April 03, 2002
Page A5
African Dance Troupe
Raises AIDS Awareness
Forum 2002
National Forum for Black Public Administrators
Orphaned children of Uganda perform at Nike campus
Presents a Public Policy Town Hall Meeting
Sunday, A pril 7, 2 0 0 2
Oregon Convention Center
777 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland
3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For the first time since the September 11th tragedy, a group
of the nation’s most distinguished mayors will convene to
discuss the impacts this event has had on security and
disaster preparedness in their cities and states.
The Children o f Uganda perform at the Nike
campus in Beaverton. Acting as goodwill
ambassadors to increase global awareness
of HIV/AIDS, they play a variety o f handmade
instruments and perform dances from a
number o f African countries.
Children o f Uganda, the award
winning dance troupe comprised
'of 20 Ugandan children orphaned
by HIV/AIDS, performed at the
Nike campus in Beaverton last
"Wednesday. The perform ance
was part o f a 17 city U.S. tour
projected to raise $1 million to
support orphans in Uganda while
increasing global awareness of
AIDS and its devastating impact
on children.
The dual crises of civil war and
AIDS in Uganda combined with a
high illiteracy rate and the ab
sence o f free education have
posed a serious threat to the com
plex fabric of family and village life
that previously nurtured and de
pended on a rich and varied oral
culture.
In the 20 years since the epi
demic began, AIDS has killed a
total of 21.8 million people around
the world, and currently an esti
mated 36.1 million people are liv
ing with HIV. The disease has
created some 12.1 million orphans
in Africa, out of a global total of
13.2 million AIDS orphans.
Children of Uganda was origi
nally founded to teach orphaned
children the songs, dances and
stories that were in danger of being
lost. In Uganda, the ensemble in
cludes approximately 30 young
people who live and study in one of
several orphanages in and around
Kampala. The Tour of Light gives
20 of the most talented of these
performers an opportunity to share
their stories in the United States.
“Traveling with Children of
Uganda has allowed me to see the
United States and tell American
children about my country and
culture,” says Emmy Anguyo, 17,
a veteran o f the “Tour of Light” in
1996,1998 and 2000 who is in the
11“1 grade and lost both his par
ents to AIDS. “I want to tell
America that no matter what hap
pens to you in life, there is always
hope.”
Join this distinguished panel as they consider the challenges
and strategies for protecting citizens during times of tighter
budgets. The panel will also discuss the controversy over
racial profiling versus protecting civil rights.
Panel Members:
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Vera Katz - Mayor of Portland, Oregon
Jerry Brown ~ Mayor, Oakland, California
Michael Brown, ~ Mayor of Riviera Beach, Florida
Randy Daniels - former Secretary of State, New York
Shirley Franklin ~ Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
Kwame Kilpatrick ~ Mayor of Detroit, Michigan
Admission is free.
No registration
or reservations
are necessary.
Lawsuits Seek Slavery Reparations
For more information,
call Tim Hall at (503) 823-6926
Moderator: Robert Bobb
NFBPA Board President
Companies accused of profiting from slavery for two centuries
(AP) — A woman whose an
cestors were slaves sued three
companies for allegedly profiting
from slavery for nearly two centu
ries — a long-simmering concept
that could pick up steam if more
blacks are allowed to join the law
suits.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers said the law
suits were the first to seek slavery
reparations from private com pa
nies. They were filed against the
Aetna insurance company, the
FleetBoston financial services
group and railroad giant CSX on
behalf of the 35 million American
descendants o f African slaves.
At a new s conference an
nouncing the lawsuits last week,
Deadria Farmer-Paellmann said
she spent five years researching
the topic after writing on her law
sçhool application that her dream
was to build the case that would
win slavery reparations.
The three suits, which seek un
specified damages, claimed that
as many as 1,000unidentified cor
porations may have benefited
from slavery between 1619 and
1865. The lawsuits seek class-ac
tion status and could be expanded
to include more companies.
Any damages won from the
lawsuit would be put into a fund to
improve health, education and
housing opportunities for blacks,
said attorney Roger Wareham, one
This is not
about individuals
receiving checks
in their mailbox.
— D e ad ria F a rm e r-
Paellm ann
*
of a group of lawyers who pre
pared the lawsuits.
“This is not about individuals
receiving checks in their mailbox,”
Wareham said.
In a statement, Aetna said: “We
do not believe a court would per
mit a lawsuit over events which—
however regrettable — occurred
hundreds of years ago. These is
sues in no way reflect Aetna to
day.”
CSX said the lawsuits had no
merit and should be dismissed.
F le e t sp o k e sm a n Ja m e s
Mahoney said the company had
not seen the lawsuits and had no
comment.
