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Volumn XXII, Number 46
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“The Eyes and Ears of the Community’
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S"O«,n
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®íje ^ n rlÌan ù ©bsern
Through It All, Center
Survives 40 Years
r
Evelyn C ollins, “ M iss C ollins,
as she has been known first to hun
dreds o f youth and now thousands,
continues her m inistry o f love to the
N .E . P o rtlan d C o m m u n ity . She
teaches, challenges and loves the
fourth and fifth generations o f those
firstchildrengoingbacktothe 1950’s.
She s till insists on helping low in
come, single parent households and
“ at risk” youth and families.
Last December the Board o f D i
rectors held the Center’ s firs t annual
fund raising banquet. Head o f Port
land parks & Recreation and long
lim e “ Center Friend” , Charles Jordan
was the key note speaker. Last year's
event also recognized and awarded
several individuals, organizations and
businesses that had been instrumen
tal in helping the Center through one
o f the most d iffic u lt periods in its
history. A period which almost saw
the doors locked up by CSD, M u lt
nomah County Health Department
and others because o f code and safety
violations. The Board claims success
last year and the event did bring in
enough money to bring some back
b ills and payroll current.
On Saturday December 5, 1992
the Grace C ollins Center w ill hold its
second annual fund raising banquet.
Jessie Brazzel, this year's Banquet
C hair has dec ided to keep the event at
the Center and the board is looking to
New Veterans
Benefits
Handbook
Available
One o f the Government’ s most
w idely distributed publications entitled
Federal Benefits For Veterans And De
pendents has been updated for 1992.
This best selling handbook describes
the wide range o f benefits available to
all Veterans and their Dependents, in
cluding recent DESERT STO RM V e t
erans. E lig ib ility requirements fo r en-
titlem entto benefits, the important tim e
table fo r benefits, and where to apply
'are described in detail.
Education and training benefits fo r
Veterans including the G1 B ill, jo b train
ing, vocational re h a b ilita tio n ’ , and
employm ent assistance are covered
extensively. Other major sections de
scribe V A loans for home-buying Vets,
life insurance, disability benefits, health
care, what to do about Agent Orange
exposure, death benefits, and benefits
for survivors. A ll V A facilities where
Veterans should go for assistance in
cluding V A hospitals, nursing homes,
stage a week o f events at the Center just
prior to the banquet. The events w ill be
aimed at invitin g the public into the Cen
ter not only to vis it but fo r people to see
what they can do to help this Com m unity
Treasure. W ith the number o f youth and
fam ilies that have been touched by Miss
C ollins, the board figures that even a
modest donation form them would be a
new source o f assistance.
The Center is certified fo r 59 c h il
dren based on CSD regulations. This is a
far cry from the days when over a few
hundred youth per day would come into
the Center from 6 A M to 12 M idnight. In
addition to day care, Miss C ollins, her
mother, Grace, and staff provided before
and after school programs, evening and
week-end recreation and outreach a c tiv i
ties in the comm unity. That staff, like
many o f the current board members con
sists o f youth who had been, in a sense,
raised in the Center, taught and inspired
by the loving woman w ith the stories, the
Bible verse and the “ treats” . A t one time
there were even Sunday Services at the
Center.
The Center has seldom operated to
ta lly in the black and even today, meeting
weekly payroll, taxes and other operating
expenses remains a challenge. Parents
served by the Center do not pay the fu ll
cost o f day care. M iss C ollins s till insists
the parent pay depending on income and
the a bility to pay. U S D A food subsidies
and the steady but dw indling stream o f
Evelyn Collins
Local Franchises To Serve
Pizza To 1,400 Homeless In
Oregon’s Two Largest Cities
The annual “ D om ino’ s Pizza De
livers Lunch to the Homeless” has be
come a tw o -city event in i t ’s fourth
year.
M ic h a e l K a uth, P ortland area
D om ino ’s Pizza franchisee, along w ith
his dow ntow n Portland team members,
is busy preparing to serve 1,000 home
less men, women, andchildren at Union
Gospel M ission M en ’ s Shelter, 15 NW
3rd Ave. “ We know that fo r some, this
may be the o nly hot meal they’ ll receive
in a week” , explained Kauth, “ We try to
make it a happy occasion.” Union Gos
pel M ission has arranged for a wide
variety o f lunch entertainment from
honky-tonk music to mime.
