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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1994)
F ebruary 23, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A4 BLACK HISTORY MONTH ¿Che ¡ g U r tla n h ® b s t m r NAACP Black Police Officers A n d Firemen two years of experience in the crim i nal justice system , with the past twelve years in management. In 1970, Vera broke the color barrier as Multnomah C ounty’s first black female correc tions officer, now she works as the facility com m ander for the M ult nomah County Restitution Center, r l • r •» NAACP parade for Medgar Evers, June 24, 1963 Vera C. Pool M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty , a d e p a rtm e n t c o m p rise d o f a ll th a t c o u n ty ’s c rim in a l ju s tic e a g e n c ie s. M o st re c e n tly , P re s id e n t C lin to n a p p o in te d him to the p o sitio n o f Carman Sylvester Penum bra Kelly became a U.S. M ar shal, he appointed W aterford the first African American deputy U.S. M ar shal. W aterford also served twice as an elections judge. F o llo w in g in th e fo o tste p s o f G eo rg e H a rd in ,C a rm a n S y lv e ste r b e c a m e the f irs t A fric a n A m e ri can p o lic e w o m a n in 1973. She w as a lso the first w om an to w ork th e s tr e e t in u n ifo rm and as a re g u la r p a tro l o ffic e r. B ut e v e n in th e c o u rse o f her p io n e e rin g w ork, sh e m a n a g e d to ra is e fo u r c h il d ren : E rik a L y n n , P a tric ia A nn, S te fa n y K ae and L e n a m e M arie. C u rre n tly , C a rm a n w o rk s in the a d m in is tr a tio n o f th e P o rtla n d P o lic e D e p a rtm e n t. A nother pioneer in law enforce ment is V era C . Pool, who has twenty- In 1904 - fo rty -o n e y e a rs a f te r th e E m a n c ip a tio n P ro c la m a tio n - P o rtla n d h ire d its first b lack p o lic e m a n , G e o rg e H a rd in . R e s p o n s ib le fo r H a rd in ’s a p p o in t m e n t, a lo n g w ith the g o o d c i t i z e n s o f P o rtla n d , w as the N ew P o rt R e p u b lic a n C lu b , w h ich w as p o p u la riz e d by w a ite rs. H ard in se rv e d e le v e n y e a rs as p o lic e m a n , an d th e n w as a p p o in te d to the s h e r if f ’s o ffic e as the first b lack d e p u ty . He se rv e d fo r tw e n ty -o n e y e a rs as d e p u ty u n til his d e a th in 1938. S a m u e l B la n c h a rd an d M at D ish m an w ere the first b la c k sh e r iffs in P o rtla n d . G e ra ld in e A very w as th e f irs t b la c k p o lic e m a tro n . A. W aterford was the first A fri can Am erican fireman for the P ort land Fire D epartm ent. Later, when George Hardin which helps convicted people to re enter the community as responsible citizens. D r. L ee P. B row n is a very d istin g u ish e d fo rm er p o lic e c h ie f w ho has been at the helm o f se v e ra l o f the c o u n try ’s la rg e st u r ban police forces. D uring his m ore th an th irty y ears in law e n fo rc e m e n t, he has o c c u p ie d top p o s i tio n s in the p o lic e d e p a rtm e n ts o f H o u sto n , A tla n ta an d N ew Y ork C ity . In 1975, he serv ed as s h e riff o f M ultnom ah C ounty (P o rtla n d ). In 1976, Dr. B row n w as ap p o in ted D ire c to r o f Ju stic e S e rv ic e s for The Urban League branch of Port- efforts to integrating Portland’s and V anport’s transplanted com m unity land came into existence in 1945,35 into the mainstream . years after it was established in New Besides Berry, there was also York City. In Portland, the L eague’s Shelton Hill, and between them they mission was to take an active role in worked with a num ber o f depart finding jobs for blacks, negotiating ment stores to change their policies with employers and sending out hand concerning the hiring o f blacks. picked workers tojobs previously held Bill Berry was Executive D irec only by whites. tor of the Portland Urban League Bill Berry was recruited from from 1945 to 1956. He then left Chicago to be the first head o f this Portland to head the Chicago Urban organization. W hen he arrived, he League. Shelton Hill w as then ap surmised that he had to get black pointed Executive D irector from people from the shipyards to their former homes. But he quickly reas 1956 to 1973. Portland still thrives sessed the situation and dedicated his because o f their achievements. Fred A n d Regina Rowers Here is a personal by Regina S. Johnson-Flow ers, describing life in V anport with her family and hus band, Rev. Fred Flowers, Jr.: “Fred and I cam e to the Pacific N orthw est with our families in the early 1940s. My family went directly to Vanport City, while Fred and his family traveled to W ashington State and, later to East and W est Vanport. Vanport was a public housing project started by the Housing A u thority o f Portland in December 1941, and com pleted in 1943. It was recog nized as the largest housing project in the United States. Built for war w ork ers employed by Edgar Kaiser in the various shipyards, Vanport rested on a swamp between two major rivers. Arriving in Vanport as young sters, we saw that all the structures looked alike. Each unit was painted green with about 18 apartm