Local News
Williams
continued from page 1
“In the community, Harold was known
for his eloquence and was sought after to
speak at conferences and other occasions.
Many people know about Portland Commu-
nity College because of a presentation that
Harold has given, and many have been
moved to donate, volunteer, or enroll in the
college because of his outreach. We have
lost a man widely regarded as a pioneer,
advocate and mentor for our communities.”
Williams understood the value of a good
education from personal experience. A
political science major, he earned his bach-
elor’s degree at Portland State University.
After that he traveled to Zagreb, capital of
the former Yugoslavia, where he received a
Those who knew Williams well knew him
as a “doer,” said The Skanner News Pub-
lisher, Bernie Foster. He mentored many
leaders, including former State of Oregon
Treasurer Jim Hill. Foster says Williams
was something of an MC before it was cool.
“Some people called him a poet,” Foster
said. “You could give him a sentence and he
would just start making poetry. He could do
that with anything.”
Williams and Foster were both part of a
15-person delegation to Ghana in 2000. The
fact-finding mission, sponsored by the
Ghanaian government aimed to support
business and education ties between the
United States and Ghana.
Williams founded a con-
sulting business, CH2A &
Associates, Inc., which has
contracted with Oregon
Youth authority to develop
education programs. He also
consulted on labor relations,
workforce diversity and con-
tract negotiation. CH2A &
Associates
Williams’ long record vol-
unteer service covered many organizations.
He was a member of the Black Leadership
Conference, the Urban League, is past chair
of the Coalition of Black Men, and served
on the board of the Oregon Community
College Association, to name just two. He
also served as board chair for Success Acad-
emy, an innovative program that brought
spiritual and cultural leaders to meet with
PCC students who have been involved with
the juvenile justice system. Williams
favorite quote echoed this work and was,
“To give without remembering; to receive
without forgetting.”
Williams received numerous awards for
his leadership and volunteer service. As
Williams was a force in local,
state and national political
leadership for many years
certificate in International Relations. He
went on to obtain his master’s degree in
general studies, also from Portland State
University. From 1969-1973, he worked at
Portland State University as director of the
Educational Center.
As his career progressed, he gained
expertise in workforce and labor issues,
partly through his work for the State of Ore-
gon, as Labor Relations Manager from
1979-1984.
In 1975, Gov. Bob Straub appointed him
to serve as his Director of Affirmative
Action. In that role, he was a key player in
promoting civil rights for minorities,
women, and disabled persons.
Harold Williams pictured at right with, from left, PCC Board Chair Jim Harper;
Mayor Sam Adams; PCC President, Preston Pulliams.
early as 1973, the Portland Jaycees named
him “Man of the Year,” and in 1974 Jet
Magazine recognized him for “Outstanding
Achievement in Human Services.” In recent
years his awards have included: the
PGE/TACS Community Treasure Award in
1998, the Oregon Assembly for Black
Affairs Award in 1996, and the above men-
tioned PCC leadership award in 2010.
He was a force in local, state and national
political leadership for many years.
Williams was a candidate for the state legis-
lature, walking door to door in his campaign
to raise awareness of the issues facing the
African American community in Portland.
If he had been successful, he would have
been only the second African American
elected to the Oregon Legislature at the
time. At PCC, during Oregon Legislative
sessions, Williams routinely testified on
bills of significance to community colleges.
Harold Williams is survived by: his chil-
dren; Harold C. Williams Two, of Portland;
Anthony O.D. Williams, of Portland; and
Natasha Butler, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; his
father, Cleophas Williams, of Oakland,
Calif.; his stepfather, John H. Brown Sr., of
Texarkana, Texas; his siblings, John H.
Brown, Jr., of Texarkana, Texas; Nealie L.
Henderson , of Texarkana, Texas; Albert C.
Brown, of Portland, Ore.; Garland O.
Brown, of Portland, Ore.; Rev. Roy Bailey,
of Texarkana, Texas; Gwen Williams.
of Oakland, Calif.; his grandchildren, Isaiah
Anthony and Malena Marie, of Salem, Ore.;
and Tyonna Butler, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.;
his companion, Consuelo Vazquez; and a
host of nieces, nephews and friends.
The Terry Family Funeral home is han-
dling arrangements for the family.
