VOLUME XX NUMBER 16
"The Eyes and Ears o f The Community"
Black Leadership Conference
Endorses Candidates
The Black Leadership Conference
released its list o f endorsem ents for the
upcoming prim ary and general elec
tion, recom m ending Barbara Roberts
for governor, Mark Hatfield for U.S.
Senator, Les AuCoin and Ron W yden
for U.S. Representatives and John
Erickson for Superintendent o f Public
Instruction.
* ‘The m ost difficult task was choos
ing between Barbara Roberts and Dave
Frohnm eyer for the governor’s race,”
said George Richardson, chairm an of
the Conference’s inteview/endorsement
com m ittee. “ W e believe that issues
important to the black community would
be better addressed by Barbara Roberts
and that she has historically been more
open to our output.”
The Black Leadership Conference is
a com m unity-based organization cre
ated several years ago to identify and
support national, state and local candi
dates for public office that are sensitive
to issues that im pact the black com m u
nity. The Conference, with the help of
several other community organizations,
identified economic developm ent,
education, housing, crim e and em ploy
m ent as the key issues in this election.
The interview /endorsem ent com m ittee
interview ed the candidates o r exam
ined their records and credential to
determ ine their positions on these is
sues.
O ther endorsem ents by the Confer
ence include Earl Blum enauer and
Gretchen Kafoury for Portland City Com-
m issio n e rs; G lad y s M cC oy for
M ultnom ah County Chair; Fred Milton
for M ultnomah County Commissioner,
Jim Hill for State Senator, 16th Dis
trict; Judith Bauman for State Repre
sentative, 13th District; Beverly Stein
for State Representive; 14th District;
M ike Burton for State Representative,
17th District; M argaret C arter for State
Representative, 18 th District; Ron Cease
for State Representative, 19th District;
Ancer Haggerty and M ercedes Diezs
for M ultnomah County Circuit Court
Judges; and David Knowles for M etro
politan Service D istrict Councilor.
Ron Herndon, the Conference Co-
chair, indicated that the Black Leader
ship Conference would m eet in the near
future to determ ine the level o f support
each candidate w ould receive.
The Conference did not endorse Mary
W endy Roberts, candidate for Com
m issioner o f Labor and Industries, who
failed to m eet with the Conference, nor
Rena Cusm a, candidate for executive
office o f the M etropolitan Service D is
trict, or A aron Brow n, candidate for
Multnomah D istrict Court Judge be
cause they both did not respond to invi
tations to m eet with the Conference.
Innovative Training Program Graduates
First Case of Workers
WSAAA To Boost
Minorities in Advertising
Industry
Four Portland Hospitals and The Private Industry Council
Team Up to Combat Labor Shortage
The W estern States Advertising
Agencies A ssociation has begun the
developm ent o f a much-expanded pro
gram to encourage minorities into ad
vertising careers.
W SA A A ’s m ove to boost its fledg
ling Minority Program follows a sur
prise donation o f $200,000 announced
April 3 by Jay Chiat, chairm an and
CEO of Venice-based Chiat/Day/Mojo.
Chiat, who is personally funding half
the program , said the donation reflected
his strong belief that the advertising
industry should actively nurture and
aggressively promote minorities.
“ This is as m uch an agency issue as
it is a broader societal issue; we arc at
the leading edge, the opinon creators,
and we bear a com m ensurate responsi
bility,” he noted.
C hiat’s com m itm ent to W SA A A ’s
program, made public at his acceptance
o f W SA A A ’s first Leader o f the Dec
ade aw ard, was welcom ed by Gerald
McGee, A ssociation president and
managing director, Ogilvy and Mather.
“ While Jay Chiat’s professional com
mitm ent has drastically changed the
image o f W estern advertising in ten
years,” says M cGee, “ This is a per
sonal commitment to help aspiring young
minority talent enter the creative side
o f the business.
“ His record o f backing instinct with
action was precisely the reason he was
named W SA A A Leader o f the Dec
ade,” W SA A A ’s president concluded.
