February 19, 1992...The Portland Observer...Page 11
B la c k H i s t o r y M o n t h
A PO R TLA N D
O BSERVER
Portlander’s Son Honored by Alaskans
BY BILL GRAVES
of the Oregonian Staff
N in e ty -y e a r-o ld
L a w re n c e
Campbell sinks into the cushy sofa in
his liv in g room and gingerly unwraps
the newspaper as though it were a silk
scar enfolding diamonds.
Slow ly, one by one, he lifts his
black-and-white treasures, and spreads
them over the dark coffee table. One
photograph portrays his son in a suit;
another shows him at the wedding altar
w ith his w ife, Dolores. The third and
most telling shows him as a young man
in a flig h t suit, goggles pushed up on his
head, standing by a P-47 fighter plane
and gazing proudly into the sky as i f he
owned it.
This is Lawrence E. Campbell Jr.,
the first black Am erican to p ilo t a je t
and the first black American group
commander in the U.S. A ir National
Guard.
“ They have set aside a special day
for h im ," said his father, who lives in
Northeast Portland where his son spent
his high school and college years.
Indeed, the A ir National Guard
gave the ju n io r Campbell the state’ s
highest m ilita ry honor on Sunday, Feb
ruary 2, 1992: The Alaska Legion o f
M erit. Gov. W alter J. H icke l also
awarded Campbell the C ertificate o f
Distinguished Public Service fo r “ en
riching the lives o f all Alaskans by your
extraordinary leadership.”
“ I was q uite su rp rise d ,” said
Campbell, 65, in a telephone interview
from his Anchorage home. “ It was sort
o f overwhelm ing really.”
The p ilo t was honored fo r his 23
years o f service to the guard, the broader
aircraft com m unity and the youth o f
Alaska. Campbell broke barrieis d iv id
ing racial groups and separating the
m ilita ry from civilia n youth at a critica l
time in the guard’ s history, said Capt.
M ike Haller, spokesman fo r the Alaska
A ir National Guard.
“ He’ s definitely considered a p io
neer for us,” Haller said. “ People still
talk about Larry and the guard together
* around town. He is quite a man.”
Campbell moved to Alaska in 1963
and quickly rose to the rank o f Lieuten
ant Colonel in the guard. He piloted the
first C-123 transport into Seward after
the devastating Good Friday earthquake
in 1964 and flew many missions in
support o f the Fairbanks flo od -relief
operation three years later. In 1972, he
Lawrence E. Campbell, Jr. the first Black American to pilot a jet. The
pilot, who attended high school and college in Portland, received Alaska 's
highest Military honor.
became the nation’ s first guard group
commander by taking charge o f the
176th Tactical A irliftG ro u p . He retired
in 1986.
He also worked in Alaska on the
National Transportation Safety Board,
the Alaska Transportation Commission,
the o ffice o f aircraft services fo r the
U .S. Department o f the Interior, and the
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.
B ut Cam pbell is probably best
known fo r pioneering je t flig h t fo r black
Americans in 1948, a feat he attributes
largely to luck. The Tuskegee Airm en,
a famed all-black W orld W ar II fighter
squadron, already had crossed the bar
rier that kept black men grounded. The
squadron was formed from a group o f
926blacks trained Alabama’ s Tuskegee
A rm y F lyin g School, which was cre
ated after the A rm y A ir Forces were
ordered to lif t a color ban.
“ B y the tim e I flew the jet, they
knew b la ck men co uld f ly , ” said
Campbell. “ This was just a normal pro
gression o f fighter checkout.”
S till, it brought Campbell fame
and opened doors that allowed him to
spend most o f his career where he wanted
to b e - in the sky. He wanted to fly as far
back as his memory w ill reach. As a boy
in Tulsa, O kla., he b uilt model a ir
planes, loved to go to the local airport,
and would gaze dream ily at m ilita ry
recruitin g pictures showing fig h te r
r r
hl p
planes zooming over the Taj Mahal.
He moved w ith his parents and
five brothers to Portland in 1940 and
attended Washington High School and
the U niversity o f Portland. He entered
cadet training w ith the Tuskegee a ll
black fighter o u tfit in 1944. But after
thewarended in 1945,theschoolclosed.
Campbell was accepted again fo r
advanced flig h t training 1947. He
learned to fly P-51 Mustang fighters.
Then in June o f 1948, by chance, he
became the first black man to get a
crack at flying the F-80 Shooting Star—
a jet.
