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 Li 1 l ' Portland Public Schools Salutes The organizations and individuals that build understanding through action during 1992 DYNAMIC CONGRE^WOMAN BARBARA JORDAN I I S REPRESENTATIVE (D)FROM U texasjhe first black TO THE JUDICIARY COMM ,AND LOOMS A l A POWERFUL INFLUENCE IN THE CAPITOL A FIN E ORATOR «H E "Al SELECTED A l KEYNOTER AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN I V * IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. A CHAMPION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES AND t oO/H / W H(N 0AntAQA JOflDAN UlM & £ I.«» i, 1 z . i W O M AN EVER ELECTED TO CONGRESS FROMTHESOUTHIWll A NATIVE OF HOUSTON SHE was GRADUATED MAGNA CUMLAUOE FROM TEXAS SOUTHERN U.5HE RECEIVED HER LAW DEGREE FRO M BOSTON U ,IN USS. PRATICED L A W IN HOUSTON. ENTERED POLITICS IN IN62 ANO RAN FOR THE TEXAS HOUSE BUT LOST TW ICE IN 1*66 RAN x FOR STATE SENATE AND (VlQYONC I A l l MS It 1 WON A BRILLIANT CON STITUTIO NAL LAWMAKER REP JORDAN WAS APPOINTED City Club Presents Black History: Roots and Flowers 3 MF 'A . , 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