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PORTL
ERVER
VOLUME XX NUMBER 16
by Prof. M cKinley B u rt
This recent headline in a number of
big city newspapers indicates a pos
sible successor to such media priorities
as disposable diapers, spotted owls;
Lithuania and the Hubble telescope.
Clearly, our print and electronic men
tors have shown themselves able to
identify those issues important to sur
vival (whose?). Aside from this tongue-
in-cheek comment, let us examine the
rather serious implications o f such a
statem ent
The most recent example is an ar
ticle in last Wednesday’s San Francisco
Chronicle (originated by the N.Y. Times
News Service). The study was per
formed by two anthropologists, a Black
female at Rutgers, Signithia Fordham,
and an African at U.C. at Berkeley,
John U. Ogbu. Critical conclusions
range from, * * Many Black students may
perform poorly in high school because
of a shared sense that academic success
is a sellout to the white world,” to
‘‘Fear of acting white and fear of be
coming the “ other” was a motivating
factor in underachievement in the school
context.”
“ This phenomenon may be one of
the subtlest and most insidious among
the many social and economic factors
that contribute to lower academic per
formance by Blacks,” said Ms. Fordham.
Implicit here is a recognition of the
very same factors o f cultural attrition
that I liave advanced the past few weeks.
Nothing “ genetic” , as we have docu-
m ented-nothing which can be distin
guished (except in time) from the proc
esses that brought about the description
“ inferior” in reference to early white
immigrants before they were allowed
to “ m elt” into the American Dream.
Along with academic success, the
study listed more than a dozen other
types o f behavior that the students con
sidered to be “ acting white.” These in
cluded, speaking standard English, lis
tening to so-called white music, going
to the opera or ballet, studying in the li
brary, going to the Smithsonian Institu
tion, doing volunteer work, camping or
hiking and being on time. It is rather
scary, I think, to contemplate that these
youths will soon be parents; I’m sure it
occurs to you that there is an adult
group of Blacks who have been turned
off in the same fashion. Let us examine
this issue through other eyes.
Newspaper Excerpt:
James Comer, a professor of child
psychiatry at Yale University, said black
youths internalize messages about being
black that are transmitted by society.
He said fear of “ acting wh ite ” could
be a factor among “ non-mainstream-
oriented poor black children,” but not
among middle-class black children.
On the other hand, Wade Nobles,
director of the Center for Applied Cul
tural Studies and Educational Achieve
ment at San Francisco State University,
said black underachievement in educa
tion cuts across socioeconomic lines.
If fear of “ acting white” does play a
role, Nobles said, it comes in a context
in which “ black children learn rela
tively early that their attempt to achieve
is not rewarded in the school system.”
At high schools like Capital High
School in Washington, the one studied
by Fordham and Ogbu, teachers and
students tended in interviews to express
far more concern about the larger so
cioeconomic factors that bear on aca
demic performance.
It is important to note that some edu
cators have taken pointed exceptions to
the conclusions of the study-or have
downplayed the significance. Bill Bib-
biani, director of research and testing
for the Pasadena United School District
in California has the following com
ment: “ hard-working students of all
races have been taunted as grinds and
n erds-I don’t know that Black people
have comerd the market on teasing
people about academic achievement."
The Chronicle article was careful to
point out that Mr. Bibbiani is white.
Well, that is another perspective to
deal with for the Black engineers and
scientists I described last week as being
terribly concerned about the horren
dous failure rate for minority engineer
ing students (78%); it is Dr. Decatur
Rogers, Dean of the School of Engi
neering, Tennessee State University
whom I quote. “ While, it is not that
educators in affected schools across the
country are failing to perceive this
problem, more of them (from my expe
rience) need to direct countervailing
activities toward the acculturation re
quired for economic and professional
success in America.
I am aware of some activity in this
direction under pressure of the Portland
School District’s “ Desegregation Pro
gram ” . But this is due as much (if not
more so) to individual initiatives on the
part of ‘ ‘ teachers o f excellence ” ; inter
action with the symphony, Center for
Performing Arts, OMSI, the Firehouse
Theatre, and similar cultural enterprises.
I am immediately reminded, however,
that the Black Educational Center pio
neered this kind of activity almost twenty
years ago. It takes a committed admini
stration, not one who must be dragged
kicking and screaming into the race for
survival. Certainly, not one that has
just cut back the related specialists to
half-time.
Video Presentation Produced
To Recruit Minorities To Education
The University o f Oregon College
of Education in partnership with Eu
gene District 4-J schools is developing
a multimedia video presentation en
titled “ Teaching Can Be For You” to
help recruit minority students to ca
reers in teacher education.
The presentation, which depicts Lane
County minority teachers and adminis
trators speaking about their own educa
tion and careers and working with stu
dents in the classroom, will be used by
the Diversity in Education Consortium
as part of a minority education recruit
ment program.
The consortium was formed to re
cruit and retain more minorities in teacher
education and includes representatives
from the UO College of Education,
Lane Community College and Lane
County schools.
The video is the first recruitment
tool that the consortium has created,
according to Kathy Pyfer, UO College
of Education adviser and an executive
officer of the consortium.
