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T he P ortland O bserver • M ay 17, 1995
P age A3
Affirmative Action Wasn’t All That "Firm," Was It?
P
n B i JRT
B tv y P
rof . M c K inley
»
d m l
Several weeks ago I called
these ‘Equal O pportunity1 pro­
grams an “Endangered Species”
and so far there have been no
reports in the media to m odify
this view point. New and hitter
m etap h o rs are being bandied
about. At the W omens G athering
in W ashington D C ., we hear.
“Not only is the ‘Glass C eiling”
still intact, but the Steel S h u t­
te rs’ have been slammed shut."
At the end of last week’s article
on this subject, I commented on the
hundreds of jobs I created (opened
up to) for minorities and women in
the 1970’s while teaching at Portland
State University. I have a very im­
portant and relevant reason for bring­
ing this up in these new, chaotic
times. And that is to emphasize how
important it is to move beyond the
‘obvious’ and the ‘temporary’, and
to move forward - exploiting every
aspect of as perceived opportunity,
and carry ing current successes to new
heights. The ‘window of opportu­
nity' does not stay open very long; It,
too, can be quickly closed and those
“steel shutters slammed shut."
For that reason, let us call this
week's article an exercise and lesson
in “Creative Job Development.”
My peripatetic Affirmative Ac­
tion Course and Job Bank began in
the early 70’s when City Commis­
sioner Charles Jordan introduced me
to a Mr. Jetie Wilds who was then
Director of Civil Rights for the U.S.
Students Launch
‘Operation Dress-A-Child’
Jeans and shoes, coats and clothing in large sizes.
Those items top the iist in • Operation Dress-A-Child,” a community­
wide clothing drive sponsored by Portland High School students.
The month-long drive, which began May I, is designed to restock the
PTA’s Clothing Center, housed at the school district’s child services
center.
Students of all ages who are in need o f clothing can obtain clothing
from the center during the school year.
Donations can be dropped off at the office of any Portland high school
and the Vocation Village at 8020 N.E. Tillamook.
Clothing carrying advertisements for alcohol or tobacco products will
not be accepted.
Organizers o f the project are students who participate in school
professional/technical clubs that focus on future careers.
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I
k
Forest Service. Quick-thinking Jor­
dan informed this sharp African
American that I had written a book
on Black Inventors demonstrating
that blacks had the same technical
and cognitive skills as other
Americans. .. Mr Wilds offered me a
contract on the spot—to travel the
Northwest and Alaska for his huge
agency, holding workshops for su­
pervisory and personnel people with
concrete and documented proof of
the abilities of minorities. And did it
ever work!
Like I’ve said, the "window of
opportunity” docs not stay open long
and within 90 days I had restricted
my on-campus teaching to three days
a week in a manner that would give
me back-to-back days for Air Or-
Dogs Fill
Shelter To
Capacity
Some dogs are two-to-a-kennel
at the Oregon Human Society be­
cause the shelter has reached capac­
ity and then some. A large influx of
dogs over the past couple o f weeks
has added to the crowded conditions.
Offlc ials said adoptions have de­
creased while dogs have continued
to be brought to the shelter. There is
no apparent reason for the sudden
increase in incoming dogs.
The Oregon Humane Society is
asking people who have been con­
sidered addinga pet to their family to
stop by the shelter and take a look at
the many available dogs.
Some of the dogs are from the
Vicki Kittles animal abuse case and
the society also has just accepted
several from Seaside Animal Con­
trol that are in need of adoptive fam­
ilies.
“ While it’s tough on the staff
and the animals when it’s crowded
here, it s good for people selecting
canine companions; they have an ex­
cellent choice,” said Karen Brittain.
The society also asks people who
can possibly do so, to wait a few days
if they need to bring in a dog.
“This will allow us a little time
to find homes for the animals here
and make room for newcomers,”
Brittain said.
The Oregon Humane Society is
located at 1067 N.E. Columbia Blvd.
and is open Monday through Friday
from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday
and Sunday 10 a m. to 6 p.m. For
adoption information, call 285-7722,
extension 215.
MEET YOUR
COMPANION!
1-900-884-7800
Ext. 1150
egon or Forest Service helicopter
trips for my “Flying University” trips
to remote locations, Klamath Falls,
Spokane, Puyallup, Pendleton,
Oakridge, Lincoln City, Wenatchee
Smith River, California, Medford,
Islands off Alaska, Etc.
I soon ascertained that my audi­
ences ot Forest Service personnel
were very desirous of getting some
more college credits in their person­
nel files so I worked out an accredi­
tation procedure with the school ad­
ministrators (there were not many
regional Community Colleges at the
time). As soon as my "Affirmative
Action Workshop” class appeared in
the school catalogue with appropri­
ate listings-and credits in Personnel
Administration and Social Studies,
there was a rush to register from the
entire Tri-county metropolitan area;
from industry, public agencies, foun­
dations and from the conventional
student body who asked, plaintively,
is there room for us? Who’s doing
these things now?
