M ay 5, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A2
p e r s p e c
I
J
7,
p
c
‘An Open Letter To My Brothers, Young And Old
Africa Revisited II: Integrating
Culture With Commerce
O n the other hand. 1 put it in one does not have the proper fram e o f
opposition to this purely cultural ap ­ reference to intelligently process it
proach, that there exists in some parts M eaningful know ledge requires the
relating o f th in g s—the extraction of
o f the country a fast grow ing com m u­
sim
ilars C onsider the following
nity o f blacks whose interest and com ­
In that "G ales Encyclopedia of
m itm ent to A frica is driven by eco­
nom ics T his is to be expected in a fast- A ssociations” at the m ain public li­
sh rin k in g w orld that is now described brary, will be found listings for all of
as a "G lobal V illage" an d w hich af­ the major "e th n ic’ organizations in
fords relatively cheap transportation this country: British, Greek, Chinese,
and instant com m unication A nd this J a p a n e s e , F re n c h , E a s t I n d ia ,
is not to om it the Yugoslav, G erm an, South Seas, Rus­
T h a n k s for your
‘in fo rm a tio n e x ­ sian, G erm an, N orw egian, Iranian,
c a lls ..
plosion’ w hich is N igerian, Greek. Ethiopian, K enyan,
O n th e one
prov iding more rel­ Arabian. A ustrians, etc T here are hun­
h an d it w as put
evant data on in ­ dreds upon hundreds o f such o rg an iza­
th a t (a s th e re
te rn a tio n a l trad e tions o f "hyphenated A m ericans who
should be) many
each day; banks, have highly structured connections
blacks have a deep
v e n d o rs , U n ite d w ith their overseas roots A nd who
cultural apprecia­
N a tio n s , W o rld m aintain year-round social and com ­
tion for the conti­
B a n k , s h ip p in g m ercial intercourse w ith their Foreign
n u ity o f ‘ro o ts'
brethren
extending to that other sem inal conti­ lines, em bassies, libraries, sem inars,
O n each side o f the A tlantic or
nent And, for further, there were universities.
Pacific,
they m aintain offices, librar­
It is my experience w ith this latter
cited many of the contem porary ob­
ies, cultural and language centers,
group
of
black
A
m
ericans,
driv
en
by
a
servances and cerem onies that give
publishing houses, trade bureaus. Lob­
expression to an affective affinity w ith v ision o f huge econom ic gain for the
byists, travel bureaus, etc
the past Her, we speak o f the entire race, w hich led me to cite their posi­
O n any given day the skies above
tion
as
"an
opposing
viewpoint
in
need
spectrum o f the cultural heritage, from
the
nations
are filled w ith com m uters
song and dance to the costum e and o f reconciliation w ith the trad itio n al­
w
ho
are
pursuing
the related business
dress o f v arious eras, from poetry and ists ” It is my observation th at too
o
f
these
institutions.
H undreds o f jobs
oral histories to sculptures and reli­ m any o f the ‘e n tre p re n e u rs’ have
are
generated
in
consequence
o f this
gious icons. Do not onut science, math, adopted a rath er sim plistic posture in
traffic.
T
his
is
real
pow
er
and
m
uch o f
respect to the ‘traditionalists’. “Do
architecture and language.
the
politics
an
d
other
affairs
of
nations
And, quite properly, we note that away w ith all that singing, dancing
are shaped w ith in this context. ‘C U L ­
sco res o f o th e r e th n ic g roups in and ritual,” they say. "G et down to
TU RE AND CO M M ER CE ARE IN ­
A m erica (W hite an d A sian) pay the dollars and cents, and m arketing” .
T E G R A T E D !’
