Greg Brown

Greg Brown Interview Transcript
Interviewed by Yolonzo
Recorded by Arlie Sommer

00:00:00

BROWN: My sister was born in Huntsville, too. But me, I was born in Houston. And that was a long walk to move to Portland, but I made it

**Interview begins**

00:00:35.8

YOLONZO: My name is Yolonzo (last name unclear) I'm 12 years old and today is April 20, 2011. For the record could you please state your name and birth date and where you were born

BROWN: My name is uh, Gregory Brown, uh, I was born in uh, Feb. 23, 1954 in Houston, Texas. And my family moved to Oregon about a year later so this is where I grew up

00:01:06.4

YOLONZO: Why did your family move to Oregon?

BROWN: Well, back in the 50's a lot of the um African Americans down south uh, came up to the north for opportunities. Uh, specifically here in Portland there would have been opportunities in the rail yards and the shipping--shipping yards. Uh, a lot of them set up uh, and lived in Vanport Square--I mean Vanport um, which later on had floods and that destroyed the little town and so everyone migrated over to north and northeast Portland which became Albina community

00:01:50.4

YOLONZO: What was your earliest memory?

BROWN: My earliest memory would of been uh, attending uh, daycare and kindergarten at the--which was then called uh, Christian Community Center located on NE Russell and MLK which later was renamed to Grace Collins Community Center because of her--she ran the daycare, her and her daughter, and so uh, they had a lot--they--they became very historical in the neighborhood community. So ah--from there I attended the King Elementary School for 1st four yrs of my elementary. King's uh name was originally Highland Elementary School and then at the--the--the death of uh Reverand Martin Luther King later on they dedicated, renamed the school in his honor

00:02:49.4

YOLONZO: What was your dad like?

BROWN: My dad was a good guy. He took care of his family, he worked hard, um, he uh grew up--he was born in Louisianna along with my uh, my mom and uh his family mainly moved to Houston, Texas where he grew up, he was the eldest of 11 kids. Um, uh--worked hard, as--had his own little businesses, you know, uh shoe shine, clean chickens at 13/14 then he went on to Fisk University in Tennessee and he went to uh---after we relocated here, he was working as a social worker, attended uh law school at night, Lewis & Clark uh Northwest School of Law and in 1959 he passed the bar and he set up his office on N Williams Ave. & Sacramento

00:03:46.5

YOLONZO: Did you ever visit your dad at work?

BROWN: Oh yeah, I--I always went in the office with him on weekends. Uh, his office was right around the corner from ah--my daycare so him and my mom would pick my sister and I up and maybe go back to the office until he finished work or I--I'd go in the office with him on Saturdays, so I was--I was a regular. It didn't--I didn't turn into a lawyer so being around all those law books I guess they didn't get me that much

00:04:17.5

YOLONZO: Can you describe your mom?

BROWN: Uh--well I had 2 moms. I had my biological mom and I had my stepmother. Both beautiful ladies, both beautiful moms. Uh--my mom, my birth mom is uh--uh she still lives here in Portland. Uh, she lives right down the street from your school as a matter of fact. Uh, she was the eldest of uh 8 kids growin up in Louisianna, uh her and my dad met in Houston. Um but um she's retired, she worked for the Oregon State Employment Division for a number of yrs and she worked at Nabisco in the early days when I was a young kid. So, she's a good mom, good grandma.

00:05:05

YOLONZO: Did your parents do anything for fun?

