T he P o r tlan d O bserver » M
Annual
Benefit
Walk
1, 1996
ay
The Theory Of The Black Middle-Class
m P rof . M c K inley B i rt
On Saturday, May 4, Portland
Habitat for Humanity will team up
with seventeen Portland non-profit
organizations for the fourth an
nual Walk for Humanity. This
year’s celebrity hosts are Com
m ission er G retchen K afoury,
KATU’s Leah Hope, KOIN’s Ken
Boddie, K G W ’s Brenda Braxton
and KPTV’s Lars Larson.
Portland Habitat, a non-profit
housing organization, will host the
five mile pledge-walk which show
cases the work being done in north
east by non-profit organizations.
Registration will begin at 9 a m. at
A lberta Park at NE 19th and
Killingsworth. The Walk will be
gin with a police escorted parade
down Killingsworth and end back
at Alberta Park with a barbecue
and community fair.
“We have been overwhelmed
be the excitement generated by the
community and media for this
year’s Walk." said Doreen Roozee,
Associate Director of Habitat for
Humanity, “The excitement and
enthusiasm should lead to a record
number of participants and pledges
raised.’’
Over 1,000 participants are ex
pected to attend with $75,000
raised in pledges and matching
grants to benefit all participating
organizations. The Fannie Mae
Foundation, the lead sponsor for
the Walk, made a significant con-
tribut ion to the matching grant fund
with additional support coming
from First Interstate Bank. Other
Walk.sponsors include Nike, KISN
97.1 FM and SUNNY 910 AM.
Walk proceeds will benefit 18
non-profit organizations.
When I first mentioned to a group
o f friends that this was to be the title
o f a forthcoming article, the first
suggestion was that I substitute
“ Myth" for the term “theory.' Bu, I
successfully argued that everyone
present had long-entertained the no
tion that such a population’ existed;
they simply couldn’t agree on the
proper param eters or m easurable
characteristicsofthisnebulousgroup
o f black citizens.
The ensuing and rather agitated
conversations brought out the fact
that recent media headlines, critical
analyses by syndicated columnists,
and in-depth (?) studies by the week
ly news magazines have all leaped
upon the subject o f this ‘real-or-
fancied’ black middle-class. The
piece most frequently discussed is
that appearing in the current issue o f
the New Yorker magazine, “ Blacks
In America"; a survey conducted by
Yankelovich Partners Inc. (Sounds
Par for the course).
One o f our coffee shop groups
noted that my choice o f a title for this
article seemed to be a take-off on a
very famous book written over a
hundred years ago by an economist
and social critic, Thorstein Veblen.
The foreword o f its zillionth reprint
ing em phasizes that his insights hold
as well for today’s materialistic cul
ture as for last century.
This note' goes on to describe
V eblen’s tour de force as “a biting
commentary on American culture.
In his examination o f an American
working class that aspired to a lei
sure class, Veblen identified the forc
es behind ’consumerism’, coining
such terms as ‘conspicuous con
sum ption’ and ‘pecuniary em ula
tion.’” All these trends and forces,
o f course, are about spending what
you can’t afford in order to ‘appear
what you ain’t ’.
But is Veblen’s model a suitable
frame o f reference for making the
case fora"Black-M iddle-class”,and
if we do determine that there actual
ly is such a creature, what about the
selection o f valid parameters. Here,
let us go back to statistics 101 and
simply define a parameter as “one
measurable statistic o fa population "
And o f course the most natural and
easily available measure is income;
A statistic easily correspondable to
the general demographics o f educa
tion housing, age, lifestyle, etc.
According to this referral there
surely must be a great and growing
black middle-class; the census and
the Bureau o f Labor statistics tell us
so. And if we are concerned that the
data is skewed by those high-sala
ried athletes and entertainers, then-
enough o f us have gotten to college
to know what to do if data contains
a ‘few ’ observations that are either
very large or very small compared
O U T S T A N D IN G
Hasan Jahi Artharee is the son of
Baruti and Bernadette Artharee is a
1996 graduate of Central Catholic
High School and has earned a full
division I basketball scholarship to
Portland State University.
Hasan played soccer baseball.
Over the past year, legal issues
and high profile trials have figured
prominently in the daily news and
captured (he nation s attention. While
events like the O.J. Simpson trial
have certainly raised public aware
ness of our.system of law and justice,
it is vitally important that citizens
have information regarding theirown
individual rights and responsibili
ties. the legal profession, and the
ways in which our legal system im
pacts upon their daily lives.
