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December 23, 1992...The Portland Observer...Page 3
Black History Month Is Approaching: More
About The Compassion And Genius Of The
Black Innovators
you that the freedom o f the slave Ben­
jam in Bradley has been accomplished
by the payment o f $1,000, to which you
contributed the final $122 necessary to
make it up...
Bradley was owned by a master in
Annapolis, Maryland. Eight years ago
he was employed in a printing office
there. He was then about sixteen, and
showed great mechanical sk ill and inge­
nuity. W ith a piece o f gun-barrel, some
pewter, a couple o f pieces o f round steel,
and some materials, he constructed a
w orking model o f a steam engine.
His master soon afterwards got him
the place o f a helper in the department o f
Natural and Experimental Philosophy
in the Naval Academy at Annapolis. He
sold his first steam engine to a M idship­
man. W ilh the proceeds, and what money
he could lay up (his master allow ing him
five dollarsa month out o f his wages), he
b u ilt an engine large enough to drive the
first cutter o f a s lo o p -o f-w a r at the rate
o f sixteen knots an hour....
Professor Hopkins, o f the Acad­
emy, says that he gets up the experi­
ments fo r the lecture-room very hand­
somely. Being shown once how to line
up the parabolic m irrors for concentrat­
ing heat, he always succeeds afterwards.
So w ith the chemical experiments. He
makes all the gasses, and works w ith
them, showing the Drummond light,
& c. Prof. Hopkins remarks o f him that
“ he looks for the law by which things
BY PROF. MCKINLEY BURT
Several readers were quite startled
last week to leant how long ago the
African American inventors made their
major contributions to Am erica’ s (the
w orld ’ s) industrial revolution. Even
more so when they looked around them-
-at home, in the plant, all through the
infrastructure-and really realized how
much o f it is ours.
“ And in the case o f some o f these
documented and patented inventions,
these people were barely out o f sla­
very” , exclaimed one reader. 1 could
have added to his surprise by going
back into the slavery period. Jefferson
Davis, the first president o f the Con­
federate States had a slave, Thomas,
who invented a boat propeller capable
o f increasing a crafts speed by several
miles per hour. When Davis attempted
to secure a patent on this device the
U.S. Attorney General ruled “ no way,
you have in your laws that a negro has
no rights that a white man must re-
spec t-y o u cannot possibly acquire non-
existent rights. (See “ Com m ager’ s
Documents o f American History: Con­
stitution o f the Confederate States” ).
And le t’ s surprise him (and many
others) by going even further back into
the slavery period. From the book by
W illia m L. Katz; “ Eyewitness: The
Negro In Am erican H istory,” Pitman
Publishing Corp., 1 96 7.1 am so glad
that the state o f M aryland has such
excellent Archives; p. 115 follows:
“ The Slave Inventor at the United
States Naval Academy
[In this letter, to one o f those who
had given money to help buy the free­
dom o f slave Benjamin Bradley, we
get some o f the Story o f this rem ark­
able young inventor. Bradley helped
pay for his own freedom and later paid
back all those who had helped him.)
Dear S ir:-I am very happy to inform
act.”
He has been taught to read and
w rite, m ainly by the Professor’ s c h il­
dren; has made very good progress in
arithmetic, and w ill soon take hold o f
algebra and geometry.
The A nglo-A frican Magazine, Vol.
1 (November, 1859)., p. 367. Reprinted
from the Journal o f Commerce.”
Another step back into history:
Henry B lair, a very fortunate “ free Ne­
gro” o f Maryland patented a seed planter
for com Oct. 14, 1834 and in 1854
Henry Sigler, also free, patented an
improved fishhook which he sold for
$625 ($5,000 in today’s money).
And it was o nly a few weeks ago
that I wrote about George W. M urray
the exslave from South Carolina who
patented eight key agricultural inven­
tions beginning w ith a“ Combined Fur­
row Opener and Stalk-knocker, A p ril
10, 1894, No. 517,960. M r. M urray
was a b rillia n t student at the U niversity
o f south Carolina but was kicked out
after his second year in the great resur­
gence o f racial hate and prejudice that
set the south back again. He d id w in
election to the U.S. House o f Repre­
sentatives in 1892. It was he who spoke
to his colleagues in support o f the great
“ Atlanta Exposition” where so many
black inventors and engineers were
show ing their machines (The Congres­
sional Record, 53rd Congress, second
session, p. 8382).
