FEBRUARY 10,1-999
Committed to cultural di\ersily. http: www.portlaiuk>bser\er.net
Volume XXVlllI, Number 5
Extend Your Love
With A Card From
Athena Hampton
Black History
Month 1999
The Sacred Wisdom o f
Africa
See Black History Month
BIT k RATE
This local artist has
expanded her line o f multi­
cultural Valentine's day
See Metro, Section B.
cards fo r kid's.
I ,S. POSTAGE
PAID
PORTLAND, OR
PERMIT NO.
1610
See Popeye's
Coupon
Inside!
She ^Jortlanb (Ohser
cA
o*
*
V-Vi'
500
Professor McKinley Burt:
A Tribute o An Extraordinary Man
H u s s e in D ie s
H u s s e i n b in T a l a l , r u l e r o fl
he H a s h e m it e K in g d o m w h o
vas a d m ir e d as a p e a c e m a k e r
lie d at th e a g e o f 63 fro m can-1
e r . It w a s a d a y o f g r i e f
h ro u g h o u t Jo rd a n and m o u rn ­
ers o f f e r i n g t h e i r c o n d o l e n c e s
'r o m
aro u n d
th e
w o rld
1 u s s e i n ’ s s o n , J o r d a n w as]
e r o w n e d to r e i g n a s K i n g
\ b d u l l a h b in H u s s e in , th e
’o u r t h l e a d e r o f t h i s s m a l l !
ie s e r t k in g d o m .
I Memorial Service:
Friday, February
1 2 ,1 9 9 9 , 1 PM
Bethel AME Church
(NE 8th Ave and
Jarrett)
B y C athy G ai braith
Professor McKinley Burt Jr., our dearly
beloved friend—long time Observer col­
umnist, author, educator, historian and in­
tellectual giant passed from his earthly
life early Saturday, February 6, 1999. He
L e w in s k y V id e o
had waged a long battle against emphysema
in recent years, and passed peacefully and
H e a rin g
In a v i d e o t a p e d s h o w i n g .] comfortably at Providence Hospital.
Professor Burt was bom on May 24, 1922
M o n ic a L e w in s k y t e s t i f i e d b e
to parents McKinley Burt (a chauffeur) and
fo re th e S e n a te a b o u t h e r e x ­
Nadine Scott Burt (a teacher) in St. Louis,
t r a m a r i t a l a f f a i r w ith P r e s i ­
MO. His parents divorced several years later,
d e n t C l i n t o n d u r i n g th e i m ­
and Professor Burt was raised by his mother,
p e a c h m e n t tria l p ro c e e d in g s .
his maternal grandfather and his two maiden
T h e r e w e re no n e w d e t a i l s in
aunts in the family home where he was known
h e r te s tim o n y o r fre s h a r g u ­
m e n ts u s e d a g a i n s t h e r by th e ] as “junior.” He often cited the experiences of
growing up under the considerable influence
H ouse p ro s e c u to rs .
of his grandfather, who was a well-educated
Spanish American War veteran and owner of
A ID S T h e ra p y
substantial property. Grandfather Scott passed
T h e H IV v i r u s h a s b e e n
on when the Professor was an adolescent and
s h o w n to c a u s e r e s i s t a n c e to
his mother passed when he was a teenager. At
m a n y m a r k e te d d r u g s . T w o new
that time, McKinley set out on his life path,
m e t h o d s w e r e d e v e l o p e d to
working in a variety of jobs, such as gandy
im p ro v e th e r a p y fo r p e o p le
dancer, postal clerk and pipe welder.
w ho
have
d r u g - r e s is t a n t
Gradually heading west. Professor Burt
s t r a i n s o f th e A ID S v i r u s . O n e
went
to work in the Vancouver Shipyards in
n ew m e th o d i n v o l v e s p i n p o i n t -
1943,
living at Hudson House where he met
i n g g e n e tic
m u ta tio n s
in
Tuskegee's
Dr. Lafayette Fredrick (father
H .I .V . T h e s e c o n d m e th o d d e ­
of
Lew
Frederick)
and Mrs. Bobbie Gary. In
t e r m i n e s th e d e g r e e o f s u s
1947.
