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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 1997)
•• _ ^ c L Y- •» > . •' < * • -, ■ '■ ■ • . ? , . ) -;’ v »’.A« -7. x < 3 k W '■ ~ A ug . 20, 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A4 The truth about black labor (and brains) B \ P rof . M c K inley B i hi Today, major labor disputes domi nate the news media and to some extent my recent articles here I have been careful to maintain a frequent African American perspective so that readers o f whatever ethnicity may gain an additional insight into the relevancy o f these issues to their own condition and circumstance. More often than not, I have used these pages to chronic le the magnifi cent achievements of African Ameri can people, and, frequently, their contributions to industry, science and culture have occurred so early on as to defy comprehension (that is, so soon after slavery). Today’s offer ing will be noexception as we present in evidence adescription and Picture o f the "C olem an M anufacturing Company”, a linen mill founded in 1898 by the blacks of North Carolina (See Picture). This past Sunday, Several IV networks portrayed a major labor dispute at this plant but I am quite sure that you did not recognize the "Colem an” plant I just described. The feature story was about a long term struggle between the "Fieldcrest - Cannon Mills” o f North Carolina and the “ United Southern Textile W orkers.” Rem em ber how your mother would always insist on brand name' quality, like "Cannon Sheets"? A decade ago I wrote here o f the recurring and ironic story of how the industry and invent ions o f the former slaves were appropriated (read as "stolen”) by the greedy ante bellum society that was unwilling to surren der the idea that at little cost they could enjoy both the brains and la bor of blacks I traced the saga o f the "Coleman Cotton Mill” from the black founders, to the Duke family (Tobacco) to the "Cannon Linen Co.” And now we have the "Fieldcrest - Cannon Mills.” This research was one o f the most interesting in which I’ve ever en gaged. I was first ‘turned on’ by a chapter in one o f the most fertile chronicles of documented African American history; "Evidences o f Progress Among Colored People”, G.F. Richings, George S. Ferguson Co.. 1902. "On the 8th o f February , 1898, was laid with Masonic honors, the cornerstone o f the handsome three-story brick building, 80 X 120 feet in dimensions, o f the Coleman Cotton Mill. Noted speakers came from all over the Untied States and the railroads gave reduced rates.” The ‘prime m over’ in this en deavor was 'W arren C. Coleman", a former slave who attained "one year o f schooling at Howard University in Washington, D C. " and parlay ed his talent and drive to become one o f the wealthiest businessmen in North Carolina; landowner, fanner, gro cer. philanthropist, educator. Initial capital stock in the company was over a million dollars in today's money. "The property consists o f 100 acres o f land on the main line o f the Southern Railway.” "W ith the building completed, machinery is being moved in at this writing: 7,000 to 10,000 spindles and from 100 to 250 looms. By it’s York stock brokers indicate that a “Cannon Mills” acquired textile in terests in the area during the time of the depression. charter, the mill will be allowed to spin weave, manufacture, finish and sell warps, yarns, cloths, prints or other fabrics made o f cotton wool or other material.” It is interesting to note that among all this economic ferment driving African American we also find at this time the formation o f the "M is sissippi Cotton ManufacturingConi- pany.” Originally conceived by the great “Frederick Douglass” in 1893, "the project was taken over upon his death by the Hon. James Hill, the former Postmaster o f Vicksburg. Mississippi who was appointed by president William McKinley.” Before black people disappeared as o u n e rs and m anagers of the "C olem an M anufacturing C o m pany" (they just lost a union election over wages and benefits. $10 hr.) many strange things happened after the first white was brought in as a shareholder and director: a promi nent member o f the Duke' tobacco family. A, this point the trail sud denly ends, but some records o f New Now there is a “Gone With The Wind Story" for you - wealth, his tory, memories and all. And there were literally thousands of these instances as a new form of slavery was instituted ( with sophisticated public relations)asmyeld- erly neighbor says: "They give us this first black to do this and that’ bull - we ain't a patch on our great grandfa thers' behinds. When are we going to wake up?” Employment cuts Oregon welfare ROSE CITY WELCOME Enjoying the ride on a Harley is what many more people will be doing this weekend when up to five thousand Harley riders hold their annual rally in Old Town. Local restaurants, hotels sand stores are getting ready to welcome the riders as guests who like to shop, Oregon has cut its welfare caseload in half in the last three years, prima rily through strategies to put people to work, according to stae officials. Sandie Hoback, administrator of adult and Fam ily Services, says "22,000 families are no longer on welfare and in poverty