Page 2 The Portland O bserver August 15, 1990
Old Fashioned Radio Offers A New Wrinkle In Living Color
Dr. A. I o
HvndtTMin
Dr. A. Lee Henderson
The soul o f the sluggard desireth,
and hath nothing: but the soul o f the
diligent shall be made fat. Proverbs
13 4
1 ha\e written previously of my unex­
pected delights while traveling by
automobile: the old-fashioned radio as an
instrument of education and edification.
Too often we reserve our radio listen­
ing time to the highways because there
is a wealth of information that we can
coin into productivity from the airwaves.
One of these avenues is changing the
face of America to its basically natural
hue: the color of our own people self-
determinmg the priorities of the new s to
implement changes for the common
good!
Blacks have been prov ided for the last
decade by the 1978 mandate of the
Federal Communications Commission
practices (FCC) to give preference to
qualified minority applicants for broad­
cast licenses in radio and television.
In June the Supreme Court upheld this
prov ision of the FCC which I believe can
set the stage for encouraging further
black entrepreneurs to move into broad­
casting as an effective economic wedge.
With our abilities to mount a greater suc­
cess in the field of communica­
tions whether in print, magazines, or
the electronic format, we are providing
the critical difference to address such
major problems as impact the black
community, yet take advantage of the
public service requirements so sorely
needed by minority communities.
Inspired by a recent article in the New
York Times. I cite the quotation from
Gerald D Smith, an executive at black-
owned WOL-AM in Washington DC.
Cathy Hughes, who has aired sensitive
issues raised by the arrest, of Mayor
Marion S. Barry. Jr. on drug charges on
her call-in radio show, bought WOL in
1980 under the new minority ownership
policies implemented by the FCC in
1978.
Said WOL executive Smith. “As so
often is the case with minorities, until
you get in the front door, you can't move
around the house ”
That "house" in the communications
field should provide us with the beginn­
ing of what can develop into one of the
most powerful agencies for self-growth
on the agenda of Afro-Americans >n the
coming century.
We can seek to further the advances
already made if wv seize the moment to
capitalize upon the pioneering efforts of
those who have already distinguished
themselves in the national communica­
tions field.
Ironically, the fictional film presenta­
tion of Spike Lees “Do The Right
Thing" emulated the physical conditions
Cathy Hughes established for her radio
station by mov ing it from Georgetown to
a v isible entity that passers-by can watch
as they take a "store front" view of the
announcers at work. This has been a
mainstream attraction in Los Angeles for
radio station KIEV anchored in the AR­
CO Center shopping mall in the hub of
the underground arcade.
Hughes opted to shift the music pro­
gramming at her station to talk-and-
music format which led the way to in­
creasing community awareness of vital
race sensitive issues that would previous­
ly have been addressed from the myopic
mainstream persuasion, if at all.
The statistics on minority ownership
of radio and television released by the
FCC encourage us further to take a more
active role in exploring these areas for
growth and self-empowerment. Present
station owners in financial distress or for
other reasons exploring the sale of their
stations are prov ided tax advantages for
minority buyers. Increases of 1 percent
in 1978 to about 3.5 percent today in
minority ow nership tell only a part of the
story' for the past and for the future.
There exist 12.000 radio licenses and
1,200 television licenses, and among
them 182 radio stations and 17 telev ision
stations are licensed to 110 companies
owned by blacks.
These figures are documented by the
National Association of Black-Owned
Broadcasters, a Washington trade group.
Other minorities, says the FCC are less
represented among owners
The frank and forthright statement of
James S. Winston, executive director and
general counsel to the black broadcasters'
group decries the responsibility of the
owners to increase minority program­
ming. The prime purpose of ow nership
goes beyond that and entails successful
programming, solid financial operation,
and the commitment to use a portion of
the time allotment for public serv ice pur­
poses However, most minority owners,
he reveals, give substantial time and ma­
jor concerns to airing minority issues
with the hope of impacting change in bet­
ter employment, drug prevention and
abuse, and making strides against the
disease of racism
The greatest change has been seen in
radio!
