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OUR CHILDREN
Vol. 6, No. 2
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OUR DESTINY
"Education, Employment and Equality"
Published by the Urban League of Portland
Fall 1997
10 North Russell St. Portland, OR 97227 (503) 280-2600
Annual Dinner honors
seniors who give back
Seniors Bobbi
Gary, Pearline
Rodgers and
Mary Paris
Seniors who give back to our community
as volunteers, employees and supportive
family members were honored at the Urban
League Annual Dinner this summer. The
theme "Gifts of the Elders" was selected
(from left) pose
by posters with
their photo and a
story about their
community
service at Urban
League's "Gifts
of the Elders"
dinner.
to remind us of the many ways senior
citizens give back to our community, long
after they turn 65.
In preparation for the dinner, a class of
Portland State University students
interviewed 30 seniors who are giving back
and created lifesize posters describing their
"special gifts." Many of the featured
Jim McConnell is Director of Aging
Services for Multnomah County, which
Leonard Popick to Urban League Senior
oversees or provides services ranging from
replace a van that is used to transport frail
seniors to the Urban League's senior center
for meals and activities. For information,
contact Michael Pullen at 280-2615.
senior activity centers to meal services,
seniors attended the dinner as the Urban transportation, and case management that
League's guests.
help seniors live independently in our
The guest speaker was Dr. Patricia
Fletcher, president of the National
Association of Colored Women's Clubs.
Many local members of her organization
attended and she was introduced by a
fellow native of Steubenville, Ohio, John
Holley, who is a former Urban League of
Portland board member.
The dinner co-chairs were Dr. Walter C.
Reynolds and Jim McConnell. A Portland
native, Dr. Reynolds has practiced family
medicine here for 43 years. He was the
first African American to graduate from
the University of Oregon School of
Medicine. A past president of the Urban
League board, he has supported the efforts
Programs.
More funds are needed to
community.
Thanks also to Rhonda Shelby, Rev.
The dinner was the first in the Urban Alcena Boozer, Laura Glosson, Dr. Marvin
League's history to focus on seniors. The
Kaiser, and to the many companies and
dinner prompted a donation of $1,000 from
people that sponsored tickets for seniors.
Hope In The Cities summit to focus on racial healing
Pursuing its racial dialog initiative, the sity, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon,
Urban League will co-sponsor a weekend Institute for Judaic Studies, and Portland's
conference called "Hope In The Cities" Office of Neighborhood Associations.
November 1 - 2 at Portland State
University. The conference is subtitled Organizers hope to establish an ongoing
"An honest conversation on race dialog among the diverse ethnic, racial and
reconciliation and responsibility."
religious communities in our area.
Participants will be invited to come to
The conference is being organized by grips with subtle racism, latent anti of many minority students to enter the Moral Re-Armament, in association with Semitism, stereotyping, urban-rural
health professions.
the Urban League, Portland State Univer(continued on next page)
National Urban League
conference focuses on
"Economic Power"
Hand in Hand Coalition promotes
parent involvement in education
Urban League of Portland has
partnered for a third year with Children
First for Oregon and a coalition of local
The
By David G. Brody
year's National Urban League
Conference, "Economic Power: The Next
Civil Rights Frontier," focused on the
tough economic realities facing African
Americans and the tremendous
opportunities that will be available in the
This
coming century.
The conference, which featured President
Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and a
host of national political and business
leaders, took place in Washington, D.C.
between August 3-6 at the Washington
Convention Center.
Other featured
participants included Earl G. Graves,
publisher of Black Enterprise magazine
and attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.
National Urban League President Hugh B.
Price set the tone for the conference with
his keynote address stating that we as a
nation must prepare for becoming "the
most robustly multi-ethnic democracy in
the history of mankind... The ultimate test
of whether we come to terms with this new
reality," Price said, "is whether we finally
extend the American Dream to all
Americans." He identified the three key
ingredients to that dream as: 1) economic
opportunity; 2) quality education; and 3)
compassion.
Hope in the Cities
(continued from front page)
divisions, and the collision of values as
organizations
to increase parent
and
community involvement in our schools.
sponsored by the Mattel Foundation.
include:
involvement in their education," said Urban
League President Lawrence J. Dark.
* $500 mini-grants to local schools that
have created innovative programs to For more information, call David Brody at
increase parent involvement;
(503) 280-2611.
League Boy Scout troop
has busy first summer
A BoyuScout troop sponsored by the Urban
League had a busy first summer and is
looking for more boys in North and
Northeast Portland who want to explore the
outdoors Ind learn new skills. Eight boys
have joined Troop 10, which is led by
volunteer scoutmaster Eric Stone. The
troop also seeks adult volunteers who can
go on excursions.
