Page 4—The Portland Observer • January 2, 1991
Hairdressing is very
competitive. You always
have to be up on the
styles and you have to
try to please your
customers. I treat each
one as if I was just
starting the day. You
must always be warm
and kind. I treat people
the way I want to be
treated. If you keep a
smile on your face you
draw more people.
BY CYNTHIA BROWN
ou can do anything you want to but you have
to work at it. Set goals,” advises Lonnie
Jenkins of Unity of Love Beauty Salon. She
has followed her own advice. She has been a
beautician for 27 years and has owned her own salon for 8 years.
Jenkins is originally from Bastrop, Louisiana and moved
to the Northwest when she was 18 years old. “ I graduated from
high school and wanted to get out of my small home town. I
think everyone from a small town should venture out,” com
mented Jenkins. She went to Seattle first to care for an ailing
aunt and then moved to Portland because her brother, Saul
Kelly, was living here. Her first job was at Joseph Plastics, Co.,
folding drapes and shower curtains for $ 1.25 and hour, but she
knew she didn’t want to do that for the rest of her life. She soon
married and started a family, but when the marriage didn’t
work out, she found herself a single mother with two young
daughters and needed to find a way to support them. “ At that
time the only professions open to black women were as maids,
teachers, nurses or hair dressers. Even as a young child I wanted
to be a nurse or a cosmetologist, “ recalled Jenkins. “ I signed
up for nursing training at Emanuel Hospital but I couldn’t stand
to see the suffering of the patients in the Bum Center there, so
I decided to go to cosmetology school. ’ ’ Tips from clients who
came to the beauty college to get their hair done helped Jenkins
pay for the program.
After she received her license she started at Dorothy’s in
Beaverton and eventually worked at Lovely Ladies Salon and
Walnut Park Beauty Salon. “ I wanted to venture out on my
own. It’s every beautician’s dream. It’s something I always
wanted to do and I knew my clientele would follow me,” said
Jenkins. And when you’re working for someone else “ no mat
ter what you’re doing, there is someone hounding you, and as
a black person you have to do twice as good to be there.”
Jenkins knows success with owning a small business is a
combination of hard work and determination. But herace in the
hole is her attitude. “ Hairdressing is very competitive. You
always have to be up on the styles and you have to try to please
your customers. I treat each one as if I was just starting the day.
You must always be warm and kind. I treat people the way I
want to be treated. If you keep a smile on your face you draw
more people. If you have a chip on your shoulder, all you have
is a chip. Each customer is doing you a favor by being there.”
And, emphasized Jenkins. “ I’m good at what I do.” She also
knows putting in long hours goes with the territory. “ You’ve
got to be there every day; be there hours when no one else
is. bu11’ve enjoyed every part of it-except being away from
my kids-and it’s still a challenge. Just when I think about
quitting, God sends someone my way.”
Jenkins’s thoroughness and attention to detail carries
through to her personal appearance. “ I’m picky about my
own hair. For years I did my own perms, but I’ve trained a
friend and now we exchange. Cosmeticians are the worst
custom ers," she said.
Keeping up on trends and training is also important to
Jenkins. So much so that she received training to become
an instructor of cosmetology. One of the fashion trends she
enjoys the most is hairweaving. * ‘ Hairweaving has been on
the scene for 25 or 30 years but at first it was big and bulky.
Now you can’t tell if (the hair) was woven, it looks real.
The hair we use is soft and pliable. You can perm it or buy
it already permed and colored,” she added. “ I enjoy it the
most because it gives dramatic results. It’s a great feeling
when I’m finished and the client is pleased.”
Jenkins loved Portland when she first moved here and
felt, at that time “ if you lived ir. Portland and didn’t make
it, you were lazy-there were so many programs.” She still
enjoys living and working here even though things are get
ting rougher. “ I especially like Northeast Portland. It’s a
central location, not like Beaverton or Lake Oswego and I
plan to stay.” However, she feels the northeast neighbor
hood is not treated well by the media. “ Other neighbor
hoods have the same stuff going on. Every neighborhood
has crime and violence but it doesn’t get into the paper,”
she said. Jenkins also thinks black businesses are important
to the neighborhood. “ Small businesses are the heart of
this city; we keep things going.” And she feels owning a
beauty salon is a good way to go. “ The first five or six
years are not going to bring in a lot of money but it’s a com
fortable living. And you have to put a lot into it and stop
being jealous of your neighbor next door. Think of tech
niques to try to get the business going better,” she com
mented.
Unity of Love Salon offers cuts, perms and hair
weaving. They are located at 6720 N.E. Martin Luther
King. Jr. Blvd. and arc open Monday through Saturday.
Lonnie Jenkins is available for appointments Tuesday
through Saturday. The telephone number is 283-5440.
Follow Your Money
Continued from front page
Hampton prefers construction.
“ The racial tension is greater and
the work is harder, but the benefits are
better in construction,” says Hampton.