After more than a year o f planning,
the first graduates of an innovative train
ing project are ready to begin work in
health care, O regon’s second-largest
industry. Ten formerly unemployed
men and women will graduate on Fri
day, April 20, and becom e eligible to
begin perm anent em ploym ent in jobs
paying an average starting wage of $7.00
per hour. Jobs will be in nutrition
services, environm ental services and
patient transportation. Representatives
of Kaiser, Em anuel, St. V incent and
Providence Hospitals, The Private In
dustry C ouncil’s Board o f Directors,
and the Service Em ployees Interna
tional Union will attend the graduation.
Responding to a shortage o f entry-
level hospital w orkers, The Private In
dustry Council coordinated an eight-
week cross-training program which in
cludes two w eeks in a classroom learn
ing basic job skills and two w eeks of
on-the-job training in each o f the three
skill areas. A pproxim ately 150 entry-
level positions in nutrition services, en
vironmental services and patient trans
portation are available at each Port-
land-area hospital every year.
The Private Industry Council and
participating hospitals designed the initial
sm all-scale pilot project to recruit and
train unskilled workers w ho would not
usually be considered for hospital
employm ent. H ospitals have tradition
ally looked to college graduates and
retired persons for these jobs but, in
creasingly, the positions have gone un
filled.
According to Karen Lindquist, Eman
uel Hospital Com pensation Specialist,
“ It’s becoming difficult to find good
applicants. O ne year ago w e were
receiving 25 or more good applications
a day from the Em ploym ent Division,
and today we are lucky to receive five
applications. W e decided to ask The
Private Industry Council for h elp.”
The Private Industry Council, pri
marily funded by the federal Job Train
ing Partnership Act, provides em ploy
m ent and training services to low -in
com e, unem ployed residents o f W ash
ington and M ultnomah Counties. The
organization strives to provide living-
wage skills to individuals facing mul
tiple barriers to successful employment.
The inaugural group of ten hospital
training graduates includes four A fri
can-Americans, three single parents and
one homeless person. The graduates
have overcom e barriers including low
basic skills, little or no work experi
ence, child care problems and poverty.
The Private Industry Council has pro
vided support services such as transpor
tation and child care throughout the
eight-w eek training period, and will
continue to track training participants
for at least six m onths, m easuring job
retention and providing follow-up serv
ices when needed.
“ For many industries, the predic
tions o f ‘W orkforce 2000’ are already
here,” stated Dennis Cole, President of
the Private Industry Council. “ As the
characteristics o f new entrants to the
labor force change, employers will have
to seek new strategies for ensuring a
qualified w orkforce.”
The m anagem ent group overseeing
the cross-training pilot project estimates
that participating hospitals will save
over $400,000 a year in personnel serv
ices associated with new hires. In addition
to a steady pool of qualified applicants,
the targeted training program will help
hospitals attract and keep minority em
ployees. A second training class is
scheduled to begin within two months.
A cerem ony marking the inaugural
graduation will be held Friday, April 20
at 2:00 p.m. in the board room of The
Private Industry Council’s downtown
Portland office, located at 520 SW Sixth,
Suite 400.
CONGRATULATIONS:
Labor Commissioner Robert Applauds Walker’s
Heroic Efforts
“ I deeply respect and applaud the integrity shown by Louis W alker
today (April 19, 1990) who took a stand on w hat he kn o w s-w h at we all
k n o w -to be right. Mr. W alker, who helped a black man being threatened
by tw o white men on a M AX train and ended up with a bullet in his arm ,
stated that he ju st isn’t going to put up with racism anymore.
But this incident isn ’ t a single incident. The num ber of hate crim es is in
creasing in Oregon. Racism is a heinous problem -certainly not only exem
plified in acts of v io le n c e -a n d until our tolerance level equals that o f Mr.
W alker, things w on’t change. And they must. 1 encourage all of us to take
a stand against racism in all its forms.
The O regon Bueau o f Labor and Industries is the state agency respon
sible for protecting the civil rights o f O regonians, enforcing wage and hour
em ploym ent laws, and prom oting skilled training through apprenticeship.
W illiam C obine, 17, a junior at
Clackamas High School has been elected
as Student Body President by the 1100
attendees at the Clackam as County
school.
Sporting a G PA o f 3.4, the student/
athlete (tight end/linebackcr) plans to
attend Oregon State University upon
graduation.
