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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 1994)
j» ai T he P ortland O bserver • O ctober 12, 1994 A Timely Addendum To Urban Planning Series ow, there is a word that ancestry. On her father’s side, she was not of pure Theban stock, though re a lly t it illa t e s m y her mother was. Her enemies, the tongue, w hat with its Latin peculiarities, though priests my o f Amen, now seized on this "taint” in her lineage and plotted to favorite of all tim e is “hiatus,” a dethrone her. To offset this, she be pause or break in the scheme gan to publicize herself in the most of things. This “addendum ” to sensational manner of that time: the the “urban” them e results from building o f temples, pyramids and th e e x tra -o rd in a ry in te re s t obelisks, the size and grandeur of created by my do cu m en ted which was regarded by the popular re v e la tio n s of th e A fric a n mind as a gauge of the ruler’s power. initiatives of the art of “city Accordingly, Hatshepsut decided to planning.” build a temple the like of which the world had never seen before and sent by P rof . M c K inley B urt for her chief architect, Senmut, who, For the inquiring teachers, I have to all appearance, was a full-blooded provided the citations and text m ate Negro. Together, they chose a site rial (including pictures) that will en which was not only appropriate but able them to construct the classroom strategic. This was on an elevation models they wish to build. A parent three miles away from the stronghold came by to photocopy some material of her opponents, the Tem ple of I could not release. Now, this is the Amen-Ra. From this site her temple kind of response that would have looked down on theirs. resulted had my submissions to the “ U n d e r S e n m u t’s g e n iu s, “Baseline Essays” been adopted in H atshepsut’s temple developed into the multi-cultural process. I had em what is still one of the w orld’s most phasized the rew arding reception remarkable specimens o f architec accorded my presentations at schools ture. It had a frontage o f 800 feet and and on television in different parts of was for the most part hollowed out of the country, including testimonial the great cliff that overlooked it. letters. Double and triple rows o f columns However, like the fabled Phoe lined the entrance, and the approach nix bird rising from the ashes, I am was marked by innumerable statues, gradually getting on again with my wonderful terraces, and paradisiacal business of delivering a ‘real’ history gardens. Colorful inscriptions deco of African and African American rated the interior, which abounded in peoples. Particularly productive has architectural novelties. been the format I mentioned several “ N o t c o n te n t w ith th is, weeks ago; reaching several major H atshepsut decided to carry her tri city talk shows with my presenta umph into the very cam p o f her de tions - originating in my Alberta Street tractors. She ordered to be made two office and transmitted via the elec obelisks, taller than any others in tronic information highway: In the Egypt. Each was hewn from mighty “trade organization” to which I be blocks of rose granite and when com long (Association o f Oregon Indus pleted took two great rafts, each tries) I have been talking with several manned by 900 men to transport down communicationengineers and execu- the Nile. Hatshepsut intended these tives - it seems that if I continue to as a gift to the Temple o f Amen-Ra build a good public response to my but very astutely she had ordered multi-cultural theme via radio, then, them made so tall that they were with the rapid escalation of the tech higher than the temple, whose ruins, nology I could be doing the same now known as Karnak, reveal it to be thing on television by 1995 from my one of the most colossal structures own studio. made by man. Accordingly to make But, back to the grandeurs that the obelisks fit, the roof of the temple were those o f our ancestors. Here is w as o p e n e d an d fro m th is m ore on th a t fa b u lo u s Q u e e n H atshepsut’s obelisks reared their Hatshepsut, the African genius who heads as chimneys over a roof. But set the