www.portlaudobserver.
Committed to Cultural Diversity
(Hili' ^ n rtla n h (©bsertœr
SECTION
«
Vote Smart, Vote Democrat Says Jesse Jackson
I
nnt nt u n ito
a le itb a r
Com m unity Calendar
Game Night
C om e and jo in the fun. Play your
fav o rite b o ard and card gam es! The
M iracles C lu b w ill be hav in g “ G am e
N ig h t” on O ct. 21, from 9 p.m . until
late. P lay ch ess, Bid W hiz, Spades,
D o m in o es, P in o c h le , S crab b le and
o th e r fun gam es. D o n atio n is only
$ 2 .T his is a clean and so b er event.
N orthw est C hildren’s
Theater Bookfair
B arnes & N o b le, lo cated near the
Lloyd C enter will be having the N o rth ­
w est C h ild re n ’s T h e a te r B o o k fair on
S atu rd ay , O cto b er 28, from 11 a m. to
4 p.m . D u rin g b o o k fa ire h o u rs, a p e r­
c en tag e o f all o u r sales w ill be d o ­
n a te d to N o rth w e st C h ild re n 's T h e­
ater, O re g o n ’s aw ard -w in n in g fam ily
theater. N C T c o n tin u e s its trad itio n
o f e x c e lle n ce this seaso n w ith p ro ­
d u ctio n s in clu d in g S h e rlo c k H olm es
and The H obbit.
M adison’s Grill
H alloween Party
M ad iso n ’s G rill, located at 1109 SE
M ad iso n , on the co rn e r o f SE 11,h and
M adison w ill be having a H allow een
p arty featu rin g C a tfish , prizes and
drin k an d food sp ecials. D ress up as
your fav o rite m usician for prizes! The
ev en t w ill be on S atu rd ay , O ct. 28
There is a $3 cover charge for all shows.
Call 503/220-0901.
Halloween Carnival
The Brentw ood-D arlington Com m u­
nity C enter w ill be having a Hallow een
C arn iv al featu rin g g am es, ring toss,
cake-tou w alk, fortune teller and more.
The event w ill be on O ct. 21 from 5:30
- 9 p.m . at 7211 SE 6 2 nd. For raffle
tickets, call 503/760-B A B Y .
C hildren’s Safety
W orkshop
O pen to ages 7 to 11, this w orkshop
is a very v alu a b le s e lf d efen se e x p e ri­
ence and a lot o f fun! K ids w ill learn to
set b o u n d a rie s and to use p hysical
and v erb al s e lf d efen se strateg ies.
T hey w ill acq u ire sk ills for dealin g
w ith b u llie s and w o u ld -b e ab d u cto rs,
an d w ill p r a c tic e a p p ly in g th e ir
new found sk ills on a p added attacker.
Call 503/231-1999.
Oregon Humane Society
Telethon
I t’s a first for O regon and a great
day for an im als w hen the O regon H u ­
m ane S o ciety T e le th o n b ounds onto
the air. G rab the rem o te from R over
and tune to FO X 49 on S atu rd ay , O ct.
21 from 11:30 a.m . to 3 :3 0 p .m . fo ra n
aftern o o n o f “ P e ta c u la r” e n te rta in ­
m ent. T he telethon w ill feature dozens
o f dog s, cats and ra b b its looking for
good hom es.
M editation, the Door to
Inner Peace
The K now T h y se lf as Soul F o u n d a­
tion, Inc., N o rth w est R egion, is a n o n ­
pro fit o rg a n iz a tio n that spon so rs p ro ­
gram s ab o u t m e d ita tio n as a free se r­
vice to the p u b lic. Sant T h ak ar Singh
w ill be o ffe rin g a free program w hich
inclu d es in stru c ito n s o fr the inner
L ight and Sound m editation. This p ro ­
cess, w hich brin g s inn er p eace, can be
learn ed by young and old alike re ­
gard less o f faith , re lig io n o f lifesty le.
The ev en t w ill be at the N ew berg C ity
L ibrary on S atu rd ay , N ov. 11 from
10:30a.m . to 2:30 p.m. Call 1-888-681-
9791.
