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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1997)
I he P or i l a n d O »s( KVL.R • M ay P a i ¿i 14, 1997 A3 Voice from the Hill: Classification Confusion by Portland Mayor, Vera Katz, signs documents officially proclaiming May to be World Trade Month. The mayor is joined by (standing from left), Carl Kato, Portland Metropolitan Chamber o f Commerce, vice president; Catherine Devaul Trahin, association manager, world Trade Center Portland; Andrew Haruyama, director, City of Portland Office o f International Relations. May is World Trade Month The importance o f world trade to the citizens o f Portland, and to O r egon in general was emphasized when Mayor Vera Katz issued a proclamation declaring May World Trade Month. The month o f May has traditionally been named World Trade Month by O regon’s interna tio n a l trad e c o m m u n ity g iv en O regon’s increasingly prom inent stature in global business circles. It is a month filled with events by organizations involved with inter national trade and a celebration of the positive impact increased world trade has brought to Oregon. The m ayor’s proclam ation notes that many leaders in Portland, represent ing interests both public and pri vate, are stepping up efforts to pro mote and increase O regon’s stand ing within the international market place. The declaration encourages everyone to participate in World Trade Month activities. O f particular note are the follow ing events: May 17 Portland Maritime Day. Come find out what shippers really do! The Maritime Observance Com mittee will host a program at the US Coast Guard Base on Swan Island starting at 11:00 a.m. The w om en’s shipping Club will be sponsoring a port tour immediately afterwards. Formore information call 848-7031 May 20 The Small Business In ternational Trade Program presents "International Negotiations”, a 3- hour seminar to be held at Two World Trade Center 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for more information call 274-7482. May 21 The Annual Interna tional Law and Business Seminar “Growing Your International Busi ness Operations” is co-sponsored by The International Law Section of the Oregon State Bar and The Inter national Services Committee o f the Oregon Society o f Certified Public Accountants. 8:00 a m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel. For more info call 768-6628. May 21 G overnor’s International Business Achievement Awards Lun cheon honors companies, organiza tions, and individuals who have made a major contribution to the state in international trade. Presen tation o f the awards to be held at Willamette Valley Vineyards at 12 noon. For more information call Steve Newman at 503-221-2991. May 22 The Portland Chamber o f Commerce 1997 Annual m em bership Meeting will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a m. at The Port land Hilton. Awards will be given to the top 10 growth businesses in Portland. Tickets are $40 members, $50 non members. Call 228-9411 G eorge W ilson Just a few days ago the world was stunned when 2 1 -year-old Tigar Woods won the Master’s G olf Tournament with a record score. Immediately, after W oods’ victory, there was great jubilation in many parts of the African-American com munity'. The euphoria was caused by the fact that som eone who looked like many African Ameri cans had broken down a barrier in the world o f sports. While many were basking in “the brother’s” accomplishment. Woods repeated his position that he is not solely and African American even though his father clearly qualifies. Woods, like many others is a product o f a mixed marriage be tween and African American and in this case a person o f Asian de scent. In the early days o f America, to be classified Black only required a small amount o f African-Ameri can blood (1/16th). More impor tantly, if you had “the look,” it didn ’ t matter about your bloodl ine, you simply took your place with other people o f color. On the heels o f W oods’ victory and the discussion o f how he and others o f sim ilar circum stances should be classified, the House o f Representatives got into the act. The House Committee on Govern ment Reform and Oversight held hearings on the Office o f M anage ment and classifying Americans. The idea is that when the next cen sus rolls around, there will be two changes in how survey takers can describe themselves The new op tions will be: 1) ‘ Multiracial or bira- cial’ and 2) ‘Check more than one category.’ Several civil rights orga nizations, including the NAACP, The L.awyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, and The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies have written letters to OMB officials expressing their opposition to the addition o f ‘m ultiracial’ clas sification on the year 2000 census. During the hearing, representa tives o f the Census Bureau were joined by members o f the Congres sional BlackC aucus(C B C )on sepa rate panels Among the witnesses for the CBC was Congresswoman Carrie Meek (D-FL). Meek began her presentation by telling the com mittee about her experiences grow ing up in a segregated Florida and how she had to attend graduate school in M ichigan because no graduate school in her home state would admit African Americans. Perhaps, if Meek had used the definition that some would prefer, she could have avoided a trip to Michigan by claiming her Indian heritage. “ I understand how Tiger Woods and the rest o f them feel. But no matter how they feel from a per sonal standpoint, we are thinking about the census and reporting ac curacy so that government and other agencies can make accurate deci sions. Historical discrimination has been assigned to a single racial category, more than likely those who are Black. There is no court or any legislative legal record o f dis crimination against multiracials,” Meek observed At the root o f this debate over classification is the desire o f some to push aside one part o f their back ground in exchange for an identity that they think will provide greater access to produce the desired re sults. "Individuals like Mr. Woods who designate themselves as mul tiracial on the Census form will not reduce by any amount the discrim i nation they will face. Usually, the amount o f discrimination a person feels is based on appearance and not on racial classification. The multiracial classification will just make it more difficult to identify where discrim ination has taken place,” he said OMB, the I louse o f Representa tives and others say they just want to include Americans who go un recognized In my years on the planet, it seems clear to me and others that this country has had little d if f ic u lty in d e fin in g som eone’s race. Adding another classification would only serve to further muddy the murky waters of race relations. Segregationist Art Hanes dies Former Mayor Art Hanes Sr., who in 1962 ordered that all city parks be closed to prevent opening them to blacks, has died. He was 80. Hanes, who died Thursday, also was a lawyer who briefly represented James Earl Ray after the 1968 assas sination o f Martin Luther King Jr. He also defended the Ku Klux Kian in two infamous killings. Hanes was elected mayor o f Bir mingham in 1961, serving a single term on a three-man City Com m is sion that included public safety com missioner Eugene “ Bull” Conner, w hogained nationwide noteriety for using fire hoses and police dogs against blacks during racial protests. In Decern ber 1962, Hanes ordered the park closings in response to an order from a federal judge who said the city’s public segregation laws were unconstitutional. “ I personally resent the federal courts telling us w e’ve got to-inte- grate our parks,” Hanes said. Let ting blacks in would hasten integra tion o f schools, he said. The parks were eventually reopened. In 1963, Hanes was quoted as saying “Any way you look at it, the white race is superior to the black race.” Hanes was Ray’s first attorney following his arrest in K ing’s slay ing. In a February interview, Hanes said he assumed Ray heard o f him from his successful defense o f two Ku Klux Klansmen charged with killing civil rights volunteer Viola G. Liuzzo near Selma in 1965. On the day Ray’s trial was sup posed to begin in November 1968, Ray fired Hanes and hired Texas lawyer Percy Foreman. r ö Trip to Las Vegas OREGON LOTTERY A Play KENO Free for a Year! Send in S5 worth of nonwinning Keno tickets for a chance to w in1 A two-night/three-day trip for two to Las Vegas, plus S100 cash! Play Keno free for a year1 With the Keno Free Play Certificate Book featuring 365 SI Keno free-play certificates, you can play Keno free every day of the year1 For a chance to win, fill out and mail in the Keno Your Way to Vegas Entry Form along with S5 worth of nonwinning Keno tickets For more details, see the Keno Your Way to Vegas how-to-play brochure at any tottery Service Center Ketto Your Way to Vequs Entry Fornc Fill out this form Be sure to include $5 worth of t w in n in g Keno t ic k e t e d the name of your favoBre clerk Send to Keno /our Way to Vegas, PO Box 14280 Salem OR 97309 Entries must be received by 5 PM the Thursday prior to each of the four drawings to be eligible Drawing dates are May 9,1997; May 23.1997, June 6, ,997; June 27,1997 This entry is good tor one drawing only (photocopies accepted! Name Address Phone Favorite Clerk's Name (First and last name, pleasel Location of Store (Street) Name of Store
