J une 30, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver
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More Good Summer Reading -Or Anytime
First, let me remind you that life
is fu ll o f little disappointments ( and
big ones too) That new black book­
store I told sou about last week
has closed almost before it opened.
A t the "Tw o G Shopping Center"
on M artin Luther King Blvd . across
fro m the Cable
Access F a c ility
The C om m unity
s till has a great
need for such an
institution, and I
hope this objectiv e
w ill be attained in
the near future
I w ill earn on
by listing several African-American
C atalog B ookstores' th a t have
excellent selections o f both current
and tim e-tested classics in our
literature, movies and videos Be
sure to see last week’ s observer
N ew spaper (P erspectives, p.2)
for the in itia l listing o f books and
sources.
W rite or call: African American
Images, 1909 W 95th street. Dept
MC. Chicago. Ill 6064T (312) 445-
0322: Also. A & B Book Distributors.
Inc . 149 Lawrence Street. Brooklyn.
New York 11201, (718) 596-3369.
Now, for a most useful general catalog
covering all subjects under the sun
from ethnic to science, fiction to his­
tory. self-help to
medicine, music to
b ib lio g ra p h ie s ,
write. Edward R
H am ilton, Book­
seller. Falls V il­
lage. Ct 06031-
5000 & Barnes
And Noble. Book­
sellers. 126 Fifth
Ave., N Y . N Y. 10011
There follows some more o f the
best in my personal library , out o f a
thousand or more (always ask for the
latest edition and the paper back if
available) Now . we all have our fa­
vorite local sources and mine is the
Looking Glass Bookstore at 318 S W.
Taylor (227-4760). Very excellent
personal service, and i f item is no, in
stock, they w ill promptly locate a source
and order it foryou O f course, thereis
Powell's on West Burnside and there
is Dalton's I do not know i f Barnes <Jt
Noble has opened the planned Port­
land Store yet
"Secrets O f The Great Pyramid"
by Peter Tompkins (Harper & Row).
This is the best o f the books on the
great py ranuds built by the Africans in
Egypt, accurate, detailed and thor­
oughly documented—well illustrated
and supported by mathematics and
much factual history without racial
bias This is a must!
Whether you are interested in
science or you have y oungsters headed
in that direction, the following two
books w ill be very helpful and enlight­
ening You can all grow w ith them
through the years as you begin to
understand more and more w ith these
two easy -reading books: easy reading,
plain language "UndcrstandingPhys-
ics” by Isaac Asimov (Dorset Press)
y ou may still be able to get this 700
page. 3-part book for only $9.95 from
The Scholars Bookshelf. 110 M elrich
Road. Cranbury. N.J. 08512. ship-
pmg $400 If no,, order locally
The other science book is "The
World o f Measurements" by H Arthur
K le in (S im o n <& S ch u ste r--g ct
latest edition) This wonderful book
should be a companion to every o ne -
student. the curious, historian or just
general interest How. why and when
did man begin measuring things, and
how does he do it yet today Distance,
objects, temperature, light, atoms, ra­
diation. speed, electricity , time, age o f
fossils, sound, pressure, gravity or
whatever. It's hard to put this one
down
Order the follow ing three little
paperback gems from that local Look­
ing Glass Bookstore. "The Mismeasure
O f Man." by Steven Gould This book
tells how all those racist attacks on the
minority I Q. and intellect developed
and the manner in which so-called
science aided and a betted this trav­
esty - u n til this day Both historic base
and current thinking—refutations. The
other two books are for those with
strong science interests and w ho won­
der about where modem physics is
going (like that Super C ollide r'
they’ re going to tax you for) Get
"Dancing Wu L i Masters" and/or “ The
Tao o f Phy sics”
So many readers keep asking for
this citation that I am going to repeat
it for every body "Stay ing Power The
History o f Black People in Britain” by
Peter Freyer (Humanities Press) The
book is fu ll o f exciting rev elations o f
African presence and contributions in
England, from the Scottish'bands to
the pensioned American slave veter­
ans w ho fo u g h t against the
slaveholders like Washington and
Jefferson in Revolutionary War (or­
der from that "Barnes & Noble Book­
store” , $12.95).
There has been a lot o f discussion
across America by both blacks and
whites concerning "Black Athena" by
M artin Bernal (Rutgers V Press).
