Stage Set for Good in the Hood
North and northeast neighbors celebrate diversity with four days of
See Metro section, inside
ial events
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Volume XXXII
Number 25
"The City Of Roses"
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1070
www.portlandobserver.com
TTCP
liTC n s r
REVIEW
June 26,2002
Heritage Shared
Families and friends celebrate Juneteenth
Bush Announces Mideast Plan
President Bush urged the Palestinians
to replace Yasser Arafat as their leader
and adopt “a practicing democracy”
that could produce an independent state
within three years. “Peace requires a
new and different Palestinian leader
ship so that a Palestinian state can be
bom ,” Bush said.
No immediate
Shutdown of Amtrak
W ASHINGTON — Two days before
cash-starved Amtrak was to begin shut
ting down rail service nationwide, the
Bush administration said it’s confident
trains will keep running. But Transpor-
tation Secretary Norman Mineta didn't
offer specifics to back up his assertion.
Dozens of Death
Sentences Overturned
WASHINGTON— The Supreme Court
overturned the death sentences o f more
¡than 150 convicted killers, ruling that
juries, not judges, must make this life-
or-death decision. The court held that
'a sentence imposed by a judge violates
the constitutional right to a trial by ju ry .
Ann Landers Dead at 83
CHICAGO— Ann Landers, the colum
nist whose snappy, plainspoken and
timely advice helped millions ofreaders
deal with everything from birth to death,
recently died. She was 83. Landers,
whose real name was Esther Lederer,
was at one time the world’s most widely
syndicated columnist.
WHO Worried About
Cancer Link to Fried Foods
G EN EV A — Alarmed about new stud
ies indicating that potato chips, french
fries and certain types o f bread contain
a substance that may cause cancer, the
World Health Organization has con
vened an emergency meeting to evalu
ate the research and debate action.
Franklin’s Kite Experiment
Hits 250th Anniversary
’ PHILADELPHIA — Legend has it that
250 years ago this month, Benjamin
'Franklin sailed a kite and a key into a
stormy Philadelphia sky and made a
shocking discovery: Lightning was a
form o f electricity. The tale’s accuracy
still generates debate among historians.
Musharraf Says Tensions
Remain ‘Explosive’
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Tensions
between India and Pakistan over dis
puted Kashmir remain “explosive” even
as Pakistan works to end terrorist activ
ity within its border, Pakistani Presi
dent Pervez M usharraf said. M usharraf
also said his country would not back
down from a fight.
Tycoon In New Round-the-World
Balloon Bid
NORTH AM, A ustralia— Adventurer
Steve Fossett drifted above Australia
after launching his sixth attempt to
become the first person to fly solo
around the world in a balloon. Fossett ’s
goal is to complete the trip in 15 days.
House Panel Approves
Bill to Arm Airline Pilots
WASHINGTON— Lawmakers moved
closer to a confrontation with the Bush
administration over guns in airplane
cockpits as a House panel endorsed
legislation that could arm more than 1,000
pilots in the next two years. Similar legis
lation has been introduced in the Senate.
Amos offers a delicious assortment o f sweet potato pie at the
annual Juneteenth celebration along Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard.
D avid P lechi .
T he P ortland O bserver
by
Old friends reunited and celebrated
the rich blessing that is their shared A fri
can heritage at last weekend’s Juneteenth
festival in northeast Portland.
The event drew hundreds o f neigh
bors for music, food and fun at the comer
o f Martin Luther King Jr. and Portland
boulevards.
Juneteenth commemorates a date when
'Trie Drama Queens" entertain a northeast Portland audience with theatrical antics
celebrating the African American culture.
photos by D avid
Recording artist O.J. Freeze led the
news o f freedom reached slaves in the
crowd in prayer Saturday afternoon.
South, nearly two years after President
“Who here has not been blessed?” he
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Procla
asked.
mation.
-
Freeze proclaimed an
On this anniversary,
See additional
end to gun violence and
local com m unity and
photos on page A3. evil to a cheerful crowd.
church leaders passed
He introduced “The
out literature, took to the
Drama Queens,” an African American
stage to praise God for blessings given
performance group that jum ped to the
the black com m unity and asked for
stage dressed in colorful African gowns
strength in struggles to come.
P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
o f patterned reds, yellows and greens.
Kids bunched together to watch and
listen to the women’s stirring words of
redemption and freedom.
“Sing a black girls song. Bring her out
to know herself,” the group sang. “She
has been cloaked in silence for so long,
she doesn ’t know her voice... she doesn ’t
know her own beauty.”
A parade the same afternoon attracted
continued
'y f
on page A3
Lcs
Femmes
Ready for
Big Night
The girls can dance
hip-hop, but waltzing
to something classical
is something new
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
In 1951,21 African A merican m oth
ers recognized the urgent need for a
program to encourage the social growth
and developm ent o f young ladies within
the black com m unity.
Through structured activities, the
m others hoped to teach proper eti
quette and establish educational stan
dards and moral codes that w ould help
teens m ake the transition to w om an
hood.
Les Fem m es was founded in re
sponse to these goals.
The program ’s em phasis is diverse.
Training includes career choices, self-
Benson graduate Shakiyla Harris-Lambert rehearses with other members o f Les Femmes for this Sunday 's Debutante
Ball. The dance punctuates years of involvement in a group designed to nurture positive development among young
African American women.
photo by D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
esteem , health, leadership develop
m ent, and arts and cultural aw areness.
Sunday, the latest group to reach
the Les F em m es’ rite o f passage after
years o f involvement and volunteerism,
will celebrate the D ebutante Ball. The
girls are all seniors from several local
high schools; they are presented to the
com m unity and recognized for the
progress they have made.
At a recent rehearsal, choreographer
Lynn G reen w ent over dance steps and
curtsies w ith the graduating seniors.
“ Lets run through this one more
tim e,” Green says, again and again. Her
patience is im pressive.
It is a m uggy, hot afternoon and she
struggles to keep the girls' attention.
Som etim es it is trying. They giggle at
unheard jokes and fidget and w hisper
with the boys that will be their escorts.
Green is strict and dem anding, but
fun. W ithout too m uch prodding, the
girls respond to her. They clam or, but
it doesn’t take long for them to calm
down.
“She is not gonna m ove until you
offer,” G reen says, instructing one o f
the boys to initiate a cue, “So d o n ’t just
stand there, com e on!”
The girls laugh and the boys frown.
Green says all the girls can dance
hip-hop, but waltzing to something clas
sical is something new for m ost o f them .
“W e tell them a little about the his
tory o f w altzing,” she said.
Green says the balls go back to a
southern tradition when girls w ere first
continued
~y^
on page AS
Cheney Talks Tough in Portland Visit
Vice President Dick Cheney
addresses a fund-raising breakfast
in Portland with Sen. Gordon Smith,
R-Ore. (AP photo)
I
A
(AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney
said Monday the United States will “shut
down terrorist camps wherever they are"
and also had tough talk for Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein.
Cheney said Iraq's interest in produc
ing weapons o f mass destruction is a
“gathering danger that requires ... the
I
most decisive response by America and
its allies."
A “regime that hates America must
never be permitted to threaten Americans
with weapons o f mass destruction,” the
vice president said.
Cheney made the comments at a fund
raising breakfast for Sen. Gordon Smith,
R-Orc.
The $25O-a-plate breakfast was by in
vitation only, and security around the
Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland was
tight.
Spcakingofthe Bush adm inistration's
war against Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida
continued
on page R6