

At the same time, Japan, with cheaper products of equal or superior quality to U.S. products, sits strategically placed to capture what is seen as that vast potential market of 850 million people of the People's Republic of China. Another threat to U.S. hopes. Remember Nixon's and now Kissinger's talks with Peking.

The immediate effect of the devaluation on the American people will be an across-the-board increase in the cost of living. Every item sold in America that originates outside the U.S., and particularly in Japan and Germany, will go up in price. This includes U.S.-made products that contain parts, components or materials imported from abroad. Cheaper foreign labor and closer access to raw materials are two reasons for the post-World War Two U.S. industrial thrust into Europe, Asia and Africa. Devaluation immediately increases these costs and will result in a turning homeward.

Basic foodstuffs, such as grains and meats from animals who feed on grains will rise because foreign demands for these produce will increase with the lower actual cost. Electricity and all petroleum products, such as gas, kerosene, etc., will go up. The U.S. imports nearly one-third of its petroleum needs.

This situation is in the nature of the capitalist system eat or be eaten. The U.S. capitalists have been doing most of the eating since the Second World War. Now, European capitalists, displaced by that war, and Japan, "defeated" in that war, want theirs. Only the socialist countries whose economies are not dependent upon capitalist intrique will escape the pending holocaust.

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TOWARD OPEN GOVERNMENT IN OAKLAND: BOBBY SEALE DEMANDS MEDIA RIGHT TO ATTEND SECRET DINNER MEETINGS

The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service (BPINS) called upon Mayor John Reading and the Oakland City Council last week to open its secret. Tuesday evening dinner meetings to the press and the public. In defensive overreaction to the statement, Councilman John Sutter issued a press statement calling for the total end to the dinner meetings, which are held just before the regular Tuesday night meetings.

Bobby Seale, candidate for Mayor of Oakland and the person responsible for beginning the move to end secret meetings of the city council, criticized Councilman Sutter for proposing the abolition of the meetings. He said, "…the suggestion that all dinner meetings be ended is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. The dinner meetings, if open, provide a fine opportunity for the press and public to informally discuss issues with councilmen."

The move to endsecret government began two weeks ago when, Bobby Seale proposed an Anti-Secrecy in Government Ordinance to the city council. (See last week's issue of the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service). The council voted unanimously to consider the ordinance, making it an overwhelming victory for Bobby and the people of Oakland. The proposed law would require that all regular and special meetings of the city council, whether composed of a quorum (majority of members) or less, be open to the public.

The most flagrant violation of the public's right to open government is the regular dinner meetings held before regular Tuesday night Council meetings. These meetings are already in violation of the Brown Act, which prohibits a quorum of any California governing body from meeting together secretly to deliberate or take action on public issues.

On February 9th, the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service (BPINS) sent a letter to Mayor Reading and Oakland City Council members informing them that a reporter from our news service has been assigned to cover the regular meetings of the Council, including the dinner meetings. The letter informed the councilmen that we were aware that the Oakland Tribune has been the only media allowed to attend the dinner meetings. The recent denial of attendance to Montclarion reporter Peggy Stinnett was used to show the exclusive treatment given to certain members of the press. (Ms. Stinnett was fired by KTVU-TV last year because of pressure from Mayor Reading, whose administration she had criticized extensively).

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DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE AND THE VET: THE STORY OF DORSEY WILLIS

(Minneapolis, Minnesota) - A U.S. Army official last week presented an honorable discharge to Dorsey W. Willis at the Zion Baptist Church here, on his 87th birthday. Brother Willis was part of a Black Infantry Regiment that was dishonorably dischanged, en masse, in 1906.

In September of last year, the Army changed the discharges for the 167 Black men from dishonorable to honorable. Brother Willis is the only known surviving member of the group. The 167 men were victims of what has become known as the "Brownsville Raid".

Dorsey Willis has hopes of getting benefits from the Veterans Administration. Concerning this, he said, "I think I should get at least $1,000 a year for the 66 years. I know I could have made that much without the dishonorable discharge. They (the army) did admit that they were wrong. Now who's going to pay for the wrong? It's time lost. It's time taken from me."

The Brownsville Raid was a ten minute shooting spree on the night of August 13, 1906, in Brownsville. Texas. Racial tensions being high in the area, the Black soldiers were immediately blamed after a group of men on horseback shot up the town. Neither military investigators nor a county jury could identify any of the horsemen. The Black soldiers, who were confined to their barracks at the time, did not have horses and an inspection later revealed that their rifles had not been fired.

Despite this, Theodore Roosevelt, who was President at the time, ordered the entire regiment to be dishonorably discharged.

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Now, the Army feels that it has made amends for this grave injustice; which has been called the "Black Dreyfus Affair". Brother Dorsey Willis was 21 years old at the time. Unable to find decent employment because of the dishonorable discharge, Brother Willis shined shoes for the next 66 years in a Minneapolis barber shop.

Because of the dishonorable discharge, Brother Willis was denied meaningful employment. Many Black soldiers now returning from Vietnam may find themselves in similar situations. Many are being forced out of the services with less than honorable discharges. Some are accepting these discharges, although they know that the discharges are being given unjustly, simply to get out of the services.

The story of Brother Willis should be a warning. A discharge that is less than honorable can be used as an excuse to prevent an employer from hiring the ex-serviceman. When that serviceman is Black, such a discharge places an added burden on his chances to earn a living.

