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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 2002)
July 10, 2002 Page A4 ortlaiiî) Opinion articles do not necessarily rejlect or represent the views o f (Tljr JJo rtla n i» 0Db»eruer tPliBiruer E J il!*' JJnrthtnh (Observer It I T (I I -I S -C H I I f ,P C o r t E D i T o K Joy Ramos II I I. I S H t I Charles H. Washington USPS 959-680 H Established 1970 i s in K ss M t s i u c i Gary Ann Taylor A 4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 sst . D is r n m r m s M a n a a e k Mark Washington C P ( » L I s H K K ib a t iv i Michael Leighton D llIC T H I Paul Neufeldt P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid In Portland, OR • Subscriptions are $60.00 per year________ 503-288-0033 • FAX503-288-0015 • EMAIL: news@ixrtlandobsener.com subscriDtion@oortlandobseiver.com ads@mrtlenddbS<?n/er ;gi C harles J ordan S peaks City leader raises concern about few role models and our troubled youth The Portland Observer is proud to publish an interview featuring Charles Jordan, Direc tor o f Portland Parks and Recre ation. Jordan has compiled an extensive record o f public ser vice. He is currently the esteemed director o f Portland Parks and Recreation and a former city councilman. Our correspondent Yugen Fardan Rashad recently sat down with this dynamic leader for this first part o f a continuing series: Y u g en : In the m odem age of professional sports, the black ath lete has com e full circle with achievem ents in tennis and golf. Jordan: W e w ant to see them (the black athlete) excel. H istori cally blacks w ere kept from co m peting in p ro fessio n al sports. Jackie R obinson, the first black person to play m ajor league b ase ball, cam e in and the “doors were opened.” In tennis today, you have the sisters, V enus and Serena W illiam s. And now g o lf w ith T i ger W oods. Black people are elated that finally the world can see we can do things and do them exceedingly well. W hy does this excite the m asses so m uch? Because it gives young people a role model. It says to them , hey, “w e can do it” . We can be N um ber One. And Tiger W oods does it (role m odel) so well. Y ugen: I agree. I t’s certain ly Charles Jordan refre sh in g . I ca n n o t rela te to the g lu tt o n , o b je c t w o r s h ip so p rev a len t am o n g b lack p ro fe s sio n a l a th le te s - an d th e ir n a iv e te and ap ath y ab o u t b u si n ess d ev e lo p m e n t in th e co m m u n ity th at p ro d u ced an d su p p o rte d th e ir g e n e sis to w ard s a c co m p lish m e n t and rich es. J o r d a n : T iger does a lot o f the right things. Som e o f them (black The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE O R IN PART W ITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. athletes) are ju st spoiled brats making a lot o f money. So many of ourchildren may lead lives o f frus trations and failure because there are ju st so many NBA stars, just one T iger, and every kid cannot be a T ig er or K obe Bryant. Som ehow we need to let them k n o w th a t th is (p ro fe s s io n a l sports) is ju st one option. You got to have m ore options in life. If all a kid prepares for is one option, and those skills aren ’t transfer able... A lot o f basketball players w ould starve to death if they co uldn’t play ball! Som e o f them d id n ’t graduate from school. The challenge for us is how do we glorify the teachers (education). W e d o n ’t know how to do that yet, but w e need our kids to look to them (teachers) ju st as they look to the ball players. Look at w hat w e pay te ac h ers... Y u g en : W e pay them ? Jordan: (Smile). Hypocritically we w ill say “our kids are our fu ture” , but w here is your m oney going? L ook at teacher salaries and the responsibilities they have. And with the enorm ous am ounts o f m oney we have, why h av en ’t we fix ed our sch o o ls? It ju st d o esn ’t m ake any sense. Y u g en : A nd w hile w e’re talk ing about the young people, they face a m oral dilem m a that threat ens and disrupts. In perhaps this or the next generation, w e’re on the cusp o f squandering the sac rifices and suffering o f the many w ho cam e before. Jordan: People ask me ‘what do we do with the young p eo p le?’ I honestly d o n ’t have an answ er, but I know that every kid can be saved but every k id w o n ’t be saved, and th a t’s a bitter pill to swallow. Y u g en : No, no, C harles. I ’m counting on you to navigate this tough terrain better then I'v e been able to because I’m befuddled. Jordan: If I w as a benevolent Advertise in <ri’*‘ Jîn rtü u tb Looking for an e X c e I I e n t part time (Observer W h a t Part-tim e ¡ob w ill p a y you call 503.288.0033 up to $ 7 0 0 .0 0 p e r m o n th fo r or email :ads@portlandobserver.com dictator w hat w ould I do? An overw helm ing m ajority o f youth started out only w anting to do the right thing. W e got kids out there struggling ju st to m ake it. They h av en ’t given up or turned their lives over to crim e. I w ould find those kids, the w illing souls, w ho say they w ant to m ake it, and put 85 percent o f my resources there. I w ould reserve the rem ainder for those w ho have said the hell with it Y u g en : O kay. These are youth steeped in w ayw ard, nom adic lifestyles...Y ou have a different serm on for them , w hat is it? J o r d a n : ” If you ev er changed you m ind. I ’m going to leave a little bit out here fo r y ou.” The ones w ho decided they w ant to kill people or do drugs, and then ask me to prove to them that I can give them a better life ... No, no my brother. Y ou’ve made yourchoice. continued b etter to the (Auditor Schools Needs New Leader Jim Scherzinger has re m ained ‘interim ’ superin tendent o f Portland Public S c h o o ls in s p ite o f failin g s, p o o r an d ‘b a d ’ m anagem ent, lavish and unnecessary district costs and expenses, terrible lead ership, lack o f accountabil ity , in e p titu d e , a r r o gance and m ore. S ch o o l d is tric t c o sts and expenses have so ared w h ile d e liv e ry to stu d en ts has p lu m m eted . E d u c a tio n a l rac ism and the g ro ss la ck o f a c c o u n ta b ility h a s a l lo w ed fo r an d e n c o u r ag ed stu d en t ab u se an d a w id en in g ‘d is c o n n e c t’. In the interests of all stu d en ts, I c o n tin u e to urge members of the Portland School Board to appoint Dr. Calvin O.L. Henry Superin tendent o f Portland Public Schools. o n ly tw o d a ys w o rth o f w ork? JOB? Excellent Educational Assistance Program: GET ON-BOARD TRI-MET AND MAKE YOUR CAREER CONNECTION -<------ •Student Loan Repayment Program (up to $20,000) • Montgomery Gl Bill (up to $263.00 per month) •Ask about our $350.00 per month (tax free) Incentive Kicker •Ask about our $8,000.00 enlistment bonus Openings N ow Available in the Following Fields: •Aircraft maintenance & avionics •General purpose mechanic & vehicle operations • Computer maintenance & switching • Information & inventory management Tri-Mct proudly serves our comunity with over 2600 employees offering exciting career opportunities in many different areas. Visit Tri-Met's website at www.tri-met.org/jobs. 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