March 7, 2001
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Segregated Hair Care Dying Out As Salons Seek New Markets
B y L IN D A W A L L A C E
D iversity I nc . com
T en y ears ago, A m e ric a ’s h air
salo n s and beau ty sc h o o ls d iv id e d
th e m ark et along rac ial lin es - a
d ec isio n d riven by c u sto m e r c o n ­
ven ien ce and b u sin e ss strategy.
E v ery so o fte n , a n A fric a n -
Am erican or H ispanic m an or w om an
w ould w alk into a w hite-ow ned hair
salon and be den ied se rv ic e by sty l­
ists o r barb ers w ho d id not know
how to do eth n ic hair.
“ P eople have o n ly rec en tly b e ­
gun to ad dress this p ro b le m ,” said
V icto ria W u rd in g e r w ho has w rit­
ten a te x tb o o k fo r sty lists o n caring
fo r e th n ic hair.
In the 21 “ ce n tu ry , m ark et forces
are d o in g w h at so c iety an d civil-
rig h ts law s c o u ld n ot — d ism an ­
tlin g the ra c ia l b arriers th at have
long d iv id e d m an y o f A m e ric a ’s
w h ite an d e th n ic h air sa lo n s and
b ea u ty sch o o ls.
E m erg in g eth n ic m a rk e ts — and
th e ir stro n g p o te n tia l fo r eco n o m ic
g ro w th — h a v e b eg u n ch an g in g
th e w ay in w h ic h c o s m e to lo g y
sch o o ls te ac h an d the m a n n er in
w h ic h h air sa lo n s m a rk e t th e ir se r­
v ic es, W u rd in g e r said. A m e ric a ’s
m in o rity p o p u la tio n s are ex p e cted
to n u m b e r 178 m illio n in 2 0 4 5 , up
from 79 m illio n last year, acco rd in g
to th e U .S. C en su s. M e an w h ile ,
m in o rity p u rc h a sin g p o w er m ay
su rp ass $2 trillio n b y 2030, the U .S.
D epartm ent o fC o m m erce estim ates.
A sk p eo p le w ith in the in d u stry
o f all races w h y se g re g a tio n o c ­
cu rred , and w h y it o u tla ste d its
h o ld on o th e r in d u strie s, an d o n e
w o rd co m es up: R acism .
“ It w as th e sa m e e v e ry w h e re ,”
W u rd in g er said “I f you take a look
at w h at is h appening now , th ere is
a lot o f m oney to be m ade. A frican
A m ericans spend m ore on hair-care
p ro d u cts. W hen peo p le saw there
w as m o n e y to b e m a d e , th e y
ch an g ed . I t’s that sim p le.”
M u ltie th n ic b e a u ty s c h o o ls
have b egun using m annequins w ith
ch e m ic ally -tre ate d hair to em u late
A fric an -A m erica n hair, tex tb o o k
p u b lish ers are revising m ainstream
texts to reflect A frican -A m erican
and H ispanic h air textures, and eth ­
nic an d w hite h air sty lists are d e­
v elo p in g W eb sites an d v id eo s to
teach stylists how to tap m ultiethnic
markets.
T h e S a lo n A s s o c i a t i o n , a
S co ttsd ale, A riz.-b a sed g ro u p that
p ro v id es b u sin ess and ed u catio n al
reso u rce s for salo n o w n ers, e s ti­
m ates its 1,700 m em b er salons co n ­
trib u te $720 m illion annually to the
eco n o m ies o f the U nited S tates and
C anada.
T he in d u stry em p lo y s betw een
1.2 m illio n an d 1.4 m illio n p eople.
Bob P o in te, w ho c o -o w n s R a z o r’s
Edge salon in Palm B each G ardens,
F la w ith his w ife, B arb ara, h o ld s
n atio n al w o rk sh o p s to te a c h sty l­
ists th e latest tech n iq u es an d d e m ­
o n strate new h air-ca re p ro d u c ts,
in clu d in g th o se ta rg e tin g e th n ic
an d m atu re clients.
P o in te, w ho also a d v ise s sa lo n
o w n ers on th e ir b u sin ess p ra c tic e s,
said beauty shops o n ce d e p e n d e d
e n tirely u p o n cu sto m ers to sp rea d
w o rd o f th eir serv ices. R e ce n t e f­
forts to m ark et th ese sm all b u si­
n esses and set strateg ic lo n g -te rm
g o als actu ally h elp ed to te a r d o w n
rac ial barriers, he said.
Cosmetologists Open
Doors to Students
Portland’s first cosme­
tology career fair proved to
be outstanding success.
Students learned about all
areas of the beauty and cos­
metology industry during a
Feb. 21 hand-on workshop
at the Days Inn M otel,
downtown.
The fair was sponsored
by the P ortland Public
School District and local
cosmetology schools, which
included the Beaumonde
Beauty Colfcge, Cosmetol­
ogy Careers, Phagans, Ms.
B J’s Hair Academy, Port­
land Beauty College and Ed­
ward Wadsworth.
Product samples and gift
certificates were donated
by Great Clips, Supercuts,
Salt&Pepper Beauty Sup­
ply, Un-4-Gettable Nails,
and Delta Beauty Supply.
Nail art, make-up appli­
cations and hairstyles were
dem onstrated by Tracey
Stadamire (Un-4-Gettable
Nails) Aris Stromberg (B J’s
Academy) Ruth Harrington
(The Little Beauty Salon)
and Mr. Bob (Beaumonde
Beauty College), all A fri­
can Americans making a dif­
ference in our community.
Watch for the opening o f
Ms. B J’s Academy soon in
North Portland, along with
Tracey Stadamire o f Un-4-
Gettable Nails, the nail in­
structor. U-Go-Girls!