W illiam is the son o f Mr. & Mrs.
Monroe Cobine, owners o f Mrs. C ’s
wigs, on Seventh and Frem ont in N.E.
Portland and has one sister, Rhonda,
25.
Dr. John D. Marshall
Passes
Dr. John D. M arshall, long time
Portland physician and former member
of the Oregon State Board of Medical
Examiners passed on Saturday, April
21, 1990, after an extended illness. He
was 68 years old. Dr. Marshall gradu
ated from the University o f Chicago
with a B.S. degree in Zoology in 1944.
He received his m edical degree from
Meharry Medical School in Nashville,
Tennessee in 1946.
W hile serving his internship at H ar
lem Hospital in New York he m et and
married nurse Viola M argaret Artsen.
In 1947, the couple moved to Port
land, where Dr. Marshall began his
practice with Dr. Denorval Unthank at
SW 6th Ave. in downtown Portland.
He later moved his practice to NE
Portland where he remained until his
retirement.
In 1978, he was appointed by former
Oregon Governor Bob Straub to the
Oregon State Board o f Medical Exam
iners.
In 1980 he was listed in the “ W ho’s
W ho Among Black A m ericans.”
Dr. Marshall is survived by an uncle,
O cie Jackson Anattuac, Texas, brother
Eugene J. M arshall, Seattle, six chil
dren. John D. M arshall, Seatde; Robert
Eugene M arshall, Seattle; Steven A.
Marshall, Scappoose, Oregon; Paul A.
Marshall, Portland; Michael B. Marshall,
Portland; and M argaret L. Marshall,
Portland.
Funeral services will be held at Eman
uel Temple, 1032 N. Sumner, Portland,
Thursday, April 2 6 ,1 2 :0 0 p.m.
Bishop A.A. W ells will preside.
Benson Tech Show Set
for April 26-27 at
“ Past, Present and Future” is the
theme for the 70th annual Benson Tech
Show, scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Thurs
day, April 26, and Friday, April 27 at
Benson High School.
The year's theme will be carried out
by displays highlighting the past and
present, with exciting industry exhibits
illustrating technology’s future. V isi
tors will see lasers, robotics, computer-
assisted drafting, computerized typeset
ting and graphics, computer-assisted
m anufacturing, comaputer-controlled
living environm ents, and much more.
Also included in the evening’s activi
ties are shops in action, medical training
exhibits, science projects, academic dis
plays, and a stage show. Tickets are
$1.00 each, and are available at the door
or from any Benson student Children
under 12 and senior citizens will be ad
m itted free.
NIKE Responds to
Criticism With Academic
Program
The NIKE Corporation recently an
nounced that they will spend $5 million
on an advertising project aimed at keep
ing young people in school. David
Robinson is the spokesperson. NIKE
received harsh criticism from several
educational groups about promoting ath
letics instead of academics. Bo Jackson
and M ichael “ A ir” Jordan will also be
featured on these commercials.
April 25,1990
Immigration: Conclusion
by Prof. McKinley Burt
As we com e to the end o f this series
on im m igration, it would do well to cite
some opinions o f the Black populace.
Many have voiced some rather strong
commentary in respect to fears o f a
negative im pact on m inority citizens.
However, there has not been as much
concern expressed in the Pacific N orth
west as in California, in the G reat Lakes
“ R ust B elt” sector (automotive and
supplier industries), or in the big urban
centers on the East coast.
These concerns are based upon a
num ber o f considerations, not least of
which is the expectation o f those pro
viding social services in the inner-cities
that lower-skilled new com ers will ex
acerbate unemployment among the
“ underclass” . John E. Jacob, Presi
dent o f the National Urban League,
stated last May that in some areas the
new arrivals have a poverty rate as high
as thirty percent. M eaning that they
would be highly com petitive for jobs
with those whom he described as “ our
home-grown poor, facing a lack of eco
nomic and educational opportunities.”
At the other end o f the scale, we find
two top Black professionals expressing
their views on the viability of Blacks in
a society and economy becom ing more
technical every day. Their positions
will be placed in the context of the fears
o f many Black students, parents, and
professionals who feel a definite threat
from that large (and encouraged) seg
ment of immigrant “ drawn from the
educated middle class o f their coun
tries” (quoting John E. Jacob).
