Jii
M r ®> -,
“The E yes and Ears o f th e Com m unity*
V olu m n XXII, Num ber 50
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ember 9, 1992
97403
(Elje ^ u rtla n h Ohseriier
A P m To H elp O ur I nner C ities
25<*
Business Improvement
Association formed to
Improve Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd’s Businesses
by Venerable Booker a n d Gordon Studebaker
The A ffilia te m em ber; com prised
o f agencies and associations w h ic h are
The M a rtin L u th e r K in g Jr. B lvd .
Business Im provem ent A ssociation has
an agenda to prom ote businesses lo ­
cated on the boulevard.
The association was form ed striedy
to address business issues (not addressed
by other com m un ity groups), o ffe r c lear-
than ever in n e rc ity m in o r­
ity areas, plagued by high u n e m p lo y­
m ent, p o ve rty, c rim e , inadequate edu­
ca tio n , p o o r health and lack o f access to
o u r mainstream econom y cry out fo r
aggressive in itia tiv e s to bring lasting
supportive o f business im p ro ve m e n t
along M L K B lvd .
The A s s o c ia tio n w ill p u b lis h a
m o n th ly open le tte r to the p u b lic at
large, disclo sin g the concerns, needs,
im provem ents and h ig h lig h ts o f various
businesses located along the boulevard.
cu t solutions and im p le m e n t p o sitive
jo b s and hope.
B reakthrough approaches need to
be pursued, approaches that are ‘. m arket
d rive n by private-sector firm s try in g to
com pete in a g lo b a l econom y and that
take in to account g lo b a l p ro d u ctio n
change.
The association has three classes
o f members, the P ro p rie ta ry R esiden­
The open le tte r o f the M L K Jr.
B lvd . Business Im provem ent A sso cia ­
tio n w ill be p ublished in the P O R T ­
L A N D O B S E R V E R . T he o rg a n iz a ­
tio n ’ s headquarters is located at 4008
tia l m em ber - com posed o f members
w h o ow n o r operate businesses located
on M L K B lvd .
The Associate m em ber, composed
o f businesses that are supportive o f
other businesses located on M L K B lvd .
costs.
U nderstanding The C o m p e titio n
C o m p e titio n facing our inner citie s
conies not ju s t fro m the suburban areas
o f o u r ow n action, nor fro m S unbelt
states lik e A riz o n a and N ew M e x ic o ,
n o r fro m the non-union south. Fierce
co m petition fo r jo b s and firm s also arises
fro m countries beyond o u r w on borders.
In m id 1990, fo r exam ple, shoes
m a n u fa ctu re d fo r R eebok in K o re a
landed in the U.S. at the cost o f around
$14.00 per pair. B a lly Brassieres fro m
the C artago Free Zone in Costa R ica
landed in the U.S. at a cost somewhere
near $12.00 a dozen. T he lis t o f U.S.
N .E . M a rtin Lu th e r K in g Jr. B lv d , P o rt­
land, Oregon 97211. Thom as B oothe is,
chairm an o f the association.
Adopt A Family
Needs Adopters
firm s operating in T a iw a n totals 70
pages; in K orea, 100 pages. The D o ­
m inican R e p u blic, taking advantage o f
IRS tax benefits aim ed at U.S. firm s operating in Puerto R ic o , has m ore than 30 free
zones e m p lo y in g 150,000 people in leading U.S.S firm s lik e W estinghouse, B ris to l
M eyers, Johnson and Johnson, and G T E .
The com m on threads fo r U.S. firm s operating in o ffsh o re environm ents are
g lo b al cost com petitiveness and m a x im iz in g shareholder value. Y e t, U.S. and
fo re ig n firm s operating offsh o re , i f recruited c o m p e titiv e ly , represent so lid targets
fo r re lo ca tio n to out inner cities. B rin g in g jo b s home creates new oppo rtu n itie s. It
avoids creating in our co u n try un e m p lo ym e n t in one place w h ile creating jo b s in
another, w h ic h u su a lly happens when U.S. firm s change dom estic locations.
A v o id Conscience M oney
T ra d itio n a l approaches to b u ild in g jo b s and incom es in inner citie s have
generally fo llo w e d n o n -co m pe titive paths. M o st inner c ity developm ent program s
sought conscience capital fro m priv a te firm s , o r they im p o rte d governm ent capital.
Conscience ca p ita l, n o n -c o m p e titiv e and dependent on co n tin u in g p ro fita b il­
ity o f donating firm s , tends to flee inner citie s firs t in econom ic dow nturns, as
hundreds o f thousands, maybe m illio n s , o f central c ity residents kn o w a ll too w e ll.
