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■««>■«■ « « » December 16, 1987, Portland Observer, Page 3 NATIONAL NEWS UPDATE More Than Half of Black Business Owners Work at Home, Census Bureau Reports Fifty-four percent of Black busi ness owners reported that their businesses were based at home in 1982, according to a first-tim e sur vey report released September 16, 1987, by the Commerce Depart ment's Census Bureau. The survey, which excluded large corporations, was conducted by the Census Buearu and funded by the Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency and the Small Business Administration. CHART 1 . firms and receipts in 1982, and for owners: age, marital status, educa tion, veteran status, work exper ience, hours worked, percentage of income derived from the business, year and method in which the busi ness was acquired, year the busi ness was started, home-based busi nesses, starting capital, sources of borrowed and equity capital, net income, percent of women and minority employees, percent of minority customers, and exports. PERCENTAGE OF BUSINESS OWNERS OPERATING IN S ID E OR OUTSIDE HOME: 1982 Bi BLACK IN S ID E O U T S ID E HOME Here are additional highlights from the report: • Nine percent of Black owners had never worked a full- or part- time job prior to owning their busi ness compared w ith 11 percent of Asian and other racial minority ow n ers, 10 percent of Hispanic owners, 8 percent of women owners, and 5 percent of W hite male owners. • Fifty-three percent of Black business owners reported that at least half of their customers were minority compared with 40 percent of Hispanic owners, 36 percent of Asian and other racial m inority ow n ers, 18 percent of women owners, and 15 percent of W hite male ow n ers. HOME 2 ] NOT R EPO R TED W H IT E A S IA N MALE AND O TH ER HISPANIC WOMEN SOURCE U S . BUREAU OF THE CENSUS The data are shown for owners of nearly 6.9 million W hite male- owned firms; almost 2.9 million women-owned firms; over 339,000 Black-owned firms; some 256,000 Asian and other racial minority- owned firms; and more than 248,000 Hispanic-owned firms. The report says about 56 percent of women business owners operat ed out o f the home compared with 51 percent of W hite male owners, 47 percent of Hispanic owners, and 43 percent of Asian and other racial minority owners. The report covers the number of Monthly Income of Blacks Lower Than Whites The average m onthly income of Blacks lagged significantly behind that of W hites at most levels of educational attainment, according to a report by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The report says the m onthly income of Black high school graduates averaged $765 in 1984 compared w ith $1,080 for W hite graduates, a ratio of about 7 to 10. The ratio of Black m onthly income to W hite monthly income was also around 7 to 10 for persons w ho were not high school graduates, for persons w ith some college education, for those w ith vocational training, and for those having a bachelor's degree. (Income includes wages and salary as well as other money income, such as pensions, paid benefits, interest, divi dends, etc.) , .. „ For persons w ith associate degrees, the ratio was somewhat larger than 7 to 10, while at the master's degree level there was no statistically signifi cant difference between the m onthly incomes of Blacks and Whites. (The ratios fo r the associate and m aster's degree levels are not statistically dib ferent from each other.) According to the report, com parisons at the doctorate and pro fessional degree levels cannot be made because of insufficient sample CH&AT f AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, BY RACE. 1984 size. Here are additional highlights from the report: • Blacks with a bachelor's de gree had average m onthly incomes . n* «www «W MY nows « or ■ ■Mtrts mc *” T sibh 'I mwu ’ onrtwwt W C T --------- - — of $1,388 in 1984, nearly double 50U the income of Blacks w ith only a high school diploma and one and one -half times greater than for those w ho had some college training. • About an equal proportion o f Black men and women hold master s, bachelor's, and associate degrees; however, a higher proportion of women hold degrees in vocational training. • The largest major degree fields among Blacks were business and edu cation, each at about 20 percent; social science and vocational-technical studies, each at about 10 percent; and liberal arts/hum anities and nursing/ pharm acy/technical health, both at 7 percent. • As high school students. Blacks are less likely than Whites to have taken advanced math, algebra or tw o or more years of foreign language; as likely to have taken chem istry or physics, three or more years of English, or tw o or more years of business; and more likely to have taken industrial arts, shop, or home economics. As in all surveys, the data are subject to sampling variability and re sponse errors. Copies of the report, "W h a t's It W orth? Educational Background and Economic Status: Spring 1984," Series P-70, No. 11, are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash ington, D.C. 20402. . The chart shows average m onthly income by educational attainment. Dymally Hails House Speaker Peace Role From Congressman Mervyn M. Dymally, (31st District, California) Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus: "F or almost seven years, the Rea gan Administration has had an op portunity to bring peace to Central America and they failed. First they secretly funded the Contras and almost plunged this na tion into a crisis w ith Contragate. Then they underminded the Contra ft I • One-third of Black owners de rived at least half of their incomes from their business, and one out of five depended entirely on their busi ness for income. • Eleven percent of Black busi ness owners had operated a busi ness prior to the one owned in 1982. The proportion for the other groups