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BURSEY STABBING A CONSPIRACY?: VACAVILLE ATTACK LINKED TO DAVID HILLIARD APPEAL

"Possibly there is a very important link between the recent stabbing of Brother Charles Bursey at Vacaville Prison and recent legal moves in defense of David Hilliard", Bobby Seale told a press conference last week at the entrance to the State Building in San Francisco.

Joined by the Rev. Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial Church and Ms. Elaine Brown, Oakland City Council candidate, the Oakland mayoralty candidate told a crowd of reporters and supporters that the possibility existed of a greater threat to David Hilliard's life.

The trio had come to the State Building to attend arguments on the appeal for a retrial request for David Hilliard. The arguments were heard but no decision was layed down by the court.

At the press conference, Sister Elaine Brown read the press statement, prepared jointly by the Black Panther Party and the Community of Concern for David Hilliard:

"On Friday, February 9, 1973, Charles Bursey was stabbed in the back while he was walking to his unit, the `M' wing of Vacaville Medical Facility. He was attacked in the `N' wing, right in front of a policeman's desk. The police officer was not at his desk at the time; he was talking to a member of a Nazi clique which is housed on `N' wing…

"This attack…is not an isolated incident. Viewed within the context of the California prison system, and events at Vacaville Medical Facility in particular, this attack appears to be part of a conspiracy to murder and/or deny parole to David Hilliard… The Community of Concern for David Hilliard and the Black Panther Party demand that Steven Clark (the white man who stabbed Bursey) receive an open, fair and public trial, so that the community might see all the forces at play surrounding this attack. Our call is for Justice, not revenge."

The Rev. Cecil Williams, in an exchange with the press, said: "Let me just say that one of the most important things that we feel has to occur is that David Hilliard must in fact be protected. He has of course, as many of you know, recently gone before the California Adult Authority for parole; he was denied. We would like very much to have David Hilliard get parole because we feel very strongly that his contribution to the community at large is very important.

"We hope that this is not a move to defer his parole and keep him in prison for life -- we don't want that to happen…"

A representative of the press present asked Rev. Williams: "Do you think that the attack against Charles Bursey is a prelude to a possible attack against David Hilliard?"

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F.B.I. HARASSES CAMPAIGN WORKERS

Last week, the FBI attempted to intimidate three hard working members of the Community Committee for the Election of Bobby Seale and Elaine Brown to City Offices of Oakland.

In the most blatant act of intimidation and harassment, two FBI agents visited an active campaign worker, Ms. Ruby Jackson last Friday. "We don't have a warrant for your arrest this time", one of the men said to Sister Jackson, "but we'll be back often checking on you." The incident occurred at 10:30 a.m. while Ms. Jackson was at home alone with her nine-year-old daughter. The two men began to immediately ask her questions about the campaign and Bobby and Elaine.

Ms. Jackson told the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service (BPINS) that she had worked for the campaign since Thanksgiving, collecting donations, passing out campaign literature in the community, and registering people to vote. "This will in no way affect my activity with the campaign", she said. "What I believe in, no one can change. Bobby and Elaine can do a lot for the people. I know many people, friends of mine, who believe the same way. I don't believe anyone should come between us and try to stop us."

On the previous Tuesday, February 13, the family of Ricardo Finley, who is a student at Merritt College, a voter registrar and campaign worker, was harassed by two FBI agents who came to their home to intimidate Ricardo. Even though the brother was not home, the agents persisted in questioning his family. They asked them questions about the college Ricardo attends and what made him decide to be a voter registrar. They also asked if he was a voter registrar in order to register people to vote for Bobby Seale.

An FBI agent also called Brother Steve Long, who is in charge of the campaign office in the North Oakland area. The agent told Steve that he had not been in touch with his parole officer; he then said, "We're watching your work on Bobby Seale's campaign and we want you to know this." He then hung up.

These acts will in no way retard the people's campaign. These incidents only serve to cause the many people involved to work harder and longer, because we're moving to create a society free of any form of harassment.

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BOBBY SEALE'S LIFE THREATENED

Last week, the life of Brother Bobby Seale, people's candidate for Mayor of Oakland, California, was threatened. The government of this country has attempted to take Bobby's life before. Certain elements in this society will go to any lengths to prevent Bobby Seale from becoming the next Mayor of Oakland. In response to this latest threat, the Community Committee To Elect Bobby Seale and Elaine Brown to City Offices of Oakland released the following statement:

"On Wednesday afternoon, February 14, 1973, a man who said he was a supporter of Otho Green (A largely unknown Black man who speaks of becoming the next mayor of Oakland), telephoned Bobby Seale, candidate for Mayor in the upcoming Oakland municipal elections and threatened his life, if he continued to run for office.

"Because of this threat, a number of points are in need of immediate clarification:

"First of all, the Campaign To Elect Bobby Seale and Elaine Brown to City Offices in Oakland cannot be intimidated or halted by a threatening act or telephone call.

"Secondly, we stand firmly behind the principle of free and open democratic elections, in which any candidate, regardless of their political beliefs, can run for public office.

"Thirdly, that the Campaign of Bobby Seale and Elaine Brown is being run against the current Oakland City Government, administered by John Reading. It is not directed against Otho Green or any other candidate.

"Fourth, and most important, in view of this threat to the life of Bobby Seale, we would ask for police protection if there were more Black people on the city's police force. Since there are not, we call upon the community to protect Bobby Seale and the people's campaign for good government in Oakland, of which Brother Bobby is a part. The people, and only the people, can protect the life of Bobby Seale and in doing so ensure the rights which we all should enjoy."

