Mrs Frances Schoen-A'ewspaper Room
University of Oregon Library
LUgcne, Oregon W74O3
Portland, Oregon
PORTLflWtJ
SALUTING
Introducing:
David Marshall
Ockley-Green
6th Grade
Donovan Campbell
Jefferson
Sophomore
Angela Witherspoon
Jefferson
Senior
When a new student begins the training program at the TimberLake Job
Corps Center his first contact with the program is Warren Cunningham,
Warren picks up students at the bus depot in downtown Portland and escorts
them to the training center located in the Ml. Hood National Forest.
Warren understands how nervous the new students are because he was a new
Job Corps enrollee in the Wolf Creek Job Corps Center in 1979.
Warren is an excellent example of hard work and determination. At the age
of 7 Warren was involved in a near fatal accident that caused him to lose the
use of part of his right arm. Later, he was expelled from Washington and
Dorsey High Schools in Los Angeles, finally graduating from Crenshaw
High, W arren’s Mother, concerned about problems that Warren was having
went with him to a Job Corps recruiters office and assisted him in filling out
the application. With his Moms shove and his own desire to learn a trade
Warren entered the program.
I After eleven months Warren graduated from the welding program. This
I event occurred on friday and on the following Monday Warren begin his
9 new job as a welding instructor. From being one of the guys Warren was
suddenly in the position of being teacher, role model and certified adult.
Warren spent 7-1/2 years in that position. During that time he was part of
a process that was responsible for turning around the lives of hundreds of
young men, just like himself.
In 1985 Warren decided that it was time to increase his knowledge of
welding on the “ outside.” Warren joined the ironworkers apprenticeship
j program in Portland where he worked for 1 -1/2 years. While working in the
I field of welding Warren discovered that he missed the interaction with
I Youth participating in the Job Corps program. Consequently, he begin
j volunteering on week-ends at the Timber Lake Job Corps Center. Eventually
I he left his welding position and look a position at the center. Warren now
I co-ordinates the Occupational Exploration Program. In that position he
spends that critical first month with new students introducing them to the
I many areas available to them in Job Corps.
Looking back, Warren has only one regret. He stated that when he was
young, many of his friends and family kept telling him that he could not do
this well, or do that well, or could not play sports because of his damaged
right hand and arm. Warren only regrets that he did not try sports, because I
{ he believes he would have excelled there too.
Warren, who will be assisting the M.L. King Facility Job Corps recruiter in I
making presentations and recruiting, has only this to say about his reasons
for believing in Job Corps. “ Job Corps takes the extra time necessary to
make every kid a success. If Job Corps didn’t bend over backwards to help I
kids, who would?”
J
Michael Thomas
Meek School
4th Grade
OPINION:
By Jimi Johnson
In the wake of Wednesday’s (March 8th) shooting at Humboldt Elementary
School, I believe that tougher laws should be passed immediately regarding
gun usage. For example, if a person fires a gun within a four block radius
of an Elementary, Middle, or High School with the intent to do bodily harm,
he or she should receive a mandatory jail sentence of not less than twenty
years.
When we as a city accept the hideous action that took place on a
Elementary School playground as just another “ gang bang” shootout, we
are setting ourselves up for the destruction of our children, our babies and
Talunaka Wallington
Honor Roll Student
Whitaker Middle School
our future.
The gang situation in Portland has reached epidemic proportion, and if it
is not squashed now we will be living in a gang infested city w dl into the
Twenty First Century. This despicable activity will not be isolated to the
North/Northcast Community as some influential people might think, but it
will soon touch the lives of all who live in this wonderful City of Roses.
Laws to protect our children should and must be first and loremost on our
agenda. But when we allow what happened at Humboldt Elementary
School to go on without seriously seeking out and prosecuting the perpetrators
to the full extent of the law, we send a signal to gang members throughout
the nation that Portland is “ open” for notorious gang activity with little or
no consequences.
At this point our leaders in City Hall seem to act as though what happens
in North/Northeast Portland does not affect our “ beautiful” city as a whole.
But they need to understand an age old adage” study what is happening in
distant places, because what is happening in distant places will soon be at
Vanessa Owens
Portsmouth Middle School
th Grac
ERVER
"The Eyes and Ears of the Community"
VOLUME XIX NUMBER 11
9 «»
25C
your door” !
Portland’s image as one of the most livable cities in America is becoming
tarnished daily, in fact it is gone! When guns are fired on an elementary
school playground at 3:30 pm, shortly after 5 ,6 ,7 , and 8 years old children
arc dismissed from classes, we as citizens and elected officials need to take
drastic and immediate action to correct this ludicrous behavior.
In my opinion, maximum and mandatory jail sentences should be handed
down to all persons involved in this cowardly and ridiculous assault.
Counselor, N.E.Y.S.C.
Urban League
BLACK UNITED
FRONT INVITES
COMMUNITY TO
MARCH AGAINST
RACIST
VIOLENCE
The Portland Chapter of the National
Black United Front will lead its annual
March Against Racist Violence on
Saturday, April 1, 1989. Participants
will assemble at the Martin Luther Kings
Jr. Neighborhood Facility, 4815 NE7th
Ave., at 11:30 am and proceed to Alberta
Park at NE 22nd and Killingsworth for
a rally.
The March has been held for several
years to remember the day on which
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
and to protest racist violence in Oregon
and the Nation.
Black United Front Co-Chair Ron
Herndon said, “ We need to continue
focusing attention on the increasing racist
violence, not only in Portland, but the
entire country. Hopefully, our efforts
will help get the public recommitted to
eradicating the cases of racism.”