A
nd
I
find
that
underlying
the
sam e tribute to th eir ancestors and
If A frican A m ericans arc to sur­
m
ain
difference
in
the
approaches
of
ancestral lands H ere in Portland, we
vive and progress in this modern world,
the
two
groups
is
a
recurrent
them
e
of
see these people observ ing their tradi­
it is a given that they must understand
tions all over the place--in the Park our "disadvan tag ed ” status in this
w here their future lies in this "G lobal
Blocks, on the W ater F ront, in ethnic country . T hrough no fault o f their
V illage". It is my hope that this attem pt
districts or dedicated places of assem ­ own, m ost blacks have a respective
in reconciling two opposing schools o f
developed
by
life
on
the
fringe
o
f
this
bly, w herever. If anything, m ost of
thought on our relations w ith the mother
these races dem onstrate m ore u n ­ society T his ugly and dem eaning con­
continent will reveal that they are not
abashed public display o f price and straint lim it perception, expectations,
in opposition at all. 1 believe the two
respect for their roots than do the am bitions and the capacity o f critical
preceding paragraphs will take us a
m ajority o f blacks (fortunately things analysis. It docs little good to have vast
am ounts o f inform ation available if long way in that direction
are im proving).
Last week 1 introduced some as­
pects of two decisive them es that would
seem to place a num ber o f African
A m ericans poles apart in their th in k ­
ing about the A frican continent 1 his
w as done w ith the expectation that a
vigorous dialogue would be created,
one w hich could lead to a reconcilia­
tion --even a synthesis—oftw o key view ­
p o in ts, both w ith av id p artisan s.
“ V igor” w e’ve got, not doubt about it
j
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T hank Y o u F or R eading I
T he P ortland O bserver |
J
_.i
oar«
irc^ives as as the
have and
and have
have ever
ever had.
had W W ho ho w¡ was
start ibinirino
th in k in g nfm
o f ourselves
the next
next have
My Brother
there
to
keep
us
fighting
w hen society
I read som ew here that the ruin o f generation o f role models. T he nest
says
that
their
is
no
place
in th is w orld
a nation begins in the hom es o f its tim e you take a d rink or a puff o f that
for
the
black
man.
W
ho
continues to
people ”. W hat that says to me is, that joint, look at the m an in the m irror and
stand by u s -e v e n though we leave
ask
yourself
w
hat
are
living
for..
.what
as Black men, it is our responsibility to
them standing alone? B rothers w ake
keep our fam ilies together if we w ant are your dream s w hat am I saying to
up! W hat good is s K ing w ithout a
our A frican A m erican com m unity— younger brothers!
Q ueen’’ 1 believ e that sisters are queens
Secondly
Brothers,
w
hat
are
we
or "n atio n ” to be strong T he way 1 see
and they deserve the honor, respect
it, we are not taking care o f business doing to ourselves—brothers killing
an d love we gav e them w hen we ruled
brothers.
W
hat
sense
docs
that
m
ake?
We arc falling short in three m ajor
our A frican nations! So the next tim e
ways, and it’s h u rting the c h ild r c n - W e’re destroying ourselves—o u r fu­
ture nation. W hat sense docs all this you think o f skipping out on your
and our future nation
children, steeping out on your wife, or
Y oung B rothers, w h a t’s the m at­ m ake? Does it strengthen our com m u­
raising a hand to the one you love,
ter w ith you? You make babies and nity—our nation? All it brings is a
th
in k again 1 We need to stop treating
c a n ’t find the tim e to raise them! Or, bunch o f funerals to attend, babies
our
w om en like objects that m ean noth­
skip out on the responsibility all to­ w ithout fathers, crying m others and
g eth er W h a t’s h ap p en in g ? Sorry, fam ilies left w ith the memory o f that ing.
As m o th er’s day approaches, I
brother this isn ’t the way to build a young brother!
applaud
my mom, my grandm ont, my
T he last th in g I w ant to say deals
nation. T he way I figure it, any boy can
great-grandm om , my sister, my aunties
w
ith
our
N
ubian
Sisters.
I
am
really
m ake a baby, but it takes a m an to face
an d all Black women. I realize that
up to responsibility and raise a chid. confused. B rothers say they really love
they have been the backbone o f the
the
sisters,
yet,
they
totally
diss
them
But, it goes deeper th an that. It’s all
black fam ily an d the source o f strength
If
you
love
them
why
do
you
hit
on
about how we live our lives. If w e grow
an d pow er for the Black m an. W ithout
them
?
