Portland observer., March 21, 1990, Image 1

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P O R TL
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VOLUME XX NUMBER 12
MARCH 21,1990
The New Immigration, Part II:
Will There Be Room At The Inn?
by Professor McKinley Burt
Two thousand years ago a
young couple in the to wn of Beth­
lehem was turned away from a
number of inns before finding abode
in a manger. Here, the expectant
mother gave birth to a baby boy
with “ hair like lam b's wool,” an
event that changed the course of
human events.
Today, the question o f a sanc­
tuary arises anew, though from a
different perspective. You will see
on this page a reproduction of the
Statue of Liberty, a colossus of
hope, herself an emigrant to these
shores in 1886 (A gift form the
people o f France). An inscription
reveals the poignant words of
Emma Lazarus; “ Give me your
tired, your poor, your huddled
masses, yearning to breathe free .
. . send these, the homeless, the
tempest-tossed to me . .
That invitation was hardly
unbiased, considering that it has
been underwritten by a century
and a half of the most racially dis­
criminatory immigration laws and
quotas ever conceived by a de­
mocracy, not excluding South
Africa. It all began with the
Immigration Act of 1819, and from
the start exhibited vicious preju­
dice against whites with the wrong
roots as well as against people of
color. Early references or statis­
tics given in this series are taken
in most part from that compre- -
hensive document published in 1966, ’ ‘The
Annals of the American Academy o f Politi­
cal and Social Science: The New Immigra­
tio n ." Hereinafter it will be referred to as
“ The Annals.”
What we need here most immediately
is an easily visualized model, one that will
clearly reveal the main economic problems
facing A frican-A m ericans-like those so
succinctly examined by John E. Jacob,
What is your quota man?
(No room at the inn)
National Director o f the Urban League in
last w eek’s article. In taking issue with the
statement that the success of immigrants
demonstrated that Blacks needed no gov­
ernment help, he detailed the special and
obvious disabilities of our “ home grown
poor . . . that make such comparisons odi-
Mayor Steps Up Efforts
to Recruit and Hire
Minority Police
Mayor J. E. Bud Clark recently di­
rected City staff to review the C ity's re­
cruitment and hiring procedures for the
position of Police Officer. Representatives
from City Personnel, the Police Bureau, the
City Attorney’s Office, Affirmative A c­
tion, the Office of Finance and Administra­
tion and the M ayor’s Office met several
times over the intervening weeks to con­
duct careful analysis of the current process.
As a result, the Mayor has stated that:
“ We now have an even better opportunity
to hire the additional police officers more
quickly and to develop a police force that
reflects the diversity of our community.”
The City has been successful in attract­
ing a large number of candidates for the
Police Officer exam. Since September,
approximately 1,900 individuals have ap­
plied to take the exam. The City has not
attracted as many females and minorities as
it had hoped. Although the number of females
and minorities applying to take this year’s
exam was more than double that from the
previous exam in 1988, the total number of
all applicants tripled.
Although the City staff found that the
examination process shows a distribution
of females and minorities throughout the
list, there were not as many as the City
would like. More minority and female
applicants are needed to assure an adequate
pool.
After receiving the staff briefing. Mayor
Clark took the following actions:
1. Letters will go to community agen­
cies and contacts working with minorities,
to all Police Bureau employees and to the
Police union asking them to assist in the
City’s search for qualified female and
minority applicants.
2. He directed the Police Bureau to
proceed with offering a pre-examination
orientation to all applicants, which will
assist in preparing persons to take the civil
service examination.
3. He directed both the Police Bureau
to proceed with offering a pre-examination
orientation to all applicants, which will
assist in preparing persons to take the civil
service examination.
3. He directed both the Police and
Personnel Bureaus to take responsibility
for personally contacting prospective can­
didates and encouraging them to complete
the examination.
4. He instructed City staff to monitor
and re-evaluate at periodic intervals the
recruitment and selection process in order
to ensure that it supports the C ity’s equal
employment opportunity efforts.
5. He approved the Police and Person­
nel Bureaus proceeding with the processing
of Police Officer applicants in score order,
in batches which the Bureaus have the
administrative capacity to handle.