Indeed, it is the people that can, must and will support and protect Bobby Seale, as is made evident with each passing day of the campaign. This past week, a press conference was held at Oakland's City Hall by a new organization, The White Community Committee To Elect Bobby Seale and Elaine Brown.

At the press conference, this progressive organization of white people spoke of their commitment to Bobby and Elaine: "We know that they are committed to serving all the people of Oakland and that what they want to do is not divide the city, but unify it and make it a better place in which to live for all of us."

Last Thursday, Bobby and Elaine attended a press conference in San Francisco called by the San Francisco Black Caucus. The Caucus stated: "At this time the full constituency of the San Francisco Black Caucus, with over 500 members, wholeheartedly and without any reservation endorse Elaine Brown for Oakland City Council

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VOTER REGISTRATION “HOT LINE” OPEN

The Community Committee for Greater Voter Registration in Oakland has initiated a "Hotline" for residents wishing to register to vote in the upcoming April 17th municipal elections. Any Oakland resident may now call 536-4332 at any time of the day to arrange for a voter registrar to come to their home or place of business.

The Community Committee has launched a drive to register 50-100, 000 Oakland residents by the close of the present voter registration period, March 18, 1973. The Committee, already made-up of hundreds of registrars, is increasing its ranks at weekly classes where any voter can become a deputy registrar of Alameda County. The classes are held every Thursday evening at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, 27th and West Streets at 7:30 P.M.

In addition to establishing the "Hotline", members of the Committee are out into the communities daily, going from door to door registering and urging people to vote. Voter registrars, are busy wherever people gather: at stores, restaurants, bars, meetings, sports events, schools and many other locations.

Everyone who did not vote in the November general election must re-register to vote. All young people who have recently become 18 years of age or will be 18 before April 17th should also register to vote.

Emphasis is being placed on registering Black, Latino and young white people, because members of these groups are largely non-registered voters. It is necessary for all persons in the oppressed community to register now in order to be able to vote for the people's candidates in April, Bobby Seale for Mayor of Oakland and Elaine Brown for City Councilwoman.

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A SPOKESMAN FOR THE PEOPLE: HUEY P. NEWTON DEVASTATES BUCKLEY ON “FIRING LINE”

Last week Huey P. Newton was the guest of William F. Buckley on "Firing Line", a nationally screened network TV discussion show. Brother Huey, founder with Bobby Seale of the Black Panther Party, devastated Buckley, one of the most prominent reactionary spokesman in America. For those of you who missed Brother Huey's magnificent exposition of Black Panther Party ideology and Buckley's futile attempt to match his opponent's intelligence, wit, charm and depth, the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service (BPINS) is publishing the conversation in full. This week we present Part I You won't want to miss a single one of the series:

BUCKLEY:…Will you explain your concept of revolutionary suicide?

HUEY:…If I may impose upon you, I'll answer your question, but first, I have a friend who is almost dying for me to ask this question. The question is, during the revolution of 1776, when the United States of America broke away from England, which side would you have been on?

BUCKLEY: I think probably I would have been on the side of George Washington. I'm not absolutely sure because it remains to be established historically whether what we sought to prove at that point might not have been proved by more peaceful means. On the whole, I'm against revolutions, although I think that that revolution will go down as a pretty humane one.

HUEY: You're not such a bad guy after all, my friend will be surprised to hear that.

BUCKLEY: His assumption was what?

HUEY: He was puzzled, he was inclined to believe that you'd have been on the side of the colonizers. But I'm pleased with your answer, and I agree with you. The only revolution that's worth fighting is a humane revolution.

BUCKLEY: Also, one that succeeds.

HUEY: Yes, eventually.

BUCKLEY: I feel that if King George had captured George Washington he'd have had the right to hang him.

HUEY: According to law.

BUCKLEY: Yes.

HUEY: But revolutions always in some ways contradict some laws. That's why it's called revolution.

BUCKLEY: Well, revolutionary justice is its own justice, isn't it?

HUEY: Yes, of course it always professes to go under some human right or humane consideration. I think we can judge revolutions on the basis of how much in fact, objectively, people are dealt with in a fair way and are given more freedom. One of my principles is that contradiction is the ruling principle of the universe, that every phenomena whether it's in the physical world, the biological world, or the social world, has its internal contradiction that gives motion to things, that internal strain. Much of the time we homo - sapiens don't realize that no matter what conditions we establish, no matter what government we establish, there will also be that internal contradiction that will have to be resolved and resolved in a rational and just way. Of course that's very vague. Many times we claim actions are revolutionary when really they're not. So, I appreciate your answer, and would agree with that part of it.

BUCKLEY: Which part?

HUEY: That the only revolution that is worthwhile, and is a real revolution, and that succeeds, is a humane revolution…

BUCKLEY: Otherwise it's called an insurrection or a mutiny.

HUEY: Or a rebellion, or riot.

BUCKLEY: As I understand it, the generally accepted test of the integrity of a revolution is whether it is established once it has taken place, if the people truly support it.

HUEY: A revolution cannot succeed without the people's support. Changes in authority can be successful, but

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I think we'd have to have a functional definition, we'd have to stipulate what we mean by revolution.

BUCKLEY: Well, there are revolutions every two or three months in Latin America without the people getting involved at all.

HUEY: I'd probably call that a coup d'etat. But, by way of definition, I'd reject your definition, but I appreciate your calling a coup d'etat a revolution. I can function with that.