You w ill note that contrary to the
literature, lying textbooks and the pro­
ducer o f that infamous movie, “ B irth
o f A Nation” , many o f the newly elected
blacks and appointed judges, etc. were
like Murray .highly intelligent and well
educated. You have only to look at
their recorded speeches in the C on­
gressional Record and in the archives
o f the Southern legislatures. Oh, how
we have been maligned.
I f I had the space I would provide
even more revelations for the surprised
segment o f our readers. How about
Greek description o f Africans who wa­
terproofed their sails and their outer
clothing 3000 years ago. O r the ancient
dyeworks o f Kano in Northern Nige­
ria, famous a ll over the then known
w orld over a thousand years ago.
N ext week, the compassionate
health providers
M
M
An Unusual Gift Item;
Personal 800 Numbers
destination. Others have discovered the
benefits o f letting their relatives and
friends keep in touch more regularly,”
says Shaun Gilmore, marketing v ice presi­
“ E .T.” would be surprised to learn
that one o f the easiest ways to “ Phone
home” these days w ould be to have his
own 800 number.
A T & T -th e company that invented
800 toll-free calling and invented E .T .’ s
com m unicator-now offers a non-busi­
ness 800 service fo r the home. And
consumers are finding the service to be
an unusual holiday g ift item this season.
A T & T Signature 800 (A M ) Ser­
vice is like the 800 numbers big busi­
nesses offer, but at a price that s afford­
able fo r most consumers. W hy have an
800 number? So the people who are
important to you can stay in to u c h -
dent fo r A T & T 800 Services.
A T & T 800 Service is 25 years old
this year, but its new Signature 800 Ser­
vice is already becoming a h it w ith h o li­
day shoppers looking for the right, per­
sonal g ift.
“ M y fa m ily members and good
friends don’t have any more excuses not
to c a ll m e,” says R obyn Jaeger o f
B luffdale, Utah. “ I get four to five calls a
week now from the people I really love to
talk to.”
Erick Weber, a business adm inistra­
tion student at Mesa Com m unity C o l­
lege, Mesa, A riz., turned the tables on his
parents and friends by ordering an 800
number. “ They were totally surprised.
They d id n ’ t even know you can have an
800 number at home. I t ’ s easy to budget
for. And I forward my 800 calls to my
cellular phone when I ’ m not at home,” he
w hile you pay fo r the calls.
“ Already thousands o f families have
established an 800 line to their home.
Grandparents use the service to encour­
age their children and grandchildren to
call more often, parents find it an invalu­
able connection fo r children away at
school. Kids fin d it a simple way to let
their folks know they’ ve reached their
says.
Signature 800 Service is not only
convenient but reasonably priced. A T & T
is the first m ajor carrier to offer reduced
rates for evening and weekend calls for
residential 800 use. Beginning Jan. 15,
1993, off-peak calls w ill cost 20 cents a
minute. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, the new rates arc 27.5
cents a minute.
Customers pay the per-minute usage
costs, a m onthly service charge ot $5.50
for A T & T Signature 800 Service, and a
one-time installation fee ol $10. No new
phone equipment is needed. Calls come
in over a customer’ s existing phone line.
Service can be started in three to five
days.
Calls can be received from any­
where in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the
U.S. V irg in Islands, but not from over­
seas. The service is available in a ll states,
except Alaska.
To order Signature 800 Service,con­
sumers may call 1-800-327-9700.
Credit Cards Remain Costly
’°rH o t e ° R a t e s C o n v e n i e n c e
Blumenauer calls
Portland-City Commissioner Earl
Blumenauer has asked the C ity A tto r­
ney to draft an ordinance that would
proibit the rental o f rooms by the hour
at hotels and motels in Portland.
“ This is one way we can fig h t back
against the so-called “ adult” businesses
and the problems they bring to our
neighborhoods,” said Blumenauer. He
said the proposal was aimed at adult
motels such as the one in Southeast
Portland where a young Kellogg Middle
School student was reportedly raped by
a kidnapper last week.
“ I want to outlaw specific prac­
tices, such as a hourly rate, that allow
these businesses to prosper,” said B lu ­
menauer. “ I want to hear what the com ­
m unity thinks o f this approach and then
I hope to bring a draft ordinance to C ity
Council in January.”
Blumenauer discussed the ban on
hourly rooms at a public hearing on
another law he introduced earlier this
year. I t would allow the city to take
legal action against property where three
or more specific incidents o f harass­
ment, intim idation, disorderly conduct
or gun discharges occur w ithin 30 days.
Possible penalties would include c iv il
F nes and a court order excluding people
from a property for up to six months.
