October 16, 2002
Page A6
Achievements Honored at Awards Banquet
The Emerald Awards Banquet of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. honors a group of outstanding African American men. The recent event was held under the theme "In
Service to All Mankind: A Labor of Love" with proceeds from the dinner and silent auction going to the sorority's scholarship fund, which is given to African American
women who attend an accredited college and who have contributed countless hours of community service. Pictured (from left) are Rev. Wilbert G. Hardy Jr., senior pastor
of Highland United Church of God in Christ; Conrad Hurdle, vice principal of Whitaker Middle School; Dr. Charles Hopson, principal of Harriet Tubman Middle School;
Sandra Brame, Emerald Awards chairman; Dr. Daniel 0. Bernstine, president of Portland State University; Charles Washington, chief executive office and publisher of the
Portland Observer; Baba Wague Diakite, author, artist, and storyteller; and Joy Fowler, Zeta Sigma Omega chapter president.
Activist Posey Pioneers Minority Hiring
Northeast Urban
Truckers enjoy
partnership with
Tri-Met
by L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
For James Posey, the formation
o f Northeast Urban Truckers and
its subsequent Tri-Met contract
has been both a triumph and a
vindication.
The group is a partnership o f
African-American trucking con
tractors that includes Posey, Alvin
Hall and J. & R. Trucking. They
provided trucks for the Interstate
Light Rail project, at times provid
ing work foras many as 30 minority
and wom en w orkers. Tri-M et
worked through the group to fui fi II
its “first source" commitment to
offer jobs to local workers for the
project.
"The concept w a sn 't new ,”
Posey said. “This was proposed
12 years ago when the National
African-American Minority Con
tractors was active. We were never
able to sell it to the city. [Tri-Met
general manager] Fred Hansen
agreed to try it."
From the original group. North
east Urban Truckers expanded to
include a dozen contractors, in
cluding two Hispanics and a white
woman. Others were brought in as
the work requirements expanded.
“We used people from all over
everywhere to get the job done,”
Posey said. “It's not unlike what
the white guys have done for years
- you use your relatives first, then
your friends, then whoever you
can get."
Posey has been campaigning
for years against what he sees as
“the way white guys have done it
for years" - in other words, what he
calls institutionalized racism.
“There are studies that show
there's racism in the contracting
arrangement here," he said. "If you
factor that in, you have to create n
mechanism to deal with that.”
Bill Bruce, o f Stacey-Witbeck,
the primary general contractor and
project manager for the Interstate
Light Rail said he has enjoyed
working with Posey on the new
Max line construction.
“ I have a lot o f respect for him as
a community activist, and now as
a man running several small busi
nesses," Bruce said.
Another admirerisTri-Met Gen
eral Manager Fred Hansen.
“James has been one o f the
strongest advocates for African-
American firms,"he said. “ I’m hon
ored to have been able to provide
these small firms the opportunity
to work on the Interstate Light Rai I
Project. I consider James a friend
and a partner in helping Tri-Met
deliver on its commitment to in
volve local businesses on this large
project."
In addition to providing jobs.
Northeast Truckers tries to give
back to the community in other
The power to
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ways. They have contributed to
the Coalition o f Black Men, the I
Have A Dream Foundation, the
Jefferson High School Athletic
Department and Holy Redeemer
School’s annual Good in the Hood
festival. They are seeking to pro
vide landscaping for community
schools, Posey said.
Raised in Indianapolis, Posey
m ustered out o f the m ilitary
through Fort Lewis, WA and thus
w as introduced to the Pacific
Northwest. He worked for thcU.S.
Forest Service for two years before
settling in Portland and entering
the co nstruction trades - his
father's profession - in 19 8 1.
In his spare time, he and his
daughter operate the Eliot E-Mat
Cafe out o f the Standard Dairy
James Posey
Building, next to Billy Reed's Res
taurant. A convenience store, it
also serves food and offers laun
dry facilities and Internet access
and photocopy services.
Under an agreement with the
Eliot Neighborhood Association,
the store serves no alcohol.
The Tri-Met contract is a first o f
its kind for Posey. “The moon and
stars came into the right alignment,”
he says.
TV Series Features
Local Patients
F ootage film ed at L egacy
Emanuel Hospital in north Port
land fortwoepisodesofthe Emmy-
winning series. “Trauma: Life in
the ER," will air on Monday, Oct. 21
at 8 p.m. on The Learning Channel.
The episode, “ BI indsided," fea
tures a northeast Portland mother,
Rianna Velasquez, 22, and her
daughter Shamiya I be. 3, who were
hit by a truck causing long stays in
the adult and pediatric intensive
care units at Emanuel.
Velasquez and her daughter will
receive treatment from Dr. Ameeri
Ramzy, who has been a trauma
suergon since, “before the age of
the CT scanner." With 22 years of
experience, he has the skill and
bedside manner needed to help the
young mother and child through
theirhospitalization.
Nine-year-old Jaycc Buckley o f
north Portland was also struck by
a car and will receive treatment off
the show.
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