N ative O regonian A ppointed
to Federal Reserve B ank
George Passadore
T he Portland B ranch o f the F ed­
eral R eserve Bank o f San F rancisco
has appointed G eorge J. P assadore
o f Portland as a m em ber o f its B oard
ofD irectors.
Passadore, 56, serves as president
o f W ells Fargo in O regon.
A third-generation native O rego-
nian, he began his 39-year financial
services career im m edily after gradu­
ating from high school in 1962. His
first jo b w as at First N ational B ank o f
O regon w here he sorted m ail and
processed checks. A fter a n um ber o f
p ro m o tio n s, P a ssa d o re w a s a p ­
pointed m anager o f R esearch and
D evelopm ent for the com pany in
Oregon.
Passadore w as appointed senior
vice president in 1981, the sam e year
the com pany changed its nam e to
First Interstate Bank. H e continued
to spearhead banking tech n o lo g y
projects, creating innovations in O r­
egon that the com pany, as w ell as
other banks, adopted throughout the
nation.
A m o n g h is c iv ic a c tiv i tie s ,
P assadore is currently the president
o f Tri-M et and chairm an o f O regon
H ealth Sciences U niversity B oard o f
Trustees, as w ell as chair-elect o f the
Portland M etropolitan C ham ber o f
C om m erce. H e also serves on the
boards o f O regon B usiness C ouncil
and A ssociated O regon Industries.
H e is a trustee o f the O regon H istori­
cal S ociety an d the P ortland A rt
M useum .
P assadore is a p ast chair o f the
A dvisory C ouncil for the School o f
B usiness at Portland State U niver­
sity an d the asso ciatio n for Portland
Progress. H e is a form er board m em ­
ber o f the P ortland Public Schools
F oundation, the O regon Z oo, and the
O regon Sym phony.
T he Federal R eserve System is the
n atio n ’s central bank, w hich deter­
m in es an d im p lem en ts m o n etary
policy.
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Stepping Into the Job
Beruti Artharee
begins his first week
as acting director o f
the Portland
Development
Commission, a
powerful institution
charged with many o f
Portland’s
revitalization,
development and
housing projects. The
civic leader urges
people to get involved
in the public
planning process fo r
their city and
neighborhoods
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N ig h t shift.
W a it until after 8 p.m.to run
your household appliances.
By working together, we've been able to reduce our energy use and
keep the power flowing. But we still need to be thoughtful about how
we use electricity. Especially during the peak times of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Monday to Friday.
Here's what you can do to save energy (and in most cases, save
yourself some money, too!):
upscale facilities, skilled and profes­
sional staff that consistently provide
excellent services, and a high level o f
hospitality. “O nbehalfofourm anage-
ment and team members, w e are proud
to have earned this prestigious award,
which indicates to travelers that our
staff is dedicated to proving excellent
service and that w e are com m itted to
offering outstanding accommodations
on a consistent basic,” said John
Steinbach o f Em bassy Suites.
education o f young students in the
hospitality industry.
“ Attracting and maintaining a di­
verse work force enhances our com ­
petitiveness and strengthens our busi­
ness ties in a global hospitality indus­
try, and it is in that spirit that w e’re
proud to accept this aw ard," said
Stephen F. Bollenbach, Hilton Hotels
president and ch ief executive officer.
1
( P hoto by L arry
J a c k so n /P ortland
O bserver .)
■ Install energy-efficient show er-
heads a n d faucet aerators. They
can save on hot water, an d the
new m odels deliver excellent
w ater pressure.
■ Wait un til after 8 p.m., M onday to
F riday to ru n your dishw asher,
clothes w asher, vacuum , and other
appliances.
■ Do la u n d ry on the w eekend. A nd
w ash an d d ry only full loads.
■ Keep the condenser coils on your
refrigerator clean and unobstructed.
■ Turn off extra lights especially
betw een 4 p.m. a n d 8 p.m.
■ Use y o u r m icrow ave oven or
to a ste r/b ro ile r instead of the oven
w hen possible.
■ Keep y o u r therm ostat set between
65°F an d 68°F, if y o u r health
perm its. Each degree you low er
your therm ostat can save you u p to
3 percent on your bill.
Hilton Wins
Corpbrate Award
Hilton Hotels has received an award
from the N ational Coalition o f Black
Meeting Planners for its support o f
hiring African A m ericans in the m eet­
ing-planning industry. H ilton has
worked w ith N CB M P for the past 15
years through both participation and
attendance. In the last seven years,
Hilton has also contributed nearly
$70,000 to N CBM P forthecontinuing
J. 1
Aris Stomberg (from left), Ruth harrington and Betty Jo Austin lend their expertise to students at the first
ever cosmology career fair.
Embassy Suites Earns
Four-Diamonds
The 276-suite Embassy Suites Port­
land D ow ntow n has w on the presti­
gious A A A Four-D iam ond rating.
It marks the 2nd consecutive year the
property has w on the prestigious rat­
ing. U nder the A A A system, hotels
undergo unannounced evaluations by
field inspectors and ifthey qualify, are
assigned an overall rating ofone to five
diamonds.
To obtain the A A A Four-D iam ond
designation, the property m ust have
ar.
Let’s all do our part.
W ait ‘til late to use electricity.
Call us at I -800-222-4335, and ask for
a copy of our Bright Ideas booklet
for more energy-saving tips.
■ P ut com pact fluorescent b u lb s in
light fixtures that are u sed m ore
than three hours a day. These bulbs
use o n e-q u arter the energy a n d last
10 tim es longer than reg u lar bulbs.
■ D on't block heating registers,
baseboards, radiators o r cold
air returns. A ir has to circulate
for y o u r heating system to
w ork efficiently.
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PACIFIC PO W ER
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