“ In Lane County, there aren’t very
many teachers or administrators of
color,” Pyfer said. “ The problem is, if
you don’t ever see someone who looks
like yourself in a leadership position,
you don’t ever aspire to that particular
leadership position.
“ The first goal (of the video) is to
provide a vehicle for students to ob
serve people of diverse ethnic back
grounds in leadership roles,” Pyfer said.
A second goal of the presentation is
Aprils, 1990
'The Eyes and Ears o f The Community"
Academic Success Seen As Selling Out,
Says Study On Blacks
to give minority students professional
objectives so that they finish high school
and go on to college even though they
might not remain in teacher education,
according to Pyfer.
Pyfer conceived the idea for the video
along with Anselmo Villanueva, Mi
nority Community Liason for Eugene
District 4-J and consortium member.
Pyfer received a $1,000 grant from the
UO College of Education Alumni As
sociation to develop the presentation.
The consortium hopes to adapt a
model program in Portland, the Port
land Teacher Program, to the Eugene
Area. In Portland, 15 minority students
a year enter Portland Community Col
lege in a program that includes tuition
waivers along with retention and men
torship programs. The retention pro
gram focuses on orientation to college,
study skills and test-taking skills.
After two years at PCC the students
transfer to Portland State University
with a continuation of the retention
programs and tuition waivers.
“ We are working on making all that
happen down here, but we need to re
cruit the students in the first place,”
Pyfer said. “ The slide show is a re
cruitment tool in order to start the
minority students thinking about enter
ing the field of teacher education.”
The consortium hopes to have 15
students start at LCC in the fall of 1991
under a similar program and transfer to
the University of Oregon after two years.
The 12-minutc presentation, produced
by Ursi Reynolds, UO doctoral student
in curriculum and instruction, consists
of slides, narrative and original music
transferred to videotape for portability
and ease of presentation.
The story line of the presentation fo
cuses on a Eugene high school student,
Melissa Davis, as she meets with mi
nority educators at various Lane County
schools and the university. The narra
tive features Davis and Eugene District
4-J staff members Rapheal Mosqueda,
Jefferson Middle School teacher; Misa
Joo, Madison Middle School teacher;
and Bob Bolden, Kennedy Middle School
assistant principal.
This fall, the video will be shown to
Lane County middle and high school
minority students by school counsel
ors. Teachers and administrators of
color will be present during the presen
tations.
The students then will observe and
help these teachers and administrators
in their classrooms and offices. Stu
dents who become interested in teacher
education will be assigned teacher or
adminstrator mentors to assist and
counsel the students.
Ultimately, the consortium plans to
make the presentation available, at no
cost, to schools throughout Oregon.
Because of the format, other schools
will be able to insert easily pictures of
their own minority educators into the
slide/video presentation.
lessons will be given at: Creston
Pool, SE 44th and Powell; Dishman
Pool, 77 NE Knott; Grant Pool, 2300
NE 33rd; Montavilla Pool, 8219 NE
Glisan; Mt. Scott Pool, 5530 72nd;
Peninsula Pool, 6400 N. Albina; Pier
Pool, N.Seneca & St. Johns; Sell
wood Pool, SE 7th & Miller; and
Wilson Pool, 1151 SW Verm ont
Children and adults interested in
Portland Parks and Recreation’s swim
lesson program this summer can reg
Minority Business Owners
Hold Annual Conference
Community Trust
Changes Name To Meyer
Memorial Trust
Trustees of the Fred Meyer Chari
table Trust announced they are chang
ing the name of the philanthrophic or
ganization to Meyer Memorial Trust,
effective today.
Chairman Oral B. Robertson said
the name change was intended to end
confusion between the trust and Fred
Meyer, Inc.
“ Many people mistakenly believe
that the trust is the philanthropic arm of
the Fred Meyer retail stores,” Robertson
said.
Since its inception in 1982, the trust
has been a private, independent foun
dation representing the personal phi
lanthropy of the late Fred G. Meyer, not
a company foundation related in any
way to Fred Meyer Inc.
“ What we do share is the same
founder, who strongly believed in giv
ing something back to the communities
which supported his company for so
many years,” Robertson said. “ From
that philosphy, the trust was bom .”
When Meyer died in 1978, he left
the bulk of his estate to create a chari
table trust The bequest consisted mainly
of stock in Fred Meyer Inc., according
to Charles S. Rooks, executive director
of Meyer Memorial Trust
Assets in the trust have grown from
$120 million in 1982 to more than $275
million in 1990, he said. In eight yeras,
the trust has awarded more than $77
million in grants to communities in
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska,
Montana, Utah and California. The
bulk of the grants have been awarded in
Oregon.
In 1989, the trust awarded $15.2
million in grants for social welfare, arts
and humanities, education, health and
other organizations.
These have ranged from a $654,000
grant to Albina Ministerial Alliance for
an elementary school program for at-
risk children, to a $1,500 grant to the
city of Ashland to purchase a piano for
its multi-purpose community center.
