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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1994)
ruary 23. 1994 Serving the community through cultura Volumn XXIV, Number 08 (©hsertwr 250 Jackson: Humanitarian, Friend, Pastor, Drum Major For Justice by was an administrative director over the A m e ri can Baptist Churches o f theP acilic Northwest which was based in Seattle, W ashington. He had ten to twelve secretaries under his com mand. He had also been offered the presi dency o fa large, w ell-know n university; how M attie A nn C a u je r -S pears s.*- n an era when it seems like everything |1 and everybody is running aimlessly up j | a b lin d alley, you encounter a person a lity like a John Hiram Jackson, III, who appears to thrive on pointing the way for ever, he forfeited any personal am bitions to fu lfill what was his chosen destiny. A church member approached him one day and asked, “ Rev. Jackson. W hy did you take this small church when you were a such a big -w ig in Seattle? And 1 understand that you handled m illions o f dollars because you were a loan o fficer for the Am erican Baptist others. It is not everyday or even every year that we can meet or sit in the very presence o f such a man as John Hiram Jackson, III. John H. Jackson lived through eighty- one o f the toughest years in our nation’ s history. He witnessed and participated in many o f the * meat and potato’ struggles in the Real Estate Remains A Strong Investm ent Convention.” “ God told me to preach” , he said one day. “ I had to come from behind that desk because that was not where God wanted me lobe I have to be about my Heavenly Father’s business.” Jackson arrived in Portland in 1963 to accept the pastoral responsibilities o f the M ount O livet Baptist Church. Upon his ar rival, he began to calculate, discuss and re solve long term perplexities. Through his vast knowledge, he was able to bring about social and spiritual change and justice fo r a ll who were w illin g to listen and take heed. Several governors and mayors sat under his tutelage; and many, many heads o f state w ill attest to his authenticity and his blunt history o f the A frican American. One o f the events he frequently cited was the fact that his grand father was cornered, holed-up and burned up in his barn by the K lu K lu x Kian when he was just a little boy. A ll that he knew was that he, i f it was in his power, would never allow anything like that to hap Even in uncertain economic times, history shows that real estate is a sound investment, and w ith mortgage interest rates the lowest they’ ve been in two de cades, real estate today is a more attractive investment than it ’ s been in years. Page B2 pen again. Jackson believed that education was a powerful vehicle. He believed that it would become the ‘ master key ’ to unlock many o f the century-long locks and shackles. S o -he strove to attain excellence in very area o f study he pursued. Jackson fought hard and long until the fear w ithin him had subsided. You sec-he no longer fe lt threatened; but rather, he be Slavery 1862: A poll tax o f $5 a year was imposed on “ Negroes, Chinamen, Kanakas and M ulattoes.” I f not paid, the sh eriff could put the person to w ork on public highways...A black or m ulatto couldn’ t own property or make contracts. Page A 5 came the threat. Jackson persevered. He was bold and re le n tle ss . S in g le -fo c u s e d . H is strong unwavering spirit was fe lt by countless, thou- sands-upon-thousands, individuals. I f anyone decided to select a label that would ultim ately define who this man really was, it w ould have to be ‘ humanitarian’ . As I tracked his life, all o f his achievements were tied-up in people involved projects and under takings, such as: restructuring o f the State W elfare system, the Housing A uthority o f Building Bridges Between Blacks And Jews We need a pcople-to-people connec tion between Blacks and Jews; ordinary folks who are ready to say: “ To hell w ith all our politicians and p o litica l wheeler-deal ers who arc using the tensions between our peoples as a political football. Page A 2 wisdom. , “ T o me” , says Tony Hopson, D irector o f Oregon, A fte r Care Programs fo r small c h il dren (w orking mothers) — 4-C and A lbina M in isterial A lliance C hild Care Program, Founder o f POIC, M ayor’s Commission, Governor’ s Commission, Law Enforcement Counsel and so many other organizations in the state and outside o f the state o f Oregon. proved the creation o f aconstruclion __ “ w o rk fo rc e clearinghouse” pro gram to increase the number o f m inorities and women w orking fo r contractors, and doing Common Signs: burning, pudginess, highblood pressure, weakness, vom iting, blood or protein in urine, frequent urina tion, excessive thirst, extreme tiredness, unexplained w eight loss, blurry vision, a relative who has diabetes. Since blacks arc a greater risk, regular self testing can make a huge difference. Page BS Bill Board Single Reviews E! News D aily w ill look at how the roles available fo r African-Am ericans have changed over the years and where today’ s leading actors sec them going in the future “ Black F ilm Stars w ill feature interviews w ith many contemporary and veteran stars o f the silver screen. Page B3 East Portland B usiness/ Neighborhood Community says “No More Crime!” The project goals are to reduce crime, raise crim e prevention awareness and im prove responses to crim e, vandalism and suspicious a ctivity in East Portland. V o lun teer are needed fo r the outreach efforts. M e tro Page hatever the outcome o f Senator Robert Packwood’s courtroom battle to lim it access to his p ri vate diaries by the Senate Ethics committee, he s till faces a m ajor obstacle to a fair hearing. I f the committee ultim ately charges him w ith W and women employment opportunities in a number o f ways. First, the program is designed to fa c ili tate the entry o f women and m inorities in the form ally recognized apprenticeship programs w hich are coordinated through the State’ s Bu reau o f Labor & Indus tries. Second, by m onitor ing theirprogress in these programs, the clearing house is expected to in crease