D ecember 21, 1994 « T he P ortland O bserver
P a g i Ab
Leadership, Tabasco Sauce And Jobs II
By Prof McKinley Burt
So what w as it I wanted to say
about " I abasco Sauce" last week
before running out o f room? Well,
among other things, the product is a
more than century -old monopoly and
the manufacturing process has been
the exclusive property o f a "genteel
old southern family" for the same
period I he ingredients are grow n on
an Avery Island" in the middle o f a
bayou and about as inaccessible as
was "Dev ils Island" in French Histo
ry.
A half-hour T.V. 'docudram a'
really got my attention as the camera
panned the operation from the Gone-
W ith-The-W ind type Big House’
and black serv ants to the scores upon
scores o f black field hands busy har
vesting the herbs — and to the giant
black warehousemen moving barrels
ofthe stuff(The DallasCowboyscould
recruit a lot o f line backers here).
There seemed to be more black labor
ers employed here than at former Pres
ident Carter's tobacco plantation.
About halfway through this ante
bellum saga. 1 finally saw some w hite
folks; measuring, verify ing standards,
typing -- the sort o f things the “cog
nitive elite” do
The point o f all this is, not only
did the African American not escape
the plantation by fleeing North — viz
a viz my description o f controlled
economic progress by financial in
stitutions in urban areas - but that
there are more than a few vestiges of
the old system very much intact
through-out Dixie The new version
of"M arse John” plays by politically-
correct rules, donating generously to
the Negro College Fund and "mid
night basketball” - and seldom makes
the slips’ his grandfather was good
at, “boy”, "darkies” “cullud folks”
etc. Don’thearthatfrom Jim m yC art-
er, Ted Turner.
I was immediately reminded of
an issue that surfaced in the 1970s
while I was teaching an Urban Eco
nomics class at Portland State Uni
versity. A class project (investiga
tion) developed from the informa
tion provided by a National Geo
graphic article: "Hilton head Island
o ff the coast of South Carolina, once
occupied exclusively by blacks (once
the Reconstruction process turned
over much land to former slaves),
was now a land o f fabulous hotels
and beach properties selling for One
Thousand Dollars A Front Inch (and
that was 20 years ago).
After months o f inquiry directed
to Black Universities, Social organi
zations, lawyers and historians, we
got one significant, detailed reply.
As you might have guessed, the only
difference between the scenario for
Hilton Head and the Tabasco planta
tion was time. As with so much ofthe
land granted to the former slaves, it
quickly returned to the master” when
the federal troops were with drawn.
So it is that the Tabasco Family has
“owned” the Avery Island Plantation
for over a hundred years. Much o f
this real estate recidivism ’ was ac
complished with the aid o f the Ku-
Klux-Klan, crooked sheriffs and as
sessors, and county commissioners
(always with the threat o f deadly
force to back them up).
And in the case o f that “ Hilton
Head” billion dollar development o f
hotels, golf courses, yacht basins,
and airports, the land was acquired
from blacks by more "genteel" meth
ods - as w ith continuing acquisitions
along the coast o fth e Carolinas (see
“Sea Islands”, books, articles). A
lone African American professor has
become an endangered species at his
Traditional Black College because
he is exposing the methodology o f
how the lands are gotten away from
blacks today -- a process that paral
lels the conv ersions in the cites under
“Urban Renewal” .
The man has become a thorn in
the side o f ‘traditional’ black leader
ship as he describes the games: Lost
and delayed tax notices, illegal fore
closures and worst o f all -- the pur
chase o f invaluable lands for a pit
tance per acre from semi-literate old
sters left alone when the next gener
ation departed for the mainland to
get a college education. The new
ow ners o f black lands include the big
corporations who donate to the B lack
College Fund. How kind and gra
cious; pass the Tabasco Sauce! Con
tinued next week
Busy Freeway Warning System
Portland State University and
local transportation agencies are
embarking on a year-long freeway
traffic management study aimed at
creating a computerized system to
provide motorists with early warn
ings about traffic congestion.
I he study makes use o f an on
site camera that mon itors w estbound
traffic on the Sunset Highway (U S.
Highway 26) just west ol down
town Portland and feeds images of
the scene back to a lab at PSU.
Specially designed computer
software at the college then collects
data that can be used to interpret
traffic patterns and vehicle speed,
density and flow rates, based on the
transmitted images.
Principal participants o f the
study are the PSU Department o f
Civil Engineering, the Oregon De
partment o f Transportation. and the
City o f Portland's Office o f Trans
portation.
