Portland, Oregon
PO RTL
ERYER
SEPTEMBER 7,1989
VOLUME XIX NUMBER 35
OPENING DAY MOTIVATIONAL
SPEAKER AT JEFFERSON HIGH
Drug war over, they won!
Attempts to control illicit drugs in the community has been a losing battle.
Even sophistication of the United States military hardwarecan be outwitted.
Program outlined by WilHam J. Bennet is guaranteed not to stem the tide
by Etienne de la Plume,
Ullysses T u c k e r, J r., Public A ffa irs Producer fo r Portland’ s K A T U T V
2, has been selected to give the opening day o f school speech at Jefferson
H igh School on September 6, 1989,9 am.
He succeeds form er Portland and San Diego Urban League President
Herb Cawthom e, who served as the opening day m otivational speaker fo r
the last three years. No stranger to Jefferson H igh .T ucker also served as the
Senior Day speaker back in M ay and the speech he delivered prompted
school adm inistrators to request his return. The speech left students talking
in the hallways afterwards and many went on to w rite letters thanking him
fo r the * 're a lity ’ ’ he had brought to them. Since then, Tucker has become a
popular figure w ith programs serving young people around the c ity and he
always finds the tim e to share his corporate, educational, and personal
experiences in workshops or small groups.
“ I had a real tough time g ivin g that speech” , he said. ‘ ‘ A bout five
minutes before 1 took the stage, I was told that m y Portland M om (Delores
‘ ‘ D o lly “ Bowman) had died in Texas. I was mad that they did not w ait to
tell me u n til afterwards, however, at the same tim e the speech w ould not
have been so spirited had they not told me. It was tough holding back the
tears. I was so emotional, unlike me, that I don’ t recall much o f what I said
but i f you base it on the requests 1 have received since then to speak, the calls
to the station, and people approaching me on the stre e ts-I guess it was pretty
good.”
Mrs. Bowman was the Vice-P rincipal at Jefferson H igh School at the
tim e o f her death and a long tim e Portland Public Schools Adm inistrator.
She was the person who made arrangements fo r Tucker to speak at the
Senior Day Services and a “ m entor” fo r him since his early days at the
U niversity o f Portland.
A native o f W ashington, D.C., Tucker says that young people today have
their w ork cut out fo r them in days to come because society is becoming
more com petitive and the opportunities fo r educational advancement are
not there like they use to be.
“ It use to be a ll we wanted to do was get in the door” , he said. No more.
Now, you have to almost kick it in to get ahead. I t ’ s no secret that the Reagan
years were tough on a ll Americans, not just Black Americans, and many
programs designed to enhance educational opportunities and jo b training
went down in budget cuts. However, that should not be an excuse fo r failure
or m otivation to not want anything out o f life . I hear so many people blam ing
instead o f taking advantage o f what opportunities that do exist. We blame
our environment, politicians, the school system, and countless other things
for our individual shortcomings. We need to take a closer look at ourselves
and our com m itm ent to a better life fo r our children or future children in my
case...”
Tucker feels at ease w ith the young people he speaks to because he comes
from some o f the same circumstances. Though his demeanor and positive
out-look w ould indicate otherwise, Tucker was in and out o f trouble w ith the
law as a youth until his uncle (LeRoy Caulhcn) and ultim ately, his
grandmother (Carrie B. Tucker) took him into their homes.
Tucker was parentless and the oldest o f seven children at the age o f
fourteen.
“ B y no means do I come from a Cosby type fam ily ” , he laughed. ‘ ‘ I had
it rough fo r a w hile. There were some who thought that I w ould never
amount to nothing and others, especially my grandmothers who kept
praying for me. Both o f my grandmothers have been very big influences in
my life .I am very thankful. Young people need to leant to respect their elders
and older adults. You do not get old being a fool. People have more
resources than they realize. Once I decided that I wanted a better life fo r
m yself, all types o f people offered help and support. M y whole block at
home has always supported m y dreams even i f it was ju st a pal on the back
or a simple keep up the good w ork. It a ll starts when you decide to help
yourself.”
What other advice do you have to o ffe r to a young person w ho m ight be
on the verge o f choosing the wrong way instead o f the rig h t way?
