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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1994)
Anita Hill To Speak Halloween Fun! Anita Hill, the law professor who testified against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is coming to Linfield College. Portland's Zoo Boo, pumpkin carving, food and carnivals. A complete schedule of events. See Metro, Inside. ® In' Portland’s Boxing Tradition A former world heavyweight contender signs a young prospect for training. See Halloween, page B5. See Sports, page B2. anh (f * er» Students Say Wilson Is Short On Diversity by M ichael L eighton ______________________________________ _ Lloyd Parking Meters Opposed Students at Wilson High marched into the school office Monday demanding a hearing on grievances over minority concerns. About 75 students were stopped just past the office door by a uniformed police officer Opposition to a city proposal to install who asked them to move their protest to the parking meters in the Lloyd Center district is school’s auditorium. growing. Five residental and merchant The students then were provided with a groups are developing strategies to defeat microphone and addressed their complaints. the proposal. The meters would be aimed at Student Erica D eLazerda said the dem promoting mass transit and managing avail onstration was organized because there is a able parking areas. lack of cultural diversity at Wilson. In particular, she said, were complaints Blazer Says Tire Led To over the jo b elimination of a staff counselor Accident hired for ethnic integration programs at W il Portland Trail Blazer Guard James son. Robinson said he was not being careless DeLazerda said the employee, school when his 1994 Mercedes flipped over in a , counselor John Mays, had been pivotal in spectacular wreck early Sunday on Inter organizing support groups and addressing state 5. Robinson estimated he was driving the concerns o f minority students, especially betw een 65 and 70 mph through the Hispanic and black students. Terwilliger curves when a tire blew out. He i The students said they also were unhap was shaken, but not seriously injured in the ! py with dress code policies, they claim un accident. fairly target clothing worn by minority stu dents. Alcohol Ban Sought For To m ake th e ir p o in t, they w ore p a Arena p er hats from B u rg er K ing and w ore A group of community organizations, . th e ir b elts h an g in g . T he hats and sty le o f including the Ecumenical Ministries of Or d re ss are a lle g e d ly b an n ed at the sch o o l egon and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, b ecau se they are said to be re la te d to are opposing a proposal to permit alcohol gangs. consumption in seating areas of the Memo- i The stu d e n ts said th ey w ere u p set by rial Coliseum and new Rose Garden. The the em p lo y m en t o f so few m inority te a c h Oregon Liquor Control Commission is con ers at the school and the lack o f c u ltu ra l sidering the proposal by the Oregon Arena d iv e rsity in the su b je c ts stu d ied . S tu Corp. d en ts also c o m p la in e d about m in o rity re p re se n ta tio n on the s c h o o l’s hom e- Hispanic Populations Grow A Bahamas Want Stop To Gun Smuggling Islam Nation Meets In Ghana The Nation of Islam has concluded a meeting in the west African nation of Gha na, the group’s first such gathering outside the U.S. Ghana’s President Jerry Rawlings praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farra- khan as one of the "most impressive people I have come across." However, observers said relatively few Ghanaians participated in the conference. co m in g c o u rt and pep ra lly squads. W ilson High School Principal Carole Viebrock listened to the complaints during the 35 minute presentation and then addressed the students. Viebrock said programs to improve eth nic diversity at the school would not be eliminated, despite the loss o f the counselor. She asked the students to form a board of students who represent every ethnic minority at the school. "We will work with you for inclusion and improvement o f diversity,” she said. Viebrock explained how the school’s counselor for integration was assigned by the school district to other duties because of Housing Fair Held Saturday At Coliseum Hispanics now outnumber blacks in Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix and San home buying fair on Saturday Antonio, four of the nation’s largest cities, can help put you on a path according to a recently released Census tow ard home ow nership. Bureau report. The reasons for the popula tion shift appears to be that Hispanics are • Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest source having children at a faster rate and the in o f home mortgage funds and the Portland Trail Blazers are hosting the fair from 10 creasing numbers of middle income blacks a.m. to 5 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum. who are leaving the cities for the suburbs. The event is part of an effort to increase America’s Poverty home ownership in the metropolitan area. "By teaming up with the Blazers, we Rates Rise hope to reach thousands o f low and moder According to a new Census Bureau ate income residents of the Portland area report, the number of Americans living in who think they may never own a home and poverty went up last year for the fourth year show them how they can get started,” said in a row. And the group with the highest Jam es A. Johnson, chairman and chief ex poverty rateis African Americans. A soflast ecutive officer for Fannie Mae. year a record 33 percent of American blacks The fair brings together a wide range of were officially classified as poor. The gov experts at one location who