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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 1997)
w - Y * :v « ESC * ¿*£ J ru ti^y S ô E fr vS-SS^nt;-. •'•*:• Minority usiness: Where are our u ff alo? Il The boss Readers respond to issues of African American economy By Prof. McKinley Burt Last week’s article certainly got a resounding response from some o f the readers: First, I was pointedly reminded that in my book, “ Black Inventors o f America,” I devoted a chapter to a discussion o f so-called “ Black Capitalism” and an optim is tic forecast that even give the cited economic and social disabilities ot the times (1969), there appeared to be enough movement to spark a f i nancial “ Renaissance.” (B uffalo re turning?) And almost an equal number have asked i f I saw the Associated Press article last week stating that the buy ing power o f L a tin o consum ers “ is s lo w ly g a in in g on A fric a n A m e ric a n p u rc h a s in g p o w e r: $348 b illio n th is year fo r an I I percent sector o f the p o p u la tio n ." We had cite d blacks at $450 b illio n fo r 12 percent o f the p o p u la tio n . T h is in fo rm a tio n from the S elig C enter fo r Eco nom ic G ro w th ’ defines purchas ing power as "the total personal in come available after taxes for spend ing on goods and services." I did indeed and was as impressed as the readers who noted “ the phe nomenal rate o f growth o f the Latino economy” and the fact that Hispan ics have a national “ chamber o f com merce in Washington, D.C.” These comments centered around our reader’s concerns about “ a lack ot structure and direction in today’s African American thrust to gain eco nomic parity in Am erica,” - which took many back to an earlier query in these pages: “ So just what was the 'M illio n -M a n -M a rc h ' a ll about, where are the returns on the invest ment o f all that social capital’ ?” There were several references to the international “ G-7 Economic Conference” held in Denver this past weekend, w ith one black business woman saying: "Y ou would think by this time. African Americans would be holding regional economic con ferences around the county, assem bling and making available for our own use’ the incredible talent and wisdom o f the black technological geniuses you cite d last week. Shouldn’t that have been what the ’ M arch’ was about...a determ ¡nation and commitment to return home and develop /implement our abundance o f resources, from Neighborhood C apital’ on up?” A woman w ith two sons in col lege asks “ are we not still educating our children for sale to the highest bidder, industry or new black mar ket men?'...ratherthan designing and fin a n c in g co m m un ity econom ic structures whereby their talent and vigor can be channeled into enter prises to enrich our lives. She cites the church/food market connection featured in a recent edition o f the Portland Observer. Others point out that governmen tal support o f 'M in o rity Business' and Set-aside' contracts are under heavy fire and phenomenal attrition - paralleling the attacks on "race- based structures” in the educational sector And some point out. sensi bly, “ it may all very well be our own fault” - an African American view p o in t being in cre a sin g ly heard around the country Among other cities, the Reader Columns’ in Atlanta and Milwaukee com m unity newspapers have re flected a growing admission ot a naivete that permitted politicians to play a'race hand” from singing along w ith the Freedom Marches - to the Great Society - to Model Cities - and finally to Urban Renewal (Re moval) and the death throes o f any hopes o f a functional African A m eri can business comm unity that would be uncontrolled and directed by the Federal Government. Last week’ s report o f a Native American CEO and his tribe's in dustrial conglomerate (casino -fi nanced) prompted such inquiries as “ Why d id n ’t we continue or resume the real estate development suc cesses o f earlier black Portlanders0 - their financing came from com m unity-ow ned investment clubs, monies pooled from their salaries to provide housing and business. " Next week we continue our search for the buffalo AirTouch Paging is doing some thing it has never done before... selling pagers for only 99C! These are all top quality pagers from Motorola and we’re selling them for for less than a buck. We can only extend this offer through the end of June. So hurry, even though we’d like to, we can’t keep the boss tied up forever. Package includes: 994 Pager (selected models) 300 pages per month 1 month o f free voicemail Pager maintenance Details: $20 Activation fee and 3 months o f service at $9.95/mo. required Annual contract Offer expires June 30, 1997 M M O TO RO LA Pagers O reg on h o m e lo a n ra te s c o m e d o w n Interest rates on R esidential Mortgage Loans w ill be reduced from 7.25 to 7 percent effective immediately, according to Baruti L. Artharee, Director o f Oregon Hous ing and Com m unity Services De- 0Ci<r/ Ule Hove Moved To A Neui location partment. “ June is being observed nation ally as homeownership m onth,” ’ said Artharee. “ We are pleased that loan interest rates have dropped dur ing this special celebration Dee Taylor, Residential Loan Pro gram M an a g e r added that “ Homeownership contributes to a person’ s econom ic s ta b ility and self-esteem, which in turn contrib utes to a healthy community. 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