6. He reaffirmed that the City’s passing
score for the Police Officer examination
based on the written and oral portions will
continue to be 70. In addition to these
scored portions of the examination, candi­
dates must also pass medical and psycho­
logical exams, a report writing test, aphysi-
cal capabilities test and a background in­
vestigation.
Mayor Clark also stated that: “ The key
to achieving our goals is an aggressive
recruitment campaign. These steps will help
us in our efforts to build up the Police
Bureau, and they will have my strongest
personal attention.”
with half the increase stemming from
immigration and the other half from
high birth rates. Concurrently, the
nation’s Asian population grew by
70 percent, with about two-thirds of
the increase due to immigration. Given
this increased pressure, primarily upon
the very lowest rooms of the pyra­
mid, and add to it the Bush admini­
stration’s approval last month of a
plan to raise visa quotas for immi­
grants--and given the pressure of
whites disemployed by aging indus­
tries that cannot compete against
imports—how is it that there is not in
place (or even contemplated) any
serious program of sufficient eco­
nomic scope and depth to arrest the
further destruction of African-Ameri­
can Youth? We may be speaking of
genocide!
As things and, it may well be
that there will be no more ‘ ‘room at
the inn” ; not for those that Mr. Jacob
describes as follows, “ Finally, too
many of our kids are ground down
by discrimination and grow up in
crime and drug-ridden ghettoes,
racially isolated, consigned to schools
that don’t educate them.” What good
will a reservation be for them -and
will it be confirmed if the kid shows
up? B ut exactly how much room will
there be available on the higher floors
of our hotel for African-Americans
with better credentials. We were
recently witness to a "Tony Brown’s
Journal” television program where
the audience and narrators were exclusively
from the ranks of Black corporate execu-
tiv e s-at least many of them had been. They
recited a litany of layoffs, nonpromotable
dead ends and discrimination in middle
management, and of job slots being filled
by super-driven immigrants drawn from
the educated middle class of their countries
(Political refugees or simply ambitious?)
(Continued to Page 2)
Labor Commissioner
Awards Damages in
Discrimination Case
In a race discrimination case involving
the renting or leasing of real property.
Labor and Industries Commissioner, Mary
Wendy Roberts issued a final order today
awarding $5,000 in mental distress dam­
ages and $325 plus interest for expenses
incurred to Donna Colona, who was evicted
from the Spruce Tree Apartments in Salem
because her boyfriend and co-tenant is Black.
Witnesses described several instances
in which Colona and her co-tenant were
treated differently than other tenants. Stra­
tegic Investments of Oregon., Inc., Jerald
Fox, Earle and Vangie Grieg, and Patrick
and Edith Malone were named as owners or
managers of the property. They will be held
liable for the damages.
“ Blatant discrimination like this will
not be tolerated in Oregon,” said Commis­
sioner Roberts. “ This case vividly illus­
trates the injustice - and the pitfalls i - of
stereotyping."
Colona was evicted from the Spruce
Tree apartments because of the high vol­
ume of visitors to the apartment. Apart­
ment managers assumed Colona’s boyfriend
was dealing drugs and evicted Colona. A
white tenant, who also had a high volume of
visitors, and actually was dealing drugs
from his apartment, was not evicted.
It's Official! Oregon Supreme
Court Up Holds M.L.K. Blvd.
The Oregon Supreme Court has issued its opinion affirming the judgment
of Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Harl Haas, who had ruled that the
ballot measure seeking to rename Martin Luther King Blvd. as Union Avenue
did not qualify for placement on the ballot.
After reviewing the opinion and conferring with the City Attorney's Office,
Mayor J.E. Bud Clark stated: "There is not further action for the City Council
to take. The measure will nto be on the ballot. Martin Luther King Blvd. will
remain the name of the street and will serve as an inspiration for the ongoing
renewal of the community. It is now time for our community to heal the wounds
which developed during the course of this contest and to move forward."
Mayor Clark was also pleased that the Supreme Court acknowledged that
the City has a valid City Code process for renaming streets and that actions taken
under it are administrative.