stage for the modern cityscape. that was not all. To make the obelisks The following excerpt is from J.A. still more conspicuous she had their R ogers’ “W orld’s G reat M en of tops encased in electrum, a metal Color” : costlier than gold.” “H atshepsut had yet another And here is material from Arthur handicap besides that of sex, namely, N Segals “City Planning In Ancient Times,” (Minneapolis, Lerner, 1977). For those rascals who still “teach” that the glorious achievem ents of the Africans were constructed by hordes of slave laborers, try this hiatus on for size: “In addition toestablishing mili tary settlements in Nubia, the Egyp tians built planned towns in other parts of their kingdom. O ne o f these was a town named Kahun. W hen archaeologists excavated the site of this ancient settlement, they hoped to settle an old question. Kahun was a planned town established for the pur pose of providing a home for the workers who built one o f the ancient pyramids. Scholars and historians had long wondered just how many people were needed to build a pyramid. W hile m ost o f the experts agreed that hundreds o f thousands of workers must have been employed on these colossal projects, there was no way of determining an exact figure. Sci entists hoped that by studying the houses o f the laborers’ town, and counting the num ber o f houses, they could determ ine the figure with greater accuracy. “To everyone’s surprise, the down o f Kahun turned out to have enough houses for only a few thou sand workers, a far lower number than anyone supposed. The old theo ries - according to which hundreds of thousands o f slaves labored under terrible conditions to build the pyra mids - were, to some extent, dis proved. The w orkers’ houses, while not luxurious, were still spacious and com fortable, each consisting o f a small central courtyard surrounded by two or three bedrooms and a small storeroom. “At the end of the town there was a group of luxurious buildings, quite different in size and appearance from the workers’ modest houses. Each of these houses was built around a large courtyard bordered on one side by a row of columns. Living rooms were arranged around the courtyard, and the bedrooms contained raised plat forms for the beds. These houses, which even had guest rooms and a bathroom, doubtless belonged to the engineers and the foremen who super vised the work of constructing the pyramid. Once the pyramid was com pleted, Kahun was abandoned, and the town was soon buried in the drift ing desert sands.” 1994 Minority Contractor Of The Year Award For the first time, the annual M inority C ontractor o f the Y ear Award is being shared by two firms, according to Carl R. Culham, chair, Minority Business Opportunity com mittee of the Portland Federal Ex ecutive Board. Each year the Port land Federal Executive Board hon ors an outstanding m inority-owned business whose selection is based on its superior performance on Federal Government contracts. This year the award is being shared by two firms, MRC Company and J.O. Interna tional Reforestation, Inc. Isy Aguirre Jr., President of M RC C o m p an y , o f W o o d lan d , W ashington, has been selected as one of the co-recipients to receive the P o rtlan d F ed eral E x ecu tiv e B oard's 1994 Minority Contractor of the Year Award. MRC Company B la c k B is a nine-year old general construc tion company that specialized in rail road construction and excavation. The firm was nominated for the award by the Portland District, Corps of Engineers for outstanding perfor mance in rehabilitating the railroad spur track at Bonneville Dam. Javier G. Orozco, President of J.O. International Reforestation, Inc., of G rants Pass, Oregon, has been selected as the o th e r c o -re c ip ie n t to re c e iv e the aw ard. J.O . In te r n a tio n a l R e fo re sta tio n , Inc. is an e ig h t-y e a r old co m p an y th at p ro v id e s tree p la n tin g , p ru n in g , and o th e r re fo re s ta tio n se rv ic e s. T he firm was n o m inated for this aw ard by the O reg o n S ta te o ffic e o f the B u reau o f L and M a n a g e m e n t for the su p e rio r q u a lity o f c o n tra c t p e rfo rm a n c e in 1994. u s in e s s C o - o p PflESENIS The only