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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1994)
T he P ortland O bserver • S eptember 7, 19 9 4 P age A 3 Urban Renewal: People, Politics and Planning, Part II B y P rof . M c K inley B urt I was delighted to find that so many rem em ber that 19 70’s course 1 taught at Portland State University: Black or Urban Economic Experi ence”. A three-quarter course, whose home was the School o f Urban Plan ning, Black Studies D epartm ent, proved o fa superior design and ended up being cross listed in the school catalog under a num ber o f other dis ciplines (only after discovery by stu dents). This interactive spread extended to three additional departm ents or disciplines, sociology, business and economics. As you will see from this series 1 had incorporated into my design thirty years o f realistic urban experience that no textbook or aca dem ic discourse would reveal; the range was from accounting, real es tate broker and property owner to federal program s, businessman and a parent with a child in the failing education system. By the second quarter registra tion day, the line before my faculty registration table in the gym was exceeded only by that epitom e o f ’bonehead’ courses, “ Econ 101” , I could read the minds o f those han dling registration at other tables when at first they stared uncomprehending: “w hat” in the world are all those white folks doing at B urt’s table? By the third quarter, word had spread throughout the school that my course delivered the most com prehensive data base and operational understanding o f the urban scene anywhere north o f the Berkeley C am pus (just as found w eekly irt these pages). By the start o f the second year, the class had expanded to a lecture hall, and a second off-cam - pus site to accom m odate the m anag ers from industry and those from city, state and federal governm ent— and from social programs. In the same year I added the Vice President o f Urban Affairs for the U.S. N a tional Bank as my teaching assistant (Conrad Rosing). A special section o f the first quarter was a docum entation o f a long-established(ifw ellhidden)skill level and technical ability o f African A m ericans. The w hite personnel people from industry jum ped on this with both feet for it gave them needed support w hen c o n fro n tin g th e ir bosses with the necessity for some positive action in the area o f Affir mative action. I can rem em ber ex ecutives (students) from United Par cel, Forest S ervice, B onneville, foundries etc., staying after class and asking for special guidance. And I well rem em ber some black students in the class who now have excellent positions because they met the right executive in the class and were hired within the week. The same connection made be tween the low earnings o f minorities and their hidden abilities in technol ogy piqued the interest o f U.S. For est Service personnel who gave me a contract to travel all over the N orth west from A laska to the California border, conducting workshops aimed at overcom ing the hiring prejudices o f hard core personnel. This w orked very well and resulted in the hiring o f q u a lifie d m inority perso n n el where they had never w orked be fore—at places they had never even heard of; good paying jobs as secre- d a d tw n dfodemerd tolde taries, truck drivers, surveyors, en gineers etc. As a further indication o f what a competent and thorough evaluation o f the urban elements o f “people, politics and planning can accom plish, we note that my m onthly so journs around the Pacific Northwest Became A traveling University. My w orkshops had sufficient contact hours to award credit hours in per sonnel adm inistration from Anchor age to K lam ath Falls and from sp o k a n e to G old B each o r to Redmond (too bad Air Oregon ‘ didn’t have frequent flyer goodies). A n o th e r fo rtu n a te s p in o f f w as th at ru ra l p e o p le s and e d u cation d is tric ts got a new slan t on u rban p ro b le m s o f ra c e , e m p lo y m e n t and p o litic s, sin c e lo cal p e o p le w o u ld hear o f the F o r est S e rv ic e e x p e rie n c e an d in vite me b ack to sp eak at sc h o o ls, g ra n g e s a n d p u b lic m e e tin g s. N ext w eek: “ The g re a t “ L ight Rail S c a m ’; G en eral M o to rs and the bus c o m p a n ie s c h a n g e d the urban la n d sc a p e and our p o c k e t books. tHuh One oj a (K in d '<■' 'dccetâcdeb > d fto -i d m e u e a n ( a id} d -■’Jnutiuan (/te it W edn esday - (fu d a u J :0 0 -7 :0 0 fw n V ! fa fto d a y JO: 0 0 a m - 6 : OOfi m 2808 dVd *M adtn ltd /ie i CKiny (ft/vd. t i d e V' dUa/nay /a c lo c n (503) 2 8 8 -5 2 4 6 BEST PRICE • • ‘ * COMPUTERS . Coleman To Lead Children’s Services A new adm inistrator will guide the state’s C hildren’s Services D ivi sion in the Portland area. Lee Coleman, 37, will be re sponsible for five branch offices, superv ising 3 4 1 employees and over seeing a $60 m illion budget. The branches offer