Volume I. "The Fabrication o f A n­
cient Greece 1785-1985", was pub­
lished in 1987. Volume II, “ The A r­
cheological and Documentary E vi­
dence". was published in 1991 These
critical w ritings about the Afroasiatic
roots o f Classical C ivilization’ (so-
called Greco-Roman) rev eal how rac­
ist historians o f the 18th and 19th
centurv rew rote and distorted history
in order to hide the African origin.
Order through "Looking Glass Book­
store” .
This erudite professor o f Govern­
ment Studies at Cornell University
and formerly a Fellow o f K in g ’s Col­
lege, Cambridge England, has under­
standably incurred the wrath o f every
racist scholar, historian and educator
in the U.S.. and the world
F in a lly , a world-class w hite
scholar has come forward and thor­
oughly established and documented
that the pioneering black historians
w ere right about the seminal and origi­
nal African contribution to the world
culture, philosophy , science and reli­
gion.
The detractors o f "P ortland’s
Baseline Essays" and national detrac­
tors o f "M ulticultural Curriculum and
Education" w ere sent reeling by these
publications More good reading next
week.
The Tax Law That Can Confiscate Up To 70% Portland Takes Initial Steps To Improve
Per Cent Of Your Assets When You Die
Minority Contracting
BY OMARI KENYATTA, J. D.
D id you know there is a federal
tax law that gives the I R S the right
to confiscate up to 70% per cent o f
your assets when you die’’
This federal tax legislation was
formulated w ith the help o f a wealthy
Senator from Oklahoma, by the name
o f Robert S Kerr However, the Sena­
tor died in 1978. he left an estate o f
worth $20,000,000 dollars After his
death, it was discov ered that this Sena­
tor died interstate, in other words he
died without a w ill His heirs received
a b ill from the IR S on his estate for
$9,000,000 dollars, this money had to
be paid in fu ll w ithin 9 months from
the date o f the letter, from the I R S
You are probably say ing to your
self good he got what he deserv ed
But. this w riter wants you to know it 's
not his intention to castigate the Sena­
tor for not having a w ill but. to show
you what can happen ifyou do not get
the proper information about your es­
tate w hen you prepare your w ill or i f
you don’t have a w ill I f this can
happened toa Senatoras wealthy as he
was, it can happen to you. even i f you
have a much smaller estate I f your
estate exceeds $600,000 dollars, fed­
eral estate taxes w ill be lev ied upon it
right after your death The rate o f the
taxes w ill quickly rise from 37% per
cent to 55% per cent
There is a solution for the above
Problem:
What one can do. is buy an inex­
pensive Insurance policy, the name o f
this policy is called (joint and last
surv iv or) or second to die policy . It
w ill cost you about 1 % per cent o f your
net worth each year This kind o f
policy can save your heirs from many
problems after your death One thing
this policy would do is keep the heirs
from having to come up with large
sums o f cash to pay the federal estate
BY JAMES POSEY
After years o f floundering, the
city finally follows through on its com-
mitincnt to level the contracting play-
ing field. In a recent City Council
informal hearing, council members
unanimously approved a 12-poin,plan
that should improve contracting op­
portunitics for m inorities throughout
the city and the state
Mayor Vera Katz outlined the
work o f staff, which was lead prima-
rily by Assistant C ity Attorney
Madelyn Wcsscll and Sam Adams,
the mayor's executive assistant. Scv-
eral policy and procedural changes
were proposed that arc intended to
open access to minority contractors
and ensure a greaterdegree ofequality
in the contracting process. Much o f
the proposal included recommcnda-
tions made by N A M C O and other
minority contractors to improve the
system.
The most critical clement o f the
city's proposal was the agreement to
move ahead on funding a disparity
study. This study has long been pro­
posed by many tocstablish a firm legal
Send your letters to the Editor to:
foundation for the implementation o f
a goals program The most significant
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 972108
aspect o f the proposal is the w illin g ­
former African American employees to conduct a comprehensiv e national ness to move forward in making posi­
without stating that both complaints survey o f m inority organizations. tive changes in the absence o f a
were dismissed due to lack o f grounds IM PACT identified 678 minority or­ "Croson-type" disparity study This
for a claim
ganizations, 3.1 percent out o f 22.000
The article also mentions sev eral total since 1987, a sim ilar number. 3
successful African American conv en­ 5 percent o f PO VA's total bookings
tions that were put together with the has been minority groups.
hard work o f local African American
POVA also has an aggressive
representatives POVA booked each M in o rity Business E n te rp rise s
one o f those conventions with the purchasing program. Last year. 9.4 make this selection process include
invaluable help o f local representa­ percent o f POVA's total MERC pur­ more community input than ever be­
tives.
chase went to minority businesses fore.
