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.
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