Dr. D ecatur Rogers, Dean, School
o f Engineering, Tennessee State U ni
versity opines that less than three per
cent o f engineers in A merica are Black
m ales—while at the same time there is a
78 percent “ failure” rate o f African
American engineering students. Inter
views with Black parents echo Dr.
R oger’s views on the campus racism
and a “ divorce” from family ties and
nurturing. Further he deprecates the
campus drug scene, and asks, “ how do
we regain our spirituality and do it in a
timely fashion before genocide?” Dr.
W illiam W iley, the Black director o f
the im portant Batelle Pacific N orth
west Laboratory gives his own census;
“ Blacks, Hispanics, and Indians as a
group constitute only 5 percent of the
scientists and engineers in the United
States.”
Blacks that I encounter are extremely
disturbed by what they view as the
added threat o f a heavy ‘ ‘ immigration
pressure on that upper end of the scale
we cited. Many quoted from that O re
gonian article (syndicated) I mentioned
several w eeks ago—an E ast Indian from
Mr. Jacob’s “ educated m iddle class
im m igrants’ ’ holding a top governm ent
job, expounded at length upon his own
skills and expertise and on how valu
able it was going to be to A m erica as
this technical importation was increased.
Many of the same blacks are aware that
pending im migration legislation (like
the Kennedy-Simpson Bill, S358), places
considerable em phasis on heavy quotas
for scientific, engineering and other
technical people. This position is sup
ported by any num ber o f editorialists
and econom ists across the country.
In the same vein, we find Blacks in
the northeastern states who are still
scratching for “ tenure” or promotion
in technology expressing concern that
the exodus of Jews from Russia will see
a greater (non-win) competition for tech
nical jobs. Several even expressed
dismay that Congressman M itchell
(Black) was vehemently protesting an
allocation of 400 million dollars to Is
rael for housing to accommodate the
new arrivals there. The objection being,
that if Israel cannot house them, im m i
gration will be diverted to those shores.
A w riter for the “ Jerusalem P ost” re
cently stated “ the proportion o f scien
tists, professionals and technicians among
the Soviet arrivals is an astonishingly
high 73 percent.”
These concerns are not something
that is (or should be) taken lightly by a
goodly num ber o f the minority popula
tion. And when you add the steadily
increasing num ber o f Black and white
blue collar workers who are losing their
factory and mill jobs to a different type
of integration-imports (try Flint, Michi
gan!), it easily seen that we all may
have some cause for trepidation. We
could have gone on here to evaluate
those ‘ ‘expert predictions o f severe job
loss under military cutbacks” being
forecast by the nation’s news services,
but we have introduced enought stress
for this time around.
University to Observe
King Birthday
University o f O regon President
M yles Brand announced today (April
19) that the university will take part in
the national observance o f M artin
Luther King, Jr., Day beginning in
1991.
“ The Faculty Advisory council,
the University Senate and the Council
o f D eans have concurred in setting
aside the third M onday in January as a
university holiday in honor o f the slain
civil rights leader,” Brand said.
“ C lasses will be dism issed, and we
will have planned academ ic and cul
tural activities to celebrate the im por
tance and value o f diversity,” Brand
said.
The 1991 holiday will be observed
M onday, Jan. 21.
“ It is entirely appropriate for this
university to observe M artin Luther
King Day. Martin Luther King pro
vided the leadership for civil rights at
a crucial time in this country’s his
tory.
“ The University of Oregon is com
m itted to equal and just treatm ent o f
all persons, no m atter their age, race,
gender, country of origin, sexual o ri
entation, religion, disability, m arital
or Vietnam W ar veteran status,' ’ he
stressed. “ Campus-wide observance
o f M artin Luther King, Jr., Day w ould
reinforce this com m itm ent.”
During this day, the university, in
cluding faculty, students and staff,
will devote itself to activities that
focus on the im portance and value of
diversity.
Brand said he will form an appro
priate com m ittee to plan and im ple
ment these events.
By the terms o f their negotiated
contract, classified UO staff m em
bers represented by the O regon P u b
lic Em ployees Union already observe
K ing’s birthday as a holiday from
work.