P age B?
T he P o rtland O bserver • F ebruary 8, 1995
BLACK HISTORY
Works
(Editor's note: Portland’s Albina
Ministerial Alliance dates back
to the 1950s when a group of
African American Ministers
formed a union to foster
goodwill and fellowship in the
community. This is the second
part of a series.)
D uring the early 1970s, the
A lbina M in isterial A lliance a s
sisted in the fig h t against sickle
cell anem ia by p ro v id in g e d u c a
tional m aterials to the co m m u
nity.
R ev eren d S am uel Jo h n so n
w as co o rd in a to r for the effort and
w as also in stru m en tal in helping
ex p an d serv ices at the H ighland
C om m unity C en ter. He w ent on
to becom e the P astor o f H ig h
land U nited C hu rch of C h rist and
re sig n e d his p o sitio n as Social
A ction D irecto r for the A llian ce.
T he A llian ce accep ted his re sig
n ation and ack n o w led g ed his e f
fo rts in assistin g the m em bership
in establish in g their role as a co m
m unity developm ent organization
for the A lb in a D istrict.
R everend Rozell G ilm ore b e
cam e the new Social A ction P ro
gram D irecto r for the A llian ce in
the Fall o f 1972. D uring his te n
ure the B oard and the g en eral
m em b ersh ip began an in-depth
asse ssm e n t o f the o rg an izatio n
to determ in e how the A lliance
could best serve the com m unity.
T he d isc u ssio n and co n su ltatio n s
that took place during this p eriod
re su lte d in the d ecision to e n
h a n c e th e A lb in a M in is te ria l
A llia n c e ’s role as a co m m unity
d e v e lo p m e n t o rg an izatio n . The
A lliance w ould act as an um brella
agency and w ould not only p ro
vide d ire c t serv ices but w ould
end o rse and allow o th er m in is
trie s and g ro u p s to o rg an ize and
o p erate und er its n o n -p ro fit s ta
tus. T he p rim ary basis for a c c e p
tance u n d er the um brella was the
Rev. Dr. James Martin.
assurance that such m inistries and
groups w ould enhance the quality
of life in the Albina District. It was
also during this time that the Alliance
relocated its headquarters from
Northeast Union (Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd.) and Alberta to Mallory
Christian Church located on North
Mallory and Alberta.
Funding Drops
The mid 1970s brought difficult
times to community-based programs.
Federal funds and demonstration pro
gram dollars began to disappear and
of the AMA Social Action Program
Director which included supervision
and management of all AMA pro
grams and projects were combined
with that of the Family Day and Night
Child Care Program Manager due to
the lack of funds. The duties and
responsibilities remained combined
from 1977 to 1985, when funds were
Rev. Mike
Lindsey ( left)
and Rev.
Donald
Frazier.
by 1975, the AMA Family Day and
Night Child Care Program was the
only program that remained with the
Alliance. In late 1975, as a result of
the consolidation of Model Cities
programs (due to funding cuts), the
Alliance took over management of
the Model Cities 4-C Child Care
Information and Referral office. In
1976, Portland's Community Action
Agency better known as the Portland
M etropolitan Steering Committee
(PMSC), started by the War on Pov
erty. became defunct, and The Alli
ance became the sponsor/grantee for
the five Head Start Centers that had
been a part of PMSC. During this
time Reverend B E. Johnson was
serving as Social Action Program
Director for the Alliance. In 1978,
the Alliance moved its headquarters
again, this time to W oodlawn United
Methodist Church located at 1425
NE Dekum. and in the following year
1979. Reverend John Garlington Jr.
became President of the Alliance.
Self Enhancement
Begins
From 1976 to 1980, the Family
Day and Night Child Care Program
and the five Head Start Child Devel
opment Centers were the only pro
grams operated by the Alliance. In
1980, Mariah Taylor’s Nurse Practi
tioners Clinic became A lliance's first
In c u b a to r/T e ch n ic a l A ssista n c e
Project and in 1981, Self-Enhance
ment, Inc., (SEI) which was then
known as “Community Kids" be
came the A lliance's second Incuba
tor/Technical Assistance Project. In
late 1981, the Alliance began to ac
quire properties and in 1982, the
AMA along with the Urban League
and Ecumenical Ministries of O r
egon initiated ajoint ventures project
which came to be known as the North
east E m ergency Food Program ,
which addressed the problems of
hunger in the community. This pro
gram continues to exist today under
the fiscal administration of Ecumeni
cal Ministries of Oregon.
