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PORTLA^Ö
Volume XX, Number 34
Mike Keever to Visit Portland to
Promote Reading Program
Dr. A. Lee Henderson previews
potential of ad revenue in mi
nority publications
PAGE 2
We're all familiar with the grow
ing problem o f racism...catch
the view from a youth perspec
tive on KBPS' and Portland
Public Schools' "Class of 2000:
The Prejudice Puzzle" PAGE 6
t O n
OPINION
Is it education or good minds
that produce results? Professor
McKinley Burt reflects upon this
question in "Perspectives"
PAGE 2
Angelique Sanders analyzes the
shortcomings of the capitalistic
system in "...And Justice For
All"
PAGE 7
As promised, Ullysses Tucker
examines why people put up with
physical and emotional abuse,
and what can be done PAGE 7
SPORES
Ullysses Tucker presents an al
ternate view on the NIKE con
troversy
PAGE 5
A aron Fentress h igh ligh ts
D om inique H ardem an, an
underappreciated P.S.U. foot
ball player on the rise PAGE 5
Also, don't miss the preview of
the upcoming Martinez-Arce
boxing match
PAGE 5
■■SOSQ2HHI
I O R THOSE LOOKING...Are
dating services worth it? Meet a
woman from the American
Singles Network, and see why
she believes in them PAGE 6
□ ’’Cowboy Mike”
Keever will bring
his "magic time
machine" to stu
dents at King Ele
mentary this
Thursday, in an
effort to promote
students' reading
enthusiasm
' hen Ringling Bros, and Barnum
& Bailey Circus Clow n, Mike
Keever, com es to town to conduct
"RINGLING READERS", you can be
sure he'll bring along his size 36 shoes,
red bulbous nose, orange wig and an
im portant m essage for children in the
Portland area-read in g is fun!
A nationwide program designed
to e n c o u ra g e c h ild re n to re a d ,
"RINGLING READRS" is sponsored in
cooperation with Reading Is Fundam en
tal (RIF), a national non-profit organi
zation founded to prom ote reading. This
year's all-new , 25 m inute, live presenta
tion will feature "Cowboy Mike" K eever
and his magical time m achine perform
ing for M artin Luther King Elem entary
school at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Septe-
m er 6.
Children from K ing, as well as
other Portland schools have been in
vited on a special field trip to participate
in the program at TH E AM ERICA N
ADVERTISING M USEU M located at
9 N.W . Second in Portland. The field
trip is sponsored by local Burger King
restaurants and their community restau
rants and their com m unity representa
tives Doris Bray, Mary Jorzig, Felita
Burton and Charlene Gordon. Burger
King is assisting schools with money for
the field trips, and the com m unity repre
sentatives will be serving students punch
and cookies at the Museum.
To show children that "Read
ing Lets You Imagine", Cow boy Mike
will take them on an exciting tour through
time. An im agination tim e machine,
run in part by children's ow n im agina
tions, allows them to discover, through
September 5,1 9 9 0
"The Eyes and Ears o f The Community"
News Inside Barnum & Bailey Circus and Clown
NEWS
ERVER
W
Pictured above and below are students at Martin Luther King
Elementary school on Northeast Seventh and Alberta.
books, how life was in days gone by and
how it m ight look in the future. The
program strives to encourage kids to
develop their imaginations and create a
renew ed enthusiasm for reading.
In addition, each youngster
attending the program w ill receive the
latest edition o f The Ringling Reporter,
an 8-page new spaper containing fun and
fact-filled stories about the Circus. Each
story was w ritten and edited especially
for children by RIF.
Immediately following the
"RINGLING READERS"program, stu
dents and teachers will tour the A dver
tising Museum's current exhibit BROAD
SHEETS, BOMBAST, and BALLY
HOO: The History o f Circus Advertis
ing.
"RINGLING READERS” spon
sor Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey
Circus will be at Portland's Memorial
Coliseum Septemcr 12-16 with nine
exciting performances. Tickets arc on
sale at the Coliseum Box Offic and GI
Joe’s TicketM aster Outlets.
