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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1992)
February 1 2 ,1992...The Portland Observer...Page 9 Sir Thomas Upton Traditional Teas Now Available A new collection o f four fine tra ditional tea blends worthy of the brand nam e “ Sir Thom as Lipton” is being introduced into this market by Tho mas J. Lipton Co., Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Developed in response to the in creasing interest o f tea drinkers in tra ditional teas, the new varieties have been specially blended (utilizing Lip- ton’s heritage o f expertise) with the finest ingredients for a smooth, rich, robust taste. The line’s purity o f flavor has been achieved by use o f only the highest quality teas hand-selected from tea plantations around the world at the peak o f their seasons-often only a few days each year. Due to the unique character o f the teas, they have been named for Sir Thom as Lipton, the man whose inge nuity, classic values, adventurous spirit and passion for tea led him to perfect tea blends that set the highest possible standards for quality and tea flavor. In fact, he was known throughout the world as “ Sir T ea.” The four premium blends are avail able in boxes of 20 individually wrapped tea bags. Two blends are also avail able in loose form, enclosed in a foil- wrapped pouch in a quarter-pound tin. The varieties are: English Breakfast - A classic blend o f Ceylons, full-bodied strong black Assams from northeast India, and col- orful teas from the m ountains of Kenya. This rich, robust tea, spectacular in color and natural aroma, can be en joyed any time o f day or night. A vail able in tea bags and loose tea. Earl Grey - A highly aromatic combination of China Black Teas scented with bergamot, acitrus fruit. The names from the British prime minister, Earl G rey, who received the recipe from the Chinese in 1830. Available in tea bags and loose tea. Darjeeling Blend - Indian’s fin est, m ost delicate tea, grown in the foothills of the Himalayas. Harvested only during the brief summer period of peak quality, this tea is noted for its consistent light, soothing flavor and exquisite bouquet. Available in tea bags. Irish Breakfast - A delicious blend o f black teas from Kenya and Rwanda as well as other fine African teas known for their brilliant cup, golden yellow color and distinctive bold state. The Irish sip this blend with milk, sw eet ened to taste. Available in tea bags. The New Sir Thomas Lipton blends have been successfully introduced in Europe and in fine hotels and restau rants here in the U.S. Now they are available in supermarkets in this area, identified by their award-winning white packages with the gold and w hite pic ture o f Sir Thomas Lipton anti delicate illustrations of areas of the world asso ciated with the individual tea blends. Tri-Met News Goodwill Industries Open House Passengers who use wheelchair lifts to board buses and MAX relied on Tri- Met more than ever in 1991. Life use increased nearly 60 per- centover 1990 with ab o u t58,000 boar dings, 44,000 on buses alone. Passen gers used Tri-M et lifts nearly 33,000 times in 1990, and 17,000 in 1989. The lifts are used by passengers in wheel chairs and by other riders who are unable to clim b stairs. New lift-equipped buses, public education and aw areness training pro grams all contributed to the increase. Ninety-three new lift-equipped buses went into service in late 1990, and an additional 13 began serving in spring 1991. Last sum m er, Tri-M et offered “ mobility fairs” throughout the Port land area, which helped customers get acquainted with lifts on buses and MAX. Tri-Met employees participated in three disability aw areness days last year, becoming more fam iliar with the chal lenges that passengers in wheelchairs face. During the event, em ployees maneuvered wheelchairs through an obstacle course and used a wheelchair and lift to board a bus. MAX and 56 o f 74 bus lines are accessible weekdays. Tri-M et is totally accessible on weekends. W eekday accessibility will increase when 108 new lift-equipped buses go into service next fall. Tri-M et has purchased only lift-equipped buses since 1982, placing the agency well ahead o f new A m eri can with Disabilities Act regulations requiring all buses to be accessible by 1997. Tri-M ct’s LIFT mini-buses pro vide door-to-door rides to some 10,000 elderly and disabled people who are unable to use buses or MAX. Volunteer Transportation, Inc., also coordinates T ri-M et’s volunteer service for volun teer agencies. On M onday, February 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Goodwill Industries of the Colum bia W illam ette will hold an open house. This is a good opportunity for the com m unity to see firsthand how G oodw ill is providing vocational reha bilitation to people with disabilities in the community. A tour o f the facility will include a walk through: - The production area where 12,000,000 pounds of used goods are processed annually. - The Goodwill Contracts D epart m ent where twenty-eight em ployees package and assemble everything from cans of tuna to the “ Farming G am e.” - The O ffice Technology and Re tail Skills Programs where people with disabilities learn new skills to become independent and self-sufficient. - The Placement Department where people with disabilities learn how to w rite a resume, interview, and g e ta jo b in their chosen field. Tours are approximately 20 m in utes long, and refreshments will be served. Goodwill Industries of the Colum bia W illam ette is located at 1831 S.E. Sixth Avenue, Portland. No Jobs And No Shame: Conclusion by P r o f. M c K in le y B u r t W ell, I left you with a cliffhanger last week. I had just described the sud den success-and equally sudden fail u re -o f a Portland job-creating, inno vative black businessman; what we need a lot more o f today. Let me repeat the last fascinating paragraphs that led to the query, “ So who killed the venture— Uncle Tom? Is it happening again?” ‘‘In 1948, M r. M cK inley W il liams came here from Los Angeles..