F in a lly . M r M oore accuses POVA also has exceeded its affirm a­
“ I am pleased to report that this
POVA o f a "lack o f sincere commit­ tive action hiring objects v iews at all nationw tdc recruitment and the com­
ment and inv olv ement as it relates to levels w ithin the association Cur­ parisons it made possible showed
African American convention mar­ rently. 42 percent o f PO VA's Con­ clearly that both o f our internal can­
keting. delegate servicing and espe­ vention Sales Department is minority didates—Charles Moose and David
cially hiring practices for marketing status
W illia m s —were o f unsurpassable
and top management positions " In
Sincerely
quality.
1990. POVA contracted with IMPACT
W.Gary Grimmer
“ Assistant C hief W illiam s is a
Business Consultants, a minontv firm.
Executive Director
superb public servant and an out­
tier
Letter To The Editor:
I am w riting in response to the
article by Stephen Moore which ap­
peared in the June 2 edition o f The
Portland Observer entitled “ Metro
Calls For Review O f Recommenda­
tion Excluding Blacks ’’ A few points
brought out it the article need to be
clarified
M r Moore states that POVA's
M inority Intern Program was never
implemented Actually , the program
was implemented and continues to
successfully p ro vid e in d u s try
exposure to minority students Since
the program's inception in 1988,
11 minority students out o f 54 total
have completed internships at POVA
That is 20 percent M r Moore goes
on to mention two discrimination
complaints filed against POVA by
taxes w ithin 9 months The Insurance
policy would protect the surviving
spouse, in other words the entire es-
tate would be pass on to the surv iving
spouse without paying federal estate
taxes. What would happen when the
last surv iv ing spouse dies is; the in-
surance company would be required
to pay the federal estate taxes, for this
estate.
I hope the readers o f this article
w ill take this educational information
and talk to someone that understands
estate taxes and planning before they
have their w ill drafted Even if you
have a small estate you should still
look into how you can protect your
surv iving spouse and your heirs, from
such a large loss o f your estate. You
arc probably not aware o f the fact
there arc people who have lost their
entire estate Because o f federal estate
taxes and other fees. 1 think you know
what other fees I'm referring to
'"Che (SLditór
factor demonstrates real courage and
commitment on the part o f the City
Council and. especially, the Mayor to
do the right thing We give the Mayor
an A + for leadership in the matter
W hile the council w ill not take
formal action on Katz's Fair Con­
tracting and Employment Initiative
until June 30, they should be applauded
for their actions thus far. We encour­
age all N AM C O members and friends
to call or write council members and
commend them for their efforts
In contrast to other media repre­
sentations. this development may not
be headline grabbing or sensational
news But the progress the city is
making in its m inority contracting
policy is the kind o f change that w ill
make a difference. Cautious optimism
is shared by most who view this action
by the city as the first real attempt to
practice true economic diversity and
inclusion
We can t give Mayor Katz enough
credit for leadership in the matter, but
it obvious that every council member
was anxious to contribute to the solu­
tion. Council members may recognize
how important their actions are in
terms o f silencing the many criticisms
o f minority contractor groups But
they also may not fu lly realize how
their actions w ill serve to psychologi­
cally lift community spirits and pro­
mote economic healing.
In the face o f so many problems
confronting the African-Am erican
community, this action w ill hopefully
set an example o f how local govern­
ments can work w ith communities in
good faith to bring about economic
reforms But make no mistake about
it, this is just the first step. The city
must understand that the problem o f
discrimination in contracting is in ­
sidious and w ill not be easily extin­
guished
The other solemn question is now
that there are serious attempts to open
up the process, w ill minorities be ready,
or get ready, to take advantage o f the
opportunities? W hile what the city is
attempting to do is fair and right, it is
not a give away. M inority contractors
must be not only capable o f perform­
ing. but must spend some time going
the extra mile to ensure that their
business house is in order. Take it
from someone who knows, after years
o f try ing to knock down barriers, this
may be as big a hurdle to clear as racial
discrimination itself Because when it
is all said and done, regardless o f
racism and discrimination, contract­
ing is a tough competitive business
that takes no prisoners.