“ W e ll, all I can say is to believe in yourself, God, and your inner-most
dreams” , he said. “ More im portantly, make choices in life that are reality
based and w ith in your a bility. A young person must learn self-respect, how
to interact w ith all races, speak properly, communicate thoughts both
verbally and in w riting....They must also stay away from gangs, drugs, peer
pressure, and crim inal activities. Sure, it ’ s a tall order. However, we need fo r
them to do this because the people o f tom orrow arc the children o f today...”
Tucker is a member o f Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and a member o f the
National Association o f Black Journalist. He holds graduate and under
graduate degrees from the U niversity o f Portland. He is also a Board
Member fo r the Center fo r the C om m unity M ental Health.
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Much verbiage has been aroused
recently in a fu tile attempt to allay
the very negative impact o f the in
sidious drug dilemm a here in the
C ity o f Roses. Public demand for
o ffic ia l intervention has reached a
strident note. Especially is this true
in the low er northeast sector o f the
c ity where the deterioration o f the
infrastructure is more obtrusive. It is
particularly noteworthy to observe
that certain community activists have
assumed a traditionally uncharacter
istic stance w ith regard to how the
battle w ill be fought. Specific refer
ence is made to the fact that a very
vocal and influ en tial segment o f the
com m unity has now demanded that
the governor m obilize the national
guard and engage them actively in
the mission o f seeking out and de
stroying the user level o f the rampant
illegal drug trade. This suggestion
has been put forth w ith such persis
tence that it seemingly has won sup
port from a small quarter in C ity
H all. Having gained that kind o f re
spectability, it w ill not be surprising
i f the state government in Salem w ill
embrace the same principle in the
near future.
A lre a d y A tto rn e y D a v id
Frohnmeyer is ram rodding into place
a state intelligence force w hich had
not been w e ll received by the state
legislature. The o ffic ia l position is
that the purpose o f such a group
w ould be fo r research and analysis.
Independently, the em ploym ent o f
the state m ilitia to destroy illegal
drug tra ffic and the creation o f a spe
cial state police intelligence group
m ight appear to be altogether noble
and innocuous. But when taken
together in the proper context, such
actions m ight portend a very o m i
nous usurpation o f power. A t the
same tim e, their use in such a manner
could prove to be ineffective w hile
eroding some o f the very principles
o f democracy we have fought fo r 300
years to preserve.
In a recent interview. Dr. Lee Brown,
to rm e rS h e riffo t M ultnom ah County
and presently C h ie f o f Police in
Houston, Texas said,
“ Bringing the National Guard
in to a community
to fight drugs is an invita
tion to create an
unavoidable disaster.”
He further stated that such persons
are firs t o f a ll civilia ns w ho are only
part tim e m ilita ry people. They are
neither trained or equipped to do the
job . Police w ork is a very serious
profession w hich requires not only
extensive training but also a certain
level o f skills that the N ational Guard
does not have. The function o f the
guard is more suitable to perform in
disasters such as riots, floods and
other natural calamities where the
preservation o f life and property is
th e ir main mission. Drug enforce
ment on the other hand is a com
pletely different situation where not
o nly do you want to em ploy certain
subtleties that w ill produce a m axi
mal effect but you also want to take
certain actions that w ill stand up in
court. Tanks and H owitzers m ight
win traditional wars, but not this kind.
The problem w ith this type o f in
terdiction is that it addresses o nly the
supplier level o f the chain and serves
o nly to move the trade to another part
o f the com m unity where it may con
tinue unabated.
The statistics surrounding this
problem are staggering. The Justice
Department indicated that more than
80% o f a ll prison inmates admitted
to using illegal drugs and more than
60% did so on a regular basis. When
the abuse o f alcohol is added to these
data, the problem is further exacer
bated. There is a direct correlation
between drug tra ffic and serious
crimes.
Additionally at a more focused level,
it is known that there are more than
700 drug houses here in the C ity o f
Roses. Even young kids on our streets
can show you exactly where they are.
One can sit in the T alking Drum
Bookstore and watch transactions take
place across the street in broad day
lig h t. Police have released'statistics
w hich reveal that in a small enclave
bordered on the north by N. . K il-
mgsworth down to Fremont Street on
the south and beginning with N. Albina
on the west and ending at N. E. 15th
on the east, more than 7,074 drug
related crimes occurred in 1988 the
last year fo r which complete statis
tics are available. Much o f the youth
gang disturbances and other crimes
are attributable to the drug trade.