BUCKLEY: Fine, and if you want to call a popular revolution a popular revolution, please call it a popular revolution.

HUEY: I'd have to say that revolution would have to be popular or else I wouldn't label it a revolution. So really, we're just dealing in the semantics of what a revolution is made of. We won't have to belabor that. Any rebellion that establishes a new authority, if you would like to call that a revolution, then I could entertain it because it's just a word anyway. In governments, changes in relationships between people and authority and institutions, I'd say many forms are taken…

BUCKLEY: What would you call the thing that ousted King Farouk?

HUEY: I wouldn't call it a revolution.

BUCKLEY: Even though an entirely new order was brought in?

HUEY: Yes. With coup d'etats its common that an entirely new order is brought in.

BUCKLEY: Not necessarily. Sometimes a coup d'etat takes away one colonel and puts in another colonel.

HUEY: Sometimes. But other times a coup d'etat establishes an entirely different relationship between the institutions and the people in a particular place.

BUCKLEY: In which case it's revolutionary.

HUEY: I said I could function with that definition if you insist. But to me revolution carries a special connotation. Of course this is only my subjective feeling about it. If I have to distinguish between those changes of power, in my own way of thinking, I would call one a flower and the other a skunk.

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OAKLAND -- A BASE OF OPERATION!: MOUNTAIN VILLAGE AND THE BEDROOM TAX

It is a telling critique of contemporary American society that the issue of housing is surrounded by so much controversy. Who would deny that housing -- in its simplest elements the act of sheltering the human body from the forces of nature -- is one of life's necessities. At the same time, who would deny that in most, if not all, large urban areas, the politics of housing involves engaging in some of the ugliest kinds of political wheeling and dealing, while thousands of Black and poor people are forced to live in less than adequate conditions.

Typically, the reasons behind the controversy can be boiled down to a single word: money. Housing, and particularly new housing construction means money, millions upon millions of dollars. It also involves power. Through manipulations of zoning policies -- what housing will be built and where -- this power actually determines the destinies of entire cities of people.

In Part XXXI of the ongoing series, Oakland - A Base Of Operation!, the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service (BPINS) examines the economic and political considerations which were, and still are, involved in the decision to build the so-called, Mountain Village, in the East Oakland hills. It is no mistake, but rather part of an overall, vicious administrative policy, that this housing development enhances the economic and political position of the white-middle and upper classes, while at the same time containing and stifling the growth and development of the city's Black and Mexican-American populations, thus perpetuating urban poverty and ghetto conditions.

Mountain Village, a gigantic 1,800 unit, 685 acre, housing development slated for the East Oakland hills has, by far, dominated all political action in that area, since it's construction was first proposed in March of last year. Located between Merritt College and the Oakland Naval Hospital, Mountain Village is to consist of 1,777 town houses and garden apartments, with 23 single family dwellings being thrown in for those families who "simply must" own their own homes. Recreational and park facilities, including a man-made lake will make this "wonderland" complete. However, the unwanted intrusion of "wonderland" in the middle of Oakland's middle and upper class white's homeland has sparked a controversy which still continues.

Mountain Village is the brainchild of Challenge Development Corp., a subsidiary of ALCOA, one of the largest aluminum producers in the world. (ALCOA is also one of the world's biggest exploiters on the continent of Africa. It reaps tremendous profits by robbing Guinea-Bissau and the Congo of their natural resources.) In recent years, however, ALCOA has diversified its exploitation and has moved into the fields of housing and real estate. They have specialized in upper-middle class developments such as Century City, an expansive shopping center in Beverly Hills, California, and Mountain Village in Oakland.

The pro-business city administration in Oakland, headed by Mayor John Reading, has always welcomed corporate investment within the city, regardless of the cost to the city. The fabulously rich tenant business of the Port of Oakland and the ill-conceived City Center prove this to be true.

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Mountain Village is no exception; like the others, its expense to the Oakland citizenry, particularly in the form of a new fantastic tax, has met with no objection from the city administrators.

In order to finance the construction of the new schools

Mountain Village will require, Mayor Reading himself proposed a special "bedroom tax". This bedroom tax is a $100 levy to be imposed on each bedroom in the city. The city Finance Director estimates that the tax will generate approximately $385,000 a year, with the funds earmarked to the school system for capital improvements. Of course, the "bedroom tax" greatly affects Black and low income families. Mayor Reading, in fact, has ensured that contractors and developers will be able to pass the tax on to tenants.

Few people or groups within the city want Mountain Village to be constructed. Certainly not the residents in the hills, who, for a variety of reasons (the influx of Black and low income families into the never land of the hills, jealousy, and cliquish exclusiveness) staunchly oppose it. The main thrust of their argument has been that Mountain Village and the massive development it generates will destroy the "ecological virtues" of the hills. Over 700 hills residents have crowded both Planning Committee and City Council meetings to oppose the proposed sale to Challenge Corp. They have organized several neighborhood organizations to stop Mountain Village. They all failed. On October 31, 1972, after passing the "bedroom tax" to appease Marcus Foster. Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District, Mountain Village was passed by the City Council with almost no debate. One of the hill organizations. Citizens Against Mountain Village, was so incensed that they have filed suit against both the city and ALCOA.