The result was evening ses­
sions and my creation o f slots for
teaching assistants drawn from
p ro fessionals in the field Many
m inorities and women discovered
that, ju st by being in the classes,
they were rubbing shoulders with
and taking breaks with the very
personnel people who did the
actual hiring in the ’real w orld’.
I soon began planning and sched-
u lin g “g e t-to g e th e r” sessio n s
where all could meet to further
exploit the opportunities afford. I
particularly remember the most pro­
ductive interaction produced by the
City of Portland’s Affirmative Ac­
tion Officer and by the Personnel
Manger of United Parcel.
As I said last week my o rig i­
nal concept put hundreds to work
in new and broadened o p p o rtu n i­
ties to earn a living. Many I meet
today say they are still with the
o rg a n iz a tio n s, ad v a n cin g and
prospering. But what aie we d o ­
ing today on a parallel level (ex ­
cept m oaning and w ailin g ). I
guess I ’m going to have to do it
all over again. I ’ve got some
equally new and innovative ideas.
I'll stop to give C harles Jordan a
ring.
New Handy
Directories Published
A new community resource is
putting some of the conven-ience of
small town living into Portland neigh­
borhoods.
Local Touch, a division o f
U.S. West, has ju st com pleted
it’s inaugural year o f publishing
a series o f handy neighborhood
telephone and advertising d irec­
tories for 10 regions in the P ort­
land m etropolitan area.
The smaller directories focus on
goods and services in the immediate
vicinity of your home.
They are designed around what
consumers and small businesses have
told researches they want to see in a
neighborhood directory.
“There’s a nitch here,” explained
Ernest Sampias, Local Touch presi­
dent.
Sampias said while the large U.S.
West and GTE directories have
wealth of information, they lack ad­
vertising from smal I community busi­
nesses and the information people
wanted on neighborhood activities.
Focus groups were used to mea­
sure how satisfied people were with
their current telephone directories,
Earnest Sampias oversees the
publication of new telephone
directories targeted to Portland
neighborhoods.
Sampias said.
He said the research found that
people want the large directory when
shopping for big ticket items like
appliances, cars and legal services,
but want to stay within 3 to 5 miles
from home for small purchases and
services like hair cuts, shoe repair,
video rental and recreational activi­
ties.
“We hope to prove the research
was accurate,” Sampias said. “So far
it’s been very positive.”
The neighborhood directories
are designed to be easy to use.
Because they are small, the pro­
duction costs are less and advertis­
ing costs less.
Portland and Seattle are the first
cities in the county to get them. And
success here, will likely lead to the
expansion ofthe service nationwide,
Sampias said.
In the Portland area, directories
have been published for northeast,
southeast, southwest and east Port­
land; Gresham, Beaverton-Aloha,
Lake
Oswego,
M ilw a ukic-
Gladstone-Oregon City, Tigard-
Tualitan and Hillsboro.
Local Touch has a sales staffof
25 people working out of the Port­
land area. The directories are dis­
tributed free to all residents and busi­
nesses in each region.
For more information call 1-
800-43 TOUCH.
The Walnut Park Retail Center is open for business as
eight new retailers open their doors for you. Stop by
and meet your new neighbors and enjoy the celebration!
W alnut
N E I G H B O R H O O D R E T A IL C E N T E R
$2.99 Per Min.
Must be 18 yrs of age
Pro-Call Co.
(602)954-7420
IFYOU NEED HELP
BUYING
A HOME,
WE'LL LEND YOU
A HAND.
O w ning a hom e can be m ore than just a dream . To find out
how, give W ashington M utual a call. If you qualify for o u r special
hom ebuyer assistance programs, we can help open a few doors.
Washington Mutual
Saturday, May 2 7 ,1995
11-3 p.m.
MLK Blvd. at Killingsworth St.
ÏW
and MORÊZ
The Walnut Park Tenants
It s My Kind of Face - Portrait Photography
J.P. Custom Framing - Custom framing and art gallery
Key Bank Community Services - Residential, small business and consumer loans
Mother Dear's Tasty Pastries - Homemade pastries, baked goods
Reflections - Owners: Coffee, flowers, books and gifts
Videoland - Video and equipment rentals
Walnut Park Laundromat - Laundromat and drycleaning
Woods & Reid - Bridal fashions and accessories
The friend of the fa m ily '
Tour all the shops, pick up discount coupons and
see what your new retail center has to offer.
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(fit F.qual Housing Lender
m iC Insured