■ * » V / 1 —* : Volume XXVII, Number 13 Committed to cultural diversity. March 26, 1997 Wíje ^ n rtla n ò (Ohserncr SECTION /fT o m m u n itg V-Ui 1 í n h a r B Rosemary Anderson Praised No! Kidding! Choir hosts benefit jazz concert Portland. OR The N o ' K id d in g ! C h o ir o f Fernwood M id d le School w ill host it's 7th annual sem i-form al benefit concert Thursday. A p ril 3rd. 7:(M)pm at the M elody B allroom , located at 6 15 SE A lder. Head lin in g S how tim e 97 w ill be M a rily n K e lle r. Janice S cro g g in s , and L in d a H ornbuckle. Tickets fo r S how tim e art $ 15 fo r everyone or reserve a table o f ten fo r $ 15 0 by calling Janice Flowers. 9 16-6480. Purchasing a table o f ten w ill make you/ yo u rco m pany/organization a proud spon sor o f N K ! C h o ir and y o u r com pany/ o rg anization’ s w ill be listed on the C h o ir’ s 1997 touring t-sh irt! T ickets are available at Fernwood M id d le School. 1915 NE 33rd Ave. Portland. O R 97212 Make- checks payable to: N o! K id d in g ! C hoir. Oh, W hat a Knight! C hinook W inds is o ffe rin g a "K n ig h t" to remember w ith tw o super performances M ay 3()th & 31st. one show n ightly at 8 pm. T icke t price is $30.00. Obtain tickets by ca lling I -888-M A IN -A C T (6 2 4 -6 2 2 8 ). Minority Health Strategies conference The Oregon Cancer C enter o f Oregon Health Sciences U n ive rsity is hosting a conference e n title d : “ M in o rity Health S tra te g ie s" It is scheduled lo r A p ril 18. 1997 and w ill be held at the Portland M a rrio tt. The p ublic is welcome anil en couraged to attend. Registration brochures can be obtained by ca llin g 503-292-7286. The registration deadline is A p ril 9. 1997 and room reservations fo r the special rate at the M a rrio tt hotel is M arch 27. 1997 Scholarships are available call number Leon Sullivan (above), founder o f Opportunities Industrialization Centers o f America, at POIC's 30th anniversary celebration. Leon was the featured speaker, at an event that centered on Rosemary E. Anderson retirement dinner (shown left with Martin Anderson). above. The cost o f attending the confer ence is $65. Crisis Line openings The Portland W om en's C risis Line is pleased to announce openings in its A p ril/ M ay 1997 training fo r volunteer crisis intervention counselors on the C risis Line. In order to q u a lify, volunteers must be female, at least 18 years o f age. and com m itted to ending dom estic and sexual violence. For further inform ation and an a p p lic a tio n , p le a se c o n ta c t L e A n n M ederios at 232-9545 D u rin g norm al business hours. Deadline fo r application is A p ril 21. 1997. Practicuin students arc encouraged to apply C redit is available. Child advocates gather M ay 4-6. 1997, the national C ourt A ppointed Special Advocate (C A S A ) A s sociation w ill welcom e 1000 c h ild advo cates to the annual conference. “The A rt o f the Possible. Creating N ew Solutions fo r C h ild re n ” at the Portland H ilto n . L ike other national c h ild re n ’ s organizations, the C A S A netw ork w ill be lo o kin g toward the im pact o f changes in c h ild w elfare and new ways co m m u n ity volunteers can w ork to assure all children have a chance at safe, permanent homes. Cures and Controversies Lecture entitled “Bone Marrow Trans plantation in Children: Cures and Con troversies,” by F Leonard Johnson, M .D.. professor o f pediatrics and c h ie f o f Pediat ric H em atology and O ncology. 7:30 o.m., Thursday. A p ril 17; at the O H SU O ld L ib ra ry A u d ito riu m . Plenty o f free park ing is available. Lectures are w heelchair accessible and devices fo r the hearing im paired are available. Please call C om m u n ity Relations at 494-7686 fo r more inform ation. C all U n ive rsity News and P ublications at 4 9 4 -8 2 3 1 fo r media in fo r m ation and interview s. Divorce recovery and grief recovery workshops A p ril I - M ay 6, (6 consecutive Tues day evenings.) C hildcare available. For By N e ii . H eii pern R This was her day -- a day the com m unity recognized her retirem ent fro m 29 years o f “ indefatigable dedication to im p ro v in g the educational and econom ic status o f students and th e ir fa m ilie s," w h ile serving in various fu ll-tim e paid capacities w ith the Portland O p p o rtu n itie s In d u s tria liz a tio n C e n te r (P O IC ). She started w ith POIC in 1967 as a v o lu n teer, w o rk in g w ith the group o f m inisters w ho created the program. Here actual paid and s till volunteers as a tutor. to get that jo b , then fo llo w in g up to see how they were d o in g ." “ I rem ember a man w h o came, afraid he w o u ld never be able to read stories to his son.” recounted Anderson, “ so he came to POIC fo r help in learning to read." O IC founder Leon S ullivan told the gath ering that at the group s next national con vocation, “ I w ill propose Rosemary A n d e r o f G od — and you " D r Samuel I K e lly, w horeplaced A nder son as POIC executive director, told the gathering that she “ personified a link lady, w ith certain majesty, grandeur, sense o f the appropriate, and a g ift o f casual elegance " This mother o f seven, a native o f Denver, C olorado, “ clim