V olum e X V III, N um ber 6
Decem ber 23, 1987
_________ _______________ _
"The Eyes and Ears of the Community"
Reggie Blake:
Joe Holcomb Remembered
It was a chilling procession. A
slow and painful walk toward the
place where Holcomb was murder
ed. Along the way, the curious
could be seen peeping from behind
window shades. Up ahead, a lone
Portland police officer directed traf
fic. Along side streets, cars stop
ped, giving the appearance that
their drivers were shahng moments
of silence with the marching mour
ners. As the mourners neared the
Launderette, they began to sing
"Amazing Grace," a song they sang
throughout the laying of the wreath
and the flowers.
Hardly an eye
was without tears, grief and sad
ness. Men cried. Women cried.
Small children cried.
Strangers
cried on each other's shoulders.
Friends held onto each other for
physical and emotional support.
Over 200 angry citizens marched w ith Joe
Janine Skenandore (2nd fro m left), to the L
m urdered, and placed a w reath and flow ers
Photo by Richard J. B row n
Jim Kelly, who was Holcomb's
employer at the time of his death,
said the Portland Chamber of Com
merce's decision to form a Commis
sion to study the crime problem and
its statement that the crime problem
isn’t as bad as the news media says
is a slap in the face of victimized
After the last flower was placed
on the wreath, the marchers walked
back down North Skidmore Street,
singing "We Shall Not Be Moved."
And according to these humble,
peace-loving citizens, they are not
about to allow pimps, drugs, mur
derers and the like to move them
out of their neighborhoods. That,
they say, is the spirit of Joseph
Scott Holcomb.
Tubman's Success
...............
by Nyewusi Askari
Back in November, when Mr.
Paul Coakley, Principal of Tubman
Middle School, presented his pro
gress report to the Desegregation
Monitoring Advisory Committee, he
reported that the middle school was
experiencing a very exciting and
productive year. Citing the return of
92 percent of last year's staff, Mr.
Coakley said this was a marked im
provement over the previous year.
Here are some additional high
lights from that report:
• There are 662 students at Tub-
man this fall which includes 439
Blacks, 186 Whites, 17 Asians, 13
Hispanics and 6 Native Americans.
• Tubman has a total certified
and classified staff of 70 which in
cludes 30 Blacks, 33 Whites, 5 His
panics, 1 Native American and 1
Asian. There is a total certified staff
of 53 which includes 18 Blacks, 29
Whites, 4 Hispanics, 1 Native Amer
ican and 1 Asian. There is a total
of 13 on the classified staff which
includes 11 Blacks, 1 White and 1
Hispanic. There are 5 Blacks and 3
White employees on the administra
tiv e staff.
• Tubman has a number of after
school clubs to encourage students
Hospital Employee
the Month
citizens who know otherwise
r he
Chamber of Commerce makes nw
embarrassed to call myself a busi
nessman," he said angrily.
In a moving, tearful tribute,
Harold Williams, of Pen Nor, Inc.,
called Holcomb "a hero." "N ow is
the time for the community to come
together and rid itself of something
shameful. Joe Holcomb is truly our
hero," Williams said
The silent march, which was led
by Jim Kelly carrying a large wreath,
began at the corner of Vancouver
and North Skidmore Street and
ended at MBS Coin-Op Launderette
at 4236 N. Mississippi Avenue.
by Nyewusi Askari
Saying that they are tired of being
the victims of senseless crimes and
violence, approximately 200 tearful
but angry citizens paid their last
respects to Joe Scott Holcomb
last Saturday. Meeting at the First
AME Zion Church, members of the
congregation expressed anger and
outrage over Holcomb's death and
charged that City officials are not
doing near enough to stem Port
land's crime rate. In remember-
ance, the mourners marched five-
blocks, in silence, to lay a wreath
and yellow flowers at the doorway
of the building where Holcomb
was shot.
John Scott Holcomb, 27, was
shot dead Dec. 12, while attemp
ting to aid a woman who was being
harassed by two men near a coin-
operated laundry.
At the meeting, David Hupp, a
local resident, characterized Hol
comb's murder as an act of ter
rorism.
Addressing the crowd,
Hupp said, "W hy do I call this an act
of terrorism? Because our city is un
der seige from a variety of socio
paths and psychopaths, some of
them our own sons and daughters.
