Portland Observer, February 25,198 2 Section III Page 3
METROPOLITAN _
American State Bank: The Bank That
Integration Built
Grassrool News. N . H i — W hile
most banking institutions are react
ing to the unfavorable economic cli
mate, Venerable F. Booker, Presi
dent o f A m erican State Bank, has
not felt the pinch. “ Not y et," said
Booker in an interview last Friday.
In the late '60s Booker put the
bank together under the banner o f
Freedom Finance. “ First National
came to me wanting me to buy their
building on U nion Ave. It was
cheaper to buy this one than to
build. The reason they got rid o f it is
that they were having a lot o f trou
ble. The day that I signed the deed
transferring the building over to me
they said to me that now it was my
problem. But I never had the same
problems because I set it up d iffe r
ently. We didn't get a guard until we
got robbed."
Booker came upon his career
from the real estate business. “ I
have no degree in banking or eco
nomics. W hen I first opened the
bank the Black community said that
this bank would not last six months.
W e ’ re going on our 15th year.
W e ’ re one o f the most responsible
and viable Black institutions in the
State of Oregon.
“ I would have been a success in
any business that I would have been
in. It takes one thing. That is the
willingness to work hard and work
twice as hard as the white fellow .
And you must not get mad about
doing it. As long as you work hard
and use good old common sense."
Over the years Booker’s banking
tactic has come under fire from resi
dents in (he com m unity as being
harsh. He responds, “ D uring the
last recession we had to make some
ehanges. We did a complete turna
round. We reconstructed the way we
made loans and prices on our ser
vices. People think that you are sup-
posed to give your services away. I f
you do, I would go broke. We have
to make the p ro fit ourselves. In a
capitalist world it’s a different ball-
game. W e’ ve been charging for our
services for a long tim e. It cost us
money to cash a check. Now all the
banks are charging fo r cashing a
check. We just came into it earlier.”
Booker is also C hairm an o f the
Board at American State. “ We have
five board members, four Blacks
and one w hite. I used to hear ru
mors about First National still con
tro llin g the bank. But th a t’ s not
true. W hen I first came into the
banking business I had to prove to
the rest o f the world that I could
measure up to what the rest o f the
w orld said that they couldn’ t. We
want to put money back into com
munity because that creates new ac
counts. We loan to everybody. You
must d iversify. In P o rtlan d you
have such a small percentage o f po
tential customers. We went out into
the total city.”
As a minority businessman Book
er has received criticism about hir
ing so few Blacks. “ Over the years
we had a lot o f m inorities work
here. I hire people who are willing to
w ork. I d o n ’ t care who you are. I
had Black people who told me dur
ing their training that they d id n ’ t
feel right working for me because 1
was Black. I also taught them and
trained (hem and they go right to
those big white institutions. You
know it costs money to train people
and the employees I have now have
been with me over the years."
W hat are some o f (her gut level
reactions from banker V .F . Book
er? “ I f you are doing well no one
says a thing about it. Hut as soon as
something goes wrong the whole
city knows about it. The Oregonian
has presently not printed anything
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Masons elect Dean
M r. Clark Dean, J r., was elected
President o f the Commanders o f the
Rite o f O regon, an organization
composed o f 33rd Degree Prince
H all Masons. “ W hile other people
and organizations are talking about
Faith and B rotherhood, the C o m
manders arc making a serious effort
to make it a reality.”
President Dean was ordained a
Baptist Deacon in O klaho m a and
came to Portland in the mid-Forties.
He joined Vancouver Avenue Bap
tist Church where he has carried out
his obligations to the church.
He has served the Masons o f Cali
fornia and Oregon as a Past Master
and D eputy, as C om m ander-in-
C hief o f the W illam ette Consistory
N o. 23 o f O regon, and as High
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Deputy W illia m B. O d o m , J r.,
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