The scouts have camped at Camp Ireland
in Hillsboro and at Ohallie Lake east of
Detroit, Oregon, and hiked at Silver Falls
and in the Columbia Gorge.
Several
scouts attended summer camp in August at
the coast.
The conference will build on the work of
working together on housing, transportation
and municipal finances. And spreading
their approach to dozens of other cities."
Conference registration is only $10, or $5
for seniors and students. For information,
call Michael Henderson at (503) 636-5454.
(TOPS) Week November 17-21. "The goal
Hand in Hand activities in Portland lives of children through increased adult
reports staff liaison Joel Broussard. "One
boy has earned three merit badges.
initiative, "After years of distrust, local
officials from racially polarized areas are
release time to be used for school visits.
of all these activities is to enhance the
"The boys are having lots of fun and
earning merit badges along the way,"
Cities, which is an inter-racial, multi-faith
coalition of individuals in business,
education, media, religious and community
organizations. One newspaper said of the
encourages businesses to give their
employees 8 hours of paid annual
The program is a part of the national To highlight Hand in Hand activities
"Hand in Hand: Parents, Schools,
throughout the year, the Coalition will
Communities United for Kids" campaign celebrate Take Our Parents to School
newcomers move into our community.
the Richmond (VA) based Hope in the
* The "8 for Kids Campaign" which
Another boy saw the ocean for the first
Michael Brown of Urban League Troop 10
shows off his climbing skills.
time on one of our trips."
For more information, contact
Broussard at (503) 280-2602.
Joel
Our Wish List
A gift to the Urban League is a gift to the community we serve. Our most urgent
need is a passenger van with wheelchair lift for our Senior Center. (Contributions
can be made toward purchase of a van.) The following items are also needed:
* Passenger van to transport students
* Two and three-drawer file cabinets
* Office supplies (pens, paper, etc.)
* Incentive gifts for students, seniors
* 486 or better computers
* Matching sets of office chairs
* Copiers and colored paper
* Fax machine
Membership drive meets
goal by raising $206,184
A record
$206,184
Urban League's
was raised during the
Membership
1996/97
Drive, thanks to the involvement of
volunteers and the support of local
businesses and individuals.
A membership task force chaired by Urban
League board chair Duane Bosworth
succeeded in doubling last year's record
membership total and passing the goal of
in membership revenue. The
leadership of five companies and
organizations that became members at a
new $10,000 Platinum level was a key to
the successful project.
$200,000
Memberships are the League's largest
source of unrestricted funds, which are
crucial to maintaining a strong
organization. Most of the Urban League
budget is made up of restricted contract
and grant funds.
The Urban League wishes
to
thank
everyone who helped make this year's
campaign a success, especially
League members:
Platinum ($10,000 +)
Kaiser Pennanente
Fred Meyer
Meier & Frank
Oregon Lottery
Providence Health System
Gold Members ($5,000 - $9,999)
Bank of America
Boeing
Davis Wright Tremaine
Intel
Key Bank of Oregon
Lane Powell Spears Lubersky
Nike
Nordstrom
PacifiCorp
Standard Insurance
United Airlines
United Parcel Service
US WEST
Wells Fargo Bank
Sponsor Members ($1,500 - $4,999)
Junior Achievement
KWJJ Radio
Living Color Beauty Supply
Management Recruiters of Portland
W.G. Moe & Sons
Mollet Printing
Nacco Materials Handling Group
RH Parker/United Foundation
Planned Parenthood of the Columbia
Portland Association of Teachers
Portland Cable Access
Portland Police Association
SRG Partnership
Shedrain Corp.
Howard Sohn
Geoff Sugarman/The Sugarman Group
Sussman Shank, et al
Weston Pontiac
ADC Kentrox
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Denny's Green Team
Enterprise Rent a Car
Freightliner
KOIN Ch. 6
KPDX Fox 49
KPTV Ch. 12
Legacy Health System
Miller Nash Hager Carlsen
Oregon Convention Center
Oregon Health Sciences University
Pacific Gas Transmission
Paragon Cable
Barbara Sue Seal Properties
Stoel Rives Bo ley Jones & Gray
Tektronix
Union Bank of California
Wacker Siltronic
Washington Mutual Savings Bank
Edwin Hamden
Corporate Members ($500 - $1,499)
Champion ($500 - $1,499)
Burns INH Security Services
CargiltInc.