ents to a unit. I lived on Cottonw ood Avenue on the castsidc, w hile Fred lived on Broad Acres on the northside. The city o f Vanport was self-contained, having a post office, fire departm ent, shopping centers, schools, hospital, ja il, ballparks, recreation centers, movie theater and ice houses. We had always heard Vanport was a crowded place, but we look pleasure in m eet ing so many new people each and every day. The apartm ents them selves were arranged in one long straight line, commonly called a ‘shotgun style. They consisted o f a living room, eat ing space, kitchen, bathroom (show ers) and bedroom. But there were no back doors. All the furnishings were provided: bcd.divano, ice box, dresser, two-eyed cooking stove, etc. When something needed to be lixed, you could request a replacement. H ow ever, we had to supply our own linen, cooking pans, silverw are and other extras to make the place liveable. Every four units were connected Rev. Fred Flowers and Mrs. Begina Flowers to their ow n utility facility, where we got our heat (coal furnace), washed our clolhcs and bathed. Clothes could be hung inside the wash area or out on a com m unity clothesline, w eather perm itting. At the beginning o f May in 1948, wc heard rum orsol high waters around Vanport. M ostofusnoticed the slough rising more than ever. But some o f us were getting ready for our eight grade graduation, so the flood was the last thing on our minds. My Dad had to return to O klahom a to be near his dyingm othcr. H edidn’t want to leave, but he thought w e’d be safe. Each day, the water continued to rise. The governm ent assured all the residents that the dike would hold. But some fam ilies didn’t rely on that and left early in May. Sunday,M ay 30,1948, w asad ay I will never forget. In the late after noon, wc heard shouting that the rail road dike had broken, m eaning that Vanport would be under water in a mere forty-five minutes. My m other and iny two brothers hurriedly threw some things in a suitcase, turned off all the lights, locked the door and left the apartment. W hen wc got to C ot tonwood A venue, I had never seen so -- T . D ire c to r o f the O ffic e o f N a tio n a l D rug C o n tro l P o lic y (a k a “ D rug C z a r”). First African- American School teachers in Portland Education has alw ays been the key to a successful livelihood for many groups. After the Em ancipation Proc lamation, many blacks felt it was a necessity. The year 1867 was im por tant because W illiam A. Brown a t tempted to register his four children in a Portland public school, and was refused adm ission. Mr. Brown then appealed to his friend, T.A. W ood, who m et with the Educational D irec tor and was told that if the African American children w ere adm itted, the schools would lose their funding. Seeking a solution, the director sug gested that the am ountof money given for each student, approximately $2.25 per quarter, be m andated for the renting of a building and the em ploy ment o f a teacher to teach the black children. U nfortunately, this would net only $35, placing an extrem e fi nancial burden on black parents to com e up with the rest. Mr. W ood then filed a appeal in court, w hich was decided in favor o f the school. F i nally, to am eliorate the situation, the school board agreed to allocate $800 for a separate school. In Septem ber of 1867, a school for black children opcncd-twcnty-onc years before Plcssy vs. Ferguson would establish the doc trine of Separate But Equal in Oregon. For 78 years, African A merican ta l. S o c ia lly and e d u c a tio n a lly , the N A A C P w o u ld o fte n host se m in a rs to a c q u a in t A fric a n A m e ric a n s w ith th e ir h isto ry . In 1925, a C risp u s A ttu ck s p ro g ra m w as in itia te d to e n lig h te n the b lack co m m u n ity a b o u t the c o n trib u tio n s o f A frican A m eri c a n s to A m erican h isto ry . In a d d itio n to the re g u la r m e m b e rs h ip , a w o m en ’s a u x ilia ry helped raise m oney for th e S c o tts b o ro B o y s d e fe n se fu n d . T he N A A C P a lso a llie d its e lf w ith the O regon C o m m o n w e a lth F e d e ra tio n to help s e c u re the first b lack se c re ta rial p o sitio n s in the fe d e ra l and state o ffic e s in P o rtla n d . T o d a y , the N A A C P c o n tin u e s to lead the w a y , along w ith o ther civil rights o rg a n iz a tio n s , to m a in ta in and im p ro v e the q u a lity o f life for a ll p e o p le . children were a c c e p te d by the P o rtland Public School D istrict. The n e x t la n d m a rk h a p pened in 1952 w hen Robert G. Ford and L eo ta Stone Geraldine Hammond w ere hired as the first black teachers in Portland public schools, with Ford being the first black teacher in a Portland high school. In 1980, the first black super in tendent was selected: M atthew Prophet. Dr. Prophet served from 1 9 8 0 -1 9 9 2 . A lso p ro m in e n t in P ro p h et’s adm inistration w as Dr. Ernest Hartzog, A ssociate Superin tendent. During P rophet’s tenure, he em phasized serving the needs o f at- risk students along with the develop m ent of a m ulticultural/ethnic seg m ent of the curriculum . Due to the public