Volunteers from Union Gospel
M ission and local D om ino’ s Pizza team
members along w ith local celebrity
volunteers, including Commissioner
Gretchen K a fo u ry .K O lN ’s Ed Whelan,
and K A T U ’ s Julie Em ry and Paul
Linnman w ill be serving the 2,400slices
o f pizza donated by D om ino’s Pizza
donations from individuals, churches
and organizations have made it pos
sible for the Center and Miss Collins
to continue this work. Board members
are w orking to secure the future o f the
Center so that many future genera
tions o f Pordand's youth and families
w ill know the special something started
by Miss C ollins when there were few
resources available. There is s till so
much work to be done.
More inform ation on the Center
and the banquet w ill come. Tickets,
priced at $25.00, are now on sale at the
Center. The Board is soliciting the
support o f families, churches, organi
zations and businesses to buy tables o f
10 seats for the event. For more in fo r
mation and early ticket purchase call
the Center at 281 -6930 and speak with
Joyce Douglas, Adm inistrator or Miss
C ollins. You may also speak with any
o f the board members: Ralph &
LaVeme Davis, Danny Bell, Jessie
Brazzel, Mother & Stanley Peterson,
W illie & Charles Stoudamire. A d v i
sors include: Charles Jordan, Tim
Sidel, Carl Parker, Margaret Carter
and Ernest Reams.
A ll “ Center Children” , the term
used to identify Center alumni, are
urged to call and come into the Center,
vis it Miss C ollins and bring a special
e ffo rt g ift or even repay money that
Miss C ollins may have loaned them.
This is our Center too.
Team Portland, and over 100 gallons
o f Coca-Cola product contributed by
the local bottler.
Meanwhile, down south, Daniel
Kauth, D om ino’ s Pizza franchisee in
Eugene, prepares to serve an expected
400 homeless at the Eugene Mission.
“ W c thought it would be a great idea to
jo in my brother in Pordand this year
and help those folks who are in need
right here in Eugene” , commented
Daniel. The Eugene Mission is located
at 1542 W 1st Ave.
Union Gospel Mission and Eu
gene Mission are both private non
p ro fit agencies providing shelter and
food for homeless men, women, and
children.
Both events w ill be held Novem
ber 17th 1992. Portland’ s lunch w ill
start at 10:30am and Eugene’ s at 11:00.
Both events w ill end at 1:30pm.
Portland’ s pizzas w ill be made at the
2280N W G lisan D om ino’s Pizza store
location and Eugene’ sat 2260 W 18th.
c,
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Packwood
Thanks
Oregonians
Oregon Senator Bob Packwood
today thanked Oregonians fo r relum ing
him to the U.S. Sehate and pledged his
strong support for Oregon’ s interests. “ I
want to thank Oregonians fo r their sup
port in this victory, and I want them to
know that I w ill continue to w ork hard
for them on the issues that are so im p o r
tant to our state,” said Packwood.
“ M y top p rio rity is finding a per
manent solution to the forest manage
ment problem in Oregon. I am co m m it
ted to w orking fo r a solution to our
health care crisis that includes univer
sal coverage and cost containment. I
w ill work to see the North American
free T rade Agreement (N A F T A ) im ple
mented because it w ill be good fo r
Oregon’ s economy and fo r the nation’ s.
And fin a lly , I w ill redouble my efforts
on d eficit reduction. We need a bal
anced budget amendment and we need
to begin the d iffic u lt task o f reducing
the federal d e ficit which is strangling
economic growth in this country,” said
Packwood.
“ A dditionally, I w ill prevail on
President Bush, one more time, to grant
Oregon a w aiver so that we can im ple
ment our innovative health care pro
gram. Failing that, I ’ll work w ith Presi
dent-elect C linton to get our waiver
granted,” he continued.
Packwood spoke w ith reporters at
a news conference during which he
praised Congressman AuC oin for wag
ing a tough campaign on the issues.
