Jackie Winters: Meeting new challenges
By Larry Baker
‘‘For above all. in behalf o f an
ailing world which sorely need our
defiance, may we, as Blacks or
womm, never accept the nation of
our place. " (Lorraine Hansberry -
Black Women in White America)
Jackie Winters can still tell you
about those days during the 50s,
when she and her children had lived
in those half torn-dow n, raggedy,
cold water, one bedroom flats. She
can still tell you how she and her
children had to make a game out of
getting up on those cold, chilly win
ter mornings, with a rolled-up
newspaper and a broom, they flush
cockroaches out from behind an old
broken-down gas stove, so she could
cook breakfast. But the main story
o f Jackie Winters was how she, a
Black woman, could refuse to let
herself and her children remain on
that down and out road o f life; how
her love fo r helping other people
gain Jackie Winter’s fame and for
tune in helping her go from rags to
riches.
Born in Topeka, Kansas during
the depression o f 1936, Jackie Win
ters was the youngest o f six children
born to Kathleen and Forrest
Jackson. The Jackson fam ily was
very religious, with a southern Bap
tist background. M rs. Jackson
taught her family to be very thank
fu l and generous w ith what the
family had and on many occasions
invited large groups o f servicemen
to their Thanksgiving and C hrist
mas tables during World War 11.
The Jackson family was drawn to
Oregon when the shipyards were
booming, and lived in Vanport until
the flood in 1948.
As a youth, Jackie attended Boise
and Holiday grade schools, and Jef
ferson High School. Many o f her
schoolmates are leading citizens in
the Black community today: Bobbie
Nunn, Blake Eliot and Caley Cook.
But Jackie credits a Black instructor
named M r. Ford, who produced
school plays, with teaching her the
basics o f acting and dancing and
how to overcome any setbacks in
life which she might face as a Black
woman who had the ability to per
form.
A t that time, it was only normal
for many young. Black girls to want
to grow up and become nurses or
teachers, thinking these would be
the only professions open to them as
adults. But, there was something in
Jackie’ s dreams that wanted to call
fo r more. But, even as an honor
student, falling in love and getting
married stopped Jackie, short o f
finishing high school. She met and
married a young serviceman named
B ill McClean and moved to New
York where he was stationed. She
loved being a mother and
homemaker. She gave birth to four
children (all boys) before her
husband was called fo r overseas
duty in England. Jackie and the
children remained in New York
where she eventually acquired a job
as a typist in a mail order house to
make ends meet.
“ New York gave me a sense o f
knowing how a city can decay, snd
the lack o f fam ily support for the
poor,” Jackie recalls. ‘ ‘ It became a
struggle for survival with my little
family, where beans and cornbread
became a reality.”
The following years in New York,
from 1957 through 1960, were
stormy years for Jackie, including
her marriage which eventually en
ded in a divorce. She returned to
Portland where her parents played a
great role in her life.
She went back to work for
Oregon Medical School as a clerk-
typist, and by 1963 had worked her
self up to a supervisory position. In
some manner this occupation wasn’ t
exactly what she wanted because
she was a “ peoples person.”
• In 1966, when the Model Cities
Program was created, she saw her
chance to do just that, help people.
She attributes a lot o f her early
days o f learning to people in the
Black com m unity, such people as
Hazel Hays, Tom Vickers, A1 Bap
tist and Rev. John Jackson. She was
instrumental in assisting the plan
ning and developing o f child care
centers.
" I remember my New York days,
how such a need for good child care
centers would have been a first
priority while I looked for a decent
job, if there had been one,” Jackie
said.
In 1968, Jackie met and married
Ted Winters, who was an assistant
to the G overnor’ s firs t Om bud
sman, Mark Haggerty. Ted Winters
also had known rough times in his
own life as he had just been released
from the Oregon State Penitentiary,
from serving a life sentence.
“ Ted placed no restrictions or
roles on me. It’ s a sharing relation
ship and he encourages me to reach
out for whatever height in life 1
could o b ta in ,” she further ex
plained.
For a short time Jackie worked
for the State Office o f Equal Oppor
tunity, before transferring into the
State Childrens Services Divison as
a coordinator.
Ted became
Oregon’ s Ombudsman (Governor’ s)
and they bought their first home in
Salem in 1971.
One would think that success had
fulfilled the life o f Jackie Winters,
but no, not quite. Ted retired from
state government and went into
private business in 1975 which even
tually became very successful.
Jackie continued with C.S.D., but
began to expand her horizons into
volunteering helping to create
Salem’ s first branch o f the NAACP
shortly after becoming its president.
She and Ted spent many evenings
with different prison projects and
organizations which volunteered
their assistance.
Both volunteered themselves with
United Way, Salem C ity Council
and other com m unity projects.
Jackie was chosen the “ Outstanding
C itizen” for the city o f Salem in
1977. One o f Jackie’ s children
AOBA calls leadership meeting
The’ third Call-to-Action Leader
ship Conference, sponsored by the
Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs,
w ill be held on January 31st at the
Chumaree Rodeway Inn in Salem.
Among the topics to be discussed
are the Black Commission, reappor
tionm ent, the legislative process.
Am ong the participants are
Secretary o f State Norma Paulus,
Senate President Fred Heard,
Speaker o f the House Hardy Myers.
Governor Atiyeh will speak at the
recognition luncheon at 11:45 a.m.
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became a musician with Oregon’s
na tio n a lly known group named
“ Pleasure.”
When Senator Victor Atiyeh was
elected governor o f Oregon in 1978,
he was well aeqainted w ith the
ability Jackie Winters had in serving
people in Oregon, and offered her
the o ffice o f State Ombudsman;
yes, the same job her husband had
once held. As Ombudsman, Jackie
became nationa lly known in
“ Who’ s Who’ s in Black America.”
Last m onth Jackie W inters
resigned the office o f G overnor’ s
State Ombudsman in order to seek
new challenges, and to help her
husband’ s business, Majac In
stitute, a vocational school to
upgrade people’s learning ability.)
On January 23, 1981, a group o f
prisoners at the Oregon State
Penitentiary w ill host a “ Jackie
Winters Night” which w ill involve
the governor and other state o f
ficials from throughout the state. If
the question is asked, “ Why at the
State Penitentiary?” Jackie Winters
will tell you, “ Why not? People are
people, whoever they are, and
wherever they are.”
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