Volume \ . \ V I I . Number 23
( unlimited lo cultural diversity.
June4. 1997
■ ■
®íje ^ o rtía n h (BMiserlier
SECTION
■ ■ ■ H SM nM M m M W t
ziT n nt in u n i t y
VLua I e n b a r
Raft the Sandy and
see natural history
Metro again is offering its popular
June and July Sandy R iver raft trips.
Rafters will float from Oxbow Park to
Lewis and Clark State Park, focusing on
water safety and the natural history of the
river. Cost for the 8-hour outing is $35.
Call Metro Regional Parks and Green
Spaces at 797-1850, option 8, for reser­
vations.
Tim "Too
Slim" Langford
performs at the
1996
Waterfront
blues festival
Oregon Food
Bank officials
are now busy
laying the
groundwork fo r
the upcoming
festival, July 4,5
A 6.
Ancient strings
concert set
The Japanese Garden Society of O r­
egon hosts a special Father’s Day event
featuring koto master Elizabeth Falconer
in concert in the Japanese Garden Pavil­
ion at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 15. The koto
is an ancient string instrument with roots
in China and Japan that extends back
1,000 years.
Advocate for kids
meets with families
David Liederman, chief executive for
the Child Welfare League of America,
w ill talk on abused, neglected and
troubled children and their families in a
Friday luncheon addreJU before the City
Club.
Rose Festival
welcomes sailors
You can join other Portland residents
in extending a welcoming hand to Navy
men and women away from home dur­
ing Rose Festival by participating in
Host-A-Sailor. Call 242-1410 to get in­
volved.
Get ready for the blues !
Benson
athlete
honored
Survivor tells horror
of holocaust
Leon Leyson, a holocaust survivor
from Schindler's List, will speak at the
Performing Arts Center Wednesday on
the Sylvania Campus at 7 p.m. Atten­
dance is free.
Rose fleet arrives
The fam iliar site of U .S. Navy and
Coast Guard ships as well as Royal C a ­
nadian ships and a U .S. Arm y Corps
of Engineer river dredge transiting the
Colum bia River on their way to Port­
land begins Tuesday. A total o f 18
ships w ill line up along downtown
Portland’s waterfront in the Willamette
River.
Moose, Governor join
special torch run
This week marks the official begin­
ning of the Law Enforcement Torch Run,
a multi-leg statewide relay benefitting
Oregon Special Olympics. Portland Po­
lice Chief Charles Moose will carry the
Olympic torch through Portland to the
A T & T Wireless store, 1600S.W. Fourth
Ave. at noon on Wednesday. Thursday,
Gov. John Kitzhaber joins the fun when
officers from Oregon converge on the
Capitol in Salem at 1 p.m.
Betty Campbell
building opens
A reception to celebrate the opening
of the Betty Cam pbell mixed-use af­
fordable housing project in north Port­
land w ill take place Wednesday from 4
p.m. to 7 p.m. The project, which bears
the name of a well-respected Boise
Elio t School principal and beloved
north Portland activist, has served to
revitalize a dilapidated block in the
historic M ississippi district, while pro­
viding quality housing and new retail
space for the community. Speakers will
include Gretchen Kafoury, city com ­
missioner; Wanda Wallace, Total Staff­
ing Solution; Tom Cusack, housing
and urban developm ent and Betty
Campbell.
Kraig Gardner
K ra ig Gardner Selected for O r­
egon A ll-S ta r Football Team
K r a ig G ard n er, gifted young
athlete who p lays defensive/tight
end for Benson H igh School, was
recently selected to this year’ s O r­
egon A ll-S ta r Football Team
The team w ill participate in the
Ninth Annual Down Under Bowl in
Sydney, A u stralia this summer.
G a rd n e r, a c o lle g e bound
scholar, looks forward to the expe­
rience o f international competition,
as w ell as v isitin g another country
and in te ra c tin g w ith people o f
other cultures, backgrounds, and
societies.
Cost o f the trip is $2,830, an at­
tainable go al with the help and
pride o f the com m unity this w or­
thy athlete and student represents.
A K ra ig Gardner Travel Fund
has been established at the U S.
Bank on Martin Luther K in g , Jr
B lvd . and donations are welcome.
Surveying the
damage, area
residents look
over a gutted
warehouse at
Northeast
Sixth and
Davis. The
building is In
danger o f
collapsing
and has
families in an
adjacent
apartment
displaced.
I
Ruins to creation
Another sign o f renewal in northeast Portland goes up with the construction o f
the Harry Jackson Plaza on Alberta and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
(Photos by Mark Washington)
Undeveloped Social Capital In Neighborhoods II
By Prof. McKinley Burt
We seem to be in agreement, that “there
definitely is an identifiable social dynamic at
work in our neighborhoods" and that, further,
much useful information can be derived from
examinations less critical than a citation of
the inner-city as “The Geography o f No­
where.” Things can be better and we have the
means.
Today, I wish to acknowledge the very
perceptive conclusion of several readers —
“Communication" is a key factor in the “So­
cialization” process. I remember an educator
saying, “ I f you can't reach’em, you can’t
teach’em.” We have no intention of over sim­
plifying our approach, but what the teacher
is saying is rather obvious when we consider
that a recent nationwide poll revealed that,
incredibly, “68% of black teenagers believed
that they could make a living as professional
athletes.”
Moving beyond 'Gallup' and a few other
disheartening polls, I would return us to an
examination of more favorable out comes and
a structured analysis of the underlying fac­
delivery systems for minorities. Information
is an asset.
As I ’ve said before, “ we must talk to each
other” — across generations and across cul­
tures’ if the quality of our urban life is to
'We must talk to each other across generations
and across cultures if the quality of our urban
life is to markedly improve'
tors. There are a number of us who believe
that we can demonstrate from experience that
aggressive development o f the “Communi-
cations/Socialization" process can do much
to improve the employment and educational
markedly improve. I cite the recent move by
the Portland Observer’ to bring the Hispanic
community into its widely circulated media
base This has provoked some favorable com­
ments. One reader suggest that the Observer
is following right on with an important chap­
ter of, “The State of Black America: 1996”
(published by National Urban League Inc ).
The specific directive is, “ Developing
Black and Latino Survival Strategies: the Fu­
ture of Urban Areas.” And it is reassuring to
find that here in Portland the process has
moved beyond generalities and banal feel­
good’ expressions - moved somewhat be­
yond the 1970’s when I had a U.S. Forest
Service Out Reach’ contract that brought me
into intimate contact with Black, Hispanic and
Asian minorities/cultural groups At the same
time, I dealt with a similar multi-cultural
matrix as a professor at Portland State Uni­
versity.
Over the years I have maintained a broad
and adverse network with these cultures and
▼
Continued to page