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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2005)
Page A2 August 10. 2005 Congressman Fights for Voting Rights Act Ebony, Jet Publisher Dies at 87 Defeat would \ Publisher countered stereotypes (A P) - Publisher John H. Johnson, whose Ebony and Jet magazines countered stereotypi cal coverage of blacks after World War II and turned hint into one of the most influential black leaders in America, died Monday, his company said. He was 87. Johnson broke new ground by bringing positive portrayals of blacks into a mass-market publi cation and encouraging corpora tions to use black models in ad vertising aimed at black consum ers. Boni into an impoverished fam ily in Arkansas, Johnson went into business with a $5<X) loan secured by his mother’s furniture and built a publishing and cos metics empire. Johnson built Ebony from a circulation of 25.(XM) on its first press run in November 1945 to a monthly circulation of 1.9 million in 1997. Jet magazine, a weekly, was founded in 1951 and a third V ! 9 •A vM, 'X. Ä-. X John H. Johnson magazine. Ebony Man, a monthly m en's magazine, was started in 1985. Ebony - named by Johnson's wife, Eunice - was created to counter stereotypical portrayals of blacks in w hite-ow ned new s papers, m agazines and broad cast media. The m onthly m aga zine highlights the positive in black life. Johnson also encouraged ma jo r white companies to advertise in black media. He sent an ad sales man to Detroit every week for 10 years before an auto manufacturer agreed to advertise. Black Unemployment Rate Struggling July’s unemployment rate for A frican A m ericans dropped slightly but still struggles at 9.5 percent, ac cording to new unemploy ment numbers by the U.S. Department of Labor. T he C o n g re s s io n a l Black Caucus said black workers still lag far behind their white counterparts in jo b s and e m p lo y m e n t opportunities since Presi dent Bush took office. The caucus noted that the unemployment rate for white Americans remained unchanged at 4.3 percent. endanger civil rights safeguards (AP) - Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., urged Congress to reauthorize the landmark Voting Rights Act, say ing Saturday that failing to do so wou Id i m peri 140 years o f progress for A frican-A m erican voters. In the weekly Democratic radio address, Lewis said his party is com m itted to strengthening the sections o f the law that are set to expire at the end o f next year. C onservatives are pushing for m odification of tw o provisions. One requires nine states, mostly in the South, to get federal ap Marchers make their way on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Atlanta to commemorate the 40th anniversary o f the Voting Rights Act, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005. (AP Photo) proval before changing voting rules. The other requires election officials to provide voting m ate rial in the native language to im m igrant voters who d o n ’t speak English. “Our dem ocracy depends on p ro tectin g the right o f every A m erican citizen to vote in every election,” Lew is said. L e w is p a r tic ip a te d in the Southern civil rights struggles of the 1960s that secured congres sional passage o f the V oting Rights Act. “We were beaten, tear gassed and tram pled by horses,” said Lewis, recounting a March 7,1965, march in A labam a that drew a t tention to the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson. The black Vietnam veteran was shot as he attem pted to protect his m other, who was beaten by police during a civil rights march. The Voting Rights Act cam e at a time when it was "alm ost im pos sible for people o f color to regis ter to vote” because o f poll taxes and literacy tests, Lew is said. Bush s Approval Rating Continues to Drop Americans’ approval of Presi dent Bush's handling of Iraq is at its lowest level yet, according to an AP-Ipsos poll that also found fewer than half now think he’s honest. Approval of Bush’s handling of at 42 percent, with 55 percent disap 45 percent did not. Now, people are Iraq, which had been hovering in proving. The portion of people who just about evenly split on that issue the low- to mid-40s most of the year, consider Bush honest has dropped - with 48 percent saying he’s hon dipped to 38 percent. slightly from January, when 53 per est and 50 percent saying he’s not. B ush's overal 1 job approval was cent described him that way while Opera Singer Remembered Blood Donor Helen L. Phillips broke color barrier Alarm Issued (AP) - Helen L. Phillips, a soprano who broke the color barrier among singers at the Metropolitan Opera seven years before Marian Anderson’s historic debut, has died at 86. Phillips died of heart failure July 27 at New York’s Isabella Geriatric Center. Although the opera company had no for mal policy barring non-whites from appear ing on its stage, Phillips became the first black chorister when she was hired as an extra for five perform ances of M ascagni's “C avalleria R usticana” from D ecem ber 1947 through February 1948. In 1933, a troupe of black dancers perform ed with the Met and in January 1955, Anderson became the first black singer to perform a m ajor role for the famed opera, portraying Ulrica in V erdi's “A Masked Ball.” A native of St. Louis who graduated from Lincoln University in Jefferson City. Phillips went on to build a career as a soloist i n the early 1950s. She sang at M anhattan’s Town Hall in 1953, and with orchestras in Madrid, Spain, and St. Louis, where she also sang with the opera company. She also performed more than 500 times as part of a State Department entertainment tour of Austria and West Germany. The American Red Cross recently issued a red alert concerning low lev els o f blood donation in the Pacific Northwest. The organization said there is an immediate need for blood donors as shortages could result soon. All blood types are needed, with types O Positive and O Negative in high demand. Blood type AB positive is the only category o f eight common blood types thought to be at a suffi cient level. For more information orto schedule an a p p o in tm e n t, v isit www.redcross.org or call 800-GIVE LIFE. P resented V - il i i v V i c i y O nly Benefiting • jp s P e t : ia l O ly m p ic s Oregon C elebrating O regon ’ s B est FO O D, BEVERAGE & Portland City Grill Harry & David Pine Tavern Hurley's Stetson's House of Prime M anzana Mo's Restaurant Tamastslikt's Kinship Cafe M U S IC $5 A dmission Bell Buoy of Seaside Bluefish Bistro ’ »0 Huber's Restaurant Portland Steak & Chophouse Jackie's Ribs Salty's on the Columbia Lark's at Ashland Springs Hotel & M a n y M o re lll Little Richard As a military police officer you can keep the peace and respond to emergencies while you serve and protect.You’ll receive money fo r college, get career training and learn to be a leader. If you’re ready to put order in your life, join the Army National Guard today. Saturday August 13 V L Ì John Kay & Steppenwolf * Sunday August 14 Violent Femmes Friday August 12 Visit the website for travel info, Oregonlive.com Ambassadors sweepstakes, full entertainment schedule and much morel Oregon's favorite restaurants I SYSCO Chef's Palate Stage I FOODday Wine Pavilion I Oregon's favorite wines and brew I Oil Can Henry's Comedy Stage I Oregon Shakespeare Festival performances I Mt. Hood Jazz Festival Encore presented by Persimmon Realty I Cannon Beach Sand Castle Exhibition and more! A ugust 12-14 W aterfront P ark , P ortland www.oregonlive.com/biteoforegon or www.biteoforegon.com « » I-800-GO-GUARD www. I -800-GO-GUARD.com/police.html X 4« WHNRJ4 k»»" £ O íf í TOYOTA public (