„a year before the ‘O regon J o u rn a l,’ one of P o rtla n d ’s two daily new spa pers, w ent on a 25-day strik e (J a n u a ry -F e b ru a ry , 1949). A public a c countant that the time, I was requested to visit M r. W illiam ’s N orth W il liam s Ave. offices to set up an a c counting system for a new an d inno vative en terp rise. Im agine my su rp rise w hen en terin g his facilities...a sea o f w hite faces, a full dozen of the strik in g , laid o f f ‘J o u r n a l’ employees busy at type w riters teletypes, a r t layups, phone banks. W illiam s had conceived and launched a sm all g ro u p of Regional C om m unity N ew spapers of a sim ilar basic form at: St. Johns, B eaverton, Milwaukie, Albina, etc. But each with a news content specific to th a t p a r tic u la r neighborhood’s ongoing a c tivities and u rb an problem s. T he idea sold like hot cakes be cause m erch an ts saw a golden o p p o r tunity to ta ilo r their advertising to the custom ers in th eir specific neigh borhoods. So who killed the venture? W hether the reader identified e i ther ‘‘Uncle T om ” or ‘‘T heE stablish m ent” (or both) as the culprit, he was absolutely right. Both are still with us, alive and well. A contemporary prob lem is that we need this new and som e what arrogant generation to understand that ‘ ‘nothing haschanged but the name of the gam e.” Except that it has be come more sophisticated while rem ain ing equally as dangerous. And when we talk about the critical need for JOBS, remember that most Americans work for small business and the ratio is in creasing daily. Let us exam ine the startup o f Mr. W illiam’s enterprise. From an experi ence-based perspective, I can assure you that this innovative venture was not that different from scores o f white businesses which successfully launched with strength and expertise but without capital sufficient for all emergencies. A case in point is the Tektronix Corpo ration whose roots were in a shabby facility in the same area where years later I started my own Education/ Computer firm in 1969 (at the com er of 25th and S.E. Belmont). At the nearby Italian restaurant, there were alm ost daily stories told of the hilarious and desperate experiences of the two, always broke inventors of what was to prove to be the w orld’s most popular oscilloscope. Before they made it, they were known to have re- served a special window table at this same cafe from which they could watch their little shop several blocks away. The partners fled here whenever they got a call from a friend at their bank informing them the bank had foreclosed and the sheriff was on the way out to serve them. Today, Tektronix has plants and employees all over the world, but what happened to Mr. W illiams? He was so involved 18 hours a day with the intri cacies o f his venture that he forgot to watch his rear; specifically, two blacks, one o f whom considered himself “ King o f the Ghetto, ’ ’ and the other his ‘ ‘court jester.” As we find yet today, both of these little jealous and insecure crea tures mouthed much “ black talk” but at the same time boasted of how much influence they had with “ the white folks dow ntow n” (and the King surely did). Mr. W illiams got out the first three weekly editions o f his papers and the advertisers were ecstatic-so were the creditors who furnished the printing, supplies and leased equipment; not to mention the employees who had dreams o f never having to return to the “ chicken,” stolid constraints of the establishment Oregon Journal. It was not to be. The King and his jester went about their destructive work most immediately. The grinning jester hung around closely enough to find out that the enterprise was “ credit financed” ju st as Tektronix, but w ithout a bank backup and no venture capitalists in the wings. This information was quickly passed to the “ K ing” and this second Uncle Tom just as quickly passed the news dow ntow n-a frequent favor-trading ploy of wrongdoers whose skirts are dirty. Creditors, previously content with wait ing 30 to 60 days for their first payment from a quite promising new business, were now panicked into demanding immediate paym ent by an ugly tele phone campaign forecasting failure. This led to many of them discovering that the owner was, in fact, black! In concert, the Oregon Journal m oved to get its employees back, adopting a more con ciliatory stance. In short, the venture was quickly doomed. Several years ago I talked with two retired em ployees o f the ‘ ‘Journal ’ ’ who verified that sequence o f events. And what Uncle Toms forget is that both “ Ole M assa” and their frie n d s and relatives often tell on them when they fall out of favor. However, the forego ing considerations represent ju st a few of the possibilities and hazards to be faced by a new