Committed to Cultural Diversity
October 23, 2002
www.portlandobserver.com
CL l te ^ìortÌanh (Observer
ommunity
a le n d a r
SECTION
Northeast
Portland
resident Obo
Addy (left) has
been perform
ing traditional
Ghanaian
music in
Portland and
around the
world for 25
years.
C
College of Oriental
Medicine Open House
M em bers o f the public can at
tend a celebration for Oriental
M edicine D ay and receive infor
mation about acupuncture. O ri
ental therapeutic m assage, C hi
nese herbal m edicine and O rien
tal m editative exercise. S uper
vised by licensed practitioners,
O CO M interns will provide free
sam ple treatm ents to the public
from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on T hurs
day, Oct. 24. T he school is lo
cated at 10525 SE Cherry Blos
som Drive.
PHOTOS BY
D avid P i eghi ?
T he P ortland
O bserver
B
Holding
Traditions
Dear
Community Reading Fair
Partners in V ocational O pportu
nities Training ( PI V O T ) will host
a book fair on Friday, Oct. 25 from
1:30p.m. to3:30p.m . at 2508 NE
Everett. The public is asked to
bring a new or used book to the
book drive. All books collected
will be donated to the Books for
Kids project, w hich gives books
to less fortunate children and
teenager through O regon’s so
cial service programs.
Make a Difference Day
In celebration o f the 12th anni
versary o f M ake a D ifference
D ay, a food drive w ill be help
from 10a.m . to 2 p .m .o n S atur
day, O ct. 26 at the Salvation
Arm y M oore St. location at 5325
N. W illiam s Ave. All donations
will benefit the O regon Food
Bank, local shelters and group
hom es. For m ore inform ation
call 503-209-3890.
Portland Farmer’s Market
C elebrate H allow een at P ort
land Farm ers M arket’s “G reat
Pum pkin E vent” on Saturday,
Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This
e v e n t c o in c id e s w ith th e
m arket’s final day o f the 2002
season and features free pum p
kins, on-site carving lessons, a
chef dem onstration and a pum p
kin pancake breakfast. A H al
low een parade starts at 11 a.m.
Call 503-241-0032.
Hip-Hop Music Forum
M em bers o f the P ortland State
U niversity B lack C ultural A f
fairs B oard and Just Fam ily
R ecords w ill host a public fo
rum to discuss issues o f racism
and violence in the Portland
club scene and other hip-hop
issues. City officials, police and
state adm inistration will be in
attendance. A panel discu s
sion on Sunday, O ct. 27 begins
at 5 p.m. in the m ulticultural
room o f the Smith Center at PSU.
F or m ore inform ation call 503-
921-2809.
Explore Truths,
Myths about Bats
W ashington State U niversity
f a c u lty m e m b e r C h r is tin e
Portfors will present a free pub
lic lecture called "B ats are G ood
G uys” on M onday, Oct. 28 at
W SU Vancouver, located 14204
N E Salm on C reek A ve in the
S tudent S erv ices B u ild in g 's
lecture hall. T he lecture begins
at 7 p.m. and fam ilies are en
couraged to bring their children.
F or m ore inform ation, contact
Portfors at 503-546-9434.
Treat on Alberta Street
Children and families are invited
to attend T rick o r T reat on
A lberta Street on H allow een.
Bring a bag for safe treats and
jo in a costum e parade to visit
stores from 4 p .m . to 6 p. m . The
parade will end in costum e co n
test at 7 p.m held in the parking
lot at the Starry Rose Cafe. C os
tum e contest w inners will be
aw arded with gift certificates to
A lberta businesses
Obo Addy's drumming (above) has blossomed into a career in African music and dance.
Music and dance is life blood for west African native
by D avid P lf . chl
T he P ortland O bserver
O bo A ddy grew up in a sm all village
outside the coastal capital o f A ccra, G hana.
T he little country on the w est coast o f A frica
has long been a place o f feverish m usic and
dance, traditions held d ear w ithin A d d y 's
family.
His mother, he says, was a beautiful singer.
His father was called W onche, which roughly
translates to Father o f the Spirits.
“M y father was a m edicine m an," Addy
said. “He perform ed his spiritual cerem onies
w ith drum m ing. 1 w as raised around drum s,
th a t’s w here I cam e from .”
And that is how Addy learned - by w atch
ing, then trying the rhythm s him self. W ords
w ere largely irrelevant, the m essage and the
key w ere contained in the drum m ing
“W e d o n ’t like questions m uch,” Addy
said, “If you w atch properly, you don ’ t have
to ask questions.”
A ddy calls it w arrior music. It is high-
pow ered drum m ing. T he pow er o f A d d y 's
drum m ing lifts you. H is music goes beyond
the im m ediate. It gallops from the past into
the present and on into the future.
On the sm all “talking drum " A ddy’s fin
gers generate rolling sounds, like m urm ur
ing creeks, his fingers jum ping and tapping
like tiny dancers.
A d d y 's m usic carries from the sim ple to
the com plex. Som etim es it is im m easurably
fast, then slower. A lw ays there is a rhythm ,
the song takes tw ists and turns and stretches
on like a journey.
Addy loves to recount the songs o f G hana
w hich range from the satirical to the sad but
many o f the songs he plays now are his own
com positions.
