Committed to cultural diversity.
Volume XXVII. Number 4 1
OCT. 8, 1997'
c
SECTION
EMI
nrtlanò (Bhseruer
Sam Brooks, OAME reach maturity
Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs Plaza fills with 24 firms, employing 70
Bv L ee P eki m \ n
s Sam Brooks sits at his desk at
the Oregon Association o f Mi
nority E ntrepreneurs Cascade
Plaza, h e's surrounded by living testaments
to his own accom plishm ents.
OAM E inherited the building from Port
land Com m unity C o lle g e ’s C ascade C am
pus in 1993. Since then it has expanded to
40,000 square feet and by next w eek,
should be fully occupied by 24 firms em
ploying 70 people.
New arrivals include the J.A H Co.,
m anufacturer o f baby clothes, and I . A M.
T echnology, m anufacturer o f insecticides
and repellents. D ia n e 's C offee Shop is
leaving, soon to be replaced by a new full-
service restaurant. Brooks says.
All the occupants are businesses ow ned
by ethnic m inorities or w om en, or are
agencies that can serve them such as the
N ortheast W orkforce C enter. The same is
true o f the contractors w ho built and ser
vice the center.
J.E .C ., Inc., a tenant, did the c e n te r’s
plum bing work, A nctil Sheet Metal the air
con d itio n in g , Ed W ilson the electrical
w ork, H erandez C onstruction the cem ent
w ork. Island L andscaping the plantings
and the T elephone C linic, the security
system .
Ron Lim brick does cleaning for the
building, and security is provided by an
other tenant, N orthw est Sentry, security
provider for A ct III T heaters.
“ If we c a n 't be an exam ple o f what
w e’re talking about, we sh o u ld n ’t be talk
ing,” Brooks says. “ W hat people say they
c a n ’t get out o f small m inority businesses,
we get. You can walk around this building
and see the quality o f their w ork."
O A M E provides other services as well:
a reference library that includes city plans
and regulations governing land dev elo p
m ent; a business center with a sta ff and
equipm ent, including internet access; and
a directory o f m inority-ow ned businesses,
subdivided by category.
The association has an annual luncheon
with a guest speaker and them e devoted to
a p articular ethnic group. For instance,
this y ear they honored N ative A m ericans.
N ext year they w ill do the same for Euro
pean A m ericans.
At such gatherings, Brooks says, “ You
d o n 't have all the A frican-A m ericans sit
ting together, or all the H ispanics by them
selves, you have everyone sitting with
everyone."
A
• -
I
Sam Brooks leads Oregonians united for business success at OAME. the Association o f Minority Entrepreneurs.
When he first proposed setting up such
a m ulti-ethnic business organization in
1985, Brooks says, "People thought it was
ludicrous." In some places, suclfas F lorida,
he says, it w ould in fact be “ju st im pos
sible" because “each group has its own
strong organization.
In O regon, th e re 's a spirit o f coopera
tion. and small num bers o fpeople in many
ethnic groups.”
OAM E started w ith eight m em ber busi
nesses. It received invaluable assistance
from Pacific D evelopm ent, which pro
vided it with a 2,500 square foot facility
for SI a year, as well as U.S. West C orpo
ration. POE. Nike. Bank o f A m erica and
I
(Photo by M. Washington)
Pacific Gas and Electric.
“ It w a sn 't 'W e w ant to help poor
people,’" Brooks says, "but We want to
grow a com m unity that will be our cus
tom ers.’”
OAM E now has 450 m em ber firms
w hose operators hail from 65 different
countries o f origin
In 1993. PCC Cascade withdrew sup
port from its incubator cam pus, and the
facility was "dying on the vine,” in the
w ords o f Portland D evelopm ent C om m is
sion presiden, Carl Talton.
T aitón met with B rooks and Ron
Herndon o f the Black United Front to
discuss how to preserve the facility. “ We
decided Sam ’s organization was the best
one to take it over," Talton says.
Earlier, Brooks w asn't as successful
with his Alberta Corridor Project proposal.
