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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1981)
Page 8 Portland Observer, October 22, 1981 Fight 'voodoo Reaganomics' with 'voodoo economics' by Ullysses Tucker, Jr. M ayn ard H . Jackson. J r., the honorable mayor o f A tlanta. Geor gia was in P ortland recently to ad dress the "E c o n o m ic Survival o f Black People” in the ’80s. The con ference was sponsored by the Ore gon Assembly for Black A ffa irs based in Salem. Jackson, an early admissions scholar at Atlanta's Morehouse Col lege where he received a B .A . in Po litical Science and History at the age o f 18 (1956), believes that Blacks as a race are locked in a deadly b a ttle for survival in A m erica. The graduate o f North Carolina Central Law School (1964) feels that condi tions are far better than they used to be but they are not what they should be. " T h a t ’ s just the way it is ,” he said confidently. “ Too many o f us have been left behind in America's progress,” said the man who has served as mayor for two consecutive terms. Jackson will be unable to run for a third term because o f Georgia law. In a day and age o f " V o o d o o Reaganomics” which has replaced traditional economics, Jackson says that Blacks should not be surprised at all the programs Ronald Reagan is cutting because the handw riting was on the wall. “ He (R eagan) told the country what he was going to do. W e can't claim that his administration caught us o ff guard because he is doing ex actly what he prom ised to do. W e should come up with some ‘voodoo M AYOR M A Y N A R D JACKSON (Photo; Richard Brown) economics’ o f our own because we do have some power. " I f Black people in A m erica had their own separate nation, we would have the th ird largest Gross N a tional Produce (G N P in the entire Citizens challenge PDC plan (Continued from page 1 col. 3) N el-T ech previously com m itted themselves to developing jobs, but have hired at the northeast site only 75 people, five o f whom are Black. He said he'd been unemployed and actively loo kin g fo r w ork fo r months. He stated need for a mech anism to guarantee Black residents " w ill have the first shot at jobs— perm anent jo b s ," so that people aren’t put in the position o f break ing laws to survive. Bob Nelson, chairman o f the NE C o a litio n of N eigh b o rh o o ds, echoed this concern, saying, “ Be sides no guarantee o f jobs, there is no good fa ith e ffo rt even to say we’ll do it.” James H ill said, "Black people’s problems aren’t social. As identified by the Kerner C om m issio n , the problem is in s titu tio n a lize d ra cism.” He said P D C ’ s program ex cludes concern fo r B lacks, who "need careers, not jobs.” Ron H e rn d o n , Black U n ite d Front co-chairman, said that busi ness particpating in the plan’s devel opm ent in northeast d o n ’ t hire Blacks. O f 525 jobs in local busi nesses, he said, only 25 are held by Blacks. O .B . H ill said the plan calls for giving jobs to people by developing the periphery. He said 50 per cent o f the contracts on in d u s tria l sites should be set aside fo r m inorities and 50 per cent o f all jobs, from en try level to executive level, should be given to Blacks in the target area. The plan, he said, "benefits people who sign the front o f the check, not the back.” Linda Johnson, describing herself as a "Black business woman whose product is her children and her com m unity,” said that most o f the jobs created in the past have gone to the suburbs. Housing preservation was a sec ond m ajor issue with those attend ing. V ick i A b b o tt o f A lb in a F a ir Share said the community "w o u ld n’t stand for any zone changes that w ill affect h o u s in g ." Bob Nelson was concerned that homes on Union could be destroyed for parking lot developm ent and that U rb a n Re newal designation in the area would mean that " s u b s ta n d a rd " houses were destroyed to assemble land for development. M ark C raw fo rd said that, should housing be ripped out. the jobs finally developed would not then go to the people who used to live in the com m unity. James H ill siad that n a tio n a lly H C D funds cause gentrification, moving Blacks out and whites in. A th ird issue discussed was the N E p la n ’ s proposed boundaries. James D . H oust asked about the background for selecting the target area and why N E A lb e rta was ex cluded. Kathy Glankler, from Pied m ont neigh b o rh o o d , questioned w hether businesses on A lb e rta would get loans because they were n’t "w ithin the red line.” O .B . H ill said the only real targets o f the plan were the Lower A lbina In d u s tria l D is tric t, L o w er U n io n Avenue and Columbia Blvd. C o m m u n ity p a rtic ip a tio n was said to be lacking in the plan’ s de velopment and needed in creating a plan that could receive com munity support. The plan’ s time line needs to be extended, said Bob Nelsen, to allow citizen input. The N E C o ali tion has not yet considered the plan. Ron Herndon called for delay in ac tion saying that the B U F plans to call for community meetings to de velop their own plan and then see with PD C where the plans mesh. He stated: " I f P D C tries to present this plan to C ity C o u n c il, we’ ll fight you. I promise that.” O .B . H ill and Charles Cruise said they were disturbed that the Nation al Business League had at no point been asked to p artic ip a te in the plan’s development. Describing the organization as the "only legitimate Black m inority business organiza tion here,” H ill said they would like to serve as the mechanism to plan industrial site developm ent in the C o lu m b ia area, since no other neighborhood organization was do ing it. M r. Cruise referred to past ef forts working with the form er Bu reau o f Econom ic D evelop m en t, disbanded with the election o f M ay or Ivancie, to create a com m unity controlled developm ent c orpo ra tion. He said support was withheld by the City because the City wanted to retain control. The type o f development needed in the northeast area was addressed by speakers. Vicki A bbott, describ ing the area around Union as a solid neighborhood, said markets, baker ies, cleaners, and other convenience services were needed in areas such as near U n th a n k P laza ra th