The Council is expected to vote on this
C d d l U V I next
1 V A I Wednesday.
H V U IIV Ö U U ; .
measure
wide branches and local banks. C on ­
sumers in small cities and rural areas
may w ell find more user frien dly rates
at their local bank than at a big bank.
Among the 31 banks surveyed by
Over the past year, bank interest
rates paid to consumers have p lum ­
meted. Yet consumers continue to pay
high rales on bank credit cards accord­
ing to a new study by the Oregon Stale
Public Interest Research Group. O r­
egonians can expect to pay up to 20.5%
in interest charges and up to $48 in an
annual fee for a Visa or MasterCard.
“ Consumers have fe ll the floor fall
from under them in terms o f interest
payments on savings, checking, and
certificate o f deposit accounts,” said
Jon Stubenvoll, OSPIRG’ s consumer
advocate. “ B ut the ceiling is the sky on
interest charges paid by consumers on
credit.”
The OSPIRG study, titled “ Bank
Credit Cards: Tips For Consumers,”
lists the annual percentage interest rale
and the annual fee charged by 31 banks
in Oregon and Washington. It also in ­
cludes strategies that consumers can
use to m inim ize the cost o f using a
credit card.
•
Consumers can receive a free copy
o f OSPIRG’ s credit card survey by
sending a self-addressed, stamped en­
velope to: OSPIRG Credit Card Sur­
vey, 1536SE 11th,Portland,OR 97214.
“ A ll credit cards are not created
equal,” said OSPIRG researcherGerald
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by OSPIRG in its 1991 study. However,
this year’ s range in annual fees dram ati­
cally increased to $10 to $48 per year.
The annual fee range was zero to $30 in
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OSPIRG’ s 1991 study.
In September 1992, OSPIRG re­
leased studies o f consumer savings and
checking accounts. Those studies found
that the highest interest paid to consum­
ers this year is below the lowest paid a
year ago.
“ Banks continue to burn consum­
ers on both ends,” charged Stubenvoll.
“ W hile the flow o f interest paid to
consumers has been reduced to a trickle,
credit card interest charges remain at a
high level.”
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Eugene Family Endows Law
School Teaching Post
An endowed $500,000 faculty po­
sition in the Uni versity o f Oregon School
o f Law w ill be create w ith a g ift from
James L. and Ilene Randolph Hcrshner
o f Eugene, Dean Dave Frohnmayer
announced today.
A $250,000 comm itment by the
Hcrshners qualifies for a state matching
endowment program established by the
1991 Legislature, and thus its value is
doubled to the $500,000 level,explained
Frohnmayer.
The U niversity o f Oregon Foun­
dation, an independent nonprofit cor­
poration organized to raise and invest
g ift money for the university, w ill man­
age the investment. Interest from the
endowment fund w ill be used not to
replace state salary or operating funds
but to provide the school a margin ol
excellence beyond that level.
“ This is a m agnificent g ift and w ill
help us tremendously in our efforts to
build on the strengths o f the school’ s
distinguished teaching and research
fa c u lty ,” F ro h n m a ye r said. “ The
Hershncrs’ g ift w ill be an invaluable
investment for what we do today and
fo r generations to come.”
The endowment w ill help support
the teaching and research activities o f
the Hershner Professor, who w ill spe­
cialize in preparing students for private
practice.
“ Beyond the honor that w ill ac­
company the position,” Frohnmayer
said,” the Hershner Professor w ill re­
ceive special funds for scholarly pur­
poses such as travel, research, or the
acquisition o f books and resource ma­
terials. This is often the most d iffic u lt-
and the most valuable-type o f funding
for a law professor to obtain.”
James Hershner is a senior partner
in the Eugene law firm o f Hershner,
Hunter, M oulton, Andrews and N eill.
He is a 1954 graduate o f the law school
and served as editor o f its Law Review
for the 1953-54 school year. Hershner
earned his bachelor’ s degree in busi­
ness administration from the U niver­
sity o f Oregon in 1951.
F ollow ing law school graduation,
he served in the A ir Force and then
practiced w ith the Portland firm o f
M ille r , Nash, W iener, Hager and
Carlscn. In 1957, Hershner moved to
Eugene to jo in the long-established 1 irm
o f D a rlin g and V o n d e rh e it (now
Hershner, Hunter, M oulton, Andrews
and N eill), where he b uilt a prominent
practice in estate and business plan­
n in g , probate and corporate law .
Hershner served on the Eugene C ity
Council from 1971 to 1974.