Needless to say, no one in the Black community supports Mountain Village. At a time when over 1,600 families are on the waiting list for low-cost public housing, and thousands of Black families seek low-cost housing on the private market, the construction of Mountain Village is some what of a crime. Mountain Village represents a committment of over half - 55% - of Oakland's annual housing production. This means that a maximum of 45% of the city's yearly housing production can be alloted for low and middle income housing. Undoubtedly, substantially less, perhaps 20-25% might be begun in 1973.

In a devious political move to sidestep immediate opposition to Mountain Village from Oakland's Black and Brown communities, the City Council resolved that the developer provide low and middle income housing within the housing complex. However, leaving themselves with an ever-present loophole, the council chose not to establish firm guidelines for the developer to follow. Left to their own discretion to decide how many low and middle income units would be

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built, and without the means or the desire for enforcement, the Development Corp. cares little about this mock regulation.

All of this is perfectly in tune with the way the Mayor and his council forsee Mountain Village and the future development of Oakland. During a council session on a similar proposal in the Sequoyah Hills, the Mayor pointed out that the city needs, "adequate housing for middle and upper class families". The lack of housing, continued Reading, is why "we have lost so many upper and middle income families in Oakland". With the housing in West Oakland in a state of near-collapse and a similar situation existing in the Black community of East Oakland, such a plea by Reading represents both callous disregard and misplaced priorities of the first order.

Mountain Village will not provide much in the way of jobs for Black and Mexican-American people -- thanks to Mayor Reading and the City Attorney. Originally, the City Council resolved to apply its affirmative action hiring policies to Mountain Village. Recently however, the City Attorney ruled (with pressure applied from some of the councilmen and Mayor Reading in particular) that the council's minority hiring policies cannot be applied to "private development or private contractors". This makes little sense, and smacks of another typical administrative act of treachery, since the council has set down 41 other regulations legally binding the developer and even going so far as to change the zoning laws. Yet not one city council member, from the trickster John Sutter to the racist Paul Brom, protested the City Attorney's ruling.

Developments like Mountain Village also force huge outlays for public services from the city. Because of the upper middle and upper class nature of the residents, their shrill whines for protection and "special consideration" will certainly further drain the poor public services provided the Black and poor communities in the flatlands. Already, the Planning Department has declared that Mountain Village was poorly planned and the cost to the city in services will be great. The experiences of similar housing developments have shown that the property tax yields from these communities falls far below the cost of the services the city provides for them.

Oakland needs low-cost housing and it needs jobs. Our communities will get neither from Mountain Village type developments. Yet, the mayor and the city council want more Mountain Villages, because such housing developments are profitable and good for business. Reading claims that his "bedroom tax" is fair and reasonable, that it places the financial burden on those who are creating the need for the new elementary school. But this, like many other of Raading's utterances, makes no sense, since the tax is being levied across the board, city-wide, on all bedrooms and on families without children. The whole city, in fact, is paying in some way for Mountain Village. After a long talk with Reading, James Price, regional director of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and a former aid to Reading, indicated that his office would allow developers to pass on the "bedroom tax" to tenants of subsidized housing by means of rent increases. In other words, more cost to the poor and less incentive to construct low-income housing for which rent increases are particularly noticeable.

If the people of Oakland are to get good housing and decent, well-paying jobs, we must have the power in City Hall to make those decisions which are in our favor -- a city government which takes account of the rate of unemployment and indecent housing and which is committed to change. Only through a city government which operates in the interests of our communities will this situation come about.

BOBBY SEALE FOR MAYOR OF OAKLAND ELAINE BROWN FOR COUNCILWOMAN

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BLACK PANTHER PARTY PROGRAM MARCH 29, 1972 PLATFORM: WHAT WE WANT, WHAT WE BELIEVE

1. WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.

We believe that Black and oppressed people will not be free until we are able to determine our destinies in our own communities ourselves, by fully controlling all the institutions which exist in our communities.

2. WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE.

We believe that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every person employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the American businessmen will not give full employment, then the technology and means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living.

3. WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE CAPITALIST OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.

We believe that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules. Forty acres and two mules were promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of Black people. We will accept the payment in currency which will be distributed to our many communities. The American racist has taken part in the slaughter of over fifty million Black people. Therefore, we feel this is a modest demand that we make.

4. WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS.

We believe that if the landlords will not give decent housing to our Black and oppressed communities, then the housing and the land should be made into cooperatives so that the people in our communities, with government aid, can build and make decent housing for the people.

5. WE WANT EDUCATION FOR OUR PEOPLE THAT EXPOSES THE TRUE NATURE OF THIS DECADENT AMERICAN SOCIETY. WE WANT EDUCATION THAT TEACHES US OUR TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY.

We believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of self. If you do not have knowledge of yourself and your position in the society and the world, then you will have little chance to know anything else.

6. WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.

We believe that the government must provide, free of charge, for the people, health facilities which will not only treat our illnesses, most of which have come about as a result of our oppression, but which will also develop preventative medical programs to guarantee our future survival. We believe that mass health education and research programs must be developed to give all Black and oppressed people access to advanced scientific and medical information, so we may provide ourselves with proper medical attention and care.

7. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE, OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE INSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

We believe that the racist and fascist government of the United States uses its domestic enforcement agencies to carry out its program of oppression against Black people, other people of color and poor people inside the United States. We believe it is our right, therefore, to defend ourselves against such armed forces, and that all Black and oppressed people should be armed for self-defense of our homes and communities against these fascist police forces.

8. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS OF AGGRESSION.

