Rance AI len
In concert
Divestment
at Reed
Page 4
Patrick
Ewing
Page 8
VolumeXVI, Number 13
January29,1986
25c Copy
PORTLAND OBSERNER
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Quakers pioneer
human rights
efforts
ResourceTeamtoaid
Union-Vancouver-Williams
Business Development Project
by lo r r y Garner
Since 1917. the Am erican
Friends Service Committoe (AFSC)
has bean c a rryin g out program s
fo r peace, justice and nonviolent
social change as an expression of
the Q uaker belief in the dignity
and promise of every person.
In the Pacific N orthw est region.
AFSC has been at w ork since 1942
in W ashington, when Seattle
Friends established the regional
office to assist lapanese Am eri
cans in th e ir W o rld W a r II in
ternm ent. and since 1947 in Ore
gon. when P ortland Friends orga
nized re lie f fo r European w ar
victim s and established w hut is
now the Portland Area Office.
AFSC Portland C haptor has
been active in the fight against
apa rth e id in South A frica . AFSC
w orks closely w ith Portlanders
Organized fo r South A fric a n Free
dom (POSAF), organizing boycotts
of athletes and ente rtain ers who
perform in South A frica . POSAF
has also held picket dem onstra
tions against companies w hich do
business
w ith
South
A frica
throughout P ortland and Seattlo.
The Religious Society of Friends
(the Quakers) was founded about
300 years ago by an Englishman.
George Fox. Quaker relations
w ith Blacks date back to slavery.
The Quakers became the fore
most opponents of slavery and the
slave trade in colonial Am erica
and exerted greater influence in
the e arly a ntislavery movement
than any other segment o f the
colonial population.
The Society o f Friends was not
united against the evil of slavery.
Some Quakors w ere engaged in
im porting and soiling Blacks and
many used slaves on th e ir farm s
and in th e ir shops. In 1671. Fox
visited Barbados; he was shocked
by the slave system in general,
and by the spectacle of members
of the Society engaging in slavery.
He urged his follow ers to preach
to th e ir slaves and advocating
compensation fo r them. For this
Fox was accused of fomenting
rebellion among the slaves and of
in citin g them to insurrection.
Still, some members of the
Friends Society were engaged in
a ntislavery crusades in the early
colonial period. On Feb. 10. 1666
in the German comm unity in
Germ antown. PA. a few miles
outside of Philadelphia, there was
a vigorous protost against slavery
and the slave trade. This was the
firs t protest against slavery by an
A m erican congregation.
By the end of the Revolutionary
W a r. v irtu a lly a ll members of the
Q uakers societies north of V ir
ginia had freed th e ir slaves and
agreed to give th e ir form er slaves
a just compensation fo r their
years o f "in v o lu n ta ry se rvitu de ."
Through the years AFSC has
been doeply involved in such
issues ns disarm am ent. C entral
Am erica. N ative Am erican trib a l
rights and n a tu ra l resource man
agement. There are about 202.000
Quakers around the w orld. The
m a jo rity (116.000) are in the
U nited States.
In 1947 the AFSC, w ith the
B ritish Friends Service Council,
received the Nobel Poace Prize
fo r its "s ile n t help from the
nameless to the nameless.”
Executive Director of National Association of Minority
Contractors praises the work of John Brown (left)
and Tom Martin (center), president and executive
vice president of NAMC-Oregon chapter
following the Presentation of the chapter's
official charter [Photo; Richard J. Brown)
Portland NAMC Chapter awarded charter
by Jerry G arner
The Portland chapter of tho
N ational Association of M in o rity
C ontractors (NAMC) was a w a rd
ed its ch a rte r las, Thursday. The
ch a rte r was presented to John H.
Brown, president of the Portland
Chapter of NAMC. by Ralph C.
Thomas, III, Executive D ire ctor of
NAM C nationul office.
NAM C was established in 1969
as a non-profit m in ority business
trade association to address the
needs and concerns of m inority
contractors nationw ide. NAMC
hoadquartors is in Washington.
DC; its membership base covers
40 states, the D is tric t of Columbia
and the V irgin Islands.
N AM C 's m em bership includos
general contractors, subcontrac
tors. suppliers, local m inority
contractors associations, funded
technical assistance organiza
tions. state and local government
agencies, attorneys, and account
ants.
The organizatoin also serves as
a voice and liaison fo r m inority
construction co ntractors
w ith
law m akers in W ashington, DC.
NAM C sta ff w orks w ith policy
makers, legislators, m ajority as
sociations. m ajor corporations and
others to meet tho needs and con
cerns of its members and consti
tuents.