He proposed to market the street as a
multi-ethnic shopping district, and to build
a new com m ercial anchor building at
N ortheast M artin Luther King Jr. Boule
vard.
The project fell through in part because
Brooks couldn't achieve consensus among
the street's business people and property
owners. The anchor site is now an Adidas
store. O ther organizations such as Sabin
Community Development Corporation and
Franciscan E nterprises are leading the ef
fort to revitalize Alberta.
" It's not as we envisioned it, but it got
done," Brooks says. "In the end, the co rri
dor will do ju st fine. The ow nership for
w h at’s happening is in the com m unity,
which is the im portant thing."
Born in Tennessee, Brooks first came
to Portland w hile serving in the Navy,
when his ship underw ent an overhaul at
Swan Island.
He worked at Techtronix, transferred to
the State Employ ment Service, then started
S. Brooks & A ssociates em ploym ent ser
vice, which he still operates.
He was lured into volunteer activity
through his daughters' schools by form er
n e ig h b o rh o o d
c o o r d in a to r
Edna
Robertson, and went on to chair the school
d istric t's Area Three A dvisory C om m it
tee.
Brooks has also served on the Union
Avenue Boosters, the Portland C ham ber
o f Com m erce board (the first A frican-
American to serve), and both the state and
national Small Business A dvisory C om
mittees.
Brooks say s he is looking toward retirement
("Not next y ear. but there's more behind me than
in front of m e") I le is gradually decreasing his
role in OAME, having passed the directorship on
to Jorge Guerra.
“ My daughters used to call OAM E their
step sisters because I spent so much time
here," he says. "I 'm happy we can see that
phase being done."
An econom ic
pow er soaring
Hispanics' purchasing power
stronger than many countries
ispanics' purchasing power in the
United States soared to $ 2 1 1 bil
lion in 1996
greater than any
Spanish-speaking nation in the world. W hat’s
more, all ev idence points to strong growth
into the 21st century.
Population growth alone w ill tend to put in
exorable upward pressure on Hispanic income
and spending. In fact, the U.S. Hispanic popula
tion is growing at a rate more than double that of
the non-Hispanic population due to higher-than-
average birth rates, as well as immigration.
Between 1990 and 1996. the number o f
Hispanics swelled 25 percent to 28.3 m il
lion. By 2000, that figure is expected to top
32 million. Moreover, the population’s youth
implies that its greatest earning and spend
ing years lie ahead. I he num ber o f Hispanic
households w orking their way into the
m iddle class also spells grow th in the
m arket's purchasing power.
H
Leading the charge for
the Green Team
Cori Steward o f Portland (right),
director o f Community/Restaurant
Services for Denny's Restaurants
owned and operated by Portland
native and NBA all-star A. C. Green,
meets with a prosective employee a t
Portland Community College jo b fair.
Hispanics’ purchasing
behavior is unique
Hispanics have more disposable income
than African-Americans and tend to spend it
differently than the population at large. For
instance, Hispanics spend a higher percent-
age o f their income a, the grocery store,
especially on meat, fish, and poultry .
Boom In Hispanic Media
1I ispanics' improved economic prospects and
advertisers' recognition of their growing diver
sity (a firs,-generation, Spanish-speaking His
panic has different needs and consumer prefer
ences than a third-generation. English-speaking
Hispanic) has also sparked a boom in Hispanic
media.
Not only are Spanish-language television and
radio stations nourishing, programmers are also
moving to fill the void in offerings that reflect the
tastes and lifestyles of American-born, English-
speaking Hispanics.
In television, that means more shows geared
to young, urban aud iences such as those tun ing in
to Fox and WB; in radio, it means bilingual
formats, Tejanomusic, and the FM band; in print,
it means both more Spanish-language and En
glish-language titles, as well as titles that are
bilingual, like the new, sty lish Latina.
In fact a grow ing body of opinion finds that a
bilingual approach to the I lispanic market is best.
It leav es no one out, respects Hispanic heritage,
and allows consumers to choose the language
with which they are most comfortable