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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, dEcEmbER 4, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
circulation manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production manager
CARL EARL
Systems manager
WRITER’S NOTEBOOK
A flashpoint in the history of segregation
S
urprise and unexpected enlighten-
ment are the joys of traveling. That
is what happened to my wife and
me during a recent tour of New Orleans.
It was offered by the National Trust
for Historic Preservation. Our guide
was John Klingman, whose architecture
training was at the University of Oregon.
An emeritus professor at Tulane Univer-
sity, Klingman has been involved in sev-
eral New Orleans design
projects, over decades.
Klingman walked
us through the French
Quarter and the Garden
District while explain-
ing the city’s compli-
cated racial history. Hav-
STEVE
ing been under French
FORRESTER
ownership, then Spanish
and French again, prior
to the Louisiana Purchase by the United
States, New Orleans’ history and culture
are more exotic than any other American
city I’ve visited.
New Orleans is renowned for its food,
its partying and rich culture. The city is
also a beacon for preservationists. Pres-
ervation is about more than structures.
It is also about the story they tell — the
role those buildings played in a city’s
history.
One destination we visited left an
indelible impression on our group. In the
Lower Ninth Ward lies the McDonogh
19 Elementary School building, which
sustained flooding damage during Hur-
ricane Katrina. This place carries enor-
mous significance in the desegregation
of New Orleans’ schools in the wake of
the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Our guide was Leona Tate, who was
one of the three African American girls
who entered the school as first grad-
Leona Tate’s overarching goal in
reclaiming the McDonogh 19 story is to
counter racism.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Leona Tate, go to:
www.leonatatefoundation.org
Leona Tate was among the first graders to help desegregate New Orleans schools.
ers in November 1960. She described
being escorted into the schoolhouse by
U.S. marshals while angry white adults
shouted derision and profanity at them.
Within days, white parents with-
drew their children. The windows of the
three girls’ classroom were covered with
paper, to shield the girls from seeing the
heckling whites. When asked where she
and the other two girls played during
recess, Tate said it was under the stairs.
In recounting this part of her life, Tate’s
equanimity and resilience were remark-
able to observe.
Tate and her program director in this
project, Tremaine Knighten-Riley, a for-
mer high school teacher, have developed
a novel plan for preserving and inter-
preting this building’s history while also
doing adaptive reuse that creates afford-
able housing for seniors. The build-
ing’s main entry, stairway and landing
are called the Principal’s Office exhibit.
It will contain a dramatic and cinematic
recreation of that first day when Tate,
Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost entered
the building for the first time. Surround-
ing that space are the new apartments.
Residents will move into those spaces on
Dec. 15.
Tate’s overarching goal in reclaim-
ing the McDonogh story is to counter
racism. The Leona Tate Foundation for
Change purchased the building in Jan-
uary 2020. The two women continue
to raise funds to complete the project.
Meanwhile, Tate is also executive direc-
tor of the nearby Lower Ninth Ward Liv-
ing Museum.
The conceit of our times is that tech-
nology allows us to live beyond the
reach of history. When Tate speaks to
young people about her 1960 experience,
she is very surprised with the disconnect
of time – with how children think this
was so long ago. At a time when Amer-
ica is being confronted by an awakening
to the legacy of slavery and the price of
racism, this New Orleans project is com-
pelling and timely.
Steve Forrester, the former editor and
publisher of The Astorian, is the president
and cEO of EO media Group.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Fallacy, indeed
ow! The Nov. 30 letter by Brian
Lavelle, “Fallacy,” certainly con-
tained many multisyllabled words in
defense of The Astorian taking a handout
from the government.
There are a few misconceptions put for-
ward, however. The original letter did not
conceive of a monolithic “deep state” with
one will. That thought is from Lavelle.
In his letter, Lavelle drifts off to politi-
cally attack the last administration, which
was not referenced, and had nothing to do
with refuting the original letter.
He laments the “willfully ignorant or
paranoid,” again referencing the “deep
state.” It seems that Lavalle is obsessed
with a fear of the “deep state” idea.
The basic question, honestly asked,
remains unanswered. Why does The Asto-
rian seek tax credits from the government?
And what is the requirement to receive
them? Perhaps an independent journalist
will research the agreement and report.
ROBERT LIDDYCOAT
Seaside
W
Thank you
n behalf of the board of directors of
the Eugene Schmuck Foundation, I
would like to thank Matt Brown and Jeff
Mitchell of Manzanita Links, who made
the 2021 Manzanita Open Golf Tourna-
ment possible.
Matt and Jeff graciously provided
their advice and experience to help cre-
ate a seamless, fun and successful event.
This year the Eugene Schmuck Founda-
tion raised $76,653 in much-needed funds,
which are given back and reinvested in
our community.
We also want to give a big “thank you”
to the many volunteers, supporters, donors
and sponsors who have made our founda-
tion a success.
I am personally grateful for the dedica-
tion of my fellow board members Corey
Douma, John Durkin, Beth Gienger, Tom
Moore, Breanna Stephens, Dave Stephens,
Karen Stephens, Connie Vander Waal,
Sally Vanebo, Camy VonSeggern and
Erick White. This year we also welcome
Breanna Stephens, Chris Bennett and Troy
Bowers to our board.
Please join us for the next Manzanita
Open Golf Tournament, planned for May
13, May 14 and May 15. We look forward
to seeing you there!
DAVID MATTHEWS
President, Eugene Schmuck Foundation
Manzanita
O
We just need the will
he COVID-19 pandemic has had a
devastating impact across the globe,
with millions of lives and livelihoods
T
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The
Astorian. Letters should be fewer
than 250 words and must include the
writer’s name, address and phone
number. You will be contacted to
confirm authorship. All letters are
subject to editing for space, gram-
mar and factual accuracy. Only two
letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
lost, unlike anything we’ve experienced
in decades.
The last time the entire world was
this focused on a pandemic was over two
decades ago, when HIV/AIDS was kill-
ing almost 4,000 people every day, and
new infections were doubling every year.
Since then, the global response to
to other letter writers should address
the issue at hand and should refer to
the headline and date the letter was
published. Discourse should be civil.
Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet-
ters, in person at 949 Exchange St.
in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
AIDS has largely been a success story,
with millions of lives being saved
through testing, treatment and preven-
tion efforts. The COVID-19 pandemic
threatens to stop or even reverse this
progress.
For World AIDS Day — Dec. 1 — it’s
important to remember HIV/AIDS is still
a crisis. In 2020, there were 1.5 million
new infections, and 680,000 AIDS-re-
lated deaths.
People living with HIV/AIDS are at
more severe risk of COVID-19, and live
in parts of the world with limited access
to COVID vaccines.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to almost
70% of people living with HIV, but less
than 5% of the population has received
at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
We have the power to beat both of these
viruses. We just need the will.
That’s why it’s so important that U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, and Congresswoman Suzanne
Bonamici, show support for programs
that are helping the fight against both
COVID and AIDS, like the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, one of the most effective and
efficient health organizations on the
planet.
MICHAEL KALKOFEN
Beaverton