Braids
continued from page 1
“Yes I acknowledge that cosmetologists
go through a lot to be licensed,” Starks says.
“What we’re saying is that what we do does
not involve the cutting, the dyeing, the
perming. What we specifically want to do is
twist or braid. We’re asking the state to
acknowledge that this is different and that
we’re not doing the same things that are in
cosmetology schools.
“At the same time we want the
state to acknowledge that a lot of
us with natural hair find it hard to
get services in traditional salons
because our hair isn’t the domi-
nant hair,” Starks says.
“A lot of the time if you want to
learn how to do natural hair care
you either have learned it grow-
ing up or you have to go take a
specialty class,” she said. “And
our hair isn’t a specialty – it is our
hair.”
“I emailed him and I said I’m going
through the same thing in Oregon, what can
I do? I think it’s unfortunate that I can cross
the river and I can do ponytails for foster
kids but I can’t do it in Oregon,” Starks
says. “He said the best thing you can do is
to contact your legislators.”
That’s exactly what Starks did — she says
What hair braiders do is braid hair,” Durn-
ing wrote in his report last year. “They
weave in extensions and decorations, in
keeping with traditions that originated in
Africa. Licensing keeps skilled hair braiders
from legally earning a living.”
Durning traces the “onerous” licensing
requirements to systematic efforts by indus-
try insiders to control their competition.
“These cartel-like politics are what lies
behind outrageously divergent licensing
rules: 1,600 hours of instruction to get a
hair-cutting license in Washington, for
example, but only 130 hours to become an
Emergency Medical Technician. In fact,
you can earn certification as a fire fighter in
Washington after just 385 hours of course-
work—one-fourth the time it takes to
become a stylist.”
Seven years ago, Washington state offi-
cials issued a “clarification” of the state’s
rules on cosmetology licenses which now
Durning, of the Sightline Institute, has a exclude professional hair braiders from the
old requirement – a process that did not
word for these requirements: racist.
involve changing any laws.
“What we’re trying to do is
remove some of those barri-
ers so that people can actual-
ly have access to becoming
an entrepreneur and using
their braiding skills,” Starks
-- Alan Durning, the Sightline Institute says.
“I think that it’s a move-
ment, and I think it’s one of
the movements that wasn’t
“Hair braiders—most of whom are intended to be political, but somehow it is
African immigrants or native-born African political.”
Americans serving African-American
clients—do not cut, straighten, curl, or color
hair, the skills taught in beauty schools.
ness.
“We don’t want this to be a burden on the
state but we also want it to break down
those barriers for people who might want to
go into business in hair braiding,” she says.
The issue of cultural competency in such
a test is a key issue, Starks says, because
currently the Oregon Cosmetology Board
only offers its tests in Eng-
lish, and the requirements
for obtaining a translator for
the test are themselves a
barrier.
“The spectrum of hair
braiders and other natural
hair stylists includes indi-
viduals who are just coming
over from Africa, or who
have been here most of their
life but maybe have a lan-
guage barrier,” she said.
Not only are the state licensing rules a
barrier to African and African
American women who want to build a
career around creating braids, twists
and curls, but it’s also a barrier to the
natural hair movement itself
After getting shut down in her attempt at
volunteering, Starks – a model and actress,
who braids at the Lock Loft in Vancouver
— saw a column in October about hair
braiding license disparities written by Alan
Durning at the Sightline Institute in Seattle.
Sightline is a think tank that analyzes eco-
nomic and community demographic trends
in the Pacific Northwest.
Durning’s research highlighted that seem-
ingly random requirements for hairbraiding,
kickboxing, timeshare sales, concert pro-
motion licenses and more in some states are
far more costly and time-consuming to fill
than are those for food handlers, gun own-
ers, emergency medical technicians and
firefighters.
Rep. Jackie Dingfelder and Rep Alyssa
Keny-Guyer responded to her queries
immediately.
“From there we’ve been very
proactive about discussing what
a law in Oregon would look
like,” Starks said. “We want to
look at different options around
the country and what different
requirements would best fit
Oregon.”
Starks says most of the
braiders she has spoken with
around the country suggest a self test
option, which would allow for braiders and
other natural hair stylists to take a test
online and receive some type of certifica-
tion allowing them to legally open a busi-
‘Licensing keeps skilled hair braiders
from legally earning a living’
July 4th, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 3