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Page A8
lune 04. 2003
lUMMONINC THE
SPHUTf OF AFRKd
Feedback
Wanted
on City
Priorities
Woodlawn students
Marcus Henry (left)
and Regina Hall
perform with
Kukatonon Children's
African Dance
Troupe at the Blaz­
ers playoff game
against the Maver­
icks on April 27. The
troupe will give a
spring fundraising
performance on
Friday, June 13 at 7
p.m. at the SEI
Auditorium, 3920 N.
Kirby Ave.
The A frican A m erican,
H ispanic and Philippine
A m e ric an C h a m b e r o f
C o m m e rc e o f O re g o n
would like to invite the pub-
lic to a discussion on m ak­
ing im p ro v em en tsto City
o f Portland public involve­
ment efforts.
The m eeting will take
place on T hursday, June
12 from 5:30 to 7 p.m . at
the King N eighborhood
Facility, Community Court
R o o m ,4 8 1 5 N .E . 7,hAve.
The C ityw ide Public In­
v o lv e m e n t S ta n d a r d s
Taskforce is sponsoring the
session.
For m ore inform ation
please contact Brian Hoop
at the City o f Portland, O f­
fice o f Neighborhood In­
volvem ent, 503-823-3075
or by email to Brian Hoop at
bhoop@ci.portland.or.us.
photos by J eff H inds
The Kukatonon Children’s African Dance
Troupe have been dancing to bring the spirit
o f Africa to Portland for more than 20 years and
will again dazzle audiences with their talents at
7 p.m. on Friday, June 13 with a Spring
Fundraising Performance at the SEI Audito­
rium.
W ith o u t any co rp o ra te sp o n so rsh ip
W oodlaw n second grade teacher Rolia
Manyongai, a Liberian immigrant, has dedi­
cated herself to involving the volunteer ef­
forts o f local African drummers and choreog­
raphers to orchestrate shows for the children
and spread the culture o f Africa to a wider
audience.
After an April 27 halftime performance by
Kukatonon at the Blazers' playoff game against
the M avericks, M anyongai’s 80-year-old
mother said she felt the spirits o f ancestors
must have been called by the African drum­
ming and dancing to inspire the players.
In order to raise funds to ensure the troupe
can continue to dance next year, the public is
invited to attend the performance at SEI. Tick­
ets ate $ 12.50 for adults and $6.50 for children.
To get tickets in advance or to make a contri­
bution, call Woodlawn School at 503-916-6282.
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We cordially extend an...
Although her
paper was
burned down,
nothing would
stop Ida B
Wells-Barnet
from promot­
ing the causes
o f African
Americans.
inttoxlhud&uf.
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I
Barnett lectured
throughout America and
Europe, speaking to
audiences in England.
Scotland and Wales.
Crowds were stunned when
they heard tales o f African
Americans being beaten,
burned, shot and lynched.
Philadelphia, a group o f white ar­
sonists set her newspaper building
on fire and left a message that i f she
returned to the south she would be
burned alive.
Knowing she could carry out her
campaign from anywhere in the
country, Ida’s next stop was New
York City. Here she became a col­
umnist and part ow ner o f the ‘New
York A ge.’
Barnett authored several books,
including ‘Southern Horrors: Lynch
Law in All Its Phases’ and ‘A Red-
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Though the guns o f the Civil
War were now silent, activist Ida B.
W ells-Barnet was anything but
quiet. He post-war efforts at equal­
ity for both women and blacks lead
her to become a journalist, social
worker, feminist and fiery orator.
Most noted for her late nine­
teenth century and early twentieth
century anti-lynching campaign,
Wells- Barnett first became an edu­
cator as a young woman. After
being kicked out o f a first-class
train car and told she had to sit in a
“Jim Crow” car, Ida switched ca­
reers and became a full-time civil
rights advocate.
In 1889 Barnett became editor
and part owner o f a black newspa­
per, the ‘Free Speech and Head­
light.’ Her continual “angry pro­
test editorials” brought her a name
as a fearless journalist.
Soon after Ida’s 13"'birthday. three
of her black friends were killed by a
Tennessee mob. Their only crime
was to have opened up a successful
grocery store in Memphis. The men
faced a cold-blooded murder on
March 9, 1892. This was a turning
point in Barnet’s life. Ida became a
one-woman army, fighting lynchings
from both the pulpit and the press.
However, her hot temper and
strong words became too much for
her opponents in Memphis. Be­
sides stirring up a lot o f anger from
the white community due to her
outspokenness on prejudice and
racism, Ida publ ished an article stat­
ing it was possible for a white man
to be attracted to a black woman.
Many o f her white opponents were
outraged.
Soon after this, while she was
attending an A frican-M ethodist
Episcopal Church Convention in
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For information and applications, please contact:
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2800 N Vancouver Ave . Suite 100 • Portland OR 97227 • Phone 503-413-1850
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Portland Area HIV Services Planning Council:
(503)988-3030,ext. 225.
4
Record: Tabulated Statistics, and
Alleged Causes o f lynchings in the
United States,’ which had fourprint-
ings between 1892 and 1895.
However, she will be most re­
membered for her anti-lynching
campaign and the fact that she
helped start the National Associa­
tion for the Advancement o f Col­
ored People(NAACP)in 1910. That
same year she founded the Negro
Fellowship League, which helped
young black men in need with lodg­
ing and job services
B arnett lectured throughout
America and Europe, speaking to
audiences in England, Scotland and
Wales. Crowds were stunned when
they heard tales o f African Ameri­
cans being beaten, burned, shot
and lynched.
By the mid-1890s after she had
returned from Europe, Barnett toured
the mid-western states, leaving no
stone unturned. Thanks to her, news
o f the horrible treatment towards
black people spread quickly through­
out the North and also to the western
territories o f the country. Spectators
were shocked with what they heard.
Many started their own anti-racist
and anti-lynching campaigns after
hearing her speak.
Just weeks prior to the summer
1919 Chicago riots, Ida published
an article warning the city o f pos­
sible unrest and how to prepare for
it. Had the town paid attention to
her, the situation may have not
been so bad in the end. However,
city officials ignored her and that
summ er saw one o f the bloodiest
riots in U.S. history.
After more than a 30-year exile
from the south, this flamboyant
activist, editor, publisher and ora­
tor returned in 1922 to investigate
the case o f the black farmers who
were indicted for murder in the Ar­
kansas Race Riot.
Although she died on March 25,
1931, the legacy o f Ida B. Wells-
Bamett still stands tall today. A hous­
ing project in Chicago has been
namedafterher. She wasalso named
one o f the twenty-five most out­
standing women in Chicago’s his­
tory, and thecity ofMemphis placed
ahistorical marker in her honorat the
place where the ‘Free Speech ’ news­
paper offices once stood.
Barnett’s death from uremia, a
kidney disease, may have ended
her physical presence here on this
earth, but fond memories o f all that
she did for her race will be her for
eternity.
Her autobiography was edited
and published posthumously by
her daughter Alfreda Duster.
Ron Webber is a retired electri­
cian and frequent writer and
speaker on African American his­
tory He is a regular contributor to
The Portland Observer.