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News In Brief
United Way Installs
New Board Members
Two members of the African-
American community have been elected
to serve three-year terms on United
Way of the Columbia-W illamette's
board of directors.
The Rev. Alcena Boozer, princi­
pal, Jefferson High School; and John
Collins, US Marines Corps, retired, are
among 10 members elected to United
Way's board during its 72nd Annual
Meeting, February 10.
In addition to her position at
Jefferson High School, Boozer serves
as assistant director of Alternate Edu­
cation^ ummer Schools for the Port­
land Public School District. She has
held numerous positions in the district,
including Student Discipline Programs
coordinator and Grant High School
administrative vice-principal. She is an
ordained Episcopal priest and is a mem­
ber of the Urban League and the Port­
land Leaders Roundtable.
Collins is a long-time volunteer
with United Way of the Columbia-
Willamette, currently serving as chair­
man of the Community Organization
Fund Distribution Committee, which
coordinates community wide human
services and distributes United Way
resources.
Board members are responsible for
determining the strategic goals of United
Way of the Columbia-Willamette, for­
mulating organizational policy and au­
thorizing and approving all major fi­
nancial decisions.
Urban League
President Reports on
Act III Cinemas
Statement by Dr. Darryl Tukufu
For several years members o f
Portland's African American commu­
nity have expressed concern about the
failure of Lloyd Cinemas to show mov­
ies with predominantly African Ameri­
can casts or movies directed by African
Americans.
In the fall of 1991 three members
of the African American community -
Darryl Tukufu, Art Alexander and Ri­
chard Brown - met with staff from Act
III Cinemas (owners of Lloyd Cinemas)
to inform them how this situation was
perceived in the community.
Act III staff were asked to inform
their booking agents about how their
booking decisions were viewed in the
community. The three community rep­
resentatives said they would wait three
months to see what booking changes
were made.
The week Dr. Tukufu spoke with
Act III Cinemas' Tim Wood and in­
formed Brown and Alexander of the
discussion. Based on the conversation
with Wood, the community representa­
tives are confident that:
1. The b la c k -o rie n te d film
"Mississippi Masala" will play at Lloyd
Cinemas after the Portland Film Festi­
val (beginning on or about March 7).
2. Movies by African American
directors and with large African Ameri­
can casts will begin to be seen at either
of Act Ill's multi-screen Theatres at
Lloyd Center. (However, this will not
include every movie that comes out).
S. I. Communications'
"Just Go!" Travel Radio
Program to
Premiere in April
S. I. Communication'" Just Go!",
a daily program that serves as a unique
travel guide for the African-American
consumer, will air nationally begin­
ning the first week of April.
Hosted by Arthel Neville from
The Entertainment Channel, "Just Go!"
is comprised for five 60 second vi­
gnettes describing places of interest to
the African-American traveler as well
as providing tips on getting the most
economical airfares and hotel rates.
These original vignettes will air
twice daily Monday through Friday.
A five-minute weekly Saturday pro­
gram on destinations in the United
States and around the world will in­
form listeners about great ethnic res­
taurants, museums, art galleries and
more.
Another five minute program giv­
ing listeners the inside scoop on get­
ting the best cruise values will air each
Sunday.
For more information regarding
"Just Go", please contact Pat Tobin or
Paulette Johnson at Tobin & Associ­
ates, (213)856-0827.
Federal Dollars
Coming to
Oregon Seniors
Oregon Senator Bob Packwood
announced this afternoon that Oregon
seniors will be the beneficiaries of al­
most $6 million in federal funds aimed
at providing housing for the frail eld­
erly. The funds will be paid from U.S.
Housing and Urban Developm ent
(HUD) Section 202 monies. Packwood
has been working with HUD Secretary
Jack Kemp to bring the grants to Or­
egon.
"Oregon's frail elderly deserve the
best we can give them," commented
Senator Packwood. "The housing units
these federal dollars will provide are
critical to maintaining the dignity of
our seniors citizens. I am very pleased
that Secretary Kemp has authorized
these worthy projects.”
Packwood has long been an advo­
cate of measures designed to allow
Oregon seniors to remain in non-insti-
tutional settings.
Older Women's
League Meetings
Mid-life and older women are in­
vited to the Portland Chapter of the
Older Women's League (OWL) at 2145
NW Overton. Topic: "V. I.E. W.'s: A
volunteer Counselling Program To
Help Elders with Aging Problems.
How to be a Peer Counselor of How To
Refer An Elder." Speaker: Mary
Reardon, Volunteer Recruiter, Good
Samaritan Hospital. Meeting is open
to the public, no admission charge.