Radio is proving itself the adversary
of hard-necked bigotry, confusion and
misunderstanding against minorities.
Radio is a source of ongoing educational
entertainment to move us forward in
seeking action programs and action alter­
natives to indifference. Indifference can
suffocate our progress. Radio galvanizes
us to take a stand SOMEWHERE when
it feeds us its issue-oriented jolts of elec­
trical energy.
The story of an Aleut and Eskimo
Company minority purchase of WTNH.
and ABC affiliate in Anchorage is inspir­
ing. The station aired "For A Drug Free
Generation" and allocated all of its
resources to pre-empt prime time for its
coverage! They had never dared to do
such a revolutionary thing in the past and
risk alienating the advertisers or au­
diences. The success of their venture was
noted The 6.500 shareholders of minori­
ty Aleut and Eskimos has purchased 11
radio stations and WSMV-TV in
Nashville as well as WTNH-TV. Both
TV stations have won awards, notes
George V. Kriste. a Cook Inlet Com­
munications executive.. the owner com­
pany on record for the minority purchase
plan.
Inspiration comes from W. Don Corn-
well. a black, who left Wall Street a few
years ago to form Granite Broadcasting
Corporation. They operate and own two
ABC and two NBC station affiliates.
Cornwell's goal is economically broader
than the radio aims and objectives. He
avoids the "narrowcast" in favor of main­
taining a financially viable, growth-
oriented enterprise.
But rest assured that the minority
ownership has had a strong impact upon
the treatment of minorities in newscast
coverage and public affairs.
Buffalo became the nation's largest
black-owned television station in 1986
when it was bought from Capital Cities
by Queen City Broadcasting Inc. The
chairman and major stockholder is soft-
drink executive J Bruce Llewellyn of
Philadelphia, an Afro-American It is an
ABC affiliate station, notes its president
an general manager Stephen H Kima-
tian who stresses the high interest in hap­
penings in the black community.
Programs are selected w ith value to
minorities, notes Kimatian “ Buffalo
Beat" is a locally produced community
affairs program which zeroes in on
minority issues of concern for Buffalo’s
28 percent minority population as well
as for the vast majority who are v itally
concerned with the overall picture
As a Publisher. I often have to remind
myself and others that in serv icing the
minority needs the majority is also well
served Readership is encouraged, a
mental activity that produces its own
rewards for everyone impacted. A
publisher prov ides information as fuel for
thought.
Literacy, high on President Bush's
agenda, is promoted through the w ritten
word. How marvelous to be a part of that
agenda. . you the reader, and our
Partland Observer.
But I do not flatter one media above
the other as being the sole key to battle
the inequities blocking the social system
like sludge in the gears of a Rolls Royce!
Will radio change the sy stem by itself?
No!
Will television change the system by
itself? No!
Will newspapers and the print media
change the system by itself? No!
The urgent agenda we set to satisfy the
anxiety of minority concerns can impact
the superstructure of government, taxa­
tion. and economic progress. Our con­
cerns must be aggressively addressed by
ALL THE MEDIA!
To compete w ith each other at the cost
of our own ultimate self-destruction is
a foolhardy risk. The rooster that crows.
"I'm better than you are!" is a sorry bird
when he's singled out for that
reason, and roasted!
Health competition generates produc­
tivity theoretically.
Unhealthy competition attacks the sup­
portive base and undermines the
superstructure of synergistic success.
We'll topple like a house of cards if we
set up an opposition instead of trying to
sell our own particular service for its
specialized demographies on the basis of
our own character as a media force.
As a publishing journalist my crusade
is to attract advertisers seeking the public
whose habits include reading and who
reflect the good taste and upward mobili­
ty of an educated public driven to higher
quality and self-improvement. The glorious starpower for our increasing,
consumer-aware corporation is our substantive wealth, materially and
prime advertiser and we anticipate un- spiritually.
One small glow upon the dial of old-
paralled growth in the future!
fashioned
radio can electrify our fre­
As we prosper, so will our nation,
quencies
in
living color One small glow
when we get right down to cause and
upon
the
TV
screens of new-fashioned
effect.
