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Uni v e r ö l ty o f Oregon L ib r a r y
u ne, Oregon 9 /4 J 3
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Happy N ew Year from the Portland Observer
Volume XVI, Number 9
January 1,1986
25C Copy
PORTLAND OBSERNER
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Two Sections
Black economic independence
tops NBCSL legislative plan
In keeping w ith the theme o f its
N inth
Annual Conference in
Philadelphia, the N ational Black
< aucus ot State I egislalors (NIK SI »
adopted a legislative plan consisting
o f resolutions addressing ‘ ‘ I he
Politics ol Bl.uk Economic Indepen
dence.” I he resolutions, d ia lle d ,
debated and approved at the NIU SI
business meeting w ill be introduced
beginning in January in the 42 state
legislatures where N IK SI members
hold office.
Among the kev decisions made is
that each state caucus will develop an
alternative budget lo r submission to
its governor to provide lunding lor
programs needed bs their constituen
ts.
Celebrating the first day of Kwanzaa on Dec 26, children of the Black
Education Center tell the story in acting and in song of the first Kwanzaa
"Kwanzaa' is a Swahili word meaning first fruit' and was inspired by African
harvest celebrations. A non religious holiday, Kwanzaa is being celebrated by
McDonald's and Coors reach
out to Blacks and minorities
by Jerry Garner
McDonald's restaurants and Adolf
Coors Brewery of Colorado are doing
business with Black-owned com
panies M cD o na ld ’ s, the n a tio n ’ s
largest fast-lood chain, reached an
agreement w ith the N ational
Association for the Advancement o f
Colored People ( N A A t P) last
February to substantially increase the
number o f minority franchise owners.
M cD onald’ s also agreed to funnel
$110 m illion or more into the Black
community until 1990
As o f February 1985, 9 : percent
o f M cD onald's franchises were
owned by Blacks and 14 percent by
other minorities However, top M c
D onald’ s o ffic ia ls have previously
shown reluctance to sign "lair-share
pacts that require corporations to
negotiate employment and financial
investment goals w ith c ivil rights
organizations, and this is the tirsi time
the chain has done so.
The agreement calls fo r M c
Donald’s to study sales and revenue
figures and explore the availability of
m inority vendors and professional
firm s, w ith the goal o f establishing
additiona specific quotas by the end
o f 1986
Under the terms o f the five-year
agreement. McDonald’s will:
• Seek q ualified m inorities and
prepare them to purchase and manage
franchises, until the pvxil of franchise
applicants is at least 25 percent to 30
percent minority.
• Establish 100 new Black-owned
restaurants over the next four years.
(There currently are about 300 Black
owned McDonald's restaurants.)
• Increase the number o f minority
employees and appoint more
minorities to managemednt and ad
ministrative position».
• Establish a m inority purchasing
program to increase opportunités for
minority vendors to supply restauran
ts with food, packaging and services
• Increase corporate contributions
to Black community projects.
• Increase expenditures w ith
Black-owned professional businesses,
such as advertising agencies, insuran
ce companies, taw firms and banks.
• Use Black construction com
panics for $25 m illion worth o f con
struction and renovation projects at
restaurants during the next two years
• Appoint a group o f N A A t I’ and
McDonald’s officials to monitor the
success o f the agreements
The Adolph Coors Company
signed a “ fair share” agreement with
the N A A t P in September o f 1984
Under the agreement, Coors w ill
spend H) percent o f its budget with
Black-owned businesses, bringing
more Blacks into management and
increasing company contributions to
Black community projects over the
next five years.
Coors has already deposited $2.6
m illio n in 20 Black owned banks,
awarded 180 contracts to Black
owned businesses, hired a Black ad
vertising agency and established
scholarships for Black students.
more and more Black Americans across the United States Kwanzaa is
celebrated from Dor 26 through Jan 1 and was founded by Dr Maulana Ron
(Photo Richard J Brown)
Karenca in 1966
Gladys McCoy to run
for Chairman of Board
of Commissioners
Correction
Last week the article w ith the
headline " P IIA C w ill reissue sub
pocnas” stated that city com
missioners Mike 1 indberg, Margaret
Strachan, and Dick Bogle voted
against requiring three police officers
to testify before the Police Internal
Investigations Auditing Committee
(P IIA C ) The sentence should have
read: commissioners Strachan and
Lindberg voted fo r the officers to
testify before the committee. Com
missioner Bogle voted against the o f
ficers testifying before the PIIAC.
Our apologies for any misunder
standings arising out o f the error.