No-host coffee available. Ample street
Parking, wheelchair accessible. Tri-
Met available on NW 21st or NW
23rd. Call 228-5701 for directions or
information about OWL
Whats Inside...
Page 2 News
Page 4 Birthday
Page 6 Kid Talk
Page 7 Entertainment
Page 8 Religion
Page 9 & 10 African
American Academic All
Stars
Page 11 Classifieds
Page 12 -14 Legal
National Council of Negro Women
Concludes Black History Month
With Third Annual Walk
The National Council o f Negro Women (Tri-County Section) held their Third Annual Walk this past Saturday. The
Walk began at the O. B. Williams Convention Center and proceeded down Martin Luther King Blvd. Following the
March was a program featuring several choirs and gospel groups and concluded with a continental breakfast.
The national Council O f Negro
Women was founded in 1935 by Mary
McLeod Bethune, (1875-1955). This
daughter of former slaves was an Edu­
cator and devoted much of her life to the
improvement of educational opportu­
nities for Blacks. In 1904, she opened
a school for Black girls in Daytona
Beach, Florida. This school merged
with a boy's school in 1923 to form a
college, now called Beihune-Cookman
College. From 1935 to 1944, she served
as President Roosevelt’s Special Advi­
sor on Minority Affairs and becam the
first Black woman to head a Federal
Agency. The organization was con­
ceived to unite womens organizations
on a national level for the purpose of
empowering women of color culturaly,
socially and spiritually.
The National Council of Negro
Women, Inc. Tri-County Section, be­
gan in 1977 as a split off of the Portland
Section. In March of 1984, they re­
ceived their charter. Locally, their
mission is to promote unity among
women of color in the areas of Educa­
tion, Culture, Economics as well as the
Social and Spiritual life of our commu­
nity.
Recognizing the magnitude of the
misssion, they have focused primarily
on youth and issues of importance to
them. They organized and implemented
youth awareness seminars and work­
shops with a wide variety of topics
including teen pregnancy, gangs, drugs,
and AIDS. They also focused on self-
enhancement and goal setting bringing
in motivational speakers from the com­
munity. All of this is at not cost to the
community and funded totally by two
major fundraisers. The Cotton Caper
Beach Trip which is scheduled for April
25th, 1992, in Newport Oregon and a
Spring Boat Ride aboard the Columbia
River Stemwheeler.
N.C.N.W. participated in job fairs
and have given sholarsnips to college
bound students. This year, there has
been enhanced services to youth by
targeting IRIS Court,adopting the cen­
ter for Christmas.
Their commitment also includes
services to Senior Citizens, by visiting
nursing homes at Mother and Fathers
Day; services to the needy by deliver­
ing Thanksgiving and Christmas food
baskets.
These are just a few of the many
things National Council of Negro
Women Tri-County Section do in the
community.
Black Leadership Conference: Candidates
Forum ‘92
Concerned about the future of your
community? Interested in sharing your
ideas with the candidates running for
public office? Do you know their posi­
tion on your issues? The Black Leader­
ship co nference is sponsoring a
condidates Forum '92 and invites you to
participate in discussing these ques­
tions with local condidates.
Candidates Forum ’92 will provide
an opportunity for community mem­
bers to hear comments from local can­
didates and ask questions about issues
of concern. The Forum will be facili­
tated by Ron Herndon, Chair of the
Back Leadership Conference and is
scheduled for Thursday, March 19,6:00
p.m., at Harriet Tubman Middle School
located at 2214 N. Flint.
The Black Leadership conference
serves as a catalyst to identify and sup­
port national, state and local candidates
and initiatives that are sensitive to is­
sues that impact the black community.
Over 100 community organizations are
represented by the Black Leadership
Conference in hosting this Forum.
Individuals invited to participate in
the Candidates Forum '92 include State
Representative Margaret L. Carter, the
incumbent for House District 18 and her
challenger Fred Stewart; several may-
oral candidates including Commissioner
Earl Blumenauer and State Representa­
tive Vera Katz; and City Commission­
ers Mike Lindberg and Dick Bogle along
with their challengers for City Council
seats.
The general public and press are
encouraged to attend and take advan­
tage of this opportunity to meet one on
one with the candidates. Voter registra­
tion material will be made available at
the Forum for individuals who need to
register or change their address. For
additional information or questions re­
garding Candidates Forum ’92, please
call 229-9031.
New Program Provides Young Women
Alternatives to Gangs
Saturday, February 29, the Mult­
nomah County Juvenile Justice Divi­
sion and community agencies recog­
nized the accomplishments of young
women who have participated in a pro­
gram designed to provide alternatives
to gang activity. The awards ceremony
and open house for GIFT, the Gang
Influenced Female Team, was held at
the Grace Collins Memorial Center
gymnasium (128 NE Russell), from
2:00-4:00 P.M..