Epson Portland
Housing Authority of Portland
TX
Merix
Pacific One Bank
Safeway Stores
Steinfeld's Products
Thurber Technology Group
Toyota Motor Sales
Vernier Software
Nan Alexander
Duane Bosworth
Mr. & Mrs. Rian Brown
Robert Elfers
Donald Gissel
Timothy Hall
Dr. Lesley Hallick
Dan & Paula Kinney
Larry G. Miller
Terry Ann Rogers
George Walker
Angel ($1,500 +)
Patron ($250 - $499)
Small Business ($100 - $499)
ALCTEC
Albina Community Bank
Allied Health for Drug Recovery
American Red Cross
Bradley Avakian Law Offices
Bank of the Northwest
Boy Scouts of America
FM Burch & Associates
C&R Real Estate Services
Columbia River Girl Scout Council
Forest Park Federal Credit Union
Garvey's Embroidery Services
Geneva's Shear Perfection
Donald Genasci & Assoc.
Georgetown Manor
JBL&K Insurance
Brian A. Black
Lawrence & Okianer Dark
Laura Glosson
Brian Keck
Elizabeth Kutza
Barbara Swett
Carl Swett
Joyce Travers
Family ($50 - $249)
John Alva
Bill Barnett
Raina Beavers
Anna Black
Owen Blank
Jim Boehlke
(continued on next page)
Membership Drive
(continued from previous page)
Family Members
Domonic Boswell
Debra Brey
Josephine Brown
LaShawn Edward Butler
Carol & John Chism
Larry Clayton
Matthew Cook
LaShawn Dixon
Samuel Duplessis
Fannie Freeman
Barbara Gains-Wickliff
Charles Ganter
Jorge Garcia-Colevatti
Donald Gerald
Gilmore Family
Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Goldman
Jeff Gudman
Barbara Hardy
Janelle Lynn Harper
Michael Henderson
M. Akira Heshik
Helloise Hill
Mark Holman
Melva Holmes
Mary Holmstrom
Bill Isaacson
Michael Jackson
Romeo Jackson
Carol Johnson
Helen Johnson
Deirdre Jenkins
Shirley Kanada
Robert Kemp
David Kish
Debbie Kitchin
Wayne Lei
Harlow Lenon
Michael Lewellen
Alan Locklear
Diane Marshall
Dorothy Martin
Wendy McGinnis
Cletus B. Moore, Jr.
Thomas Moore, Jr.
Mary Nolan
Warne Nunn
Dr. Mildred & Henry 011ee
Carmen Patterson
John Platt
Chris Poole Jones
John & Ellen Pullen
Fred Rosenbaum
Patricia Rowden
Deborah Sawyeuer-Parks
Ronald Silver
Louis Simpson
Leon Smith
Robert Stacey
Janice Stevens
Gary Stephenson
Donald Sterling, Jr.
Janice Stevens
Robin Sutherland
Randy Turner
Joseph Tyner
Evelyn Waltenbaugh
Merle Waterman
Leslie Robert White
Lanny Wilson
C.N. Winningstad
Willie Vaughn
Miltie Vega Lloyd
Individual ($25 - $99)
Jasper Ambers
Elizabeth Barker
Fay Blank
Ron Bloodworth
Joan Brown-Kline
Richard Brownstein
H hwayne Bumpers
Jeanette Carr
Linda Clark
Rober, Collin
Barbara Comstock
Lavelle Creal
Anika Curly
Lolita Darby
Frances DeWitt
Pierre Duboise
Richard Dudder
Frank Duran-Simon
Gendra Dyer
Jere Eaton
Gayle Evans
Dan Findley
Karry Gillespie
Paul Goodrich
Joan Grabel
Frank Grace Molly Haynes
Joan Hayward
Margaret Heil
Mary Henderson
Charles Hinkle
Lorraine Hood-Jack
Ed Kaiel
Gloria Kelsey
Karol Kenney
Sidney Lezak
Jeff Millner
Shala Moaydei
Alfreida Nichols
Terry Otha
Bill Prows
Arnold Przoe
Michael Pullen
Mark Quistad
Randy Richardson
Terrence Samuel, Jr.
Ethel Simon-McWilliams
Carlton Snow
Brenda Sherman-Sanders
Gloria Steen Hall
Beverly Stein
Christian Steinbrecuer
Dr. Patricia Swenson
Gregory Taylor
Leo Thorton
Katherine Walker
Gary Wappes
Patricia Welch
Anna Whitney
Harold Williams
Leila Wrathall
Seniors ($10)
Lillian Bell
William Bell
Cora Benjamin
Pauline Bradford
LaVerne B. Brown
R. Ronald Catlett, Jr.
Donald Chalmers
Catluyn Collins
Elizabeth Davis
Thelma Golden
Jimmie Green
Audrey Haynes
Vida Hicks
Ernest Hoard
Sam Jackson
Martha Jordan
Christel Kilpatrick
Sally Lee
Beatrice Leverett
Mattie Louis
Alice Markwalder
Beatrice Monague
Ruth Neal
Leslie Pullen
Marie Richardson
Ionia Simpson
Helen Stacye
Students ($10)
Derek Grimmett
Isaac Harpole Jr.