Recent disclosures have revealed
that the illegal drug trade is extremely
well-organized. The present turm oil
in C olum bia should underscore that
observation. In many instances, drug
cartells are better organized than the
entire U. S. m ilita ry establishment.
The 25 tons o f hashish seized over
the weekend in C olum bia, Oregon is
not o nly a measure o f the magnitude
o f the problem but also a demonstra
tion o f the im punity w ith w hich these
traffickers in products o f death can
operate.
Last week The W all Street Journal
published a narrative which lends
credence to the fact that we sim ply
are not prepared to fig h t the drug
trade effectively.
They wrote o f a rocent incident
where several o f our sophisticated
A W A C ’ s tracked a private C olum -
bian aircraft on radar. This technical
marvel operates at the cost o f $3,000/
hour to the Am erican taxpayer. They
were later joined in the chase by our
superfast $2,000/hour F-16 pursuit
fighters and some equally expensive
submarine chasing turbo-jet Black
hawk helicopter w hich trailed the
contraband-bearing Columbian a ir
craft all the way to Canada.They
then hovered helpless overhead and
watched the cache o f goodies being
loaded onto a pick up truck that dis
appeared into the night before the
Royal Canadian Mounties could nab
them . The expense fo r this single op
eration m ig ht have approached
$100,000. It failed completely even
after hot pursuit and employment o f
the most sophisticated technology
known to man. Another truck load o f
illegal drugs made its way to another
com m unity o f w illin g users.
President Barco o f Colum bia could
not have pul it more succinctly when
he said that as long as the demand fo r
illegal drugs exists, there w ill be an
emerging entrepreneur somewnere
in the w orld who w ill be w illin g to
take a ll o f the attendant risks neces
sary to conduct such a profitable
business.
In short, like a ll other wars we have
entered recently, we are losing this
one quite badly, also. Even w ith the
plan recently submitted by W illia m
J. Bennet, the so-called anti-drug czar,
it is far too little and significantly too
late.
Rather than deploy troops out on
Northeast Killingsworth and the streets
that flank M arlin Luther K in g Boule
vard, they m ight better serve a useful
purpose in the jungles o f Columbia
and Peru; in the fields o f Afganistan
and Turkey and also in the modem
green houses o f Oregon and Hawaii
which are all known to be excellent
sources o f cocaine and marijuana.
There was a tim e when all o f the
evils o f our society that could be
found in the Black ghetto could be
attributed to generations o f social
shortfalls. It was then quite com fort
ing to believe that sort o f nonsense
because this problem did not em
brace the larger com m unity. But
now that this problem has become
pandemic, wc are ill-equipcd to do
anything significant about it.
Given this type o f intractable situ
ation, in desperation we w ill grab
any straw as we continue to sink in
evitably into the bottomless abyss.
One cannot help but suspect that the
recent posturing we observed here in
Portland was nothing more than an
overtly conspicuous attempt to build
a way station to receive the grand old
sugar train that M r. Bennet is ex
pected to engineer out o f the nation’s
capital in the very near future.
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US WEST BOOSTS SpLF
ENHANCEMENT
Succeeding in life depends a great deal on having a vision and understanding
what it takes to realize i t
T hat’ s what led 60 US W E ST Communications employees to o ffe r some
o f th eirtim e to S elf Enhancement, Inc.,a subsidiary o f the A lbina M inisterial
alliance, which was established to prepare youths fo r future employment.
The US W EST employees spent five hours a week w ith students from
Tubman M iddle School this summer, showing them how they do their jobs
and “ serving as a role m odel,” said Pat H ill, a US W E ST service specialist
w ith US W EST Com m unications Services.
T w o other schools and eight other Portland area companies o r agencies
were involved in the e ven t
“ This has been a great opportunity to have a positive impact on young
people, “ H ill said.
S E LF -E N H A N C E M E N T ...H arriett Tubman M iddle School students
A p ril W illia m s (le ft) and C arl Branch (rig ht) lake a look at a computer-
generated space shuttle image w ith US W EST C om m unication Services
System Service Specialist Pat H ill, during a visit to US WEST Communications’
Portland office. The opportunity to work w ith computer graphics was part
o f a “ self enhancement’ ’ program fo r some 600 Portland youths, sponsored
by the A lb in a M inisterial A llian ce.” Thc S e lf Enhancement program offers
us the opportunity to serve as role models and help save our youths,” H ill
said.
