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There’s Power in Where You Shop
ALBINA MINISTERIAL ALLIANCE
Cascade
B a I m ® „
( ¡ i LIAD
ARM
Project
Healing Worship Celebration
Join us in our war against HIV/AIDS,
and help break the silence in our communities.
Albina Ministerial Alliance (AMA) is breaking the silence on HIV/AIDS in
the African American communities by educating Christian churches in the
North and Northeast community and fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
AMA is inviting community members, pastors, ministers and missionaries
to the annual local observance of the national Balm in Gilead’s Black
Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS worship celebration.
Please join us in our war against HIV/AIDS with
Keynote Speaker, Vanessa Gaston, PresidentICEO
Urban League of Portland
on:
Sunday, March 7, 4 p.m.
Bethel A.M.E. Church
5828 NE Eighth Ave.
Portland, Oregon
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bishop Grace Osborne, AMA Health Coordinator, (503) 281-5850,
or Dr. LeRoy Haynes, Service Coordinator (503) 287-0261.
7
**A II classes are free of charge
£ African American Health Coalition, Inc.
\
Presents for your health,
Wellness W ithin REACH Activity Calendar
Aerobics
Mallory Ave. Christian Church
Mon, Wed, Fri, 6-7am, Pierce • 5:3O-6:2Opm,
Granville • 6:30-7:30pm. Nickerson
Humboldt Elementary
Tue, Thu, 6-7pm, Keller
Low Impact Aerobics
Daniel’s Memorial Church
Tue, 7:15-8:15pm, Granville
Salvation Army
M att Dishman
Salsa
Salvation Arm y
Mon, 6:30-7:30pm, Henry
M att Dishman
Tue, Thu, 7-8am, Lois
Tai Chi
Salvation Arm y
Wed, 6:30-7:30pm, Lyles
Walking Group
Peninsula Park
Sat, 12:30pm, Woods
African Dance
M att Dishman
Sat. 10 -1 1 am. Addo
W eight M gnt./Conditioning
U. of Portland Indoor Track
Tue, Thu, 9-IOam, Hasan
Body Conditioning
W ild Oats Market
Sat, 9:30-10:30am, Nickerson
Yoga
W ild Oats Market
Tue, Thu, 7:30-8:30pm, O'Rourke
Pilates
M att Dishman
Mon. 12:15-1:15pm, Jenkins
March 03.2004
Support businesses that add to our economic base
by F aye M.
B urch -W ilson
expected to shop in the new stores given the opportunity to partici
The focus on Black History but not benefit from the enormous pate fully we will send our own kids
places the achievements o f Afri amount of work required to de to college” and we will help to sup
can-Americans in the spotlight and velop, design and open a new store. port the critical non profit organiza
increases appreciation of the sig
Are these national retailers with tions with our dollars and civic
nificant contributions of African certification barriers asking the voluntarism efforts.
Americans. As inventors, scien people hired to build those stores to
Ladies who are card-carrying
tists, creative thinkers, writers and come back to this community and members of the “Shop-till -Y ou -
authors, artists, educators, profes shop? No they are not. However, Drop C lu b ” are you investing in
sional practitioners, entrepreneurs, they are expecting you to buy from stores that in turn make an invest
politicians, developers, contractors, them and keep them in business.
ment in your immediate commu
service providers, home owners and
What happens if you decide not nity? Many o f our students have
business owners; the importance to invest in building the wealth of complained that no students from
of these contributions should not retailers who choose not to invest North and Northeast Portland High
be ignored.
or share some of the benefits with Schools are getting callbacks to
Equally significant is the collec the community? What return and work for the Lloyd Center shops
tive purchasing-power of A frican- benefit should you get for your and retailers. We saw recently on
Americans.
buying power?The retail chain that 60 Minutes that some stores are
We are a very important con invests in ourcommunity, hires local targeting a very different consumer.
sumer base. Collectively, the buy residents and contracts with the If they are losing interest in the
ing power of African Americans in local contractors and small commu urban minority buyer and courting
Oregon has doubled in the last 10 nity-based businesses and who the suburban shoppers, we have a
years to over $938 million dollars. give back by supporting our civic choice to make as well.
The Hispanic communities, in O r organizations and issues deserves
Shifting emphasis and creating
egon, now have $3.9 billion dollars and has earned our support and an image more suited to the major
in buying power. Collectively Afri consumer dollars.
ity community which is seen as an
can Americans, Asians, Latinos,
Consider the actions of your lo- ideal customer, is a business deci-
and Native Americans will purchase
over $2 trillion dollars nationally.
This is important because we all
have choices about what we pur
chase and where we will spend our
dollars. However, until we make
better and more informed purchas
ing decisions and realize the power
we hold individually and collec
tively our communities will not move
forward and benefit directly from
that purchasing base.
