Portland Observer, January 18, 1964 Section I Pape 3
METROPOLITAN
School
oard rejects call for districting
The refusal o f the Portland
School Board to honor an initiative
petition filed by the Citizens for a
M ore Representative School Board
has initiated a legal debate that
might well take the School District
back to court— at taxpayer expense.
•‘Citizens” filed their petition in
December o f 1983, calling on the
School Board to set aa election to let
district residents vote on their prop
osition dividing the School District
into seven zones and requiring each
member elected to live in a separate
zone.
The petition action was taken un
der OS 331.095, which requires that,
upon the filing of a petition with
1,000 signatures, the School Board
must place the issue before the vot
ers. A second law (O RS 332.128)
went into effect January I , 1984.
raising the number o f required sig
natures to 25 percent o f the elector
ate or approximately 47,000 (nearly
CHAIR CHARLOTTE BEEMAN
as many as required for a state-wide
initiative).
The attorney hired by the School
Board to clarify the issue told the
board that although the signatues
were submitted to the County Regis
trar and verified before January 1st,
the later law is now in effect and
takes precedence.
The Secretary o f State's office,
which regulates elections, disagrees
Deputy Secretary o f State C .
Gregory M cM urdo wrote December
5th, " I f your petition is filed with
the County Clerk on or before F ri
day, December JOth. 1983, the peti
tion will need to contain the signa
tues of 1,000 electors o f the district,
O RS 331 095. I f your petition is
filed after December 30, 1983, the
petition will need to contain the sig
natures o f a number o f electors of
the district that is not less than 25
percent o f all votes cast in the dis
trict for the office o f Governor at
the 1983 general election ” The elec
tion is to be held no sooner than 40
days after the date o f its order and
no later than March 26. 1985.
Lewis C. l.ittlehales. Counsel to
the Legislature, who wrote the bill,
agrees: "W e conclude that because
the petition was filed in December
the number of signatures required to
be contained in the petition is 10
percent or at least 1,000 persons,
whichever is the lesser, o f the elec
tors voting for the office o f school
director at the last regular district
election in the district."
Because the School Board refused
to accept this definition, the citizens
groups w ill ask the S ecretary o f
State's O ffic e to take the responsi
bility o f ordering the School Board
to perform its duty to the voters.
The Portland School Board has
long opposed districting, and, until
the 1983 Legislative Session, was
successful in keeping in place a law
that prevented only the Portland
District
(cities o f
more
than
300.000) from districting
Board member H e rb Caw thorne
moved that a H oard c o m m itte e
study the issue H e was supported
by Bill Scott, w ho said he prefers
zones, but the motion failed 5-2.
Sunday, J a n u a r y 2 9 , 19S4
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Local jazz show features record reviews
by Lanita Duke
Crassrool News, N. B'. — Since
June o f 1983, Eugene Rashad, 29,
has made the video connection with
Jazz Scene, a weekly jazz show aired
every Sunday on Channel 36,
Rogers Cablesystems.
In the beginning, Rashad would
play a record while displaying the al
bum cover. Experience and maturity
polished up the rough edges and he
soon added a different dimension to
lhe show. He said, " I started inter
viewing local musicians, adding
video clips and jazz news.”
The news is anchored by Rashad’s
w ife, Aida. “ O ur sources lire B ill
board, Down Beal and USA To
day. This gives our audience a per
spective to measure music as an art
fo rm ."
As a critic Rashad said different
life experiences d eterm in e how he
judges an album. "Som e o f my life
experience is suffering. I believe that
nothing gets better unless something
hurts. M y life has had certain set
backs because I was born a Black
male in a repressive society. Living
from one day to the next makes me
find out what I'm made of.
"W h en I hear Herbie Hancock
play 'M aiden Voyage,' I feel what
Hancock feels. It takes me out o f
the realm o f everyday human feel-
ings into a different threshhold. It is
like a different experience "
Rashad said he believes Jazz does
not have the economic infrastruc
ture of pop music. H e said. " A m e r
ican society prevents the creative
forces o f Black people from coming
to a head. They do this by suppres
sing the cash flow from coming into
the studio and limiting the number
o f people who receive contracts."
He called the American music in
dustry "n a iv e ." "T h e y say that the
market is in pop but jazz is A m eri
ca's only true art fo rm .”
Rashad is a regular fixture as one
of KBOO's jazz D.J.s. But he said his
experience comes from his tenure
with the Nation o f Islam. " I am
proud to have been a part o f an or
ganization that really demonstrated
love and concern for the Black peo
ple. It left its mark on me. I feel I
have something to offer while
people arc watching That is the
time to move— while people are
watching "
For the future Rashad wants to
produce a jazz version o f M T V . He
said, " I t is the same old question.
What are Black people going to do
in the market they created? W ill we
be able to command the dollars?"
In reviewing albums Rashad
looks at the instrumentation. " I
played a record this Sunday that had
no synthesizer or keyboard instru
ments. However, it sounded like it
did. That is class—quality— and I
like th a t."
Rashad invites the community to
tune in every Sunday starting at
3:00
King designs sought
Design selection for the commem
o rative plaque at the King N e ig h
borhood Facility w ill be a com m u
nity effort, according to Facility co
ordinator Jim Loving.
The plaque, to honor slain civil
rights leader M a r tin L u th er K ing,
J r., w ill be funded by the C ity o f
P o rtla n d and P o rtla n d P u b lic
EUGENE f t AIDA RASHAD
(Photo: Richard J Brown)
Schools.
