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MAY 13,1998
---------------------------------------------------- (El|c |Jnrt lattò (Observer-----------------------------------------------
Former NAACP leader urges
non-profit groups to “ Build bridges”
B Jack i Jill west i(p the hill
& played* near palps and whs.
A line was down S M soqil M
IJ W .
Kites and
balloons
should be
flown in open
areas away
from lines
Relissa. açe II
Myrlie Evers-Williams (right) chatted with Oregon State Sen. Ave! Gordly during The
Spring Symposium o f Portland State University's Institute for Non-profit
Management. (Photo by Neil Heilpern)
C ontinued F rom F ront
Evers-W illiams said, “ Be open
minded enough to bring in experts
who are not members ofyour groups.
Their wisdom is priceless.”
“Learn to also cut out the nega
tive in your organizations."
“As volunteers we are special,
giving o f our time, our energy and
our m oney,” she said, “but all o f us
are fighters with strong feelingabout
what we do and how things should
be done.”
“The public sees us as saints,
because w e help save and nurture
people in communities through the
though tim es.”
“ Let’s be sure this deep feeling
about our purpose in life makes this
the best place in the world to live
and pass that feeling to the next
generation o f volunteers.”
“ As w e b u ild b rid g e s, one
m ay be v ery stro n g and a n o th e r
m ay be ju s t a w obbly fo o tb rid g e
th at feels u n safe to c ro s s ,” said
E v e r-W illia m s. "B ut they are
b rid g e s o f u n d e rsta n d in g , c o m
p assion, a linkage that ties A m eri
cans to g eth er and sets an exam ple
for th e rest o f the w o rld ."
Pointing to a strong economy
where the jobless rate is down, she
noted that although the African
American community is benefiting
there is still an earnings gap between
racial groups.
“We still need to nurture the soul
and spirit, as well as make sure some
people are no longer hungry.”
She told o f her son’s return from a
trip to India, his description o f abject
poverty and suffering, and his aware
ness that “som eofus criticize America,
but even at its worst we are blessed.’’
“Most o f us have moved away
from the idea that everything ¡sowed
to us,” she said, “and now we em
brace the idea o f what do we owe
our society."
The two-day event at the Port
land Convention Center also in
cluded talks by former Sen. Mark
O. Hatfield and Sharon Kitzhaber,
wife o f the Oregon governor.
Several smaller group discus
sions were held to explore topics
about funding sources and strate
gies, working with government and
higher education, organizational
change, building mediation and
eontliet resolution skills and de
veloping prospects into major do
nors.
They also reviewed crisis man
agement, leadership in com m uni
ties ofcolor, volunteerism in a time
o f non-joining, and philanthropy
for the next millennium, lessons
from Third World nonprofit orga
nizations and how nonprofits re
spond to welfare reform.
Keep clear
of trees or
structures
close to
power lines
Treat all lines
on the ground
or overhead as
energized
Is T h e re A D o cto r In T h e
H o u se , If N o t, W hy N o t? I ll
by
M c K inley B urt
O nce again w e see that there are
a num ber o f copies o f a "P ortland
O bserv er” article series that will
be posted on school bulletin boards
and on the w alls o f som e youths
hom es. W hat an excellent feed
back, and speaking o f diversity,
com m ents and q u estions seem ed
alm ost equ ally divided betw een
b la c k s and w h ite s-stu d e n t and
te a e h e r (l’m in the phone book: my
“ last” nam e is Burt).
That pause in the series w orked
out pretty w ell-to allow tim e to
sort out and evaluate the many que
ries and suggestions generated by
the first article (A pril 29). It dealt
m ainly w ith “ Program s to en co u r
age M inority Students To Seek
H ealth C areers” and I cited two
such m ajor program s i had either
brought to Portland (federal), or
had designed and im plem ented at
a local m ed ical c e n te r (P ro v i
dence).
That pause in the series worked
out pretty w ell-to allow tim e to
sort out and evaluate the many que
ries and suggestions generated by
the first article (A pril 29). It dealt
m ainly w ith "P ro g ram s to encour
age M inority Students To Seek
H ealth C areers” and I cited two
such m ajor program s I had either
brought to Portland (federal), or
had designed and im plem ented at
a local m ed ical c e n te r (P ro v i
dence).
Several persons active in the
m edical field quickly realized the
full scope and im pact o f my p ro
gram s; “an im portant model and
this should b e a n incentive for o th
ers to ge, busy. We are absolutely
am azed at this initiative by a non-
m edical person when a need was
perceived. We will be in to u ch .”