BROWN: Uh, they might say raisin their kids was fun. But you would probably have to ask them that, get their endorsement. But they used to--they uh--my parents always liked to go to the coast, you know with the kids, but they--they always had parties at the house. They were very good hosts. My stepmother was high up in management at the uh, telephone company here, the old Pacific NW Bell, so with Dad being a judge they--they did a lot of that social uh--social parties and--and they had a lot of-- a lot of extended friends, so I grew up with doctors and lawyers, barbers and it didn't matter what you did, a lot of people were always at the house

**Arlie interjects with interview advice for Yolonzo about following up on Greg's answers with more in-depth questions. Like asking Greg about the parties his parents had**

00:06:14.5

Greg: Um, my dad was a--a chief cook when he was in the army, so he loved to cook and so he was always uh, 1st one in the kitchen when I was growin up as a kid. So one of the parties I--I--I recall uh right outside my bedroom one Saturday morning, uh friend of his had a--a restaurant downtown that was located uh--it was a bar in the old Multnomah Hotel. And uh, him and my dad were sitting outside digging a hole in the ground because they were doing a luau for the party. So they were digging a hole in the ground to cook the pig. So Dad was good at---if--if he was gonna do it, he was gonna do it authentic, he was gonna do it right. So you know I wake up one Saturday morning I'm lookin out my window and there my dad is out there with his friend digging a hole and lo and behold the pig was finished that evening when the party, and so they--they had their fun. I can't recall if I had any or not but uh--but just that experience and--and seeing you know how that the Hawaiian luaus are done here in the United States. I should say in Portland

00:07:24.3

YOLONZO: Do you know when your dad joined the army?

BROWN: No, Dad was born in 1926, so uh--I'm--somewhere probably would of been 1942 maybe three, somewhere around there. But I have pictures of him in his army outfit and so forth, and high school graduation so um--so then he finished uh the army and that's when he went to Fisk University.

**Arlie explains to Greg the types of questions they have to ask him and that it's Yolonzo's first interview**

00:08:27.4

YOLONZO: Can you describe the house you grew up in?

Greg: Well, uh--originally we lived on Rodney and uh Sacramento in a--kind of a apartment building there, which is still standing. And so uh, some--some neighbors that were from back then I still know well. And then we moved on--on NE 11th between um--um Going and Whitehead and that's where I used to walk thru uh--to uh King,uh for--for about 4 blocks. Uh, goin into 5th grade we uh--we switched schools and so that is when I--we moved and so I started going to Beech Elementary for my 2nd-- you know, from 4th-8th grade and so uh, we moved down by Swan Island and so uh wasn't sure of the house we were movin into but we were going to school that 1st day of school and then we later on--my parents took us--my sister and I to see our brand new house. And it was because we needed more room, and we were only livin in a 2 bedroom at the time, so this allowed my sister and I to get our own bedrooms because we were growing. So we lived up in our house up on the hill. Uh, had a swimmin pool in the back yard and the swimmin pool was now closed--enclosed. Ah, and we had that house, and the family till 1999 when my dad retired and him and my stepmother moved to Mississippi. So, you know who Damon Stottlemyer is, don't you. Used to play for the Blazers. Well his dad uh bought my parent's home. So, that's who lives in it now. And his dad and I are real close, we work out at the same gym together and we're good friends, so I still have an attachment to the house and I still go up there because he--he has parties. But now I'm a guest. Of course I was probably a guest after I moved out and went to college cause now it belongs to my parents again, right. So it's always--I'm goin to visit my parents, so--so that's the uh that's the house I grew up in. Nice view, and nice view of the Willamette River--ah--and uh--like I say, up on a hill, so that's--

00:10:46.7

YOLONZO: Can you describe your sister?

BROWN: My sister is a year younger than me. She's uh--reminds you a lot of my grandma on my father's side, we always teased her. Uh, she lives in Dallas, Texas. Uh, she went to Fisk also. Uh, I went to Florida A&M, which is predominantly black college and so she was at Fisk uh, the same time I was there. And I have a stepbrother who--who's--he was uh adopted uh--um so his legal name, his last name is Brown, so--and so he lives in Dallas, also. And he's 2 years younger than I am, so--

00:11:30

YOLONZO: What high school did you go to?

BROWN: I went to the best high school that the city of Portland has to offer. I went to Jefferson High School. And I graduated in 1972, and I was a member of the 1972 State basketball champions, so you keep up in sports. Uh, sports is good, it teaches you teamwork and uh team skills, keeps you active, and uh, was just fun.