Monday. Democrat Gladys McCoy, former Multnomah County Commissioner.
announced her candidacy for Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, a new
position created by Multnomah County charter revision.
(Photo Richard J Brown)
I X*
" I he example shown by the New
York State Black and Puerto Rican
I cgislative Caucus, which secured
$418) m illion in programs, suggests
that this is a useful lactic for all our
slates to e m p lo y,” said N IK SI
president. M aryland state Sen.
( larence M M itchell. III. ” Our ap
proach w ill be to ide ntify the
programs necessary fo r our co n
stituents' well being and then incor
porate them into the alternative
budgets Ihese documents will relfecl
each state's particular circum stan
ces.”
A second resolution addresses the
limited financial backing received by
the M in o rity Business I ntcrpnse
I egal Defense and Education Fund
t aucus members over the upcoming
year will raise $1 m illion to assist the
fund in doing its work buttressing
Black-owned businesses. The fund
was established by U S Rep Barren
J. M itche ll ( I) M D ) to enforce set
aside provisions established under
tederal law t he Justice Department
is charged w ith filin g suit against
federal contractors not com plying
with these provisions; however, their
lack o f in itia tiv e in prosecuting
violators prompts the fund to act in
place of the Justice Department. I he
$1 m illio n w ill be used to finance
litigation and assist these enterprises;
fundraising starts immediately.
In support o f the national venture
capital fund established by Rep M it
chell, NIK SI w ill spearhead a drive
to raise $1 m illio n to assist Black
owned businesses w ith capital fo r
m ation. Also, legislation w ill be
proposed in states with no existing
venture capital law M aryland and
Illinois laws w II be used as examples
for drafting these bills.
“ The greatest value ol our annual
conference is the opportunity it a ffo r
ds us for sharing information and ex
periences
in
our
respective
legislatures,” said Sen. M itchell.
“ I he result is an increased ability to
leverage more resources lor our con
stituents. For example, a recently
enacted law, sponsored by Maryland
stale Delegate E lija h Cum m ings,
providing state funds to lend minority
businesspeople to purchase fra n
chises, was endorsed by the caucus
and will be used as a model for other
states.”
The caucus’ s C orporate Round
table member, the International Fran
chisc Association, w ill assist
legislators in this effort.
A dram atic proposal by Florida
state Sen. Arnett I . Girardeau w ill
yield a C orning, NY conference
facility lor the caucus. Sen Girardeau
said, " I am offering 40 acres to the
caucus for development o f the site as
a meeting place fo r use by caucus
members and other groups. We have
many resources among out members
to create a facility of which we can be
proud.”
Other resolutions part o f the
legislative plan locus on educational
and health issues and the Black chur
ch I he arts, entertainment and Black
fraternities and sororities were also
addressed.
NIK SI ’s lenth Annual Conferen
ce w ill be in W ashington, IK next
December.
✓ •
Minority women
must prepare
for future
? . . ‘ -k
•***: y i
bv Jerry Garner
“ In terms o f preparation for the
future. Black and m inority women
are going to have to redouble their ef
forts to gel involved on slate, national
and local levels to push for issues such
as child care, which is going to be
more a id more o f a concern to
them.” I his statement was made by
Alexis M. Herman, former Director
o f the U.S. Department o f I abor
Women’s Bureau.
Herman said as the 21st century
neats, the American work force will
continue to expand and change Black
women must begin to prepare and
gird themselves lor those changes by
"re d o u b lin g their e ffo rts to gel in
yoked with specific issues that affect
them.”
Herman said child care will become
more o f an issue to Black women.
I his is because more than half of all
Black families in the United Slates arc
headed by women. W ith such a large
percentage ol Black women as head
of household, many must work hi or
der to support their families
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Herman voiced her concerns about
the plight o f Black and m in o rity
teenage girls and young women
" I hey'vc got to stay in school and
hear that message loud and clear.
They must encourage their jx-ers to do
likewise and not yield to peer
pressures."
"B la c k women must, and w ill,
soon start looking more closely at
issues affecting them, like decent
wages, pay equity and their concen
tration in certain occupation fields,"
said Herman. “ Black and m in o rity
teenage girls and young women must
learn the importance o f networking,
o f reaching out Io fin d other role
models in the com m unity who can
provide them with practical experien
ce lain can be used as a pact o f their
formal educational process.”
Elizabeth Duncan Koonts, the first
Black D irector o f the W om en’ s
Bureau, said. “ I want to sec those
Blacks who have made it in business,
particularly in the service providing
areas, offer their workers shares in the
business ” I his, said Koonts, will en
courage employees to lake pride in
their work.
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