We believe that the various conflicts which exist around the world stem directly from the aggressive desires of the U.S. ruling circle and government to force its domination upon the oppressed people of the world. We believe that if the U.S. government or its lackeys do not cease these aggressive wars that it is the right of the people to defend themselves by any means necessary against their aggressors.

9. WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK AND POOR OPPRESSED PEOPLE NOW HELD IN U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY, CITY AND MILITARY PRISONS AND JAILS. WE WANT TRIALS BY A JURY OF PEERS FOR ALL PERSONS CHARGED WITH SO-CALLED CRIMES UNDER THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY.

We believe that the many Black and poor oppressed people now held in U.S. prisons and jails have not received fair and impartial trials under a racist and fascist judicial system and should be free from incarceration. We believe in the ultimate elimination of all wretched, inhuman penal institutions, because the masses of men and women imprisoned inside the United States or by the U.S. military are the victims of oppressive conditions which are the real cause of their imprisonment. We believe that when persons are brought to trial that they must be guaranteed, by the United States, juries of their peers, attorneys of their choice and freedom from imprisonment while awaiting trials.

10. WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY CONTROL OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

-- 7 --

PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVE

CALLEY CONVICTION UPHELD

The conviction of mass murderer Lieutenant William Calley was upheld by a military court of review. Calley was convicted of killing defensless old men, women and children in My Lai, Vietnam. The case could go to another military court or to Richard Nixon who has protected Calley in the past. The convicted murderer is allowed to live in his apartment while his case is being appealed.

BAILEY SUSPECT JAILED

A white union official has been arrested for trying to extort money from Berkeley City Councilman D'Army Bailey. It was previously reported that a contract had been placed on Brother Bailey's life but this was later proven to be untrue.

SOLDIERS SERVANTS

It was recently revealed that the use of soldiers as servants for high ranking military officers costs the tax-payers a minimum of $13 million. U.S. Marines were used to guard the fairways at the Bob Hope Desert Golf Tournament two weeks ago. Soldiers are also used to tend bars, wash clothes, walk dogs and prepare meals for admirals and generals. The Defense Department, when asked to explain these arrangements, refused to comment.

CUBANS AID GUINEA-BISSAU

The presence of Cubans aiding the liberation fighters has been reported in Guinea-Bissau. Portugese colonialists claim to have killed eight Cubans who were part of the liberation forces in the region bordering Senegal. African freedom-fighters being assisted by Cubans frightens the Portugese and adds a new dimension of solidarity to the liberation struggles on the continent of Africa.

GREEK STUDENTS FIGHT POLICE

Greek students protesting government repression and economic sanctions fought with police in the streets of Athens last week. The protestors sang the songs of an exiled Greek composer and chanted "Freedom" as the police attacked. The Greek government suspended student draft deferments in a vain effort to stop the demonstrations.

-- 7 --

NAVY SEEKS TRIAL TRANSFER: POLITICAL CASES TO BE HIDDEN IN PHILLIPINES

(San Francisco) - Attempts are being made by naval authorities to transfer the trial of Patrick Chenoweth from the San Francisco Treasure Island Naval Base to Subic Bay Naval Station in the Phillipine Islands. Patrick Chenoweth is a white sailor charged with acts of sabotage. The alleged acts of sabotage consist of dropping a paint scraper and two bolts into the engines of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ranger.

In a clear effort to remove the case from access to the press and the American public, the Navy hopes to set a precedent that can be used in future cases which have either political or racial overtones. These, of course, include those cases involving Black servicemen facing court-martials and disciplinary action arising out of their resistence to armed service racism.

The Subic Bay Naval brig (prison) was recently nearly leveled to the ground in a racial confrontation between Black sailors and marine guards when the marines launched a mass assault on a group of Black sailors being held in a barrack room without access to toilet facilities.

Meanwhile, the 27 Black sailors who were involved in the rebellion aboard the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk are being quickly court-martialed and jailed at the Naval Base near San Diego, California. The special court martials take less than a day, with the military juries deliberating for an hour or less before bringing in usually guilty verdicts. Six of these brothers have already been convicted at sea. The one white sailor charged in the confrontation was found not guilty last week.

Should the Navy succeed in transferring the Chenoweth trial to Subic Bay, this will mean that Chenoweth will be deprived of the presence of his chosen counsel. The Navy will not provide the means for the lawyer chosen by Chenowethto travel half way around the world in order to be near his client. Clearly, the right of counsel selected by the serviceman is severely impaired by such a move.

If the Navy is able to accomplish this transfer in the case of Patrick Chenoweth, it will not hesitate to use the identical procedure for Black sailors and others whose cases are classified as "sensitive". As a result, the families, friends and the general public will be denied access to information and developments concerning such trials. Deprived of public support, defendents in the trials will be at the mercy of naval trial authorities, not noted for their concern for Black and poor servicemen's lives.

The Patrick Chenoweth Defense Committee is presently engaged in an effort to rally public support to prevent the transfer of the Chenoweth trial to Subic Bay. Support given to this effort constitutes support to that basic right of public trial inherent in the American judicial process.

-- 8 --

MILWAUKEE: BARBEE DETAILS ACCOUNT OF POLICE KILLINGS

Police brutality and the murder of Black people is a fact of life in America. Recently in Milwaukee, Wisconsin two racist white policemen were killed while engaged in harassment in the Black community. Assemblyman Lloyd A. Barbee, the people's representative in the Wisconsin legislature, describes what occurred that night and suggests several possible solutions:

"On the night of January 31, 1973, Milwaukee, once again, became the scene of racial violence and blood-shed. I hadn't realized what the noise and commotion was about, until early the following morning, when I heard the news that two policemen were shot just four blocks from my home.