“ He never really made a big deal
out o f it,” said his son, L a rry E.
Campbell, III, an Anchorage jo u rn a l
ist.
But while Campbell may downplay
his accomplishments as a pilot, Alaska’ s
leaders took tim e February 2, to re
member them. Sodid about 1,000 mem
bers o f the A ir National Guard who
gathered in Hangar 2 at K u lis A ir Na
tional Guard Base in Anchorage for the
4 5-m in ute cerem ony. And so did
C am pbell’ s w ife, five children, and
brother, Richard, who lives in Port
land.
His father wanted to be there, too,
but was forced to rely on photographs
to see his son.
“ I ’m 90 years old, and it ’ s too
damn cold for me,” he said.
"
L f It S i
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Portland Public Schools
Salutes
The organizations and individuals that
build understanding through action
during
1992
DYNAMIC CONGRE^WOMAN
BARBARA JORDAN
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W O M AN EVER ELECTED TO
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City Club Presents
Black History: Roots
and Flowers
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,
E D IT IO N
Black Family Heritage
Honored At Nordstrom
In recognition o f Black History
Month, C ity Club presents Dr. Darrell
M illner, chair o f the Black Studies
Department, Portland Slate U niversity,
in a program entitled “ Black History:
Roots and Flowers.” The program w ill
be Friday, February 28, noon, in the
Portland H ilton Galleria Room.
Dr. M illn e r w ill speak on the o ri
gins o f Black History M onth, the les-
sonsof Black History fo r contemporary
Oregonians, and the contributions o f
African-Americans to the city and state.
The program is open to the public.
Call the C ity Club office at 228-7231 by
noon Thursday, February 27, to make
lunch reservations. Guests-$ 15.00; Club
members-$ 11.00; coffee-$2.50. Free
and open seating is available in the
back. Doors open 11:30 a.m.
The C ity C lub o f Portland is a non
p ro fit public affairs organization open
to all people in the com m unity.
“The Black Family Reunion Cookbook is a powerful statement about a
simple ritual that binds us together on so many levels," states Dr.
Dorothy I. Height, President of the National Council of Negro Women.
PORTLAND S IC K L E CELL ANEMIA
FOUNDATION
The Least Everyone
Should Know About
African American
History
D id y o u k n o w th a tin l8 9 4 , Booker
T. Washington became the first African
Am erican to receive a Ph.D. from
Harvard? Or, that in 1903, Maggie L.
W alker became the first African A m eri
can woman to head abank-R ichm ond’ s
St. Luke Bank and Trust?
Understanding the obscure and hid
den facts that our schools don’ t cover
are essential to the A frican American
experience. Since the arrival o f Pedro
Alonzo N ino in 1492, w ith Christopher
Columbus and the highly debated “ dis
covery” o f the new w orld, A frican
American contributions have flo u r
ished, shaping the fo u n d a tio n o f
America. However, many o f our A fr i
can founders remain unknown.
Choice Production’ s founder W il
lie L. Anderson Jr., a 21 year old college
student, has created an audio chronol
ogy o f African American life from 1492
to 1955-The Least Everyone Should
Know About A frican American His
tory. The tapes are narrated by Sherry
Anderson and feature dramatic read
ings highlighted w ith music and sound
effects. The production includes four
audio tapes packaged w ith original art
works by Darrell F. Robinson.
Introduction booklets and w ork
books, by Christie Sm ith, are available
as well. Recently, at a social studies fair
in Oakland, C A, the production was
overwhelm ingly received by staff and
educators o f the Oakland Unified School
D istrict. The production was also fea
tured on K G O -T V , channel 7, in San
Francisco.
It is often stated that w ithout a past
there can be no future. Each day is an
e ffo rt towards placing The Least Ev
eryone Should Know About African
American H istory into the curriculum
o f every school across the United States.
The sets include aFam ily Set for $49.95
and a Classroom Set for $99.95.