00:11:59.7

YOLONZO: Can you describe Jefferson High School?

BROWN: Well Jeff, again I was uh---there was been uh---I was--I would of been a freshman in 1968 so it was kind of the coming out of the 60's going into the 70's but it was still uh--uh--it was fun--uh--it was nothing uh like it is today. Uh we did not have those issues that they uh have--have been magnified the last few years uh--um--I mean there were issues but uh some of--we--things in life has changed a lot so when life changes it impacts everything around you uh--we didn't worry about whether or not uh, someone might have a gun at school or a knife at school. The people didn't live like that then. Uh, people were cordial, uh guys used to try to dress nice, you know, in case the girls you know, might catch their attention. It was a whole different world then, we had a different style of music. We had that good ol soul music, good music, you know, so it was a different world back then.

00:13:08.2

YOLONZO: Can you describe your best friend?

BROWN: My best friend--well he's uh, passionate guy, uh his birthday is in the same month as mine, uh graduated with me, played basketball with me, but uh--and--and-and-and again I have a--it's hard to say best friend because I have several guys that I'm close to and coincidentally our birthdays are all in February. And we all played basketball together. Uh, but uh there's Ray Leary and uh, Rodney Cole and Ray grew up on Gantenbein, off--off of Skidmore, and he grew up in his grandma's house and Rodney grew up on Commercial and uh--uh Mason, right there by Unthank Park. So we all were always together playing basketball so those--they're special to me

00:14:10.8

YOLONZO: Where did you guys hang out?

BROWN: Where did we hang out? Oh we hung out at the park playing basketball all the time, or we'd go to all the different gyms in Portland, things like that. I mean we didn't uh, you know, we actually went to parties uh but it was a different worl--again a different world back then. Uh, I--I wouldn't go to parties today, like we did back then. Uh, somehow the parents were more responsible and the kids were more responsible. Back then when you did things that you shouldn't, you always worried about the neighbors, too, cause they would tell your parents and you'd--you'd be scared of getting in trouble. Kids don't tend to function like that these days and so they kinda control the neighbors and so the neighbors kinda don't wanna start anything and are a little nervous about the--the reaction and--and the uh retaliation of--but uh--but not all neighborhoods are like that, but for the most part--I'm speaking of the--the neighborhoods that I grew up in. Um, um, specifically as I drive around and--and see um the changes that have developed um, so...

00:15:25.1

YOLONZO: Can you describe the changes?

BROWN: Well now the changes are--they have been the--the deterioration--one thing about Portland, we don't have a ghetto. I mean I've traveled around and lived different cities, I--I know a ghetto but you can have a deteriorated neighborhood where individuals don't keep up. Own--ownin a home is a lot of maintenance, uh, the paint wears off on the house after a certain number of years, there's repairs that need to be done. Uh, yards need to be mowed, uh, same as the interior, so if you start gettin a few people that just "I don't care" then--and actually it can impact the value of the--of the neighborhood and also the people that are willing to move in there because they--they get a--they have a different mind set when they look around and see and uh--and things may be ok with the people livin in it, but people get real uh--uh--they're so quick to judge. And so um--um--but things are just uh--you know, they're just different. Uh they're different for a lot of reasons, economics is one reason, I mean there's uh--especially NE Portland there's a lot of people who would tell you they couldn't afford to go back and buy the house that they grew up in. Because the values have gone up so much and um--you know, it just kind of pushes people out and so that's why you see a lot of growth of uh people moving to the Gresham, or areas like that where ever it's more economical for them to afford a--afford a home

00:17:06.6

YOLONZO: When you were younger how did you get around?