The afternoon's program included
dramatic and musical presentations by
program participants. Multnomah
County legislators, local government
officials, representatives from congres­
sional offices and community leaders
attended.
In September of 1991, the Federal
Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency
Prevention awarded the Multnomah
C ounty Juvenile Justice Division
$500,000 in grant funds to provide ser­
vices to gang affected and gang in­
volved young women. This funding
was made available following legisla­
tive action initiated by Congressman
Les AuCoin that formally recognized
the county's success in establishing in­
novative services for gang youth, and
submission of a competitive grant pro­
posal by county staff.
The GIFT program is a collabora­
tive effort between the Multnomah
County Juvenile Justice Division and
thrcccommunity-bascdnonprofitagcn-
cics: Portland Youth Redirections, the
Northeast Coal ilion of Neighborhoods,
and the Tri-County Youth Services
Consortium.
The program has established a full
array of service for gang involved and
gang affected gang women and their
I
children towards the goal of providing
immediate and long range alternatives
to gang activity. Specific elements
include a Women's Collective, which
seeks toestablish positive relationships,
role models, and support systems as a
replacement for the unhealthy and abu­
sive relationships that result from gang
involvement. A Family Services com­
ponent provides health care, substance
abuse counseling, and parenting educa­
tion for young mothers. Collaborative
Crisis Interventions provides a 24-hour
crisis line, crisis transportation, and
temporary shelter for clients and their
children.
Current estimates indicate that
there arc 400 gang involved women
between the agesof 13-19 in Multnomah
County. This program anticipates serv­
ing 150 clients a year at an annual cost
of $500,000.
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25«
City Council
Approves
Blumenauer
Plan to Jail
Drug Dealers
More drug dealers convicted in
Portland would go to jail and serve
longer sentences under a plan proposed
by City Commissioner Earl Blumenauer
and approved unanimously this after­
noon by the City Council.
"Drug traffickers, kingpins and
small fry alike, have figured out how to
beat the system," says Blumenauer.
"Since the Oregon sentencing guide­
lines went into effect, more and more
convicted drug dealers have received
shorter and shorter prison terms or none
at all." According to local law enforce­
ment officials, many drug dealers are
sentenced to as little as 30 to 60 days
and sometimes, avoid jail time alto­
gether under guidelines developed by
the state legislature.
Blumenauer wants the Multnomah
County District Attorney to ask Port­
land judges to consider to negative
impact of drug dealing on a comm unity
when sentencing drug dealers. "This
would allow judges to go outside the
state guidelines and hand down tough
sentences that make sure drug dealers
do hard time," Says Blumenauer. "I
have been advised by the State Sentenc­
ing Guidelines Board that it is possible
to do this now."
"Today's Council resolution lets
the District Attorney and local judges
know they have our support to take this
step," days Blumenauer. "It gives them
another tool to use everywhere in Port­
land and sends a strong message to
narcotics traffickers that there is no
place for them in our city."
Blumenauer's resolution also calls
on the state legislature to change the
sentencing guidelines themselves. "In
the long run, we need longer jail terms
for all drug dealers," says Blumenauer.
"But Portland cannot afford to wait
until the legislature meets in 1993. We
must act now."
"Without the kinds of sticks this
resolution provides, all of our other
efforts to shut down the drug trade in
Portland could prove fruitless," says
Blumenauer. "Let's move these hard
cases off our streets and into our jails."
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Tri-Met
Applying for
Grant
Tri-Met is applying for a $ 150,000
federal grant to make it easier for Dis­
advantaged B usiness E n terp rises
(DBEs) to participate in the Westside
MAX project.
The Tri-Met Board of Directors
yesterday authorized the grant applica­
tion to the U.S. Department of Trans­
portation. The grant would fund local
and regional training workshops and an
informational videotape to show na­
tionwide. Tri-M et would provide
$37,500 for the project.
"We plan to prov ide information to
Disadvantaged Business Enterprises on
overcoming barriers to participating in
public construction contracts," ex­
plained Julius Evans, Tri-Met Civil
Rights Program Manager. Some of
those issues including financing, bond­
ing and insurance, marketing, cost esti­
mating, accounting, general manage­
ment evaluation of bids or proposals,
and patronage by prime contractors.
"Tri-Mel's goal is to use Disadvan­
taged Business Enterprises to the full­
est extent in the Westside MAX project,
Evans said.
The $944 million Westside MAX
project is the largest public works project
in the state's history. Construction of
the 12-mile light rail line from down­
town Portland into Washington County
will begin early next year. Tri-Met
expects to open Westside MAX in fall
1997.