Portland Observar Saptem bar I t . IM O Paga 7
W orkshop for returning w o m an students. Registration, September 26,
8 am to 7 pm Portland State University gym, September 29-30, October 1-3:
days, 9 am to 5 pm Harder House, SW 1st and Market; evenings: 3 to 7 pm.
First class meets September 30, 1980.
O B S E R V A T IO N S
FROM THE SIDELINES
By Kathryn Bogle
To celebrate the tenth anniversary
of the Black Education Center, its
founders are planning an “ An-
niverary Banquet” set for Friday
evening, October 3, 1980 at West­
m inister Presbyterian Church at
1624 N. E. Hancock Street.
It was in M ay, 1970 Ron Hern­
don, Joyce H arris and Frank
Wilson pooled their talents, their
ideas and dreams and opened a
school for Black children that would
give them pride in their racial
heritage, 4hat would supply the
basic tools o f reading, w ritin g ,
arithm etic, and strengthen them
with a daily build-in of courage and
determination to gain an education
for their life-time use in an imper­
sonal, sometimes hostile, world.
The beginning of BEC was as a
summer school, operating on this
limited basis until 1974 when the
school went to the traditional school
year as it does at the present.
Classes are small, allowing
teachers more time with individual
students. BEC prefers the young
child, taking them at kindergarten
age and working with them inten­
sively through the fourth grade. Ac­
cording to Mrs. H arris, the BEC
program has met with acceptance
and support from Black parents in
the community who have found the
program sound and rewarding for
their children.
“ A bookstore, the ‘ T alkin g
Drum’ is also in operation to chan­
nel profits into supporting funds for
BEC,” said Mrs. Harris. “ We are
there to sell books - Black literature
o f all kinds, fiction, non fiction,
prose,
poetry,
history
and
philosophy. We also sell greeting
cards, some musical instruments, a
few carvings and African garments
of fashion, but books are our prin­
cipal interest.”
The banquet committee, headed
by M rs. H arris, plans to issue a
“ tenth anniversary souvenir book,”
said to be “ basically p ic to ria l,”
presenting a history o f the BEC.
There will be a program during the
banquet hours which will feature the
“ T alkin g D rum D ancers.” The
banquet itself will be served buffet
style and the public is invited to at­
tend.
Banquet committee members are:
C arolyn Brown, M aisha F u ller,
Julia Fletcher and Guyann Hern­
don. For ticket info rm atio n call
284-9552.
SEE SPORTS O N G IA N T SCREEN T V.
JOE’S PLACE
1801 N.E. Alberta
ja O B E E K
‘ *1
E b o n ee B e ll, d a u g h te r o f Iris and L eo n a rd B e ll, ia a B lack
Educational Center student.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
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By Asmar A bdul Setfullah
aka Joe West »40404
roses.
He is the second oldest child in a
family o f seven and says that his
mother raised the family without a
man’s help. Vincent feels that his
mother did a good job bringing up
her children and that his present in­
carceration isn’t a reflection o f his
home life. In his soft tone voice he
states that he was only trying to sur­
vive and fulfill his needs when he
committed his offenses. He is not
bitter about life or the knocks and
bumps it has dealt him and he has a
good outlook on the future. He
realizes that if he is going to stay out
o f prison that things will have to
break right for him once he is
released.
“ I ’ m in d e p e n d e n t ...p r is o n
teaches you to be that way. I know
thPt ain’ t nobody gonna give me
nothing and that I have to do it on
my own. I ’ll make it because I don’t
want to spend the rest of my life in
places like thisl” he said.
When asked what has prison done
for him. he said it showed him that
only he could make his dreams come
true. “ Everything I ’ ve accom­
plished was on my own. I could
have laid here and suffocated
waiting on these people to help me.
They’ve got the facilities but they
don’ t know how to guide you
toward the things you need...only
you can do that...you have to do it
on your own.”
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The hardest thing he has had to
deal with is getting use to being
without his wife and child. “ Man, a
man needs to be able to watch his
children grow up and he needs the
love and support of his woman to be
successful. It took me two and a
half years to adjust and during that
time, I lost most of the things that 1
really cared about. When 1 get out
I ’ve got to start all over again. Most
o f all I ’ve got to learn how to care
about people again and that’s not
going to be easy when you’ve had
people messing over you for X
number o f years.”
Vincent will have a certificate in
welding shortly and John Belguard
his instructor, says that he is the best
natural welder he has ever seen.
Vincent comments that his instruc­
tor didn’t crowd him or press him to
produce quickly. “ He let me feel my
way through the exercises and the
rest came
n a tu ra lly .”
John
Belguard is, by the way, the first
Black man to work as a vocational
instructor at Oregon State Peniten­
tiary.
Vincent is also the 400 meter
champion at Oregon State Peniten­
tiary and he says that before he
graduated from Grant High School
he ran track, plus w ith seven
brothers and sisters it was always a
race to the dinner table. Vincent has
maintained his sense of humor and
hasn't lost his taste for competition.
These two ingredients will help Vin­
cent survive once he is released. At
some point in time Vincent will have
to smile and keep on stepping when
things get rough.
Vincent Lamont Jones is a very
exceptional person. He is excep­
tional because the years spent in
prison haven’ t destroyed him
beyond repair. He is exceptional
because his beginnings aren’t
necessarily his end and this young
Black man has accomplished
something for himself when all the
odds were against him.