“ We hope to be able to analyze
the data and identify patterns o f
congestion at the site before con
gestion occurs,” said B. Kent Lal I,
PSU professor o f civil engineering
and the study’s overall coordinator.
Fall said project participants
hope to set up a system in which
information about impending con
gestion problems could be fed auto
matically to other monitoring sites.
That information could trigger the
use o f message signs at freeway
entry points, warning motorists ot
delays and or suggesting alterna
tive routes.
“The overall aim is safe travel
to reduce congestion and accidents,
said Lall.
PSU civil engineering gradu
ate Tim Simons is interpreting the
traffic data, which during the year
long study will concentrate on the
Sunset Highway site just east ofthe
tunnels that take the heavily used
highway under Portland's West
Hills. A side benefit o f the study
will be analysis o fth e impact that
west-side light rail construction has
on Sunset Highway traffic. Lall add
ed. PSU expects to apply for a y ear-
long extension ofthe project so that
additional sites can be monitored.
“Scratch-
it For
Charity”
Tri-Met Approves New Labor Contract
A new labor contract has been
approved between Tri-Met employ
ees and the Tri-Met board o f direc
tors.
T he agreement affects 1.700 em-
plovees ot the public mass transit
agency, including bus and light rail
operators, mechanics, supervisors,
and office employees.
Tri-Met and the Amalgamated
Transit Union Local 757 have been
negotiating for the past four months.
The new pact provides about
$4 5 million in cost savings and effi-
“Local
Author To
Speak”
December 1, 1994—Dr. O.
Virginia Phillips, author o f “Ash
es To Life”, will read from her first
published work. Saturday, Decem
ber 17th, 6:00 PM at the Lutheran
Inner City Community Center,
Lower Level Room C, 4219 NE
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Ashes To Life is a series o f
thirteen stories presented in poetry
form, each story represents a per
son know by the author-a person
changed by caring intervention.
The reading is open to the
public. There is no charge for ad-
mission.
Phone Company
Files To Serve
Oregon
A Nebraska phone company has
applied to the Public Utility Com
mission o f Oregon to provide basic
telephone services in the Portland
ciencies and increases wages from 3
to 5 percent annually . It boosts total
operating costs about three percent
for each year o f the four-year agree
ment, officials for the two sides said.
“The new collective bargaining
agreement has significant gains for
both the ATU and Tri-Met and sets in
motion the commitment and the pro
cess for a true interest-based partner
ship,” said Karl Hunrick, Tri-Met
labor relations director.
“We are very pleased with this
fair and equitable agreement," said
Ron Heintzman, ATU 757 represen
tative. "W e look at this as a continu
ation in building a cooperative rela
tionship to do one thing, provide the
best public transit service possible.”
The contract makes work rules
more flexible, offering an estimated
$1.25 million in savings by improv
ing apprenticeship and training pro
grams and reducing training periods
by 25 percent or more. Part-time
operators are now able to work an
hour longer per day, up to a 30-hour
week maximum.
The contract renews the pension
agreement for a 10 year period. Re
tirement age is reduced from 62 to 58
years over the 10 year contract period.
Tri-M et is not a member o f the
Public Employees Retirement Sys
tem. The PERS costs are significant
ly more than Tri-M et retirem ent
plans. Unlike PERS, Tri-M et retire
ment plans have never guaranteed a
rate o f return on investments and
unused sick or vacation leave is not
factored into a person's retirement
benefit.
Weldon Greig of
KSHO Radio of
Lebanon uses an
ice scraper for
speed in a
"Scratch-it For
Charity" fundraiser
by the Oregon
Lottery.
YWCA Announces Plans As Executive Director Resigns
Cathy Jones, Executive Direc
tor of the YWCA o f Portland has
resigned her position effective De
cember 28, 1994. Ms Jones is leav
ing the YWCA to pursue other pro
fessional interests in North Carolina.
Shortly after receiving her resigna
tion, the YWCA Board o f Directors
announced its plans to hire an Inter
im Director while conducting a broad
search for a long-term replacement
and is now pleased to announce it has
hired Jewel Lansing, Interim Execu
tive Director o f the William Temple
House and former Auditor for the
City o f Portland and Multnomah
County, as Interim Director o f the
YWCA o f Portland.
Cathy Jones has been Executive
Director ofthe Portland Y WC A since
April o f 1991 and many credit her for
bringing to the YWCA a stable base
for growth. “Cathy undauntingly had
the vision to pull together a team and
move forward to accomplish our
Mission,” said Gale Swanson, Pres
ident ofthe YWCA from 1992-1994.