Wayne Ntekpere
Joseph Parzick
Nur Sheikh-Nur
President's Column
Learning to talk of race:
Compassion = Community = Civility
In this issue I share my family's pain. My
wife, Okianer Christian Dark, Assistant
U.S. Attorney for Community Affairs,
Oregon District, was involved in a housing
discrimination suit. I say family because
By Lawrence J Dark
this woman, whom I love, is my best
friend, a Christian, magna cum laude
On June 14, 1997, President Clinton titled
his commencement speech at the
University of California at San Diego "One
America in the 21st Century: The
President's Initiative on Race."
In
describing America's challenge, President
Clinton said:
graduate of college, honor graduate of law
school and selected as an attorney in the
prestigious honors program of the U.S.
Dept. of Justice, Antitrust Division. Yet
she was denied housing because of the
color of her skin. She suffered; therefore,
"1 believe the greatest challenge we face is
questions of discrimination and prejudice
Two insulting comments were made by the
other side during the course of the suit that
to this day, I can not shake: "You filed this
that still exist in our society, the most
suit just to get money" and "Aren't you
perplexing one is the oldest, and in some
used to prejudice by now?"
I suffered.
also our greatest opportunity. Of all the
ways today, the newest: the problem of
race.
As Comet West of Harvard University
states in his article, "Learning to Talk of
"We see a disturbing tendency to wrongly
attribute to entire groups, including the
Lawrence J Dark
Race":
white majority, the objectionable conduct
of a few members. If a black American
commits a crime, condemn the act -- but
remember that most African Americans are
hard-working, law-abiding citizens. If a
Latino gang member deals drugs, condemn
in America, we must begin not with the
"Well, don't blame me for what my problems of black people but with the
ancestor* did."
flaws of American society flaws rooted
but remember that the vast
the act
majority of Hispanics are responsible
"That was just an isolated incident."
Too often I hear comments like these:
"You Blacks are too sensitive."
citizens who also deplore the scourge of
"What more do you Blacks want?"
drugs in our life.
"There is no longer widespread
discrimination, prejudice or racism."
"If white teenagers beat a young African
American boy almost to death just because
of his race, condemn the act -- but
remember the overwhelming majority of
white people will find it just as hateful. If
an Asian merchant discriminates against
her customers of another minority group,
call her on it -- but remember, too, that
in historical inequalities and longstanding
cultural stereotypes. How we set up the
terms for discussing racial issues shapes
our perception and response to these
issues.
"As long as black people are viewed as a
"them," the burden falls on blacks to do all
"We can't have unqualified people in our the "cultural" and "moral" work necessary
educational institutions and in jobs and for healthy race relations. The implication
is that only certain Americans can define
getting construction contracts."
what it means to be American -- and the
Or, on the other side:
rest must simply 'fit in."
"All Whites are prejudiced."
many Asians have borne the burden of "How can whites justify the term "reverse
prejudice and do not want anyone else to
feel it."
"To engage in a serious discussion of race
discrimination"?"
"Whites will support Asians and
During the next several months, the Urban Latinos/Hispanics before they support
League of Portland will also join in the Blacks because of the albatross of
national conversation on race, by providing American slavery around our necks."
various forums and activities for people in
the PortlandNancouver area to discuss, "Look at how successful Blacks are like
share and take action.
Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Bill
Cosby and Tiger Woods." And so on.
Often, the issue of race makes us
uncomfortable. There is baggage and pain These comments are often barriers to any
which we as a community have not real conversation or dialog on race. We do
resolved.
not like to hear of pain or mistreatment.
"What is to be done? We must admit that
the most valuable sources for help, hope
and power consist of ourselves and our
common history. As in the ages of
Lincoln, Roosevelt and King, we must look
to new frameworks and languages to
understand our multilayered crisis and
overcome our deep malaise."
We invite each of you in our Urban
League family to participate and share with
us and the partners we will collaborate
with during the next year on the issue of
race. Your input is valuable to assist our
community, state and nation to have
compassion, community and civility.
Guest Columnist
Why housing discrimination hurts
ested in the color of my skin I felt like I
was suddenly and involuntarily transported
back to a period pre-dating 1865.
By Okianer Christian Dark
The author is Assistant U.S. Attorney for
Community Affairs, Oregon District and
Professor of Law at T.C. Williams School
of Law, University of Richmond. She has
been honored for her work on fair housing
The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments
disappeared.
Only
the
original language in the United States
Constitution was important - a negro
counts as 3/5th of a person. Justice Roger
Taney's proclamation that a "a negro had
no rights that a white man had to respect"
rang in my ears. The history of struggle
by the National Fair Housing Council
(199') and Fair Housing Matters (1991).