Hupp explained that he feels no pro
tection from the City, and that al
though the problems of crime are
citywide, they are particularly focus
ed in the Inner Northeast commu
nity. "W e already are occupied by
terrorism from within. And apathy,
cynicism, racism and a smug delu
sion of personal safety are our ene
mies," he said.
Rep. Margaret Carter, D-Port
land, saying that her heart was sad
dened by Holcomb's death, encou
raged City and state legislators to
join hands in the fight against crime.
She warned against characterizing
Holcomb's murder as a Black or a
White problem "Crime is a state
wide problem," she explained.
Emanuel
of
in a positive direction: the Say No
to Drugs Club; Chess Club; Inter
national Cooking Club; Astronaut
Club; Double Dutch Club; a Jazz
Band; the Japan Sister City Club;
and the Mathematics, Engineering,
Science Achievement (MESA) Club.
On Thursday, with all of the clubs
and the After School Study Pro
gram going on at the same time,
there are 130 students participating.
The MESA Club has 47 students
participating this year.
• Tubman's Local Citizens' Advi
sory Committee (LCAC) has helped
to organize a special purpose for
each month.
• Tubman has a Parents' Screen
ing Committee of 12 persons who
participate in the hiring of new staff.
• On October 16, 1987, inter
nationally-known author, Walter B.
Meyers, visited Tubman. The stu
dents read his books before his visit,
so they could be well-prepared.
• The Tubman Administration
and students get together each year
to assess the year and to decide
ways they can improve Tubman.
This year they worked on improving
hall and cafeteria behavior
They
have posted rules and have a Clean
Up Behavior Program (CUB).
This job is all personal satisfaction.
Photo by Richard J. B row n
Reggie Blake, S taff Nurse
been praised by her co-workers.
Those qualities also led to her ser
ving as assistant head nurse and
evening nurse supervisor for the en
tire hospital until she realized these
duties were taking her away from
what she loved best — taking care
of patients.
by Lori Callister
Reggie Blake didn't go into the
nursing profession for the qlamour.
She didn't go into it for the money.
She did it because she loves to see
people get well.
And at Emanuel Hospital &
Health Center, Blake is an impor
□ "You don't realize what you do
for people until later, sometimes. It's really great
when patients come back to visit."
So she chose to stay a staff
nurse, "simply because I like to take
care of patients. This job is all per
sonal satisfaction. We see patients
who are debilitated or all banged up
from accidents and we can see
them get well and get up and walk
away."
Blake says she doesn't consider
the work she does particularly spe
cial. But the staff and patients do.
She is praised for her excellent way
with patients that goes beyond rou-
tant part of getting well for many
patients. Blake was chosen em
ployee of the month at Emanuel
recently for her outstanding work in
the Orthopedics Unit where she is a
nurse on the evening shift.
Reggie has been with Emanuel
almost 18 years, just about since
she graduated from Walla Walla
College in nursing. And nursing is
where she has wanted to stay.
Her skills as a nurse and her level
headed cool in crisis situations have
See "R eggie B la ke", page 7
Reported
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t¡me management.
• The Tubman Administrative
staff hopes to bring Jawanza Kun-
jufu as a consultant to Tubman to
contribute ideas on student achieve
ment.
During his report, Mr. Coakley
emphasized that the Tubman staff
believes in promoting and encou
raging positive student behavior.
He expressed deep appreciation to
Laura Ford, Community Liaison;
Linda Wakefield, Assistant Princi
pal; James Brannon, Assistant Prin
cipal; Vern Marshall, Program Coor
dinator; Bruce Tubre, Students
Management Specialist and Barbara
Johnson, Guidance Counselor for
the work they have done on the A f
ter School Study Program.
He said that he knows Tubman is
off to a great start and that he is
proud of how much the staff,
parents, DMAC members, and
others have helped to give so much
to Tubman.
Paul Coakley: "92 percent of last year
• A committee, under the direc
tion of Barbara Johnson and Linda
turned, a vast improvement over the previous year.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
Wakefield, has written out lesson
plans for homeroom teachers to talk
to students about being successful,
developing good study habits and
He invited community members
to come to Tubman on any Tuesday
or Thursday, 3.20 to 4:20 p.m. to
participate in the After School
Study Program.