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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1995)
•. t P age C2 ¿ » W W ’ î’ C ' • • S eptember 27, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver M ¡NORÍTV J Black Labor, White Wealth. Part Bv P rof . M c K inley B vrt Again, I am using as a heading, the title o f a very relevant book on the “black economy” (or lack o f it) -- if, indeed, we may entertain such a no tion. For a review o f the book, see my article o f the same title in the Sep tember 6 issue o f the Portland O b server It is becoming quite obvious that what I’m doing is building a case for my contention that there is no dis tinction between that competent and rigorous educational experience re quired for academic excellence as a child and that required to assure a successful economic future as an adult. I further emphasize this in my "Perspectives” column on page 2, where I describe the achievement o f a 95% black elementary school in topping the 400 other Los Angeles schools in the I.Q. Tests. It was rewarding to see, on the front page o f last week’s Portland Observer Newspaper, a picture and news item on the Pamela Slaughter fam ily . M o th e r, P a m e la ; son, Jonathan; daughter, Ashely. These pre-teens are shown, “getting a les son in math and science by taking to the skies” under the tutelage o f the “Centers For Airway Science” pro gram, “which steers kids away from drugs and gangs into fun activities emphasizing math science and com puters. Children 9 to 12 are enrolled.” Excellent! But again, I would distinguish between “special programs, good as some may be, and a school system which consistently delivers a daily diet o f the basic math, science and reading skills. The latter pedagogic enterprise may not lend itself as well to photo-ops and other publicity, but it is certainly what a school district must be about if there is to be any reality to that worn out polemic about “steering kids away from drugs and gangs.” Please! We are not fools. It is a matter o f every day, day in, day out. Now, as a matter o f fact, I have known the Slaughter family since ‘day one” and have watched this di v o rced m other o f tw o, single- handedly and with an unflagging commitment, expose her children to the best learning environment possi ble during the critical formative years. I met the children years ago when doing a math and computer demon stration at the “ B lack Education Cen ter”, 4919 N. E. 17th. This is a learn ing place par excellence for the early grades. As with my demonstrations in the public schools, I always give “the word” (“In the beginning was the w ord’ children and unless you can understand and ar-tic-u-late’ words, there can be no math and science!”). Several weeks ago I met the family at a neighborhood shop and I asked Jonathan and Ashley, “what’s the word?” Without hesitation and, after a span o f years, they replied “articu late”. Phonics is where it is at “Every day, day in, day out.” Staying with the same theme, let me ask if you saw “Sixty Minutes” Sunday Evening. The middle seg ment was priceless, about the famed black educator in Chicago, Marva Collins. She is the one who for so many years has delivered a Consis tently excellent elementary school education to African American chil dren in Chicago The on-site pro gram was doubly interesting because Ed Bradley, the interviewer, had been at the very same school about 16 years earlier: Talking with the 5 to 10 year-olds We were shown film clips o f Ed’s earlier visit, then shown today’s dialogue with the very same now- grown up children, college juniors and seniors, and several already with degrees. Others had already made progress up the career ladder in sev eral viable occupations. With a stu dent body drawn from every eco nomic niche, even the worst high- rise public housing war zones, not a single graduate was in the penitentia ry or dead as a victim o f gang wars More like lawyers-economists. But o f course, for as the bright young men and women told it, Ms Collins took them over from a stupid, incompetent school system that had many labeled as border-line retard ed, learning disabled, too hyper/needs Ritalin, etc. Sound familiar? It was a lso e s ta b lis h e d th a t R ichard Hemstein and Charles Murray, the racists who wrote “The Bell Curve” (apolemic against black intelligence), refused to acknowledge Ms Collin’s proof that a consistent and excellent early childhood education for black children did not result in reversals at a later age. Well done sister, well done. Program For Minority Business Capital Continued from MBE Front ▲ tify a commercial lender, and the pre-qualified loan applicant can then apply for a loan with an SB A prelim inary commitment in hand. The usual 7(a) loan guaranty application process requires small business borrowers to first apply for a loan at a commercial lender. The SBA can consider backing the loan only if the lender makes that guaran ty a condition o f its approval. In addition to the Seattle pilot program which serves 15 counties in Western Washington, the pre-quali fication loan program’s pilot loca tions will also operate in conjunction with SBA field offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Colum bia, S.C., Miami, Detroit, Milwaukee, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis, Helena, Mont., Fargo, N.D., Los Angeles and Santa Ana, Calif. W estern W ashington sm all b u sin e ss ow n ers and e n tre p re neu rs who w ant to know m ore ab o u t ap p ly in g fo r a