Serving the community through cultural diversity Volume XXV Number X (Elje ^.iartlanb (©bserlier n nt nt u n i t u a I e n ò a r February 22, 1995 SECTION B DIVERSITY TAKES THE STAGE IN A S H LA N D Fat Tuesday To Open Mardi Gras The second annual Old Town Mardi Gras takes place on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28 at the Alexis. Bacchus Wine Bar Cafe, Berbatis Pan, Couch Street Fish House, Darcelle XV and Co., Key Largo, Opus Too/Jazz de Opus and The Republic Cafe. A $6 pass allows admission to the clubs with proceeds to benefit Central City Con­ cern, an agency fighting homelessness and chemical dependency. * t. J ■ ■ I - Black History Speaker Featured Darrell Millner, professor at Portland I State and former chairman o f the Black Studies Department and Black Faculty Cau­ cus, is keynote speaker during a Black H ¡story Month address on Monday at noon at Mt. Hood Community College. Millner , has published several articles on black | history. The event is free and the public is encouraged to attend. L e W a n A le x a n d e r is T h e se u s, D uke of A th e n s in the O regon S h a k e s p e a r e F e stiv a l’s production o f William S h a k e s p e a r e a n d J o h n F letcher's The Two N oble K insm en. Saturday Forum Attacks Injustice A panel discusses resistance to op­ pression and defense o f human rights on i Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Peace House, 2116 N.E. 18th. The group includes Lisa j Clay, a community organizer protesting ' the crime bill and death penalty; La Rita Spencer o f the African American W omen Against Racism who is suing Meier and I Frank for alleged racist abuse; and Philis Whitmore, feminist organizer against Na­ zis and the Oregon Citizens Alliance. Concerts Held At New College Chapel Warner Pacific College, 2119 S.E. ' 68th, continues its Concerts in the Chapel series to celebrate the opening o f the new I Schlatter Chapel. A recital by members of the college's music department faculty l takes place Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and the public is cordial­ ly invited to attend. March Begins Women’s History Month The W omen's Union and Resource | Center at Portland State University is spon- i soring a series o f events during March as part o f W omen’s History Month. PSU faculty and guests will present lectures, art exhibits and gatherings throughout the month. For more information contact Oona Jenkins at 725-5672. Auditions Held For Children’s Choir The Oregon Repertory Singers Chil- ) dren’s Choir meets Wednesday afternoons at Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church. 2828 S.E. Stephens. Auditions are now being held. Call Mary Ann Kelley, 246- 8989. Scholarships are also available. The I goal o f the choir is to create a multi- j cultural, multi-ethnic singing group which ! represents the diversity o f the Portland area. MacBeth At PCC The Portland Community College Theatre Department will perform Macbeth during March. The production promises to be a powerful re-exploration o f William Shakespeare's timeless story o f greed, pow- I er murder, lust and evil. Performances will begin at 8 p.m. on March 3,4, 8,9, 10 and ' 11 in the Performing Arts Center at the Sylvania Campus, 12000 S.W 49th. Tick­ ets are $5. Cycling Center Needs Help A meeting is held Thursday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the Northeast Precinct, 449 N.E. Emerson, for volunteers interested in helping kids fix and ride bicycles. Call 288-8864 for more information. SU B M ISSIO N S: Community Calendar information will he given priority if dated two weeks before the event date. B. W. G o n za le z (right) a s Ariel a n d M ichael K evin a s P rospero in th e O regon S h a k e s p e a r e F estiva l’s production o f The T em p est. frican-Am ericans are playing a commitment to change and a vision for the m ajor ro le s at the Oregon future, according to B.W. Gonzales, an Afri­ S hakespeare F e stiva l and can American actress who in 1994 played breaking a color barrier as the festival Ariel in The Tempest, Hippolyta in the Two begins it 60th season this February. Noble Kinsmen and four roles in The Col­ A Fifteen percent ofthe acting company at Ashland and will hold notable roles in the six plays which open the 1995 season this spring. And although casting has not yet been finalized for the remaining five plays, Afri­ can-American actors have already signed contracts to hold prominent roles in Blood Wedding, The Merry' Wives o f Windsor and Richard II. The diversity o f the festival comes from ored Museum. G onzales, a th ree-y ear veteran at Ashland, said it's been difficult for people of color to be cast in Shakespearean produc­ tions around the country. “Some directors believe that casting