can provide all ernment classifies a family of four as poor if types o f information on the home-buying it earns less than $ 14,763 a year. Overall, 39 process. million Americans fall below the poverty According to the latest Census figures, line. the overall home ownership rate in Portland Faced with a rise in violent crime, pol iticians in the Bahamas are calling on the U.S. to do more to stop the smuggling of weapons out of the U.S. into the resort nation where the primary industry is tourism. The call comes after the Bahamas has stepped up its efforts to slow the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. Wearing hats the school says are gang-related, senior Erica DeLazerda leads about 75 of her classmates on a protest at Wilson High School. is 53 percent, below the na tional average o f 64.2 p e r cent. A m ong minorities, the d is p a rity is greater: only one o u t o f three African-Americans and Hispanics who live in the greater Portland/Vancouver area own their own home. “Naturally, w e’d like to see more people be able to own homes because with ow ner ship comes increased pride in neighborhood." said M arshall Glickman. Blazers/O rcgon Arena Corp, president. Glickman said the Blazers and the arena corporation are deeply committed to supporting efforts to revitalize local neighborhoods. The fair will focus on the how-to's o f the home-buying process, including how to qual ify for a mortgage, how to repair credit prob lems and how to find affordable loans. M ore than 80 in fo rm a tio n bo o th s w ill be set up w ith m o rtg a g e len d ers, c o u n se lin g g ro u p s, c o m m u n ity o rg a n i z a tio n s. real e sta te p ro fe ssio n a ls and o th e rs. W o rk sh o p to p ic s c o v e r the p ro c ess o f q u a lify in g for a m o rtg a g e , fin d ing a ffo rd a b le loans and u n d e rs ta n d ing c re d it issu es. The fair is designed to help eliminate the lack of knowledge and fear that can sometimes come with the home-buying process. F annie M ae said th e se tw o b a rrie rs have proven to be se rio u s im p e d im e n ts to bu y in g a hom e. F u rth e rm o re , the c o m p an y has found th a t the ab se n c e o f in fo rm a tio n a b o u t the h o m e -b u y in g p ro c e ss c o rre la te s w ith a lack o f c o n f i d e n c e in o n e ’s a b ility to n e g o tia te a p u rc h a se o f a hom e. budget cuts. She said Mays was now em ployed half time at W hitaker Middle School and half time at M adison High School. The position at W ilson was started in the 70s to help students make the transition from a segregated school to one that is racially integrated. Blankets Needed To Warm Families he Low Incom e F a m ilie s Emergency Center has begun its annual drive to collect blankets for needy fa m ilies and individuals in the Portland metro area. T "W e ho p e to c o lle c t 200 b la n k e ts b e fo re the w in te r w e a th e r b e g in s, said c h a ir R ich ard R ic k e l. “ A lot o f n eedy fam ilies and se n io r c itiz e n s co m e to us fo r help and we need to be r e a d y .” The blankets should be in good shape and clean . T hey can be d ro p p e d o ff at the L IF E C e n te r, 2746 N .E . M artin L u th e r K ing Jr. B lv d ., or a p ic k -u p can be a rra n g e d by c a llin g 2 8 4 -6 8 7 8 . For m ore in fo rm a tio n , call d ire c to r C h a rle s C a rte r at 2 8 4 -6 8 7 8 . Young Minorities Recruited For Apprenticeships Y oung people in Portland are in a good position for lifetime employment in skilled labor jobs. Keith Edwards and others in the con struction trades are looking for minority and other students to enroll in apprenticeship programs to meet increasing job demands. Students can prepare themselves for ac ceptance into these jobs by concentrating on their education, especially in math and En glish. "Be all you can be, and get the most out of school," Edwards advises young people Opportunities in the construction trades is “one of the best keep secrets." Edwards said. “A skill can take you to the jobs and keep you employed for a family" he said Portland’s projected growth in popula tion and business is expected to sustain and create a need for skilled labor jobs for many years to come. Edwards started his career as an electri cian in 1969. At the time he was only one of six African Americans employed in the pro fession in Portland. Today, there are nearly 50 journeym an and apprentice electricians in the metropolitan area who are black and the numbers are going up. Edwards, as a member o f the Interna tional Brotherhood of Electrical W orkers, is involved with the Metro Electrical Training Trust, an educational facility for the con struction trades at N ortheast 42nd and Killingsworth The facility is supported bv the union and employers. He also works with Portland Communi- Keith Edwards ty College to create and support classes giv ing students jo b skills. He said, currently, there is a shortage of skilled labor in the Portland workforce. Lou Boston of the Oregon Arena Project echoes those concerns. He said the construction of Portland's new Trail Blazer arena has seen a shortage of electricians. W ith only about 20 percent of students going on to college, a lot of kids are left wondering what is left for them to earn a living after high school, Edwards said. He said apprenticeships are a great alter native to a college degree. Edwards said being skilled in labor jobs is also a way to get into the contracting business. The IBEW union has been a front runner is getting minorities em ployed in the trades. “W e’re always trying to bring in more women and m inorities." Edwards said. EDITORIAL HEALTH HOUSING METRO SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT A2 A5 A6 BI B2 B4 CLASSIFIEDS B7
