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N o v e m b e r 2, 1989
7 j “ 1 co u ,d n tsee
« « n g b a ck to te a c h in g ," said 4 9 -y e a ro ld Loncar
Heard, o f her decision not to se ll out, but instead to take o v e r co n tro l o f James T.
Heard M anagem ent C o rp o ra tio n (w h ich ow ned and operated fo u r M acD o n a ld
franchises), upon the u n tim e ly death o f her husband in 1981. T o d a y, she ow ns eight
franchises and is one o f the com pany's m ost successful black operators, posting
revenues upwards o f$ 1 4 m illio n last year alone. Said Heard, " I have no lim its . W hat
I d o w a n t to be sure o f is that I have the p roper m anagem ent at each u n it, because
you re o n ly as good as the people you h ir e . " . . . . Heard is ju s t one o f h a lf a dozen
w o m e n a t th e re in s o f th e n a tio n 's to p 100 b la c k businesses. It is a num ber that
was made sm a lle r w hen e a rlie r this year, Sandra T h a cke r w ho headed up The
T h a cke r C o rp o ra tio n , w h ich ranks as the nation's 20th largest black business was
a ccid e nta lly topped $30 m illio n in 1986) afte r h e r husband died from a heart attack
and co m p lica tio n s due to diabetes.
W h e n C lim b in g T h e C o rp o ra te L a d d e r Leads T o B r ic k W a lls : Denise
B urns founded W o rld C om puters when she realized that 12 years o f try in g it the
corporate w ay had gotten her now here. So in 1983, she decided to fo rm her ow n
com pany. " A t the tim e , there was a push fo r w om en to get c e rtifie d under the S B A s
8 A pro g ra m ," said B um s. T o d a y, she estimates her L a u re l, M D -based firm ,
sp e cia lizin g in com puter hard-w are support and sales, does "a p p ro x im a te ly $20
m illio n w o rth o f busi-ness." W h ile c re d itin g G od as a big fa c to r in her success, the
42-year o ld entrepreneur says, "y o u have to have the desire, assertiveness and stick-
to -it-tive n e ss to do it. It's a g rin d , but I th in k yo u alw ays have to lo o k fo r the good
and n o t focus on the negative. A d d itio n a lly , I knew about a lo t o f the p itfa lls ,
esp e cially w ith the new fix e d -te rm the $ B A has established fo r graduation. W hen
that term came ab o u t a lo t o f 8 A firm s had a p ro b le m because a m a jo rity o f their
business was thro u g h the p rogram . So we try to focus in o ther areas. W e haven’t been
to ta lly successful, b u t w e've gotten some sm all contracts, and ju s t getting through
the d o o r and m eeting the rig h t people is h a lf the battle."
I n S h o rt: Lee B a ile y C o m m u n ica tio n s, the nation's largest syndicator o f urban
ra d io p ro g ra m m in g , set up an em ergency r e lie f fu n d to aid the earthquake v ic tim s
o f N o rth e rn C a lifo rn ia . Said D iane B la c k m o n -B a ile y , executive VP, k " it re a lly h it
home fo r me, being a n a tive o f N o rth e rn C a lifo rn ia . W e are e xtre m e ly concerned
about the w e lfa re o f the people up north and plan to do a ll we can help " I f yo u 'd lik e
to help, send yo u r d o nation to: R adioscope 911 E m ergency R e lie f, c/o U n io n Bank
P.O . B o x 42919, L o s A ngeles, C A 90042 . . . Star televangelist R ev. F re d P rice
The B la ck c o m m u n ity realizes that
its salvation lies w ith in its e lf. The g o v ­
ernm ent and the p riva te sector cannot
b a il blacks out o f the co n tin u a l p o ve rty
situation. True liberation must come from
w ith in —w ith in the heart, the S p irit and
the co m m u n ity.
The art that I have enclosed is d i­
rected to -that segment o f the B la ck
c o m m u n ity that is generally ca lle d the
"underclass" segment o f B la ck A m e r­
ica. T o m ost o f the A m e ric a p u b lic , the
conjured image w o u ld resem ble the fo l­
lo w in g : M ale high-school d ro p o u t w h o
spends his tim e lo ite rin g on street c o r­
ners w ith others lik e h im . . . u n skille d ,
unm otivated, and inexperienced in the
w o rld o f w o rk . . . in other w ords, "u n ­
reachable." L ik e m ost stereotypes, this
one captures enough social re a lity to be
plausible. Y e t, it is m iles fro m the tru th !
