P age A3
T he P ortland O bserver • J une 2, 1993
‘Just Shut Up, You Black Folks!”
For the past 10 years, Portland’s
Black community has been passed
over for opportunities in Oregon’s
rapidly growing convention market
ing and service areas.
D uring the construction o f the
Oregon Convention Center, African
Americans were forced to picket be
cause o f the discriminatory contract
ing practices
„T h e Portland Oregon Visitors
Association (POVA) has come under
constant criticism because o f their
lack o f performance in h iring African
Americans to promote conventions on
a nationwide basis. Blacks have been
responsible for helping promote a
number o f successful conventions that
were held here in Portland, generat
ing m illionsof dollars into theeconomy
with little or no assistance from POV A,
Oregon Tourism Alliance or any o f
the other groups that are receiving tax
funding.
Many hotels take African Am eri
can business for granted. W alk into or
call any Red Lion, M arriott, Heathman
or Sheraton and see how many Blacks
that they have working at their front
desk or any key management or sales
& marketing position.
(
The ER Commission has recom Americans , many times, not even a
mended that $1.2 m illion dollars per 'Thank You.”
Metro w ill be reviewing the rec
year over the next 3 years be awarded
ommendation
as to w hether or not to
to POVA, w ith absolutely no provi
approve
the
m
ulti-m
illio n dollar fund
sion to include Blacks in the areas o f
ing
to
POVA
or
possibly
to also con
convention marketing nor any other
sider
funding
the
one
African
Am eri
top management positions. The final
can
organization
which
has
been
in
decision w ill now rest with Metro.
If you are tired o f seeing Black strumental in generating business
people in this community being hired throughout the state.
But this is not just about includ
in the position o f janitors, waiters,
ing
a
separate contract to a qualified
parking lot attendants, trainees and
African
American for convention
maintenance people, then you are not
m
a
rk
e
tin
g
and
fu lfillm e n t
alone. T hink about your future, the
servicing
..it’sbiggcrihanthat'
Metro
future o f your children and grandchil
and
others
need
to
know
and
under
dren. This city needs to come to the
realization immediately, that diversi stand that our city is full o f capable
fication is needed now. not 3 years and qualified African Americans for
from now. We do not need any more all types o f partnership and employ
studies, research groups or special ment opportunities... Nobody Socaks
commissions to tell us that there is a For us, Except Us!
" l t ’ sTime ForUnity InThe Black
real deficiency in this area.
Black business owners, individu Community”
Portland’ s A frica n Am erican
als and professionals have contrib
Community
wants yr u to attend the
uted their time, money and influence
Metro
meeting
that is scheduled fo r
to encourage other African Am eri
Thursday:-June
10,1993-M etro
cans to bring their meetings, conven
Building
tions and conferences to our great city
(O ld Sears B u ild ing 600 NE
Restaurants benefit, hotels benefit,
attractions benefit nearly everyone
else b en efits except A fric a n
Grand Ave)
4 00 PM - 7:30 PM
Longview
Teacher
Suspended
Larry Wagle, a history teacher at
the M ark M orris H igh School in
Longveiw Washington was suspended
for two weeks for telling his ninth
grade students he would give them
extra credit i f they would purchase
condoms and bring him the ieceipt
(The purchase had to be from the
opposite sex.)
His principal, Gary K ip p de
manded Wagle to cancel the assign
ment, when Wagle refused, the dis
trict decided to suspend him without
pay. Superintendent Nick Seaver tes
tified that the “ issue was the appropri
ateness o f the assignment. I could not
see how the assignment was related to
the Roman Empire at a ll.”
A grandmother said Wagle should
be fired. Students were whispering
'Go, Wagle!” during the hearing
Wagle was his own defense citing that
other teachers gave credits for extra
assignments that had nothing to do
w ith their curriculum.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
'The Eyes and Ears ol the CcmrunitY'
Ollice: (503)280-0033
Fax«: (503)288-0015
Tri-Met Approves
Contracts Helping People
With Disabilities, Elderly
The Special Spokesman
By
Brother James X
Come Participate as Brother James reveals the
new teaching of Minister Farrakhan
Brother James X Bess is the one who brought
the light to the northwest corner.