— Faye M. Burch-Wilson, African-American construction
We would be well served by
project manager and business consultant
creating and supporting a strong
locally -based economic agenda. cal banks, whether the Bank of sion the retailer is free to make. As
Whe n y ou ha ve to make a choice Umpqua, Wells Fargo or US Bank a consumer, we enjoy the same
about where to purchase your gro are allowing our contractors and freedom of choice. We can chose to
ceries or personal items from retail resident-owned businesses to part shop and patronize only th o se ’
ers consider whether or not African ner with them to build and expand stores that hire and support the
Americans are employed by the their operations. If these financial minoritycommunity. In sharp con
businesses, are visible in entry level institutions are not willing to share trast to this kind o f approach,
and management positions and the wealth with the community per- Nordstrom has an elegant Black
whether African Americans partici haps the community should make History month photography exhibit
pated in the construction and/or different choices.
in the middle of their Lloyd Center
expansion to facilities.
Bank of America is making a lobby. It is their way of acknowl
O f the new sites currently under statement by sponsoring the infa edging A frican-A m ericans and
construction or recently co n mous and valued art exhibit the showing respect for African-Ameri
structed such as Interstate Fred Hewitt African American Art col can as a valued customer.
M eyer, T rader Jo e ’s, Z upans, lection on exhibit at Portland State
Art exhibits and photography
W algreen’s or QEC’s, consider if University. We thank you for that exhibits once a year are wonderful
local residents and local minority but we also want you to promote and exciting but we want ourcom
contractors were given an oppor home ownership, lend money to munity to participate in the eco
tunity to participate in building the our development projects and fi nomic distribution of wealth all year
new stores.
nance our business ventures. As long. This has to be about more
What you may not be aware of is an example. Albina Banks’ mission than who has the right pictures on
many of the nationally -know n re is to participate in the resurgence of their walls. Look around and be
tail chains like Walgreen stores have our com m unity. They em ploy come more aware of you influence
a national certification program. This people from our community and and use it wisely.
kind of certification requirement is appoint community residents to
Remember to use local African
a significant barrier to locally held their board. These institutions are American owned businesses for
construction businesses and local partnering with the community and goods and services. Use your buy
contractors because it precludes profiting and prospering from those ing power where it counts. Let’s
their participation. These national strong community partnerships.
build an economic base for our
retail chains import skilled labor
Many big businesses think the community. Support businesses
from outside of the communities in answer is to sprinkle a few scholar who give their support to you!
which they are building and ex ships around ourcommunity hut if
Faye M. Burch-Wilson is an ac
panding their operations.
we are given the opportunity to complished African-American con
The retailer makes the decision participate in the economic benefit struction project manager and lo
to adopt practices and policies that as a colleague of mine, Andre Baugh cal business consultant who pro
exclude the local residents who are also a consultant said, “if we are motes diversity in the workplace.
Consider whether or not African
Americans are employed by the
businesses, are visible in entry level
and management positions and
whether African Americans
participated in the construction.
b etter le the <3cdit0r:
Daniel's Memorial Church. 1234 NE Killingsworth
(12th & Killingsworth)
Peninsula Park, 700 N Portland
Humboldt Elementary. 1915 N Gantenbem
Malory Avenue Christian Church (Gym), 126 NE
Alberta
Salvation Army. 5325 N Williams
U. of Portland Indoor Track. 500 N Willamette
Wild Oats Market. 3535 NE 15th
Matt Dishman. 77 NE Knott
Must be 21 or older to participate. Please contact AAHC before showing up to the first class and for
more information at 503-413-1850 or kdempsey@aahc-portland.org. Please receive approval from your
doctor before beginning exercise class.
R a c ia l an d E th n ic A p p r o a c h « to C o m m u n ity H e a lth
A Program of the African American Health Coalition. Inc
Sponsored Oy the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Contact AAHC at 5 0 3 -4 13 - 1 ISO or visit our web site at www.aahc-portfand.org
Nomination is No Joke
I am writing this letter in refer
ence to the nomination of R Kelly
for an NAACP image award. The
very first time I heard about it. the
thought that came to me. was this is
just someone playing a very crude
joke, but after a little investigation.
I found out that the nomination is
as real as it gets.
When I picked myself up off the
floor I realized that the people who
let this nomihation even make it to
the table or have this up for discus
sion are the real joke.
Unless I missed the redefining of
i
image along the way somewhere, I
personally find this embarrassing,
and downright shameful for this to
goon, coming from an organization
with a rich tradition in serving and
standing up for the right values and
moral threads of ourcommunity.
Let it be understood that no
means am I judging Mr. Kelly. But
you would think that in a room full
of people, that apparently have been
chosen to be there because of the
ability to make decent intellectual
decisions, one or maybe two would
have stood up and said, you know
folks, this may not be the best idea
until we find out if Mr. Kelly will be
exonerated from thechargesofchild
pornography, so we will have to
block this nomination by any means
necessary.
After going this path with the R
Kelly nomination, it only affirms
that the questions of credibility,
purpose and mission of this organi
zation in certain situations are ab
solutely valid.
Paul Knauls Jr.
Northeast Portland