The Oregon Association of Minority gon and Washington, public and pri-
Entrepreneurs is holding its 1990 OAME vale sector. Ron Steen Group will be
Entrepreneurship Conference at the
Lloyd Center Red Lion on May 15.
Workshop topics include imaging;
advertising, sales and marketing; busi-
ness planning; financial planning; in
suring and bonding; technology updates;
IB
providing the networking music.
Oregon Congressman Ron Wyden
will deliver the luncheon speaker intro
duction, followed by the keynote speech
doing government business; franchis
ing and strategic planning.
Anyone starting a business, or want
ing to increase business opportunities
should attend the conference, which
will also provide networkring possibili
ties between minority entrepreneurs and
purchasing and contracting officers of
business and agencies wishin to contact
minority-owned businesses.
Highlights of the conference include:
Morning speech by US WEST Com
munications Vice President and CEO/
Small Business Services, Solomon
Trujillo.
by Parren J. Mitchell, retired U.S.
McDonald Corporation and South Representative from Maryland’s sev
land Corporation presentation on fran enth district
chising.
To register for the conference, lunch
Networking at 4:00 p.m. will in eon and reception, call OAME at (503)
volve purchasers and buyers from Ore- 236-1190.
Program Outline
Registration
8:00-9:00a.m.
Opening Session
9:00-9:30a.m.
Work Session I
9:30-10:30 a.m.
•Im aging
•Finance fir Financial Planning for the
Business Owner. Part I.
•Using Today s Technology
United Way Funds
Child Care Center
Seventy-two children in Northeast
Portland previously enrolled at St. Vin
cent de Paul Child Development Cen
ter will continue to receive money for
child care under an agreement reached
between United Way of the Columbia-
Willamette and Albina Ministerial Al
liance.
Up to $30,000 will be available to
the families of these children through
June 30. AMA will manage the distri
bution of the funds and is in the process
of contacting families to offer assis
tance in meeting their chid care ex
penses.
The center closed Feb. 28 because of
financial difficulties after operating for
nearly 51 years. Most parents were
paying the minimum fee of $160 each
month at St. Vincent de Paul and found
their child care expenses increasing an
additonal $100 to $200 per month at
other facilities.
United Way board chairman Jerry
Halverson said that funds previously
allocated to S t Vincent de Paul ($162,151
in 1989-90) would remain in Northeast
Portland to meet child care needs in the
future. He added that no decision has
been made on how the money will be
spent
Mail-In Swim Lesson Registration Started
Swim lessons will be given in
doors at: Columbia Pool, 7701 N.
Chautauqua; metropolitan Learning
Center Pool, 2033 NW Glisan; PCC
Sylvania Pool, 12000 SW 49th.
Outdoor pool summer 1990 swim
ister by mail beginning in mid-May.
To receive information and registra
tion forms at your home, send a self-
addressed, stamped legal-size enve
lope to Aquatics, Portland Parks and
Recreation, 1120 SW 5th Avenue,
Room 502, OR 97204-1976.
Break
10:30-10:45 a.m.
Work Session II
10 45-11:45a.m.
• Finance Be Financial Planning for the
Business Owner. Pari II.
•Advertising, Sales fir Marketing
• Business Planning
Luncheon
11:45a.m.-1:45p.m.
Introduction—
Congressman Ron Wyden
Keynote speaker— Parren J. Mitchell
Break
2:45-3:00 p.m.
Work Session IV
3:00-4:00p.m.
•Using Today's Technology
•Strategic Planning— 1990 s
•Advertising Sales and Marketing
Hosted netw orking
Reception
4:00-7:00 p.m.
Music by Ron Steen
Public and private industry buyers and
purchasers meet with m inority manufac
turers. suppliers construction, service Af
retail firms. Make contacts!
Task Force Recommends Programs
To Reduce Infant Mortality Rates
In N/NE Portland
The statistics are alarming. Each
year in Multnomah County, nearly 100
infants die before their first birthday.
Statewide, almost 10 percent of women
giving birth do not receive sufficient
prenatal care. That figure doubles among
women in the North/Northcast section
of Portland.
On April 23,10:00 a.m., the North-
Northeast Economic Development Task
Force presented its report (with action
plan and recommendations) to reduce
infant mortality in North/Northcast Port
land.
The report was developed by the
Family Services Committee of the Task
Force. Information included in the re
port was obtained during a series of
forums with health professionals oper-
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Work Session III
I:45-2:45p.m.
•Insurance 8f Bonding—Can You
Get It?
•D oing Business with the Largest
Buyer in the World: Government
•Franchising
n e tw o rk in g Session A M u stl
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ating in or serving residents of North/
Northeast Portland The recommenda
tions respond to the causes o f infant
mortality among low-incomcresidents.
Support for the health care forums
was provided by the Black United Front
of Oregon, the Albina Ministerial Alli
ance, the United Way of the Columbia-
Willamette, and the Oregon Commu
nity Foundation.
Present at the press conference were
Amina Anderson and Cometta Smith,
co-chairs of the Family Services Com
mittee of the North-Northeast Task Farce;
representatives of local health provid
ers; a representative of the United Way;
and a representative of the Oregon Com-
munity Foundation.