Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 05, 1997, Page 13, Image 13

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• F ebruary 5. 1997
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BLACK HISTORY
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Black America: Facing the M illennium
Glenn Loury
Manning Marable
On Tuesday, February 25, at
10:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard
Time), PBS will broadcast Black
America: Facing the Millennium.
a 60-minute public affairs special
that explores the challenges and
priorities of Black Americans on
the brink of the 21st century.
In celebration of Black History,
Black America: Facing the Mil­
lennium is presented by public tele­
vision station WQED Pittsburgh
an the National Black Program­
ming Consortium (NBPC), a non­
profit media arts organization es­
tablished in I979todistributequal-
ity Black programming to public
broadcasting stations nationally.
The program features three
prominent African-American ana­
lyst who critique the state of Black
America from the vantage points
of history, socio-economy and cul­
ture:
Glenn Loury. professor o f eco­
nomics at Boston University, chair­
man and co-founder o f the Center
fo r New Black Leadership and au­
thor o f One By One From the In­
side Out, Essays and Reviews on
Race and R esp o n sib ility in
America, addresses the socio-eco­
nomic issues o f Black America and
concerns relating to personal and
public responsibility. His topic:
Socio-economic Vantage Point.
Manning Marable, professor
o f history and director o f the Insti­
tute fo r Research in African-Ameri­
can Studies at Columbia Univer-
Greg Tate
sity and author o f Speaking Truth to
Power: Essays on Race. Resistance
and Radicalism and the interna­
tionally syndicated column "Along
the Color Line, ” presents the state
o f Black America from a historical
perspective. His topic: Historical
Vantage Point.
• Greg Tate, cultural critic and
columnist fo r the Village Voice, co­
founder o f the Black Rock Coalition
and author o f Fly boy in the Butter­
milk: Essays on Contemporary
America, looks at the culture o f
Black America from what he terms a
"black body/white space" perspec­
tive. His topic: Cultural Vantage
Point.
In addition to the video essays, an
ongoing dialogue among a group of
people who represent diverse expe­
riences and political outlooks is in­
terwoven throughout
Black
America: Facing the Millennium
Brought together by one common
aim--the advancement of liberty and
justice for all in the 21st century-
Democrats, Republicans, Indepen­
dents, youth elders, various religious
backgrounds, grassroots activistsand
scholars provide a conversational
framework for the essays as well as
an avenue for more in depth exami­
nation of issues.
Key issues addressed include the
political process and whether it
works, racism and the economy as
well as the role and responsibility of
the Black middle class, the Black
church and the hiphop culture.
Facilitating the round table dis
cussions will be Oliver Mitchell
Jr., criminal attorney and forme
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the
District of Massachusetts and Fu st
Assistant District Attorney for
Hampden County. Massachusetts
Topics will be: politics/democracy;
commumty/economics; culture/in
stitutions; and future/change.
Black A meriea: Facing the Mil­
lennium also features a segment on
the state of rural Black America,
where in Issaquena C ounty,
Mississippi (one of the poorest
counties in America), a new cor
rectional facility is being built and
will become the county's largest
employer. UnitaBlackwell, the first
Black woman mayor in Mississippi,
offers her thoughts on what is hap­
pening in her town, Mayersville,
where the prison is scheduled to
open in February.
Underwriters of the special are
the Corporation for Public Broad­
casting, PBS and public television
viewers.
Black A meriea: Facing the M il­
lennium is one of three national
PBS specials presented by the Na­
tional Black Programming consor­
tium in February. W.E.B. Du Bois-
-A Biography in Four Voices, pro­
duced by Louis Massiah, will air
February 7 at 9 p in. on PBS, and
C onjure W om en, directed by
Demetria Royals and produced by
Louise Diamond, will air February
13 at 10 p.m. on PBS.
Civil rights, then and now
Julian Bond, an active participant
in the movement forcivil rights, will
be the featured speaker at Willamette
University on Friday. January 3 1,
when the Multi-Cultural Law Stu­
dent Association of the College of
Law presents their annual celebra­
tion for the birthday of Martin Luther
King, Jr. Bond will speak on the
topic. Civil Rights. Then and Now.
Where Do We Go From Here ’
Bond is a Distinguished Scholar
in Residence at American Universi­
ty in Washington, D C ., and faculty
member at the University of Virgin­
ia in the Department of History.
Bond is the host of "America's
Black Forum", the oldest black-
owned show in television syndica­
tion, and was a commentator for
radio’s “Byline", syndicated to more
than 200 stations. He has been a
commentator on the "Today" show
and was the author of a nationally
syndicated newspaper column called
Viewpoint”. Bond is currently on
the advisory boards of the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-
Violent Social Change, the Ameri­
can Civil Liberties Union, the Cor­
poration for Maintaining Editorial
Diversity in America and the Hu
man Rights Defense Fund.
