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“Serving the com m unity th ro u g h cu ltu ral diversity.'
Voinnin XXIII. N um ber 28
■
Ju ly 14. 1993
L ife in the P ortland M etropolitan A rea
®lj£ ^partlanh ©hseriier
“What’s Good In The Hood”
The fe s tiv a l created an o p p o rtu n ity
B Y DAN B E L L
Friday and Saturday , July 9th and
I Oth, the Northeast Neighborhood
Coalition, and the Holy Redeemer area
school sponsored a neighborhood
multicultural festival entitled" What’s
Good In The Hood.”
According to Sister Jane Hibbard,
one o f the coordinators for the project,
“ It was about time to dispel some o f
the negative images people have about
north Portland, city wide
The festival was comprised o f
various vendors; food, clothing and
jewelry. Some o f the organizations
included: Cascade Blues Association,
The Uamas project. Stand Up Port­
land, Q D Taylor Apparel. M y Broth-
The Black United Fund & Portland
House Of Umoja Will Host Family Day
The Black United Fund o f O r­
egon and Portland House o f Umoja in
partnership w ith AC T III and M G M
studios, w ill host a special screening
o f M eteor Man, s ta rrin g Robert
Townsend, on Saturday morning, July
24th at 9:30am for families o f North/
Northeast Portland.
“ We wanted to citate a partner­
ship w ith community organization to
encourage fam ilies to attend this
screening, who may not normally have
the opportunity to see many films,
says Randy Blaum, Director o f Adv er-
tising for Act III Theatres” We believe
that the Black United Fund and The
Portland House o f Umoja have the
ability to work cooperatively w ith the
whole community to make this project
a success.
to celebrate the d iv e rs ity o f n o rth /n o rth e a s t P o rtla n d
The Black United Fund o f O r­
ersBar-B-Que, StopandGoExpresso ers; their feelings were that “ W hat’s egon is a fundraising, philanthropic &
Good In The Hood” attendance would
community development institution,
and the Conclusion Cafe.
whose mission is to assist in the social
There was also a beer garden, and increase once it becomes an annual
and econom ic d eve lo pm e nt o f
liv e e n te rta in m e n t p ro vid e d by event w ith name recognition.
“ W h a t’ s Good In the Hood”
Oregon’s low-income communities
Norman Sylvester. Some o f the acts
were, The Gospel All-Stars, The Three m ulticultural Festival was made pos­ and to increase the cultural awareness
Amigos, and closing Saturday night - sible w ith the support from corpora­ o f all Oregonians. The Black United
tions and foundations such as, TJje Fund operates under the philosophy o f
The Norman Sylvester Band.
The festival created an opportu­ Collins Foundation, U S Bank and helping people help themselves. “ We
nity to celebrate the diversity o f north/ the Portland Trailblazers, among oth- are encouraging each fam ily that par­
ticipates in this event to donate either
northeast Portland. It also showed ers.
The
event
this
year
is
subject
to
a can o f food or a school supply item”
cultural diversity entertainment that
review
before
proceeding
to
hold
an­
reflects the composition o f the com­
other event next year.
munity.
However the general consensus
The Friday night turnout was
light, but the attendance improved from those interv iewed in attendance
is that “ W hat’s Good For The Hood”
Saturday.
Speaking to some o f the organiz- should be around for years to come.
Fifteen inner-city youth, includ­
says Jo Ann Allen, Director o f Devel­
opment & marketing, Black United
Fund. We want every one to hav e the
opportunity to give something back to
their communities A ll food w ill be
donated to N /N E Emergency Food
Bank and school supplies w ill be do­
nated to St. Andrews afterschool pro­
gram.
The mission o f Portland House o f
Umoja Inc. is to develop and operate
programs for gang-affected and other
high risk youth w ithin the supportive
environment o f an extended family
structure, based upon traditional A fri­
can values and culture.
The program s o f P o rtlan d
House o f Umoja seeks to build and
implement comprehensive community
support in order to nourish, develop
and challenge the best potential
o f youth and help them achieve full
adulthood
“ Portland House ofUmoja is very
excited about this partnership with
the Black United Fund. Act III and
M G M studio, says Johnnie W Gage,
Outreach Coordinator ofUmoja ” We
at the House o f U moja believe that this
type o f collectiv e effort between orga­
nizations helps to build and better
sene our community at large. The
encouragement o f full family partici­
pation is consistent with one o f the
seven g u id in g p rinciples o f the
NGUZU Saba Umoja, which w e inter­
pret as ‘To strive for and maintain
unity in the fam ily’” .
Metero man, is a movie about a
young African-american man. who
was hit by a meteor and acquires super
powers that he uses to try to improve
this community. The film also stars
Marla Gibbs, Eddie Griffin. B ill Cosby,
James Earl Jones and many other well
known musicians and film stars.
The Black United Fund. Portland
House o f Umoja, in conjunction
w ith Act III Theatres are pleased
w ith the opportunity to share this
film because it delivers such an
im p o rta n t message; we are a ll
superhero's, i f only we would use
our powers to build a better commu­
nity for everyone.
The Black United Fund & Port­
land House ofUmoja working in con­
junction w ith other community based
organizations w ill ensure tickets are
distributed to families who would not
otherwise have an opportunity to en­
joy a Saturday at the movies together
For further information please
call Jo Ann A llen at the Black United
Fund 282-7973 or Johnnie W. Gage at
the Portland House ofUmoja.
