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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1995)
• • « January 25, 1995 Serving the community through cultural diversity Volume XXV Numher 4 Join In Celebrating Our Students To Dream Again Portland students will go to Whitman College again this summer. Olympic hopefuls bring sport to Portland. k. * A See story, page A3. See Sports, page B2. A N N IV E R S A R Y Wlw THE B5 Pam Am Boxing Trials (T yv 250 Lawsuit Filed In Bend McDonalds Case REW Katz Named To Skills Board President Clinton has appointed Port land Mayor Vera Katz to the National Skills Board. The panel is charged with developing educational standards for American workers to succeed in the work place and is part of the Goals 2000: Edu cate America Act of 1994 Katz is noted for her leadership in sponsoring education reform laws in Oregon. Children’s Store Earns $220,000 The second annual season o f Our C hildren’s Store, a non-profit gift store in d o w n to w n P o rtla n d , ra is e d $220,000 for child in crisis, from its opening Oct. 14 to its closing on Dec. 3 I . “ We were overwhelm ed by public response this y ear,” said co-chair Ann C arter In its first year the store earned $1.34,000. Summer ’Dreamers’ Get Funding The Fred Meyer Memorial Trust has awarded $ 110,000 to Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash, tocontinue an “I Have A Dream" program for Portland middle and high school students. The summer residential program introduces the students to college life and helps them develop goals and skills to succeed in college. Mississippi Casino Planned “ Horoscope Casino” in Port Gibson, Miss, is expected to be the first casino in the state to have a majority of black inves tors. Plans are being made to build the $8 million facility with a club, restaurant and facilities for professional wrestling, box ing, horseback riding and canoeing. The casino needs approval from the state gam ing commission. Wealth Group Launches Drive A national African American econom ic empowerment group has kicked off its membership drive declaring that “every major problem facing blacks in America could be eliminated or significantly re duced if there were more wealth in our community.” The organization called Bet ter Life Club of America can be reached at 1 -800-748-1821 for free information. Engineering Enrollment Drops Freshman enrollment for under-rep resented groups in engineering declined more than five percent last year. The num ber of African Americans declined from 8,924 to 8,271. Total freshman enrollment decreased from 15,181 to 14,387 during the period. In the workplace, engineering graduates still command the highest start ing salaries by a wide margin. G.M. Raises Prices General Motors said it is raising pric es on selected models by as much as 5.4 percent. The increases took effect early this month and range from a $50 hike on the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet C/K truck to a $1,695 on the new hot-selling Oldsmobile Aurora. The average 1995 price hike is $151 or about I percent. EDITORIAL A2 Area residents R eggie Rutherford (from left), R obert Malone a n d Jacqueline M. Sm ith announce the filing o f a class action (Photo By Michael Leighton) lawsuit against M cDonalds for violation of civil rights. stand in Oregon. The class-action lawsuit seeks $9.4 mil lion in damages from McDonalds Corp, and latant racism alleged to have Alphastar, Inc., the company that runs the occurred at a McDonalds in McDonalds on Highway 97 in Bend. Bend has led to a multi-million dollar lawsuit and a vow to seek justice. The residents claim tb: central Oregon restaurant discriminated against them last A group of African Americans from May 8 on Mother’s Day. Portland called a news conference last week The group was part of about 90 people, to urge support for their action, saying bigot mostly retirement age, and mostly from north ry and the violation of civil rights should not by M ichael L eighton B Assembly To Honor Former Gov. Atiyeh Former Oregon Gov. Vic Atiyeh will be honored Saturday for his work on behalf of black Oregonians. The Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs will present Atiyeh with its annual award given to a person who has contributed greatly and represented the interests of the black community. Atiyeh will also be the luncheon speaker Saturday at the group’s Call-To-Action Lead ership Conference at the Quality Inn in Sa lem, assembly president Cal Henry , said. The purpose ofthe conference is to bring together persons concerned with the political development of blacks in Oregon and to discuss priorities for the 1995 Legislative session. The theme of meeting is “Responsible Action For Political Change: Participation Is The Key.” When Atiyeh was governor, he es tablished the state Com m ission on Black Affairs by executive order, but when it went to the legislature for funding, only $ 1 was appropriated for the commission to operate. Henry' said Atiyeh’s decision to estab lish the