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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 2002)
Jîortlanô ©baeruer December 25. 2002 continued Page A5 from Front Black Burials just another stiff or like I was just one more family member of adead person,” she said. “When I told her what the man at the other home had said, she was very gracious and apologized to I me on behalf of all other funeral directors for his behavior.” It is this kind of sensitivity that Cleodis D. Vann said sets Afri can American funeral homes apart from the rest. “You really have to be apart of our culture to know what to expect,” Vann, w ho’s family o p erated the first A frican American owned funeral home in Oregon, Vann and Vann, until it closed in October 2001. “Some funeral home directors may seem callous and insensitive to wards the grieving process of African Americans because it is so totally different.” Vann said he has been at funerals where people have tried to wreck cars in the procession as an expression of emotion. During funeral programs, friends and relatives often break out in fits of tears and wailing. Touch ing and grabbing the body is not uncommon. “I’ve have a lot of people jumping into the casket with the body,” Vann said. “Chances are, you won’t see that at a Cauca sian funeral. Other funeral di rectors might not be ready for that.” The differences don’t end there - a history of the funeral business in Portland shows a startling division between black and white dating back to the 1940s when m any A frican American families couldn’ t find funeral homes to bury their rela tives. Vann said when his parents, Roberta and C. Don Vann, opened Vann and Vann in 1954 only three funeral homes in Port land would provide services for African Americans. In fact, his CANNON'S RIB EXPRESS = = _ (FORMERLYCHUCK HINTON'S) Catering & Take-Out O ur S pecialty : R eal H ickory S moked B ar -B-Q • Sandwiches • Salads • Chicken • Pork Ribs • Beef Ribs Open 11 am-10 pm Monday through Saturday and 1pm to 8 pm Sunday father, who was already licensed in Michigan, was only able to get licensed in Oregon because the help of Ellsworth Purdy Sr. at Killingsworth Little Chapel of Portland was ju st terrible as fa r as racial situations went. —Cleodis D. Vann, retired funeral home director on the discrimination against African Americans in the 1940s and 1950s the Chimes. The north Portland chapel served African Americans at the time. But Vann said Purdy had complaints from white cus tomers who were opposed to this practice He said Purdy helped Vann and Vann get off its feet out of fear of loosing clientele. When Etoile and Arthur Cox tried to open Cox and Cox in the early 50s, they also ran into problems with discrimination. Al though Arthur had graduated with flying colors from mortu ary school at Washington Col lege in Chicago, Oregon law required him to apprentice with a licensed director and embalmer for two years. According to a 1976 oral in terview from the Oregon Black “They would accept him by letter and by telephone,” Etoile said. “But when he’d show his little black face down there they’d say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I would like to, but I can’t.” At the time the city also had a discriminatory indigent persons plan that took care of distribut ing to funeral homes the bodies of those people who could not afford to pay for their burial. Vann said African-American bodies always came to African- American owned funeral homes and Caucasian bodies always went to his white competitors. It wasn’t until the city arranged a turn list to make sure each home received an equal workload that Vann and Vann began receiv ing deceased Caucasians. “Portland was just terrible as myths still prevail in the funeral industry to this day. “ For exam ple, th ere are black people with pale skin and thin lips,” she said. “ I’ve seen some people like this go to other funeral homes and the people doing the preparation assume because they are A f rican-A m erican, they should be dark with lips that are thick and big.” Charlene said at Cox and Cox they look at all parts o f the person’s characteristics. Re gardless of skin tone, she said they have the skills to make anyone look their best. Tanner had a background in cosmetol ogy before she went into the funeral business. When she sets about to prepare a body, she said the process is very much like going to a beauty salon. “W e’ve been told they look better when they leave this es tablishm ent than when they were out there living life on life’s terms,” Tanner said. As the population of north and northeast Portland diversi fies, Cox and Cox hopes to con tinue to serve all parts of the community, not only African- Americans. “Black, white or green, we are going to be aware of the needs of our community,” Cox said. A nnouncem ent com es one m onth after city