generation o f black innovators and job-creators. A gain, we need to know if our com m unity is pre pared ethically and em otionally, as well as technically, for the type o f economic development necessary for survival. This question will be addressed in the next series; which will thoroughly explore every elem ent o f this critical field. Portland Observer encourages our readers to write letters to the editor in response to any articles we publish. Delta Sigma Theta’s Founders Day Luncheon Sponsors Needed For Summer Food Service Program Sponsors are needed fo ra Summer Food Service Program which provides children nutritious meals during the summer. Sponsors receive cash reim bursement for providing nonprofit food service to children 18 years or younger in low-income areas. A pplications are due May 15. Participation is open to public or private nonprofit organizations, schools, residential camps, Indian tribal govern ments, migrant agencies, and units of local, m unicipal, county or state gov ernments. Selected sites will serve ar eas where at least 50 percent of the children arc eligible for free or reduced- price school lunches. All residential camps may partici pate. Camps and sponsors serving mi grant w orkers’ children are eligible to serve up to four meals per day. Other eligible sponsors may serve one meal or one lunch and one breakfast, or one lunch and one snack. Meals must meet U.S. D epartment of Agriculture meal patterns. Sponsors prepare their meals or purchase them from a school district or food service management company. Sponsors must keep cost and meal count records for re imbursement claims. Food service management companies in Oregon in terested in participating in the program must register by March 15. Eligibility for the program is w ith out regard to race, color, national ori gin, age, sex, or handicap. Anyone who believes he or she has been discrim i nated against in any USDA-related ac tivity should write immediately to the Secretary of Agriculture, W ashington, D.C. 20250. For more information, contact Khalil Tadros, School Nutrition Programs, Oregon Department of Education, 700 Pringle Pkwy. S.E., Salem, OR 97310 (call 378-3579). As part of a national awareness campaign, the Portland Alumnae Chap ter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., will present a luncheon and forum on the challenges facing African-Ameri can young men. The forum is entitled “ Securing Our Future: Preparing Our Sons For M anhood,” and will be held on Satur day, February 22, at the Convention Center Execulodge, 1021 N.E. Grand. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. and the forum follows at 1:00 p.m. The keynote speaker with be psy chologist, Dr. Garfield DeBardelaben. He will be joined by panelists: Parks Superintendent Charles Jordan, former Blazer Kermit Washington, Self En hancement Co-dircctor Ray Leary, TLC- TNT Co-director Roy Pittman, KOIN- TV anchor Ken Boddie, Morehouse College graduate William (Billy) White, and Urban League CEO Dr. Daryl Tukufu. K G W ’s Sharon Mitchell will be the moderator. Tickets for the luncheon and fo rum are $25 for adults and $15 for those under 18. Call 289-3648 for res ervations. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at the Skanner newspaper, 2337 N. W illiams Ave. Tickets purchased at the Skanner must be paid for by check. Please make checks out to Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. Everyone knows the negative sta tistics. Delta Sigma Theta is inviting you to attend and bring at least one young man to share in the expertise of those who have been successful at meeting the challenge. Audience par ticipation is encouraged. Please take advantage o f this opportunity to be part of finding a solution to the devas tation o f an entire generation o f Afri can-American young men. Expect the Best at Safeway SAFEWAY Ad Prices Good February 12 through February 18,1992 At Safeway. Bum ble B ee Chunk Light Tuna Local United Way Surpasses National Average United Way o f the Columbia-W il- lamette recorded a 6 percent increase in donations during Campaign ’91 while nationally, 2,300 United Ways across the country are averaging a 3 percent increase over 1990 figures. The organization has collected $20.7 million, exceeding thecam paign’s goal of $20.5 million. The number o f Lead ership Givers, individual contributing $1,000 or more, increased 33 percent over 1990. These 663 donors accounted for more than $1 million o f the 1991 campaign total. “ This past fall, more than 150,000 people throughout the four-county area cam e together to help their neighbors. They donated $20.7 million to the United Way Campaign, a record amount,” said Robert L. Ridglcy, president and CEO o f Northwest Natural Gas Company and 1991 campaign chairman. ‘ ‘These people aren ’t the only ones who gave som ething to United Way. The time contributed to Campaign '91 by hundreds of volunteers helped raise those millions o f dollars. I’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to each one of you.” UncleTom ? The establishment news papers?” Packed in oil or water. Great for tuna sandwiches, casseroles, salads and much more. 6.125-Oz. cans. Save this week, stock-up! Look In The This Week Magazine for your Safeway Shopping Guide for a complete list of specials on sale this week at Safeway! W ESTERN U N IO N Ì The Fastest Way To Send Money....Available In All Safeway stores in Oregon & S.W. Washington.