CSX said it was named as a
defendant because slave labor
was used to construct portions of
some U.S. rail lines “under the
political and legal system in place
more than a century before CSX
was formed in 1980.”
Farmer-Paellmann said Aetna,
in particular, was cooperative in
her research, but that changed
when she started speaking pub
licly about planned litigation.
Com pany docum ents show ed
one-third of A etna’s first 1,000
policies were written on the lives
o f slaves, she said.
Farmer-Paellmann said the fil
ing was victory enough for one
day.
“I feel confident that something
good will come of all of this,” she
said.
Portland Meadows Settles Waste Lawsuit
(A P)— Portland Meadows, the
city’s thoroughbred racetrack in
north Portland, and two environ
mental groups settled a Clean
W ater Act lawsuit last Thurs
day over manure runoff from
the track into the Columbia
River.
The groups had sued af
ter Portland M eadows and
the Environmental Protection
Agency were already in talks
about solving the surface
water runoff problem created
by about 900 horses typi
cally stabled at the site.
Heavy rains had leached
manure into the Columbia
Slough, an area already
heavily polluted from the Port
o f P o rtla n d an d o th e r
sources.
W astewater typically es
caped the track grounds and
flowed into the river several
times a year.
In a consent agreement
with the EPA, the track agreed
to divert its storm drains to
the city of Portland’s sewage
system at a cost of $750,000, said
Arthur McFadden, president of
Magna Entertainment Corp., the
com pany that ow ns Portland
Meadows.
The company also agreed to
pay a $100,000 fine to the U.S.
Treasury in a civil penalty.
Advertise with diversity in
A series of informal sessions with Oregon Health & Science University faculty
and staff that address health care issues of interest to the neighborhood.
OHSU. Where Healing, Teaching and Discovery Come Together.
Healthy Aging for 40+
Healthy Chats are
good for you! Com eto
these free, very informal
6611 RE Martin Luther King Bhd
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-240-4198
• One-Bedroom Apartments with Full
Sized Kitchens and Living Areas
• Planned Activities, Laundry
Facility, Conference & Meeting Room,
Elevator and Library
• Conveniently Located to Shopping,
Restaurants, Pharmacy, and Medical
Offices
W ednesday, A p ril 1 0 ,1 0 :3 0 - 11:30 a.m .
Westmoreland's Union M anor — 6404 S.E. 23rd Ave., Portland
types of health care
An Overview of Pediatric Scoliosis
issues. OHSU faculty
Ronald Turker, M.D., assistant professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitation,
OHSU School of Medicine, presents a concise tour of the curved spine, who
gets it, and what can and cannot be done about it.
offer sound advice on
timely topics at four
locations around the
Portland metro area.
W ednesday, A p ril 10, 7 - 8 p.m.
OHSU Health Center-Beaverton — 2935 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton
(north end of Beaverton Mall)
The chats run for one
hour with time for
questions and answers.
Call 503 494-0060
to register, as seating is
Alberta Simmons Plaza
William Gaynor, M.P.A., OHSU Center for Healthy Aging, shares current
information about “aging well.” A baby boomer turns 50 about every eight
seconds in the United States. We cannot stop the passage of time, but we can
determine to a great extent how we age.
sessions that address all
programs.
for Seniors 62 years and older
^ilnrtlanö (Ohserner
call 503.288.0033 or email: ads@portlandobserver.com
Parking is free for all
Affordable Quality Retirement Living
< r iir
Developing Hormone-Based Therapies
for Multiple Sclerosis
Bruce Bebo Jr., Ph.I)., assistant scientist, Neurological Sciences Institute at
OHSU, discusses how the severity of MS attacks fluctuates with changes in sex
hormone levels. Bebo is studying the potential of sex hormones as a treatment
for MS.
W ednesday, A p ril 17, 7 - 8 p.m.
OHSU Family Health Center-Richmond — 3930 S.E. Division St., Portland
limited.
Low Back Pain Treatment:
Exercise as an Alternative
For more information,
visit our Web site at
www.OHSUhealth.com
under "Lectures & Events,"
or call 503 494 0060.
Healthy
Chats
We participate in most HM 0 and PPO
insurance plans
OHSU is an equal opportunity,
affirmative action institution.
www.OHSUhealth.com
Nels Carlson, M.D , assistant professor of orthopaedics
and rehabilitation (health promotion and sports medicine),
OHSU School of Medicine, offers a valuable overview of
the causes of low back pain, evaluation measures and
treatment options.
Thursday, A p ril 18, 7 - 8 p.m.
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church — 2201 S.W Vermont St., Portland, Grafe Hall
(Old Parish Hall)