T he P ortland O bserver • J a n u a r y 3 1906
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P age A5
The Black College III:
B y P rof . M c K inley B i rt
T he q u ality and so u rces o f the
re sp o n se s to last w e e k 's article
on B lack C o lleg es was both im ­
p re ssiv e and reassu rin g (“ A D i­
n o sa u r” ?). E v id en tly , I had su p ­
p o sed this to be m ore o f a su p e r­
se n sitiv e issue than is the case.
B ut, then ag ain , all the v o tes are
n o t in. Let me hear from you.
It ap p ears that a local so ro rity
p e rso n who has been invo lv ed in
the C o lleg e Fund/U N C F p ro cess
fo r qu ite som e tim e faxed a copy
o f my article to a frien d who
se rv e s on the N ational P a n -H e l­
len ic C o u n cil (N PH C ). T h is is
the natio n al body that re p resen ts
the black fra te rn itie s and s o ro ri­
tie s; A lpha and K appa to O m ega
and Z eta, and in betw een.
I w as faxed a ten tativ e rep ly in
turn. No, I w as not taken to task,
but w as assu red , “ ...and m any o f
y o u r p o in ts are well taken. This
is not an official response of the
organization -- many of whose mem­
bers are graduates o f the traditional
Black Colleges’ — but this issues you
advance certainly deserve an organi­
zational consideration I read your
book, Black Inventors of America,
during undergraduate years, so I fully
understand your commitment to se­
curing the best technical education
possible for our African American
youth; a suitable niche’ as you put it
(smiles).”
Sounds good, but I do not plan on
being lulled into complacency, and
certainly not when considering the
highly relevant feedback I am getting
from the community. A fifty-year
relationship with the parents, stu­
dents and others of Northeast of three
generations underwrites a number of
meaningful dialogues I have with
many on a number of subjects. With
no issue producing more concern
and uneasiness than the difficulty of
financingacollcgeeducation intimes
o f escalating costs combined with a
deteriorating economy and job out­
look. Grandparents are becoming
increasingly vocal.
When William H. Gray, president
o f the College Fund says its about,
“youngpeople from every kind of
fin ancial and ed u c a tio n a l e x p e ­
rien ce given a fair chan ce to d e ­
velop into productive and re sp o n ­
sible citiz e n s through a first-class
education”, I hear you, do I ever! I
certainly thought about your w ords
w hen a re c e n t n a tio n a l stu d y
sta te d that m ost p aren ts believe
sp ecial cou rses and c a re e r d e c i­
sions can be m ade as early as
m iddle school and d e fin ite ly by
the first tw o years o f high school.
And want that combined with occu-
pational skills ad a structured work
experiences, all integral to a local
educational experience and career
ladder.
That is precisely why the past two
weeks I have been quoting Dr W olf
of Oregon Institute of Technology
(education that is uneven geographi­
cally does not meet employer’s needs)
-- and CEO Bill Gates of Microsoft
Corp, (students, educators, parents
and employers must be connected --
an extended community.
And last Thursday night, all of this
especially came home to me as I
looked out o v e r the audience at
the annual “ H ouse O f U m oja"
holiday party. A gain I was im ­
pressed w ith the depth and c o m ­
passion o f the su p p o rt that flow s
from the sta ff, p arents, g ra n d ­
parents and friends o f the a t-risk
youth w hose guidance and future
are shaped by this key community
institution. Like that prerequisite for
structure and continuity in the educa­
tion of our youth, the social and
cultural outreach of this type of insti­
tution is just as critical a mission.
Again, iny congratulations, to the
director, Mr Johnny A. Gage, and an
equally committed staff
Interacting with those young
people, you just know that I had to be­
thinking, "what happened? Twenty-
five years ago this week, I was just
returning from a second nation-wide
lecture tour of universities, televi­
sion show and community institu­
tions — beating the drum for a pio­
neering method to direct and m oti­
vate minority youth in a society that
even then was becoming more tech­
nical each day. Beating the drum and
touting my book and research on
black technological genius, I m an­
aged to run up my credit card to
$5(XX) before paying it off (ten grand,
today’s money).
In those days, there were some
presentation contracts to be had from
the school district or federal agen­
cies, providing some monies for in­
novative, but needed and proven
Winter
Heat Help
Offered
Multnomah County low income
households in need of financial help
to pay their winter heating bills can
now apply for energy assistance
Household income must be at or be­
low 125% of the federal poverty level.
For example, a household of one
would be eligible with an annual
income at or below $9,338 or for a
household of four the annual income
could not exceed $ 18,938. The aver­
age assistance payment is $190.