commission was not very popular at the time. But he was not afraid to be the governor of all the people, including black Orego nians, Henry said. Lane C ounty C om m issioner Bobby Green who will serve as keynote speaker during a R ecognition Banquet Saturday night. Green was recently appointed to the position to replace Jack Roberts who was elected Oregon Labor C om m ission er. Green was the first black to be elect ed to the Eugene City Council. The lun cheon and the banquet are open to the public. and northeast Portland, traveling home on two buses after a weekend gambling vacation in Winnemucca, Nev. They claim a manager and employ ees of the restaurant refused them service based on race; tired to serve white customers first; used racial slurs; and called police out for a verbal disturbance. The Bend police arrived with lights, sirens and police dogs. They circled the bus and detained the members of the group. Named as the plaintiffs in the civil action in U.S. District Court in Portland are area residents Robert Malone, Barbara H. Bell. Jacqueline M. Smith. Kathie D. Turner and Reggie Rutherford. “It was humiliating,” Malone said. He said members of the group were upset by the discrimination and racially abuse language in the restaurant and later by the presence of a large German shepherd police dog. He said the police realized shortly after they arrived that the nature of the cal! was not serious, but they were nonetheless detained for two hours. “It shouldn't have happened, but it did happen," Malone said. He said the lawsuit was a w ay to see that justice is served in the non-violent manner the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “It’s an issue of dignity and pride,” he said. Specifically in court papers, Bellclaimed she overheard a female employ ee ask a wom an appearing to be her supervisor “what are all these niggers' doing here?” She also c laimed she was refused service at the front of the line in favor ofthe group’s Caucasian bus driver, even after the bus driv er told the employee Bell was first in line. The plaintiffs, on the advice o f their lawyer, would not say if McDonalds had offered an apology or offered any kind o f out- of-court settlement The vacation trip was organized by Malone, the owner of E & M Community M arket in inner North Portland, and Rutherford, another black businessman. King Encourages Area Youth by M ichael L eighton o retta S co tt King told elementary school children from Portland last week they should pursue their dreams. “Be the best person you can possibly be,” King said. The widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was in Portland to celebrate the record ing release of the Oregon Symphony’s spe cial tribute to the late civil rights leader. King is carrying her h usband’s ad vocacy o f peace and ju stic e throughout the world. She encouraged about 75 children from local schools to em pow er them selves through education and m otiva tion to serve their com m unities in a non-violent manner. “You can change the conditions you feel need to be changed,” she said. King was invited to address the children from M artin Luther King Ele mentary, Holy Redeem er, Grant High School, the Black E ducational C enter and St. M ary’s Academy during a visit to the Nike campus in B eaverton. The Urban League o f Portland was the beneficiary o f two receptions to celebrate the reco rd in g ’s release, in spired by the life and w ords o f Dr. M artin Luther King Jr. The Cultural Recreation Band, a north east Portland youth orchestra, performed at C Coretta Sco tt King a d d re sse s a Portland aud ien ce to celebrate the recording o f the Oregon S y m p h o n y ’s tribute to her late husband. (P h o to B y D u an e L ew is) one of the receptions. The symphony performed the special King tribute “New Morning for the World,” at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Copies o f the recording are available in record stores. Seniors Speak Out On Tri-Met Troubles mission on Aging. enior citizens trying to correct Public testimony by seniors and others problems older riders have included stories of falls occurring when the with Tri-Met got a hearing bus stops too far from the curb, bus drivers Monday with Tom Walsh, general departing too quickly after picking up riders manager for the public transportation and occupation of reserved courtesy seats in agency and other Tri-Met staff and the front o f the bus by the non-elderly and board members. non-disabled. The forum was called by a multi-ethnic Additional complaints included: Seniors committee ofthe Portland Multnomah Com S thrown off balance due to sudden stops; Drivers not waiting for seniors who move at a slower, gentler pace; And drivers you don t always announce major intersections, caus ing impaired eyesight seniors to miss stops. In nearly all cases, the problems with Tri-Met are not limited to seniors and all ▼ Continued to page A6 RELIGION HEALTH METRO SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT CLASSIFIEDS A4 A6 BI B2 B4 B7 »
