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Portland, Oregon
POftTUWb ERVER
25C
Volume XVIII • Number 54
Introducing...
Portland O bserver's
"Fam ily B usiness of the Year"
"D O R IS CAFE"
Kwanzaa:
A Time For Celebration
And Reaffirmation
b y N yew usi A ska ri
R osie & Jew ell T h o m as
C o -O w ners/M anagers
D oris Cafe
Brian W ashington
1st Grade
H oly R edeem er School
'88
A c c o rd in g to a u th o r C e d ric
M cClester, "over 13 m illion African-
A m e ric a n s o b s e rv e d K w a n z a a
(D ecem ber 26th - January 1st) in
1984. Yet in spite of these im pressive
num bers, confusion still surrounds
this m ost unusual holiday. The
confusion prim arily stems from the
true nature of the holiday's orgin." It is
estim ated that more than 20 m illion
A fric a n - A m e r ic a n s
c e le b r a te d
Kw anzaa in 1987 and the num bers
are expected to swell for the 1988
celebration which will begin December
26, 1988.
Founded in 1966 by Dr. M aulana
Ron Karenga, Kw anzaa has becom e
a nationally celebrated, indigenous,
non-religious, non-political African-
Am erican holiday. In the Pacific
N o rth w e s t, K w a nza a has been
observed and celebrated for more
than 10 years by A fricans-Am ericans
living in the com m unities of Yakim a,
Seattle, Eugene, Spokane, Pasco,
Portland and points in between. This
ye ar will be no exception.
Spearhead by the Black Educational
C enter, Portland's African-Am erican
com m unity will be celebrating all over
the place - fasting, praying, m aking
positive affirmations, visiting relatives
and friends, exchanging gifts, etc. It is
going to be a grand tim e to pay tribute
to the rich cultural roots of Am ericans
of African ancestry.
For those w ho are unaw are of
Kwanzaa, the follow ing inform ation
m ay serve as a guide for preparation
of th e celebration.
Doin'It Again
In O ctober of this year, th e Black
Professional N etw ork sponsored its
first Black Expo, w hich w as attended
by well over 450 people at the Portland
C o m m u n ity C o lle g e C a s c a d e
C am pus. As stated in the O ctober
27th edition o f the P ortland O bserver,
th e Expo w as a very profound,
inspiring, cultural, business and
spiritual gathering.
Labeled as a Bazaar, B la ck Expo
'88 (the first) tu rn ed into som ething
th e com m unity hadn't w itnessed in a
very long tim e; collective w ork, unity
across the board, the presence of
traditional African concepts and dress,
happiness, rejoicing, inform ation,
creativity and a call fo r greater
econom ic unity. Expo '88 featured
African-Am erican vendors, producers
and artists who featured their products,
services and skills with som ething in
m ind for everyone from arts to food to
gam es to crafts.
W ell, if you m issed the first Expo,
prepare yourself for the second one.
O n Saturday, Dec. 10th from 12
Noon to 6 p.m., the Black Professional
N etw ork w ill sponsor B lack Expo: "A
C hristm as Bazaar w hich w ill once
again feature some of Portland's fir -st
and very gifted artists, businessm en
and businessw om en. P ro d i';ts and
s e rvice s ra n g in g from A frica n -
A m erican greeting cards, dolls,
artw ork, food to financial advice - in
addition to having Santa Claus deliver
toys to yo ur hom e.
T he com m unity will have an
opportunity to have their blood pressure
taken, as well as door prize give
aw ays throughout the bazaar. The
event will take place at Harriet Tubman
Middle School, 2231 North Dint Street,
two blocks north of Memorial Coliseum.
T he Black Professional N etw ork is
proud and enthusiastic about this
upcom ing C hristm as B azaar and feel
th a t b oth the A frica n -A m e rica n
com m unity and the City of Portland
w ill em brace it with all the holiday
excitem ent they can m uster.
So, as singer George Benson says,
"L et’s do it againl" Lets' com e out and
s u p p o rt th e B lack P ro fe ssio n a l
N etw ork’s effort.
It w ill be one m em orable occasion.
December 8, 1988
T h e Eyes and Ears o f th e c o m m u n ity
Fruit & V eg etab les
K w anzaa is based on seven (7)
fundam ental principles w hich are
referred to as the Nguzo Saba. The
w ord Nguzo Saba is Kiswahili.
According to our best teachers,
Kisw ahili w as chosen because "it is a
non-tribal African language that
encom passes a large portion of the
African continent." An added benefit
is that Sw ahili pronounciation is
e x tre m e ly e a s y . V o w e ls a re
pronounced like those in Spanish and
the consonants with few exceptions
like those of English. The vow els are
as follow s: A=ah as in father; E=a as
in day; l=ee as in free; O =oo as in too.