BROWN: God's given to my 2 long legs and feet, man I mean that wasn't gonna stop me, remember the best exercise you can get is walkin. You don't know that as a kid cause you're walking because you don't have a choice, but you recognize it as an adult because then you can either drive or walk but uh--so no I--I uh especially walked when we moved out on Swan Island, I--I-- we always walked. We'd walk to the Lloyd Center, I mean--that's what we--oh yeah--oh yeah we'd take the bus, but we did a lot of walking, we walked to Peninsula Park to play basketball or I'd walk with friends over to--back then Matt Dishman was called Knott St before they--they renamed it. We'd walk and we'd play basketball there, uh we'd walk and play basketball at the Salvation Army. We'd--you know--now we might catch a ride if we could to go--we'd go play at Laurelhurst Park or--so--but uh I was pretty much as a kid always playing basketball, so everything was surrounded--

00:18:10.9

YOLONZO: Can you describe what you looked like when you were a child?

BROWN: Oh about as handsome as I am now, you know--shoot I mean don't nothing get old but clothes, you know. Um, I had an afro is that what you wanna hear? And it was a nice afro, too, you know, I mean--that was the thing back then, um--I see a lot of kids with afros these days and I keep thinking "Do you really wanna go that route?" they're so hard to upkeep, you gotta comb em and--and we used to go to the barbershop, we had a barber here his name was Willy Sanders, everyone went--he--and another one named Big John they could--they could--they were real good, they would style our afros we'd go in, get em fresh cut and then we'd go to a party that night and you wanna stand on the wall cause you don't wanna sweat cause you'd mess up your new haircut and your afro would collapse. But uh, no, I was uh, just kinda skinny guy, uh afro and uh I would suggest that I probably weighed a lot less than I do today, but uh, that's how life is. But uh, now it's just uh--but you probably wanna ask others what they--now there is a website called classmates.com and a lot of people go on there and--and they have the same class went to school, so I've noticed a couple comments people have made about me on there and so I'm thinking "Ok, well, you didn't tell me you felt like that back then uh" but they say I was an ok guy

00:19:39.7

YOLONZO: Can you describe the barbershop you went to?

BROWN: Well, let's see, it was uh--well we went to different ones and one--you--you have the one that you go with your dad, right, cause he's the one that's payin and driving, and then as you get older you can get around, and you got a couple dollars on you, you--you pick your own but uh, I was always went to the old fashioned barbershop. They--they always had a coke machine. My--my one barber I had was over there by my dad's office on Russell and uh--Williams, his names was Mr. Wilburn. And they always had these big red coke machines and they'd have coke bottles in there, it would cost a quarter in the small bottles and you'd put it in there and you'd sit down and you'd listen to the old guys tell stories while you're waitin to get your hair cut and--and they would always have a poster on the wall with about a 100 different styles of hair cuts and you'd tell him you want #5, but whenever he finished you looked like #10, 12, and 85 so I wasn't sure why we even had the choices since we were all gonna look alike when he finished. But the barbershop was always a good place to hang out and uh--and you know, just hear the old guys tell stories and you know, talk a lot of "stuff"

00:20:50.4

YOLONZO: What was your 1st job?

BROWN: My 1st job uh--I picked--uh--I picked berries. I was in 5th grade my parents--I used to go up to catch the bus in 5th/6th grade and we picked--and we'd go out on Marine Dr., and they'd bring the kids and I'd pick berries and I would pick uh, beans. There was a place called Oregon Trail Farms up on Marine Dr.--and so I opened up my 1st savings account and then--but as I got close to the high school and everything I---I---I worked at the uh the old Sheridan Hotel which is now the Double Tree across from the Lloyd Center, so I used to work in the banquet room. Uh, I worked in the summers for the city of Portland helping with the pave the streets, you know the--hard work, good money, I had to buy a car, this was the summer of my junior year and then I worked at a parking garage for a while, parking cars. Didn't know how to drive a stick shift so finally one of my uh co-workers took me away up on a roof and taught me how to drive a stick causes people come in and I couldn't--I had to go get someone else to park it because I didn't know how, so--but those are the kind of jobs I had so--

00:22:06.4

YOLONZO: Can you describe your 1st job? I mean, your 1st car?

