H-i ib iW iT .iMiBA
P age A4
A ugus I 2, 1995 » I he P ortland O bserver
Having Learned From Experience , Lets Act Like It
Bv P rof . M c K inley B i h i
In term s of a successful gam e
plan lor the advancem ent o f the ec o
nom ic status o f inner-city residents,
nothing beats the advice o f the Buick
C om pany o f yesterday: “Ask the man/
w om an who ow ns one.” W ho else
should know best?
H ow ever, we note the d isclaim
ers that com e with the directions for
new “easy to assem ble" toys: "Som e
ju d g m en t is required.” Y ou would
not be wrong if you equated this
adm onition to tod ay ’s com m ent in
m y Perspectives colum n
An unhappy reader, follow ing
an early them e o f mine, is quoted;
“ Local leadership captives o f o u t
sider board of directors... ‘w e ’ have
lost direction and control, not to
m ention, m illio n s in real estate.”
(That is what w e know about!)
T h is e n c o re w e d o n ’t need,
w here our “prim e m overs" talk-that-
black-talk, then skip o ver highly
qualified A frican A m ericans to se
cure the appointm ent o f their "fav o r
ite while folks.” A form er student o f
m ine describes the process as one o f
neo-uncle T om s and A unt Jem m as
rebuilding the old plantation network.
In my own case, over a 25 year p e
riod, I ’ve had a 95 percent success
rate for obtaining grants or invest
ments, with directing roles biased
toward those who could best understand
the goals specified in the “Needs A«?»?:
ment” or the “Marketing Plan."
That is the “one side o f the coin.”
O ne the other hand, it is quite o b v i
ous that in other to advance the ec o
nom ic level (and ow nership) o f the
com m unity, the technical input o f
many cultures is required; especially,
considering that the alleged "A ffir
m ative A ction” process did not w ork
long enough or diligently enough to
bring m inorities and women to an y
thing like a meaningful level o f c o m
petitiveness. So, like others in my
peer group, I’ve reached into the old
“encore” bag again.
In the early ’70s, I leased G rey-’
hound busses to take black parents
and youth out to see various U.S.
Forest Service operations such as
l i c e farm s, nurseries and h o rticu l
tural labs. The idea was to expose the
youth to career opportunities they
would not be made aw are o f in the
ghetto (or in school). It worked like
a charm and resulted in over a score
of youths getting good jobs and sup
port for a college education while
working. Interestingly, a num ber of
"parents” also got jo b s as a result o f
the exposure. Both were draw n from
classes I taught at P.S.U. and new s
paper ads I ran in the Portland O b
server.
So, this tim e I’ve draw n on that
particular experience for one o f my
“encore’ projects. Taking advantage
of the fact that a num ber o f my former
students (all w hite) are in executive
or supervisory positions out there in
the w estside com puter chips and elec
trical instrum entdom ain, w e’vecom e
up with a "variation on the them e,"
where occasionally com pany vans
•
dignitaries, especially overseas buyZ’
ers. O ne had several cancellations*
this sum m er and we were able to*
invite a couple o f dignitaries of our*
o w n , in c lu d in g se v eral A frican*
A m erican scientists and educators -
again I'm designing an innovative
project, we hope will deliv erth e ed u
cational product we could not p er
suade the school district to produce.
All inall, I wouldsay thalmostactivity
is about establishing some productive cri
teria and innovating schemes that will help
to counter the social pathologies and trau
mas that besiege us today. And perhaps
to inspire som e o f that m iddle-class
in our com m unity who thought we
had it made. The “real estate" analysis
will appear later in a “Minority Econom
ics" article.
are em ployed to bring out kids and
parents. The idea, again, is o rienta
tion and m o tiv atio n and special
projects - a favorite sim ilar to the one
with w hich I won a N ational Science
F oundation prize for The D alles
School District.
It is may hope that this time I
have better luck in persuading m i
nority fathers to involve their bosses
and plant m anagers in sim ilar activi
ties. Som etim es it is very hard to
convince grass roots people that a lot
can be accom plished with ju st initia
tive and com m itm ent - though one
mav lack status or degrees in special
ized subjects.
A n o th e r d e v e lo p m e n t h as
proved very pro d u ctiv e. S everal
plants have guest houses for visiting
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One child of Oregon can give you the information that you will
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that are:
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Children can't stand up for themselves. Which makes them an easy mark for politicians when they're
cutting back. Give children your voice. Yours. Kids can't vote, but you can. THE CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND I
Heart And Soul
Of Cooking
Featured
Continued from Metro, page B I
▲
lard, tallow and bacon grease.
She credit her expertise with
“great teachers," especially her m oth
er. H er favorite foods include barbe
cue, chitterlings, greens, cake, and
pie.
“ And d o n ’t forget biscuits, torti
llas and beans, B lacknall adds.
The book is available at Porter
E nterprises, inside o f N ew berry’s at
Lloyd Center; R oslyns' G arden and
C offee H ouse at 1438 N.E. A lberta
St.; and Reflections Book Store at
the W alnut Park S hopping C enter,
446 N.E. K illingsw orth. The sug
gested retail price is $12.95.
A nother book singing party will
be held at Reflections, Aug. 26 from
2 p in. to 4 p in.
Dad’s
Grandfather’s General Store
To Open
Leonard Smith, a longtim e com
munity activist, has announced the
grand opening o f his new G randfa
th e r’s G en eral S tore at 3524 N.
M ississippi Ave.
T he unveiling o f this fresh new
store, ju s t north o f Fremont, will take
place on T uesday beginning at 6p.m .
in conjunction with N ational Night
()ut, the annual neighborhood crim e
prevention event.
Sm ith will provide live music
and free balloons for the children.
In addition to his own selection
o f snacks, ice cream, groceries and
convenience items, the store will fea
ture such ice cream specialties as
real, m ade-to-order m ilkshakes, ba
nana splits and sundaes.
On hand for the grand opening
will be John B arnes’ m obile barbe
cue, P orky’s, which will be at the
store on a regular schedule. The store
is now own, seven days a week from
8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Smith invites the public to enjoy
N at ional N ight Out by stop by for the
special festivities, music, barbecue
and delicious ice cream
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