G overnm ent capital may a c tu a lly d ebilitate in n e r cities. T h a t’ s because
governm ent m oney targeted at sti m u la tin g econom ic a ll y hard pressed co m m u n itie s
seldom connects to re a litie s o f the m arketplace. It m ost often fa ils to develop
com petitiveness o r the necessary s k ills top a ttra c tc o m p e titiv e c a p ita l. G overnm ent
capital evaporates as soon as the heat o f a problem cools. O u r p o litic ia n s m ove on
to place a new ban-aid on a new p ro b le m -a lw a y s a im in g to make it lo o k lik e they
are addressing ro o t causes.
A very basic fa ct in h ib itin g in n e rc ity developm ent is lack o f internal capital.
C apital m ust be im ported. I t m ust be co m p e titive o r used c o m p e titiv e ly i f it is to
rem ain in the in n e r c ity and act as a magnet to attract a d d itio n a l capital.
W atch The G o ve rn m e n t C a re fu lly
M a k in g the best use o f go ve m m e n'
c ritic a l G overnm ent, especially at the
federal le v e l, has fa ile d tra g ic a lly to achieve serious econom ic developm ent in ou r
in n e r cities. W e ll paid and secure, today *s governm ent staunchly supports the status
quo. “ D e ve lo p m e n t” o f o u r in n e r citie s, lik e “ assistance” to d e ve lop in g countries,
s im p ly fa ils w herever g overnm ent plays the dom in a n t role. G o vernm ent bureau­
crats ca n ’ t entice the best firm s in to hard pressed inner cities because bureaucrats
them selves, isolated fro m the m arket, seldom understand co m p e titive needs.
F ailure meets e v e ryb o d y’ s expectations and keeps everything the same. W e keep
rid in g d iffe re n t horses on the same m erry-go-round.
Short cite d , insulated tax bureaucrats in the Treasury D epartm ent w ill oppose
Continued on page 5
Assistance D o w n F rom Last Y ear
A d o p t A F a m ily , a p rogram c o o r­
dinated by V olunteers o f A m e rica to
assist needy fa m ilie s d u rin g the h o li­
ers” have an o p p o rtu n ity to become
personally in vo lve d by meeting the fa m ­
ily they “ adopt” and purchasing g ifts
a n d fo o d to a s s is t th e ir s p e c ific
days, needs m ore “ adopters:” . A d o p t A
F a m ily hopes to match 1100 fa m ilie s
th is year, b u t so fa r have adopters fo r
fa m ily .A nyone interested in / ’a d o p t­
in g ” a fa m ily should c a ll V olunteers o f
A m e rica at 2 3 -A D O P T (232-3678 be­
fe w e r than 500 fa m ilie s, w h ic h is con­
siderably fe w e r adopters than last year
fore Decem ber 18.
V olunteers o f A m e rica is a n a tio n ­
w id e social service o rganization w ith
branches in o ve r 200 co m m u n itie s.
V olunteers o f A m e rica O regon, Inc.
serves the c o m m u n ity through c h ild
care, fa m ily preservation program s, a
shelter fo r homeless w om en w ith c h il­
at this tim e.
“ O ur phones have been rin g in g o f f
the hook fro m fa m ilie s seeking assis­
tance,” said A d o p t A F a m ily D ire cto r,
P attie Pardue. “ W e desperately need
adopters, o r w e ’ ll be tu rn in g hundreds
o f fa m ilie s aw ay.”
A d o p t a F a m ily matches needy
fa m ilie s w ith groups, businesses, fa m i­
lies, and organizations that w ish to o f ­
fe r assistance by p ro v id in g fo o d , toys,
and clo th in g fo r the holidays. “ A d o p t­
S
P
E
C
I A
L
E
dren, aseniorcenter, senior health c lin ic ,
a d u lt day care program , residential a l­
cohol and d ru g treatm ent fa c ilitie s , a
shelter fo r homeless adolescent g irls ,
and a C hristm as
.
Assistance Program.
D
I T
I O
N
COMM ING JANUARY 1 3 ,1 9 9 3
Children Enjoy The
Season’s First Snow Fall
Ahout:X, Malcolm X and Xerxes
••
From left tP righ
Shawn, Pitia,
larghi
Jacob#*
Monday morning was greeted with
the seasonlrnrsKpndwfa/l, about
three inches fell on the Portland
metropolitan area giving children
an ideal playground. Most children
around the area stayed home
from school because of the
hazardous road conditions.
D i s t r i b u t i o n C e n t e r Le D p e n I n N e w L o c a t i o n
W hen: M o n d a y, N ovem ber 23, 1992 - 7:30 a.m.