way eommunllie» and Individual« THE BLACK MARKET CO-OP "The Business Community Working Together." «an grow 1» through F R ID A Y , knowledge O C T O B E R 14, 6 -9 P .M . & and cooperation SATURDAY, O C T O B E R 1 5 ,1 0 A . M . - 6 P .M . Hack Butlnettet BLACK BUSINESSES need lo support each E N T E R T A IN M E N T other now more than Job» and opportunity» Mr. Aguirre and Mr. Orozco will be honored at the annual M inor ity Enterprise D evelopm ent W eek Luncheon, to be held in Portland at the Oregon Convention Center, Tues day, O ctober 11,1994. This event is held to recognize the outstanding achievements and contributions of our nation’s m inority businesses. Tickets for the Awards Luncheon can be obtained by contacting Im pact Business C onsultants at (503) 245-9253. PURCHASE YOUR H O LID A Y GIFTS CARLY SEC T i l l WIDE VARIETY OF AFRO-CENTRIC PRODUCTS CELEBRATE THE U P -C O M IN G H O LID A Y SEASON and lo ensure LOCAL VENDORS A N D RESTAURANTS M i l BE O N H A N D TO SELL THEIR WARES IN A C O M M U N IT Y SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE that young future A group of state officials, com munity leaders, and children cel ebrated Children’s Week in Oregon by inaugurating a statewide network of child-friendly waiting areas in 42 state Employment Department of fices. “Oregonians know how im por tant it is to invest in the well-being of our children,” said Secretary of State Phil Keisling. “ Public and private employers need to do their part by encouraging family-friendly w ork places.” Keisling spoke at a ribbon cut ting ceremony at one o f the waiting areas, known as The C hildren’ s C or ner, in the Employment Department’ s downtown office. Joining him were Em ploym ent D epartm ent A cting Director Roger Auerbach, Child Care Commission member Jo Rymer, and children o f the office’s employees and customers. “This is another way to serve our customers better,” said Roger Auerbach, Acting D irector of the Employment Department. “Parents should have a more productive visit and children will learn about the world of work.” T he C h ild r e n ’s C o rn e r a l low s c h ild re n to re a d o r play in sight o f p a re n ts w ho use an E m p lo y m en t D e p a rtm e n t o ffic e to look for w ork. T h e sp e c ia l w a it ing a rea is sto c k e d w ith toys, books, and e d u c a tio n a l m a te ria ls about the w o rk p la c e . “Smart employers recognize that many w orkers and custom ers are parents, too,” said Jo Rymer, who serves on the Oregon Commission on Child Care and owns and operates Pro-Tern, a temporary employment service. “To succeed in today’s mar ketplace, you need to provide sup port for those dual roles through child see what hard work and community support oan create OAME CASCADE PLAZA 4134 N. Voncouver Ave Portland. Oregon iU < i i i ,1 1 W 1 I I I I 1 fini* / Ph y liM Getue»: 255-.MR2 Rm lyn H ill 2M-3779 C -O A P O N «n «»n BY THF HFRAI D-TIMF4 NFW4PAPFR THF ORFCON AMOTIATCON OF MINORITY «MTRFPRRMPURR care and services like The Children’ s Corner.” After the completion of a suc cessful pilot project developed with the state Education Department in Salem last year, the Employment Department decided to install The a ': •"'<> i . - » r.y • Children’s Corner statewide It pro vided $15,000 in toys, books, furni ture, and other supplies to 42 offices. M ost of The Children’s corners are opening by October 2-8, which G ov ernor Barbara Roberts has declared Children’s Week in Oregon. - i / .‘» • ;<■: .*’ Z - Y Y ¿I tí •¿«i <»»’’• - j I ® te.'*'# . ’ ■ »/'• Coming Soon •v fn ' . A - C ruise N ig h t A t T h e E lks C lu b ? ' • j ■■ •• PLAN YOUR NEXT REUNION ON CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE’S JU B IL E E R EU N IO N C R U ISE JU N E 25, 1995 Fly PDX To Los Angels And Stay One Night At A Los Angels Hotel On June 25 Cruise to Puerto Vallarta. Mazatlan & Carbo San Lucas Cost $1,699.00 Category 6. Upper Deck Inside. King/Twin Riviera Deck, Ocean View, Twin/King $ 4 0 0 .0 0 R e u n io n D isco u n t $1,299.00 C ost p e r person based on double occupancy $110.50 P o rt C h arges and Taxes i PAYMENT PLAN: D eposit $25.00 Due by October 28, 1994 2nd paym ent $175.00 Due by February 17, 1995 F inal paym