African-Americans in these roles will jeop­ ardize the production,’ as the audience might find such casting to be visually challenging,” she said. Grant Application Period Opens he Black United Fund of Oregon is now accepting proposals for its General P urpose G rants program . The deadline for proposals is5:30p.m . March 15. T G rants are available to non-profit com m unity-based o rg an izatio n s and program s th roughout O regon serv- ing low -incom e people o f all b ack ­ g rounds in the follow ing areas: Eco- n o m ic D e v e lo p m e n t E d u c a tio n , H ealth, Human S ervices, A rts and C ulture and Social Justice. G rants go up to $5,000 each. The fund is an independent p h il­ an th ropic and com m unity d ev elop- m ent organ izatio n that assists in the social and econom ic developm ent o f O re g o n ’s low -incom e com m unities and in increasing cultural aw areness. B lack U nited Fund program s are p ri­ m arily su p ported by co n trib u tio n s from in d ividuals through w orkplace payroll d eduction. In addition to its allo catio n s pro­ gram s the Black U nited Fund offers m anagem ent a ssistan ce, com m unity developm ent and outreach and e d u ­ cation program s to support o rg a n i­ zational grow th and to build self- sufficiency am ong resid en ts in low- incom e com m unities. G roups funded in the past in- j elude M iracle T h eatre, O p eratio n EASY and St. A ndrew Legal C linic i in P ortland, the H ispanic A dvocacy C ouncil in the Bend R edm ond area, C en tro de A yuda in N ew port and , M ore inform ation is av ailable from K ristin Sandvik, director o f program s at 282-7973. j j : ! I ! J Finishing Touches To Sabin Development P roG rass w orkers S te v e S c h ro c k a n d Dan E d m o n d s a d d th e finishing to u c h e s to lan d sca p in g a t 4 4 0 8 N.E. 10th, a du p lex for low -incom e resid en ts d e v e lo p e d b y the S a b in C o m m u n ity D e v e lo p m e n t Corp. P roG rass d o n a te d a lm o st $ 4 ,0 0 0 in m aterials a n d labor, which included n e w s o d a n d a sprinkler sy s te m . It w a s the first o f se v e ra l Sa b in h o u s e s fin a n c e d b y th e non-profit corporation aw aiting P roG rass la n d sca p e services. (Photo by Donn Thomas) Portland’s Largest Valentine From United Grocers | Î I | Jim R o b inson, p resid en t o f Thriftway S to re s, Inc., p r e s e n ts a valentine ch eck, rep resen tin g $ 8 5 ,4 0 0 in fo o d d o n ations from U nited G rocers m e m b e r sto res, to O fficer H en ry G roepper o f th e Portland P olice D epartm ent. This w as part o f the third a n n u a l H ave a Heart F ood Drive for th e Portland Police B u rea u 's S u n sh in e Division. i “Some directors also feel, in spite of the fact that African Americans graduate from the same colleges and conservatories as our white peers do - that we do not have a facility for the language.' as one small-minded direc­ tor once told me. “ I give the festival credit for it’s vision: the vision o f the g reater good, not ju st in theatre, but in all o f hum anity. T here is a great deal o f support and h u m a n ity to be d is c o v e r e d h e r e ,” G onzales said. The 1995 festival will include Dr. Endesha Ida Mae H olland's From the Mississippi Delta in its opening weekend. An African American will direct the play and three black women will portray more than 20 characters. An African American will design the costumes for the world premier o f Emma's Child, which opens at the festival April 1. The season began Feb. 17 w ith a week o f previews, but officially opens Feb. 24 with a perform ance o f W illiam S hakespeare's Twelfth Night. The play runs through Oct. 29. The west coast premiere o f Howard Brenton and David Hare's Pravdaopens Feb. 25. The play runs through July 9. Thorton W ilder's The Skin o f Our Teeth opens Feb. 25 and runs through Oct. 28. Emma’sChild by Kristine Thatcherjoins the repertory later in the spring as does Nagle Jackson's This Day and Age. Ashland lies halfvvay between Portland and San Francisco on Interstate 5. For tickets and information, contact the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Box Office at (503) 482-4331. The Portland Police Bureau's Sunshine Division received Portland's largest valen­ tine, on Feb. 14, worth over $85,400. United Grocers and Western Family Foods present­ ed the Sunshine Division with a valentine representing the retail value o f all food do­ nated during the Have a Heart Food Drive Two 40-foot trai ler true k de I i vered thou­ sands o f pounds o f donated food to the Sun­ shine Division warehouse These donations were added to the food collected at all partic­ ipating United Grocers member stores. “The Have a Heart Food Drive brings in ▼ Continued to page B2 i A