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,r',‘ J J n rtla u b (O b stru e r
February 6. 2008
Black History Month
B lack H istory M onth
Oregon Legacy of Education Advocacy
African
Americans
draw attention
to inequities
bv T ri in
F i ores and S arah
G R I KEITH
T he O regon H istorical
S ocietv
Black United Front leader Ron
Herndon stood on a desk at a 1982
schools rally, leading m em bers of
the A frican-A m erican com m unity
in chants o f "Y ou'd better go home
because we ain 't." It was one of
several sim ilar d em o n stratio n s
again st the clo su re o f H arriet
Tubm an Middle School. In this in­
sta n c e , sc h o o l-b o a rd m e m b e r
Jam es Fenwick picked up his pa­
pers and left, as they suggested.
Herndon, a 1968 graduate of Reed
C ollege, also organized a one-day
boycott o f the schools by 4(MM)
A frican-American students to force
the school board to allow Tubman
to stay open. Leaders hoped that
such protests would draw atten­
tion to the Portland Public School
Board decisions that avoided ad­
dressing the needs o f m inority and
low -incom e students. The problem
was particularly irksom e because
low test scores plagued African-
A m erican students.
In the 1960s and through 1979,
the P o rtlan d school board re ­
sponded to education issues re­
lated to blacks by follow ing the
blatantly racist busing practices.
M a n d a to ry b u sin g to d is ta n t
schools affected A frican-American
students w hooften traveled far from
their hom es to attend integrated
schools: w hite students attended
their closest neighborhood school.
PHOTO CO! RTESY OE THE OREGON HiSTORK At. SOCIETY
Ron Herndon leads a 1982 protest against the closure of Harriet Tubman Middle School to draw attention to racial inequities in Portland.
W ith busing, how ever, test scores
did not improve significantly and
continued to be a source o f frustra­
tion for Herndon and other m em ­
bers o f the com m unity.
Since his Reed Col lege days, Ron
Herndon has draw n persistent at­
tention to educational inequities in
Portland. Among his recent accom ­
plishm ents are directing the A lbina
Head Start program and co-leading
the Education Crisis Team, acitizen
group that confronts the school
board over the issue o f academ ic
achievem ent am ong low -incom e
and m inority students.
In 2002, the Portland Tribune
revealed that because o f his activ­
ism Herndon was one o f many ac­
tivists on whom a Portland Police
in te llig e n c e u n it k e p t w a tc h
throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
The intelligence unit m aintained
and updated these files long after it
becam e illegal for them to do so.
The State of Oregon is proud to honor Black
History Month. We also would like to take
this opportunity to congratulate the Portland
Observer on its 38th year of publication. The
Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC)
and the Department of Administrative
Services (DAS) are the sponsors of this
message and are Equal Opportunity
Employers committed to a diverse work
force. You can find current job
announcements for the Sate of Oregon,
on the Web at www.oregonjobs.org
We celebrate our local black heroes who live by this
dream today. Regence recognizes their vision, passion
and contributions to the state of Oregon.
May we continue their legacy of compassion and
tolerance in celebration of Black History Month.
Oy
Regence
Together we can.-
You can also find out about current
job openings at OLCC by calling the Job
Information Line at 503-872-5239.