McKinley
became
Oregon’s first li­
c e p tib ility or re s is ta n c e o f
censed
African
American
Public Accoun­
H .I .V . w h e n it is g ro w n in a
tant; he opened his office in space rented
t e s t tu b e a f t e r th e a d d i t i o n o t
from Bill McClendon at 2017 N. Williams,
s e l e c t e d d r u g s . W ith th e f i n d ­
where McClendon published the People's
in g s fro m th e t e s t s , d o c t o r s
Observer Newspaper. As a tax accountant,
c a n f o c u s on c h a n g in g th e r e ­
the Professor developed a reputation with
s i s t a n t d r u g f o r th e p a t i e n t
the IRS for error-free tax returns for his
Professor McKinley Burt
clients, who included many African Ameri­
can owned businesses. During this time,
McKinley furthered his education at the
Northwest School of Law.
In 1954. the Professor relocated to Los
Angeles where he worked as a tax accoun­
tant for nearly ten years. He attended classes
at Los Angeles City College In 1964, he
moved back to Oregon, following the end of
a nine year marriage. He lived in The Dalles
where he worked as an accountant and then
in the Electrical Engineering Department,
both for Harvey Aluminum Company. He
returned to Portland and worked as Chief
Accountant in 1969-70 for the Albina Cor­
poration, at that time the largest minority-
owned and operated manufacturing plant in
the United States. He established McKinley
Burt and Associates, through which he con­
tracted with school districts to provide com­
puter-assisted instruction and services.
Other clients for these and a v ariety of vi­
sionary' programs included Model Cities,
the US Forest Service, and OMSI.
In 1969. he published the ground break­
ing Black Inventors o f America (reprinted
in 1989) and he is widely known as the
founder of the Black Inventors movement
that continues to grow. In 1971, he began
teaching at Portland State University, where
he was professor in the Urban Studies and
Black Studies programs. He impacted the
lives of an entire generation of students who
attended his business and other classes. He
left PSU in 1983 and continued consulting
work for Portland Public Schools and other
organizations and agencies. He was featured
in the OPB video Local Color in 1986.
In 1987, he became a feature writer for
the Portland Observer. Through his Per­
spectives and other columns, he presented
his views on issues of the day, communi­
cating to Observer readers each week, up
to the present. He drew from his childhood
upbringing, neighborhood life in St. Louis,
his professional and personal experiences
in Portland and elsewhere, and above all,
from his unmatched intellect—to give a
p ersp ectiv e that was u n iq u ely “ the
Professor's.”
C ontinued T o P age A2
W e lfa r e M o n ey
A n u m b e r o f s ta te s d e c lin e d !
to d r a w b i l l i o n s in f e d e r a l
W e lf a re M o n e y . An u n u s e d
b a l a n c e o f $3 b i l l i o n o u t o f l
$1 2 b i l l i o n w a s m a d e a v a i l a b l e
in th e f i r s t n i n e m o n t h s o f
la s t y e a r. T he n u m b er o f
p e o p le
on
w e lfa re
has
d r o p p e d , m a k in g it d i f f i c u l t
fo r s t a t e s to u s e a ll th e f e d ­
e r a l m o n e y th e y w e re e n t i t l e d
to . S o m e s t a t e s p la n to s a v e ]
th e m o n e y fo r tim e s o f e c o ­
n o m ic r e c e s s i o n .