KIMBRO KIDDS gives Portland Inner-
City Youth A Chance At Success
Benefit For Woodlawn
Children Of Promise
An Ice Cream Social for the ben­
efit o f Woodlawn Children o f Promise
w ill be held on the lawn o f Woodlawn
United Methodist Church, at the cor­
ner o f N.E. 15th and Dekum, Satur­
day, July 24 from 2-6 pm.
In addition to ice cream and top­
pings, cake and beverages, there w ill
also be free entertainment.
A ll funds received through the
event w ill benefit Woodlawn C hil­
dren O f Promise, a community based
program for children in Inner North
and Northeast Portland
Cclclmiic
Diversity
ing 10 who live in Housing Authority
o f Portland developments, w ill ben­
efit this summer from a unique, entre­
preneurship training program being
offered by KIM BRO KIDDS, Inc., a
nonprofit community based organiza­
tion. Subscribing to the notion that
early business training and motiva­
tion can spark natural entrepreneurial
talent. KIM BRO KIDDS w ill sponsor
a summer pilot project to teach youth
ages 10-16 business basics while pro­
viding the real world employment
experience they need to ow n and oper­
ate their own business The program
jx,g-ns Monday .July 12, 1993, at the
Columbia Boys & Girls Club at 7602
N. Emerald.
Through an innovative, exciting
hands-on entrepreneurial curriculum.
10 youth, ages 10-13, w ill own and
operate a not-for-profit publishing
company and w ill work as a team to
create-from start to finish - two bi­
monthly newspapers during the six
week session They w ill sell ads. write
articles and learn the technical opera­
tions o f publication -- from account­
ing toelectronic page production Five
youth, ages 14-16, w ill own and oper­
ate a Public Relations and Graphics
Company and w ill work as a market-
ing/adv crtising team to provide graph­
ics services to nonprofit organizations,
churches and minority small busi­
nesses.
“ Young people should be taught
at an early age that they' can make the
kinds o f choices that w ill result in
them being employers, as well
as
employees.” says Wanda Irving. Re­
gional Community Relations M an­
ager for the US Forest Services and
founder o f K IM B R O KIDDS. “ Entre­
preneurship ” according to Irving, “ of­
fers youth control over their own des­
tiny and an alternative to drugs and
illic it behaviors Entrepreneurship is
not an effort or a type o f indiv idual.
It's a behavior. It is the pursuit o f
opportunity without regards to the
resources you currently control. It
teaches good decision making skills
which carry over into their everyday
life where the right choices can make
all the difference.”
Inspired by her children. Marcel,
age 16. owner o f MarTees Sports V il­
lage. and Shalon. age 12, owner o f
Reflections o f Elegance. Irving cre­
ated KIM BRO KIDDS, a 501(c)(3)
organization, to enhance the self-im­
age and economic self-sufficiency o f
inner-city youth.
KIM BRO KIDDS
“ Fostering A New Generation O f
Business Leaders"
2000 N.E. 42nd. Suite 145 Port­
land. Oregon 97212
Phone: (503) 281-4276Fax(503)
248-9626
Portland's Finest joins in the Festivial's activities
The Multnomah County Citizen Involvement Committee
Invites you to the
At-Risk Portland Youth Benefite
From Safe Summer Programs
When: 10am. Wednesday , July
14, 1993
Where: Beach Grade School.
1710 N. Humboldt. Portland
for the office of
Who: Charles Moose. Portland
Multnomah County Chair
Police Chief; David Jordan. Portland
Parks Bureau's At-Risk Youth fund
Coordinator; Carol Turner, former
Thursday, July 15th, 7:30pm
Chair and current member o f the Port­
(Social time at 7pm)
land Board o f Education; Betsy
6161 SE Stark. Portland
Radigan. Project Safe Summer Chair
F o r m ore in fo rm a tio n : 248-3450
and Piedmont Neighborhood Asso­
ciation treasure; and Denise Honzcl.
Kaiser Permanente Vice President and
Health Plan Manager. Also available
for interviews w ill be c h i l d r p a r ­
ents. instructors, school principals anu
business representatives
The Metropolitan Human Rights Com­ dialogue w ith a broad range o f com­
mission provides a volunteer op­ munity and cultural groups and to
portunity to deal w ith the most develop and implement policy based
im p o rta n t issues o f the d a y - on that dialogue
Commission terms begin in Sep­
protecting human rights, elim inating
tember
Applications arc available a,
bigotry, and enhancing a sense o f
the
MHRC
office. Room 516 in the
community
Portland
Building
Helen Check. Ex­
The fifteen Commissioners, ap­
ecutive
Director
welcomes
the oppor­
pointed by the Mayor and the County
tunity
to
discuss
the
Commission
w ith
Chair sene three year terms The
interested
persons
Commission's function is,o maintain
Candidate Debate
Vern Cook vs Beverly Stein
Human Rights Commission
Seeks Volunteers
What: Project Sage Summer -a
partnership o f business, schools, po­
lice. parents, parks and neighborhood
association-announces an expanded
program o f safe, superv ised summer
activities for more than 300 at-nsk
y outh at Applegate and Beach grade
schools and Ockley Green Middle
School in north and north-east Port­
land
Instruction in the arts, comput­
ers. language and phy sical education
is offered and nutritious lunches are
served This Project Safe Summer's
second season Grants and donations
are up 55% to more than $30,000,
'«abling about 100 more youngsters
to participate
SCHOOLS OUT
One o f the younger visitors joins in the festivities
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