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