Every Thursday 4:00 - 5:00 pm., on channel 27
2766 Martin Luther King Blvd. (P.C.A.)
For more information call
Elijah X Jefferson
tr 335 - 0408
The Tri-M et Board o f Directors
approved five contracts yesterday de
signed to better serve people w ith
disabilities and the elderly.
The contracts w ill expand the
T ri-M e t L ift, which provides more
than 500,000 door-to-door rides to
customers in the metropolitan area
who are disabled or eldcrlj and unable
to use buses or M A X . People use L ift
everyday to get to the doctor, work,
school and other locations.
The Board
A p pro ved purchase o f 18
Ford Champion lift-equipped m in i
buses fro m Schetky N o rth w e s t
Sales, Inc. o f Portland. The new m in i
buses begin serv ice next fall, expand
ing the existing L ift fleet o f 111 m in i
buses Vehicles cost about $55.000
each, funded bv the federal 1 ransit
Administration and Tn Mei capital
hinds.
Selected Buck Medical Semes to
provide centralized scheduling, dis
patching and nnni-bus maintenance
for the L ift. The FY94 contract is for
$1.6 m illion.
Approved FY94 contracts w ith
independent agencies who operate
mini-buses and manage daily opera
tions: Dave Transportation, Clacka
mas County, $1.2 m illion ; Larson
Transportation Services, East M u lt
nomah County, $610 000, and West
Multnomah County, $ 1 5 m illion; and
ATC/Vancom, Washington County,
$941,000.
In a related matter, the Board
reviewed an ordinance that could ben
efit customers who are disabled and
need attendants to ride regular buses
and M A X . Under the proposal, an
attendant could ride free w ith a paying
customer who is disabled and has a
specially marked Honored Citizen
identification card.
The new ordinance reflects
changes suggested by the T ri-M e t
Committee on Accessible Transpor
tation. The Board w ill consider ap
proving the ordinance June 30.
NAACP Calls For Senate
Confirmation Of Lani Guinier As
Assistant Attorney General For
Civil Rights
The NAACP reiterated its strong
support for the confirmation o f Pro
fessor Lani Guinier as the Assistant
Attorney General for c iv il rights in the
Department o f Justice, and called on
the United Slates Senate to act quickly
on this important nomination.
Dr. Benjamin F Chavis, J r ,
the N A A C P ’ s new E xecutive
Director, called Professor Guinier,
“ The best qualified and most well-
prepared nominee to have ever been
offered the job ” , and urged that she be
confirmed by the Senate after the
completion o f her confirmation hear
ing in early June
Lani Guinier is the first African
American woman--and in fact, only
the second African Am erican-ever to
be selected as the nation’s top civil
rights attorney She is a tenured pro
fessor at the Univ ersity o f Pennsy lva
nia School o f Law, who graduates
with honors from R adcliff College in
1971 and from Yale Law School in
1974.
Ms Guinier then spent two years
as a law clerk for Judge Damon Keith,
noted African American jurist and
scholar.
Professor Guinier received im
portant “ on-the-job” training for the
position when she serv ed for four years
as the special Assistant to Drew Days,
then Assistant Attorney General for
C iv il Rights in the Carter Adm inistra
tion.
During her tenure at the Justice
Department, Ms Guinier co-authored
a b rief for the gov ernment which sup
ported the release from prison o f D r
Chavis who, as a member o f the
“ W ilm ington 10” , had been wrongly
jailed as the result o f peijured testi
mony. The government’s argument
prevailed and, o f course, Dr. Chavis is
now head o f the NAACP
“ ’’Lani Guinier is committed to
nothing more than the fu ll enforce
ment o f the Constitution for a ll per
sons in the United States,” stated Wade
Henderson, Director o f the N A A C P ’s
Washington Bureau He noted further
that some o f Guilder's critics “ have
opposed civil rights enforcement for
the past twelve years, and now they
oppose Professor Guinier as repay
ment for the defeat o f Supreme Court
nominee Robert Bork.”
The NAACP is mounting a broad
and vigorous campaign in search o f
bipartisan support for her confirma
tion. It has joined w ith other national
organizations, including the Leader
ship Conference on C iv il Rights, to
mobilize the grassroots effort.
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