Street roots., August 11, 2017, Page 10, Image 10

Page 10
News
Street Roots • August 11-17, 2017
boys in the Portland com m unity?
Israel Hammond, youth organizer, age
21: Absolutely, and it’s not just in the
Portland community. I feel like this is a
nationwide epidemic to say the least,
because it’s systemic - the system wasn’t
built for the black man. It was built to do
everything to destroy the experiences that
we have. For me, it starts with the head of
the household, who is typically the male. If
you can get him out of the picture, then you
have a whole bunch of issues and situations
that arise; like a single mother having to
take care of more than her load, therefore
she’s not there, therefore the child does not
have her, it just starts to snowball. In
Portland, it’s because there is such a small
minority group, or minority presence, it’s a
lot more heavy.
Walter Robinson II, BMA Steering
Committee: “No role modelz” is actually a
P H O TO BY A R K A D Y B RO W N
Role models wanted
Black youths in Portland arc challenging men in
their community to step up and become mentors
BY EMILY GREEN
S T A F F W R IT E R
IF YOU GO
No Role Models
Saturday, Aug. 12,
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Official program begins
at 11:30 a.m.
Catered by Dub’s
St. Johns
Denorval Unthank
Park, 510 N Shaver St.
----- ...
his Saturday, a group of young black
men and boys are holding a
community event called “No Role
Models” at Unthank Park in North
Portland’s Boise neighborhood.
The name says it all.
They want more black men in Portland to
step up and fill the role-model void in their
communities. They hope their event will
draw both those interested in mentoring and
youths looking for someone to look up to.
The organizers are participants in the city
of Portland’s Black Male Achievement
Summer Youth Experience, an opportunity
offered to black males participating in
Multnomah County and Worksystem’s
summer job placement program for young
people.
This year, about two dozen youths ages 15
to 24 embarked on the summer-long
program that promotes personal growth and
relationship building, and culminates with
the youths putting together a community
event on the topic of their choice.
T
bast summer s community engagemer
project was a powerful program explorin
how Oregon’s Measure 11 mandatory
minimum sentencing law is affecting you
charged as adults.
Another effect that law and others like
are having on the African American
community is fewer fathers, big brothers
uncles to serve as role models, say event
organizers.
The event begins at 11 a.m. and will
include speaker panels featuring the your
men along with business leaders in the bl
community who have provided a mentors^
role to the youths. Organizations that offe
mentoring services, such as Unify Portlar
will be on hand to sign up mentors and
youths.
Street Roots discussed the need for mo
role models with one of the young men
hosting the event and two of the Summer
Youth Experience facilitators.
Emily Green: This event is called “N o
Role Models. ” Are you seeing that there is a
lack o f role models fo r young black men and
lyric from (hip-hop artist) J . Cole, and it’s a
really good song that talks about the culture
of society and what some devastating
legislation has done to communities - and
how that system has created no role models
for black young men. That song really
inspired (the youths) to come up with that
title, but also that’s how they feel. For some
young individuals in our group, this is one of
the only times where they feel comfortable
enough - not only being black, but also
being in a space with other positive black
men looking to grow and grow together. I
would say that the “no role models” comes
out of the sense of challenging the
unity. There are men out there who
want to be role models, but don’t have the
connection to the youth. So it’s bringing
everyone together to say, “Here’s what’s
available. You can partner with these groups
or do something on a more individual basis,
just based off pure authentic relationship
creating.” It’s also the opportunity for these
young men to mentor other young men. So
we have been reaching out to all these
people to bring them together to talk about
an issue that is plaguing our community.
E.G.: Why aren’t there as m any role models
as there should be - are you talking about
mandatory m in im u m sentencing a n d
legislation like that?
C J Robbins, BMA program
coordinator: I think it’s complex, and I
think that’s why they boiled it down to one
sentence and harken to J . Cole’s song
Because I think that’s a factor, but it’s one
of many. Their title reminds me of the
phrase. We are the heroes we’ve been
waiting for - it essentially just reminds me
that even with all the systemic barriers,
there’s opportunity.
The song itself kind of highlights what
that space looks like for a young man that’s
trying to navigate the world that doesn’t see
the people around him that should be
around him. Obviously there’s Measure 11
and other legislation, the war on drugs, that
have led to higher percentages of black and
brown men in jail and not in their
communities.
nve in (with the Black Male Achievement
initiative). We’ve been very intentional "
See ROLE MODELS, page 11