The funding announcem ent was
made p ublic Jan. 10 at a fa c ility
press b rie fin g by S u p t. M a tth e w
P ro p het and C ity C o m m is sio n e r
Margaret Strachan.
Loving and Betty W 'alker, chair
o f the facility advisory com m ittee,
announced today (J a n . 17) that
members o f the c o m m u n ity have
been invited to submit designs for
the plaque.
Designs should be 24 inches
square and ap p ro p ria te for a cast
bronze plaque w ith raised letters.
W alker said
A ll designs must be submitted to
the K ing N e ig h b o rh o o d F a c ility ,
4815 N .E . 7th A v e ., Po rtlan d, O R
97211 before 5 p .m ., Friday, Febru
ary 3, 1984
N am es, addresses and phone
numbers should be attached .
Harold Williams
Martin Luther King has shown in the way he lived that a
person's success is to be measured not so much by the
position one has reached in life as by the obstacles which
one has overcome while trying to succeed.
Help me remove obstacles that are in the way of our
success. By remembering to register and vote.
P o
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PSU celebrates Black History Month
The Black Cultural A ffairs Board
at Portland State University, a stu
dent organization, has planned a se
ries o f special community events
during February, Black History
M onth. Titled " A Celebration of
Life, Culture and Achievements,”
the observance will feature nation
ally known performers and films.
T o kic k-o ff the celebration, the
B C AB w ill once again host the
Annual Gospel Festival Saturday,
Jan 28. at 7:30 p.m in the Smith
Center ballroom . Featured will be
recording artist Vanessa Bell A rm
strong. Armstrong began singing
gospel at the age o f 4 and has ap
peared with some o f the greatest
gospel talents o f today. She has per
formed all across the country, sing
ing in San Francisco, New York,
Los Angeles, Chicago, and many
other cities, devastating her au-
• diences with her articulate voice
control and versatility.
The gospel festival will also fea-
• ture local gospel artist Jo Ann Col-
' lins. Collins was raised in a holiness
! church and was inspired to sing at
• an early age A fter many years o f
; perform ing in the rhythm and blues
: area, she vowed to sing only gospel
•
•
:
•
•
music.
This year's festival also w ill spot-
light two local choirs: Greater M t.
Calvary Churuch o f God in Christ,
Bishop H B. Daniels presiding; and
the Ministers of Music, home choir
o f the Albina Church o f God whose
• pastor is Rev. Irving.
Tickets are available at the House
of Sound records, Meier A Frank
VANESSA BELL ARMSTRONG
(downtown), and the Portland State
University box office. Ticket prices
are 54 general admission and $3.50
with valid PSU I D . This event is co
sponsored by the M etropolitan Arts
Commission.
O n Wednesday, Feb. I , at 8 p .m .,
also in the Smith Center Ballroom,
the BCAB w ill present a two-hour
performance by Phillip E. W alker
o f the African American Drama
Company of San Francisco. His
one-man show, " C a n I Speak For
You, Brother,” depicts such leaders
as M artin Luther King, Jr., M a l
colm X , Fredrick Douglass. Haki
Madhubuti (D o n . L. Lee), High
John
da
Conqueror,
W .E .B .
D u B o is . Booker T . Washington,
and Sgt Emmanuel Stance. Tickets
PHILLIPE WALKER
are $2.50 general admission, $2 with
valid PSU I D. Also that same day.
W alker will present a free w ork
shop, entitled "Physical Posture
and Politics," at 3:00 p.m . The lo
cation will be announced soon.
The main feature o f this year',
Black History M onth w ill occur
Thursday, Feb. 23, at 8 p .m ., in the
Smith Center Ballroom, with a rare
Northwest appearance by one o f the
most diverse artists o f our tim e—G il
Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron was ini
tially published and recorded in
1970. In the fall of that year, "T he
Vulture,” a mystery novel set
against the background o f urban
street survival, was published simul
taneously with a volum e o f poetry,
"Sm all Talk at 12th and L en ox."
Flying Dutchman Records released
a record with selections from the
poetry volume and original songs
played and sung by Scott-Heron
who accompanied himself on piano.
It is his teaching experience and
background (Johns Hopkins U n i
versity and Lincoln University) as
well as his artistic achievements that
have contributed to the success of
Scott-Heron's lecture and solo-per
formance appacrances. The au
dience is presented with poetry and
muisic, but also with the political in
cisiveness that created classics such
as "T h e H2Ogatc Blues." " W e Beg
Your Pardon, Am erica,” and "Jose
Campos Torres" (a poetic response
to the death of a young Mexican-
American at the hands of Houston
police). This will be a rare appear
ance you won't want to miss!
Ticket prices arc $7 general ad
mission, $6 with valid PSU I D.
Tickets are available at the House of
Sound. Meier A Frank (downtown),
and the PSU box office.
Other BCAB activities will in
clude a Black Film Festival featur
ing such films as "L orrain e Hans-
berry: The Black Experience in the
Creation of D ra m a ," "Fundi: The
Story o f Ella Baker,” and "Genera
tions o f Resistance.” focusing on
the struggle to survive in South A f
rica. The festival will run Feb. 3 to
24, with showings every Friday at
7:30 p.m in 75 Lincoln H all. A d
mission to all films in the series will
be free This event is co-sponsored
by the PSU Film Committee and the
Portland State W om en’ s Union.
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1 4 1 0 N E B n o o c tw a y . P o r t lan d . Ch e g o n
E «pitas Jan 30, 1964
2 8 4 -1 B 9 7
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