Time magazine named Bond to
its 200 leaders list and he received
the Bill of Rights Award from the
American Civil Liberties Union and
the Legislative Service Award from
Georgia Municipal Association.
Bond is remembered for his days
as a student activist. While a student
at Morehouse College in Atlanta,
Bond founded the Committee of
Appeal for Human Rights, where he
led the organization in three years of
non-violent, anti-segregation pro­
tests that won integration of Allan
la's movie theaters, lunch counters
and parks. He was one of several
hundreds of students from across the
South who helped form the Student
Non-Violent Coordinating Commit;
lee in 1960. As an activist who faced
jail for his convictions, Bond is a
veteran of more than 20 years of
service in the Georgia General As­
sembly.
The lecture will be at 7 p.m. in
Smith Auditorium anti is free and
open to the public. It is sponsored by
Willamette’s Minority Affairs and
Student Bar Association.
Portland African-American History Symposium
PCC’s Cascade Campus is pre­
senting a symposium on the history
and contributions of Portland Afri­
can Americans on Friday, February
14, from noon until 5:00 p.m. in the
Terrell Hall, Room 122.
The Cascade Campus is located
at 705 N. Killingsworth. Events are
free and open to the public and free
parking is also available in campus
parking lots.
Following the symposium, a re­
ception and unveiling of a memorial
honoring the late Rev. John Jackson
will be held in the foyer of Jackson
Hall, for whom the building was
named in 1995.
Five papers, prepared for the
event, will be presented. Participat­
ing scholars include Elizabeth
McLagan, a Ph D. history candidate
from the University of Oregon who
will present a paper on school inte­
gration in Portland in the 1960s and
1970s; Rudy Pearson of American
River College in Sacramento, Cali­
fornia and author of “African Ameri­
cans in Portland During the 1940s";
Cathy G albraith of the Bosco
Milligan Foundation, who is author
of "Cornerstones of community:
Buildings of Portland's African
American History", and Kimberly
Moreland, author of "History of
Portland's African American Com­
munity, 1805 to the Present". Cop­
ies of these papers will be available
at the symposium.
Following the presentation. Dian
Jackson, widow of Rev. Jackson,
Ben Priestly and Ron Herndon and
others will present remembrances ol
Rev. Jackson.
The Symposium and reception
are sponsored by the newly estab­
lished Community History Center at
Cascade Campus in celebration of
Black History Month.
A Passion for Justice: Ida B. W ells
In honor of Black History Month,
join Radical Women’s video show­
ing on the life of Ida B. Wells Barnett,
outspoken journalist, pioneer of the
anti-ly n ch in g m ovem ent and
founder of the first Black women's
club in the U.S. join in discussion
about how the Black and women's
Miss Evers’ Boys
Saturday, February 2 2 -
Only on HBO
In celebration of Black History
Month. HBO continues to explore
important chapters in African-
American history with its HBO
NYC presentation of Miss Evers’
Boys.
The film features Alfre
Woodard, Laurence Fishburne.
Craig Sheffer, Joe Morton. Obba
Babatunde. E.G. Marshall and
Ossie Davis. Fishburne and Rob­
ert Bencdetti are executive pro­
ducers; the producers are Kip
Konwiser and Derek Kavanaugh;
and the director is Joe Sargent.
The film debuts on February
22. so we wanted to be sure you
had advance information in order
to include Miss Evers' Boys in
your Black History Month round­
ups.
Miss Ever’ Boys, adapted from
the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play
of the same name, is inspired by
the true story of a controversial
government medical experiment.
movements have historically been
pitted against each other, the efforts
of activists like Barnett to overcome
these divisions, and the relationship
between autonomy and multi-racial
organizing today. The showing takes
place Wednesday. February 12 at
7:00 pm at the Northwest Service
CenterCommumty Room, 1819 NW
Everett, Portland. The meeting is
free and open to everyone. A South­
ern Supper will be offered at 6:30
pm for a $5.00 donation. For more
information or childcare, call (503)
2283090 two days in advance
Wheelchair accessible.
As We Celebrate Our 35th Year Of Service
To Our Community, We Honor
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And The Hope He Brought To People!
I his is the spirit o f Black History Month. Its .significance
is well-rooted in the belief that no obstacle is impossible
to overcome through hard work and perseverance. In
celebration o f that spirit. Bank o f America is proud to
salute our great heroes and heroines who have conquered
infinite odds; and helped to turn stumbling blocks into
stepping stones. It’s these people who have taught us all
“...the dream o f a
country where every
man will respect the
dignity and worth o f
all human personality...
D elaunay
FAMILY OF SERVICES
5139 N. Lombard St.
(503) 286-1107
that there are no obstacles too large to overcome as long
as our heart is w illing and our spirit rem ains strong.
m
Bank of America
B a n k in g O n A m e r ic a '
• I 997 Hank o f America NT&SA Member H ) |(