25<P
B U S IN E S S
P R O F IL E
Marlon McClain
Co-Presldent/Mu-Vislon Records & Darkhorse Entertainment
the Selgado project. He stays busy these
days. It seem s like everyone wants him
to hear a dem o tape, a band, or producer
an album. McClain lives by his monthly
planner and sushi, the food he loves
m ost He also enjoys boating and McClain
is single.
P ortland Observer-Darkhorse Rec
ords, w hat does that symbolize-are you
truely a darkhorse?
M cC lain-” Basically, we started the
company and named it “ D arkhorse”
because it’s something that can come
from behind and win. It’s a good way to
describe w hat your concept is about. I
would say i regards to seeing potential
and being able to take it from the devel
opm ental stage, I’ve always been suc
cessful in doing that. Groups like the
Dan Reed Network, U-DREW , my early
work with Nu-Shooze, and Jeff Lorber
Fusion were all unknown talents with
great potential. People didn’t believe
that they had this potential. I’ve always
been in a position to realize this potential
and I guess from that aspect, I guess the
darkhorse premise is true...
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
P o rtla n d O bserver-H ave you al
arlon McClain in no stranger to
ways been an underdog or darkhorse and
the music industry, especially if so, is this the reason why you take
in the city o f Portland, Throughout
the on darkhorses?
chances
sixties and seventies, Marlon played with
M cC lain -’ ’Yes, I ’ve been the dark
the Soul M asters and Pleasure, one o f the horse or underdog. I’ve always enjoyed
most successful groups to come out of the challenges o f being the underdog
the Pacific Northwest. During the eight too. Usually when som eone says that
ies, he released a solo album, “ Changes” , something or someone is not happening,
and played with M aurice W hite, Jeff I try very hard to prove that it is. Som e
Lorber, Kenny G., and the Dazz Band to times, you m ust take chances to prove
name a few. He also produced gold rec that these things can happen, but the
ords for Kenny G and Nu-Shooze. If the rewards are greater than the risk. For
first nine months o f 1990 are any indica example, let’s look at the cases o f the
tion o f his success to come this decade, Dan Reed Network, U-KREW, and Dennis
music industry experts had better start to Springer-my partner (M ike M avrolas)
paying attention to the “ darkhorse” and I are investing in some product that
running a strong race here in the city o f we think is happening. W e’re spending
Portland. Currcndy, he is producing Curtis our own money on our label, Nu-Vision
Selgado, a very sassy blues man and Records, to create a certain amount of
launched New projects like the U-KREW activity in the Northwest, and hopefully
and Dennis Springer )see entertainm ent get m ajor record com panies interested.
page). Springer, a sax player, recently Now, all o f these groups deal on a major
released album (“ R io” ) is destined todo label and this would not have happened
well nationally.
had we not invested in these people. W e
A t 35, McClain is not content with made som e noise.”
how others perceive his music career. He
P o rtla n d O b se rv e r-It’s one thing
believes hard work and perfection of to be in a position to take economic risk
one’s ability and product. M cClain says on new talent, but actually having talent
that lazy people and egos do n ’t progress is another issue. You c a n ’t create an
far in the music industry.
overnight sensation. The artist must bring
W hen the Observer caught up with something to the party-w hat do you look
M cClain, it was after 10 PM and he was for in potential investments?
waiting for a telephone call to Japan. He
M c C la in -” Talent, number one.
had spent the previous eleven hours in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
the studio (Falcon Studio) working on
M
Whom Shall We Educate—Student or Parent?
role played by the home. N or have we
underestimated the negative impact there
t is not an ‘either/or’ situation, but
o f adverse social and economic condi
hold that for a mom ent. First, let me
tions that can seriously impede aca
congratulate and offer encouragem ent
dem ic performance.
to all the many devoted parents and
W hat we did do early on (and for the past
guardians o f Portland school children.
three years) was to point out that there
It is you who will entrust your young
existed in this nation a num ber o f model
ones to a process that should prove to be
situations which portray the very es
a time o f educational challenge and
sence o f “ Education E xcellence,” and
renewed friendships. As I said last week
that access to the m ethodology and
in my article, “ W elcom e Back to
guidelines;xxz that made these achieve
School,” we hope that this new spaper
ments possible is not very difficult at all.
with its summer-long advocacy for ‘Edu
This is true, o f course, only if ‘those in
cational E xcellence’ has been able to
charge’ have a serious and com m itted
reach the school adm inistration with its
intent to repair the disabilities o f so
forthright critiques o f policy.
many failing systems. As we have been
Having said that, let us begin a series o f
aw are, in m any cases, the remedy can
exam inations of the roles and concerns
com e about only through the interven
o f the parents in this district - a process
tion o f the public at large -- AND TH E
we would expect to enhance the learn
PARENT, SPECIFICALLY!
ing environment of the system as a whole.
