< M S ^ h o s n - ^ s s s p a p ® * ’ PCCB Btrs r r u r . w - * *• * 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 "