BROWN: My 1st car? Oh, it was a beautiful red 1964 Ford Galaxy XL. And uh it had white interior and I had uh tires and chrome, rims on it, and it was cool. And I used to--that's what drove me to school in my senior year up at Jeff. And I was the 1st one in all the crew to have a car so everyone kind of piled in my car and we--and I'd want gas money so I'd collect 2 bucks and I'd probably get about--back then 10 gallons of gas. Gas was about 35 cents, 34 cents a gallon back in those days, so uh, that's a big change from today. So, but they didn't like it because then I'd have to drop them off at home and I had to keep the gas in my car and "Hey man I put a--" and I'd say "Well, well see you Monday at school and maybe I'll give you a ride somewhere"

00:23:17.6

YOLONZO: Did you ever mess up the car?

BROWN: No, no, I've always been a pretty responsible individual. And uh, then my next car actually was a nice brown Oldsmobile Toronado and I had a 1/2 white vinyl top and I had some white tires on it. You probably heard of doughnuts, yeah. But I had the fake doughnuts, they were removable, but don't tell nobody

00:23:48.7

YOLONZO: Do you remember what kind of car--I mean what kind of music you listened to?

BROWN: Oh man I listened to Smokey Robinson, and the Temptations, uh Bar-Kays, and you name it, you know, uh Ohio Players, and I had a lot of jazz, so I had Freddy Hubbard, and George Benson, Wes Montgomery, yeah

00:24:17.1

YOLONZO: Do you have a favorite?

BROWN: I just like music. And um--and then if it's good music, I don't care what style, so, it could be country, classical, jazz, but I'm--I'm--jazz is the foundation of all our music, so you get naturally drawn to jazz, but uh, I don't know if you ever heard of the Funk Brothers, but uh--there was a documentary that came out a few years ago and these guys were the uh musicians that played all the music for the old Motown songs records. And uh Barry Gordy found them in a jazz club and took them off the stage, these were jazz musicians. And so--um if you play music it doesn't matter what style because you can play, right, if you can play a guitar, you can play a guitar. And so uh you just choose what choice of music you want to play, but it still all played the same

00:25:14.2

YOLONZO: Did you play an instrument yourself?

BROWN: I dabbled in guitar, my dad used to take me to the Lloyd Center for guitar lessons but then I'd come home and put it in the closet and go run outside and play. Then the next weekend I'd go to the Lloyd Center and take my lessons and then come back and put the guitar in the closet, run outside and play. So then high school I picked it back up and uh I just, you know the--the discipline uh, we grew up with a piano in the house, but I never touched it. My mom did and um--but now I--I've been teachin myself to play piano, so--I have a big beautiful baby grand piano in my livingroom and uh--I managed a band for a while for about 7 years here and uh--I--my--I just got tired of seein them jammin and so I wanted to jam myself

00:26:07.3

YOLONZO: Can you describe your house now?

BROWN: Well, we live in a--a--it's a colonial. You know, the--the colonial, it's white and it's got the slanthill roof, shutters on the window, and the--the door right in the middle of the house, and a lot of room, you know. I've got the--got my little family where I watch TV and sports, and news, and anyway bayroom (?) basement, and a big back yard

00:26:40.7

YOLONZO: Do you remember Jump Town?

BROWN: Jump Town? You're talking about Jump Town with all the jazz? Well I remember the area of bein it--but alot of that started folding when I was much younger than you, but I know all the jazz clubs were up and down from the uh Memorial Coliseum. Uh, yeah we have a lot of history in Portland where they--they've actually gone into the predominantly black communities and adjusted--they probably call it urban planning but they just kind of uh tore down things to--to do other things. Uh--and--and you have no power um--and-and that's what Eliot done, too. And when I showed you--showed (unclear), we could of kept a lot of those buildings up on Williams Ave. and we could've actually done some refurbishing and we'd a very nice historical place to uh--for people to visit. We've got Old Town Portland, and so they call it Old Town and they kept it Old Towns, but they didn't do that for us. What happened is PDC uh--and the uh Emanuel Hospital came together and uh--they were supposedly gonna do a lot of development and so they took all that property and tore it down and then all of a sudden the funds--the funds were available. So a lot of stuff just sat around for awhile. Um--but uh all the way down to where Jump Town was and all--all up around there they had jazz clubs, even up on Williams and around the corner. They had a Cotton Club on the Vancouver and Tillamook, um where you used to have a lot of entertainment, so

00:28:29.5

YOLONZO: Do you remember going out dancing?

