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