ranged from 22 percent for White male owners to 14 percent for w o men owners. • Twenty-one percent of Black owners had a close relative who also owned a business or was self-em ployed, a proportion smaller than that for women and W hite male owners (about 40 percent), Asian and other racial minority owners dora peace process. Now they are reluctant to support the Arias Peace Plan which has major support in the United States and Central America. That is why Speaker W right's effort to expedite the peace process in Central Am er ica is so commendable. The Speaker ought to be con gratulated for doing whatever is necessary to save lives and bring peace to Central America. Last year and again this year the Congressional Black Caucus sup ported all major efforts to bring peace to this embattled region and will continue to do so in the future." Fifty-three percent of Black business owners reported that at least half of their customers were minority. • Only one-fifth of Black owners began with more than $5,000 in starting capital compared w ith 43 percent of Asian and other racial minority owners, 35 percent of W hite male owners, 30 percent of Hispanic owners, and 22 percent of women owners. • About 11 percent of Black busi ness owners had to borrow more than half of their start-up capital compared w ith 18 percent of W hite male owners, 16 percent of Asian and other racial m inority owners, 15 percent of Hispanic owners, and 12 percent of women owners. • Half of Black business owners were over 44 years old compared with 48 percent of W hite male ow n ers, 44 percent of women owners, 42 percent of Hispanic owners, and 37 percent of Asian and other racial minority owners. (33 percent), and Hispanic owners (28 percent). • Thirty-one percent of Black business owners worked more than 40 hours a week. The proportions for other owners ranged from 48 percent for W hite males owners to 29 percent for women owners. This report supplements data pre viously published in four reports form the 1982 Survey of Minority- Owned Business Enterprises and Survey of Women-Owned Busi nesses. Copies of "Characteristics of Business Owners: 1982," CB082-1, are available from the Superinten dent of Documents, U.S. Govern ment Printing Office, Washington, D .C .20402. The chart shows the percent of Black business owners operating at home. Two-Thirds of Black Mothers Not Awarded Child Support Payments AFSC Calls For Regional Initiatives, Not U.S. Military in Haiti About 1.5 million Black mothers, tw o-thirds of the 2.3 million Black women w ith children from absent fathers, were not awarded child support payments as of 1986, ac cording to a survey by the Com merce Department's Census Bu reau. By contrast, only about 30 percent of the 6.3 million W hite mothers w ith children from absent fathers did not have child support awards. Of the 1.5 million Black mothers not awarded child support, about six out of 10 wanted support but could not get it, primarily because the father could not be located. About one-third said they did not want child support. For the remain der, awards were pending or some other arrangement had been made, such as property settlement or joint custody. Although 660,000 Black mothers were due child support in 1985, only 72 percent actually received support payments. This recipiency rate was not signficantly different from that of the 3.6 million W hite women due payments (75 percent). Payments to Black mothers in 1985 averaged $1,750, showing no signficant change from the 1983 level after ad justing for inflation. Payments to W hite mothers in 1985 were higher than for Black mothers, averaging $2,290. The survey also showed that health insurance was included in about one-fourth of the child sup port awards to Black mothers, com pared with inclusion in 48 percent of awards to W hite mothers. As all surveys, the data in this re port are subject to sampling varia bility and response errors. P hiladelphia — The American Friends Service Committee spoke out December 7, 1987, against U.S. military intervention in Haiti, urging that instead this country support re gional initiatives to promote third party mediation and internal dialo gue that Caribbean leaders are de veloping. "These appear to hold the great est promise for resolving the crisis," Asia A. Bennett, executive secre tary of the Quaker organization, said in a cable to President Reagan. She said the AFSC supports Rea gan's cutoff of m ilitary aid to Haiti, but added that "a t this time of tu r moil and tragic violence . . . there is a strong tem ptation, and there are calls from various quarters, to inter vene militarily in order to impose stability and save lives. "W e strongly discourage any United States military role in this crisis or beyond." The AFSC added that "The his tory of U.S. intervention in Haitian affairs w ould make such a role un acceptable in the eyes of most Hai tians and others in the hemisphere. "A n y United States military role would inevitably become aligned with one or another of the parties in c o n flict." The cable to Reagan continued that "O ur first-hand knowledge of Haiti indicates that outside military intervention would be repudiated by the vast majority of Haitians. It would most likely prolong, rather than alleviate the current crisis." The cable also went to Secretary of State George Shultz and key members of Congress. .AJI 1¿ VO* nu* :w< b tr- f ft y Fact Sheet The student drop-out rate in the United States is larger than ever before. It is currently projected that 25% of the students that start high school will not finish. One of the main reasons for this situation, ac cording to the International Reading Association, is that the vast majority of the students w ho dropped out were several grade levels behind in reading and w riting skills. The Portland Trail Blazers and AVIA Athletic Footwear believe that a lot can be done to correct this situation if students are given