ent $1,109.50 Due by April 20, 1995 Payment may be made by VISA. M ASTER CARD, DISCOVER CARD I f paying by check, make check payable to TRA VEL EE LIZ For more information, contact Peggy Joseph V. 1 (503) 288-9590 • - * • * * . < » res- ■ '■m ' ■ - ç - *Z/*| z » «V . _ X "c ■tie-’ % .. * C I S3 the! across Ameri stands distinct1 rest of the hum And almost everywh out, as as a a symbol symooi ui me roots, many are alsoprobing to know out, rica continent. Many black folks a T T ^ ^ ie particular nation or countries of over the world are conscious of this ancestral link to this tropical land, where human civilization was born. And across these great minds o f men and women of the golden black skin in diaspora lie the urge to go back to their motherland, someday. Many have left their foreign land to settle in Africa where no one will question the dignity o f the color of their skin. W here the sanctity of their culture is reverend and respected. W here their equality will be guaran teed. And where they can walk freely and shop freely w ithout harassment. Many black folks who have re signed their fate to live in diaspora for life are eager to know their tribal their ancestors. The key to knowing the country you originate from is embedded in A frica tribal identity. This is because each tribe in Africa is uniquely different from one another, in physical body structure. The Swahili are different from the Tuaregs even though they inhabit the same region. In my native Nigeria, each tribe identify its own ethnic group through this mechanism. The Ibo tribe in the east differs in their physiques from Hausas and Fulanis in the north. M ost of the Africans who live close to the desert are somewhat slim mer than those that live along the riverain area that are broadly built and heavier. Most of the slaves taken nly from this ’are darker with k lips. They are coast of Ghana, in Tea o f Ivory coast, in T o g o andT an area su rro u n d in g Badagry in Nigeria. Others are the Congolese, j h e majority o f this tribe are short arid sturdy. The average height o f the Congolese is 5 foot-2 inches. You could determine which African tribe you originate by com paring your frame with rest of the tribes. The good news is that nature ’ s experiment on Africa tribal classifi cation is very pronounced. More so. visit the Zulus or the Hutus, the W atusi, the Edos, the Fulanis, the Nupes, the Kayamaris and the rest of the tribes. Check out the country where they reside. You will find yourroots. This is only a clue from someone who cares. Good luck. ■< i& igW í & Y«- •A i . ■ . f e ■ v X, LV •4L (Promise King was born in Ni geria. He has worked fo r local and foreign media, and is a staff writer for the Portland Observer.) it ?;.>* "•.U Leí’ * Vessels I ’tru cwfciou* to- ¡how you/ o u r fr ie n d ly c a r wash/ tim e r m e n a g e cen ter. $ Tableware W ith M eaning You/ jee$ w h e n y o u /p u t i n y o u r coin4 to- w a ¡ h y o u r c a r i t ¡howy you/ how m uch/ tim e - you / have/ Ze/fc C K ind/of a c o u n t-d o w n ). « Afro-Centric r ! A ccessories 1 for the D ining Room, B u t here/’y th e /b e tt p a rt. W henyou/’ve u ted/ up a i l o f y o u r tim e , a n d / fo rg o t t h a t o n e /d ir ty ¡pot, i t a t f o y o u / t o p u t bn j u f t e n o u g h m on ey ¡o- y o w c a n finish* How d i d i t know th a t? I t y c o ile d / “cou rtesy time/”................ T h a t y nice* bu»lne»» owner» In out communlle» • . .» * 4* /»• Jobs Agency Launches New Service For Kids During Children’s Week FO O D ever to create 4 > * . P age A3 Û ] I Y o a /U /lo v e / i t i NAttOS*>-J National Pride Self-Service Car Wash 5733 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. AA v W n A Bath & Kitchen Dinnerware Stemware Flatware Gittwrap Wallpaper Decorative Pillows Wedding Invitations Decorative Bowls. Vases & Trays Table Runners. Covers & Placemats Napkins, Napkin Holders & Rings Switch Plates & Outlet Covers Custom Shower Curtains Bathroom Accessories Coasters & Trivets O B rid al R e g is try O Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm 2 6 0 5 N E Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Portland, O reg o n 9 7 2 1 2 (Comer of N E. Russell) (503) 249-1952 1 í ■ -r ?