My friend Bruce Merrin with offices digital transmission can edify the whole
in Encino. California recently returned world in living color
from ifortland to share his public rela­
One small glow upon the black-and-
tions expertise and executive knowledge white newspaper can communicate to
with the July International Group of hemispheres in living color.
Agents and Bureaus newsletter. Bruce
Multiplied, the media impact ot infor­
Merrin’s Celebrity Speakers Bureau, mation can illuminate the stratosphere.
tops on the west coast and featuring
Note: Bruce Merrin was elected 2nd
luminaries from sports, showbiz, and vice president of IGAB officers at the
high executive Fortune 500 places is Chicago Conference of International
often called upon to lend a speaker to a Group of Agents & Bureaus.
banquet or meeting occasion by another We wish to thank Jeremy Gerard of the
bureau.
New York Times, National Edition, for
"It is known as co-brokering,” Bruce providing the statistics to us on broad­
told me. "And it is successful for casting as of August 1, 1990.
everyone concerned only when we define
cooperation. Cutting each other’s throat
to grab a celebrity without the other
broker know ing about it is suicide. None
of us would enjoy the prosperity of our
respective businesses if we failed to
observe the rules of self-survival: Do un­
to others w hat you want them to do unto
What minorities can expect from
you!"
the Supreme Court and the strategies
Bruce Merrin wishes to set up an they should adopt to affect the high
Oregon-based wing of his successful PR C ourt’ s decisions in the 1990s w ill be
and Celebrity Speakers Bureau. Like any among the issues discussed during the
business man he knows that profit is the National Bar Association 65th Annual
name of tne game when played by the Convention, July 29 through August 4,
ultimately high standards of self­ 1990, at the Westin G alleria, Houston,
excellence.
Texas.
A projected 1500 m inority
As the Portland Observer publisher, I
can assure you that our advertising base lawyers from across the country w ill
is our heartland for survival. Radio attend the N B A ’ s first convention o f the
should not raid it. Television must not new decade. The convention theme
raid it. Any more than we plan to raid “ Toward Justice” , signals the bar asso-
them! We should estalish guidelines for ciation’ s call for greater activism from
enhancing each other's domain, and on­ c iv il rights forces to move the country
ly then shall we empower ourselves in closer to racial and economic equality
a triple-media thrust to unshackle the by the year 2000.
The N B A Presidential Show­
demons of depression and regression
case Seminar on Tuesday, July 31 at
zeroing in.
The albatross of self-defeatism can be 9:30 a.m. w ill center on m inorities and
unshackled as ail of us look forward, the Supreme Court. The seminar titled,
“ M inorities and the Supreme C ourt in
with realism, toward the future.
These times are Ours, if we want them the 1990s: Reconstruction Revisited?”
w ill compare past and present decisions
badly enough.
on minorities and highlight upcoming
I say that we do.
Let's challenge the communications court decisions which may have a po­
systems of the world to unite for sav ing tential impact on m inorities.
Other major seminar panel
mankind, and allow the significant Afro-
American minority to make its pro­ discussions at the convention include:
* The Future o f the H istorically Black
gressive mark.
College
and Law School,” Wednesday,
Our heard voices shall be all the more
August
1 at 10:00 a.m.; “ The Presi­
purposeful as we satellite our com­
dent’
s
Forum
on Corporate America:
munication stars in a firmament of
NBA Predicts
High Minority
Convention Turnout
D ISC LA IM ER ..
Last week, the Observer published a letter to the
editor written by Woody Broadnax. The letter repre­
sented Mr. Broadnax's perspective on the Stay Clean
Inc. controversy. As with all "letters to the editor", the
views expressed by Mr. Broadnax are not necessarily
supported by the Observer. Mr. Broadnax is not an
Observer staff writer; the Portland Observer opted to
publish his letter to present an alternate view on the
Stay Clean Inc. controversy.
ERVER
P O R TL
(USPS 959-680)
OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Established In 1970
Alfred L. Henderson
Publisher
Joyce Washington
Operations Manager
Gary Ann Garnett
Business Manager
Leon Harris
Editorial Manager
The PORTLAND OBSERVER is
published weekly by
Exie Publishing Company, Inc.