Was the defendant someone I might want
to know? Yes, she was. She appeared to
be a woman with refined tastes and good
background. She attended church. She is
not an evil-looking person. You would
never know that she would or did
discriminate against people because of the
color of their skin, the color of my skin.
Looking for an apartment
During this telephone call, everything was
slow motion. After the student told me
that the apartment manager was only inter-
for equality by blacks and whites, the
cases, the statutes, the progress in the same
half of this century, all became insignificant all were rendered meaningless by
the query -- is she black or white? A
query followed by the statement -- "I don't
rent to those kind of people."
Okianer Christian Dark
apartment because of its location in the
Even going HOME hurt too
In May of 1986, I was looking for an
back of the building.
apartment in Richmond, Virginia because
my lease with the University of Richmond
for one of the faculty houses was about to
expire. I decided to use a service offered
by our admission office to our students.
contacted Housing Opportunities Made
She encouraged me to come over and take Equal (HOME), a nonprofit organization
The office maintains a file of housing
a look at the apartment. I assured her that
I would. When I hung up the telephone, I
remember thinking that the conversation
was longer than I had anticipated and that
opportunities in the Richmond area. In
that file, I found a card for a one-bedroom
apartment on Monument Avenue near the
university at a very reasonable price.
A century erased
I called the person who was indicated on
the card. She was the manager of the
apartment building. She told me that there
had been two prior inquiries from the
University of Richmond law school
students about the available apartment.
One student turned out to be a member of
my legal writing class. I told her that I
was a faculty member at the law school
and that I was married but that my
The day after the telephone calls
concerned with housing issues, and spoke
with the Fair Housing Coordinator about
my experience. HOME immediately sent
testers out to the property -- one black and
the conversation had some interesting one white. The manager essentially told
twists and turns.
both testers that the apartment was not
available. However, with the black tester
she studiously inquired about her background whereas with the white tester she
At 10:30 that evening I received a indicated that another apartment would be
telephone call at my Richmond home from available soon and that she should check
a first year law student.
Now, let's with her again.
understand the significance of this call.
When a first year law student calls his Almost six months after I contacted
professor at her home late in the evening, HOME, I filed a complaint with the
this telephone call had better be important. administrative agencies of Housing and
The student asked me whether I had a Urban Development and the Virginia
conversation with the manager of an Department of Commerce through the
apartment building located on Monument Virginia Real Estate Board. My complaint
Ave. earlier in the day.
relied upon the Civil Rights Act of 1866
and not the 1968 Civil Rights Act.
He told me that she called him and asked
him if I was black or white. He told her My complaint was not filed timely for the
that I was black but to his credit, he asked 1968 Act. Why did I wait to file the
Curious about my name
"What difference does that make?" She complaint? The answer: I did not choose
She was curious about the origin of my told him that she did not rent to "those to wait. I simply had difficulty putting the
name and so we spent a few minutes kind of people." He reported her saying words on a piece of paper. Words that
discussing "Okianer". During this part of several other negative comments about hurt. Every time I thought about that
the conversation, she learned that my blacks before he was able to tell her that conversation and what had been said about
grandfather was from South America. he was no longer interested in the "those kind of people." I felt degraded,
Near the end of the conversation, she told apartment and that she should not call him humiliated, angry, helpless and frustrated.
me that she did not want girls in the ever again.
(continued on next page)
husband lived and worked in Washington,
D.C. Consequently, I only needed the
apartment during the week when I was at
the University.
I
Why housing discrimination hurts
While my experience did involve deliberate
discrimination, the person who inflicted the
(continued from previous page)
pain was a church going member of the
community. Forget the degrees of intent.
Some people think that discrimination only Imagine further that you look for your We ought to be concerned about the
causes real pain to the victim when it is crumbled up piece of paper. You find it degrees of pain discriminatory acts cause
deliberate. Furthermore, these same people and you begin to unfold it. You use your the victim.
think that those individuals responsible for
deliberate discriminatory acts are ignorant,
illiterate, low-income, or red-neck kinds of
people. Wrong on both counts, these
hand to press out the creases and the
wrinkles in the piece of paper. Over and Everybody gets hurt
over again, you press. You smooth over
the creases with your hand. You try to Discrimination not only hurts the indiviviews represent a very limited under- restore the paper to its previous state. Yet, dual but also the society. I know that
standing of discrimination.
you know that your piece of paper will these statements are not as fashionable
never be the same crisp sheet it once was. today as they were in the 1960's and
1970's but someone must continue to make
Discrimination causes the same injury
this point.