W hen you listen to A d d y ’s m usic you
feel he is teaching you som ething. T he rapid
pace o f his drum m ing tem pers but never
fades.
“The w ord tired does not exist in the
drum m ing language,” A ddy said.
He plays a X ylophone type instrum ent
called a Jiri m ade o f aged w oods, leather, and
spider w ebs pasted over holes in gourds
that m ake the instrum ent sound "kazoo
like.”
The traditional sounds o f G hana have
carried A ddy and m em bers o f his fam ily all
o ver the w orld. In 1972, he w ent to London
to play. In 1973, he toured the United States
with his five brothers perform ing traditional
music and dance. He has spent years play
ing in Europe and he has toured A ustralia
continued
on page B3
School Finds Success in Reading
Volunteers work with teachers to raise reading test scores
P o rtlan d M ay o r V era K atz w as at C h ief
Jo se p h E le m en ta ry S ch o o l F rid ay to c e l
eb ra te the jo in t effo rts o f sch o o l p e rso n
nel and lite ra c y v o lu n te e rs w h o have
w o rk ed to sig n ific a n tly raise read in g te st
sc o re s at the no rth P o rtlan d sch o o l.
O v er th e past fo u r y ea rs. C h ie f Jo sep h
rea d in g te st sco res h av e im p ro v ed m ore
th an 15 p erc en t w ith alm o st 90 p erc en t o f
stu d e n ts now rea d in g at o r ab o v e grad e
level.
“T he tu to rs m ak e a trem en d o u s d iffe r
e n c e ,” said C h ie f Jo se p h P rin c ip a l K athy
Jaffe. “T h e ir p rese n ce say s to a ch ild that
so m eo n e ca res an d th a t rea d in g is really
im p o rta n t.” V o lu n te ers at C h ie f Jo sep h
spend one h o u r a w eek rea d in g w ith a
ch ild th ro u g h the S M A R T (S ta rt M aking
a R e ad e rT o d a y ) p ro g ram .
R esearch show s th a t c h ild re n are m ost
lik ely to rea ch th e ir p o te n tia l as rea d ers if
they h ave early e x p e rie n c e s w ith b o o k s in
safe, c o n siste n t, ca rin g su rro u n d in g s w ith
ad u lts. A study by th e E u g en e R esearch
In stitu te show s also th a t S M A R T s tu
d en ts c o n tin u e to do b e tte r in sch o o l for
y ears a fte r th e y 'v e fin ish e d w o rk in g w ith
a tu to r.
In ad d itio n to S M A R T , M u ltn o m ah
C o u n ty sc h o o ls also o ffe r v o lu n te e r o p
p o rtu n itie s th ro u g h the O A S IS tu to rin g
p rogram (for volu n teers aged 50+) an d the
M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty L ib ra ry ’s B ooks 2 U
program .
T h e e f f o r t to a ttr a c t lite r a c y v o lu n
te e rs is s p e a rh e a d e d by th e C o m m is
sio n on C h ild re n , F a m ilie s an d C o m m u
n ity o f M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty a n d th e
L e a d e r ’s R o u n d ta b le - a g ro u p o f to p
Firehouse
Roasts Roy Jay
Portland Mayor Vera Katz gets immersed in a reading assign
ment with Chief Joseph Elementary students Joey Cullen (left)
and Olivia Sinks. “Children reading well by 3fd grade sets the
stage for them to success in the rest o f their education and the
rest o f their lives," Katz said.
photo by M ark W ashington /T he
e x e c u tiv e s fro m p riv a te an d p u b lic o r
g a n iz a tio n s in c lu d in g B o e in g , P o rtla n d
G en eral E lectric, Flex C ar, L egacy H ealth
S y s te m s , th e C ity o f P o r tla n d an d
P ortland O bserver
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty .
T o learn ab o u t v o lu n te erin g , call the
C o m m issio n on C h ild re n , F am ilies and
Com m unity at 503-988-4383.
T he In tersta te F ire h o u se C u ltu ral
C e n te r fu n d ra is e r, “T h e F ire h o u se
R o asts R oy Ja y ,” w ill be held T uesday,
O ct. 29 from 7 p.m. to 10p.m . at 5340 N.
In terstate A ve.
Roy Jay is the executive director o f the
African American Cham ber o f Commerce
and this event celebrates this popular
entrepreneur's accom plishm ents and fea
tures compl imentary cham pagne, Oregon
w ines, coffee and great desserts.
C o rp o rate sp o n so rs fo r the b en efit
are Safew ay, A lbina C om m unity Bank,
B ullivant H o u ser and B ailey and Eli
L illy and Co.
Local dignitaries on the attendance
roster include Jim F rancesconi, Dan
Saltzman. IFCC FounderC harles Jordan,
Serena C ruz, JoA nn Bow m an. Susan
Hagm ier, A vel G ordley, V era Pool and
M aria Rojo DeSteffey.
The IFCC is a non-profit, com m unity-
based perform ing and visual arts center
in partnership with Portland Parks and
Recreation.
IF C C s mission is to create an environ
ment in w hich people o f every ethnic and
cultural background can com e together
as artists and audience to explore, pre
serve, and honor their diversity.
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