Colors of Influence Reviews

A Conversation with Peggy C. Ross, Affirmative Action Director, State of Oregon Governor's Affirmative Action Office staff, from left: Katherine Manglona-Santos, program manager; Peggy C. Ross, director; and Joy Howard, administration.   What are the primary duties of the staff of the Governor’s Affirmative Action Office (GAAO)? Governor Kulongoski appointed me as the Affirmative Action Director to monitor affirmative action programs in all state agencies and to implement the public policy ORS 243.305 through the following directives: Ensure the rights of all persons to work and advance on the basis of merit, ability, and potential with strong emphasis on women, people of color, people with disabilities, and other protected classes. Review and discuss the affirmative action plans and affirmative action goals with agencies to identify resources for improving, if needed, the hiring and developmental opportunities of underrepresented persons. Coordinate with the Department of ...

A starstruck Portland audience intently listened to NAACP Chairman and civil rights leader Julian Bond speak at Reed College on Friday, marking the first special event of Reed’s celebration of the 2007 Black History Month. Addressing a packed Kaul Auditorium, Bond reflected on the legacy and wayforward of the civil rights movement and its implications for future generations. Many of the most influential leaders of Portland’s African-American community were present at the event. Bond helped establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee while a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia during the early 1960s. He has been Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People since 1998. He served in the Georgia legislature as both a Representative and as a Senator. He has been a lecturer at the University of Virginia since 1990, and a professor there since 1998. In 2002, he received the prestigious National Freedom Award. The holder of 25 honorary...