Discrimination in housing
whether it is deliberate, unconscious or What discrimination really is
denigrates rather than celebrates the innate
otherwise done out of ignorance. The
victim can experience equal pain at the Discrimination is the act of throwing a worth of each individual. Therefore, you
hands of someone who is college educated person away without ever evaluating
living in a Fan townhouse with a Volvo substance or character. It is an act of
parked in front or at the hands of someone violence because it invades the victim's
who has a high school proficiency essence, the victim's dignity. Discrimicertificate and works in a gas station.
nation denies the dignity of the individual
and I must care.
Discrimination is contrary to our genuine
interests in community in this country, a
community we claim draws strength from
its diversity. Therefore, you and I must
care.
"The defendant in my lawsuit had ngl bothered to assess my
intelligence, industry, or successes... She did not care
anything else about me other than the fact that I am black."
Discrimination is contrary to our principles
of justice and fairness in this country.
Therefore, you and I must care.
Discrimination is contrary to the dream
expressed so well by Dr. Martin Luther
What had I ever done to this woman to by dealing with the person as a category of King, Jr. He said he dreamed of a country
make her feel that she had to deny me a myths rather than with the reality of indi- where individuals will be measured by the
fundamental opportunity even when I had vidual assessment. I spent the two years, content of their character rather than the
after my complaint was filed, trying to color their skin.
the fmancial resources?
retrieve my piece of paper and to restore it.
You have to feel the pain
The lawsuit was important for two reasons.
Perhaps, some readers may not understand
First, the apartment manager and others
why this entire matter was more than a engaged in similar acts had to be stopped.
mere misunderstanding or one of those If she could deny a law professor housing
matters that one must learn to tolerate in then she could do the same to many others.
this society.
She needed to know that the laws against
housing discrimination applied to her.
Imagine that you have a piece of paper in
Second, the suit was a way for me to begin
your hand and that this paper contains a healing process. In short, to help me to
What discrimination ignores
The defendant in my lawsuit had not
bothered to assess my intelligence,
industry, or successes. She did not ask
whether I was a financially responsible or
clean person. She did not care about the
fact that I study the Bible, participate in
community outreach activities or anything
else about me personally other than the
fact that I am black. Black told her
information about who you are, where you
have been, what is important to you, and
what you hope to achieve. In a real sense,
smooth out my piece of paper.
this paper is more comprehensive than a
resume because it conveys to any reader
briefs sometimes hide the painful reality of
I decided to share my experience to help housing discrimination. We must rememattorneys representing either plaintiffs or ber that the purpose of anti-discriminatory
defendants to understand how discrimina- laws is to frighten people who might
tion affects the victim. Often, in discus- deliberately - or thoughtlessly - inflict such
sions that I have with people in and hurt as I experienced. Such people must
who you really are as a person. Now,
imagine handing this piece of paper to
someone and that person immediately
crumbles up the paper. That person
crumbles up the paper and then throws it
The information is on the wrong
color paper -- blue is the preferred comaway.
munication.
Sharing the pain
everything she needed to know about me.
Complaints, summons, memoranda and
outside of the profession, comments are be made afraid so that they will refrain
made that suggest there are distinctions from those cruel acts in the first place.
between deliberate and unconscious forms Nothing really repairs the hurt once it is
of discrimination.
done.
Center for Community
Research issues reports
on children, job fair
Criminal Justice. The report has generated
a great deal of excitement among community-based organizations and elected officials
including Multnomah County Commissioner Dan Saltzman who said the report was
so good he read it during his vacation!
The Center for Community Research
(CCR) has released its first two major
Career Connections is the Urban League's
reports, The State of Our Children: African
annual job fair. Under the auspices of
CCR Vicky Lovell, a graduate student
Washington Counties, and an evaluation of
from PSU, designed two survey instruthe Urban League's Career Connections
ments (one for job seekers and one for
'97 job fair.
American Children in Multnomah and
The center is a partnership between the
employers), coordinated the surveys at the
event and wrote the evaluation report. The
report provides the League with a great
Urban League of Portland and the Institute
deal of useful information including the
of Portland Metropolitan Studies at
racial/ethnic make-up of job seekers, the
Portland State University (PSU). In its
type of jobs they were looking for, and the
first year the center focused solely on
type of jobs employers brought with them
Urban League projects, but its mission is
to the fair.
"to provide methodologically sound
research services to community-based
The report also looked closely at welfare
organizations in the six county Portland- recipients' need for certain types of
Vancouver region."
assistance compared to non-welfare
recipients.