because we have refocused AFS on helping people become self-supporting while assisting them in meeting their basic- needs.” AFS began implementing welfare reform in the early 1990’s, realign ing its resources and making invest ments in'moving the state-wide sys tem toward an employment focus. The return on that investment began to appear in the spring of 1994. when the caseload first began to drop. Hoback credits her workforce and bipartisan support for the state’s unique brand of welfare reform with O regon's success in moving people out of poverty. She notes local JOBS is locally based, with planning groups designing the program in each of the 15 AFS districts. “AFS is now governed by a set of principles, which guide our workers as they make decisions about how they do their jobs,” Hoback said. And we recognize that work is al ways better than welfare, because it offers the best avenue for people to escape poverty.” Hoback also cautions that reducing the caseload further will be tougher, as the people who remain face more barri ers to employment, such as mental ill ness, physical and sexual abuse, and drug and alcohol issues. AFS is now working to strengthen the partnerships with local communities and the private sector that will be necessary to help people move past those barriers. Mediation axe raises issues B y L ee P erlman A city proposal to privatize the Neighborhood Mediation Program has raised issues, concerns, and a counter-proposal. Diane Linn, director o f the Port land Office of Neighborhood Asso ciations, says that the current pro gram will “close its doors" on or before Dec. 31. she envi To replace it, she s; sio n s a “partner- s h ip ” with the M u lt nom ah C o u n ty Y o u th a n d F a m ily M e d ia tion Pro- g ra m , and a pri vate con cern such as Resolutions Northwest. The Northeast Coalition ofNeigh- borhoods is considering submitting a counter-proposal to operate the existing program under independent contract with the city. Linn says she would consider such a proposal when submitted. According to longtime mediation specialist Eddie Collins, a similar proposal was submitted to Linn last spring. At that time she proposed to have the program "transition out” o f di rect city operation as part o f the city’s post-Ballot Measure 47 bud get cutting. According to Collins, Linn said she was committed to the transition plan, a response he says left him “shocked and saddened." O ne con cern raised about the cu rren t p roposal is th e loss o f the c u rre n t p ro g ra m ’s c o n sid e r able e x p e rie n c e and e x p e rtise in the area o f n e ig h b o r to n eig h b o r m ediation. The process has become increas ingly popular as an alternative to costly legal proceedings. H ow ever the N eig hborhood M ediation Program is one o f the few that pro v id es the serv ice for d isp u tes betw een in d iv id u al c iti zens, and the only one th at does so for free. R eso lu tio n s N o rth w est, for instance, sp e c ia liz e s in a rra n g in g re so lu tio n s betw een o ffe n d e rs and victim s. Betsy Coddington of Resolutions Northwest says, “ I haven’t the slight est notion that we could provide the staff and expertise that the Neigh borhood Mediation Program pro vides. We would have to add both." This is not the program’s only function. It has increasingly been used by the city as a resource for resolving disputes o f all kinds. For instance, the city’sTask Force on Citizen Involvement cited media tion as the cure-all for disputes be tween neighborhood associations and other volunteer groups. It re c o m m e n d e d th a t the program ’s $336.000 annual budget be increased by $50,000 to help it play this role. Instead, the current mediation budget is $200,000, plus a $50,000 one-time “transition" ap propriation. Asked about this contradiction, Linn says, “ I would have liked to have gone into this with a lot more money. We have what we have, and w e’ll do the best we can with it.” The same may be true o f Collins, director Emmanuel Paris and other mediation employees. A few years ago they received a new, specialized civil service classi fication. This now makes it more difficult for them to transition into other city jobs. Commenting on the proposed change. Northeast Coalition board memberCharles Ford says, “We have had a program that’s been working fine. To take it and privatize it out is absurd. “ Low-income people all over the tri-county area are served by this program. I fear that the alternative w on’t be housed in the community (the current program is located in the King Neighborhood Facility), and will serve primarily the middle class. I raised this with Diane Linn,” Ford says. N o tin g the recen t tra n sfe r o f c o n tra c ts for se rv ic e s such as youth gang o u treach and g ra ffiti rem o v al. Ford says, “ I h a v e n ’t seen how our co m m u n ity is b e t ter o f f for the tra n sfe r o f those pro g ram s, and those are q u e s tio n s th at are g o ing to be ask ed ." < * * * M M e is * * * > Stop Making Minimum Wage! Free f t e e Card We Pay 1OX More 4X Faster FT Income on PT Effort! 15.9 cpm. Re-chargeable n/c Big Weekly Checks! Call Now! card Leave Name, Address THE LARGEST. 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