“She has strengthened our connec
tion to the National Association and
has always been clear and strong on
where the YWCA is going.”
Cathy lists among her major
achievements the fostering o f a work
environment where people are treat
ed as equals, and where it is safe to
communicate difficult issues. With
her leadership, the YWCA worked
closely with the community to deter
mine areas where YWCA programs
needed improvement to better meet
the community ’ s needs and then made
those changes. While Executive Di
rector, Cathy saw the expansion of
Senior Services to the East Mult
nomah County District through the
opening ofthe Y W C A 's East Coun
ty Center and realized a growth in the
annual operating budget from $2.2
million to $3 million. Additionally,
Cathy prioritized increased staff train
ing and skill requirements, ensuring
that the Y W C A 's staff are top pro
fessionals in their fields. Along with
the Board o f Directors, Cathy helped
bring key advisors from the commu-
nityto special Task Forces looking at
long term difficulties faced by the
YWCA. “This is a new way to ap
proach our problems and one that has
helped bring us out o f the traditional
non-profit poverty mentality,” said
Jones. “It’s brought renewed vision
and focus on our Mission and better
service to the community.” Cathy is
quick to point out that all her accom
plishments were team efforts. “It
w asn’t me. It was a partnership be
tween the staff, volunteers and the
Board. If anything, I was just the
catalyst.”
“Cathy has really strengthened
the internal organization," said Janice
B. Hall, current President o f the
YWCA and a Portland attorney. “She
has helped empower our employees
by adding to their understanding o f
their own strengths and weaknesses
and helping them see their contribu
tions in light o f the entire organiza
tion, which really furthers the team
process. We will miss working with
her,” added Hall.
T he Y W C A B oard o f D ire c
to rs sees th is tra n sitio n as a n o th
er o p p o rtu n ity fo r g ro w th and
h ails the h irin g o f Jew el L ansing
as ju s t one ex am p le. “ Jew el has
tre m e n d o u s stre n g th g a rn e re d
from her rich e x p e rie n c e and her
tie s w ith the c o m m u n ity ," said
Ja n ic e H all. “ She is a b rig h t, c a
p a b le an d e x p e rie n c e d le a d e r
w ith g re a t h o n e sty and in tegrity
w ho has a lre a d y ca u g h t o u r v i
sion and is ready to help us m a in
tain m om entum as we im plem ent
o u r S tra te g ic P la n ." Ms. L ansing
is a Certified Public Accountant and
brings a long history in organization
al leadership, fiscal responsibility and
social advocacy. Ms. Lansing offi
cially begins as Interim Executive
Director on January 16, 1995 and is
expected to hold the position for
three to six months.
Season’s Savings
area.
M I S Communications Co., Inc.
has asked the commission to imme
diately provide it three digits in the
first part o f a telephone number se
ries so it can begin competing with
U S. West and GTE Northwest, the
companies which currently serve the
Portland area.
D o in g b u sin e ss as M FS
Intelenet, the applicant said it in
tends to provide local and long dis
tance services to medium and small
“Prime” Rib
Beef Roast
businesses.
Company officials said MFS
currently serves New York, Illinois,
Marx land. Massachusetts and W ash
ington State, with applications pend
ing in Pennsylvania, Texas and Mich
Safeway Will
Close At
7PM On
December 24
And All Day
Christmas Day
igan.
Medium and small businesses
plav a very significant role in the
Oregon economy, but to date have
not been the major beneficiaries o f
the development o f competition in
the telecommunications industry,
said K irby Pick le, president and chief
executive officer o f MFS Intelenet.
“ The granting o f this license to MFS
Intelenet would result in enhanced
benefits to these businesses in terms
o f carrier choice, price, increased
reliability, responsiveness and the
introduction o f new services.
The company plans to utilize the
100 percent fiber network o f its sister
company. MFS Telecom. Inc., cur
rently under development. The net
work is expected to be completed in
the fall o f 1995 and connect 20 build-
ings in Portland’s downtown central
À
....to allow our store employees to
spend time with their families
All stores will be
OPEN REGULAR HOURS
s, „Monday, December 26
• or Boneless Beef
New York Strip Roast
• SAVE UP TO
1.31 PER LB
Large
Holiday
Yams
Look In Your This Week Magazine
for our weekly Safeway Savings Guide!
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business district
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