The fa c t is , une m p lo ym e n t cuts
deeply across the fu ll spectrum o f B la ck
A m e rica n s—fem ales and males, adults
and youth, m arried and single, the more
educated and the less educated, the w o rk
experienced and the inexperienced. W hile
the prevalence o f the p roblem varies
am ong subgroups, jobless B lacks none­
theless m ake up a h ig h ly diverse p o p u la ­
tio n . In the case o f w hites th is observa­
tio n is taken as se lf-evident. The extent
o f d iv e rs ity am ong jobless B lacks,
how ever, is often obscured in the pu b lic
debate, so do m in a n t is the po p u la r stere­
otype. The developm ent o f e ffe ctive
strategies to deal w ith B la ck u n e m p lo y­
re ce n tly sold his Los A ngeles hom e fo r upw ards o f $900,000
m ent o b v io u s ly requires a clear re co g n i­
tio n o f w h o is affected by the problem .
M O R R IS
Over 500Attend The 4th Annual
Commemoration Ceremony Of The
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Training Center
Thestereotype fa ils to take in to
account the fa ct that unem ploym ent is
system atically higher among B lack
Americans relative to whites. Even where
B lacks and w hites are e q u a lly matched
on indicators o f e m p lo y a b ility (fo r e x­
am ple, educational attainm ent,) B lacks
are unem ployed at a higher rate than
w hites. B lacks w h o are seem ingly w e ll-
q u a lifie d to compete in today's labor
m arket often are m ore lik e ly to be jo b ­
less than are less-qualified whites. T h is
s im p ly means that understanding the
d is p ro p o rtio n a lity issue, i.E. the consis­
te n tly higher rates o f unem ploym ent
among B lacks is crucial to understand­
in g the contem porary B la ck un e m p lo y­
m ent problem .
Characterizations like "unreachable"
o r "hard-core” im p ly that this co u n try is
incapable o f d e visin g ways to absorb the
m ost needy o f the black unem ployed
in to the econom ic m ainstream and it is
thus m o ra lly e n title d to w rite them o ff.
W e disagree.
M ost A m e rica n em ployers do not
understand the d iffic u lty and co m p le x­
ity o f the B la ck unem ploym ent p ro b ­
lem . B la ck A m ericans are catching hell.
T h is country has spent "b illio n s and b il­
lio n s" to reach the m oon, but it cannot
"reach" and put to w ork its unused human
resources.
B lack unem ploym ent is a m u lti­
dim ensional phenom enon that cannot be
co n tro lle d by any single rem edy. N ever­
theless, I put fo rth art as such a remedy.
U. S. A.
M in o r it y Business E n te rp ris e s • Page 9
i '•
Affirmative Action: Which
Path Forward For Blacks?
by Lisa Collins
P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r
O ve r 500 frie n d s o f the N ational
The honorees also received acco­
Urban League came together to honor
the outstanding co n trib u tio n s o f fo u r lades fro m M argaret Y ou n g , w id o w o f
pioneers w h o prom oted ra cia l under­ W h itn e y M . Y oung, Jr.; Vernon E. Jor­
standing and cooperation in A m erican dan; and other leaders o f the Urban League
society. The fo u rth annual com m em ora­ M ovem ent.
tio n cerem ony o f the W h itn e y M . Y oung
The m e d a llio n is named in honor o f
tra in in g C enter was held at theN ational
Urban League headquarters in New Y o rk W h itn e y M . Y ou n g , Jr. the fo u rth E x ­
ecutive D ire c to r o f the N a tio n a l Urban
C ity on O ctober 22, 1989.
H o n o rin g m ore than 20 years o f League.
dedicated service, the m e d a llio n was
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The N a tio n al Urban League is a
presented to E n id C. B a ird , fo rm e r E x ­
ecutive Assistant to L e ste r Granger, n o n p ro fit, com m unity-based service
W h itn e y M . Y ou n g , Jr., and Vernon E. organization dedicated to securing equal
Jordan, a ll fo rm e r c h ie f executive o f f i ­ o p p o rtu n ity fo r A frica n -A m e rica n s and
cers o f the N a tio n al Urban League; D r. other m inorities.
D aniel A . C o llin s , San Francisco dentist
and fo rm e r Board M e m b e r ofb o th the
B ay A rea U rban League and the N a­
tio n a l Urban League; D ennis D o w d e ll,
Syracuse, N ew Y o rk ta lk show host and
"In's A n d O ut's O f W ritin g A P ro ­
fo rm e r E xe cu tive D ire c to r o f the Urban posal" w ill be offered on Thursday,
League o f Onondaga County; and Wesley N ovem ber 2 fro m 6:3 0 -9 :3 0 p.m . at the
L . Scott, fo rm e r E xe cu tive D ire cto r o f Oregon A ssociation fo r M in o rity E n tre ­
"In's And Out's Of Writing
A Proposal"
the M ilw a u k ie Urban League.
preneurs, located at 847 N .E . 19th, P o rt­
land.
