r
Page 8
February 7, 2001
school education than students liv­
ing in the Jefferson or V ancouver
high school districts.
(Tí|p ^Jortlanà (©bserüer
Civil Rights Era and
the Northwest
Saluting Black History
Month
Linda and Lilian Sevier
R.D. Sevier & Son, Inc.,
Garbage Service
1101 NE Alberta
Portland OR 97211
287-0262
H onors B lack
H istory M onth
---------------------------------------------------------
445 NE Killingsworth •
503.288.9367
B y the tim e young Dr. M artin
L uther K ing Jr. had things stirred up
in the so u th , P o rtla n d h a d s e ttle d
__ in to a “ g e n e r a tio n a l tr a n s i­
tio n .” C h ild re n o f th e A fr i­
c a n A m e ric a n fa m ilie s w h o
m ig ra te d h e re d u rin g th e
W W II h irin g b o o m w e re
n o w y o u n g a d u lts th e m ­
s e lv e s .
C o r n e r s to n e s o f
C o m m u n ity , a b o o k o n lo ­
c a l A fr ic a n A m e ric a n h is ­
to ry , s p e a k s o f th e f r u s tr a ­
tio n o f th is n e w g e n e r a tio n
o f b la c k s . T h e y g re w up
h e re a n d w e re fe d u p w ith
th e c o n tin u a l r a c is t b e h a v ­
io rs o f lo c a l w h ite c itiz e n s .
W h ile K in g a n d h is a s s o c i­
ates w ere w o rk in g th e ir w ay
th r o u g h th e s o u th , “ m in i-
“■ r io ts ” w e re s ta rtin g h e re in
N o rth e a s t P o rtla n d . B la c k
M u slim g ro u p s s ta rte d to
a p p e a r a n d a sm a ll B la c k
P a n th e r g ro u p w as fo rm e d .
A g ro u p k n o w n as th e B lack
B e re ts a ls o a p p e a re d on th e
s c e n e . A s th e h e a t w as
tu r n e d o n in th e s o u th ,
P o r tla n d ’s A fr ic a n A m e r i­
c a n s r a llie d a n d d e m o n ­
s tr a te d “ a lo n g s id e o f
K in g .” C iv il rig h ts w e re
n o t j u s t an is s u e in th e
s o u th . P o rtla n d a n d th e
N o rth w e s t w o u ld h a v e to
c h a n g e to o .
A m e r ic a n C h r is tia n c h u rc h e s
a n d u p c o m in g g ro u p s su c h as
th e B la c k U n ite d F r o n t a n d
B l a c k U n i t e d F u n d w o u ld
A lth o u g h w o rd s lik e p e a c e , in ­
te g r a tio n ,
d e s e g r e g a tio n ,
e q u a lity , c iv il rig h ts, a n d e q u a l
o p p o r tu n ity a ll h e lp e d b rin g us
B lacks p ro testin g about equal jo b opporunity a t E m anuel H o sp ita l
(C ourtesy o f OHS)
s tr u g g le to k e e p th e fo c u s o n
D r. K i n g ’s n o n - v i o l e n t a n d
p e a c e fu l a p p ro a c h to s o lv in g
p ro b le m s . V io le n c e a n d p r o p ­
e rty d e s tru c tio n w as m in im a l
h e re in P o rtla n d as c o m p a re d to
th e S o u th , y e t th e fru s tra tio n o f
A fric a n A m e ric a n s w as h ig h and
th e m e s s a g e w as th e sa m e.
T h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f th e
U n ite d S ta te s a n d th e B ill o f
R ig h ts w e re fo r th e “ f re e d o m ”
o f a ll p e o p le , n o t j u s t w h ite s.
c lo s e r to g e th e r , w e s till h a v e a
lo n g w a y to go.
B y 1990, P o r tla n d ’s 3 3 ,5 3 0
A fric a n A m e ric a n s w o u ld s till
fin d th e ir c e n te r in N o rth /N o rth -
ea st P o rtlan d . W h ites still faired
b e tte r in th e jo b m a rk e t. L o c a l
c o lle g e s are still “ far m o re w h ite
th an b la c k .” A n ew p h ra se c a lle d
“ r a c ia l p r o f ilin g ” w as ta lk e d
a b o u t o n th e s tr e e ts , in p o lic e
d e p a rtm e n ts a n d in th e c o u r t­
ro o m s.
After the “King” Years
A fte r M a rtin L u th e r
K in g ’s d e a th , A fric a n
^ etWMaWeajezj¿/
503-287-2121
Black History
Month Events
Black Pioneers of
the Oregon
Country
Feb. - March 14
H*
n
©
5
•tí
tí
We w i l l
3
MEET or BEAT ANY PRICE !!
The Endofthe Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center will fea­
ture the exhibit “Black Pio­
neers o f the Oregon Coun­
try” which runs throughout
February until M arch 14 in
h o n o r o f B la c k H isto ry
Month. The Pioneer Family
o f the M onth exhibit is on the
H a m m e r F a m ily . In th e
W illamette Trades & Craft
W orkshop hands-on activi­
ties, presenters will focus on
medicine, sewing and toys.
Visitors can see old medical
instruments and salves and
can practice making old fash­
ioned splints. The End o f the
OregonTrail InterpretiveCen-
ter is located at 1726 W ash­
ington St. in Oregon City. Call
503/657-9336, ext. 0. Their website
a d d re ss
is
www.endoftheoregontrail.org.
Northwest Afrikan
American Ballet
Saturday, Feb. 10
There is probably no other con­
cert in Portland that has the passion,
intensity and vibrancy o f the Heri­
tage Concert, nor the audience par­
ticipation, interaction and enthusi­
asm. The 6* annual Heritage Concert
will be perform ed on Saturday, Feb.
10 at 8 p.m. at the A rlene Schnitzer
Concert Hall at Southwest Broadway
and M ain St. For more information,
call503/287-8852.
African American
Poetry
Saturday, Feb. 10
Barnes & N oble is celebrating
Black History Month by offering read­
ings from twoauthors: J. Patrick Lewis
who wrote Freedom Like Sunlight