'/X.
Volume X X V I, Number 6
Conimi tied to cultural diversity.
February 7, 1996
Freedom S tru g g le
Pays Price
Housing Jump
Starts
Lives are lost in the 1964
battle to vote in Mississippi.
These brave men and women
are remembered during Black
History Month.
There are several ways to get
started in the pursuit o f
securing a loan to buy your
dream home.
See page A6.
See Metro, inside.
“J ícrriían h C* ‘
er
250
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WYDEN
P
Civil
Rights
Drama
ortland Democrat Ron Wyden
was sworn In as U.S. Senator for
Oregon Tuesday, cutting the
Republican majority in the Senate to 53-
47.
Election May
Change Campaigns
The conventional wisdom that negative
advertising is effective in political cam
paigns w ill no doubt change after the Sen
ate election o f Ron Wyden, said University
o f Oregon Professor Jim Lemert. “ Wy-
I den’s decision to stop negative advertising I
had a positive affect,” Lemert said. "H o w
ever, I think what was more decisive in the
| voter response was (Gordon) Smith’s de
cision to continue his negative campaign
ing.”
Vote May Undermine
Mail Ballots
I f the m ajority o f new voters in Ore
gon’s vote-by-mail Senate election cast
their vote in favorofDemocrat Ron Wyden,
support for the experimental mail ballot
ing process could disappear in the state’s
Republican-controlled legislature, Priscilla
Sauthwell, a University o f Oregon p o liti
cal scientists, predicted last week.
Rose Festival
Dedicates Profits
The Portland Rose Festival Association
has announced that it w ill donate an esti
mated $450,000 in profits from last year
and anticipated 1996 revenue toward im
provements at Waterfront Park, Portland
International Raceway and dredging the
Willamette River for expanded shipping
trade.
J
Wyden won a special election last Tues
day, defeating Republican Gordon Smith to
fill the last three years o f Republican Bob
Packwood’s term. Packwood resigned Oct. 1
because o f sexual harassment charges.
Vice President A1 Gore gave Wyden his
oath o f office in the Senate
chamber as fellow senators and Wyden’s
family and friends applauded.
Oregon Republican Sen. Mark Hatfield,
who is retiring at the end o f the year, escorted
Wyden to the podium and held a bible for
Wyden as he took the oath.
“ Senator Wyden has proven he is dedicat
ed to the people o f Oregon,” Hatfield said
after Wyden was sworn in.
“ I welcome our newest colleague,” Senate
Republican Leader Bob Dole added.
H atfield’s retirement w ill mean Oregon
w ill have two new senators in less than a year.
Packwood and Hatfield had served together
since 1968.
Wyden, 46», is the first Democrat elected to
the Senate from Oregon in 34 years. He
comes to the Senate after 15 years in the
House, where his departure leaves 236 Re
publicans, 196 Democrats, one independent
and two vacancies.
Maryland Democrat Kweisi Mfume is re
signing from the House on Feb. 15 to become
president o f the National Association for the
Advancement o f Colored People.
Wyden’s narrow victory last week im
proves Democratic chances for
regaining control o f the Senate in Novem
ber, but they still face long odds.
O f 33 Senate seats at stake, 18 are held by
Republicans and 15 by Democrats, but eight
Democratic incumbents are quitting, com
pared to only five Republicans.
n his one-act play, “The M eet
ing,” playwright Jeff Stetson
explores the best avenues
[ for advancing black liberation, using
I
the vehicle of a fictitious meeting
I between two epic African-American
historical figures, Malcolm X and Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. Director Win-
| ston Williams brings the debate to
life playing King, with the help of
Michael Lange as Malcolm X and
Darrel Keyes as Rashad, Malcolm X’s
bodyguard.
“ The M e e tin g ” is p e rfo rm e d at
Portland State U n iv e rs ity T hursday,
Feb. 8. at 7:30 p.m. in the N o rd ic
Room (R oom 26 Sm ith C enter, I 825
I SW Broadw ay). A don atio n o f $2-$5
is suggested. For in fo rm a tio n c a ll
PSU ’ s B la ck C u ltu ra l A ffa irs Board,
725-5660.
The p lay has been presented to
| s ta n d in g -ro o m -o n ly a u d ie n c e s in
schools and theaters around the N o rth -
I west.
v
The perform ance is one o f the high-
I ligh ts o f P S U ’ s B la ck H is to ry M on th
Ron Wyden visits north Portland 's E&M Community Market ju s t days before his
election to the U.S. Senate. Wyden started his political career as an advocate for
senior citizens.
In the 1994 Senate elections. Republicans
won all six seats held by
retiring Democrats and held all o f theirs.
They also defeated two Democratic incum
bents.
The Dem ocrats need a net gain o f
three seats i f President C lin to n and Gore
C elebration, organized p rim a rily by
I the B la c k C u ltu ra l A ffa ir s B o ard
are re-elected. That w ould create a 50-
50 tie w hich G ore, as p re sid in g o ffic e r
o f the Senate, w ou ld break in fa v o r o f
the D em ocrats.
I f a Republican president and vice presi
dent are elected. Democrats would need a net
gain o f four seats for a majority.
(B C A B ).
D ire c to r/a c to r W in sto n W illia m s
I graduated from the U n iv e rs ity o f M as
sachusetts in Am herst w ith degrees in
art education and sc u lp tu re and a
m in o r in arts.