child protective ser vices, foster care, family therapy, counseling, parent training, adop tion, residential treatm ent and other services. The position was held by Kay Toran who now is the ch ief state adm inistrator for CSD. C olem an said s h e ’s ex cited about w orking ir. the agency’s m et ropolitan region. Coleman had served on the O r egon Parole Board. She previously was an adm inister with the Oregon Liquor Control Com m ission and has been a self-em ployed m ediator for family, divorce and business dis putes. C o lem an re c e iv e d law and b a c h e lo r’s d e g re e s from th e U n i v ersity o f O reg o n , E u g en e, w h ere she m a jo re d in p u b lic a d m in is tra tio n . She ta u g h t o n e term at N o rth w e s te rn S c h o o l o f L aw , P o rtla n d , an d w as th e a ff ir m a tiv e a c tio n d ire c to r fo r th e O r egon S tate B ar A sso c ia tio n . Before m oving to O regon in 1977, Coleman lived in Arizona. She is divorced with tw o children ages eight and four. • AN AFFORDABLE COMMLXI'I'V CLINK • Consultation J lllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllll — , • Free Setup - ITc Sell Internet Access Accounts - ] 24HOLR Allergies • Asthma Pain • G.I. Disorders Stop Smoking • Stress M enstrual Disorders Diet • Nutrition E mergency V oice M ail r> ] / 503-948-7034 Internet Address: lucasa@postes.dev.com 1011 E ast B i rnside 2 3 2 -3 8 5 7 H ome loans . Lee Coleman is the new administrator of Oregon Children's Services Division in the Portland area. 1 OUR PLACE m edia portrayal o f Africa as a f death and despondency while illy carving out fancy w ords to ie the horrors in other parts o f ^ T a g r e e th a t A fric a is in dire ued to surfaced in Africa. Each A fri can culture is unique and easily dis tinguished. Attempts to impose one culture on another has always been the bane o f Africa civil wars. What happens in Somalia or the famine in Ethiopia has no direct bearings in Nigeria. Just like the G erm ans are different from the Irish or Swiss from the Dutch, so also is the Swahili different from the Ashantis. Many folks perhaps have been misinformed to believe that Africa is converged in wars and w retched ness. Come to think o f it, millions were m urdered in Bosnia and also m any were killed in Somalia and Rwanda W hile there is poverty in some parts o f Europe, so also is there poverty in A frica.The difference has n e e d o f a te c h n o lo g ic a l leap It is tru e th a t it n eed s h e lp from fo r eig n n a tio n s. It is a le g itim a te re q u e st, c o n s id e rin g the fa c t th at m ost o f th e se n a tio n s had forced and ra p e d h e r o f h e r n a tu ra l r e so u rc e s d u rin g the c o lo n ia l era. Africa nations are covered in natural resources, gold in Ghana, petroleum in N igeria and uranium in South Africa. A fric a in som e p a rts g lo w in b e a u ty . It is a p a rt o f the m o th e r earth th at has n a tu re u n a llo y e d F or a w h ile , fo rg e t the c a ta s tr o phe in R w anda and in S o m a lia and b e h o ld the a n im a l re se rv e in Z a ire , A frica. OR Now you can apply for a mortgage at any o f over 400 branches o f U.S. Bank or its affiliated banks. And if that’s not close enough, just (Promise King was born in Ni geria He has worked fo r local and foreign Media, and is a staff writer fo r the Portland Observer.) call the U.S. M ORTGA G E LINE at 1(800)392-2412. A qualified loan officer can take your application right over the phone. So stop by, or give us a call. After all, , ... »• xî ■ a new home could be closer than you think. Kids are back in school. 0 IU .S .IB A N K U . S . M O R T G A G E L IN E x«\ « ' < • . , M 1(800)192-2412 , watch out for kids. « - • Service • Free Delivery I Africans Our Africa k » m • Installation AFRICA IW I^HIT : S , : : S ales O f A F ull L ine O f IBM C omputers O pen G ate A cupuncture C linic 1 Africa sadly stands alone, a n| understood continent. Its cultures« her traditions, often, sadly are mis represented by the western media. Gory pictures o f hungry babies and faces o f poverty are beam ed to an ignorant world. Imperfect patches o f some cultures or traditions are played and replayed. The fears and frustra tions o f Africa, often, also glorify pages o f newspapers. Rarely are we told that there is som ething good coming out o f the continent. My A frica-A m erica colleague in the office is concerned, so also are others wanting to know the relation ship between traditions and cultures and the condition o f life. It is not always easy to define anything about Africa in one cu Itural context, but I will attem pt to explain some o f the questions that probably would clear some misconceptions. Africa like Europe is a conglom erate o f different cultures and tribes each with different traditions and ethnic make-ups Like in Europe, ethnic wrangling and chaos contin- K ro/aye .J&Me Moftqa«. mans arp male fty a m ortaje lendnq aUHMtf o( u S Bart. OIN X • 1 » a . ' . . , . • •v'xJf ... F& W >
