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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2004)
Committed to Cultural Diversity www.portlandobserver.com ®*’c February II. 2004 (Dbsm ier SECTION H H K fli Trees Need Friends Friends o f Trees will plant trees an d s h ru b s in th e B o is e / H um boldt/ K ing/ Sabin/ Vernon neighborhood on Feb. 21 and the H ough/Rosm ere and V ancouver neighborhood on M arch 6. If you w ant to be a help to your com m u nity and environm ent, call 503 2 8 4 -T R E E or v is w w w .friendsoftrees.org. Story Telling For African- American Readers T oni M o rriso n 's “ W h o ’s G ot G am e? T he Lion o r the M ouse? w ill be read at 11 a.m . Feb. 17 at B arnes and N oble. 1317 L loyd C enter. African Film Festival Fam ily Film Day at the Kennedy School presents “ N ightjohn" at 11:30 a.m. and2:30p.m . Saturday Feb. 21.5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. Group Support Providence H ealth System s pre sents "M anaging a Chronic or Life-Threatening Illness” at afree com m unity forum from 7 to 8 p.m M onday Feb. 16 at Providence St Vincent Medical C enter's Souther A uditorium , 9205 SW Barnes Road. End Tobacco Dependence End to b a cc o d ep e n d en c e per m anently in a six -se rie s class from 6 :3 0 to 8 p.m . M ondays from M arch 15 through A pril 12 at K aiser P e rm a n e n te ’s N orth In te rsta te S e rv ic e s B u ild in g 7201 N. In terstate A ve. C ost is $ 125. F or m ore inform ation, call 503-286-6816. Quit Your Diet K aiser Perm anente offers fitness tips and w eight m anagem ent by eating for vitality, health and plea sure with a tw elve-series class on Freedom From Diets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m . T h u rsd ay s starting M arch 4 through M ay 20. Laughing Through It A P ortlan d Jam N ight plans to h e a l th e c o m m u n i t y ’ s ills thro u g h lau g h ter at the W ave T h ea tre in N orth P ortland. T he live m usic and sketch im prov C om ed y is at 9 p.m . F ridays T ic k ets are $7 for ad u lts and $4 fo r kids. F or m ore inform ation c a ll 5 0 3 - 7 3 5 - 4 1 8 4 o r v is it w w w .jam -night.com . Unlocking African-American History Specialists help local residents trace their roots by J aymee R. C uti T he P ortland O bserver Everyone has their ow n reasons for researching their roots, accord ing to genealogical specialists. For some, their history provides the m issing pieces to a fam ily m ys tery, passed on through hazy oral history. For others, the reason is pragm atic, identifying a pattern o f diseases or deaths within the blood line. For African A m ericans, there’s an added challenge. “Until after the Civil W ar, many A frican A m ericans d id n ’t have su rn am es and rec o rd s w e re n ’t kept,” said C onnie Lenzen, a certi fied genealogist and m em ber o f the Genealogical Forum o f Oregon. African Americas freed from sla very after the Civil W ar som etim es changed nam es more than once before settling on one nam e, fur ther com plicating the puzzle. The G enealogical Forum is cel ebrating Black History M onth by offering a free open house with several speakers to highlight the different avenues and challenges o f African A m erican genealogical research. The event will be held W ednes day, Feb. 18 at the group’s library at 1505 S.E. G ideon St., The G enealogical Forum also regularly holds classes and has an extensive library o f city directories and state records to help research ers. “Anytime you have a silent story, it nags at people,” said Lenzen. “The Genealogical Forum provides the tools to find the hidden stories in their fam ilies.” W illa Brooks plans to speak at the open house. Her search led her to 1870s Kentucky and Sierra Leone. photo by Brooks began her search more than a year ago. At 77, she found challenges filling in gaps o f infor m ation because m any o f her rela tives have died, w ho could have provided details to help her re search. “I can go back to records in K entucky, but beyond that it was alw ays sort o f a cloud,” she said. A fter scouring census logs in K entucky, Brooks enlisted the help o f m odem technology. She w orked with a W ashington, D.C. organization called African A ncestry (africa n an cestry .co m ). After swabbing her cheek for a DN A sam ple and w aiting for several months, Brooks discovered she is related to people from the M ende tribe o f Sierra Leone, and also has ancestors from Spain and Ireland. “It was a very emotional moment when I got the inform ation back. because y o u ’re ju st out there as an well. African A m erican and you d o n ’t “T h e sto rie s are a tre a su re have any sen se o f w here