voters approved a $49 m illion levy for park Fish Sandwich - $8°° & ™I)AY Fish Dinner - $100Q SATURDAY * * * N ew L ocation * * * 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -3 8 3 6 Charles Jordan Charles Jordan, community leader and director of Portland ’ s Bureau of Parks and Recre ation since 1989, will retire as of April 1. He made the surprise an nouncement last Thursday at a holiday luncheon. Spokeswoman Karen Loper The power to quit smoking is within We know how hard it is to quit smoking and we know what works. Let us give you a helping hand. Call us today. Oregon Department of Human Services far as racial situations went,” Vann said. Vann added that white owned funeral chapels only began pro moting their services to African A m ericans when crem ation gained popularity. Because cre mation was less expensive than formal burials, funeral homes were loosing money. African Americans traditionally pre ferred burial to incineration and funeral directors found that in order to regain lost profits, they would have to actively target black families. He remembers a teacher of mortuary science at Mount Hood Community College in the 70s once told the class that because black people had darker skin, their body tissue was stronger and there for it was necessary to use a stronger embalming fluid. Vann said African Ameri cans have the same arterial structure and blood types, arid like white people, their bodies come in all shapes, sizes and densities regardless of race. He said when embalming bodies, all those characteristics must be taken into consideration - skin color, however, is not a part of the equation. “I had to dispel that myth to my professor,” he said. Charlene Cox, Jerome Cox- Tanner’s mother, said other Jordan to Retire From Portland Parks CATERING EVENTS LARGE AND SMALL NOW TAKING HOLIDAY DESSERT ORDERS 5 4 1 0 N.E. 3 3 rd History Project, Arthur was turned down by several funeral homes before he was accepted for an apprenticeship at Zeller’s Funeral Chapel. 1 -877-2N0-FU M E (Spanish) TTY: 1 -877-777-6534 Kwanzaa is the time to reflect on what is important to you. Please pick up your gift Kwanzaa bookmark from the African American Health Coalition, local merchants, or the Urban League of Portland. A said Jordan plans to plan to spend more time with his family. The announcement comes one month after city voters ap proved a $49 million levy for parks. The five-year property tax measure will pay for building projects, repairs, service im provements, maintenance and the addition of after-school pro grams. Loper said Jordan wanted to leave on a high note and hadn’t made up his mind to leave until after the levy passed. Jordan is also a former Port land City Councilman. Alcohol Safety Urged for Holidays People urged to keep o f f roads after d rin k in g The Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon State Police are reminding people to keep this holiday season happy by following one simple rule— don’t drink and drive. “Every alcohol-related crash is a tragedy for the people in volved, but such tragedies are preventable,” said Gretchen M cKenzie, ODOT impaired driver program coordinator. “The combination of alcohol and driving results in the death or injury of far too many Orego nians each year.” During the first half of 2002, alcohol accounted for 80 fatali ties on O regon’s roadways. More than 36 percent of all highway deaths during January through June were alcohol re lated. “Our number one goal is that motorists reach their destina tion safely and without incident." said Lt. Gary Miller of the Pa trol Services Division for the Oregon State Police. “We would much rather drivers make the right choice ahead of time than the wrong choice afterwards that may result in a crash or an arrest." McKenzie said planning is the key to avoiding tragedy during the holiday party season. If hosting a holiday party: Pro vide plenty of non-alcoholic bev erages; Limit amount of alcohol available. If a guest has too much to drink: Take their keys; offer them a ride home; call them a cab; offer to let them stay over night. If attending a celebration: Plan ahead; decide, in advance, who will be the designated driver, or take a cab or mass transit if it’s available; remember each person has different limits or tolerance for the amount of al cohol they can consume and not become impaired Never, ever, transport a child after drinking or allow any one else to either. In 2001 a total of 173 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes, accounting for 35.5 per cent of all traffic fatalities that year. That was the lowest ever percentage since reporting be gan in 1977, but ODOT and its partners in law enforcement and community education are work ing to bring that tally even lower. A d v e rtis e in Thc Portland Observer call 5O3.288.(X)33 or email: adsf® portlandobserver.com t