demand for diversity within the Portland public schools, all racial and ethnic groups are represented in the school system. Geraldine H am m ond has been a true pioneer in education. She has w orked in the Portland and Salem school districts as a teacher, principal and adm inistrator. Black Elected Officials much confusion. People were sitting In 1991,thcnumbcrofblack elected on the rooftops, hoping to ride out the officials in the suite of Oregon reached a flood. W c finally reached Denver new high of fourteen. At that time, the Avenue, with the w ater not far be black population in Oregon was 46,178, hind. I rem em ber looking back and or two percent of the total population of seeing those 18 apartm ent units float 2,842,321. Black registered voters num ing on large waves, plus logs and bered 22,000, out of a total of 1,417,000 everything else that got in the path of registered voters. the water. Fred’s father and mother Municipal Board members have heard the sirens, and w ere able to been represented by Michael Clark, Com drive out because they w eren’t far missioner Chair, and Ann Christiansen, from Denver Avenue. Fred and a Commissioner, both of Eugene. Charles friend w eren’ t in V anport that day, as P. Jordan was a commissioncr-At-Largc they had gone to sec a movie in Port from Portland, while Bobby Green served land. The m anagem ent o f the movie as a council member from Eugene. theater stopped the m ovie and an Gladys McCoy, now deceased, nounced ‘that Vanport was flooded was Chair Com m issioner for Mult- and residents should go hom e.’ We ' nomah County. C urrently, there arc still laugh about that statem ent today. two African A merican C ircuit Court Fortunately, all of our close friends Judges out of a total ol 85: Aaron and relatives managed to get out alive, Brown, Jr. and Anccrl Haggerty. D is making us the largest group o f hom e trict C ourt ju d g es have included less people in Portland’s history. Mercedes Dciz, Roosevelt Robinson Fred and I still think about the and H.J. Belton Hamilton. years wc spent in Vanport. Although In the area of education, Portland it was a tem porary situation, it helped School District has had as school board mold our character and shape our m em bers: G ladys M cCoy, Herb future. T o this day, wc cherish the Cawthomc and,currently, LuciusHicks. great friendships and lifelong rela In Beaverton, James Harris was a school tionships that grew out of living in board mem ber, along with W illie Richardson of the Salem-Keizer School V anport.” District. In Eugene, Jonathan West was 9W Ê a ih Dr. Lee P. Brown D arro w , w ho se c u re d an a c q u it Black Educators A nd Education Urban League Bill Berry & first minority Bose Festival princess In 1914, fiv e y e a rs a fte r the fo rm a tio n o f the N a tio n a l A sso c ia tio n fo r the A d v a n c e m e n t o f C o lo re d P eo p le in the E ast, P o rt lan d sta rte d its ow n b ra n c h w ith 165 m e m b e rs. T he aim o f the P o rtla n d b ra n c h w as to p ro te st d isc rim in a tio n and to lobby for the p a ssa g e o f a p u b lic a c c o m m o d a tio n b ill. T he first su c c e ss fu l c a m p a ig n o v e r a c iv il rig h ts case w as c o n d u c te d by R ev. J.L . C a sto n , a y o u n g m in iste r from M t. O liv e t B a p tist C h u rc h . T h e N A A C P o f P o rtla n d a ls o p a r tic ip a te d in n a tio n a l A fric a n A m e ric a n issu e s. O ne g o o d ex a m p le w o u ld be th e “D r. S w e e t C a s e ,” in w hich a black d o c to r w as a c c u se d o f k illin g tw o m en w ho w ere a p a rt o f a m o b a tta c k in g th e d o c t o r ’s hom e. B etw een the P o rtla n d and V é ro n iq u e c h a p te rs , th e y ra ise d S 2 0 0 .0 0 . T h e y a lso h ire d the fa m o u s tria l la w y e r, C la re n c e Vice-Chairman of the Eugene School Board. James Hill, Jr. tecs addressing econom ic devclop- ment, Colum bia G orge scenic protcc- Margaret Carter Av el Gordly tion, sexual harassm ent and school JAMES HILL, JR. Jim Hill is the first African Ameri revenue. She co-sponsored the Anti- can to serve as Oregon State T rea Apartheid Divestiture Act of 1987, surer. Mr. Hill was first elected to the the Minority and W om en’s Business Oregon House of Representatives in A ct of 1987, and the bill establishing 1982. H e co-chaired the Joint com a state holiday to honor the birthday mittee on trade and Economic Devel o f Dr. M artin Luther King. AVEL GORDLY opm ent, and served on the House Avcl Gordly is the first African com m ittees on elections, the Judi American legislator to represent a ciary, Agriculture, Forestry and Natu predom inantly w hite Portland dis ral Resource Treasurcrl. trict. Ms. G ordly'selection has shown, MARGARET CARTER in her w ords, that One person really M argaret Carter was the first A f can make a difference...it is particu rican A merican woman to serve as a representative in the Oregon State la rly im p o r ta n t fo r p e o p le o f L egislature. Ms. C arter was first color...and for women to be present in elected to the Oregon House in 1984. the pol icy -making bodies. ..otherwise, She has served on Icgislali vccom m it- our voices w on’t be heard. ' »
