A
Portland Observer, August 31, 19U3 Page 9
Civil rights leader rescued from obscurity
Charles Ham ilton Houston was
the first Black to serve on the
H a rv v d Law Review, the d a w of
Howard University Law School, the
principal strategist in the process
that led to the landmark Brown v.
Board o j Education decision, the
teacher o f many prominent Black
lawyers including Thurgood M a r
shall, and (he developer o f a syste
matic framework for combatting
pervasive legal segregation in areas
such as education, housing, and
labor.
But although he left an indelible
mark on American law and society
— in fact, he developed precedents
so significant that they changed con
stitutional interpretation — few
people have ever heard of Charles
Houston. On June 1st, "G round-
work: Charles Hamilton Houston
fight (he legal battles o f the 1940s,
'50s, and '60s. He demanded that
his students be "n o t only good but
superior" and that lawyers be
"social engineers" using the law to
improve society He was a principal
counsel in education cases designed
to provide equal opportunities for
Blacks, housing cases litigated to in
validate court enforcement of racial
ly discriminatory contracts, and
labor cases argued to establish the
right o f fair representation. He also
led fights for voting rights, fair
and the Struggle for Civil Rights"
by Genna Rae McNeil was published
by the Univeristy o f Pennsylvania
Press (521.00 cloth),
restoring
Houston to his rightful place in
history.
As dean o f How ard University
Law School, in Houston's work
with the National Association for
the Advancement o f Colored People
(N A A C P ) and at his firm in Wash
ington, D .C ., Houston trained the
cadre o f Black lawyers who would
t KPn
■■■
treatment
of
Black
soldiers,
protection against lynching and use
o f public accommodations. He was
appointed by President Franklin
Roosevelt to serve on the Fair
Employment Practice Committee,
finally resigning in protest over
Truman's order to block an FEPC
directive to assure Black access to
jobs in the District o f Colum bia's
Capital Transit system.
Charles Ham ilton Houston be
lieved in planning and strategy, and
he was open to divergent ideas, be
cause his goal was to move to that
society which provided "better and
broader opportunities," without
racial bias operating against individ
uals. A society that would "guaran
tee freedom and justice" was the en
titlement o f every human being,
according to Houston.
“ He was a law yer," Ms. M cNeil
comments, "b u t he did not believe
(hat law was the last word. He was
seriously concerned about moral
conduct, but sometimes the law con
flicted with morality. In his time
there was a gross discrepancy be
tween » hat was moral and what was
legal. Houston spoke o f 'm oral col
lapse.* He also insisted that the law
could not be considered supreme
unless it could protect every citi
zen ." Speaking o f Houston's views
on the uses o f law and direct action,
Ms. McNeil noted, “ Charles Houston
warned that the masses o f people
must 'know their power and apply it
intelligently.' The struggle for jus
tice and freedom was and is the con
tinuing challenge."
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William Lea, President of the
West Coast Publishers Associa
tion and publisher of the Sacra
mento
Observer.
addressed
Commissioner Charles Jordan's
noon forum, speaking on the
Black Press.
(Photo: Richard Brown)
W hy do approximately 90 percent
of all new businesses fail within
their first five years?
According to Judith Klefman,
Satori Associates, it is because the
business person is unable to effec
tively “ sell” the product, service, or
idea. An integral part o f "selling" is
image. To help address this program
the Education and Training Sub
committee o f the M inority Business
Opportunity Committee is sponsor
ing a three-session seminar on " D e
veloping Your Business Im age."
The seminar will be held in the
Bonneville Power Administration
Auditorium, 1002 N .E . Holladay
Street on three consecutive Wednes
days. September 14, 21, and 28,
from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Ms. Klefman
is a management consultant and
designed the seminar. Special focus
is on assisting people to polish the
first few minutes of their contact
with prospective/potential customers.
Ms. Klefman adds that "people
make up their minds in the first
three minutes of a meeting if they
will even consider buying from
you.” For small new businesses who
are competing in our economic
realities, it is an economic necessity
to make a lasting positive first im
pression. I f the potential customer
has a positive first impression, they
will transfer that initial acceptance
to the product, service or idea being
sold.
This three-session seminar is de
signed to provide the participants
with the tools and skills needed to
polish their initial presentation. A
second focus is to provide the parti
cipants with an opportunity to meet
business people who provide busi
ness image building skills and see a
sample of their products. The third
focus is to provide an opportunity
for minority-owned and operated
businesses to set up displays o f their
business image building products
and services.
W ith the M inority Business O p
portunity Day set for October 12,
1983, this seminar provides minority
business persons with a timely
opportunity to create or update the
facets/aspects o f their business
image
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A dditional al regular price
Banquet Chicken
$198
__
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Pork and Beans
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each Rag
Grapes
First two
A dditional at regular price
Soft Margarine
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Green Thompson Variety
Oold-n-Sotl
1 lb ,ub
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Hash Browns
Restaurant-Quality Delicacies
MEYER'S DELI
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279
2.89*
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35-2154