Hill Seeks Re-Election
State Treasurer Jim H ill announced last
week that he has filed for re-election to a
second term. H ill is Oregon’s first African-
American statewide office holder. H ill said
his priorities include a review o f the state
retirement funds, further investment in O r
egon’s economy and control o f state debts
H ill, 48, is a resident o f Salem.
“ Grade’s Place
Juvenile Crime Studied
A newly created Governor’s Task Force
on Juvenile Crime Prevention w ill be
chaired by Oregon Attorney General Ted
Kulongoski and include H ill Walker, an
expert on prevention o f youth violence
Walker is the director o f the University o f
Oregon Institute on Violence and Destruc
tive Behavior.
Community Center
Breaks Ground
Grade Knapper is circled by Lolenzo Poe (left), her sons, Johnnie W. and Johnnie
A. Gage and Portland Mayor Vera Katz.
C o n s tru c tio n o f the B re n tw o o d -
Darlington Community Family Resource
C enter began last week w ith a
groundbreaking ceremony at 7211 S.E.
62. The site is the location for the first
community center to be build in Portland
since 1920. “ This project w ill serve as a
model for future projects," said Multnomah
County Commissioner Tanya Collier, one
o f the primary promoters o f the project.
Nordstrom Salutes SEI
To embrace Black H istory M onth,
Nordstrom is honoring children’s programs
for their positive contributions. Self En
hancement, Inc., the Urban League, the
African American Local Hero’s School
Project and the Cultural Recreation Band
were given an honorarium o f $1,000 from
Nordstrom and window space to display
their successful programs.
EDITORIAL
A2
I
IB
¿JI
55
An emergency and homeless shelter serv
ing inner north and northeast Portland, has
been named in honor o f long-time resident
Gracie Knapper.
Knapper is the mother and mother-in-
law o f the owners, Johnnie A. Gage, exec
utive director o f the House o f Umoja,
Johnnie W. Gage, former executive direc
tor o f M YC AP and Debra L. Rily.
“ I would hope that at this facility, we can
provide the same care most o f us received
from our mom’s house,” Johnnie W. Cage
said.
The shelter opened in November under
the premise that a family should be able to
receive needed services in their own neigh
borhood rather than traveling across the
Willamette River to downtown. Located at
820 N. Killingsworth, the shelter can ac
commodate up to 17 families.
3i
M ich ae l Lange has been an actor,
d ire c to r, p la y rig h t, teacher, and po
litic a l a c tiv is t fo r many years.
“ It is o u r g o a l,” says M an d isa
S h are iff, c o o rd in a to r o f B C A B , “ to
use the theater m edium as a c o n d u it
| to re-exam ine the p erson alities o f tw o
o f our most celebrated h is to ric a l f ig
ures and to pro voke c o n te m p la tio n
and debate in a broad audience as to
I the c o n trib u tio n s and relevance o f |
these men to the future o f A fric a n -
Am ericans. H ow w ill black conscious-
I ness be shaped and w hat d ire c tio n
w ill it take?”
Albina Condos Proposed
by
L ee P erlman
the southern end.
In three units, fronting North Cook Street,
both want housing built at North
the lower portion w ill be designed for com
Fremont and Mississippi. Now,
mercial activity, allowing the owner to have
as planner Mike Hawakawa says, it’s
a
an office
or shop below and a home above.
matter of “putting the pieces together. ”
Ed Durham says he hopes to begin con
Charles and Ed Durham plan to build 22
struction by the fall.
row house units on the vacant 1.5 acre site.
The long-vacant property was rezoned
Their plans have several unusual features.
from industrial to a combination o f high-
Most o f the units wi 11 have garages at street
density housing and mixed use. The change
level - 10 feet or more above the street as they
was made several years ago in the Albina
descend from a hillside into the lower Albina
Community Plan (over the strong objections
industrial area to the south - with two stories
o f then-owner Whitcomb Crichton).
o f living space above.
The zoning on the western portion re
The proposed houses would face inward
quires at least 15 units o f housing where the
toward an open area owned collectively by
Durhams propose six. They, and architect
all the units and developed as a play area on
Kelcey Beardsley o f Portland Community
T
FAMILY
A3
he Durham brothers and the city
ENTERTAINMENT
A5
METRO
Bl
Michael
Lange as
Malcolm X
delivering
the speech
"The Ballot
or the
Bullet"
Design, o riginally proposed to make the
project a Planned Unit Development, allow
ing them to use the whole property to meet the
density requirement.
However, at a conference last month,
Hayakawa suggested that instead they seek
an adjustment from the code, a much less
costly and d iffic u lt step.
Ed Durham feels that owner-occupied
housing is a better use for the site than the
high-density m ulti-fam ily it is zoned for.
“ I could build an apartment building there
and probably rent it out, but that’s not what
this community needs," he told the Boise
Neighborhood Association last year.
▼
Continued to page B6
Joyce Washington
In Hospital After
Heart Attack
Joyce Washington, publisher o f the
Portland Observer newspaper, suffered
a heart attack early Tuesday afternoon.
She was taken to Legacy Emanuel
Hospital by ambulance and was listed in
critical condition. The hospital was con
ducting tests and trying to determine the
extent o f damage and the course o f med
ical care.
“ Our fa m ily can use a ll o f your
prayers, ” said Chuck Washington, se
nior editor.
SPORTS
HOUSING
CLASSIFIEDS
B3
B4
B6