Several prominent civil rights
organizations and community leaders
have been invited to speak under the
theme of a famous King quote, “ Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere” . The Rally will include:
Zeenab Johnson, Black United Front
Youth Representative; Assefash Mclles,
Member of the Ethiopian Community;
Robert Phillips, President, NAACP,;
*” Useni Perkins, President, Urban League;
Gregory Gudgcr, Executive Director,
M etropolitan Human R elations
Commission; Mikail Shabazz, Muslim
Leader; K athleen S adaat, State
Affirmative Action Officer. Children
from the Black Educational Center will
make a special presentation. Featured
Speaker will be the Reverend Alcena
Boozer, of the Urban Ministry Episcopal
Church.
LOW INCOME
ELIGIBLE FOR
CREDIT
Many low income families in Portland
and across Oregon arc eligible to receive
an Earned Income Credit made available
by the federal government.
The Earned Income Credit is a tax
credit for families that work and have
children. To qualify, they must earn
less lhan$18,576(in 1988). The benefit
is significant: up to $874 to our most
needy families.
But to receive their credit, they must
file an income tax return.
That’s our problem. Many of the
low income families eligible for the
EIC earn too little to owe any taxes.
Since they don’t owe anything, many
don’t file.
We need your help in reaching these
families - and educating them on how
they can receive their EIC.
To Help you understand how the
EIC works, I would like to invite you
and members of your organization to
the Mayor’s Teleconference on the
Earned Income Credit, to be held March
20, from 10 am to 12 noon, in the
Portland Building, 1120 SW Filth
Avenue, second floor auditorium.
The IRS will provide us with a live
presentation from Washington, D.C.,
via satellite. We will provide you with
materials to help you sign up the families
you serve.
Just think what $800 could mean to
a family that is barely getting by. We
believe over 30,000 families in Portland
alone qualify for this program. BUT
THEY WON’T RECEIVE A CREDIT
if you don’t help us spread the word.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
"The Eyes and Ears of »he Comm unity’
288-0033
March 16th, 1989
CONGRATULATIONS!
Mona McDonald was bom in Portland, Or., graduated from Andrew Jackson
High in 1977, and received a B.A. from Mt. Hood Community College in
T.V. Production techniques. Mona resides in N.E. Portland along with her
husband Marc McDonald and her two daughters Latoya and Marshnique.
When she began working for the Oregon Lottery as Production Assistant, she
said she never expected to become one of the daily 4 Host. Now that the doors
have been opened for her,she hopes that even greater opportunities will arise.
REPUBLICANS LAUNCHE
SERIOUS DRIVE FOR BLACK
VOTES
George Bush, Lee Atwater and the National Republican Party are deadly
serious about making inroads into the African-American community. Since
the “ New Deal” days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt African-Americans
have been largely loyal democrats, serving as virtually unshakable pillars of
support for Democratic Party power at all levels. Perceived as the party of
the rich and the powerful and as a party whose policies were weak on civil
rights and programs of social uplift for workers and the poor, African-
Americans have found little to hope for within the Republican Party. For
years the Republican Party likewise has simply written off the Black vote
believing that to campaign in African-American communities was an
exercise in futility.
Now there has been a decided shift in Republican Party strategy and
tactics. With what appears to be a solid lock on the South as evidenced by
recent presidential elctions, the Republicans are searching for a combination
of regional bases and national constituencies that will assist them to solidify
their grip on the whitehouse. and challenge the Democratic Party’s positions
as the majority party nationwide. If the Republic Party could manage to
carve out 15-25% of the Black vote consistently in presidential elections,
then the Republicans would have a lock on the presidency well into the 21 st
century.
There is every indication that this is precisely the strategy and the goal.
Under the leadership of Lee Atwater, Chairman of the Republican National
Committee, and with the enthusiastic blessing of President Bush the
Republican Party has Launched a full court press to recruit Black voters.
Hence, in a departure from the chilly politics of his predecessor, President
Bush used the occasion of the Martin Luther King Holiday to denounce
bigotry and call for greater progress in the area of race relations. He talked
of working of fulfill King’s Dream. The President’s jesture was well
received.
Similarly, Bush’s appointment of Morehouse President Dr. William
Sullivan for the Department of Health and Human Services, and former
Congressman Jack Kemp for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development arc also viewed as positive signs. Kemp wasted no time in
declaring that the “ Reagan Revolution’ ’ had not reached minorities and the
poor and that in his capacity as the new Director of H.U.D. he intended to
press an assault against poverty. In a recent visit to Atlanta Kemp visited the
King Center and then took a highly visible tour of the “ Cabbage Town
section of the city with Mayor Andrew Young, and Congressman John
Lewis.
Chairman Lee Atwater for his part has taken to attempting to demonstrate
that the Republican Party can have some “ soul.’ ’ An avid Blues and R &
B enthusiast, Atwater also likes to pluck a few cords on the guitar. He
recently joined Blues great B B King for a highly publicized jam in the
nation’ s capital. In a more serious vein, Atwater has had to face the chickens
come home to roost in the person and phenomenon of “ former” klansman
David Duke who won a seat in the Louisiana legislature as a Republican.
Atwater promptly denounced Duke’s election and sought to distance the
National Republican Party from an obvious embarrassment. Some analysts
were quick to point out that Atwater’s viclcd racist campaign during the
general election, particularly the infamous Willie Horton commercial,
had helped to pave the way for the legitimize the David Dukes of the World.
How far the Republican will go to attract African-Americans to their
foldcs unclear. Thus far the effort has been filled with more cosmetics and
symbols than substance. It remains to be seen how seriously Republican
aolicy priorities, and legislature initiatives will match up with a progressive
African-American agenda. What is clear is that the Republicans like the
view from the whitehouse, and they arc now convinced that a 15-25% slice
jf the Black vote can cement their grip on the presidency.