He has refused to lie down in the
grave prepared for him by the
criminal justice system. His dreams
and visions o f self w orth have
sustained him during a very difficult
period ot tim e. And out o f the
rubble and ruin o f clanging prison
doors and ringing bells he has risen
to recalim his manhood and iden­
tity. The prison days and nights are
something that Vincent will never
forget. They are part of him arare
his moon like eyes and long coarse
natural hair. Wherever he goes,
whatever he does he will remember
Oregon State P enitentiary. The
ringing bells and clanging doors will
echo deep inside o f him for a long
time to come but they won’t stop
him from being the man he has
promised himself to be. In Vincent’s
words, “ I don’t want to forget what
I ’ve been through behind these walls
because It’ s the memory and the
pain that accompanies these
memories that’s going to keep me
out o f places like this.”
r
OR TRY
WEIGHT WATCHERS
Cell Talk
Prisoner #38665 is a Blackman.
He is 5’ 11 -- ,47 lbs and has large
moon like eyes that have a musky
sensuous quality about them. They
seem to radiate secret songs from a
long forgotten time. His eyes cast
spells and move beyond themselves
as if being more than eyes. He wears
his hair in the natural style. It is long
and coarse and would put most
sisters to shame. His voice is soft
and he speaks as though he is not
absolutely sure about what he wants
to say. At times one has to strain to
hear him but this is only because he
is a low key person by nature. There
are times when you wouldn’t know
that he is around because he does
many things to conceal himself from
curious strangers. That isn’t because
he is unsure o f himself, but in his
own words, "m an, people be trippin
too much for me, I ain’t got time for
all that madness.”
Vincent Lamont Jones is prisoner
#38665. He is 24 years old and has
been confined in Oregon State
Penitentiary for the past 52 months.
Vincent is serving a 20 year sentence
for multiple crimes and is looking
forward to being released on parole
soon. Prison hasn’t been an easy
experience for Vincent but none of
his young life has been a bed of
a
:
I f you happen to see a slender
dark
skinned
brother
with
penetrating moon like eyes and a
afro that swings and sways with
every step, it very well might be Vin­
cent Lamont Jones. If he smiles and
keeps on stepping it will be Vincent
Lam ont Jones and not prisoner
#386651
As always we ask that Allah bless
these lines and those people who’ve
made it possible for the brothers in­
side to communicate w ith the
brothers and sisters outside. The
prerequiste for peace and love is
struggle and commitment. Support
your dreams with action! 11
North Portland
Carpenters Hall
2225 N. Lombard St.
Mon. 7:00 p.m.
Thurs. 9:30 a.m.
N ortheast Portland
Maranatha Church
1222 N.E. Skidmore
Sat. 9:30 a.m.
Emanuel Hospital
2801 N. Gantenbein
Emanuel East, Rm. 2001
(Nursing Home,
Thurs. 7:00 p.m.
For Inform ation call COLLECT Portland (603) 287-1021. W eek-
days - 8:30 - 6:30
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PORTLAND, OREGON 9721 1
284 7997
FROM THE FRONT DOOR
BY TO M B O O T H E
From the front door, I was requested by several citizens here in the community to reprint an
article that I ran earlier on our schools and the learning process, specifically, as it relates to
the children and parents here in our community.
Before I rerun my statement, I would like you to read an article published in the Portland
Chapter Urban League newsletter. This article also describes the Key to success in the
educational process. When this key is applied it opens the door to success for our children,
and conversely, when this key is not applied, the door to success for our children remains
locked.
.
The following is a word for word reprint of that article, printed by permission from Freddye
Petett, Executive Director of Portland Urban League:
PARENT INVOLVEMENT KEY TO SUCCESS
The goals and objectives of the Urban
League School Community Program for
the past six years have been to increase
parent involvement in the education of
their children. The emphasis has been on
the parents of the administrative transfer
youngsters, though certainly not limited
to them. Parent involvement in education
has taken some interesting turns in the
last decade. The only common fact is that
parental involvem ent in schools is
decreasing.
Gone are the days of PTA meetings and
room mother or father being the total
realm of actiyities for parents. Those
tasks are still around but they are just a
small part of the whole. Now in Portland
and nationally there are advisory commit­
tees for every area of education and also
connected to a wide variety of staff and
school board asstgnements. In order for
one to fully participate in these forums it
is important to do some homework. Many
of the programs in the school district had
their beginnings .in an advisory commit­
tee. The federal government has been a
prime mover in the development of parent
involvement by mandating the existence
of advisory and even policy making com­
mittees for the programs they fund.
Basic to the idea of parent involvement
is the support for the student. Data shows
that one of the keys to successful
achievement by students is an active, in­
form ed parent. A parent who under­
stands what the educational process is all
about and works with the child to help
him work through the system. A parent
who is informed about the schools and
working in some capacity at the school
signals the importance of education to the
student. This is not only true of education
but also of extra curricular activities.
Scouts, sports, arts, crafts and music all
require participation of the parent to make
these experiences rewarding and
enriching for the child. Unfortunately
many parents feel their involvement in the
schools ends after the elementary grades.
This is an erroneous assumption. When
you consider how critical the goal setting
and life planning skills of the secondary
student are, parental guidance becomes
more important. There are no substitutes
for the combination of home and school
in working to meet the unique and in- •
dividual needs of students. Counselors
cannot do this enormous task alone effec-
trvety,
There is a place for each and every
parent who has the time, energy and in­
terest to become actively involved in the
successful education of hia or her child.
W e need only to take time to surv^E the
field and find that detailed planning helps
make education come alive for children.