re te n tio n o f women and m inorities through helping them obtain journey-level sta tus in the construction business w ith the city. “ This program is an im portant step in d iv e rs ify ing the workforce o f city contractors,” said Portland M ayor Vera Katz. “ It w ill provide contractors w ith the tools needed for hiring more women and m inorities as apprentices, and as entry level-workers. To create the work force c le a rin g h o u s e , the c ity trades. joined forces w ith T ri-M e t In a d d itio n , the and the Oregon Department c le a rin g h o u s e is d e o f Transportation. The O r signed to assist contrac egon Opportunity Advisory Mayor Vera Katz tors, labor unions, and Committee spearheaded the government contracting agencies by setting effort. The Portland Development Com m is up an inform ation system to refer qualified sion and the C ity Attorney ’ s O ffice also played workers to jo b sites throughout the region. a role in coordinating the project. “ The new program w ill provide a more “ In the past i t ’ s been up to women and effective, long-term sol ution to the problem of minorities to navigate the complex process o f underrepresentation o f women and m in o ri entering the w orkforce in the construction ties in the construction fie ld ,” said Deputy trades,” said Jennie Portis, Chair o f theOO AC W orkforce Subcommittee. “ Now the clear C ity Attorney Madelyn Wessel. ingnousc w w ... p .w .u v — u---------- ------ “ The clearinghouse is an improvement inghouse ill provide inform ation to them to help them enter into construction trade career over the current program because it w ill help entry-level workers as w ell as journey-level paths, said Portis. The clearinghouse program w ill replace workers find jobs on construction projects,” the c ity ’ s 3-1/2 year old First Source helped said Jess M cK innley, w ith the Portland De velopment commission. “ First Source focused residents from Portland’ s economically dis advantaged areas find contracting jobs. The new program is expected to increase m inority Continued to page A3 ■ f) m isconduct The problem lies in current Senate rules. Those rules provide that the same committee members who direct the prelim inary inquiry and vote to issue charges also sit in judgm ent o f the charges at a tria l-lik e hearing. By that time, however, the members w ill no longer be impartial. Why? Because they prejudge the evidence when voting to issue the charges. The Ethics Committee subpoenaed M r. Packwood’ s diaries to get inform ation that may reveal additional misbehavior beyond the allegations o f sexual harassment and willness intim idation that were the original focus o f the investigation. The subpoena tar get new inform ation about an alleged s o lic i tation by M r. Packwood o f a job fo r is es tranged w ife from lobbyists interested in leg islation bcforcacom m ittcc on which he served. M r. Packwood attacked the subpoena in court for seeking inform ation irrelevant to the original inquiry. The committee defended its subpoena by drawing an analogy to the c rim i nal justice system: A t this stage o f the case, it argued the committee acts ju s t like a grand jury investigating a crime. Its subpoenas should therefore be al lowed the some wide latitude as those o f a grand ju ry that can fo llo w evidence wherever it leads. The tria l court sided w ith the committee, and M r. Packwood is now appealing. The crim inal justice analogy works for the first stage o f the committee process. Like a grand ju ry that issues and indictm ent at the close o f its investigation, the committee w ill Angelus Coca-Cola And Tho NBA Team Up Globally What m ost p eo p le do not realize is that preservations o f m eats w as still a fa ir ly haphazard affair before H a ll went to Today, M r. N ascim ento is one o f the rare vocalists who can draw audiences around the w orld regardless o f language. “ T his jo in t effort marks the first-e v e r g lo b a lly integrated m arketing alignm ent o f the brand C o c a C o la with one pro fessio n a l Page A2 EDITORIAL SPORTS A2 A6 BI ENTERTAINMENT B3 ▼ Continued to page A3 :Budweiser Family Salutes Black History W ith “Black Experience” Sweepstakes. G ra n d prize is a H om e Entertainm ent C e n te r... Page A4 HEALTH RELIGION B5 B6 ---- ---------- - ------------ ? . . I lated Senate rules. Once the committee issues charges, how - ever, the analogy no longer holds. In the crim inal justice system, the changing and judging rules are separated, performed by different individuals. A grand ju r y ’ s jo b is done once it finds probable cause that a crim e has occurred and issues an indictm ent. The task o f judging g u ilt or innocence is le ft to a petit ju ry that hears the evidence fo r the first tim e at the trial. In contrast, the same Ethics Committee members who as “ grand jurors and vote to issue charges sim ply sw itch hats Page A 6 P age B4 METRO issue charges against M r. Packwood at the end o f its prelim inary inquiry i f it finds “ sub stantial credible evidence which provides substantial cause” to conclude that he v io General News More Black Contributors To Medicine II work on the problem . Senator Robert Packwood Sports REGULAR NEWS EDITORIAL ▼ Continued to page A3 Judging Packwood, Senate Sacrifices Fairness Mayor Katz Says New Program will Increase Employment Opportuni ties for Minorities and Dislocated Workers ortland’ s C ity Commissioners ap- social change. Before com ing to Portland, Jackson John Hiram Jackson, III Portland City Council Approves Employment “Clearinghouse” Blacks More Prone To Kidney Disease Diabetes: Home Tests Can Help Foremost and above a ll, he was man o f God. Yes! Reverend Jackson was driven, or should I say compelled, to defend, lif t and encourage a fledgling com m unity which sud denly found its e lf involved, up to its neck in Self Enhancement Inc., “ Rev. Jackson repre sented hope.” Rev. Jackson guided his congregation like a doting lather. M ount O liv e t Baptist Church had in its possession, fo r twenty- seven years, a priceless gem. Many programs were bom under his leadership and arc s till in place. These programs were created to evoke CLASSIFIEDS B7