Nero and Associates Holds
Annual Region X Outreach
Screening and Placement Conference
The Office of Job Corps,
ciates, Inc. (NAI), a Black-owned
U .S. Department of Labor, held
Portland-based firm with a
its annual Region X outreach,
decade of Job Corps experi­
screening, and placem ent
ence, proudly announced that
(OS&P) conference at the Red
Salem recruiter Darlene Wright
Lion Inn/Lloyd Center March
was named the region’s Job
11-14.
Corps representative of the Year
Each year, the organiza­
for the second straight year. Ms.
tions providing OS&P services
Wright also won the N A I’s Re­
to disadvantaged youth enter­
cruiter of the Year Award.
ing and exiting the Job Corps
Sheila Barker, NAI’s Grants
Program in Oregon, Washing­
Pass representative, won a re­
ton, Idaho, and Alaska meet
gional award for her success in
with government and Job Corps
recruiting young women for Job
Center staff. The Job Corps
Corps. She was also given NAI's
Regional Office hosts several
Excellence in Leadership Award.
panel discussions and group
Several of the Job Corps
meetings with organization rep­
Centers throughout the Pacific
resentatives to enhance the ability
Northwest also gave special
of the program to meet the varied
awards of achievement to NAI
educational, vocational, social,
staff, including Armando Bravo
and personal needs of young
of Eugene; Lynda Brown of
men and women eligible for
Anchorage, Alaska; Elva Vil­
Job Corps training.
larreal of Boise, Idaho; Violet
Topics at these meetings
Campbell of Prineville; Ms.
included: “ Recruiting Young
Wright; and Ms. Barker.
W om en,' ’ “ M ulti-C ultural Mr. David Nero, Chairman & C.E.O., Nero & Associates,
NAI also honored its own
Awareness,” ’ Medical Issues Inc., Portland, Oregon, presents Job Corps Representative staff at a special awards dinner,
of Applicants,” and ' Time of the Year Award to Salem recruiter Darlene Wright, including Portland representa­
anagement.
Ms. Wright, who won y ,e awar(j for the secon(j straight tives Dale Pierce and Kelly Ure,
also a time for celebrating sue-
give"
NAI’S ExCeIknCe ” Leadership Award, who received awards for their
efforts in recruiting young
cess on a regional basis. Nero and Asso-
women for Job Corps.
How Census Facts Benefit
The Black Community
When Blacks answer questions on the
1990 census form by filling in the little
circles with a pencil, the process of putting
census information to work in our commu­
nity begins.
Each dark dot becomes a bit o f infor­
mation that-w hen electronically combined
with all other census answers from our
com m unity-w ill produce a valuable statis­
tical people and housing profile.
Just how are these census numbers
used when they are published for our block,
neighborhood, city, county, and state?
Here are the major ways census num­
bers are used, two of which are required by
law:
* POLITICAL POW ER-The Black
community’s representation in the U.S. House
of Representatives is determined by census
numbers. Equal political representation for
our community means that everyone must
be counted in the 1990 census. Missed
people in the census could mean under­
representation for African-American areas
in these legislatures and a loss of political
power.
* G O V ER N M EN T PROGRAM
FUNDS—Billions of dollars in federal and
state government assistance to communi­
ties for a variety of locally-administered
programs arc distributed each year. By law,
these funds usually are allocated based on
census population, age, housing, income,
poverty, and other statistics. These projects
include educational, health, human serv­
ices, and community development programs
that help everyone.
Each person not counted in the census
means a potential dollar amount lost to our
local government for those programs in
which it takes part. Census figures are used
for 10 years-until the next census--as the
statistical foundation for sending these
program funds to local governments, so
there is a lot more money at stake in the
census than just a one-year allocation.
By making sure that everyone is counted,
an African-American community will re­
ceive all the funds to which it is entitled.
* PLANNING FOR DEVELOPMENT
Local government planners and economic
developers depend on accurate census sta­
tistics to plan for the future. Expensive
public and private developments—such as
schools, health clinics, factories and shop­
ping centers-are linked to the study of
census population and housing totals.