James Posey is a local, small busi­
ness ow ner w ith a background in so­
cial work and community activism.
Mayor Vera Katz Selects Charles Moose
To Be Portland’s Chief Of Police
© je ^ o rfla n it © bscruer
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The Portland O bserver-Oregon's Oldest African-American Publlcatlon-
Is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded In 1885,
and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers.
Inc., New York, NY and The West Coast Black Publishers Association *
Serving Portland and Vancouver
P lease fill out ,
ing and realigning patrol districts to
neighborhoods We are. indeed,
blessed to have the services o f
these two fine officers and I look
forward to continuing to work with
both o f them
“ The outside candidates were also
in the first rank among law enforce­
ment executives
"C h ie f Brann has had an exem­
plary record o f fighting crime, first in
Santa Ana, C a lif, and more recently
in Hayward where he turned a tradi­
tion-bound police department into a
national model o f community polic­
ing
“ C hief Mangan o f Spokane of­
fers remarkable intellectual capacity
and an exceptional ability to translate
theory into practice
"In the end. however, my deci­
sion was made not just on the basis o f
the intrinsic strengths each o f the
candidates offered—and each offered
a great many more than I have enu-
merated-but also, finally, on how I
judged each would perform in This
city, at This time, in the face o f the
particular challenges we face today.
Clearly, the name o f Charles Moose
rose to the top
“ Unquestionably, C hief Moose
has his work cut out for him. I have
high expectations I share the frustra­
tions the community feels at the in ­
tractability o f crime in the city. It
must be brought undercontrol through
a community-based process that re­
duces crime and the fear o f crime.
Like all Portlanders. I want results. It
w ill take all o f us working together to
get them
It is now may pleasure to intro­
duce to the people o f this great city,
our new C hief o f Police, Charles
Moose.”
Black lssue....Big Concern
Metro Tells Visitors Association To Wait
ENCLOSE CHECK OR
MONEY ORDER,
and
standing law enforcement officer w ho
commands the respect o f the commu­
nity, the Police Bureau and law en­
forcement colleagues across the coun­
try. He managed production o f the
Bureau s five-year transition plan and
has managed its transition to commu­
nity policing as the number-two o ffi­
cial in the Bureau He developed the
B u re a u s
n eighborhood-based
patrol deployment plan for rcdistrict-
( Continued from front page
M ail to :
( 'ont inuedfrom front page
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T hank Y ou F or R eading
¡ T he P ortland O bserver ■
to believe that tax funding is vital to
theircfforts. they have failed lob rin g
to light a companion entity. the POVA
Foundation which isa new non profit
operation that is receiving funds from
undisclosed sources The Foundation
is supposedly for educational pur­
poses. but has the ability to receive
m illions o f dollars without having to
answer to anyone other than their
board o f directors
PO VA's most recent proposition
to include job training programs in
the hotel industry was viewed as be­
ing insulting "Everyone knows that
blacks, htspames and poor w lutes arc
the ones that arc cleaning the rooms.
m aking the beds, sweeping the
floors and parking the cars, so I am
not sure what type o f job training
programs that they re referring to” ,
said another black business profes­
sional that has been follow ing the
recent revelations “ I f these POVA
hotels arc really interested, then
why aren't they talking about man­
agem ent. sales and m a rk e tin g
positions that arc in the range o f
$35,(XX) and up and not the ones of
$17,(XX) and down'.’"
Il w ill now be up to the specially
selected committee to developed
a plan for the minority marketing
project as w ell as a substantial
budget. " I f PO VA professes to
sec a real and sincere need for the
inclusion o f the Black vendor in the
industry, one would be curious
as to w hy they arc resisting the redis­
tribution o f the METRO contract dol­
lars .''
U hilc POVA continues to claim
that they aredoingan outstandingjob
in the area o f Black and ethnic mar­
keting. more recent information from
individual as well as an article in a
national magazine indicates a con­
tinual number o f Black conv entions
and conferences that have not se­
lected Portland, prim arily due to this
pending issue