BROWN: Uh--well only when I partied, in high school. My parents would have danced, I had to stay home with the babysitter, which was good cause then I could go to bed when I was supposed to

00:28:45.4

YOLONZO: Was your babysitter nice?

BROWN: Oh yeah, yeah, their last name was Brown, too. I still see part of the members of the family, so--everyone always talks about what they used to do so I always introduce them say "Yeah, they used to babysit me". So--um--yeah

00:29.02.4

YOLONZO: If there was one thing you could change about your life?.

BROWN: Uh--no, because I'd like to think I made good choices and I--I like to think they were influenced by a certain person up above, and so--um--I--one thing in life you recognize you don't have to be rich with a lot of money, all you have to do is be rich with character and integrity and--and--just make the best--and--and--and things will happen, so I think at my age that I can look back and say "I would never complain, groan, whine, or cry about anything, that's--um I've been blessed" and um, that's what I teach my son at home is that, you know, there's a lot of people less fortunate in life and so you--you--you gotta be careful complainin all the time, you know

00:29:58.4

YOLONZO: Is there anything else you'd like to talk about that we haven't talked about?

BROWN: Well, um the--let's see here, uh now we talked about Eliot right? So I don' think we talked about um--uh--some of the other things that surrounded uh--um--for instance we were talkin about that building (unclear) where my dad opened up his law practice, 1/2 a block from that building. And uh--uh--the--the building was--right now there's a funeral home in there uh--but uh the building used to belong to Dr. Marshall who was an African American doctor and then uh--he had a--there was an African American dentist who was my dad's good friend and they still hang out together. Then my dad had his law practice, so um--and then we had the Elk's Club down the street where--that's not--that's where all the old crew used to party and then--and so I hear cause I never got in there. Uh, then we had another place up the street called Cleo's where they--which is an old now but they used to party in there and so uh--so I--you know I spent a lot of time in that neighborhood and uh there were candy stores so we'd go over there, too. So I always made sure and--and right across the street from uh where the (unclear) building is, that hotel, there's a big apartment building called Unthank Apartments. Um--Unthank Plaza and that was a big building and I think I sent her a picture of that and that had a--a place uh called The Texas Playhouse, and um--and then they had a Scotty's BBQ. A lot of history there you really can't see until you see the pictures. It would have been nice to have kept some of those um, memories, physically. Um--but uh yeah--um--think of anything else you would like to

00:32:04.1

YOLONZO: What was your favorite candy store?

BROWN: Uh--well, I had a little store up on Alberta and um, 11th and uh Alberta, and my mom used to send me and my sister up there with a little note to buy something, so that's where I used to get a Tootsie Roll for 2 cents, how much do Tootsie Rolls cost now?

YOLONZO: Oh about a dollar

BROWN: Yeah, see, again, things change But uh that was a little--one of my little stores

YOLONZO: Thank you for your time

BROWN: Oh I appreciate it, yeah

YOLONZO: I appreciate it, too

BROWN: Yeah, go back to work and try to make loans and take care of my customers

**Before finishing the interview, Arlie wanted to end with a few follow up questions**

00:32:55.7

SOMMER: Could you describe for me your dad's office? Or do you remember it?