The report found welfare
The State of Our
recipients to have a greater need for
Children was
assistance
assistance and other forms of
completed by a
direct services while non-recipients heavily
team of "Senior
Capstones"
(an
interdisciplinary
team of seniors
fulfilling
emphasized job search assistance as a
primary need. Both groups indicated a
strong need for computer skills training.
the
The Urban League hopes to use reports to
develop programs that better serve comcommunity
munity needs. In the coming year the
service requirecenter will engage in a research project for
ment) from Portland State University. The
the League's HIV/AIDS Community
team was directed by David Sutherland, Outreach Office, a technical assistance
the principal investigator for the project, program for "Target Communities" ident'Carry Gillespie, Director of CCR, and PSU
ified by the Bureau of Housing and
faculty advisors Mary King, Samuel Henry, Community Development, and
other
Bob Liebman, Clariner Boston and projects.
Jaqualine Arante.
"capstone"
For copies of research reports or
The study was organized into four major information on the center, contact Karry
components: 1) Social Conditions; 2) Gillespie, CCR Director, at 280-2606.
Education; 3) Economic Conditions; and 4)
New board members,
officers, and staff named
In recent months the Urban League of
Portland has elected new officers and new
board members and filled several key staff
positions.
The following
board members
were elected as
officers for oneyear terms: Chair.
Duane Bosworth;
Chair,
Vice
Mildred 011ee;
Treasurer, Leon
Smith;
and
Bosworth
Secretary, Carol
Chism. Duane Bosworth is a partner in
the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine
practicing media and communications law.
Dr. Mildred 011ee is Executive Dean at
Portland Community College's Cascade
Campus. Leon Smith is president and
chief executive officer of Albina
Community Bank.
Carol Chism is
executive director
of the
Center for
Community Mental Health in Northeast
Portland.
New board members elected in recent
months include Dr. Daniel Bernstine,
Ralph Gillespie, Harry Hutt, Paul Knauls,
Cheryl Perrin, Gary Tipton, and James
Winters.
Dr. Bernstine is the new president of
Portland State University and the former
dean of the University of Wisconsin Law
School.
Ralph Gillespie is Director of
Materials for Intel Corporation and a 20year veteran of the high tech industry.
Harry Hutt
is
senior vice president.
marketing operations for the Portland Trail
Blazers and Oregon Arena Corp. He
oversees broadcasting, ticket sales, game
Leaving a legacy for equality
operations and sponsorship sales and
service for the NBA team.
You can help build equal opportunity in the 21st century by making a "planned" gift
Paul Knauls is owner of Geneva's Shear
Perfection a popular hair salon and barber
shop in Northeast Portland. He operated
night clubs in Northeast Portland for 19
to the Urban League of Portland. The easiest way is to remember the Urban
League in your will. But other planned giving techniques can allow you to claim
tax deductions, avoid capital gains taxes, and earn income while you are still living.
The Urban League is creating a planned giving program for interested donors. Call
us at (503) 280-2615 for more information on how you can help the Urban League
continue its important work in the next century.
years and has been active in efforts to
revitalize Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
(continued on back page)
National Urban League president's column
For Jobs and Freedom
So it was then. So it is today. Contrary to
the claims some have made, America has
not entered a "post-civil rights era." The
headlines of last week, and yesterday, and
today make all too clear that African
By Hugh B. Price
President, Vational Urban League
Americans and other people of color still
have to all too often fight for the right to
be treated in a non-discriminatory fashion.
Its become fashionable to claim that the
But it is true that the importance of
African Americans, as individuals and as a
group, securing a strong economic founda-
20th-Century
civil
rights
movement
neglected the economic needs of African
Americans, that its leaders devoted little
effort to gaining for black Americans a
secure economic foothold in American
tion is even more critical than in the past.
In the first decade of the 20th Century,
society.
African
In fact, such claims can't survive the
on Washington and read what the sea of
All of the placards in the march had to be
approved by its sponsoring coalition.
Furthermore, the "Official Call" to the
March, issued by the civil rights groups on
July 12, 1963 contained demands for both
civil rights and for a comprehensive jobs
effort. That economic focus was furthered
underscored in several of the speeches of
that day, notably by A. Philip Randolph,
the venerable civil rights leader, and by
Walter Reuther, president of the United
Automobile Workers and a stalwart ally of
the movement.
Or,
one can look at
the
their
allies
Hugh B. Price
Washington presented that message to the
American people and the world in the most
dramatic way. Now, as African Americans
turn toward a new century, they are better
situated than they were just thirty years
ago, with a growing cohort of individuals
whose large and small contributions to the
Or, one can read an important new book, health of the American economy and
The Dual Agenda: The African-American American life in general cannot be denied.
Struggle for Civil and Economic Equality,
by Dona Cooper Hamilton and Charles V. Yet, for all the progress, there is much
Hamilton, a husband and wife duo of work yet to be done, by African Americans
distinguished scholars.
and by the larger society.