Community Law Week is an an
nual event that affords citizens the
Call 503-288-11033
R akeem W ashington, son o f
Charles and Elizabeth Washington,
is a 1996 graduate of Benson High
School and has earned a 3.2 grade
point average.
The Future communications major
has been a three time letterman in
baseball and played varsity basketball.
He plans to attend the University of
San Francisco
The Portland Observer is recognizing
i xjtstanding seniors graduating fn>m area
high schools. Anyone who knows a col
lege-bound senior who will graduate
in 1996 and has an outstanding record
in academics, community service or
athletics please submit a photograph
and the se n io r’s nam e, school,
parent(s), activities and achieve
ments and college and goals to the
Observer.
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1611 NE M L.King Blvd. Portland, Oregon
All workgroup meetings will be held Thursdays at noon at Metro in
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Each workgroup meeting will focus on issues to revitalize MLK
Boulevard into a mainstreet. Guest panelists will join in discussions
o f topics including mixed use development, the median strip, and
celebrating the spirit o f Albina.
For more information call Laurel Lyon at
Portland Community Design, 281 -8 0 11.
board range of a reas- landlord/tenant
relations, family law, and the criminal
justice system, to name just a few.
Community Law Week events also
provide information on the availabil
ity of free or low-cost legal services
available to citizens in the Portland
area.
Patrick Manning, Barber
Owner and Operator of:
MLK MAIN STREET
MASTERPLAN SUMMIT
WORKGROUPS
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rights and responsibilities, the legal
profession, and the ways in which our
legal system impacts upon their daily
lives.
Community Law Week is an annual
event that at fords citizens the opportu
nity to gain practical knowledge on
legal issues affecting their lives in a
Portland Community Design
invites you to join the
Continued Next Week
I H IG H L Y
SU CCESSFU L
HOM E
B U S IN E S S
Rakvem Washington
Hasan Jahi A rtharee
job slots. See the following;
“The End o f Work: the Decline of
theGlobal Tabor Force and the Dawn
o f the Post-M arket Era." Jeremy
Rifkin “Pensions In Crisis: Why the
System is Failing America and How
You Can Protect your Future,"
Ferguson & Blackwell "The Retire
ment Myth", Karper, HarperCollins
pb.) (will be out in May).
A nd B r a d le y K. G o o g in s ,
fo u n d e r-d ire c to r o f the Boston
U niv ersity C e n te r on ‘W ork and
F a m ily ’ has the fo llo w in g w id e
ly-used p u b lic a tio n s to his credit
(P ro f, at B oston U. S chool o f
Social W ork). A. "B alancing Jobs
and H om e Life: C han g es O ver
T im e In A C o rp .” B. “ W ork/
Fam ily C o n flic ts: P riv ate Lives,
Public R e sp o n ses" C. “ L inking
The W o rld s O f Fam ily and Work:
F a m ily D e p e n d e n t C a re and
W orker P erfo rm an ce".
NEED MORE INCOME?
PART TIME/FULL TIME
No Obligation Information on
football and basketball. Captain of
his basketball team, was recognized
by USA today as a member of the All
USA Team and named "High School
Player ol the W eek” by KFSS radio.
He is a member of Mt Olivet Baptist
Church and has volunteered with St.
Joseph’s Nursing Home, NegroCol-
lege Fund walk-a-thons and as a day
camp coach.
Community Law Week
Advertise In
(Ebe
^lortlattb
(Observer
with the other values We go for the
“median” instead o f the mean, and
don't get carried away with the Eb
ony and Jet scenario.
An ob serv atio n that I can p e r
sonally attest to is that there is a
gro w in g m aturity in style and
m anner in the black m iddle-class
that is not-so-new and unaccu s
tom ed anym ore. W hat a change
since 1956 when I was the a c
c o u n ta n t for the Los A ngeles
M ecca M ortgage Com pany which
was financing those plush hom es
in B aldw in H ills for the new ly-
upw ard bound black executives,
e n g in e e rs, law yers and ad m in is
tra to rs. T he new m ansions came
e q u ip p ed w ith sw im m ing pools,
ten n is co u rts, tw o or three m ort
gages o r trust deed s and ulcers.
Surviving this, the brethern and
their children now face a precarious
economic existence, a financial mu
sical chairs ofdisappearing mid-level
Shirley Joe - White
• a m . t e B p .m .
tU H O A Y
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