NASA S h u ttle
F lig h ts
N A S A h a d to r e s c h e d u l e a n d l
r e d u c e its f l i g h t s f o r th e y e a r
b e c a u se o f a fa u lty C h a n d ra
X -r a y t e l e s c o p e a n d R u s s i a ’ s
i n a b i l i t y to g e t a c r u c i a l p ie c e
o f th e i n t e r n a t i o n a l s p a c e s t a ­
tio n in to o r b i t . I n s t e a d o f a
p re fe rr e d e ig h t s h u ttle flig h ts
p e r y e a r , th e r e w ill o n ly b e |
f iv e . T h e n e x t s h u t t l e l a u n c h ­
in g b y th e C o lu m b ia w ill b e l
on J u ly 9.
J a il For Tyson
M ik e T y s o n , f o r m e r h e a v y ­
w e ig h t f i g h t e r w ill b e f a c in g ]
a on e y e a r s e n te n c e fo r a s ­
s a u l t i n g tw o m e n a f t e r a m i ­
n o r t r a f f i c a c c i d e n t l a s t A u -|
g u s t 3 1 . J u d g e S te p h e n P
J o h n s o n o r d e r e d T y s o n to be]
j a i l e d in I n d i a n a w h e re T y s o n
is s t i l l on p r o b a t i o n f o r a p a s t |
ra p e c o n v ic tio n .
Community Group Challenges Tri Met
To Invest In Youth F
___________________________ —-----------------
ates a similar “passport” program for youth
isters in Portland Impacting Real
who use public transit to get to and from
Issues Together (SPIR11) held a
school called Y (youth) 2K and Beyond. This
community meeting to offer Tri
program
would eliminate fare requirements
Met a challenge to strenghten its efforts
at
for
students
during school hours and allow
keeping the region’s enviroment healthy
students
to
use
school photo ID to travel to
by adopting a program designed to invest
and
from
school.
Members of SPIRII and
in youth as transit riders for the long haul
other
community
leaders
argue a program
The community meeting was held Febru­
like
this
would
promote
a
mass
transiat cul­
ary 2, 1999. at 6:00 pm at Lutheran
ture,
and
support
environmental
responsibil­
Inner city Ministries 4219 NE MI.K
ity.
Y2K
and
Beyond
not
only
increases
J r, Blvd. Invited guests include Fred
ridership
it
Hansen, Tri Met
hightens the po­
“
Youth
are
the
most
transit-
General Manager
dependent and the most limited in tential of setting
and Bob Williams.
Tri M et Board
income...getting to and from school culture of transit
Member. Other
travel. Youth are
is a great concern."
presenters include
current and future
K evia
Jeffrey
— ---------------
riders. “If Kids like me use the bus now to get
from the Enviromental Justice Action
to school, we are more likely to use it later as
Group. Ross Williams from Citizens of
adults to get to work" comments of Tereme
Sensible Transportation.
Faison, is devloping a transit culture in youth
Tri Met has initiated some impressive
is an investment in the ridership of a commu­
projects to increase ridership as well as deal
nity tomorrow.
with growing concerns around congestion
Fred Hansen, General Manager of Tri-Met.
The Mayor’s office just published a report
and the environment Two such projects
on Fare,ess Transit in the Portland Metro­
include the Fareless Square, 600 blocks
the most limited in income, getting to and
politan Region The finding of the report
downtown in which passengers can nde for
from school is a great concern.
showed that making transit passes more as­
free, and the Passport Program, partnership
While youth are a logical constituency to
sessable
for
young
people
is
a
logical
and
between Tri Met and business that enable the
taget
in the expansion of ndership and the
sensible step in the promotion ot public tran­
employees of those businesses to receive a
promotion
of a mass transit culture, there are
sit and a first step in a fareless transit system
free yearly transit pass.
bamers 15,000 kids use public transit to get
“Youth
are
the
most
transit-dependent
and
SPIRIT is a proposing that Tri Met cre­
"1
S
(Photo by M.Washington)
to and from school However, a key issue
for many parents and students is the cost of
getting to school. In addition last Septem­
ber youth fares increased. A monthly pass
now costs $29
C ontinued T o P age A2