How
can
you
love
som
eone
one
up h anging out and d rinking 4 0 ’s how
them beside us our nation w ill never be
m
inute
an
d
turn
around
and
abuse
can w e expect to becom e lawyers,
strong. W ake up brothers! They keep
doctors an d architects. W ant to bet her? W hat m akes you sleep around?
us standing tall; they keep us fighting;
that the first black president is not a Does it m ake you feel m anly to know
they encourage us; they keep us fo­
gang banger. W h at’s happening to your wife and children are at h o m e -
cused, an d th eir love keeps us going!
our ability to dream ? Did it disappear alone. D o n ’t you realize AID S is out
Signed,
or did it just put on hold for a 40 o f St. there? A nd w hat;s up w ith th is .’’w hat
A B rother that cares,
a
w
hite”
ju
n
k
”
Skip
that,
the
deal
is
Ides? We have the ability to becom e
S. M arcel Irving
w h a t’s right! W hen w ill J you learn that
W
O I I U leaders
l l T l U t l h d and
l l U l l achiev
k lllV V V
ii; U
.v u ...
A ll- k C ^ K a a I
world
e U any
dream
we decide we w ant to achieve. L et’s our N ubian Sisters are all w e really
G rant H igh School
Anheuser-Busch And Turner
Broadcasting System Co-Sponsor
First Trumpet Awards Gala
A nheuser-B usch C om panies ex ­
panded its support o f the A frican-
A m erican community' when it recently
co-sponsored w ith cable giant T urner
B roadcasting System (TA B S) the p re­
m ier "T rum pet A w ards” cerem ony in
A tlanta, Ga. T he gala event w as held
at the Orni International Hotel.
T he celebration honored a select
g ro u p o fafrican -A m erican sw h o o v er-
6
H
, jj .
v
cam e great odds to m ake a place for
them selves in history.
A
tVvzS A
A
ssociation for t - the
a 'lcL
C olored eop e (
,
tional U rban L eague and the U nited
l °
, l I N r ~ C o n tri.
N egro College F und (UNCF). C ontri­
butions to U N CF through the com -
A nheuser-B usch has had a long­
standing com m itm ent to the A frican-
A m erican com m unity as evidenced
by the com pany extensive support of
o rganizations such as the N ational
pany-sponsored “Lou Raw ls P arade
o f S tars” telethon help support the
n atio n ’s 41 private, historically Black
colleges ad univ ersi ties that are UNCF
members.
News From The Governor
Strengthening Oregon’s Economy
C r e a tin g jo b s a n d b u ild in g
O regon’s economy is a top priority for
me. By investing in our businesses.
com m unities and people, my ad m in ­
istration is helping produce a div ersi­
fied economy that generates m ore jobs
and higher incom es for all O rego­
nians
I have proposed an econom ic d e­
velopm ent strategy that will invest in
roads, sewers, com m unity facilities,
and lands that can be developed for
business T his strategy will m ake sure
that our com m unities rem ain attrac­
tive place to work an d do business. Il
will also invest in key O regon indus­
tries to ensure they rem ain com peti­
Rail and the W illam ette Valley H igh
Speed Rail, so that O regonians from
P ortland to Eugene can travel and
ship their goods more easily.
A ffordable housing also m akes a
real difference in w hether a com m u­
nity can grow an d bring in new busi­
ness 1 have invested in the O regon
H ousing Fund, a program I helped
created in 1991, so we can provide
m ore housing that low -incom e O r­
egonians can afford
But many O regon com m unities
that w ant to expand th eir businesses
or attract new ones lack the roads,
sewers or industrial land they need to
develop I have proposed $20.3 m il­
lion to help com m unities meet the
federal req u irem en ts for d rin k in g
w ater and wastew arer treatm ent T his
will rem ove a b arrier to business d e­
an d that m eans m aking sure O re g o n 's
businesses are healthy. So I have p ro ­
posed investing in O regon s key in ­
dustries through the R egional S trate­
gies Program and the Special Public
W orks Fund
T he Regional Strategies Program
funds projects based on the type o f
econom ic developm ent com m unities
w ant, w hether high tech, tourism , for­
est products or environm ental ser­
vices. T he Special Public Worjcs Fund
m akes sure that businesses have the
sewers, roads and w ater system s they
need to expand or locate in a com m u­
nity.
New businesses will get a boost
from the $29.6 m illion I ’ve targeted
to develop new businesses and new
technology . These funds will help pro­
vide custom ized train in g for special­
ized industries, such as m etals or plas­
tics It will also support the G raduate
School o f E ngineering, the Joint B usi­
ness school program and research into
forest m anagem ent and food process­
tive w orld-wide.