Elections: The Basics
Ja n e t C a m p b e ll, a M ount H ood
C om m unity C ollege in stru cto r w ill be
ex p la in in g on O ct. 25 the b asics o f
how a p re sid e n t is elected . This in ­
clud es an o v erv iew o f the E lecto ral
C olleg e and the ele c tio n sy ste m ’s e f ­
fect on v o tin g b ehav io r. She w ill also
add ress q u e stio n s and p o in ts from
the au d ien ce. For m ore in fo rm atio n ,
call A lS ig a la at 503/491-7213.
f
f i t J u t R amos
l i l t P u b i i a m >_Q bs £ bvlk
People gathered at 8:30 a.m. on Tues­
day, Oct. 17 to hear Jesse Jackson give his
endorsement for Gore and Lieberman o f the
Democratic Party at the Bethel AME Church
located at 5828 NE. 8lh. Jackson notified
church gatherers that he was unable to
attend the event because o f unfinished
business in Los Angeles.
A rrangem ents were m ade for the Rain­
bow Coalition/ PUSH leader to speak via
telephone to the crowd.
Jesse Jackson began by giving his sin­
cere apologies to the audience for not be­
ing in Portland. He was enthusiastic about
the recent progress m ade where a final
settlem ent had been reached after an all-
night negotiation session with LA Transit.
Since Sept. 16, Jackson had intervened
as a m ediator to end the strike that had
idled buses and trains. Jackson also gave
his condolences regarding the death o f
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan who was killed
on M onday when a plane piloted by his
son crashed in fog and rain 25 miles south
o fS t. Louis. Carnahan was the Democratic
hopeful to win the race for U.S. Senate
against incumbent Sen. John Ashcroft.
Jackson’s plea was for everyone to vote
sm art, vote dem ocrat at the Nov. 7 presi­
dential election. G eorge W. Bush, accord­
ing to Jackson w ould be a threat on many
counts such as w ith organized labor and
w om en’s rights. He jokingly said for all to
com e up among the Bushes and vote for
Gore. “ You are voting for a new Congress.
We have the pow er to win the Senate. Gore
makes more sense,” he explained. Jackson
confidently added without any explana­
tion that Ralph N ader of the Green Party
cannot win this presidential election.
T he au d ie n c e
w as a llo w e d to
pose their ques­
tions to Jackson.
Only one person,
a re p re se n ta tiv e
o f Pre-Paid Legal
Services came for­
ward to ask if he
was fam iliar with
the Legal Shield
that was designed
to help the poor
get legal co v er­
age.
Members o f the
c o m m u n ity
stayed longer to
hear announce­
m ents after Jack-
son bid farewell to
all. One local offi­
c ia l s u g g e s te d
that everyone par-
ticipate by asking
their family mem ­
bers if they have
sent in their voter
registration cards
an d e n c o u ra g e
them to do so if
they haven’t yet already. Geri W ashing­
ton, an MESD Board D irector requested
everyone to vote no on M easure 9, the 4lh
anti-gay ballot measure proposed by OCA.
A NO on 9 rally is scheduled at Pioneer
C ourthouse Square on Thursday, Oct. 19
at noon time. Tre Arrow, a Pacific Green
their vote and questioned whether Earl
BJumenauer. his campaign rival, has truly
served the interests o f the people or inter­
ests o f big money and corporations? The
Party m em ber running for U.S. House o f
R epresentatives, D istrict 3 approached the
audience o f m ostly D em ocrats to ask for
Blum enauer office representatives quickly
responded that Earl has and will continue
to serve the community.
People of Color Say No on Measure 9
A group o f com m unity leaders are urg­
ing people o f color to vote no on Ballot
M easure 9.
R epresentatives from several organiza­
tions gathered at Lutheran InnerC ity M in­
istries in Northeast Portland last week to
oppose the m easure w hich would prohibit
public schools and com m unity colleges
from promoting or sanctioning homosexual
and bisexual behaviors.
Lon Mabon and the O r­
egon Citizens Alliance spon­
sor the proposed law.
State Sen. Avel Gordly, D-
Portland, said M easure 9 is
part o f a narrow agenda that
discrim inates against people
and threatens funding o f lo­
cal schools.
R ev . C e c il C h a rle s
Prescod, chair o f the Com ­
m is s io n o n J u s tic e at
A insw orth U nited Church o f
Christ, said Measure 9 is dan­
gerous for students and for
students o f color in particu­
lar because it would deny
inform ation on A ID S'H IV
prevention.
A ccording to the Centers
for D isease Control, HIV is
the leading cause o f death
for A frican A m erican men
Oregon Sen. Avel Gordly. D-Portland (from left), joins Mariam Calderon o f
and women between the ages
Genaccion. l/uv Ong o f the Oregon Student Association and other community leaders
o f2 5 a n d 4 4 . Many o f these
in a rally urging people o f color to oppose Ballot Measure 9.
young adults were likely in­
(P hoto in Mu h a h . I. i k . ii io x /P ok it w d O iisi k \ i r )
fected as teenagers.
