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J une 14, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
R. E E R
Both Business And Careers Begin
With Affirmative Action Of Some Kind
by
P rok . M< K inlei B urt
tional o rig in is recognized as and
declared to be a c iv il right.
may file a w ritten and ve rifie d com
plaint.
This article, published exactly
fifty years ago in the “ Negro D igest,"
This declaration is the heart o f
the New f o r k State law against dis
tells when and where the legal assault
on jo b discrim ination began. We are
reminded that despite the passage o f
so much time, none o f 95% o f the
crim ination w hich was signed by
Then comes an investigation by
one o f the commissioners who must
try to settle the matter by conference,
co n cilia tio n , and persuasion. I f this
e ffo rt at m ediation fails, there fo l
lows a hearing before three other
G overnor Dewey on the 12th day o f
last March. A t that time, the gover
nor made the fo llo w in g significant
jobs described in the “ U.S. D ic tio
nary O f Occupational T itle s” is held
by an A frican Am erican (state Lists).
And in respect to business enter
prises, less than 5% o f those listed in
the “ U.S. Standard Industrial Classi
fication M anual" are operated by
b lacks-yet, today, 50 years later, the
moral and legal avenues to th e “ Am er-
ment. Even in this field certain ex
ceptions are made. Social clubs and
fraternal, charitable, educational, or
religious associations or corporations
ican Dream” are under attack as nev
er before.
not organized fo r private p ro fit; per
sons in the domestic service; and
"The population o fN e w 'Y o rk is
about one-tenth o f the population o f
the United Sates. L iv in g in N ew Y o rk
are persons o f every race, creed, c o l
or, or national o rig in to be found
anywhere in the country. I f we solve
the race problem in New Y o rk , we
are taking a great step tow ard solving
the race p roblem everyw here in
concerns w ith fewer than six em
ployees are not included.
America.
To solve the race problem in
New Y ork, m achinery was put into
operation July I . For the first tim e in
Am erica, the opportunity to obtain
employment w ithout discrim ination
because o f race, creed, color, o r na
statement, “ Today we are witnessing
an act w hich gives reality to the great
principles o f our country."
This N ew Y o rk law applies p ri
m arily to d iscrim in a tio n and em ploy
Its coverage is therefore not so
board as to make it unworkable .
It is s u ffic ie n tly inclusive, how
ever, to cover most employees in
New Y o rk State.
<-
The law applies to employers,
labor organizations, and employment
agencies. It lists certain unlaw ful
employm ent practices and provides
for the establishment o f a fiv e mem
ber com m ission fo r its adm inistra
tion and enforcement. Its operation
is simple. I f I refuse to give a man a
jo b and he claim s discrim ination, he
members o f the commission. Then i f
it exists, I am ordered by thecom m is-
sion to cease and desist from this
unlaw ful em ploym ent practice. U n
der these conditions, I may institute a
ju d ic ia l review. I f 1 am then found by
the court to have practiced d is c rim i
nation and refuse, in defiance o f the
court, to desist from such practice, I
may be held g u ilty o f a misdemean
or.
The tw o most important features
o f this law are its m ediation and
educational provision. Conference,
co n cilia tio n , and persuasion are re
quired at the outset and the records o f
our Federal FEPC and the N ew Y o rk
State W ar Councils Com m ittee on
D iscrim ination in Em ploym ent show
that w ell over 90 per cent o f cases o f
this kind can be and are being settled
by peaceable discussion.
M ore im portant s till is the board
educational program in the law. Pro
vision is made fo r the creation o f
advisory agencies and co n cilia tio n
councils, local, regional, o r state
Project Independence
wide. These agencies and councils
are to enlist local com m unity effort
and they may promote programs o f
form al and inform al education. In
thisw ay, the fu ll force o fN e w Y o rk ’s
great educational system is to be
enlisted in a common e ffo rt to e lim
inate discrim ination because o f race,
creed, color, o r national o rigin.
To be sure, this New Y o rk law
against discrim ination deals prim a ri
ly w ith discrim ination in em ploy
ment. But I want to point out that i f
we can elim inate discrim ination from
the fie ld o f employment, we shall
have gone a large share o f the way
toward rem oving it generally.
M oreover i f this program can
succeed in New Y ork, a distin ct con
trib u tio n w ill have been made to
wards solving A m e rica ’ s race prob
lem. We in N ew Y ork note w ith
satisfaction the sim ila r forw ard step
w hich has already been taken by New
Jersey. We note also that other states,
including Massachusetts, C onnecti
cut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania,
O hio, M ichigan, Indiana, Illin o is ,
W isconsin, M innesota, C olorado,
and C a lifo rn ia have been consider
“ Project Independence was a g ift
to me,” said Felicia Garrett. “ It came
at a perfect time in my life and helped
me understand m yself and my values.
I feel more empowered as a woman
and more confident in myself.”
Portland Community College o f
fers Project Independence as a tuition-
free program that aims to help women
become economically self-sufficient.