1-5 RAMPS TO CLOSE
The southbound on-ramps to In
terstate 5 from Delta park and C o
lum bia Boulevard w ill be closed fo r
approxim ately three weeks, begin
ning Tuesday, Sept. 5 (weather per
m itting).
The closure w ill allow the con
tractor, W ildish Standard Paving Inc.,
to resurface the southbound lanes o f
the freeway between Delta Park and
C olum bia Boulevard.
Since m id July, the contractor has
been resurfacing the tw o center lanes
o f the freeway. I f the weather coop
erates, that section w ill be completed
by Sept. 1, a llow ing w ork to begin on
the southbound lanes.
This w ork is part o f a $ 9 -m illio n
project that w ill repair the pavement
on 1-5 between Delta Park and the
Marquam Bridge and widen the free
way between Colum bia and Portland
Boulevards. That project began in
July and is scheduled to be com
pleted in fa ll o f 1990.
SCHOOLBUSES
READY TO
SERVE
14,000
PORTLAND
STUDENTS
Schoolbus schedules began a rriv
ing by m ail at 11,000 homes recently
as the Portland School d is tric ts Stu
dent Transportation Dept. prepared
for the opening o f schools Sept. 5.
A fleet o f 350 buses for the Port
land School D istrict and Laidlaw
Transportation Co., the school d is
tric t’ s bus contractor, w ill provide
daily service to and from schools and
programs fo r more than 14,000 stu
dents.
The tw o bus fleets also combine
to provide transportation for fie ld
pips and special-education students.
Portland Public Schools provides
transportation fo r elementary-and
middle-school students livin g more
than one m ile from school, where
unsafe w alking routes exist and for
special-education students.
‘ ‘ M otorists are rem inded to watc h
for children on Portland’s streets after
Labor D ay,’ ’ said Ed Green, director
o f the school d istrict’ s student-trans
portation system.
Green said commuters relax dur
ing the summer months when c h il
dren and school buses are not sharing
the streets during rush hours.
Recently installed stop arms on
the le ft sides o f Portland school buses
are the latest step to attract m otorist
attention. The automatically activated
swing arm has flashing lights and the
word “ Stop” in large letters.
Green said the new equipment is
installed on all school-district-owned
buses and is being phased in on L a id
law buses.
Schoolbus drivers w ill report l i
cense numbers o f motorists violating
schoolbus stop laws and law-enforce
ment agencies w ill send warning letters
or citations to violators.
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Black Colleges
Conference
“ Tradition Of The Past: Neces
sity For The Future” Is the theme
o f the 10th annual Black Colleges
Conference,Saturday October 21,
1989. The Conference w ill be held
between 8am and 4 pm at the Port
land M em orial Coliseum Assembly
Hall.
V is itin g D ignitaries, Representa
tives from Black Colleges and Spe
cial Woritshops w ill be featured. Con
ference main speaker w ill be Dr.
Julian M . Earls, D irector, O ffice o f
Health Services, N A S A Lew is Re
search Center, Cleveland Ohio. Dr.
Earls has been elected into The
*Inagural Class o f The National Black
College A lu m n i H all O f Fame. Spe
cial Luncheon Guest Speaker w ill be
Reverened Tyrone *C ridcr, D irector
O f Admissions, Central State U n i
versity in W ilberforce,O H . students,
parents, teachers and counselors are
invited. Costs include $10 for stu
dents, $15 for adults. Lunch is in
cluded. C all 284-7930 for further
inform ation.
SKI CLUB TO SPONSOR
TENNIS TOURNAMENT
The Ebony Rose Ski C hib Fourth
A n n u a l Tennis T o u rn a m e n t w ill
take place. Sept. 8th- 10th at three lo
cations in Northeast Portland. Matches
w ill be played simultaneously at Irving
Park, Grant Park, and the Portland
Tennis Center, beginning Friday, Sept.
8th at 4:30 p.m.
Entry torms arc available at the
Portland Tennis Center, Osborn &
U lland, Players Racquet Shop and
other Tennis/Racquet Clubs in the
Portland, Beaverton, and Vancouver
area. Entry forms are due by Tues
day, Sept. 5th. M ail forms to: Players
Racquet Shop, 3233 N.E. Broadway,
Portland, OR.,97232.
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