In addition. N AM C provides
tim ely construction-related in fo r
mation to over 3.000 m inority
contractors, procurem ent o ffic
ials. and others in the public,
private, and federal sectors who
address tho needs of m inority
contractors. The organization ac
tively monitors government a f
fa irs of agoncies and a dm in istra
tions mandated w ith providing
opportunities to assist in the
healthy grow th a n d /o r expansion
of M in o rity Business Enterprises
Brown is president of Brofam
Enterprises, a m inority-ow ned
businoss enterprise c e rtifie d in
Oregon. W ashington, and C a lifo r
nia. His company sells fuel and
does general co ntractin g and
henvy haulting. Brofam is auth or
ized us a heavy-hauling common
c a rrie r. Since M ay, Brofam has
been hauling on tho Bonfield
Freeway. P rior to entering the
fuel business, Brow n was n
stockbroker at M e rrill Lynch.
Portland office.
NAMC-Oregon ch ap tor is Io
catod a, 637 N.E. Lom bard St. in
Portland.
As part of tho process, thero
w ill be a reception fo r the
community hosted by the UVW on
Wednesday. Feb. 5 at the Ramada
Inn. to N.E. W e id lo r. from 5 30 to
7:00 pm. The resource team's
recommendations w ill bo pre
sented to tho public on Thursday.
Feb. 6 nt the abovo listed location
from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. A ll com
m unity members are encouraged
to attend the above functions.
The UVW BDP was formed in
August of local com m unity mem
lairs and business people who are
committed to w orking to revitalize
the N o rth /N o rth e a s, Portland
The U nion-Vancouver-W illiam s
Ave. Business Development Pro
ject (UVW BI)P) w ill host a group
of five professionals to serve as a
Resourco Team in dovoloping
action plans to rovitalize the
N o rth /N o rth n a s t Portland com
m ercial d is tric t.
The UVW business d is tric t was
aw arded special designation as
an U rban Center Program revita
lization area by the Oregon
Downtown Development Associa
tion (ODDA) in 1965. This desig
nation entitles the UVW BDP to
technical assistance and exper
tise from ODDA. The Resource
Team is a portion o f this assis
tance.
It w ill be composod of Brian
Scott, executive d ire c to r of ODDA;
Stanley Lowe, of P ittsburgh. Sha
ron Blevins. M ain Street C orrid o r
Development C orporation o f Kan
sas City; Randy Hester, a commu
nity designer and landscape a rc h
itect from the San Francisco area;
and Wes Hester, a n w m txir of the
Berkeley C ity Council in Berkeley.
CA.
Tho team w ill conduct meetings
w ith the UVW board and mana
ger ns w ell as p a rtic ip a te in both
a w alking and d riv in g to u r of the
area. Interview s w ith community
residents, m erchants and elected
officials w ill assist tho resource
team in understanding the needs
of the area, and w ha t actions
nood to be taken to satisfy those
needs. The fin a l p roduct is ox-
pocted to bo a 20-30 page docu
ment w ith the team's recommen
dations. The U VW BDP board w ill
thun assign responsibilities for
tho action stops the resource
team recommonds.
area.
T hie r stated mission is to " r e
vitalize, restore and regenerate
the economic well-being and qua
lity of life fo r the people in the
area.” The BDP rocoives funding
from three m ajor sources in order
to accomplish its mission. These
include $12. (XX) from the ODDA.
$31 .(XX) from the Portland Devel
opment Commission. and the group
itse lf w ill raise $17,000 in c o n tri
butions from local sources.
Prior to developing its goals
and objectives, the group held a
neighborhood meeting in w hich
issues were identified that need
to I ni resolved in ord er to make
the N o rth /N o rth e a s , area more
"m a rk e ta b le " to businesses and
individuals. Attendees pointed out
tho many positive aspects of the
area that need to I ni b uilt upon.
Business and in d ivid u a l mem
berships are a vailable fo r a ll who
wish to join in holping revitalize
this unique section of Portland
For more inform ation, please
contact M cKinley W illiam s. UVW
BDP manager, a, 262-6706
Anti-Kian
network
expands
Rev. C. T. Vivian. C hairm an of
tho N ational A nti-K lan N o,w ork
and form er aide to the late Dr.
M a rtin L uth er King. |r.. announc
ed a m ajor expansion in the work
of the five-year-old anti-hate
group.
The N etw ork has changed its
name to the Centor fo r Demo
c ra tic Renewal. W hile retaining
its o rig in a l purpose of countering
the Ku Klux Kian, the Center fo r
D em ocratic Renewal (CDR) has
expanded its mission. Since its
founding in 1979. the organization
has become the p rin c ip a l clear-
continued on page 6
Protesters and theater-goers crowd under the marquee of the Arlene
Schnitzer Concert Hall where Johnny Mathis was performing. Mathis’
concern was being picketed because he refused to recognize the
United Nations cultural boycott of South Africa. In 1982 Mathis per
formed at Sun City, a multi-mlllion-dollar gambling resort located
In Bophothatswana, one of the the 10 so-called tribal "homelands"
the South African government has established as part of Its segre
gationist policy of apartheid.
(Photo; Richard J. Brown]
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