To inquire about making an ap­
pointment, call the United Way En­
ergy Assistance Hotline a, 227-5437
orcall the the followingneighborhood
community service centers: Albina
M inisterial A lliance - 240-0828,
Friendly House 228-4335, Human
Solutions - 248-3662, Neighborhood
House - 246-1663, Portland Impact -
239-4328, St. John’s YWCA - 721-
6762, and Transition Projects - 222-
9361.
z- z
▲
and Visitor Services Network, who
was awarded an independent con­
tract, with no restrictions) to enhance
Portland’s and the local C V B’s mar­
keting efforts in the minority con­
vention arena. Bookings and leads
have since increased over 300% in
less than 2 years o f the initial 3 year
contract.
Dancers Get
“Dream Call”
Continued from Metro
▲
and th at w as the w ay it w ent.
T o e n te r a g ir l in to c o lle g e with
all its tria ls w as enough, but to
h e a r tw o c o m p la in in g g irls
w hose hearts w ere still for tap
d a n c in g in N ew Y ork C ity ,
w hen it cam e to co lleg e they
w ere both singing the blues.
So three w eeks into th e ir fre sh ­
man year at the u n iv ersity , a
d e c isio n is finalized . A v id e o ­
tape o fb o th g ir l’s p erform ance
is m ade by a form er teach er
and it m akes w inners o f both.
T h is tim e th e a n sw e r w as,
“ w hen d o e s th e n e x t p la n e
le a v e .”
T he airp o rt scene was filled
w ith m ixed em o tio n s for all
th e ir fa m ily m e m b e rs an d
frien d s, but for now le t’s ju s t
call it a sab b atical.
A fter tra in in g in N Y C for
tw o w eeks, the e lab o rate c o s­
tu m e d j a z z m u s ic a l re v u e
to u re d A m sterd am , M unich,
G erm any and Z urich and S w it­
zerland.
H o m e fo r th e h o lid a y s ,
K arm ariaan d K arida expressed
h o m e s ic k n e s s a f te r th r e e
m onths o f trav el and p e rfo r­
m a n c e s, but they both said
th e y ’d like to co n tin u e w ith the
to u r w hen it co n tin u es in the
sum m er.
K arid a plans to enroll w in ­
te r te r m a t U o f O a n d
K a rm a ria 's p lan s are uncertain
at this tim e.
«
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“It’s a matter o f using a different
approach”, says Jay. His organiza­
tion has strategically managed to
empower other minority businesses
by spreading the wealth through
employment and contracting servic­
es that was previously non-existent.
Hospitality Tour ‘95 guest were
also impressed with the sincerity and
commitment of the Oregon Conven­
tion and Visitor Services Network
convention and tourism advisory
board, which is 75% minorities ap­
pointed by Jay, including board chair
Harold Williams who delivers com­
passionate speeches and presenta­
tions which are rivaled by such na­
tionally known speakers as Les
Brown and others.
“Normally when we visit a city on
a FAM trip, the bureaus traditionally
bring out one or two o f us and that’s
Welcome 1996
with Safeway's
all that we see", said Marvin Perry o f
the Black Board o f Directors Project.
“I’ve been to many cities, but I'm
glad I finally was invited to come to
Portland”, said Bob Countryman o f
N ational O rganization o f Black
Chemist & Chemical Engineers.
“The Dawg certainly walked in
Portland”. “Jay and his staff were the
most professional and efficient that
I ’ ve ever came across” .
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From a much loved mother to an honored public servant, Venerable Booker stands proudly in front of a
memorial erected next to American State Bank in honor o f the life o f the late Gladys Sims McCoy. The
plaque in a small park on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Knott Street lists McCoy's record o f longtime
service to the community and her leadership, from being a member of the Portland School Board and an
Oregon Ombudsman in the 1970s, Mother of the Year in 1980 and Multnomah County Commissioner
and chairperson from 1987 to 1993.
(Photo by Michael Leighton)
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The Dawg’ Walked In
Continued from Metro
projects. I haven’t had a call from a
p red o m in ately "b la c k " sc h o o l in
three y e a rs, though it is m ore
o b v io u s than ev er th at th ere is a
c o m p e llin g , c ru c ia l need fo r a
stru c tu re d te c h n o lo g ic a l m o tiv a ­
tion by e x p e rie n c e d -b a se d m en­
tors w ith both aca d e m ic and in ­
d u stria l se c to r sk ills -- as well as
experience in program adm inistra­
tion if possible.
A large number of the clientele of
UMOJA and other youth-interven­
tion programs is generated by a fail­
ure o f the system to deliver just the
type of educational structure we have
been discussing. If you h a v e any
good ideas, please c o m m u n ic a te
them , one can only do so m uch
w ith a S o cial S ecu rity c h e c k . We
have to reach " a ll” y o u th an d , for
m ost, it is in c re a sin g ly the case
that a fo u r-y e a r c o lle g e e x p e ri­
ence is not an op tio n — b lack,
w hite, poor or low er m iddle class.
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