Committed to Cultural Diversity
n m m u n ity
a I r it ii a r
www.portlandobserver.com
May 10, 2000
The PAB J play host to the NAB J ’S 2000
State Online Voters’
Guide
E n tre p re n e u r
Luncheon
B y G ideos
Joseph M cC lendon III, an instructor at
UCLA and M asterTrainer forthe Anthony
Robbins Institute, will offer a one-day
sem inar entitled “Reengineering Y ourself
for the N ew C entury” on M ay 18,2000 at
th e O re g o n C o n v e n tio n C e n te r.
M cClendon uses a unique teaching style
th a t
in c lu d e s
N e u r o - L in g u is tic
Program m ing (N L P), N euro-associative
C onditioning and body m ovem ent to
teach the key com munication skills, beliefs
and patterns o f physiology o f highly
successful people. Call 503/241 -9200.
Western Regional Conference Celebrating
25 years o f service May 5-7 at the
Double Tree Hotel Columbia River.
Portland’s own Danny Glover received a
Commemorative Proclaimation declaring
May 5 as official Danny Glover Day from
Senior Ave! Gordley who acted as a
representative from the Govenor’s office.
The Buffalo Soldiers o f Portland paid
tribute to Glover, the keynote speaker who
did a movie in 1997, as a tribute to the
original Buffalo soldiers. Conferencees
experienced workshops led by such greats
as Barry Cooper, CEO and Founder o f
Blackvoices.com, Patricia Stallworth, CFP
and President o f Money Strategies, John
Buris, Nationally recognized Civil rights
Attorney, Tananarive Due, published
Novelist o f the latest "My Soul to Keep",
Steven Barnes, novelist and screenwriter
best known fo r episodes o f "The Twilight
Zone, "all served as facilitators ofthe theme
"Celebrating Our Past, Charting Our
Future.
■
Obo Addy plays in concert with Sy I I phony
Mensa Offers IQ Test
M ensa, the high intelligence society, will
offer an IQ test to potential m em bers. The
test will be held Saturday, M ay B a t 1 pm.
at P ortland S tate U n iv ersity . T hose
w ishing to take the test are asked to
preregister w ith Brew ster Gi 1 lett, Test i ng
C oordinator at 503/245-3707 and will be
proctored by Brian A veny, editor o f
Oregon M ensas m onthly new spaper. The
test lasts tw o hours and costs $30.
t
Women in Trades Fair
Learn about the opportunities in the
construction trades on Saturday, May 20
from 1 0 a m .to 4 p m .a tth e N E C A /IB E W
Electrical T raining C enter at 16021 NE
A irport W ay. For m ore inform ation, call
503/943-2228 or visit their w ebsite at
www.tradeswomen.net
Where I’m from
Renee W atson, a 1996 Jefferson High
School graduate will be perform ing her
own poetry, m onologues, short skits and
dances w ritten and choreographed by
this young talent on Friday, M ay 12 at the
Center for S elf Enhancem ent (3920 North
Kerby Ave.), from 7-9pm . Renee’sw orks
will explore the tickings o f a young
Northwest Black w om an’s inner soul. Call
503/259-5198.
1, ant /
F or T he P ortland O b & erver
T he N ature C onservancy o f O regon
encourages anyone who enjoys public
speaking and w ho would like to present
the C onservancy’s w ork to others to
attend our upcom ing Speaker’s Bureau
training. S peaker’s Bureau m em bers give
presentations about the C onservancy’s
m ission and conservation w ork to school
groups, civic organizations, and others.
This tw o-day training session will be held
at our Portland office on M onday, M ay 8
from 6-9 pm . and Monday, May 15 from 6-
9 pm. Registration is required. Call M olly
Dougherty at 503/230-1221.
Reengineering
Yourself for The
New Millennia
f
advocates transition
12th Annual OAME
The Nature
Conservancy of
Oregon
Join a grant w riting w orkshop headed by
Rick Levine on W ednesday, M ay 24 from
5:30 - 8:30 pm . at the B rentw ood-
D arlington C om m unity C enter (721 1 SE
62nd Avenue). Rick Levine has been writing
grants and teaching grant w riting in the
northw est since 1973. He is the creator
and author o f the first “G uide to O regon
Foundations". T he guide, in its sixth
edition, is still considered an outstanding
tool for grantseekers.
Solom on T ru jillo
into internet age at
T he online version o f the state V o ters'
P am phlet for the M ay 16 prim ary election
is now available throught he Elections
D ivision section o f the S ecretary o f
S tate’s w eb site at w w w .sos.state.or.us
or
th r o u g h
th e
w eb
s ite
w w w .oregonvotes.com . April 25 is the
final day to register to vote in the M ay 16,
2000 primary election.
Learn How to Write
Grants
50r
tUMRIBVItBJSIURY
LORT h e P o R ÎLASDO bs ERVER
W orld-recognized African percussionist Obo
A ddy will present a perform ance o f the music
and dance o f G hana May 25 at 8p.m. at the
Portland C enter for the Perform ing A rts’
N ew m ark Theatre, located at 1111 S.W.