B lack H istory M onth
F ebruary ,
S P E C IA L
81 \L. 8 M
Resources Documenting Connections And Continuity Of
Historical Identities In The Pacific West (Oregon, Utah,
Washington & California)
By J. M. Gates, MBA
“ Independent Scholar Projects"
(The Voice of Work)
with research and interpretive history by Gates
implemented 1977 - 1992 regarding 19th century and 20,h century
endeavors...
c/o Circle Forum
P.O. Box 176
Portland, OR 97207
Nordstrom, the nations largest spe
cialty fashion retailer, honors the A fr i
can-American fam ily during Black H is
tory M onth w ith its national launch o f
“ The Black Fam ily Reunion Cook
book.” Created by the National Coun
c il o f Negro Women, the book serves
not only as a fund raising vehicle for the
57 year old organization, but according
to Dr. Dorothy Height, president and
CEO, it helps tell the story o f the A fr i
can American fam ily, its history, val
ues and traditions. “ O ur hope is that
this book w ill make a difference as we
are trying to b uild on the historic
strengths o f the fa m ily,” said Height.
Nordstrom now carries the 320page
book in all o f its Oregon stores while
supplies lasL A ll proceeds from the
special $12.95 sales price are distrib
uted among the N C N W com m unity-
based sections and the organization’s
national headquarters. “ Our goal is to
raise $50,000 fo r this fine organiza
tion,” says Charles Dudley, Nordstrom
Hum an Resources vice president.
“ Nordstrom is founded on fa m lily val
ues and wholeheartedly agree w ith the
efforts o f the N C NW . They believe, as
our company founders believed, that
our heritage and values serve as our
anchor.”
Nordstrom’ s involvem ent in o ffe r
ing our cookbook says something to the
country o f which we are immensely
proud,” said Height. “ To have a corpo
ration o f this magnitude and s ig n ifi
cance standing behind us w ill help bring
our message home.”
“ The Black Fam ily Reunion Cook
book” is an extension o f the C ouncil’ s
celebrated annual reunions which have
developed since the first reunion in
1985 to include participation from some
six m illio n people around the country.
Woven among its recipes, ranging
from Pepperoncini Roast to the now
famous Sweet Potato Pie, are historical
and African-Am erican cultural mes
sages and descriptions. C ultural o ri
gins and classic African-Am erican fab
ric which are now integrated into every
day life are highlighted, Kente and Wax
Hollandais fabrics.
The Black Fam ily Reunion cook
book is one im portant element o f
N ordstrom ’ s overall cultural diversity
program which, over the last several
years, has been dedicated along four
major prongs: developm entof m inority
vendor relationships, com m unity rela
tions, contributions and employment.
National Public Radio Celebrates
Black History Month With An
Exuberant Mix Of Music
The music o f the house party, the
roadhouse, and the church come to
gether in Juke Joints & Jubilee, a two-
hour special to be broadcast on Na
tional Public Radio (NPR) member
stations this February in celebration o f
Black H istory M onth. (Call your local
public radio station for broadcast times.)
The program draws upon the tal
ents o f the soulful, hard-rocking Holmes
Brothers, singer/pianist Fontella Bass,
North Carolina bluesman and juba
dancer John Dee Holcman, and acapella
gospel quartet, the Birmingham Sun
lights, for an extraordinary blend o f
secular and sacred sounds from the
heart o f black America.
As an expression o f the soul and
experience o f a people, the music cre
ated by black Americans is unequalled.
Juke Joints & Jubilee celebrates this
music in many o f its fo rm s-m o u m fu l
and playful, rowdy and righteous, sen
suous and sanctified.
The performers assembled for this
special have never before appeared to
gether, and may never again. The
Holmes Brothers offer a unique blend
o f blues and gospel, seasoned with
soul, R & B , and even a little country.
Fontella Bass is a singer whose m usi
cal talent was nurtured in the strong
gospel traditions o f her fa m ily and
community. The Birmingham Sunlights
are a rare treasure: a dynamic, young
gospel quartet carrying on the art o f
four-part acappella gospel harmony.
Juke Joints & Jubilee provides a
setting in which to experience and ap
preciate the exceptional artistry and
range o f these musicians and the trad i
tions they represent. The music speaks
to the human condition w ith a power
and eloquence that reverberates far
beyond the com m unity from w hich it
springs, profoundly influencing A m eri
can music and culture as a whole.
Juke Joints & Jubilee is a produc
tion o f NPR and the National C ouncil
for the Traditional Arts. Support fo r
this program comes from NPR m em
ber stations, the National Endowment
for the Arts, the L ila W allacc-Rcader’s
Digest Fund, and the John D. and Cath
erine T. M acA rthur Foundation. NPR
programming can be heard on nearly
440 stations nationwide.
Letting our colors show through...
The Portland Observer newspaper
4747 N.E. Martin Luther King Jilvd.
Portland, OR 972JI