The accent is alm ost alw ays on the
next to the last syllable.
The Seven Principles of Kw anzaa
serves as a guide for daily living for
m illions of African-Am ericans. They
Benson High School Techmen
C andleholder
are: 1. Umojo (Unity: pronounced oo-
M O H -jah) = To strive for and m aintain
unity in th e fa m ily .th e c o m m u n ity and
thenation. 2. Kujichagulia (Self-
determination: prounounced Koo-gee-
cha-goo-lee-ah) To define ourselves,
nam e ourselves, create for ourselves
and speak for ourselves instead of
being defined, named, created for
and spoken for by others. 3. Ujima:
(C ollective work and responsibility,
pronounced oo-G EE -m ah) = To build
and m aintain ou rco m m u nity together
and m ake our sister's and brother's
problem s and to solve them together.
4. U jam aa (Cooperative econom ics.
Pronounced oo-jah-M ah) = To build
and m aintain our own stores, shops
and other businesses and to profit
from them together. 5. Nia (Purpose.
Pronounced Nee-ah) =To m ake our
collective vocation the building and
developing of our com m unity in order
to restore our people to their traditional
greatness. 6. Kuum ba (Creativity.
Pronounced kooj-O O M -bah) =To do
alw ays as m uch as w eca n, in th e way
we can, in order to leave our community
m ore beautiful and beneficial thaqn
we inherited it. 7. Im ani (Faith.
Pronounced ee-MAH-nee) =To believe
w ith all our heart in our people, our
parents, our teachers, our leaders
and the righteousness and victory of
Last S aturday evening, The Martin
Luther King, Jr. C hoir dazzled
customers, curious on lookers, friends,
parents and relatives as they lite up
the Christmas season during a special
perform ance at N ordstrom s, Lloyd
Center.
W t.
Ms. Doshie Clark
U nder the direction of Ms. Pam
G ifford, the choir grooved and m oved
the audience w ith grace and style
M ichael Jackson wouid have been
proud to hear his "Man is the Mirror"
sung to a Portland beat. Santa would
have been equally as proud to listen
to his/her favorite, Christmas standards
flowing from the hearts and souls of
this talented choir. As one parent put
it, "Jingle Bells, don't jingle until the
M arlin Luther King C hoir sings it."
O ver the past five (5) years, the
M artin Luther King School C hoir has
achieved w ide acclaim for its talent
and ability. D uring the past tw o years
alone, the choir perfom ed for the
Governor of Oregon, Portland's Mayor,
Rev. Jesse Jackson, M artin Luther
King, Jr. Ill, at Portland State University,
th e S tate L e g isla tu re , P ortland
C om m unity College, several local
churches, the Black United Front's
G ospel Festival, National Basketball
Association events, to nam e a few.
In addition to the support of teachers
and principal, one of the m ain forces
behind the choir is the Parent Teacher
C o u n c il (P T C ). The PTC was
organized to encouraye support and
to assist in the enhancem ent of
educational options and experiences
for King School students. One o, the
• C ontinued To Page 6
incident.
This year, the tw o com m unities are
reaching out to each other. Long before
Saturday's gam e take place, Benson
High School administrators, along with
the school's booster club, will host a
Saturday breakfast with Roseburg
adm inistrators. The two com m unities
will socialize, m em orize, eat u ntilth ey
are full and settle into C ivic Stadium
Orchestra, led by jazz legend
Gerald W ilson, perform ing three of
W ilso n's ow n o rig in a l w orks:
“ Yarddog M azurka,” “ C alafia," and
Jam es DePreist
G ifts
• C ontinued To Page 6
the tide with a win.
Football aside for a m om ent, this
gam e is of special significance to
citizens of Roseburg and Portland. It
signals the com ing together of two
schools and tw o com m unities-bound
together by a com m on bond - the
sp irit of c o m p e titio n . T he tw o
com m unities are also bound together
by m em ories of last year's racial
to w atch Benson and Roseburg do
battle. Portland's African-Am erican
community welcomes this type of effort.
It is w ithin the spirit of high school
competition and the spirit of community
that Portland's African-Am erican
com m unity greet and w elcom e to our
city, the com m unity of Roseburg,
Oregon. O ur w elcom e is sincere. O ur
greeting, unrehearsed.
And, as we salute the B enson High
Techm en, we also salute Roseburg
football team . To everyone w ho will
attend the gam e, we say, “settle in,
kick off your shoes, grab a hot dog,
'cause this gam e ’s gonna be a dog
fight. May thye best team win!!!"
The P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r is picking
Benson as the w in n e r... all the way.
Celebration Marks
Martin Luther King Day
our struggle.
