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V olum n XXII, Num ber 2 3
’The E yes and Ears o f th e C o m m u n ity ”
^pnrtlanh
Wall
P o r tll®
and would lite to work a
minimum of 350 hours,
commencing on or about
June 15.1992 and termi
nating on or about August
31,1992. These jobs are
J 2 V 850
M¿
.... unemployment is estimated to
be between 6.5 and 7.2%. It
should be noted that
unemployment for black youth is
estimated at 45-55%.
and off the streets. The
money that we earn will
assist our parents in pur
chasing dothes and other
necessities for school next
fall, in fact, “some of us
might not be able to return
toschod if we cannot work
this summer.“
condition is REAL for the greater
Portland Metropolitan Area. A ccord
ing to M r. G e ra ld i-------------------
D eloney, P articip an t
Advocate for the Port
land Private Industry
C o u n c il, th e re a re
23,790 disadvantaged
youth, ages 14-21 in the
tri- c o u n ty a re a o f
C la c k a m a s ,
M u lt
nomah and W ashing
ton Counties. In addi
tion to this group, there
are an estim ated 7000
youth in that same age
bracket who will also
be seeking work this
summer. These youth
will be seeking work
and co m p etin g w ith
adults in a labor market
where the unemployment is estimated
to be between 6.5 and 7.2%. It should
be noted that unem ploym ent for black
youth is estim ated at 45-55% .
- M e w s p f ip ■
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Where are
the JOBS?
2500
W hile the proceed
ing advertisem ent is Fictional, the
35
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Or
e rs ity
Un
O re g o n
E ugene,
37 40
BY BILL COUNCIL
The N/NE Employment and Busi
ness Development Action plan has been
developed and is reprinted here:
F o llo w in g the L .A . rio t Sam
Brooks, Darrell Tukufu and Ronnie
Herndon asked Portland Community,
business and government leaders to meet
and intensify collaborative efforts to
address three o f the underlying reasons
for the riot: adult unemployment, youth
unemployment and lack of business
growth and development. Though there
was no explosion in
*
P o rtlan d , the root
causes arc as preva
lent. It is in all our
in te r e s t to w ork
harder, smarter and
faster to eradicate in
Portland the causes
that led to the de
struction in L.A. At
the first m eeting it
was agreed to set a
g o a l o f re d u c in g
adult and youth un
e m p lo y m e n t
in
P o r tla n d ’s B la c k
C om m unity to no
higher than m etro
politan levels.
The national at
tention focused on South Central Los
Angeles serves as a rem inder o f how
much remains to be done in urban neigh
borhoods. I l was also a grim reminder
Ä
Photo by Veronica Green
Tony Ross interviews Edna Gordon who has recently moved to Portland from Magnolia, Arkansas.
or now high a price com m unities will
pay if inner city residents continue be
ing excluded from the benefits o f eco
nomic growth and development.
Portland is no different, in our city
we have built a strong economic base in
the region only to leave behind a 19
square mile area in the central city
where conditions arc worse now than
they were ten years ago. In spile of the
beginning o f many positive efforts
within the community there is increas
ing frustration with lack o f community
business ownership and employment
opportunities.
Com m unity leaders came together
several years ago to form the N./N.E.
Economic Development Alliance. With
broad involvement o f citizens and ev
ery major organization in N/NE Port
land, a plan of action was prepared to
address a broad range o f economic de
velopment and em plcym ent needs.
Now is the time to broaden and
quicken efforts implement this plan and
focus on strategic actions which will
bring near term results in business
growth and development and job op
portunities for youth and adults. A ctivi
ties which are in place need to be ex
panded and made more effective. Gaps
in program s will be identified and
quickly filled. Business and com m u
nity leaders have to come to the table
with resources and expertise.
W e will collectively identify op
portunities for greater private sector
involvement and define areas where
existing community, private and gov
ernm ent programs can be enhanced or
accelerated.
Jobs For Community Residents
According to most conservative
estim ates unemployment in N./NE. is
more than twice that o f the m etropoli
tan areas. The com munity needs greater
access to new jobs being created within
Continued on page 5
1992 African American Festival
Comes Up Rosy!
BY MATTIE ANN CALLIER-SPEARS
Cheers, applause, laughter, tears
and many smiling faces can all describe
the first two events of the African Ameri
can Festival, a sanctioned rose Festival
event.
This year, the African american
Festival will feature three days o f jo y
ous celebration. The first night, May
29th, over four hundred people gath
ered at the Portland Foursquare Church
on southeast Ankeny to hear and w it
Local Ministers Begin A Campaign
For Racial Reconciliation
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BY PROF. MCKINLEY BURT
Rev. Daniel Simmons, pastor o f
Christ C ovenant Church and Rev.
Henry Greenidge, pastor of Irvington
Covenant Church have launched a
“Campaign for Racial Reconciliation
They have given
substance to their
“concern about the
polarization anddi-
vision along racial
lines in Portland”.
As they have
put it, “we won
dered why it was
that 11:00 a.m . on
Sunday m orning
was still the most
segregated hour in
o u r n a tio n , and
w hy, in ste a d o f
leading the way in
the fight against
racism , the church
is cither resisting
or dragging its feet.