Broadw ay. “A frican Rhythm s o f L ife" will
contrast G h an a’s rich folkloric traditions with
1
new, original com positions featuring a string
quartet, electric keyboard, bass and horns.
The concert’s first set will feature Addy
playing with special guest Bernard W om a, a
solo xylophinist and M aster D rum m er o f the
National Dance C om pany o f G hana. W oma,
the son o f a respected xylophone m aker and
player, has been playing the age o f two. The
concert’s first halfw ill also feature fivedances
performed by Jam es O kaidja A ryectey and
Patience Bright sew or BA W A is a traditional
dance that hails from northen G hana. A ddy's
contem porary band K U K RU D U , w hich is
G hana for earthquake, will join in fo rth e first
set’s finale K U K R U D U is an ensem ble o f
African and American musicians that performs
a rich synthesis o f m usical styles on G hanaian
p e r c u s s io n an d W e s te rn in s tru m e n ts
( Please see 'Obo A d d y ' p ag e B2)
Solom on Trujillo, CEO and President ofU .S.
West, Inc praised m em bers and leaders o f the
O re g o n
A s s o c ia tio n
o f M in o r ity
E ntrepreneurs (OA M E) and spoke o f the
internet revolution as the keynote speaker at
the 12th A nnual E ntrepreneur Luncheon and
Trade Show at the Oregon Convention C enter
M ay 4,2000.
T ru jillo cau sed U .S. W est to le ad th e
telecom m unications industry nationw ide in
its developm ent o f high speed data services
and advanced w ireless services, prom pting
Presidential Science A dvisor Jay K enw orth
to call him “the first true digital telecom CEO .”
Form er Secretary o f H ousing and U rban
D evelopm ent Henry Cisneros called him “the
m o st im p o rta n t H isp a n ic A m eric an in
corporate A m erica today” .
M inority entrepreneurs in the future w ill be
required to be fluent in the cyber language.
T ru jillo clearly lived up to K en w o rth ’s
characterization o f him as h e preached the
gospel o f the internet to O A M E m inority
entrepreneurs.
He jo k e d that today’s business clim ate m ade
him th in k o fh is favoritephilosopher, famous
New Y ork Y ankees basebal 1 player Y ogi Berra,
w ho had a knack for describing situations
w ith a visionary approach.
“The quote that I like most from Yogi Berra is
the quote in w hich he said, ‘The future a in ’t
w hat it used to b e.’ Each o f us can get up
today, tom orrow, the next day, and w e can say
that, and use that as a m antra in term s o f how
w e a re o p e r a tin g o u r b u s in e s s e s o r
conducting our own personal lives,” T rujillo
said.
D iv ersity is also in flu en cin g A m erican
business. "Looking at the nation as a w hole,
projections indicate that by 2050, 1 in 4
A m ericans w ill be H ispanic, 14 percent
A frican-A m erican and 8 p ercent A sian-
A m erican. That means that w hat w e have
traditionally called the so-called m inorities
will m ake up h alfo fth e population o fth e U.S.
by the m iddle o f the next century,” T rujillo
said.
In creasin g div ersity is acco m p an ied by
in c re a s in g p u r c h a s in g p o w e r a m o n g
m inorities. “ In 1999, Hispanics had nearly
$400 billion in purchasing power, and African-
Americans more than$500 billion. From 1990
to 1998 that’sa rise o f 84 percent for Hispanics,
and 73 percent for A frican-A m ericans.
“T he average age o f Hispanics in the U.S. is
26, com pared to 36 for the general population.
T h e p eo p le ac co u n tin g for this rise in
purchasing pow er are young. They h av en 't
even reached their prim e buying years,”
T rujillo said.
H e s a id o p p o r tu n itie s fo r m in o rity
entrepreneurs to acquire young m inority
custom ers w ere increasing and called the
internet and e-com m erce the m ost interesting
opportunities for sm all businesses.
T he last tw o C hristm as shopping seasons
have seen a rise in purchases over the net
b e c a u se it’s co n v en ien t. “ A cco rd in g to
Forrester Research, in the final quarter o f
1999, H ispanic households spent an average
o f $ 2 5 4 p er househ o ld on e-co m m erce
tr a n s a c t io n s , j u s t as m u c h as w h ite
households. A frican-A m erican households
are not far behind, at $225, and A sian
households led the pack at $331,” T rujillo
said.
“ B u sin ess to co n su m e r e -c o m m erc e is
projected to grow to $ 100 bil lion by 2003. That
grow th is going to be driven by all ethnic
groups. T h at's only a small part o f the action,
on the business to business side, e-com m erce
is projected to rise to $ 1.3 trillion by 2003.”
T he increased trend tow ards e-com m erce has
(Please see 'OAME' page B2)