80% of the blacks in local 296 work in
the shipyards. It was difficult for Blacks
to break into construction, according to
Hampton. There were racial jokes and
remarks to contend with. You started out
on the hardest jobs. And it was harder for
Blacks to keep jobs. “ I ’d go in there with
the attitude that I know I’m going to have
to outwork everybody here to keep the
jo b ,” says Hampton.
UNION NOW STANDS BEHIND
BLACKS
If you are harassed, the union will
back you up. You have to have docu
mentation, but the union will be there,
says Hampton, Hart and Carr. “ If you
get run off a job, you can file a grievance
and get your job back. There was an
incident in the shipyard, where white
guys could get their check early but this
black guy who wanted his check early
was told to take a drug test. He refused
and was fired on the spot. The union
stood by this guy, went all the way to
arbitration, spent $2,500 to get this guy
his job back” , says Hampton.
“ We had a situation where the white
craft workers were taking breaks in the
morning and afternoon but the black
laborers were denied a break. Even though
it wasn’t in the contract, the union pres
sured the employer into giving us a break
too” , Carr explains.
Although other construction trades
(carpenters, electricians, plumbers, sheet-
metal workers, pipefitters, etc.) are still
iargcly white, Hampton sees Laborers
local 296 as a stepping stone into other
opportunities in the industry. “ You get
experience. You get to check out the
other trades. You could even eventually
go into business for yourself, as a con
tractor.”
African Americans have clearly
benefitted from the strength of local 296.
Blacks are joining in increasing num
bers. More Blacks are being elected to
official union positions. And despite
continuing bigotry and racism in the in
dustry, a new generation of workers is
challenging the old ways, according to
Hart.
Right now, shipyard work is boom
ing. Oil tankers and mothballed navy
ships need work as U.S. involvement
escalates in the Persian Gulf. For a sev
enteen dollar union initiation fee, labor
ers can be sent out now on union jobs.
Old timers urge young Blacks to “ pay
your dues and follow your money” , to
stick with the union through the hard
times, and get good wages, benefits and
quality of life.
Follow your money...your union is
where it happens and where you can
decide to work for change. The key is
money and politics and the A. Philip
Randolph Institute is the political base of
the Black Trade Unionist.
Listen to the old timers and follow
your money and attend your union, labor
council, and A. Philip Randolph Insti
tute meetings. The next A. Philip Ran
dolph Institute meeting will be Thurs
day, January 10,1991 at 1125S.E. Madi
son, Suite 100. Labor Council - North
west Oregon Labor Council meets 2nd
and 4th Mondays, 7:00 pm 3645 S.E.
32nd, 235-9444.
Oregonians
For Peace
Oregonians will send President Bush
a message that they want peace three
days before his deadline for war. On
Saturday, January 12, at 12 noon, thou
sands will gather at Pioneer Courthouse
Square in Portland for a rally and march
for peace in the Middle East. The pro
gram will include religious, political,
and other community leaders as well as
live musical entertainment
Coalition spokesperson John Linder
stated, “ Never before have the Ameri
can people had such a clear opportunity
to stop a senseless war before it starts.
President Bush needs a certain amount
of public support in order to go to war in
the gulf, and this rally is the best way to
tell him he doesn’t have that support in
Oregon. We want our soldiers to come
home alive, and we want the billions of
dollars being wasted in the gulf to be
spent meeting human needs at home.”
Linder noted that the rally is sched
uled not long before the birthday of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. He said, “ This is
fitting, as Dr. King would have opposed
war in the gulf just as he opposed the
Vietnam War. As in Vietnam, a dispro
portionate number of the combat sol
diers in the gulf are African-American
and poor, and war will bring death and
destruction abroad while preventing
progress toward social justice in this
country.”
January 10,1991
Oregon Convention Center
777 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd.
11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
Tickets $15.00
Tables $150.00 (Seats 10)
‘Where Do We Go From Here"
Keynote "Speaker:
Joseph Watkins
Assoc. Director, Office of Public Liaison, The White House
Sponsored By
Portland Federal Executive Board
Black Employment Subcommittee
&
Oregon Commission on Black Affairs
For Ticket Information,
Write the Federal Executive Board, Federal Building Room
1776,1220 S.W. Third Avenue, Portland, Or 97204,
Phone (503) 326-3010
Peter Rabbit's
Dream of A Hare-
Raising Tale
As scripted by Robin Suttles in col
laboration with members of the Carousel
Company, this Peter Rabbit’s a rebel;
he’s a cool dude who believes that rules
are made to be broken and that bad
things only happen to other bunnies. But,
while trespassing in Mr. M acGregor's
garden one day, Peter discovers himself
in a fantasy world where the vegetables
spring to life and put him on trial for his
misdemeanors. In traditional Carousel
Company style, the errant Peter eventu
ally repents and is reunited with his Mom
and siblings, Mopsy, Flopsy and Cotton
tail.
