APRIL 1, 1998
Page A4
(Elje 'JJortünxb (Ph sem er
IH i
■ IJ
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Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver.
Thisyear’s ‘Black History Month’
series seems to have enabled more
African Americans than everto‘‘iden-
tify” with the key black contributions
to America’s technology and indus
try; and the feedback indicates a simi
lar impact on other groups.
It is difficult to select a feature
from the Portland Observer’s many
excellent presentations and say, “this
is the story that set the tone”, or “this
account told the world who we really
are." But since the readers know that
I am biased toward technical innova
tions, they will not be surprised that I
will cite two models which received
so much attention from both youth
and teachers - inventors’, o f course.
Not that my personal landscape is
culturally barren, the readers know
better and appreciate that I will con
tinue to push for the broadest learning
paradigm for young people. But we
all must understand as well that in this
super-energized age o f science and
technology it is absolutely essential
that black youths have career role
models with whom they can "iden
tify” without hesitation. I greet my
youth group, where’s your “I.D.”
The black inventors (presentations)
th a t I m en tio n ed are “ D avid
Croswaite”, the engineer from Purdue
University who patented th e ' thermo
dynamic’ or heat-transfer technology
c
t i v
e
s
Young Man Or Woman
which made it possible for mankind to
inhabit' skyscrapers’ (34 domestic and
80 foreign patents)... and Thomas M.
(Don) Rutherford, a graduate o f
Portland’s "Benson Technical High
School” ; designer o f the engine con
trols for Howard Hughes famed
Spruce G oose’ and many other in
ventions, including his patented slid
ing door panel
and latch that
you see on vans
all o v er the
world, today.
N o.2,690,268
June 8, 1954.
I get a surge
o f pride and
"identity” ev
ery time I talk
with Don’ this
Portland graduateofthe University of
Oregon, just as I got years ago from
that other inspired master of technol
ogy, David Crosthwaite. And under
the favorablecircumstancescited here
it seemed the most natural thing in the
world to expand our small group of
neighborhood youth science clubs to
include two more under the inspiring
mantra ofthese two names. My former
students help.
Previous groups/neighborhoods are
“Granville Woods” (E.lectrical inven
tions for railroad), “Lewis (Howard)
Latimer” (Lightbulb filament patent
By Prof. McKinley Burt
(E lie p i n r t l a n ï »
e
and member‘‘Edison Pioneers” ), and
“Elihah J. McCoy" (the' Real McCoy’
Automatic Lubricator). The additional
slots were awaiting more committed
parents willing to dedicate their time
and for another industry sponsor; we
have both, and they have “ I.D.s”
In answer to that unspoken ques
tion; yes, there will be female motiva
tor structured into
this scheme. Sev
eral parents have
suggested “Dor-
B y
o
t
h
y
P rofessor
W illiam son” , a
former student o f
M ckinley
mine at PSU. She
B urt
invented and pat
ented the “Paint
Caddy”, a device
w orn by the
painter to avoid the necessity for fre
quent trips up and down a ladder to
replenish particular colors and shades
o f paint. I profiled her invention sev
eral years ago.
It is interesting how ideas take hold
and energize themselves. I stopped in
“A l’s Beauty Shop” to borrow a book
from this dedicated Black 11 ¡story bull
and before I could turn around a lady
said, “ I know you, 1 see your picture
by your "O bserver’ articles. I want to
talk to you about my kid.” Problems
with math and science, it turned out
and before we were finished, several
other ladies under dryers were ques
tioning me. Two have since called
and are involved with kid’s science
clubs. I will have to stop downstairs
more often.
Next week I will pursue other as
pects o f this "identity” process. For
over 25 years I’ve been innovating or
breaking new ground here with this
combination education/motivation
approach, but it seems that 1 have no
trouble in launching successful mod
els, just failing to persuade others that
those twoelem ents go hand-in-hand.
