Colors of Influence Reviews

"Unequal (trade) agreements don't stop the flow of migrants, they produce it... Our immigration policy does not stop people from coming to the United States, and it is not intended to. Our immigration policy is intended to determine the status of people, once they're here. The basic rule is that workers should come when they're wanted, and they should disappear when they're not wanted, and they should work for cheap." Author David Bacon is in Portland this weekend to talk about how immigration and trade policies are creating criminals out of workers, and produces inequality. He addressed the history of immigration policy in the United States, pointing out that waves of migrant workers -- from the Chinese and Filipinos, to Japanese and Mexican farmworkers -- historically have been brought over to do work, but denied the opportunity to be on equal footing with the rest of society. Some excerpts from Mr. Bacon's talk: "The basic rule is that workers sh...

The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) held its first retreat in five years, hosting more than 60 attendees. Participants from a diverse contingent of Asian Pacific Islander communities -- Hmong, Nikkei, Filipino, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Samoan, Korean adoptees, Chinese, Thai, Lao, Persian, biracial folks, and many others -- came together to discuss issues of importance to Pan-Asian communities. Subcommittees were formed to develop strategies to organize a broad and cohesive Pan-Asian coalition to advocate for the needs of Asian Pacific Islander Americans. New board members were elected to serve three-, two-, and one-year terms. Thanks and kudos to APANO leadership for organizing the event that brought together many groups to talk about issues of common interest and impact.

Lillian Tsai , founder and President of TsaiComms LLC, was honored for her outstanding and ongoing support of Seattle-based Executive Development Institute (EDI), a program provides culturally tailored leadership programs to put Asian-Pacific professionals on a fast track for success. EDI participants from global and local companies such as Boeing, Microsoft, Nike, Norpac, Weyerhauser, State Farm Insurance, REI, NW Natural Gas, Nordstrom, KeyBank, PGE and the U.S. Postal Service, participate in nine-month long programs called "Leadership Discovery" and "Leadership Navigation" that teach self-discovery and leadership skills such as helping individuals become more aware of the unique cultural and values differences between the Asian-Pacific cultures and the mainstream American culture and how to best translate these values into the corporate business environment. "As an executive coach and mentor at EDI for the past two years, it has been my privilege and h...

Reed College's 2009 Black History Month celebration brings internationally known writer, scholar, and activist Angela Davis to campus. SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, February 21, 2009, at 7 p.m. Kaul Auditorium, Reed College Angela Davis is an internationally known writer, scholar, and activist who has been deeply involved in the struggle for economic, racial, and gender equality in the United States. Davis’ teaching career has taken her to San Francisco State University, Mills College, and UC Berkeley. She has also taught at UCLA, Vassar, the Claremont Colleges, and Stanford University. She has spent the last 15 years at UC Santa Cruz where she is professor of the History of Consciousness, an interdisciplinary Ph.D program, and professor of Feminist Studies. Davis is the author of eight books and has lectured throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America. In recent years, her work has focused on the range of social problems asso...

Thanks to Mr. Roy Jay , President of the African-American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon, for hosting a holiday party that brought together business and civic leaders for an evening of networking and celebration. The annual event, which is by invitation only, attracted over 160 people to Roy's "Street of Dreams" home nestled atop Mt. Scott. Guests were treated to exquisite catered food sponsored by Xavier Allen’s Extraordinaire Catering of Portland. As guests departed, they were given an 2009 Barack Obama calendar as well as the newly released 44th President Inaugural lapel pins which were flown in early especially for Jay’s event. A great party to start off the year!

The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) encourages organizations of all sizes and focus to get involved in planning, organizing and staging non-partisan volunteer community service events all across the country to be held on January 19, 2009 -- Martin Luther King Day. The PIC is currently conducting outreach to national, regional and local organizations to encourage participation and to begin organizing volunteer events. These initial events will populate a new website dedicated to promoting and organizing this day of service. Americans in every state will be able to go to the website, enter their zip code, and sign up for events in their community. Enter your MLK event today Help spread the word! In addition to direct outreach to potential volunteers, the PIC wants to work with participating organizations to promote events across the country in the media. PIC will work with participating organizations to raise awareness around these events and drive additional voluntee...

The Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE) high school internship program of Saturday Academy is seeking applications from professionals and leaders of color who want to serve as mentors in 2009. Studies show that there is much work to be done to ensure that more Latinos, African-Americans, and women are represented in engineering and science fields. The ASE program matches students interested in science, technology, and engineering with mentors in academia and the private sector for eight-week, full-time, summer internships. ASE seeks motivated mentors who want to develop Oregon's next generation of scientists, engineers, medical providers, researchers, and technologists. According to a Businessweek article , a National Science Foundation study shows that African American students make up about 6% of engineering undergraduate students. Women's share of bachelor's degrees in computer science dropped from 37% to 25% between 1985 and 2004. By 2010, the U.S. will...