"There's been an immense outcry against this double killing of two white policemen, who were slain while making an arrest of young Black persons. Yet the results of the incident were more than just words and emotions.

"The immediate aftermath of the shooting was quick, illegal searches and seizures in the immediate surrounding area, and a number of Black arrests, young and middle-aged. In some cases, police broke down doors to gain entrance into homes, and beat certain individuals. In these incidents `probable cause' was not a motive for their actions.

"After receiving a police beating, one man was so badly injured around the head and hands that certain public officials were sickened by his appearance four days later. The beating took place in the street and at the police station.

"A brief look at the facts of Wednesday night, January 31, will reveal that the two white police officers, one from Alabama, drawl and all, and the other an arrest-happy officer were major precipitators of the incident. Assigned to Milwaukee's overwhelmingly Black area 5th police district, they chose to stop a Cadillac which was occupied by several Black residents. These officers presumed that this car was stolen. However, the ownership was verified as belonging to one of the occupants. Did they check the license plates before proceeding? I doubt it.

"However, the police officers pursued the vehicle until they harassed the occupants to the point of panic. Since the young Black occupants' car was stopped in their neighborhood, some started running. The officers caught up with one of the youths. They attempted to make an arrest by handcuffing an individual and giving him a customary Milwaukee police beating. One major difference occured. Another Black person, or persons, saw the beating and killed the two policemen.

"If the justice-loving people in Milwaukee do not learn the real lesson from this incident, and demand the service from law enforcement officers, neither peity, tears, medals, nor speeches honoring the deceased policemen, will erase the resentment and hostilities of ghetto-dwellers against the harassment, brutality, and needless arrests by the Milwaukee police.

"The cries for protective legislation, safe streets, money and gun control do not impress me one bit as solutions until the police, themselves, are disarmed and re-oriented along with the remainder of the majority population. We need to insist on better education of policemen. We should also have psychological screening and an emphasis on civilian control of our police.

"The recent police murders are a symptom of a much greater problem. The present police organization in Milwaukee has been unreceptive to the needs of all the people for too long a period. The police chief has consistently ignored the complaints of the Black population in Milwaukee. He has supported the past actions of his personnel, giving them a free reign to `stop the crime in our streets'. Instead, he has precipitated violence."

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“IS THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY SUICIDAL?”

PART II BY J. HERMAN BLAKE

In the second of a series, Dr. Herman Blake, noted social scientist and Acting Provost at University of California, Santa Cruz, continues his analysis of The Man and the Panthers, by Betty Lou and Charles A. Valentine. Both Dr. Blake's analysis and the original article were first published in the Spring 1972, Politics and Society.

These scholars will be subjected, at best, to the experiences I have had, such as harassment (my tires have been slashed) and surveillance -- perhaps even death. Once one makes the commitment to study a group like the Black Panther Party or any similar group, one cannot stand around quibbling over questions about safety and security; one must go the full route. Anything less will cause the group to doubt the commitment of the scholar, and this will affect the quality of the data obtained.

Furthermore, if one does come up with data which some governmental or investigative agency wishes to subpoena or use, one must make the full commitment never to reveal it under any circumstances, even imprisonment. No professional association has addressed itself to this problem and indicated a willingness to defend its members. Therefore, it is imperative that activist scholars convince their professional associations to provide legal defense and other support to their members to prevent them from being constrained or compelled to surrender information which is vital to understanding revolutionary groups but which is desired by punitive authorities.

This dilemma points up the problem with social theory I mentioned earlier, for a scholar committed to a self-serving theoretical bias would willingly give up such information and thereby become an extension of investigative agencies. This would mean that critical data for theoretical and social understanding would become even less accessible.

Beyond these issues, there is the basic question of whether the Black Panther Party is suicidal because it speaks of "revolutionary suicide" and its members knowingly adopt positions which bring them into conflict with some destructive social forces. The whole question of "suicide" as expressed in Panther rhetoric springs from a clear understanding of the relation between contemporary events and the past history of the Black man in America, and within that framework the understanding of the concept of death.

Death has been an ever-present specter in the Black experience from slavery until contemporary times. Spirituals and other cultural outpourings of Blacks reveal this; yet they also show that death has never been something that one shuns or runs away from. Instead death has been more frequently seen as the welcome friend -- the liberator from the harsh life one must live.

The question then is not whether one will die for that is given, but how one will die. Furthermore, how one dies is not dependent upon the circumstances of death but rather upon how one lived before death comes knocking on the door. This idea is dramatically illustrated in the spiritual "Travelin' Shoes". Therefore, the question of death has always been related to the social forces which bring it about and there has been a tendency among Blacks to face this issue squarely because of its frequency.

In the non-Black community the concept of death has been moved further from reality. This is the result of social forces which make it possible for whites to pretend that death does not exist. Children who go to the movies and see a man die go to another movie not loo long after that and see him in action again, so that death has been "Hollywoodized" out of existence. It is at best a temporary phenomenon in the minds of many, and even though actual death is final its treatment by most whites makes it still a distant and "unreal" phenomenon in the minds of many, and even though actual death is final its treatment by most whites makes it still a distant and "unreal" phenomenon. It is very different from the Black approach to death.