an incentive. They also believe that business should support their com munity. Because of this, they intro duced the "Blazer-AVI A Scholastic Improvement Concepts' (BASIC) program in 1984. Initially, the program included a "w ritin g " segment and an "im provem ent" segment. A "reading segment was added in 1986. Both Blazer players and manage ment personnel are active in this program. School systems (grades one through twelve) throughout Multnomah, W ashington, Clack amas, Columbia and Yamhill Coun ties in Oregon and Clark County, Washington are invited to partici pate. Program materials are mailed directly to the individual teachers at each grade level. The program kicks off in September and runs through the Spring. Mailings are distributed to more than 6,000 teachers in 528 schools. All phases of the program have received excellent response from teachers, principals, school super intendents, parents and students. To date, more than 44,000 students have received special recognition throughout the "student improve m ent" segment and more than 47,000 students have submitted essays in the "w ritin g " competition. The Reading Fitness segment has been equally successful in reaching students; approximately 5,000 fifth and sixth grade students partici pated last year. All total, this viva cious group read 4,884,710 pages. To date, more than 120,000 stu dents have participated in one or more segments of the BASIC pro gram. An Educator's Opinion A Message Long Overdue when Hillside teachers had determined their Thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, creating. students are the most alert — every teacher in Developing these skills is key to the learning every Hillside classroom worked with students process. on projects and exercises to strengthen thinking But schools today, note a number of recent skills. At the end of the two months, the Hillside reports, aren't doing enough to foster these ba students took the CAP. The results were sub sic abilities. One reason, these reports explain, stantial. Hillside student test scores went from is bureaucratic obstacles that limit teachers’ op the bottom of the district to the top. portunities to exercise their best professional But the faculty at Hillside didn’t stop there. judgment on their students' behalf. Building upon what they had learned through We in NEA are doing our best to break down the Zap the CAP program, the bureaucratic obstacles so teachers set aside an “ advise rightfully lamented by studies ment period” every day to give such as the recent American students the opportunity to Memory: A Report on the Hu work with faculty advisers on manities in the Nation's Public honing basic study skills. Stu Schools from the National En dents in this program now work dowment for the Humanities. with a single faculty adviser for We're particularly proud of the entire academic year, and one of our efforts, the NEA this continuity helps students Mastery In Learning Project. make an easier transition from Through this initiative, teach the elementary grades, where ers in 27 pilot schools across students have one teacher all the nation are developing new day long, to the multi-teacher approaches to learning that junior high curriculum. emphasize the true mastery of Hillside teachers are taking subject matter. Faculties in seriously the National Endow Mastery In Learning schools ment for the Humanities re are beginning to break the con port’s recommendations. They fines of the traditionally struc Mary Hatwood Futrell are building on their students' tured school day, moving their newly developed thinking skills President. NEA classes beyond rote memoriza by increasing depth in subject matter. During tion, helping their students grasp the critical the next two months, in an "Integrated Studies thinking skills so essential to meaningful Project." a control group of students will have learning. science, history, and art integrated into their En Hillside Junior High, outside Los Angeles, is glish curriculum. This group will be pre- and one of the schools in the NEA Mastery In Learn post-t6sted with other classes that have not tak ing network. A few years ago, Hillside was hard en integrated subjects. If the results are posi ly a candidate for model school status. The tive, the program will be expanded scores of Hillside students on the standardized What do Hillside teachers think about their California Assessment of Progress (CAP) test NEA Mastery In Learning Project experiences? were the lowest in the school's district. "There are a lot of great programs out there, NEA members at Hillside Junior High, work but every school has its own learning needs,” ing through the Mastery In Learning project, set says Hillside teacher Deni Byrnes. "The Mas out to change that. But Hillside teachers didn't tery In Learning Project gives teachers the re want to “ teach to the test." They didn’t want search and other resources they need to devel their students to merely parrot back a piece of op and choose programs that are valuable for information to questions on the CAP test, infor their students and their schools " mation that would be forgotten as soon as the Sums up Byrnes: "I used to think of myself exam was over. Instead, Hillside teachers want as a teacher in just my own discipline, arts and ed their students to learn how to analyze test crafts. Now I see myself as a total teacher and questions and reason their way to thoughtful the kids as total students — not just arts and answers The Hillside teachers called their plan crafts students as they are in my class, but stu to develop these critical thinking skills Zap the dents studying English, science, math, and CAP. history." For the next two months, at the start of the That unity is what real learning is all about. second period of each school day — the time nea National Education Association NEA 1201 Sixteenth Street N IN Washtngton O C 20036 (202)322 7200