e r than light in d u s tria l developm ent and fencing o f f fo r salvage. Several speakers were concerned that light ind u strial developm ent had often been synonymous with warehousing in the area rather than with job-gen- erating development. w orld,” he said. " T h e best voodoo to use is w ithdraw ing your dollars from their com m unity and spend •hem in your o w n ." Last year in A m erica, Blacks in this country spent over $98 million in the consumer market-place which means that we are carrying part o f a country’ s economic burden that is com m itting "econom ic genocide" against minorities. By spending Black dollars in the Black communities, the Black con sumer will be enhancing Black busi nesses that can ultim ately start hir ing from w ithin the Black com m unity. I f the Rev. Jesse Jackson can organize a boycott o f Coca Cola to the point where they were losing money so fast that they settled the issue by com m itting $34 m illion to Black communities nationally, then the counter " v o o d o o ” Jackson is talking about can work in our city. " W e must start rebuilding our families and communities because this economic situation has de stroyed it. This adm inistration claimed that poverty was a thing o f the past but when 1 look around it resembles the days o f the depres sion. People are unemployed, hope less, and oppressed. But people who are oppressed should keep on fight ing and m aintain hope because we must prevail. From Buttermilk Bot tom to W all Street, they are all dis agreeing w ith the voodoo econ omics,” said the articulate Jackson. Jackson also had a message for those successful Blacks who have al ready climbed the corporate and government ladder to positions o f power. “ You must start reaching back and pulling people up to where you are since you are already there. We must start using all o f our resources to the fullest and w < ^an 't become content once we have made it ,” he said. G overnor Vic A tiye h , who also spoke at the weekend long confer ence, also had a message to the Black community. " A s governor, the only promise I can deliver is that I will do every thing in my power to help you help yourself. M y economic policy is that simple. The determ ination for im provements has to come from the grass roots. It cannot come from government,” he said. In the meantime, all is well at the W hite House___ Garry W ard shows fashions at Clothas Horaa In dow n to w n Port land. (Photo; Richard J. Brown) A star of the fashion world Gerry Ward is a star in Portland’s fashion world. A successful model, fashion show coordinator and buy er, Ms. Ward has been employed by the Clothes Horse for 22 years. M s. W a rd ’ s career w ith the Clothes Horse began by chance— a regular customer, she was asked by the ow ner to come to work as a clerk. A, that time few Black people were employed in downtown P o rt land, and M rs. W ard had already been rejected by Pacific Northwest Bell and other major companies. Over the years she has developed a regular clientele. " I studied Home Econom ics and have always been good with color and fab ric s," she explained. M y customers return time after time because I sell my tal e n t— I enjoy coo rd in atin g w a rd robes and working with color.” Recently, Ms. W ard has become more involved in buying— both in the local and Los Angeles markets. This year, with the Clothes Horse upgrading its styles, she will also be involved in the New York m arket. " I enjoy buying, and I think it is one o f my m ajo r tale n ts ,” she re marked. Ms. Ward and her husband, H ar ry, came to Portland in 1952 to visit his mother and decided to stay. M r. Ward was president o f the Portland Branch N A A C P for three two-year terms, and Mrs. Ward served on the board and assisted with the youth group. " I ’ ve always enjoyed w orking w ith young p eo p le,” she said. " I would like to encourage young Black women into fashion careers. It is a field which holds many op portunities.” She offers her services to counsel young women who might have an interest in the field. "Some day I would like to establish a pro gram to help high school students who would like to get into modeling and fashions.” For Mrs. W ard, long service with a company where her many talents are appreciated, has brought success and satisfaction. Charles Cruise, president of the National Business League, said that speculating in the area was causing prices to be unreasonable and that a 1904 building he wants to expand in would cost $350,000. He said it was necessary to get rid o fthe carpet baggers coming into the area. The capability and representative ness o f R E P I was questioned. Ber nie Foster said all had the opportun ity to join. Linda Johnson stated she didn’t have the $2,500 fee required. In response to comments from the audience, P D C ’ s Petersen said this m eeting was only a p art o f the neighborhood p a rtic ip a tio n his agency hoped fo r. Neighborhoods and business groups have been con tacted and P D C is w illin g to have workshops and to use similar vehi cles to work with people, he added. H e stated any city funding pro vided will be tied with a First Source Agreement and that the Human Re sources Bureau is looking at Neigh borhood Hire. Prostitution, Petersen said, can not be addressed by P D C . He added that he w ould hope the C ity Task Force created could address this is sue with the police, but that P D C it self has no police power. H e said the eastern target boun dary, straight up N E 8th to Colum bia, was drawn to provide " a uni form approach to the area.” Petersen discussed the $15 million in H C D funds spend in upgrading housing in the northeast area. PD C , he said, "has no intent to destroy houses. Vacant property and build ing are where we’ll look to promote the area.” On the urban renew al issue, he said P D C is presenting it as one tool for the City Council to consider and come to a decision about. Regarding timelines for plan ap proval, Petersen stated that no spe cific date is set to go to Council. The N E program was developed upon instruction fro m C o un cil and late November was P D C ’s goal. I WOW! Five fabulous phones at $10 to $30 off At your PhoneCenter Store through Nov 8th Downtown 208S W Fifth • Mall 206 • Clackamas Town Center • Hollywood 2030 N E 42nd
