Portland Obae'ver Thursday. June 28. 1980 Section II Page 6
"Hard w ork" brings success as TV engineer
B y UHysses Tucker. Jr.
For most Blacks, the city streets o f Portland w ill
provide them with the only educational experience
during their lifetime.
The only place to market a "street degree” is at the
Oregon State Penitentiary, Rocky Butte, or one o f the
local cementeries around town, institutions that openly
accept those people with qualifications.
Robert Mitchell, a N.E. resident since 1963 and elec­
tronic engineer for KPTV-12, feels very fortunate to
have been able to lift himself up o ff the streets before
falling victim to his environment.
Mitchell, who dropped out o f Jefferson High School
in 1965, came to Oregon from El Dorado, Arkansas
with his parents. He later enrolled at Portland Com­
munity College and finished a one year “ G .E .D .” in
only six months.
“ I know some brothers out on the streets who are
highly intelligent, but I doubt if they will ever use thier
minds constructively,” said Mitchell.
“ I even know a few at the pen in Salem who had some
intelligence, but somewhere along the line they got lost
to the wrong system. Before I got the proper education,
1 had no choice but to deal with the streets because my
alternative were few.”
Mitchel! attributes most o f his earlier problems to a
bad m arriage, poor health which kept him in the
hospital, and to the traditional economic difficulties
faced by Black low income people.
How did you become an engineer?
Opportunities
Food Service Attendant
U n c a ll, te m p o r a ry c a fe te ria w o rk
a v a ila b le b o th d a y a n d s w in g s h ift. P rio r
e x p e rie n c e in fo o d p r e p a r a tio n a n d s e rv in g
h e lp fu l T h e s e jo b s c a n lead to
p e rm a n e n t p o s itio n s
Keypunch Operators
We h a v e im m e d ia te p e rm a n e n t o p e n in g s
fo r s w in g s h ift K e y P u n c h O p e ra to rs
F o rm a l k e y p u n c h s< h o o tin g o r e q u iv a le n t
w o rk e x p e rie n c e re q u ire d F a m ilia r it y w ith
129 IB M c a rd p u n c h o r In fo re x ke y to d is c
d e s ira b le
Part Time Assembler
P a rt tim e p o s itio n s a v a ila b le fo r
e le c tro n ic a s s e m b ly w o rk G oo d v is io n a n d
th e a b ilit y to do d e ta ile d w o rk re q u ire d .
T r a in in g w ill be p ro v id e d
Clerk Typist
W ill p e rfo rm d iv e r s ifie d c le ric a l,
s ta t is t ic a l, s k ille d d u tie s A v e ra g e ty p in g
a b ilit y re q u ire d
Secretary
W ill p i'r fiir m a d v a n c e d s e c re ta ria l,
s te n o g ra p h ic a n d c le ric a l d u tie s T w o y e a rs '
s e c re ta ria l tr a in in g o r e x p e rie n c e re q u ire d
A b o v e a v e ra g e ty p in g a b ility a n d s h o rth a n d
o r tr a n s c r ip t io n s k ills ne cessary
B e n e fits in c lu d e lib e r a l in s u ra n c e a n d
re tire m e n t p ro g ra m s , e d u c a tio n a l s u p p o rt
a n d p r o fit s h a r in g p la n
A p p ly at T e k tr o n ix , In d u s tr ia l P a rk o r
w r ite to T E K T R O N IX . IN C . I ' t l B ox .MM) I ’ .
B e a v e rto n . O K 97077.
A n e q u a l o p p o r t u n ity e m p lo y e r m f he
Ttektronix
i ( IMA* r TED T O f N C E llE N C t
Robert M itchell ready for hie shift et KPTV.
“ It is a very d ifficult test that involves a great deal of
math,” said Mitchell. I give 50% o f the credit to my
new w ife who stayed beside me and gave me the
motivation to keep on pushing forw ard."
How would you rate the test?
“ Basically, I ’ m self taught,” said M itchell. “ But
after I finished my G .E .D ., I enrolled in some Elec­
tronic Technology Services classes at the same school. I
studied under instructors Sid Antock and John Sam­
mons who taught me that I wasn’t as dumb as I was
conditioned io think.”
In order to work as an engineer fo r a television
station, it is required by station management that a per­
son pass the “ First Class Operators Test” administered
by the Federal Communications Commission.
" I think that it's a waste o f time because I use very
little o f what I learned from the test. You can almost say
that it is a barrier which prevents minority people from
becoming engineers.
“ You have to know something about the white
culture to understand the dialect involved in Elec­
tronics, and the test is the same way. Most Blacks do not
understand whites, so you know they w o n 't com ­
prehend the test,” said Mitchell.
Is it hard for you to deal with whites?
“ In the beginning it was hard," said Mitchell. I ’ve
learned over the years that all o f them are not bad even
though there are still some who won’ t accept me as
equal. Many are surprised when I tell them that I have
my first class license. They think that we aren’t capable
o f achieving a feat such as this.”
" I think that I ’m torn between the two communities
because some o f the whites don’t want you there, and
then my own Black brothers and sisters give me hell.
They feel as though I want to be white just because I
work with them. I just want to be a man in both worlds
.% *•
and I want to be respected lor my talents and abilities in
b oth."
In his spare time, Mitchell builds computors, pans for
gold, and walks through the community with a metal
detector where he finds old coins and other collectables.
Mitchell’ s responsibilities at KPTV-12 include working
a studio camera, maintenance o f the various cart and
video tape machines and keeping the television signal on
the air.
When questioned about the advice he would give to
the aspiring communications engineer, Mitchell made
the following comment.
" I hate to discourage my Black people, but the com­
petition out here in this world is getting tougher by the
day. I ’ ve lost a great deal o f respect for the government
because o f the hardships inflicted upon us. they have
no concern for the poor Black at all and would much
rather bring over other people to help.
“ Don’t let this bother you. As long as you know what
you want out o f life , you got it made. D on’ t get
discouraged. My next advice is for Blacks to get a better
understanding about the people who run this country. If
you have a bad attitude toward the white world, it’ ll af­
fect your interaction with them.
"There's a way that you can deal with them and still
retain your identity but most Blacks feel like they’re
selling their souls to the devil.
Blacks have the a bility to adapt to any situation,
that’ s if they’ re willing. Any Black who has survived
the system this long has to be strong. As far as com­
munications engineering is concerned, it would be help­
ful to have some good math skills and be willing to put
in some long hours o f study. If it wasn’t for my new
wile, Shirely motivating me to keep on pushing, I don't
think I ’d have made it. Like I said, you have to really
hang in there.”