O reg o n ’s economy is changing.
It has been transform ed from a dom es­
tic, natural resources based economy
to an international, technical and ser­ velopm ent.
In addition, rural com m unities
vices based economy. So I have ta r­
geted m ore than $ 180 m illion to help; will get help identify ing land that can
crcatejobs m this new econom y and to be developed, so that businesses can
help com m unities across O rc g o n -c s- expand, and com m unities can recruit
p c c ia lly
r u r a l c o m m u n itie s - - new businesses know ing that there is ing.
All together, my 1993-95 targets
s tr e n g th e n a n d d iv e r s ity th e ir ready-to-go industrial land A nd I pro­
$180
m illion in econom ic develop­
economy, w hile m aintaining O regon’s posed m ore than $7 m illion in a new
m
ent
lottery funds to m ake a real
fund to help rural com m unities build
special quality o f life.
difference
fo rO reg o n ’sbusincsses and
Business grow th can often put the libraries, m edical clinics an d com ­
com
m
unities.
T ogether, we can create
pressures on com m unities, but it is m unity centers they need to grow
high paying jobs for O regon Fam ilies
possible to m anage that grow th so we strong.
It’s im portant that O rcg o n 'sco m - an d keep the quality o f life we all
can keep our quality o f life an d create
new jobs. I proposed funding for Light m unitics arc econom ically healthy. value.
’93 Black Legislation: A Snow Ball’s Chance in Hell of Passing
BY JAMES L. POSEY
In th is session o f the State L egis­
lature, several bills have been intro­
duced that could significantly benefit
th e A frican -A m erican com m unity.
R epresentative Avel G ordly is spon­
soring three bills initiated by the N a­
tional A ssociation o f M inority C on­
tracto rs o f O regon (N A M C O ). bills
w h ich could significantly im prove
co n tractin g an d business opportuni­
ties in N ortheast P ortland (See sum ­
m ary o f bills at end o f article.)
Also w orking w ith N A M CO is
S enator Bill M cCoy, w ho is sponsor­
in g a bill w hich could ensure the more
equitable p articip atio n o f minority
contractors. Rep G ordly is also spon­
soring a bill initiated by the N ortheast
E conom ic A lliance w hich w ould im ­
prove the effectiveness o f state en ter­
prise zones. U nless I am mistaken,
these bills represent the most busi­
ness- and econom ic dev elopm ent-ori­
ented legislation ever sponsored in
one session that w ould directly benefit
B lacks and other m inorities.
I am told th a t Rep M argaret
C a rter has agreed to support the above
b ills H ow ever, in contrast, she is also
sponsor! ng a bi 111 nit lated by the Asso­
c ia te d G en eral C o n tracto rs w hich
I
t c » • * * ' '
w ould essentially broaden the private
sector opportunities o f w hat are now
in-house state projects T his legisla­
tion w ould m ost assuredly benefit the
m em bers o f the w hite contracting as­
sociation w hich until recently has
opposed th e inclusion o f A frican-
A m erican contractors in the industry
N A M C O has recom m ended that she
not continue to sponsor this bill until
it is m odified to stipulate that a high
percentage of the contract work gai ned
through passage o f this bill be set
aside for minority contractors
But the poi nt is w hile Rep Gordly,
Sen Bill McCoy and their staffs have
been w orking their butts off to sponsor
bills benefiting Blacks, there is about
a snow ball 's chance in hell that any of
this legislation will pass Why is this*’
Well, the short answ er is that the good
ole’ boys are opposing it Bu, more
im portantly, there are too few Blacks
w ho know about the legislation and
who would be w illing to go to Salem
and dem and that this legislation be
passed
Let me tell you that w hile all these
w hite folks are talking about budget
cuts and reducing program s in the
w ake o f M easure 5. they are all schem ­
ing and scram bling to make sure that
• • 9
• ■
they get theirs. They have lobby ists up
the yin yang, n in n in g the halls o f the
Legislature, sitting in every hearing
and looking out for their special pro­
gram s or interests
In contrast, it is a rarity to sec a
Black face in the place, not counting
Gordly, McCoy and C arter And while
we are glad Jim Hill got elected to
State T reasurcr and his office is still in