Court Says Fair Housing Law
Applies To Insurance
The U.S. C o u rto f Appeals forthe
Seventh C ircu it recently agreed on
Tuesday, O ctober 2nd, w ith the
N A A C P ’s position that redlining is a
form o f racial discrimination which in
the insuring o f homes violates the Fair
Housing A ct o f 1968, and ordered a
lower court to reconsider a case the
Association had brought against an
insurance company in Madison, W is
consin.
The low er court had said earlier
that the property and insurance casu
alty business was not covered by the
Fair Housing Act. It must now rehear
the case.
“ This is an extremely important
decision since it plainly states it is
illegal for insurance firm s to deny
African-Americans insurance on their
homes, or to charge them higher pre
miums, or to practice any type o f
d iscrim in atio n,” Dr. Benjam in L .
Hooks, Executive D irector/CEO ofthe
N A A C P said.
S p e cifica lly, the N A A C P had
charged that by discouraging African-
Americans from obtaining home in
surance from the American Fam ily
M utual Insurance Co., the firm had in
effect discriminated against them by
making it more d iffic u lt to obtain m ort
gages - which require the homeowner
be insured.
The suit further accused the firm
o f engaging in unlaw ful practices in
cluding: instructing its agents not to
sell policies to African-Am ericans;
fa ilin g and refusing to market their
insurance to African-Am erican prop
erty owners; fa ilin g to locate agents
and agencies in , and in close proxim ity
to, predominantly African-American
neighborhoods, and charging lower
rates in predominantly white neigh
borhoods than it charges in predomi
nantly African-American neighbor
hoods fo r properties o f comparable
value and risk.
In rejecting American F am ily’s
challenge to the N A A C P ’s involve
ment in the case the court said: “ Con
gress amended the statute o f 1988 to
authorize suit by anyone who ‘be
lieves that he w ill be injured by a
discriminatory housing practice that
is about to occur* and unless this
statue is unconstitutional several o f
the plaintiffs, and the N AA C P itse lf
as an organization whose members
include many black persons in the
housing market, have standing.”
Cooperating attorneys in the case
were W illiam H. Lynch and James
Hall o f Milwaukee.
Representing the N A A C P ’s Na
tional O ffice were N A A C P General
Counsel Dennis C. Hayes and W illie
Abrams, Assistant General Counsel.
Continued on page 7
Did The Election Mandate Change For Oregon/Portland?
BY PROF. MCKINLEY BURT
This is certain to be a cause for
discussion her in the land o f big trees,
logger, Spotted Owls, skinheads, the
Religious Right and a relatively small
number o f African Americans. The lat
ter have been said to live in a “ Peculiar
Paradise” , nothing has changed.
Jim H ill has become State Trea
surer, Elizabeth Furse has gone to Con
gress, A vcl G ordly has joined Margaret
Carter and B ill M cCoy in the state
legislature, and Vera Katz is Mayor-
elect o f Portland, Bob Packwood kept
his seat in the senate, w hile we lost a
senior position in the House when
AuCoin resigned to contest that incum
bency. The “ party” alignment in the
State House did not change that much,
but the Republicans have got to gird
against a determined e ffo rt by the R eli
gious Right to “ take over” .
A ll o f the special initiatives failed
in terms o f the results sought by their
sponsors-including the infamous“ Mca-
surc 9” (correct me i f I ’m wrong). Presi
dential candidate B ill C lin to n took
Oregon’ s electoral votes, but the popu
lar vote could hardy be termed a “ land
slide” . A ll in all I would say that there
was no evidence anywhere o f any
groundswcll o f support for any particu
lar social or cconom ic philosophy. There
were no mandates!
Given that profound observation, 1
return you now to our regular program
ming. That, o f course, has to do w ith a
com m un ity’ s growing concern w ith
several areas o f A frican American lead
ership. I have been articulating con
cerns o f the comm unity-in-gcncral and
my own particular fears and frustra
tions. L ike others, I continue to encoun
ter many unforgivable expressions o f
contempt and disregard for the social
and economic welfare o f the Northeast
sector o f c ity -w h ile , like the congress,
self-appointed leaders deny any respon
sib ility and loudly blame the “ white
folks dow ntow n” fo r failures usually
occasioned by lack o f a bility and,often,
just plain greed.