I had this in mind when suggesting to
Though our earlier evaluations have been
our readers that they obtain from Port
directed primarily to the classroom ,
land’s "A lbina Ministerial Association”
teacher and adm inistration, we have by
a copy of that very useful book and
no means failed to recognize the key
by Professor McKinley Burt
I
<
video, “ Partners for Success: Business
and E ducation” ($9.95). The clearly
w ritten information and formulas for
educational excellence described by ‘suc
cessful’ school principals support my
contention that these are readily avail
able and docum ented exam ples o f edu
cational excellence in current practice
around this nation. Therefore, there is
no excuse w hatsoever for any school
district to claim that its doing the best it
can “ in face o f governm ental restraints
and m andates and the traum atic eco
nomic condition o f the parents” - when,
in fact, districts with half its resources
arc winning national acclaim for their
efforts. G E T TH E BOOK!
Throughout this scries we shall endeavor
to provide Portland parents with a num
ber o f relevant m aterials that can assist
them in interacting with the system in an
effective manner. For exam ple, let us
recom m end the following not-to-large
or com plicated book - perfect for an
age o f planned confusion where school
district employed statisticians are ex
tremely well paid to manipulate the figures
on the academic performance o f your
children. This common-sense introduc
tion to the art is “ How to Think About
Statistics,” by John A. Philip, Jr., W.H.
Freeman and Co., 1988 ed.
Although there are many other applica
tions for this knowledge and insight, ev
ery parent with a child in school should
keep in mind, “ You can be informed by
statistics or fooled by them, but you
can ’t escape them !” 1 have found this
manual extremely useful and recom
mend it without reservation. Only arith
metic is required for the minimum com
putations, making itan excellent tool for
those who have had ‘no course in statis
tics.’ W hen I speak o f “ planned confu
sion,” I have in mind not only those
periodic grade performance bulletins
issued by school districts -- especially
when under fire - but also the esoteric
and rarefied atmosphere where SAT
scores are published, examined and
assessed according to conflicting objee-
tives or personal agendas.
There is much more o f course to this
business o f being a caring and effective
parent o f children who will be entrusted
to this process o f “ educational chal
lenge’ ’ where the results can be rew ard
ing beyond expectations or can be
“ term inal.” As I have rem inded you at
other timed, we are in a “ technological
ag e” where excellence in science and
m athematics -- as well as basic skills -
will be a prerequisite to a meaningful
position in the workforce and the guage
o f life-time earnings. Many parents will
not under ordinary circum stances pos
sess the economic means to provide the
home environm ent conducive to learn
ing activities of this level. W e will want
to deal with this.
I believe I have spoken to this situation
in the past and what I shall explore in
this series is a way -- economic and
social -- that ‘a ll’ parents and the com
munity can formulate and implement an
organized effort to overcom e this dis
ability. If “ A von(R)” can deliver cos
metics and jew elry into ‘disadvantages’
homes, then surely a caring community
can deliver an educational product to
the same consumer. I gave relevant de
scriptions o f my early and middle child
hood learning environm ents where there
was provided every motivational tool
and aid from science books and m aga
zines to construction and scientific toys
(Erector sets, chemistry sets, models o f
flora and fauna and the like).
I would like also to present a great deal
of information and suggestions on proven,
positive activities for youngster. W hich
can have a relevance to educational ex
cellence as well as recreational value.
There will be much else that should be
part o f a caring and supporting home en
vironment -- things that a school system
cannot and should not attcmpL A lot o f
the resources available to accomplish
these tasks are more readily available,
and lessexpensive than we think. Please
follow this series; we ‘c a n ’ bring about
a change if we have the energy, will and
com m itm ent
I