Peter Rabbit’s Dream or A Hare-
Raising Tale opens January 12 and runs
Saturdays at the new showtimes of
11:00am and 1:30pm through February
23. Wednesday performances at 9:30am
and 10:45 are scheduled for January 16
and 30, and February 6 ,2 0 and 27. Tick
ets for Saturday performances are avail
able at the door. Reservations are re
quired for Wednesday shows and can be
made by calling 823-3660. Performances
are indoors at the Carousel Courtyard,
710 N.E. Hollady, and admission prices
are $5 for adults and $3 for children aged
12 and under. Group discounts are avail
able.
One of the Northwest Largest Wig Displays
Wigs and Hairpieces For all Nationalities
E va G abor
N aomi S ims
R enee of P aris
Synthetic & Human Hair
For Braiding & Weeving
Mon - Fr. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 - 5:30 pm
Near Lloyd Center
282-1664
1105
N.E. Broadway
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1
Wigland
Black College Graduates
A Study of Earnings and Unemployment
A rchdiocese
of P ortland
in O regon
You are invited to attend
The Third Annual Memorial Mass
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
"and those who lead the many to justice
shall be like the stars forever"
THE REVEREND GEORGE H. CLEMENTS
Pastor, Holy Angels Church, Chicago, Illinois,
Preaching
THE MOST REVEREND WILLIAM J. LEVADA, S.T.D.,
Archbishop of Portland, Presiding
SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1991
Five Thirty in the Evening
IMMACULATE HEART CHURCH
2926 North Willaims Avenue and Stanton Street
Sponsored by
Portland Black Catholic Lay Caucus
Archiocesan Office for Worship
The Mass will be proceeded by
a program of exciting area talent
"Time To Make A Change"
Featuring Northwest Portland
Community Youth
The Mass will be followed
a buffet dinner featuring
an African - American Dinner
Immaculate Heart Parish Center
Seven in the Evening
Immaculate Heart Parish Center
Three Thirty in the Afternoon
Reception To Follow
Talent Program and Dinner Sponsored by
Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Division
Labor Salute to
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Keynote speaker APRI National President, Norman Hill,
New York, New York
January 18th 1991 Breakfast, Northwest Oregon Labor
Council .The Oregon AFL-CLO, LERC State Fed, APRI (Port
land Chapter) and other labor organizations
All Meetings begin at 7:00 P.M.
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MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
CELEBRATION LUNCHEON
• 9
a
y
Vfc
r 9 .
In his article “ Black College Gradu
ates in the Labor market, 1979 and 1989,
“ Author Joseph Meisenheimer II exam
ines education and employment trends
for black men and women.
Meisenheimer concludes that dif
ferences in education do not completely
explain labor market disparities between
blacks and whites. Among college-edu
cated men, he says, black graduates have
substantially higher unemployment rates
and lower median earnings than white
graduates.
“ Black labor force participants have
historically been more than twice as
likely as their white counterparts to be
unemployed, “ Meisenheimer writes. “ Al
though this differential has been attrib
uted in large part to the lower educa
tional attainment of blacks, the rates for
blacks are also higher than those for
whites at each level of education.”
A similar disparity exists in earn
ings. College-educated black men ages
25 to 64 had median weekly earnings in
1989 of $544, Meisenhelimer says, com
pared with $719 for their white counter
parts. “ This means the median earnings
of these black men ranged from 72 to 79
percent o f the median for white men.
This gap was greater than that 10 years
earlier, when college-educated black men
earned 80 to 90 percent as their white
counterparts.”
The picture for black women is a
different one. Writes Meiscnheirmer” In
contrast to the substantial earnings gap
between black and white men, college-
educated women of each race had nearly
equal median weekly earnings in both
years studied.”
For what reasons do black and wh itc
women college graduates have similar
median earnings while black men cam
less than their white peers? One answer
may lie in the type of work they do,
according to Meisenheimer.
Black and white women, Meisen
heimer writes, work in very similar oc
.......
cupations. Nearly equal proportions are
managers, and roughly half of both groups
work in professional speciality occupa
tions. Among these professionals, over
two-thirds of blacks and nearly two-thirds
of whites work either as teachers or in
health professions.
In contrast, black and white college-
educated men have different occupations
which are consistent with the lower median
earnings of blacks. In 1989,22 percent of
employed black men compared with 29
percent of white men were managers.
Black men were also less likely than
white men to work in professional spe
cialty occupations.
Although black college-educated men
suffer in comparison with white, col
lege-educated men in earnings and un
employment, they arc better off than
black men who have only high school
educations.
“ College-educated blacks not only
are more likely to have a job than blacks
with a high school education, but also,
among those employed full time, college
graduates cam considerably more,
“ Meisenheimer notes. In 1989, black
male high school graduates ages 25 to 64
had median weekly earnings of $353;
college graduates earned about one-and-
a-half times that amount.
The notion that a college educa
tion can contribute to closing the eco
nomic gap between blacks and whiles
appears to hold true for women, ‘‘Meis
enheimer concludes. “ But the theory
may be questioned in terms of men be
cause substantial economic differences
still exist between college-educated black
and white men, and little progress to
ward narrowing the gap was made dur
ing the 1980’s.
‘‘Nevertheless, for all blacks, col
lege education docs provide consider
able economic rewards above those gen
erally received with only a high school
education.”
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