Do that, because I have developed
som e new and innovative designs
and could use profession advice
and help. T h e o th e rtw o d e v e lo p e d
over a q u arter m illion resources.
In the interim , there is m uch we
all can do sim ply by netw orking
and using our good offices to con
nect people with opportunity. I
cite as an exam ple the fact that I
learned the daughter o f a teacher at
the Black Education C enter had
suffered a terrible head injury in an
autom obile accident. This is a
school w here I have been a re
source person o ff and on for 25
years, so I rushed right over.
It turned out that I was quite late
in hearing o f this aceident-already
the young w om an had been suc
cessfully operated upon by a very
talented A frican A m erican neuro
surgeon associated with Emanuel
Hospital. A brilliant reconstruc
tion and the patient looked (and
acted) as though nothing had hap
pened. O ur Dr. Reuben P. M orriss
had again dem onstrated why h e ’s
rated at the top o f his specialty.
N ow , for the connection. A
m o n th la te r at a m e e tin g o f
“ P o rtlan d ’s B uilding o f A frican
A m erican H istory” group. A m em
ber had brought along a young
Jefferson High School student who
was described as a brilliant Junior
and interested in m edicine-w ished
to becom e a “neurosurgeon." My
first conversation with this young
lady, “A lisha M oreland," assured
me that with her intelligence and
drive she w ould be ‘all she could
b e .’ Y o u 're probably ahead o f me
here.
I im m ed iately con tacted Dr.
M orriss and assured him that 1 had
met just the young person for whom
he would be the perfect m entor and
counsel. I re-introdueed them and
th ey o f f to a v ery su c c e ssfu l
m entorship. If the name “ A lisha
M oreland" sounds fam iliar it is
probably due to media coverage o f
her se le c tio n as R ose F estival
Q ueen at Jefferson High School.
Super qualifications as brilliant in
scholastics and a top com petitor in
three sports. L et’s netw ork with
our youths. It works.
Several readers com m ented that
in last w eek ’s article (p.A -2), a
H ittite rulers was 3000 years too
early in his extraordinary request
o f the A frican m edical fraternity:
“ ...a com ical exchange o f letters
occurs when Pharaoh Ram eses II
tries to diplom atically explain that
he cannot furnish a drug which will
enable a 60 year old w om an to
conceive.” I quoted from, “The
Physicians o f Pharonic E gypt,”
Paul C halioungui, T he Al-Ahram
C enter for Scientific T ranslations,
C airo, Egypt, 1983.
And others w ere equally amazed
to learn the “ caduceus,” the uni
versal m edical sign that precedes
all our prescriptions is not Greek
at all, but is found as early on as
7000 years ago in Ethiopia, Nubia
and Punt, right across the Red Sea
in w hat w e now call A rabia (by
archaeologist), see "M agic, Myth
and M e d ic in e ” D.T. A tkinson,
M.D. Prem ier Books, NY 1958.
T he follow ing m aterial isexcel-
lent for youth interested in the
m edical scienees-or for inclining
them in that direction:
• ’’G ifte d H a n d s ’ : T he Ben
C arson S tory," by Ben Carson,
Z o n d e rv a n P u b lis h in g H ouse,
(H arper C ollins) 1990. This is the
inspiring story o f the young black
man from the inner-city who at age
33 b e c a m e o n e o f th e top
neurosurgeons in the world (John
H opkins).
*” MD: T he M aking o f A Doc
to r," NOVA A dventures in Sci
ence videotape (Station W GBII.
1-800-255-9424) A very good in
troduction to the rigor and dedica
tion required.
•" B io lo g y : T he N etw ork o f
Life," Mix, Farberand King, Harper
C ollins Publishers, 1992. The best
biology gook o f its type I have
seen, this com prehensive, 800 page
volum e. 8 1/2 X 11 is divided into
4 m ajor sections. Unit I: The Sphere
o f L ife, Unit II: The Language o f
Life, Unit III: The Evolution o f
Life, and Unit IV: The System s o f
L ife; provides an excellent re
source. high school or college.
C onclusion o f scries.
Stay away from
substations or
anything marked
Danger: High
V o lta g e ___
\ \
y
ih
utdoor electric safety is important to all of us —
especially this time of year when we’re outside more.
With the help of some of last year’s winners in Pacific
Power’s Electric Safety Contest, we want to make you aware
of some of the potentially hazardous situations you and your
kids can get into while working or playing outdoors.
N
n o a c c id e n t!
B
> PACIFIC POWER
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