Clearly-written and studded with details Yes, we still have those placards in our
from the civil rights groups' position hands: For Jobs and Freedom.
papers, congressional testimony, and the
speeches of their leaders, the book recounts (As this issue went to press Hugh Price
their consistent fight to gain civil rights for confirmed that he will be the guest speaker
African Americans and social welfare at the Urban League of Portland's Equal
policies for all of the poor.
Opportunity Dinner on March 12, 1998.)
"Domestic
Marshall Plan," Whitney M. Young, Jr.,
then executive director of the Urban
League, proposed at the League's 1963
which was held
shortly before the March. Young put
national conference,
forward specific proposals to encourage
America to tap the potential that lay
unrealized in Black America, and he
warned that a failure to do so would bring
the socially destructive consequences in
stunted lives and ruined communities that
we are dealing with today. Or, one can
Indeed, the Hamiltons cite the founding of
Advancement of Colored People and the
National Urban League in the first decade
of the century as evidence that the "Civil
rights groups have always understood that
(civil rights victories alone) were
insufficient to alleviate the socioeconomic
The Urban League is offering a series
of free review sessions for the
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the
General Equivalent Diploma (GED)
test beginning September 29.
problems that stretched over decades of
neglect or parsimony."
The SAT is the standard aptitude test
taken
They go on to say that, "Beginning in the
the comprehensive national early 1960s (when it was clear that the
Freedom Budget that the civil rights days of legal segregation were numbered),
coalition proposed in 1966. Or, one can "virtually every major plan of action and
study the trajectory of Martin Luther King,
policy statement included concerns for both
Jr.'s activism during the last five years of
his life: It led him to Memphis that fateful
a fight against segregation and discrimination on the one hand, and, on the other,
of 1968 to march with black
for effective programs to deal with
socioeconomic problems for all Americans,
not just for blacks."
sanitation workers seeking higher wages
and better working conditions.
Free SAT classes
both the National Association for the
examine
April
and
The placards of the 1963 March on
slightest scrutiny. One can look, for
example, at the pictures of the 1963 March
placards that punctuated its landscape
proclaimed: "For Jobs and Freedom." That
was no accident.
Americans
coalesced to fight for jobs and freedom.
by
high
school
students
interested in attending college. The
GED is a high school diploma equivalency exam. SAT review classes
take place Mondays and Thursdays
from 5 - 6 pm. GED reviews take
place Tuesdays and Wednesdays from
5 - 6 pm. All sessions take place at the
Urban League at 10 North Russell
Street. For information, call Daphne
Bethel at (503) 280-2645.
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
Urban League of Portland
PAID
Urban League Plaza
Portland, OR
Permit 1667
10 N. Russell
Portland, OR 97227
New board, staff
Urban League President Lawrence J. Dark
is also pleased to announce that Brian A.
(continued from inside)
Black continues to serve the agency as
Cheryl Perrin is senior vice president of
public affairs for Fred Meyer, one of the
Vice President of Programs.
largest retail chains in the Pacific
Northwest. Her department is responsible
for the company's government relations
and lobbying,
news
media
Perrin
Knauls
relations,
community relations and environmental Industry Council and City of Portland.
programs.
Calendar of
Upcoming Events
She oversees the Northeast One Stop
Career Center, a multiagency facility that
Gary Tipton is site operations manager for opened this summer at 3034 NE Martin
Hewlett-Packard Company in Vancouver Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
and has been part of the management team
since the site opened. James Winters is a Tracy Williams-Murphy has been named
young entrepreneur who founded United Director of Education, responsible for the
Energy in 1990. A graduate of Portland's Portland Street Academy, Whitney Young
Benson High School and Oregon State Learning Center, and Male & Female
University, he is president of the largest Responsibility programs. She comes to the
minority-owned business in Oregon, with Urban League
University.
projected sales of $35 million in 1997.
from
Portland
State
Fawn MacDaniel Hudson is Program
The Urban League has filled several key Director of Leadership Programs, including
staff positions. Marnella Bingham has the E. Shelton Hill Achievers Corps. She
been named Director of Workforce most recently served as program director at
Development (formerly Employment). Ms. the Inner Northeast YMCA. One of her
Bingham has 23 years of experience in first projects was to coordinate the Urban
workforce development with the Private League's "Do The Right " - Day."
Fall SAT Test Classes: Help students
prepare for SAT and GED tests. Call
(503) 280-2645.
November 1-2: Hope In The Cities
conference on racial healing, Portland
State University. Registra-tion: $5 $10. Call (503) 636-5454.
November 17 - 21: Take Our Parents
To School Week. Events throughout
Portland area.
December 6: Career Awareness Day
for high school students at Portland
State University.
March 12: Equal Opportunity Dinner
with guest speaker National Urban
League President Hugh Price.
For information, call (503) 280-2600.