Street roots., June 26, 2015, Page 7, Image 7

26-July 3, 2015
PRESIDENT, from page 5
first from Oregon. Part of the reason that I
was motivated to accept this position is that
Portland has changed a great deal since I
was a kid, and not for the better,
unfortunately. And that’s really difficult for
me, especially given that we’re sitting on
the corner of Williams and Russell and I
went to middle school two blocks away. I
know this neighborhood, and I know the
city. Folks love it, and they have reasons to
love it, but the things that I loved about it
most aren t here anymore. So I think what
my childhood experience does is allows me
to be a mythbuster when it comes to, “Oh,
well, Portland is so great now; it’s so much
better than it ever was before.” That’s not
true for a lot of Portlanders.
I think the other thing that growing up
here allows me to do is to help hold some
people accountable when they talk about
blighted neighborhoods or begin this litany
of all the ways that gentrification and
business development and urban renewal
have improved our town, and they edit out
the parts about how quality of life has not
improved for black and brown people. I am
in a position to hold them accountable for
statements like that and for the work that’s
, necessary to make them feel like it should
be for everyone in our communities.
A.G.: One thing that the League seeks to
change is (low) civic engagement among black
Portlanders, so Pm wondering what
empowered you and inspired you to get into
politics that maybe kids today don’t have in
Portland.
N.H.J.: There’s something funny about
that for me. Growing up here, my police
chief was black; my superintendent of
schools was black; the man who ran the
parks was black; my state treasurer was
black; I was represented in the State
Legislature by a black woman. Folks who
ran our city and our county, there were
black folks in that mix. And even though
there were far fewer African-Americans in
Portland then than there are now, I’ve come
home to find there are just a few of us and
we are so glad to have those few. It’s very
strange for me because of the experience
that I grew up with. It was easy for me to
News
Page 7
be engaged because that was just a part of
my life growing up. It was how it worked in
our community. So that’s another reason
why I was excited to accept the job at the
Urban League, because I see our ability to
participate in the city, black folks in this
community, differently than some folks
because I’ve seen it happen before. I know
the richness that we have lost, and I’m not
sure why that has happened, but I know
that we can reach that point again. We can
have levels of participation that are more
than consummate with our percentage of
the population here. And I think it’s
important that that happen.
To me, this community felt more vibrant
before, this community felt more integrated
before, and that’s everything from the arts
to politics. And when young people see that
- and not just young people, quite frankly;
adults see that — it’s encouraging. Success
begets success, so to speak. If you see folks
who are already there, who look like you,
who are talking about something, it
encourages you to become engaged
yourself. And if you don’t see people who
look like you, there’s this thing that
happens that’s terrible really. You think,
huh, that must not be for me. As you
operate in your community, just in your day-
to-day life, that sort of thing seeps in and
gives you the sense that this isn’t for you.
Portland is for somebody else. The county,
state government, whatever it is is for
somebody else but not for you. It’s sad. But
there is a way to turn that tide because
we’ve been there before.
Time to Apply
by Ron Sanford
I don’t need to read a book to deal with repression
I don’t need psychiatry to tell me what is right
But the technical aspect could never hamper me.
Once you know what you’re doing, you will see the light
You don’t need astrology to plan for the future.
You don’t need psychology to interpret your dreams.
There’s scatterbrain texters trolling around us.
They come to Portland, you see the diversity.
But people I trust have come from every walk of life
It is called second nature, spiritual sight
You will never see it apart from your freewill
Look! Look! The kingdom of God is within you!
You have been given so much - Now it’s time to apply!
Paralyzed Paradise
by Lazola Palmbo
The road is paralyzed,
but I am far from sharing my impediments,
with the public,
It never takes a year for the world to discover,
nor another century in time,
The cracks are there,
waiting to be covered,
I close my eyes,
but only for a second,
I see a path divided by wild stallion horses,
False identity approved,
but with a price of course,
if you not worth ten million dollars,
Pounds or Euros,
the man with the keys,
drops you down the balcony,
and heads off to the nearest restaurant,
to eat lobsters and shrimps,
with a crooked smile.
A.G.: When you are done being CEO and
president (of the Urban League), what is your
vision for your time here?
N.H J .: That we made the Urban League
better for the people in this community and
that we made it stronger for the folks who
will occupy these positions after us. That’s
important to me. We’re caretakers of the
Urban League during this space, however
long it is that we’re here, and I want part of
my legacy at the League to be that I did a
good job taking care of it.
You can download a copy o f the complete
State o f Black Oregon 2015 a t the Urban
League o f Portland’s website, www.ulpdx.org
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