4747 N.E. M.L.K., Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
P.O. Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
(503) 288-0033 (Office)
FAX#: (503) 288-0015
Deadlines for all submitted materials:
Articles: Monday, 5 p.m. - Ads: Tuesday, 5 p.m.
POSTM ASTER: S *n d Addr»»« Chang«« to: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137,
Portland, OR 97208. Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions Manuscripts and photo
graphs should be clearly tabled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed
envelope A l created design display ads become the sole property of Ihis newspaper and
can not be used in other publications or personal usage, without the written consent of the
general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition ol such ad 1990
PORTLAND O BSERVER ALL RIG HTS RESERVED. REPRO DUCTION IN WHOLE
OR IN PART W ITH O U T PERM ISSIO N IS PROHIBITED
Subscriptions: $20 00 per year in the Tri-County area. $25 00 all other areas
The Portland Observer Oregon's Oldest African-American PubicaBon - is a member
of The National Newspaper Association - Founded in 1885. and The National Advertis­
ing Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc., New York, NY
“Mama, You
Ought to See
All the Xmas
Trees Out
Here!”
wW / \
X X
nJ the lawns stay green all
year. ” That’ s what I wrote
home when I first came to the Pacific
Northwest. A teenage high school drop­
out from St. Louis, M issouri, the adven­
ture had begun -- w orking as a track
laborer or as a section hand for the South­
ern Pacific Railroad. High up in the
W illam ette National Forest above Oak
Ridge or Eugene, the mile post read
“ 800 miles to San Fransisco.” (Time:
Late 1930’ s).
O bviously, the “ Perspectives” co l­
umn is s till out in the “ boonies” (boon-
docks). This period was a prelude to the
activities I described in the previous col­
umns. A t ‘ home’ one could w ork across
the Mississippi R iver in Decatur, Illin o is
during summer school vacation for S18 a
five and a h alf day week on the Wabash
Railroad -- w hile i f you shipped out to
Oregon you could make the fantastic
sum o f S32 a week. And during the
winters o f 18 foot snow drifts, twenty-
hour shifts could see you sending home
as much as $500 in a month.
You would have to emerge from a
trap door in the ro o f o f the little cabins
furnished for quarters - coal stoves to
cook on and huge tin tubs for baths and
washing. The ice boxes were fashioned
to the porches o f the cabins w ith log
chains - but, s till, hungry bears would
sometimes come up at night, rip them
loose and carry the works down into the
canyon to break open and feast. A t the
end o f a shift o f clearing snow from the
switches o f a ‘ house track’ it could be
d iffic u lt getting home. W alking on top
o f the drifts you had to sweep newly-
fallen snow from the ro o f in order to find
the trap door.
W orking on the track in winter was
a very hazardous a ctivity, fo r falling
snow m uffles almost all sound. You
cannot hear a train whistle (steam) or the
clarion blast o f a streamliner diesel. A
‘ safety man’ would stand beneath the
warning semaphore (which could not be
seen through the driving snow). When
he heard a warning click (barely) he
w ould plod down the line o f men, slap­
ping each on the back. It would seem
only seconds later that a 70 mile-an-hour
passenger train would swoosh by, bound
down grade for Portland. (Interestingly,
a black man from Iowa invented a sig­
naling device for use IN S ID E THE
EN G IN E C A B , so that a locomotive
engineer could determine i f the track
ahead was clear o f trains - even i f snow
or rain obscured the semaphore.
There is one thing I wish to bring to
your attention, fo r it relates to the em­
ployment situation o f young people to­
day - and to many social traumas from
education to gangs. L ike most late teen­
agers o f those days, I knew how to oper­
ate several dozen types o f machinery
and equipment. And because o f a thor­
ough grounding in the basics (math and
language), I could read and interpret
detailed instructions - and could carry
out many tasks unsupervised. This back­
ground was rather typical o f the times -
even for many who went no farther than
the 8th grade.