1 look back at the first federal (H.E. W .)
minority health program 1 brought to
Portland in the early 1970s. Mysteri
ously’ became part ofa'M etropolitan
Steering Committee" while I was out
oftow n on a U.S. Forest Service PSU
sem inar(another first).
Lost to greed and the proverbial’
game playing’ were all the liaisons
and resources I had developed with
pharmaceutical companies, and medi
cal associations, teaching hospitals,
etc. In the 1980s 1 designed and imple
mented a minority training program
at Providence Medical Center, with
academic credits for high school ju n
iors and seniors. This time I handled
all aspects m yself and it became a
county-wide model. My point will be
that our youth must be taught early on
what to expect and how to manage
systems.
Smoke Clears for Portland Diners
Tabithia Evans, coordinator o f the
event. World No Tobacco Day is an
international event sanctioned by the
World Health Organization.
Evans coordinated a similar event
in Roseburg last year, which was very
successful. Eight restaurants that
w eren’t already smoke free partici
pated in the event. Twenty other res
taurants that were smoke free before
Restaurant-goers who prefer to
dine without a side order o f to
bacco smoke will eat and breathe
smokeless on Sunday, May 31
when World No Tobacco Day
comes to the Portland metropoli
tan area.
“ W e’re asking restaurant own
ers in Multnomah County to go
sm oke free for the day,” said
also participated. Public awareness
generated from World N o Tobacco
Day had several other area restau
rants calling to be included the next
year.
Portland’s chance to have restau
rants go smoke-free for a day was
made possible with a grant awarded
to the American Heart Association,
in Oregon by the Multnomah County
Tobacco Free Coalition. The funds
were made available by the pas
sage o f Measure 44, which raised
the price o f cigarettes by 30 cents
a pack.
There will be an evaluation pro
cess so restaurants can measure
customer response. For more in
formation on World Tobacco Day,
Call Tabithia Evans at 233-0100.
BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES:
D ear Editor:
Here we are, the 21 st century and
the African American citizen is still
going through hell trying to live
peacefully in this society.
Last Thursday evening in Port
land O regon, my m other, D ora
M cCrae and a friend were driving
home when this car started following
them with it’s bright lights on. D e
ciding to move over to allow it to go
around they discovered it was a po
lice officer.
A fter pul ling over she was told to
present her drivers license, proceed
ing to do this she asked the officer
why she had been stopped. He then
dem anded her to present her pro o f
o f insurance, at which time she asked
again why she had been stopped, to
w hich he replied, “well, if you re
ally m ust know you turned a couple
blocks back and did not use your
signal.”
She tried to assure the officer that
she had signaled and wanted to show
him that the signal was working at
which he ordered her to turn o ff the
engine and Get Out O f the Vehicle.
She turned off the engine and pro
ceeded to get out, but found herself
on the ground and the officer pulling
her arms behind her back to put her in
handcuffs. She was then ordered to
get up and told he was not going to
help her.
At this point another police car ar
rived with two officers who assisted
her up. The first officer took her to his
car and patted her down and sat her
inside. He went back to retrieve her
wallet to get her drivers license.
After checking her records and
talking to the other officers he ap
proached his vehicle, bent down and
said “why can’t we just get along'.
Leaving her sit approximately 1/2
hour, he gave her a ticket and al
lowed her to go home.
As I said, this was my mother, a 68
year old , slightly overweight Afro-
American Methodist minister. She
does not drink, smoke, take drugs, or
have a habit o f causing a scene. I
have filed charges, but when are we
going to be treated like first class
citizens? - Ellen Smith
Supporting Family Strengths
UTT 77ten our
VV family faces
a challenge,
we face it
head on.
With all our minds
put together,
we’ll come up
with something to
meet that challenge.”
-G ENEVA JONES,
grandparent of six,
great-grandparent of three
(Elie ^ to r t la n b
(O b se rtie r
is proud to announce the
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http://Portland
Observer.Net,
to better serve the needs of
our Readers and Advertisers
Check it Out!
l.y'-
^ p o r tla n b G D b seru er
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