“ We cannot place our children at further
PCC Gear Up Project Rewarded
with $2.8 million Grant
Portland Community College’s Gear Up
Projecthasreceiveda $2.8 million grant from the
Department o f Education to serve more than
700sixth- and seventh-grade students at 1 larriet
Tubman and Ockley Green middle schools as
well as students from Jefferson High School in
north Portland
The goal ofthis project. which w ill run betw een
the years o f2000 and 2005, is to provide interven­
tion and academic strengthening sen ices to low-
income middle and high school students to pre­
pare them for post-secondary education. The
project will get $576.800 in each o f the next five
years. It is part of 28 percent of the total propos­
als submitted nationwide that were approved
this year Organizations like Portland Public
Schools. Oregon Students Assistance Com­
mission, Albina Rotary. Multnomah County
SUN Schools and Oregon Council for 1 lispamc
Advancement also helped develop the grant
proposal. “I think this is another example of the
type o f partnership emerging from the north­
east Portland area between PCC and programs
withinthe Portland Public School system." said
Linda Rcisser, Cascade Campus dean o f Stu-
dent Development who helped to spearhead
the project. "PCC is grateful to school princi­
pals and other partners in the community for
helping to achieve this grant.”
The students from Ockley Green and 1 larriet
Tubman middle schools feed into Jefferson High
School, w hich is located in the federally desig­
nated PoitlandEntetpriseC ommunity. fhecompk*-
tion rate for freshman getting their high school
diploma the last tw o years ìsjust 32.5 percent. The
Gear Up Project is targeting these Portland schools
because they serve a disproportionate number of
economically and educationally disadvantaged
students, lhe schools also hav e had well-docu­
mented problems with student retention and suc­
cess.
lhe goals of the PCC Gear Up Project are to
increase academic perfonnance and preparation
for post-secondary schools, increase high school
graduation and expectations of students, increase
knowledge of post-secondary options and work
with partners to build a system of interv ention as
w ell as ongoing staff training and dev elopment.
For more information, contact Rcisser at503-
978-5307.
risk o f this deadly disease by denying them
accurate and correct information about how
not to get HIV. That is w rong,” Prescod
said. G ordly said that we m ust not let the
OCA dictate what our schools teach and
place school funding at risk.
“The sponsors o f this m easure have
said num erous times that they w ant to get
rid o f AIDS education. M easure 9 would
take away local control from school boards,
parents and teachers to form the curricu­
lum for students.
And any loss o f funding would devas­
tate our schools. We must defeat M easure
9 to prevent that from happening," G ordly
said. Com m unity activist Huy Ong added
that M easure 9 ’s wording is so vague that
its im pact would be broad. “T hat’s what
makes it scary. Our schools should be safe
and w elcom e for all,” Ong said.
T he c o m m u n ity o rg a n iz e rs have
launched the People o f C olor Against
M easure 9 postcard campaign.
The tool will be used, in both Spanish
and English, to help spread the word that
M easure 9 is a dangerous measure for chil­
dren and schools. The goal is to send out
thousands o f postcards to thousands o f
people. Also attending last w eek’s news
conference were representatives from Sis­
ters in Action for Pow er. Rural Organizing
Project and Genaccion.
Portland Observer Intern Earns Scholarship
L orraine M ichelle Faust has earned a $2,500 sch o larsh ip from the P ortland
A sso ciatio n o f B lack Jo u rn alists.
The grant w ill allow her to c o n ­
tin u e her jo u rn alism studies at the
U n iv e r s ity
of
O re g o n
in
E ugene.F aust was an intern at the
P o rtland O bserver this sum m er.
She was one o f three P ortland
stu d en ts to w in scholarships from
the jo u rn a lism group.
The o ther w inners w ere Leah
W yatt, a sophom ore at the U o f O
who graduated from Parkrose High
School and Ryan Sharp, a B enson
H igh School graduate attending
W estern O regon U niversity.
In a d d itio n , H ew le tt-P a c k a rd
aw arded the honored students w ith
a new com puter, 17-inch m onitor
and color printer.
T he P ortland O bserver is proud
to help foster the grow th o f m inor­
ity and w om en jo u rnalists from our
com m unity.