I suggest that you read my article
on page 2 o f this issue o f the Portland
Observer; “ Perspectives: The T h rill Is
Gone” . .This is the conclusion o f a
series o f four articles that severely take
to task some o f the directions and p ri
orities o f Portland leadership. This piece
was the fourth o f a series and it would
be good i f you could secure the
earlier articles. Before that, I wrote
another.scries,“ Nonminority Business”
which also provided useful and struc
tured analysis as well as “ realistic”
goals that could be immediately im ple
mented.
Speaking in reference to previous
material in this newspaper, be sure to
see that relevant and signicant “ Letter-
To-The E ditor” on page o f last week’s
edition (11/4/92). Ms. Harris o f North
Portland, an African American woman
with some serious reservations about
our comm unity, vigorously and rig h t
fu lly attacks some major and disheart
ening trends in thiscom munity. Taking
her cue from Mr. Posey, another w riter
fo r this newspaper (“ courage to bring
issues to the forefront” ), Ms. Harris
proceeds to spell out a number o f the
ugly and destructive activities that have
kept this community operating at one-
h alf o f its true potential; that sees our
youth deprived o f much o f the guid
ance and role-model structure that nor
m ally would have been provided. Some
excerpts follow . (The term“ oppressor”
may offend you, but she is right, you
know. I have suffered from some o f the
same crap. They smile in your face!)
“ Black oppressors are considered
by the white-powers-that-bc’ as a good
personal reference fo r bla ck jo b
applicants (whether you list them or
not)., state and local government w ill
not hire you unless you have been
okayed by the black oppressors... you
are not a part o f their clique. They arc
gate-keepers...they’ ve sold out in
order to fu rthe r th eir own selfish
needs...if you’ re bright you can’ t be
used... Where is the m illions that have
been earmarked for economic develop
ment in this com m unity?”
Lady, you arc so right about a
number o f p itifu l but dangerous in d i
viduals who not only hold “ us” back,
but end up projecting the rest o f us to
the city and state as equally inept and
greedy .B u t don ’ t leave to w n -g i ve me
a call. I, too, have had your problems,
but had enough footwork and experi
ence to gel around them. And I, too,
have had grinning hypocrites in my
home or o ffice on “ inform ation expe
ditions” , people who after peeking at
your papers, return to their “ cliques” as
you say and proceed in their operations
which are carefully designed to shoot
you out o f the process.
Be careful lady, for i f you haven’t
noticed, these clowns never invite you
to “ their homes” -a n d i f you are sucked
into their organizations, you s till w ill
not know what is going on because
the “ real business” is always trans
acted at the homes o f the lead people in
the incestuous grouping. Fortunately,
their white masters just love to inform
and snitch on them, probably from a
perverse desire to let “ a ll” the slaves
kn o w w ho is re a lly ru n n in g the
plantation. Rest assured that our de
scriptions do not fit the m ajority o f the
northeast population, but enough to
keep the community depressed and
“ oppressed” . D on’t leave, we gonna
w in sister. They don’ t have brains
enough to last much longer.
I have more time and resources
now. I get out and make m y own pre
sentations to the establishm ent-indus
try, educators, o fficials and grassroots
p e o p le -w h ite and black. U n fo rtu
nately, sister, fo r a little w hile longer
you are going to have to sell your
skills and gifts on your o w n -e ve n pro
tect your rear. I ’ve had to engage a
sharp attorney to go after several in d i
viduals who have typed in my name to
charters and documents o f com m unity
corporations and g ra nt proposals
o f which I ’ve never heard. The only
language these greedy lovers-of-the-
community w ill understand is “ pay me
fo r those checks cashed or go to Uncle
Sam's housing pro gram -do n ’ tc a ll me,
m ail my money, n ow !”
I t ’ s going to get better lady, but a
number o f us need to start reclaim ing
our com m unity-as w ell as country.