you tro v e for h isto ria n s a h undred started," she said. “T h ere’s a big years from now , e sp ec ially for gap between K entucky and Sierra A frican A m erican s. T his is the Leone, and I'm going to continue last ch ance to get the stories dow n tracing that.” from peo p le w ho su rv iv ed the According to Lenzen, some write civil w ar,” she said. books or reports on their research For more inform ation on the G e to pass along to the next genera nealogical F o ru m ’s schedule o f tion. But an individual’s findings classes, visit w w w .gfo.org o r call appeal to a broader audience, as 503-963-1932. Gospel Extravaganza Planned F « SALE LOFTS u>w nt PARVtUt, tc I-FHf.STlt- Htrt w A iee. SOLAR PAHiCS PEUTAL ATARI HER'TAfct. TRIE Two events support PCC scholarships C i,K U e t stuM '<*> T>7 M A X' Volunteer Training Train to be a Providence Hospice volunteer to help those facing term inal illness, from 9:30a.m . to noon T uesdays and Thursdays through March. 2. T he series costs $250. T o register, call 503-574- 9498. M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Genealogist Connie Lenzen (right) and sisters Willa Brooks and Dorothy Turner, research an Oregon Census record from 1850. T tFL U S 7 7 / UAWD'jCAPIt-K-« OVFC PARtQUto Control Rage L earn to co n tro l y o u r an g e r in p o s i t i v e w a y s in K a is e r P erm an e n te’s D ealing w ith A n g er class from 6 :3 0 to 8 :30 p.m . W edn esd ay s th ro u g h M arch 24 at K aiser P e rm a n e n te ’s T ow n H all, 3704 N. In terstate A ve C ost is $140. T o reg ister, call 503-286-6816. TO VFPCR LEVEL FARXlUfe 4M MORAL w all C- s ip e w A L ic Celebrate this Month C elebrate Black History Month at Mt. Scott C om m unity C enter's Family Night, from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb 20. Portland Parks and Recreation recognizes Black H istory Month with m odem , rap and traditional m usic, dance, stories and crafts. Cost is $1.50. 5530 S.E. 72 Ave. For m ore inform ation, call 503- 8234870. Uptown Readers Barnes and N oble hosts a reading o f “Black Renaissance Harlem: U ptow n"at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1317 Lloyd Center. An artist's drawing shows the proposed “Killingsworth Station, " a housing and commercial venture planned on the northeast corner o f the new Max light rail station on North Killingworth and Interstate Avenue. ‘Killingsworth Station’ Eyed for Intersection Block could hold 106 new housing units, businesses A com m ittee o f neighbors, governm ent officials and other com m unity representa tives has recom m ended that a city block at the intersection o f North Interstate Avenue and Killingsworth Street be developed into "K illingsw orth Station,” with 106 units of new housing and ground floor businesses. Tuesday, the Portland Development C om m issio n a n n o u n c e d th a t the te am o f KemperCo, LLC, Innovative Housing, Inc., and Peninsula C om m unity D evelopm ent Corp., has been chosen to develop the co m plex. on the northeast co m er o f the future Killingsw orth Max light-rail station. “W e picked the proposal that we thought represented the shape and future o f where we w ould like to see the Interstate C orridor go," notes W alter Valenta, selection co m mittee m e m b eran d co -ch airo f the Interstate CorridorU rban Renewal Advisory C om m it tee. The Killingsw orth Station project will be the first m ajor PDC-sponsored developm ent at an Interstate MAX light rail station and is intended to serve as a model for other tran sit-supportive developm ents along Inter state. Interstate MAX is scheduled to open continued on page H2 A Gospel Extravaganza will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 at the V ancouver A venue Baptist Church, 3138 N. Vancouver Ave. “Why are we here?” is the theme of the 20,h annual event, co-spon sored by Portland Community Col lege with performances from the St. Luke Lutheran Church Choir, Young People of Zion, the Visualize Mime team and many other groups. The extravaganza is free with a souvenir book available in exchange for donations. In addition, a special banquet to celebrate the gospel celebration an niversary is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Terrace Room at the University of Portland Commons. 5000N. Willamette BI vd. Vanessa Gaston, director of the Ur ban League of Portland, will be the guest speaker. There will be live music. The banquet ticket price is $25 or $250 for a table that seats 10. The dinner is at 7 p.m. Proceeds collected from the ban quet and Gospel Extravaganza will help support the PCC Foundation scholarship fund. For more informa tion, call 503-943-2244.