Martin Luther King Choir:
A Dream Alm ost Realized
b y Nia
This is indeed the season to be jolly
and the Benson High Techm en have
spread joy throughout the Portland
M etropolitan area with their "don't
deny us the cham pionship" brand of
football.'
In addition to their display of football
excellence, the Techmen have shown
poise, a com m itm ent to winning,
character, respect for the opposition
and team discipline. W eek after week
after week, they have come up winners
and com e this Saturday, they will
attem pt to caputre the biggest prize
of all - the Oregon Class AAA football
cham pionship.
The gam e will take place at Civic
Stadium . The opponent - Roseburg.
Last year, Roseburg beat Benson 21 -
19. This year, Benson intends to turn
In a m usical celebration of the life
and ideals of Dr. M artin Luther King
Jr., N ational Public Radio, in
association with Am erican Public
Radio and W FM T-FM /C hicago,
Illinois, presents KING : A GLOBAL
C ELEBR ATIO N .
T he tw o-hour special program
com m em orating M artin Luther King
Day on January 1 6 ,1 9 8 9 , links live
concerts across the country from
th re e leading m usic schools,
presenting music associated with
King.
The program , hosted by
acclaim ed Am erican conductor
Jam es DePreist, w ill be transm itted
live via satellite to public radio
stations inthe U.S., and, through the
European Broadcasting Union, to
more than 20 countries in Europe
and the Soviet Union.
(Check
listings for local broadcast tim es.)
The first part of the program
o rig in a te s live from th e N ew
England C onservatory in Boston,
M a s s a c h u s e tts ,
th e
o ld e s t
independent m usic conservatory in
continuous existence in the U.S.; it
counts am ong its alum ni Mrs.
Coretta Scott King.
C om poser George Russell leads
the New England Conservatory
J a z z O rc h e s tra in h is o w n
com position dedicated to King in
1974 - "E lectronic Sonata for Souls
Loved by N ature." Electronic tape is
an integral part of the work, with
sounds originating from sources
including a Moog synthesizer and
m usic from the Third World.
The concert also includes the
New England C onservatory Jazz
“ Viva T irado."
The second part of KING : A
G LO BAL C ELEBR A TIO N m oves
from New England to C alifornia for a
perform ance by the New CalArts
20th C en tu ry P la yers of the
C alifornia Institute of the arts,
created specifically for students of
both the visual and the perform ing
arts. Beginning the perform ance is
dedicated to King, by jazz flutist
Jam es Newton. N ewton was voted
the highest-ranking jazz flutist in
D ownbeat m agazine polls for 1983
and 1984, and has recorded several
award-winning albums.
F o llo w in g
is
“ M a g n e tic
Variations” by Ed Bland, com poser
of the film score for “ A Soldier's
S tory,” am ong other w ell-received
works, and a w idely respected
c o n s u lta n t fo r b la c k
m u s ic
program s around the country. He
describes “ M agnetic V ariations” as
an exam ple of his own style of neo
im pressionism .
The m idw est is the setting for the
third and final part of KING : A
G L O B A L C E L E B R A T IO N , as
m em bers o f the Indiana University
Opera T heater perform excerpts of
L e o n a rd B e rn s te in 's " M a s s ,"
conducted by Robert Porco.
Bernstein com posed “ M ass” at
the request of Mrs. Jacqueline
• C o n tin u e d T o Page 6
Student of the Week
¡1 ■ X* •'
Jewell Lorraine Stevens
Jew ell Lorraine Stevens is the daughter of Mrs. Jewell Stevens-H arris.
A freshm an at Jefferson High School, Jewell aspires to becom e a m odel and
a lawyer. A m em ber of G reater Faith Baptist C hurch, she sings in the C ho "
is a m em ber of the Juneteenth Scottish Rites. A m odel for five years, Jew ell
attended A cadem y One and is currently involved with COBI T echniques
under the direction of Ms. C ora Smith and is a m em ber of the ABC Kids
School of Modeling.
O f the role m odels who inspire her, fo ur stands out in JewelFs life: H er
m other, Judge Aaron Brown, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mr. Ron Herndon.
"Ron Herndon is one of my m ain idols," she said "Locally, he has given m e
a lot of inspiration, a lot of guidance and direction and m uch to be proud of
just by being him self. He is very com m itted, very dedicated and w orthy o f our
recognition Legally, Judge Brown is the person responsible for m e w anting
to be a lawyer. I feel so fortunate to live in a com m unity w here such talent
is a telephone call away. I am proud of my com m unity."
The P ortland O b s e rv e rs proud of Jew ell, too, and is proud to salute her
as the O b s e rv e r's "S tu d e n t o f th e W e e k "