loan under the program sh o u ld co n tact the SBA S eattle D istric t O ffic e ’s in te rm e d ia ry , P a rk e r & T hom as Inc. at 2 0 6 /3 2 4 -4 3 3 0 . When was the last time a bank tried to woo your business? Key Bank does it every day. ¡¿Z / \ Minority Firms To Be Honored Continued from MBE Front ▲ quet, beginning at 7:00 p.m. where the awards will be presented to the fourteen MBDA and SBA award winners. The National MED Week Public-Private SectorCommitteewill also present the Distinguished C or porate Award to Texas Instruments, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, for their continued support to the minor ity business community. The MED W eek conference concluded on Wednesday, Sept. 27 with business opportunity consulta tions where prime contractors, gov ernment procurement representatives and representatives from financial institutions will counsel minority vendors on accessing money and markets. MBDA is the only federal agen cy specifically established to foster minority business growth in the Unit ed States. The agency provides man agement and technical assistance to minority individuals through its na tionwide network o f funded Minori ty and Native American Business Development Centers, Minority En terprise Growth Assistance Centers, M inority Business Opportun ity Com- mittees and Business Resource Cen ters. In Fiscal Year 1994, the agency assisted 14,900 minority clients to secure over $722.6 million in busi ness contracts and over $269.8 mil lion in business loans. The Commerce Department has identified more than one million mi nority-owned businesses in the Unit ed States providing over 836,000 jobs and reporting over $78 billion in annual sales and receipts. W e’d like to do business with you Developing strong relationships is a Science And Technology Diversity Addressed big part of what we do at Standard More than 2,000 scientists, students, science educators and other leaders in science education are gathering this week in Wash ington, D.C. for the National Sci ence Foundation’s, 4th annual “Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce Confer ence.” This is one of the largest gath erings o f the nation’s science and technology leaders to h igh I ight na tional efforts toward diversity in the science, mathematics, engi neering and technology fields. Theconference will showcase outstanding research achievements by more than 350 African Ameri can, Native American and Hispan ic students participating in foun dation-funded research projects. There will be discussion o f the current status o f education pro grams to assure diversity in scien tific enterprises and the progress made in diversity programs. Insurance Company. With the people we help protect — and the people we do business with. T hat’s why we’re looking for qualified minority-owned businesses to help us protect our clients. If you furnish products or services that would help us serve them better, we’d like to do business with you. S i w d a r d I n su r a n c e C o m pa n y P e o p le . N o t j u s t p o lic ie s.''* PORTLAND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Minority, Women & Emerging Small Business Enterprise 1995-1996 Opportunities 1 he Portland Development Commission encourages participation of Minor ity, Women and Emerging Small Business contractors in its projects. To receive certification as Minority, Women or Emerging Small Business En terprise, contractors must register with the State of Oregon. During the balance of Fiscal Year 1996, ending June 30, 1996, these and other contracting opportunities are anticipated. PROJECT Central Eastside C O N TR A C TIN G NEED ESTIMATED COST Environmental Reviews/Mitigation work Site preparation/remediation Design/Engineering Alternatives $ 10,000 $ 5,000 $ 10,000 Design work, surveying, prep legal descriptions, services during construction Construction $ 6,100 $ 50,000 Environmental site clean-up & dirt removal $ 40,000 Appraisals/Land survey $ 10,000 Mixed Use Housing Appraisal/Real Estate Negotiation $ 8,000 River District Demolition of parking shed Architectural & Engineering for Walkways Construction for Accessways $ 50,000 $ 35,000 $ 95,881 Design Advisor, Market & Engineering feasibility services Architectural services for Greenway Improvements Design Construction - Greenway trail $ 10,230 Eastbank Riverfront Park Airport Way Public Improvement^ South Waterfront Environmental Site Preparation Union Station Agricultural Center South Park Blocks Land Acq./ McCormick Pier Accessway South Waterfront Greenway Development North Macadam How can we woo your Small Business? 1-800-891-8918 A KeyCorp Bank EQUAl HOUSING LENDER Member FDIC O tt KeyBank Am erica's l i r s l ( dioici' $ 30,000 $163,000 Pre-development Land use, design & transportation $ 20,000 Teams Training Personal services in Team development, & special skills needed foreffective team interaction & involvement $ 30,000 Diversity Tra.nmg Personal services in diversity awareness & sensitivity $ 30 000 Target Industries & Workforce Assessment Needs assessment for yet to be identified target industries $ 12,500 max. The above items are estimates only. Contractors interested in these projects are urged to respond to Advertisements for Bids or Re quests for Proposals which are published prior to a contract award. Appropriate documents and specific bid conditions will be avail able from the project coordinator when each contract opportunity is announced. roc PORTLAND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION