Happy Independence Day!
Waterfront
Blues
..
NW
Festival marks
25 years of
fighting hunger
C ollege
C areers
inside, page 3
sp e c ia l ed
e d itio n
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Community Leader Dies
‘City o] Roses'
VolumeXXXXI
Number 25
jf c J ^31 w w w .portlandobserver.com
Ifl L3 Wednesday
• July 4, 2012
.
Established in in 1970
1970
Established
Committed
to Cultural
Diversity
Committed
to Cultural
Diversity
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''community service
Harold
Williams
served with
distinction
by J ames H ill
Harold W illiams, a Portland C om ­
m unity C ollege B oard o f D irector
since 1990 and noted com m unity
leader, passed aw ay on Sunday,
July 1. H e w as 69.
T he college w ill celebrate W ill­
ia m s’ m ore than 50 years o f service
to the com m unity w ith a m em orial
celebration at 11 a.m ., T hursday,
July 12 in the gym nasium on the
PC C C asc ad e C am p u s, 705 N.
K illingsw orth St. The public is in­
vited to share their recollections
and stories.
“T his is a sad tim e for us all, ” said
P C C D istric t P resid e n t P resto n
Pulliams. “In the com m unity, Harold
w as know n for his eloquence and
w as sought after to speak at confer­
ences and other occasions. M any
people know about Portland C o m ­
m unity C ollege because o f a pre­
sentation that H arold has given,
and m any have been m oved to do­
nate, volunteer, or enroll in the co l­
lege because o f his outreach. W e
have lost a m an w idely regarded as
a pioneer, advocate and m entor for
o u r com m unities.”
W illiam s w as appointed in 1990
to represent Z one 2, w hich en co m ­
passes N orth Portland and portions
o f C olum bia C ounty. He was elected
in 1991 and re-elected in 1995,1999,
2 0 0 3 ,2 0 0 7 and 2011. H e w as presi­
dent o f contracting firm C H 2A A s­
sociates and a m em ber o f the B lack
L eadership C onference, as w ell as
T he U rban League. A past c hair o f
the C oalition o f B lack M en, W ill­
iam s also served on the board o f the
O regon C om m unity C ollege A sso­
ciation. H e held b a c h e lo r’s and
m aster’s degrees from Portland State
U niversity and lived in northeast
Portland.
W illiam s had a long record o f ser-
Harold William (left) is congratulated by Portland Community College President Preston Pulliams for winning the Pacific Region Trustee
Leadership Award in 2010. A long-time community leader, Williams died Sunday at the age o f 69.
vice to the com m unity and extensive
background in civil rights, affirm a­
tive action, education and justice. He
served as A ffirm ative A ction D irec­
tor and Equal O pportunity C oordina­
tor to form erOregon Gov. Bob Straub.
H e w as Labor Relations M anager for
the State o f O regon Executive D e-
partmentfrom 1979to 1984and served
as a consultant to the O regon Y outh
A uthority from 1995 to 2006. From
1969 to 1973,he served as D irector o f
the Educational C enter at Portland
State University. He taught at Linfield
C ollege w here he m entored students.
H e w as p re s id e n t o f the P o rt-
land-area A frican A m erican C h am ­
b e r o f C o m m e rc e , c h a ir o f th e A f­
rican A m erican C om m ittee o f C o m ­
m u n ity C o lle g e T ru ste e s, an d a
w id e ly k n o w n m o t i v a t i o n a l
sp e a k e r. H e se rv e d on P o rtla n d
M a y o r T o m P o tte r’s C h a rte r R e ­
v iew C o m m issio n an d a c te d as a
c o n su lta n t to th e P o rtla n d D e v e l­
o p m e n t C o m m issio n in th e ir e f ­
fo r ts to e x p a n d m in o r ity a n d
w o m e n - o w n e d b u s in e s s c o n ­
tra c ts .
H e has served on m any advisory
co m m ittees and has v o lu n teered
hundreds o f hours o f tim e to civic,
re lig io u s and cu ltu ra l activ itie s.
W illiam s also served on the B oard
o f D irectors for St. M ary ’s School
for B oys, on the A dvisory B oard for
th e O r e g o n C o n v e n tio n a n d
V isito r’s Services, and chaired the
N A A C P Y outh C om m ittee.
W illiam s’ m ost significant co n ­
tribution to Portland C om m unity
C ollege w as his w ork in bringing
co m m u n ity college services to all
parts o f the college district. W hen
P C C ’s first bond m easure passed in
1992, he led the effort to expand the
PC C cam pus in north Portland so
that students w ho lived in that poor
area o f tow n co u ld enroll in courses
th e y n e e d e d to c o m p le te an
a sso c iate ’s degree w ithout having
to travel to oth er PC C locations.
W hen the college passed another
bond m easure in 2000, he w as the
driving force behind a m ajor e x p a n ­
sion o f college services in an o th er
under-served part o f the co m m u ­
nity. A nd W illiam s w as in stru m en­
tal in pushing for a college policy
that w ould ensure that college c o n ­
struction contracts w ould m eet m i­
nority-contracting goals.
In addition, he was know n fo r his
prom otion o f alternative program s
for at-risk students. H e w as su c­
c essfu l in e x p an d in g c la ssro o m
space for m entorship program s for
students o f all ages. A n ex am p le o f
this w ork is W illiam s’ “ S uccess
A cadem y,” w here spiritual and cul
continued
on page 7