BROWN: Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah. It's a--it's a--it's a little brick uh--back then it was split up into 3 offices and like I said Dr. Marshall owned it, uh Dr. John Marshall. Uh, and then Dr. Brown, Sam Brown the dentist was in the middle office and dad had his law practice there on--on the north end. Uh--and so I spent a lot of time there, you know. And I would spend a lot of time because Dr. Brown was my dentist, and Dr. Marshall was my doctor, so it was kind of a 3 in 1--I never needed Dad for law, thank God. But uh--um--um--so uh--so I got to know a lot of people because always bein around I knew his customers, his clients, they'd come in, um--I'd stay out there in the secretary area, I didn't go into the office with him and when they discussed--but--but I got to know a lot of people, growin up, that he represented, before he became a judge. Um, so the--but the building is still there, uh, is still usable. Uh--um

00:34:09.4

SOMMER: Did he talk about work at all when you were young?

BROWN: Oh yeah, well, you know he um--back then you--you were working awful hard, so that's why I ended up going to work with him on Saturdays, you know, it was always a fun thing to--uh cause uh what you are you're an enterpreneur, so you know, you make what you--you know, you bring home what you make and you're not on a salary so you're--you're workin hard because you're self-employed. And so uh so he worked hard and uh, uh took care of his family and uh, good memories, we always, you know, had, you know, a decent car. Dad wasn't really into cars as much as he wanted to make sure he had a roof over his--in fact I had some friends would always--would tease me "When's your dad gonna get a new car?" well I said "You know what, he doesn't care about a new car but do you see where he parks his old car?" And so, they usually shut up whenever I brought that up

**Arlie suggests a question**

00:35:18.7

Yolonzo: Do you remember the Grace Collins Community Center?

BROWN: Oh yeah, my uh--like I said, that's where I went to uh--uh--the nursery school and then kindergarten. Uh, my mom brought her sisters to Portland from Louisianna, moved them out here and one of my aunts uh actually started working there as a teacher. Uh, so--um--but what has happened now is you know I--you see I left Portland for 19 years and I came back in 1993 so I've seen a lot of change, but I wasn't here to witness the change. And so actually the uh Grace Collins Community Center is now called the Wonder Ball Room. Have you seen the Wonder Ball Room? So it's a music venue. Uh, it's on the National Historical Society, uh--um--but um--um--and the--well one of my uh customers of um--I was uh--uh pretty close to financing them buying the building, but then they chose some alternative uh financing, but uh we remained--they still remained customers with me and so forth. But uh it's a nice--nice venue uh, has the history. I still know the families that used to live across the street from it, but it's now the Multnomah County Library. So, those were homes, so there was the Brazzles, then they lived over across the street. The uh, the Allen family uh lived across the street, so it's uh--um--um-you know, again, things change. If you look at Boise, Eliot, all behind there, uh a lot of people I knew had houses, they tore them down so they could build the 405 freeway. So we got a lot of things that essentially destroyed, you know, what meant something to--to others to--to enhance what means something to others, I guess. So, um the thing about um--uh--those kind of changes in the neighborhood, 1st of all what they'll do is approach you and tell you that they just needed a say certain zone and they will offer you money for your property. And uh--uh--if you can't come to terms then they finally say "Well, so be it" then they take it, and so imminent domain. And so you're kinda, you know, you're kinda stuck there because you're gonna lose it, you might as well go ahead and take the money, you don't have any leverage and so--

00:38:05.9

SOMMER: Were you around when that was happening?

BROWN: Uh, well yeah, I--I was around here because they--they did it back in the 70's, just like Jump Town. I mean, you know the people that lived down there who owned bars or whatever, they--they had no choice. Um--um--um--they could decide--as a matter of fact, if you look at the controversy behind Cesar Chavez Blvd., I have no problem with Cesar Chavez Blvd. But--but I think it's kind of ridiculous if you're driving down the street and you're driving down 28th, 30th, 31st, 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th, and then all of a sudden there's Cesar Chavez Blvd., then 40, and 40 you know, because of numerical sequence, it's just--it seemed like they could've taken something a little different. Maybe another name street and--and changed it, versus a numbered street, you know. And I actually live uh, a couple of blocks from uh Cesar Chavez, you know, over in Laurelhurst. So um it does look kind of you know--but again, uh, the power always wins, so

00:39:20.1

Yolonzo: What characters, or community leaders did you have?