I totaled up this ‘equipment savvy'
at one time: back hoc, welder, truck
driver, leather cutter, steam cleaner, freight
handler, chicken plucker (smiles), com ­
pressor operator, push cart delivery o f
coal and ice, freight checker, landscaper
assistant, grinder, clerk, porter, bellhop,
dishwasher, pinsetter, miscellaneous
equipment in foundries, and much else.
A11 by the age o f seventeen. It must ,>e
realized, o f course, that in those days
child labor laws were weakly enforced,
and that many employers had none o f the
applicable insurance. But you were always
busy after school and on weekends --
little time for nonsense or mischief.
Back to the mountains and forests o f
Oregon. Another thing that you wrote
home about was, “ You just think we’ ve
got mountains back there in the Ozarks -
those are hills, believe me.” On the
mountains there was both tragedy and
comic relief. Men secured a ‘grubstake’
for the future, and others died. Some
went on to become craftsmen and pro­
fessionals and other stayed on the job
until retirement - or ‘ fe ll in their traces’ ,
the railroad often burying them up when
no relatives could be located.
I remember the time we sent “ Pete”
down the mountain to get some liquor at
Oakridge, 70 miles away. Hopping
freights was the usual means o f transpor­
tation and when he did not return the
same evening, we went looking fo r him
early the next morning. Pete had gotten
to Oakridge all right, but had gotten
drunk in town before hopping a freight
back w ith a big sack o f wine and w his­
key. We found him where he had fallen
o ff a flat car, his leg cut o ff just below the
knee. He had stuck the stump in the
snow and packed it in tightly. And there
was Pete, stoned, singing at the top o f his
voice, “ What took you so lon g ” he ex­
claimed. Relieved somewhat, we de­
manded, “ What happened to the booze,
man?” (he survived).
And then, too there were the “ happy
g irls ” who rode freights to the railroad
and logging camps on paydays - b ring­
ing ‘ happiness’ and, sometimes, fa m il­
iar ailments. In later years I was to meet
several in Portland or Los Angeles -
proper, sedate matrons w ith respectable
holding in rental units and/or a “ good
man.” A quick w ink or smile and then to
pass on in the play o f life. A ffirm ative
action and non-discrim ination before its
time.
the Impact o f Advancement o f A frican
Americans in the Corporate Sector,”
Thursday, August 2 at 9:30 a.m.; and
“ Diversity in the Legal Profession: Strate­
gies for Change,” Friday, August 3 at
9:30 a.m.
The National Bar Association,
the nation’ s oldest and largest m inority
bar association was founded in 1925 in
Des Moines, Iowa by twelve African
American legal p ie ” " r s . Today, the
N B A has 73 a ffilia te chapters and a pro­
fessional network o f over 12,000 law ­
yers, judges, legal scholars and law stu­
dents.
TLC-TNT Summer
Camp Returns
The Tender Loving Care-Think
‘ n T ry (T L C -T N T ) Program kicked o ff
another two weeks o f summer camp on
Monday, August 13, at 9:00 a.m. at
Portsmouth M iddle School, 5103 N.
W illis Blvd. for youth cityw ide.
The Bureau o f Parks and Rec­
reation and Portland Public Schools are
co-sponsors o f the camp which w ill run
u ntil August 24, starting each day at
9:00 a.m. and ending at 3:00 p.m.
The program combines academ­
ics, sports and physical fitness activities
with intensive group and individual work
on personal goal setting, self-esteem
building, respect fo r self and others,
peer pressure counseling, basic comm u­
nication concepts, and study skills.
Consistent individual attention
is given to each participant along w ith
stron parent involvem ent and constant
m onitoring by positive role models. The
programs are staffed by a combination
o f professional teachers, recreation pro­
fessionals, com m unity volunteers, and
high school and college age counselors,
many o f whom have participated in pro­
grams in prior years and arc examples o f
its four year success.
The program is unique in that it
provides cultural, social, emotional and
academic guidance for youth at risk in
the community.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
"The Eyes and Ears ol the Community
Office: (503)208-0033
Fax#: (503)208-0015