the C apital B uilding. Blacks have lost
his persuasive influence in the legisla­
tive process. To their credit, the C om ­
m ission on Black Affairs is the only
organization I know of that is try ing to
exert any influence on this process
The truth is. these bills represent sig­
nificant ch an g es in th e econom ic
power dynam ics and the re-distribu­
tion o f some o f the resources The
white folks in control just a in ’t gonna
roll over and give it up T h at’s why
Blacks had better recognize that it's
not enough to elect a few Black repre­
sentatives. we need to be seriously
active in the process from beginning
to end in order to gain real benefits
F air-m inded w hite people ought
to work to sec that much o f this legis­
lation gets passed because it repre­
sents Blacks w h o arc w orking through
the system to get justice, w hile pro­
* * ♦ t
* »» » / f f *>■
m oting fai rness an d creating opportu­
nities T he unacceptable alternative
is to go to the streets in violence
and despair A lthough this alternative
may be unacceptable, recent gov ern­
m ent budgets, bulging w ith increases
in p u b lic safety d o lla r s , re fle c t
that street violence is already h appen­
in g on an e v e r-in c re a sin g scale;
a n d g o v e r n m e n ts a r e c le a rly
preparing even more for that eventu­
ality.
Rep Gordly and Sen. McCoy arc
doing all they can Katy K ing and
Raleigh Lewis from their respective
staffs are w orking together, pushing
that proverbial snow ball up the (leg­
islative) hill Blacks need to get be­
hind them and lend as m uch support
as possible This support work must be
done by May 14. otherw ise it’s a
done deal at the Legislature T his is
w here all the Black fraternal, social
service, and not to m ention. Black
business organizations should write
letters to the legislative com m ittee
chairs and organize to go to Salem to
p ro v id e h e a rin g te s tim o n y . T h e
following is a summary o f the pro­
posed legislation and the com m ittees
responsible Call Gordly or M cC oy's
offices for additional inform ation
* • *
* t • f » ' r * 9
W ho know s, you could help a snow
b a ll’s chances o f getting through hell
LEGISLATIVE BILLS IN
JEOPARDY
• Senate Bill 980, sponsored by Sen
M cCoy, has been placed with the
T ransportation Com mittee The bill
requires the D epartm ent o f T ran s­
portation to set aside certain m on­
eys from state highway funds for
contracts with historically u nder­
utilized businesses Sen Joan Dukes
is the chair.
• House Bill 3204 requires public
co n tractin g agencies to m onitor
contracts for good faith efforts to
subcontract with disadvantaged
minority , w om enandsm all em erg­
ing businesses It would also re­
qu ire the D epartm ent o f Justice to
report biannually on progress
i n el i nu nat i ng discrimi natory prac-
tices in public contracting. HB-
3204 has been given to the G eneral
G overnm ent Com m ittee, chaired
by Rep Cedric Hay den
• House B ills 3317 and 3327 were
both placed w ith the Com m erce
Com m ittee H B -3 3 l7 cx tcn d sp u b -
lic policy against discrim ination
in employ ment to include contract­
ing and confers to contractors the
•
right to challenge discrim ination,
similarly to the right o f employees
HB-3327 requires the Econom ic
Development D epartm ent to pro­
pose a plan to increase the number
o f minority and women business
enterprises through field represen­
tatives in the v arious geographical
regions o f the state Rep Eldon
Johnson is the chair.
NAM CO requests your support
o f this legislation and urges that let­
ters be addressed to all com m ittee
members asking them to take action
on these bills T he Black com m unity
should insist that legislators serving
on the general governm ent and com ­
merce com mittees i mmcdiatcly sched­
ule all the abov e bills for public hear­
ings As of this date, only one o f the
bills is scheduled fo ra hearing Public
testim ony will be taken on HB-980
this Friday. May 7 at
3 p m ., th e C apital B uilding.
H earing Room C. U nless a strong
message is received from us. as well as
women contracting organizations, it
is possible that all these bills will be
left to die in com m ittee
Jam es Posey is a local, sm all busi­
ness owner with a background in so­
cial work and communitv activism
J I
y •
t