The Black Panther Party takes the Black approach to death and uses it in a political manner by raising it to a higher level of consciousness through the concept of revolutionary suicide. Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panther Party, who now holds the title Servant of The People, developed the concept as a result of his coming to grips with the idea of death and being at peace with it. He is a man who has never been ill at ease with death, for, as Bobby Seale, Chairman of the Black Panther Party says, "Huey taught us you only die once, so why bother dying a thousand times worrying about it."

Newton served thirty-three months in California prisons on a charge of murder which was later dismissed on the recommendation of the same district attorney who had originally prosecuted him. Much of that time was spent in isolation cells without reading or writing material. He used to spend his hours working through various subjects he had studied in college. He was able to read an account of the work of Herbert Hendon on Black suicide in a popular magazine which some inmates slipped to him. He also thought about his study of the works of Durkheim on suicide and he remembered how Durkheim had related suicide to social forces.

It was in his intellectual arguments with Durkheim's approach to suicide and the attempt to integrate Hendon's findings into this that he reached the understanding that some deaths can be caused by reactionary social forces and some can be caused by the refusal of an individual to submit to these reactionary social forces. It was not a question of whether one would die for Huey Newton; it was a more political treatment of the issue of how one would die. He felt that Blacks were suffering and dying as a result of many reactionary social forces such as poverty, disease, or unemployment which leads to antisocial behavior. He felt that when Blacks saw these social forces in action in their communities and acquiesced to them, they were also participating in their destruction, a kind of suicide if you will, but reactionary suicide because the victims had not moved against the social forces bringing death.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

-- 10 --

PEOPLE'S PETITION

FOR IMMEDIATE PAROLE OF BROTHER DAVID
HILLIARD FROM THE CALIFORNIA PRISON
SYSTEM OR AN APPEAL BAIL BOND WITH
A RETRIAL JURY OF HIS PEER-GROUP.

We the people, residents of the world community, in the spirit of revolutionary intercommunalism, do hereby redress our grievances and petition the courts of America and the California State Government and Parole Board: That David Hilliard be released from his prison incarceration in the California Penal System to the people of our communities on parole or an appeal bail bond.

Brother David Hilliard, political prisoner and a member of the Black Panther Party, was in fact wrongfully convicted on false charges by a predominately white racist jury, as all members of the Oakland Black community were systematically eliminated from the jury selection process in his trial.

In light of these facts, we the undersigned, therefore petition that David Hilliard be granted his human and constitutional rights, that is, parole from prison or an appeal bail bond by the American courts pending appeal of his case before higher courts, and that his retrial jury be of his peers, a true representation of a cross section of the community.

-- 11 --

“EVERYONE'S GOT THE BLUES AND EVERYONE LOVES THE BLUES”: A TALK WITH JOHN LEE HOOKER

The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service (BPINS) last week visited the home of Brother John Lee Hooker, the world renowned Black blues singer and musician. His sons, John Lee Jr. and Robert, both talented in the musical field, were present.

Brother John Lee Hooker shared his thoughts with us in an informal conversation. We are pleased to pass them on to our readers:

BPINS: John, I remember the last time we talked, you stated that you and your band were about to embark on a musical tour of Canada.

JOHN: Yes -- I've been already. It turned out real good. I was up in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa… I'll be going to Europe in April, for about one month.

BPINS: How did people in Canada relate to the "down home blues"?

JOHN: They loved it, but it's not "down home" anymore- It's worldwide. Everybody's got the blues and everybody loves the blues.

BPINS: How long was your engagement in Canada?

JOHN: Close to two weeks. We'll be going back sometime soon.

BPINS: What countries will you be visiting in Europe?

JOHN: Oh, I'll be in Geneva, England, Belgium, Germany, Spain -- different Scandanavian countries.

BPINS: You've toured Europe before, haven't you?

JOHN: Many, many times. I've never been to the Far East because I never cared to ride the plane that far.

BPINS: There was something I wanted to ask you. I met one of your band members the last time I was here and we talked about your "Lights Out" album -- which is one of my favorites. In this album, you incorporate hard blues vocals with contemporary hard rock background music. I've noticed this interesting trend on other albums of yours. How did the idea come about?

JOHN: I had that built in. You have to keep up with what's happening today. You see I still have my basic thing -- you can always recognize me, no matter how rock it is. You can always tell that this is John Lee Hooker, because the rock is built around him.

BPINS: I think it's a beautiful, innovative musical blend. The last thing I want to ask you is, have you been following the campaign of Bobby Seale and Elaine Brown.

JOHN: You know I have -- I'm all for it; I'm pulling for Bobby. He's got my vote and most of the votes of people I know…

JOHN LEE HOOKER JR.: Excuse me Dad, -- I just want to say that I'm going to do all that I can to help Bobby Seale win; I mean that. I love him and all the brothers and sisters working with him and for him.

-- 11 --

On February 8th, the Immigration and Naturalization Service

On February 8th, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) reversed itself and agreed to consider the application of Iranian student activist BABAK ZAHRAIE, for permanent resident status. The day before, the INS dropped alleged charges against: Bahram Atai, Secretary of the Committee to Defend BABAK ZAHRAIE and leader of the Iranian Students Association, and renewed his visa. (See BPINS, Feb. 3, 1973)

Brother Atai says of this victory: "Without the support of … the many individuals and organizations throughout the U.S. who have come to our defense, justice would not have triumped in my case. My victory is a major step forward in our campaign to establish full democratic rights for all foreign students."

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