John E. Jacob, President and C h ie f
T h is session deals w ith successful
E xecutive O ffic e r o f theN ational Urban
m ethods o f w ritin g a proposal.
League, congratulated the honorees and
"In's A n d Out's o f W ritin g A P ro ­
proclaimed: "These individuals have given
posal" is co-sponsored by the Sm all^
u n se lfishly o f th e ir tim e andtalent. C o l­
Business D evelopm ent C enter o f P o rt­
le c tive ly they have given over 142 years
land C o m m u n ity C ollege, the Oregon
o f lo ya l and e ffe ctive service to the
A ssociation fo r M in o rity Entrepreneurs
Urban League M ovem ent. They have
and the S m all Business A d m in istra tio n .
tru ly made a diffe re n ce ."
The cost o f this session is $15. T o
register o r fo r m ore in fo rm a tio n , contact
the Sm all Business D evelopm ent C enter
at 273-2828.
S A LU TE S
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"Attitude Skills For The
Profressional ■ Enthusiasm
And Leadership"
"Attitude Skills For The Professional
- Enthusiasm and Leadership” w ill be
offe re d Thursday, N ovem ber 2 fro m 7-
10 p.m . at the PCC R o ck C reek Campus.
"A ttitu d e S k ills F o r The Profes­
sio n a l” is a series o ffe re d dealing w ith
ta kin g re sp o n sib ility fo r your life and
becom ing the person you've alw ays
wanted to be - you!
T h is session is co-sponsored by the
PCC Small Business Development Center
and the Sm all Business A d m in istra tio n .
The cost o f this session is $35. To
register o r fo r more in fo rm a tio n , please
contact the S m all Business D evelop­
m ent center at 273-2828.
Yamaha Sponsors
International Music
Concert at Benson
Polytechnic
B U E N A P A R K , C A - A n interna­
tio n a l m usic concert w ill be held at the
Benson P olytechnic School A u d ito riu m
on W ednesday, N ovem ber 15,7:15 p.m.
This is the Junior O riginal Concert (JOC),
Dr. Frederick D. Patterson
a program featuring young m usic stu­
dents p e rfo rm in g th e ir o rig in a l music.
These young composers w rite m usic in a
va rie ty o f styles, fro m classical to pop to
ja z z , and m ay choose to p e rfo rm as a
solo, sm all ensemble, o r sometim es w ith
1901 - 1987
a fu ll sym phony orchestra.
There w ill be 9 young musicians
between the ages o f 9 and fifte e n . Five
are fro m the Portland area, three from
Ph.D., Cornell University
southern C a lifo rn ia and tw o from Japan.
One o f the Portland area m usicians is
Jason Teborek w ho recently represented
the U nited States at an in ternational JOC
President, Tuskegee University
program in Japan.
Founder, United Negro College Fund
A unique leature o f the JOC p ro ­
gram is the im p ro visa tio n . T h is begins
w ith a b rie f theme played by a volunteer
U.S. President’s Medal of Freedom
fro m the audience, fo llo w e d by a spon-
tanious co m position by one o f the m u si­
cians in a style appropriate to the m o ­
tive .
The Junior O rig in a l C oncert was
He was first to recognize that a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
established in 1972 by Gcnichi Kawakami,
chairm an o f Yam aha C o rp o ra tio n (Ja­
pan). It is the c u lm in a tio n o f o ve r 30
years o f g ro w th o f the Yam aha m usic
education programs, and showcases its
m ost talented students. Each year, c h il­
dren under 16 subm it o rig in a l co m p o si­
tions that have been created w ith o u t
loim itations on musical style, instrumen­
tation o r presentation. A t the Junior
O rig in a l C oncert, selected students pres­
ent perform ances on the piano, Electone
organ and other instrum ents.
Cosponsors o f the concert are
Yam aha C orporation o f A m erica, head­
quartered in Buena Park, C a lifo rn ia ,
Yam aha M usic F oundation, T o k y o , and
the Oregon C ystic F ibrosis Foundation.
A d m issio n is $3 00 fo r adults, $2.00 fo r
ch ild re n and $7.00 fo r a fa m ily . A ll
U.S.A.
proceeds w ill be donated to the O regon
C ystic Fibrosis Foundation.
F o r tic k e t in fo rm a tio n ca ll 1-800-
336-6874.
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