W here: 8425 N. L o m b a rd, P ortland, OR
P ortland Fire Bureau 1992 T o y & Joy D riv e w ill be
w o rk in g o u t o f a new lo cation this year: 8425 N . Lom bard
(L o m b a rd & L e a v itt). T h is lo ca tio n is 2 blocks fro m the
h e a rto f the St. Johns Business D is tric t, where thccastcnd
o f the St. Johns B ridge meets Lom bard St. Thanks goes
out to L c B c c k ’ s P roperties’ generous donation fo r the use
o f this 13,000 sq ft. warehouse. So, we w ill not be at
L lo y d C enter, fo r the 1st tim e in several years.
N ew o r lik e -n e w toys arc being accepted at your
«
local fire station. B icycle s w ill be taken at The B ik e
G a lle ry ’ s three locations (2625 SW Cedar H ills B lv d ,
821 SW 11th, and 5329 N E Sandy B lv d . H e lp is needed
as o u r donations this year so fa r are dow n 30% .
T h is program began 86 years ago w hen a P ortland
Fire Fig h te r fix e d a b ic y c le fo ra lo ca l c h ild whose fa m ily
was on a lim ite d incom e. Il has since progressed to co ve r
the en tire Stale o f Oregon and meets 12,000 requests
each year.
Requests fo r toys were accepted beginning N o ve m ­
ber 23, 1 9 9 2 ,9 :3 0 a.m.-3:3O p.m ., at 823-4550.
Left: James B. Williams • Center: Hypostyle Hall of Xerxes, largest building of the ancient world. • Right: A detail
of Crown Prince Xerxes standing behind his father King Darius, on the throne from the stone relief at Persepolis,
shown in excavation scene.
BY, JAMES B WILLIAMS (J.B.)
Shabazz, so he could travel to A fric a ; it
The letter “ X ” has a long and re ­
vered history that dales back thousands
o f years. M any people are not aware o f
its h isto rica l connotations o r im p o r­
tance. In the b eginning, the “ X ” s ig n i­
fie d someone’ s mark o r signature. That
was not know n as a M u s lim name. W hat
M a lco lm X was about was s e lf-im p ro v e ­
ment.
Xerxes was the w ealthiest black king
o f the Persian E m pire fro m 486-465 BC,
then kn o w as the land o f b urnt faces,
person, in m ost cases, m ay not have
been able to read o r w rite . Some n ota­
tio n was required fo r legal purposes, so
the person was a llo w e d to make th e ir
m ark; the “ X ” to docum ent w hatever
fo rm was necessary fo r the transaction
today Iran. The Greek listed his mean­
ing, Xerxes, as an unknow n kin g . He is
the same as Ahasuerus m entioned in the
B ible book o f h isto ry, Esther. The in flu ­
ence in Persia was E thiopians, Greeks
and Jews.
wanted a ll the men to sec his fa v o rite
queen, V a sh ti, from E th io p ia . She was
b eautiful. He sent a servant to get her,
but she refused to go and u n ve il her
lo v e ly face. She heard again the K in g
to take place.
A s more people learned how to
read and w rite , the “ X ” was then used to
show where one should sign th e ir name,
as in “ X ” marks the spot on the dotted
line. O ther notations cite the “ X ” stand­
ing fo r the unknow n and as being sym ­
b o lic , as “ X ” in G reek, translated in to
“ C h i” , the firs t letters in the Christm as,
“ X m as” .
He b u ilt the largest b u ild in g o f the
ancient w o rld , H ypostyle H a ll o f Xerxes.
It had a hundred colum ns made o f marble.
L ik e the E gyptian P yram ids, it rem ains
a m ystery how colum ns 65 feet high
co u ld be set in place, w ith o u t heavy
equipm ent. Inside, H ypostyle H a ll’ s pre­
cious m etals, rare w oods, iv o ry and
faience, and the w o n d e rfu l weaves from
the Persian loom s harm onized to form
com m and and le ft her h igh estate.
T h e n X e rx e s s e n t c o m m a n d
throughout the kin g d om that the m ost
b e a u tifu l yo u n g w o m e n sh o u ld be
brought to his palace. M o rd cca i, the
keeper o f the palace gates sent Esther,
w hom he had raised as an orphan. W hen
Esther was b rought to the K in g , he knew
at once that she was the one he wanted.
M ordccai advised her, “ D o n ’ t te ll a n y­
M a lco lm , w ho was M a lco lm L ittle ,
was given the “ X " by his leader E lija h
M uham m ad. Later, he to o k the name
no u n w o rth y background f it o n ly fo r a
king.
one we arc related o r that you arc a Jew .”
A fte r that, she became h isto ry (Esther,
chapters 1-10).
4: A A
In the th ird year o f the reign o f
Xerxes, at Shushan, a great feast was
held in honor o f a ll the nobles and rulers.
Guests came fro m as fa r as E g yp t,
B abylon, and Nineveh. T o w a rd the end
o f the w eek, he in vite d a ll the men o f the
royal c ity to com e to the palace and
enjoy the feast. He drank so m uch w in e
that he was fe llin g reckless. X erxes
A’’