If the census is not complete, the suc­
cess of these developments- - which so often
involve millions of dollars, hundreds of
jobs, and years of effort--could be put in
jeopardy from decisions based on inaccu­
rate or incomplete information during the
planning stages.
And y ou don ' t have to be a government
official or an officer in a big company to put
census numbers to work. Census informa­
tion about our area often is as close as our
neighborhood library. Just look at these
ways civic and neighborhood leaders used
census statistics to help meet the needs of
their communities:
* The high number of working mothers
with small children in low-income neigh­
borhoods—revealed by a study o f census
statistics-prom pted community leaders in
a Midwest city to seek and win approval for
a daycare center.
♦ Elderly residents in an urban neigh­
borhood in the south had no recreation
facilities. By using census numbers to bol­
ster their request for a community center,
the senior citizens' organization was able
to argue successfully before the county
commissioners for a new center.
* Minority organizations in a western
city were upset with their lack of adequate
representation on the city council. Using
census facts and figures, they were able to
win a redistricting that allowed voters to
choose additional minority council mem­
bers in the next election.
Census numbers aren't meant to sit on
a shelf in a big volume gathering dust. They
are meant to be put to work in the African-
American community.
PGE Gives Opportunity
to Students to Attend
College In Oregon
Portland General Electric Co. (PGE) is
keeping some of Oregon’s brightest stu­
dents from going away to college.
For the third straight year, PGE and the
Oregon Independent College Foundation
(OICF) is offering top high school seniors
an opportunity to attend college in Oregon.
Through the PGE Scholarship Award, PGE
will pay up to $9.000 toward educational
expenses at one of Oregon’s eight inde­
pendent colleges.
Scholarship recipients will be selected
based on scholastic performance, commu­
nity involvement, extracurricular activi­
ties, and response to an essay question. One
scholarship will be awarded at each OICF
college including Linfield College, Lewis
& Clark College, Reed College, Willam­
ette University, Warner Pacific College,
Pacific University, George Fox College,
and University of Portland.
’ ‘This scholarship fund represents our
commitment to Oregon's outstanding youth
and support of Oregon's independent col­
leges,” says Ken Harrison, Portland Gen­
eral Corp. President and Chief Executive
Officer.
Application forms have been sent to
high schools across the state. The deadline
for entries is Friday, Mar. 30. Scholarship
recipients will be notified on Monday, May
14.
Last year, more than 400 students state­
wide competed for the PGE Scholarship.
Currently, 16 students are participating in
the program.
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Black United Front to
Hold Tenth Annual
March Against Racism
On Saturday, April 7, the Black United
Front will have its Tenth Annual March
Against Racist Violence. The march, (fol­
lowed immediately by a rally), is to begin at
noon and will assemble in the parking lot
behind NIKE’s shoe store on Martin Luther
King, Jr. Blvd. NIKE is located at 3044
N.E. M.L.K. Blvd., and the rally will be
held in Alberta Park on N.E. Killingsworth,
between 19th and 22nd Avenues.
This year’s event will feature three
primary concerns: racist attacks and the
attraction of avowed racists to the Portland
area; the struggle in South Africa; and the
controversy about the naming of Martin
Luther King, Jr. Blvd., which was known as
Union Ave. We are anticipating a large
number of people, and we welcome all
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organizations that have banners to be pre­
pared to display them in the march and at
the rally.
To name a few, some o f the featured
speakers will include Ron Herndon, Co-
Chair, Portland BUF; Conrad W. Woreill,
Chairperson o f the National Black United
Front; Cipriano Ferrel, representing the
Treeplanters & Farm Workers United; Rev.
Alcena Boozer; Betre Melles; Zeenab
Johnson, High School Student; Darryl
Tufuku, Executive Director, Portland Ur­
ban League; and Waleed Sadruddin, Broth­
ers Gaining Equality through Excellence.
For further information contact: Ven-
ita Myrick - 282-5447 (evenings); Ben
Priestley - 282-1830 (evenings) and 230-
9427 (days).
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