F o llo w in g R ev eren d B. E.
Johnson's tenure as social Action
Program Director which began in
1975, the duties and responsibilities
raised to hire a full time executive
director. In July, 1985, Reverend
Rodney Alexander was hired as the
Alliance’s first full time Executive
Director.
Garlington Dies
In January 1986, the AMA as
well as the entire Portland area suf
fered the tragic loss of Reverend
John Garlington Jr., Rev. Garlington
and his wife died in a tragic automo
bile accident. In April of that same
year Rev. Rodney A lexander re
signed as Executive Director. He had
been faced with many demands from
the Board, Programs and the com
munity, along with the loss of Rev.
Garlington, the Alliance’s President.
The Board accepted his resignation
and the duties and responsibilities of
the executive director returned to the
Family Day and Night Child Care
Program Manager. Reverend John
Jackson, who was vice-president at
the time of Rev. G arlington’s death
assumed the role of President of the
Alliance.
In October 1986, Cornetta J.
Smith became Interim Organizational
Coordinator and by December 1987
was named Executive Director. She
continues to serve in this capacity in
1995.
Reverend John Jackson retired
as Pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church
and became a Minister-At-Large for
the American Baptist Association of
Churches in August 1987. In that
same year he was appointed by Gov-
Rev. John Garlington Jr.
develop the By-laws and to establish
the Standing C om m ittees ot the
Board Reverend Ralph Greemdge
became the second program man
ager for this project. Under his guid
an c e and m a n a g e m e n t se v e ra l
fundraising activities took place in
cluding the musical extravaganzas’
that are currently held in the com m u
nity. The V ISTA Program grant
lasted through 1990. However, Ken
neth P. Ives, a m inister in the Dis
ciples of Christ Christian Church who
served as a volunteer with the pro
gram continues to volunteer and as
sist ir. the program.
ernor Neil Goldschmidt as an advi
sor to his administration on matters
related to the N/NE Community. In
July 1988. Rev. Jackson was reas
signed to Providence, Rhode Island
by the American Baptist Association
of Churches and Reverend Joe. S.
Hardie becam e President o f the
AMA. By this time, AMA programs
had expanded to include One Church,
One Child an adoption/foster care
recruitment and support services pro
gram and Neighborhood Connec
tions, a youth employment, training
and development program.
New Challenges
Wells Takes Helm
T he late 1980s and e a rly
1990s b ro u g h t a new set o f c h a l
lenges to the AM A and the c o m
m unity. The three m ain program s
o f the A M A , F am ily Day and
N ight C are, head S tart, and Self-
E n h a n c e m e n t e x p e rie n c e d tr e
m endous g row th, and along w ith
that g row th cam e the need to b e
gin to re stru c tu re the o rg a n iz a
tion in o rd e r to p ro v id e m ore
a c c o u n ta b ility and s ta b ility . It
was also d u rin g this sam e perio d
th at the P o rtla n d c o m m u n ity ,
p a rtic u la rly the N /N E community
began to experience youth gang ac
tivity. The community responded
with a search for a model program
that could address the growing youth
gang problem. The House of Umoja
Model out of Philadelphia was se
lected and in A ugust 1989 the
A M A ac c e p ted a P lan n in g and
P ro ject D e v e lo p m e n t G rant from
the C ity o f P o rtla n d and began
the P o rtla n d H ouse o f U m oja In
c u b a to r P ro je c t. T he P o rtla n d
H ouse o f U m o ja P ro je c t stayed
w ith the AM A until January 1990.
M ean w h ile, the U rban L eague of
P o rtla n d w as still in the pro cess
o f d e te rm in in g its new fo cu s
w hich c a lle d for the re o rg a n iz a
tion o f its p ro g ram s. The U rban
L eague o f P o rtla n d w as still in
the process o f determ ining its new
focus w hich called for the reorga
nization of its programs. The Urban
League relinquished its sponsorship
and contractual obligations for the
E m ergency/C om m unity Services
Program and the AMA became the
program 's new fiscal agent, respon
sible for the delivery of emergency
services in the Northeast. The growth
experienced by the Alliance from the
late 1980s into the early 1990s found
the AMA with sponsorship of seven
(7) community-based programs with
services for families, children and
youth. Children and youth ranging in
age from six weeks to well over 18
receive services from the AMA.