Ilene Hershner is a 1954 sociology
graduate o f the UO College o f Arts and
Sciences. She has served on the boards
o f the Maude Kerns A rt Center and the
Eugene Symphony. For 15 years, she
has owned and operated One I f By
Land, a business dealing in american
\
Washer fit Dryer $199°°
Refrigerators From $ 129°°
Ranges From *129°°
Open Mon. - Fri. 9:00am to 5:00pm
Saturday 10:00am to 2:00pm
Sunday Closed
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project.
The C ully project, w hich has been
in form ation fo r almost a year, was one
o f eight Portland-area projects receiv­
ing a grant.
The C u lly & K illin g sw o rth project
seeks to redevelop the C u lly neighbor­
hood w ith b uilding renovations, social
services, and com m unity services. Its
focal points are» four apartment b u ild ­
ings to be renovated, which total 178
units, a new com m unity police office,
and a Head Start fa c ility . The C ully
Neighborhood contains 14,000 resi­
dents. including approximately 700 ten­
ants at the apartments.
Albina Head Start has agreed to
apply for funding fo r a new Head Start
program for the neighborhood, to in ­
clude ass many as 80 children. The
Portland Police w ill occupy a com m u­
nity police station at the site. M ult-
-
S’t
antiques and fo lk art.
Both husband and w ife long have
been active supporters o f the university
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and local patrons o f the arts.
Their m otivation for donating the
g ift, M r. and Mrs. Hershner explained,
comes from recognizing the increasing
need for private support o f public higher
education and the many positive expe­
riences James Hershner received from
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his training as a lawyer.
Former U O Law Dean Orlando
John H ollis remembers student James
Hershner as one likely to succeed.
“ The school has been very proud o f
his professional career,” H ollis said.
“ C ertainly, it is a com plim ent to the
school that he would make this very
substantial g ift, rendering it possible
for the school to continue to provide its
high quality offering to law students.”
L ife F lig h t T o R e s c u e 1O,OOOth
P a tie n t
1 fU.-.Ltn ««tall
Sometime within the first 10 days
o f December, Life Flight w ill fly its
10,000th patient to a trauma center in
Oregon or southwest Washington in
time to receive treatment within the
“ golden hour” .
As o f today, Life H ight is less then
25 patients away from its milestone
mission. Attached is a summary o f the
Cully Neighborhood Receives State
Grant Renovation Of Galaxy
Apartments Gets Support
Today, the S tate o f Oregon ’ s Hous­
ing and C om m unity Services D ivision
announced that Hacienda Com m unity
D evelopm ent C o rp o ra tio n w ill be
awarded a $ 100,000 Housing Develop­
ment Grant for its C ully & Killingsworth
.
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last 75 flights flow n in the past three
weeks since the count down began.
Because L ife F lig ht is unable to
determine the exact day or time, it has
initialed a media “ count down . L ife
H ig h t w ill send weekly updates until
the 10,000th patient is flow n. The last
f \ flights w ill be broadcast by fax as
10
they occur.
L ife H ig h t has also established a
special ride-a-long program fo r a ll
media to capture the drama o f the count
down on film . C all Janice Plekan at
280-3062 to reserve a time.
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A Special Offer
McMurphy’s
Appliance Center
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that bank.
The OSPIRG survey released to­
day is the sixth such credit card study
done by the consumer group since 1986.
The range in interest charges in today’ s
study is exactly the same as that found
Van Nostrand. “ There is often a sharp
difference between banks w ith state-
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OSPIRG, the annual percentage rate
charged on credit card purchases varies
from 12.96% to 20.5%. Annual fees
range from $ 10 to $48. Some banks also
o ffe r a slightly low er interest charge it
the consumer has another account w ith
nomah County w ill coordinate and
provide service such as health ser­
vices, counseling, and job placements.
Helen Gradt, o f the C ully Asso­
ciation o f Neighbors noted that, Great
strides are being made in terms o f
comm unity involvement, support, and
cooperation. This is truly a collabora­
tive e ffort.”
The Portland Development C om ­
mission (PDC), Portland Commissioner
Gretchen Kafoury, and M ultnom ah
County CommissioncrGladys McCoy
Arc all supporters o f the project.
According to Buz O rtiz, C hair­
man o f Hacienda, “ This grant approval
is a tremendous boost. It ratifies the
support so many people and organiza­
tions have given this project, and we
arc beginning to sec it move closer to
reality. A ll that we need now is a first
mortgage”
PDC has indicated support for a
com m itm ent for up to $2 m illio n in a
second mortgage for the project. Be­
fore the properties arc acquired and the
renovation is begun, a $5 m illio n first
mortgage loan is needed.
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For
African-American
¡v ''-Av'
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Families This
Holiday Season
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