bed the greasy pole o f life " I help children ages five through 12 w ith th e ir hom ew ork and to learn c o n flict resolu tio n ," she to ld The Observer. son be made a member o f the national board o f dire cto rs." Her reaction to the stream o f congratula tory greetings from people was summed up in one w ord: “ Jo y !” She w ill till the seat o f the late Josia Nunn, form er POIC chairm an and national board member Nunn died January 10. our students, especially the least o f our own. She is superb!” Asked about her most sig n ifica n t c o n tri bution, Anderson said it was her “ a b ility to see adults as w e ll as youth accom plish their goals, w hether it be getting a G E D or a s kill “ I know the struggles you had, the ups and downs, the times I thought this program evening's program, some students and col (P ortland) w o u ld n ’ t su rvive ,” said S ullivan, noting the success o f POIC was "b y the grace ▼ Continued to page B5 w ith success after success," he noted “ She remained loyal Io fa m ily and co m m u n ity " K e lly said Anderson possessed an "in sa tiable curiosity to fin d ways to w ork for In the lobby, p rio r to the start o f the Maya Angelou returns with poetry messages in N n 1 H eilpern alien to me " “ Poetry helps you see that to be so," she aya Angeleou was back in town last week urging a crowd at the Arlene Schnitzer Auditorium to reach for poetry and advising a handful of African American writers at a nearby reception to wrestle with their words to share life's meaning with others. continued w ith the words o f the A frica n slave in Rome in 154 HUE. w ith no chance o f citizenship because o f the c o lo r o f his skin. She p u lle d w ords fro m Shakespeare, D ickin so n . Terence, and D unbar out of her m agical grab bag. quoted E m ily D ickinson “ I shall die, but that is all I w ill do fo r death." M No matter what the circumstance, Angelou said people can make the best o f life She Angelou congratulated the organizers o f the “ fo ru m ” series o f famous speakers and the audience fo r being “ rainbows in the clouds,” and noted that many people are A t the auditorium , the famed poet re peated her “ rainbow in the clouds” talk, delivered a few months ago to a high school educators’ convention here in Portland. such rainbows “ accidentally, by happen “ Even in the hardest o f tim e s,” she said, “ people can see hope in the darkest tim es." stance People look at you - people w ho you may never know . In m arvelous ways you are rainbows in the clouds." “ M y rainbow in the clouds is in A fric a n - A m erican poetry,” she to ld the sellout crow d at the Schnitzer, noting that the firs, A f r i cans were brought to A m e rica in 1619, “ one year before the M a y flo w e r docked.” A frica n -A m e rica n poetry has a special E arliet in the evening, the poet met w ith members o f the N orthw est A frica n A m e ri can W riters W orkshop “ Easy reading is a w fu lly damned hard w ritin g ," she quoted N athaniel H awthorne The dozen local w riters sat enthralled by her recital o f a poem w hich took her six months to write. m agic, said Angelou, w ho encouraged the audience to fin d some in th e ir libraries. She to ld o f the caged b ird in an 1890s poem by Dunbar and how it helped her She expressed appreciation fo r the as sembled w riters, "because I know it is hard overcom e her own life tragedies. in fo rm a tio n & to register call Portland “ I kn o w what the caged bird feels , it beats its w ings upon the bars...not a song o f First Church o f the Nazarene Sunset H w y at Sylvan 297-6100. glee, but a plea, upward to heaven." SUBMISSIONS: Community Calendar information will be given priority if dated two weeks before the event date. em ploym ent started A ugust I, 1968 osemary E. Anderson stood in “ I never thought I w o u ld become execu the ballroom lobby of the Air tive d ire cto r when I started out as an execu port Sheraton Hotel last week, tiv e secretary ,” she noted. She held the top receiving a constant stream of positions well at POIC fo r 16 years. wishers showering herwith hugs, kisses, N o w in retirem ent since last August, she accolades and honors. is chairperson o f P O IC ’ s board o f directors A ngelou used Shakespeare as a guide to “ lif t y o u rs e lf ou, o f the d o ld ru m s, the fear” through the use o f poetry. “ H ow could a w hite man in England 400 years ago know what it was lik e to be a black g irl in the south, raped and dejected," she I may take a m onth to w ork out a few Poet Maya Angelou shared thoughts about writing with the Northwest African American Writers Workshop. At right are: Stephen McPherson and Lillian Whitlow o f Portland. wondered aloud. cloud " Then she turned to the audience and issued a challenge: “ I f you came here to m ak e a d i fferen ce. be a ra i n bow i n som eone ’ s T a lk in g about the need to be open to all o f life 's experiences, she quoted Terence I am a human being n othing human can be paragraphs, but the readers breeze right through ' When a w rite r struggles to find the right words for a smooth expression o f life , people often say, “ She is a natural w rite r," and she benignly says “ Thank you " ▼ Continued to page B5