Wedccidcd the best
place to begin was within our own
church denom ination (E vangelical
Church of America)’.
The forward-looking ministers ini
tiated their concept on a recent Thurs
day evening and plan the format to be
a continuing process. The workshop
was very impressive, involving three of
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the Covenant congregations: Irvington
Covenant, Christ Covenant and Viet
namese Evangelical Covenant Church
of Beaverton. The event was held at the
Irvington Church, 1712/1718 N .E. 11th
Avenue.
M em bers o f various ethnic c o m
m u n itie s w ere inv ited to tell o f their
e x p e rie n c e s , an d , th e n , the group
a sse m b le d into sm all g ro u p s to r e
spo n d to the p re se n ta tio n s o f the
se v e ra l sp e a k e rs and to d e v e lo p so
lu tio n s . S p e a k e rs w e re : A rn o ld
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L ittle h e a d , fo u n d e r o f A m e ric a n
In d ian C o u n c il of Portland; K haled
A lam , A Palestinian student at G eorge
Fox U niversity; Daniel Tran, pastor o f
V ietnam ese E vangelical Covenant;
a n d th is w r ite r ,
M cK inley Burt, au-
thor/historian.
T h e fo u n d in g
pastors saw the cam
p a ig n d e v e lo p in g
within the following
areas:
1. Confession.
2. R elationship
building opportuni
ties for becom ing
more fam iliar and
personally involved
with people o f dif
ferent races.
3. Panel/forum
to examine race is
su e s, p a rtic u la rly
w ith re sp e c t to
church history, seg
regation, culture and doctrine.
4. Celebration of cultural diversity.
Again, the structure o f the forum
was most impressive and it seem s c e r
tain that the “Cam paign for Racial
R econciliation” will bring a needed
healing and fellow ship to our com m u-
mty.
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4
ss the
jubilant sounds
ness
the jubilant
sounds o o f f the
the Gospel
Gospel
Choir Jubilee which featured gospel
choirs from all over the Northwest and
general Portland Metropolitan area.
The very next day, May 30th, the
second day o f the rose Festival, the
African American Festival held a G os
pel Soiree on center stage at the W ater
front Park. The program featured the
sounds o f “ His Song”, Mt. Hood Com
munity College Choir, Inspirational
sounds from Eugene, O regon, the
% erm onettes,andthedetíutperfi
It performance
o f the “ Mighty Untouchables:. The cha-
rism aof the “Mighty Untouchables” truly
overw helm ed and lifted the people. The
crowd at the waterfront couldn’t get
enough. They continued to shout“ More!
More! M ore!” And--they were certainly
accommodated.
This was also the first time perfor
mance for the Mt. Hood community
College’sG ospel/Jazz Choir. They gave
a splendid performance that the audi
ence will treasure for a very long time.
If you did not go to either o f these
events, there is still another to come.
The one everyone is awaiting! The spec
tacular N orthw est Gospel Jubilee will
be held on the 13th day of June at the
Arlene Schnitzer Performing Arts C en
ter. The curtain is scheduled to go up at
7 pm sharp. Be there!
Tickets are now on sale at all major
ticket outlets.
D on’t miss it!
Congratulations Ivery Lee Mays, Jr.
Ivery graduated from Benson High School in
June of 1991. He is now in his first year o f college
attending Oregon State University, maintaining a
3.74 grade point average. His major is in Electrical
Engineering, and he is pledging in Fraternity Alpha
Phi Alpha.
Ivery has received a Certificate of Honor from
The Educational Opportunities Program, in recog
nition o f scholastic achievem ent at Oregon State
University, and acertificate that certifies that Ivery
was duly initiated as a m ember o f Alpha Lambda
Delta national Academic Honor Society for Fresh
men.
The managem ent and staff at The O bserver
would like to this opportunity to say, keep the good
work up Ivery, we are very proud o f you.
Students Celebrate Rewarding Partnership
With Business Community
King Elementary second graders
invite parents and members of the busi
ness community to celebrate the suc
cess of their “ Dream Star Neighbor
hood” project on Thursday (June 4) at
6:30 p.m. at the school, 4906 N. E. 6th
Street. Students will present their
“ neighborhood” and thank business
partners for their involvement in the
project. Guests include Oregon Super
intendent o f Public Instruction Norma
Paulus, a co-sponsor, and representa
tives from U.S. Bank, U.S. Post Office,
Safeway and other neighborhood busi
nesses.
A year’s study of safety, drug and
alcohol prevention and career education
concluded with students building a small-
scale “ideal” neighborhood. That Dream
Star Neighborhood iscom plete with stu
dents’ homes equipped with recycling
bins), a police station, fire department,
hospital, church, U.S. bank, U.S. Post
Office, school, Safeway and an apple
refrigeration plant. Materials were d o
nated by businesses including Alpcnrose
Dairy and BESCO Associates o f Los
Angeles.
Students learned about each busi
ness represented in their model through
guest speakers and tours. For example,
a U.S. Bank representative explained
Continued on page 4
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