The internal focus of the AMA
during this time was the maintenance
of growth, accountability, and stabil
ity of the organization. This called
for the Alliance to review, assess and
evaluate its structure. In November
1989, the Board of Directors called
for an internal assessment of the or
ganization for the purpose of strength
ening the administrative infrastruc-
Bishop A. A. Wells.
lure and enhancing Board skills. In
February 1990, the internal assess
ment of the organization was com
pleted and as a result the Board de
veloped a plan to implement capac
ity building activities called for in the
assessment. The Alliance applied for
a federal grant from the Volunteers
in Services to A m erica Program
(VISTA Program) and received the
grant which was to assist the organi
zation in developing a capacity build
ing program , to look for resources
and volunteers, to restructure its By
laws, develop a new structure for its
Board and Standing C om m ittee
m eetings and to stre n g th e n its
fundraising capacity. Joyce Fore
man becam e the first program man
ager for this project. She helped to
In O c to b e r 1 9 9 1 , B ish o p
A. A. W e lls b e c a m e the P resid en t
o f the A llia n c e H e c o n tin u e d t<?
stre ss the need fo r the o rg a n iz a
tion to fo cu s on g ro w th , a c c o u n t
a b ility and s ta b ility . D u rin g his
te n u re , the B o ard has d istrib u te d
a survey to the AM A membership
seeking input on the future direction
of the Alliance for the purpose of contin
ued refinement and development of the
organization. He has overseen the suc
cessful graduation of two AMA Incuba
tor Programs; Head Start and Self-En
hancement Inc., and serves today with a
membership of over 100 churches lo
cated in N/NE Portland. The diversity of
the Alliance has also expanded to include
twenty Chrishandenominations. all united
in their efforts to provide fellowship
and render service to the com m unity.
Vessels
Tableware W ith Meaning
Hosts
A BLACK HISTORY M O N TH
CELEBRATION
A F R IC A N -A M E R IC A N C U LT U R E
P AS T, PRESENT A N D
FUTURE
SATURDAY’S IN FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY 1 1 , 1 1 A M -4 P M
“ EASY B A K IN G , EVEN S O ”
Denise Carthern, co-owner o f Even So...0akery Company,
discusses th e bread mix business
ard o ffe rs samples o f her ta s te y products.
FEBRUARY 1 8 , 1 -3 PM
BLACK M E M O R A 3 IL IA , D O M ESTIC IM A G E S
M44*A aa
/NVAWN
O F BLACKS IN STEREOTYPE
Dr. Darrell Millner will show his personal collection of Black
Memorabilia, Inclidir^ plates, cup5. spice holders and s a lt & pepper
shakers, c o n tra s tiry th e images o f th e past w ith the present.
FEBRUARY 2 5 , 1 -3 PM
“ BASKETS F R O M THE M O T H E R L A N D ”
Sharrian Haggar ta lks about baskets fro m Nigeria and o th e r
countries, explaining th e histo ry, function and designs o f
these unique items. M o st baskets will be fo r sale.
Tuesday - Saturday
10 am - 6 pm
2605 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97212
(Corner of N.E. Russell)
(503) 249-1952
The PCC Cascade Campus
continues its month-long celebration of
Black History Month.
Black Family Genealogy
Wed. Feb. 15. noon to 1 p.m.
Daniel Hayes will discuss and offer suggestions for tracking your own family.
Buffalo Soldiers Thurs., Feb. 16, noon to 1 p.m.
A portrayal of the Black soldiers who served in the 9th and 10th Cavalry and their impact on
the Oregon Trail.
Black Business Expo
in the Cascade Gym
Sat. Feb. 25, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sun. Feb. 26, noon to 6 p.m.
Black entrepreneurs, craftspeople and business owners will display a wide selection ot
clothing, crafts, art and jewelry.
Family Film Day
Sat. Feb. 25, 2 p.m.
Four short films based on West African folktales.
African Film Festival 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Thurs. Feb. 16 Samba Traore (from Burkina Faso) A young man returns to his village
bringing his big-city wealth.
Thurs. Feb. 23 Mandabi (from Senegal) When a money order arrives from a nephew in
France, a contented man s life is turned upside-down.
Thurs. March 2
African Women’s Documentary Day
Both films shown at 2 and 7 pm .
These Hands Shows the hard manual work of women in Tanzania and how they cope.
Women W ith Open Eyes Four West African women discuss mantel rights, women's health,
political and economic issues. A 1994 Silver Medal winner. In French with English subtitles.
Free and open to every one!
Location is Terrell Hall Room 122
(except where noted)
Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Glenn Smiley on the first integrated bus ride in
Montgomery, Ala. in 1956.
978-5256
Portland Community College