BROWN: Well, our community leaders uh back in those days were the people that were--were uh--uh--pushing for civil rights. We were still struggling. Uh a lot of racism, so a lot of inequity. Uh, but uh--but we had to keep fighting. Um, something my dad said to me one time that uh really struck me is uh--he's 84 now, but his age group were the 1st African Americans to qualify for pension. Because if you were a slave, they weren't paying you, so how were you gonna get a pension? And if you were a slave, you weren't working for corporations, you were working out in the field. So then the next layer would come, and--and it would be menial where they would be able to go in and maybe be a busboy, or do something like that, and so you're not really, you know--so now, you know, Dad gets you know, he's primarily worked for the county as a judge for 30 years, so he gets pers. And so um--but you know there was an accurate state named May (?????) that was the 1st--and so uh something I deal with a lot as a banker, is I have people who come in who are trust babies. Do you know what a trust baby is? Someone who's had wealth passed down. And--and--well, you're not going to find a lot of African Americans that are trust babies, because we didn't have any wealth to hand down. But you find out a lot--right--right now what's happening in Portland is a lot of people parents or grandparents are passing, so they end up getting the house, or they'll get a piece of l--l--land that granddad or parents might have bought, or whatever. So, but that in itself is nothing until they sell it uh--and--and depends on what they get out of it, that--but again, depends--and then--how--how they spend the money. But it doesn't carry on the trust, the wealth like a Rockefeller, or a Kennedy, someone like that. Uh, so um that's why the uh--the thing about um--the most valuable thing any party usually own, is--is their home. That's what people have relied on building wealth because they--they buy it, and it appreciates, they sell it, you know, they get a gain. Um, not sure that strategy is gonna be the one goin forward after the big mess we've been in in our economy, but that's another subject

00:42:06.1

**Arlie asks Yolonzo if there's any other questions he can think of that he'd like to ask**

BROWN: How about what I do for a living?

Yolonzo: You're a banker, right?

BROWN: And what do I do as a banker?

**unclear answer from Yolonzo**

BROWN: Here's what I do. I uh provide loans for--commercial loans for buildings, so the Ivy school can come to me and say "Hey we want to buy a building" or "We want to refinance our existing building" and then I provide the financing. Or, the store down the street says "Hey I found this space I wanna lease, I need a small business loan to move in and buy inventory" and so uh I--and so as a relationship manager, not only do I provide the loan, I manage the relationship, so anytime they need something, I'm--I'm the guy to come to. Uh, I also go out and look for deposits, because we take deposits and we turn around and that's what we use to make loans. So I go out and look for people, like you, open up a savings account and--and uh--and so I generate deposits, and so but then I manage that relationship, too. So, um--you know so I have small deposits or I'd get large ones. I've had customers that have deposited--brought in maybe 3 million, 1 million. I've had customers that bring in 20,000. It doesn't matter, it just depends on--um, but that's what I do. And I've been in banking for 30 years. Did I say that too loud? So, but I--I've lived in L.A.--I lived in L.A. for 10 years and I worked for a bank down there, 1st Interstate, 7 years. I lived in Seattle worked for a bank up there for 3 years. But my real background is I am an accountant. But I--I've always been in the controler's division of banks. Uh, I worked for the US Bank here for 9 years, but I've been in Albina since 2002. And that's how long I've been a loan officer. So that's my daily world outside of uh raisin my 8th grader. And uh--and we have a little dog Harley, he--he's a daddy's dog so he uh--likes to be up underneath me, when he can't get on my lap. So---anything else? Ok, well you got my card, any follow up questions, and she knows how to find me email me, if I think of something. It will sound a little different though, in an email than it will on mic, but we'll find a way to mesh it together

**Tape Ends**