Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, January 15, 1992, Page 15, Image 15

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Joint Multnomah
County-City Of
Portland Events To
Commemorate Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr
ML KING, PORTLAND________
Last year Jamila Taylor, fifth grade teacher
at Martin Luther King School in Portland,
developed an Afrocentric curriculum in the
areas of social studies and language arts.
Taylor used $2,000 in grant money she was
awarded by tire Teacher Incentive Program
(TIP). TIP is supported by Portland Public
Schools and allows teachers up to $2,000 dol­
lars to develop innovative, replicable
programs in their classrooms.
Taylor developed the year-long cur­
riculum to teach the district's existing goals
and objectives by using African-American
culture and history instead of the traditional
European.
"For example," says Taylor, "when we
talked about the Emancipation Proclamation
we talked about what the document meant
in the lives of African-Americans. We
learned about longitude and latitude using
Africa."
The language arts program she developed
used selected works from minority authors
and illustrators. Again Taylor used the
selected works to teach existing district
goals.
Taylor even taught math using the
Afrocentric approach. Says Taylor, "I taught
borrowing and carrying by the Egyptian and
Mayan number systems. It was a great way
to show graphically what carrying and bor­
rowing means."
The City o f Portland and Multnomah
County A ffirm ative Action O ffice w ill
sponsor day-long events in recognition
o f Dr. M artin Luther K in g ’ s birthday.
A ll events are free and open to the
public.
The C ity-C ounty A ffirm a tiv e A c ­
tion O ffice invites the com m unity to
attend various activities on Tuesday,
January 21,1992 in the Portland B u ild ­
ing auditorium which is located at 1120
SW 5th. Ave.
Starling at 10 A .M . there w ill be a
showing o f three film s which highlight
the life o f Dr. M artin Luther K ing, Jr.
The film s w ill be shown until 3:30
P.M..
A t noon Gladys M cCoy,
Multnomah County Chair; M ike L in d ­
berg, Portland C ity Commissioner;
Carolyn Leonard, Metropolitan Human
Relations Chair; Robert Phillips, King
Holiday commission; and Rev. P h illip
Nelson, A llen Temple C.M .E. Church
w ill provide words o f remembrance,
and Charlotte Easley w ill share inspira­
tional sounds.
Beginning a 4 P.M., the nationally
recognized Dr. M artin Luther King
School C hoir w ill sing selections per­
formed during their national tours. The
Choir, directed by Kathryn G iffe rt, has
performed for President Bush in Wash­
ington, D.C. and at the M artin Luther
K ing M em orial w hile in Atlanta, Geor­
gia.
"When I speak of Love
I am not speaking
of some sentimental and weak response.
I am speaking of that force
which all of the great religions have seen
as the supreme unifying principle
of life."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A
Legacy to Remember
BY
REVEREND
R O D E R IC K
C.
L IG H T N E R
In honor o f Dr. M artin Luther
K ing, Jr., we as a race o f people have a
lot to be thankful to his contributions,
sacrifice and life -g ivin g commitment.
Through the C iv il R igh t M ove­
ment in the early 1960s, roads were
paved for our present generation to be
able to reap the benefits and comforts
that our Black forefathers and parents
were not able to receive.
W e are enjoying the comforts
and reaping the benefits o f our labor
through business, labor industry, gov­
ernment, entertainment, sports, educa­
tion, and our churches.
As black people, “ we have come
this far by faith, leaning on the Lord,
trusting in His H oly W ord, know ing that
he hasn’ t failed us yet.”
Through D r. K in g ’ s life , sacri­
fice and com m itm ent and also through
the commitment and sacrifices o f others
who fo llo w in his footsteps, black people
have gained tremendous strides o f
achievements and success.
Presently in our new year o f
1991, we arc observing the leadership
skills o f black mayors o f our nation s
leading cities, graduating competent black
j-
college students inthc professional ca-
rccr fichis o f law , medicine, engineer­
ing, business, journalism and the clergy.
We now assume positions as
supervisors, high ranking m ilita ry o ffi­
cers, attorneys, doctors, p olitical lead­
ers, professors, business executives, etc.
We enjoy the comforts and
luxuries o f residing in b cautilul homes,
staying in the best o f hotels and eating in
the most exclusive restaurants w ithin
our cities.
Yes, we have been blessed as a
race o f people, but we must never, never
forget from whence we came!
For many o f us, the rural deep
south w ill always be a part o f our fam ily
roots. Our children o f our present gen­
eration should always be taught and
reminded o f their black heritage and
history. Our heritage is rich and carrys
w ithin it a value system o f integrity,
pride and faith in God.
The dream o f Dr. M artin L u ­
ther King must live w ithin each o f our
hearts and minds each day o f our lives.
As we remember Dr. King on this spe­
cial day in his honor, let us locus clearly
on the cgacy in which he le ft us, an
example o f genuine conviction, equal
justice for all people and a life o f peace
in which all o f G od’ s people can live.
W e B elieve I n I t ....
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King, on speaking: " Un­
fortunately, when hope di­
minishes, the hate is often
turned most bitterly toward
those who originally built
up die hope...the only time
that I have been booed...1
went home diat night with
an ugly feeling...I finally
came to myself, and I could
not for the life of me have
less than patience and un­
derstanding for those
young people...their hopes
had soared. They were
now booing because they
felt that we were unable to
deliver on our promises [of
equality]."
"The dream is one of equal­
ity of opportunity, of privi­
lege and property widely dis­
tributed; a dream of land
where man will not take
necessities from the many to
give luxuries to the few; a
dream of a land where men
do not agree that the color of
a man's skin determines the
content of his character; a
dream of a place where all
our gifts and resources arc
held not for ourselves alone
but as instruments of service
for the rest of humanity; the
dream of a country where
every man will respect the
dignity and worth of all
human personality, and men
will dare to live together as
brothers..."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
1960
1
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