Paid child care is available dur
ing the program’ s classes. And suc
cessful completion o f the program
brings 10 college credits. New cours
es begin every three months on the
PCC Cascade Campus.
Garrett graduated from Project
Independence in the fall o f 1993 and is
now scheduled to enter the college’ s
alcohol and drug counselor program
this fall.
Yolanda McCorvey is presently a
student in the program. “ I credit Project
Independence for helping me focus in
on my interests and cla rify where I ’ m
going,” McCorvey said.
Project Independence has proven
itse lf as a doorway to employment and
training opportunities in a safe, sup
portive and caring environment, col
lege o fficials said.
Un graduation, some students
have gone straight into the jo b market.
Others have opted for short-term train
ing or continued on to various PCC
professional-technical career pro
grams.
Two free orientation and in fo r
mation sessions w ill be held this sum
mer .
The sessions are scheduled M on
day, June 26 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and
Tuesday Aug. 8 from 10 a.m. to 11
a m. Both events take place in Penn
Hall, Room 101 on the Cascade Cam
pus at 750 N. K illingsw orth. For more
information call the PCC Women’ s
Resource Center at 978-5249.
Local Students On U. Of
P. Dean’s List
Several local students were named to the 1995 spring semester dean’ s
list at the U n ive rsity o f Portland.
The College o f Arts & Science named Patricia Beckman, Junior,
ing legislation o f the same nature and
o f the same kind o f b ill that is now
before the Congress o f the United
Karen Carleton, ju n io r, Kara C oulter, senior, Sarah Jurgensen, sophomore,
and M onica Linde, senior.
State. We hope that these sister states
w ill soon fo llo w our example.
Kathleen Laskowski, senior.
The School o f Business named Denise Fischer, sophjom ore, and
The School o f Education named A p ril Cannon, senior.
Saluting 85 Years Of Fine Arts Education
The seventh annual A rt Futures
benefit fo r the P acific N orthw est
College o f A rt paints a fresh picture
A lu m n i and Friends o f the Pa
c ific N o rth w e s t C o lle g e o f A rt
(P N C A ) plan the seventh annual A rt
Futures fo r Saturday, June 17, 1995.
From 6 p.m. to m idnignt, guests can
m ingle w ith students, alum ni and
acclaimed N orthw est artists in the
co llege’ s Pearl D is tric t Sculpture
S tu d io s at N o rth w e s t 13th and
Kearney. O ver 100 pieces o f art w ill
be auctioned to benefit student fi
nance programs at PNCA.
From its humble beginnings in
1910, the P acific N orthw est College
o f A rt has evolved into a w e ll-kn o w n
and respected college o f art. Today,
over 260 students are enrolled in the
college’ s Bachelor o f Fine A rts pro
gram, and hundreds o f others take
part in continuing education and ex
tension classes. Recently, P N C A
granted 43 degrees to the largest
graduating class in its 85-year histo
ry-
A s one o f seven m useum -affili
ated art colleges in the United States,
P N C A thrives as a center o f creative
expression. C o m b in in g art funda
mentals w ith contemporary methods.
many P N C A graduates go on to be
come pro'fessional artists, designers
and gallery owners.
P N C A involves the entire com
m unity by o ffe rin g free lunch hour
“ Speaking o f A rt” lectures, exten
sion programs fo r ages four and up
and the Y oung A rtis t Project O ut
reach program fo r at-risk youth. The
college’ s W entz G allery is open to
the public, m onthly e x h ib itin g w ork |
by alum ni, faculty and students.
In the face o f governm ent cut-1
ing programs. The annual A rt Fu
tures event provides a much-needed
boost to student finance programs.
P N C A A lu m n i and Friends hope to
Students need a 3.5 grande point average to be named on the dean’ s
list.
raise $40,000 at the 1995 fund-rais
er.
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celebrates its..:
backs on educational and arts fu n d -|
A Balanced
Investment
In The
Future.
see more than ju s t drivers.
There's a dedicated team of mechanics, dispatchers,
supervisors, planners, analysts, adm inistrative
support personnel and more. They keep Clark County's
transit system going, 365 days a year.
After 100 years of serving people’s financial needs, we
know something about preparing for the future.
Talk to your career counselor about the professional
and technical skills you need for a career with
For example, we know that a strong future depends on
C-1 RAN, or any other transit system.
diversifying your assests— that’s just sound business
practice. I hat s why at U.S. Bank we view our workforce
C-TRAH
P.0. BOX 2529
VANCOUVER, WA 98668-2528
as the asset it is, an investment in the future.
U.S. Bank is an equal opportunity employer.
Is an Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/D.
360-696-4494
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ing, P N C A , like many other colleg
es, struggles to fund its rapidly emerg- I
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C T R A N ...
...A nd you'll
The School o f Engineering named Scott Reis, ju n io r.
The School o f N ursing named D avid B loedel, senior, Catherine
G ordon, senior, and Kathleen K rider, senior.