Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2004)
w Black H istory Month p a r tía I jjB F 3ÄTV ‘City of Roses’ Established In 1970 Exit Rasheed, Enter Shareef ^,ve Player swaP sends Blazer fo r\ i rd pa ck i i1 g fo r high I y - regarded Shareef Abdur-Rahim. See Sports, Page B6 b& £V\J£V www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIII • Number 6 Wednesday • February II, 2004 „ Week ¡n TheReview / think my sons better than me. H e’s just as fast, he hits pretty good and h e ’s got a little bit more knowledge at his age. Bush AWOL Charge Disputed Younger Lampkin Claims the Ring The White House, facing election- year questions about President Bush’s military service, released pay records and other information T uesday th a t it said sup p o rts Bush’s assertion that he fulfilled his duty as a member o f the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. Guard units were rarely called up to active duty in the Vietnam W ar era and the Reserves and the Guard acquired reputations as draft havens for relatively affluent young white men. CIA Downplays Iraq Threat In his first public defense o f pre w ar intelligence, CIA D irector G eorge T enet said that U S. ana lysts had never claim ed Iraq was an im m inent threat, the main argu m ent used by President Bush for going to war. T enet said analysts had varying opinions on the state o f Iraq’s chem ical, biological and nuclear w eapons program s and those differences were given to the W hite House. Search for Mad Cows Ends The A griculture D epartm ent said it is ending its search for addi tional cases o f mad cow disease even though officials have not found all the anim als they sought after the n ation’s first case turned up in D ecem ber r Death Penalty Fairness Attacked California now has 638 inm ates on death row, som e o f them for more than one murder. But som e o f the state’s counties have condem ned m any more inm ates than others o f sim ilar size, according to an A sso ciated Press review o f Corrections D epartm ent data. The disparities are so pronounced that legal ex perts say capital punishm ent is being unfairly applied in C alifor nia. Protesters’ Records Subpoenaed In w hat may be the first subpoena o f its kind in decades, a federal judge has ordered a university to turn over records about a gather ing o f anti-w ar activists. In addi tion to the subpoena o f D rake U n iv e r s ity , s u b p o e n a s w ere served this past w eek on four o f the activists w ho attended a Nov. 15 forum at the school, ordering them to appear before a grand jury. - Ray Lampkin, former No. 1 lightweight contender Legend’s son competes for the Olympics, going pro by J aymee R. Cirri T he P ortland O bserver T here’s a new L am pkin in the ring, and he’s picking up w here his fam ous dad, "L ightning Ray,” left off. Ray Lam pkin III had his first boxing m atch only tw o years ago, when he w as 18. Today he has aspirations o f turning pro and quali fying for the O lym pic boxing team on Feb. 16 through 21 in Tunica, M iss. Lam pkin played basketball, foot ball and baseball for Roosevelt High School in north Portland. He said he turned to boxing because he was out o f sports to play. “I ju st w alked into the gym one day and started w inning fights," he said. “Relentless Ray,” as his nickname ^ su g g ests, c o n s id e rs h im s e lf a "scrappy” fighter. W ith the help of his dad’s coaching, h e’s moved into position as the second-ranked feath erweight fighter in the country. “ I think my so n ’s better than me. H e’s ju st as fast, he hits pretty good and h e’s got a little bit m ore know ledge at his age,” said the form er No. 1 lightweight contender. photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver “I’m teaching him w hat I know and Featherweight Ray Lampkin III, a graduate o f Roosevelt High School in north Portland, has eyes on that m akes a big difference.” a professional boxing career ju s t like his dad, Portland boxing legend “Lightning Ray“ Lampkin. The senior Lam pkin started box- ing in 1957, won his first tourna ment in 1958 and m issed O lym pic tryouts to attend his father’s fu neral. Instead, he turned pro and becam e a boxing legend when he narrowly lost the world lightweight cham pionship in a fight lasting 14 rounds against Roberto Duran in Panam aC ity in 1975. Now his nam esake is after that same kind o f achievem ent. “W e’ve got the same name so it ’ s going to be nard to get out o f his shadow but I w ant to win a world title,” said the younger Lam pkin. “He cam e close.” The elder Lam pkin has opened doors for his son and other A fri can-A m erican athletes in the state and the sport. He earned the d is tinction o f being the first African- American from Oregon to complete for the world title and first African A m erican boxer to be inducted into the Oregon Hall o f Fame. Lam pkin III plans to turn pro after he goes to the upcom ing sum m er Olym pics in A thens, Greece. “ I ju st want to be a cham pion,” he said. His self-assurance is not w ith out merit W ith bronze and silver m etals for various tournam ents and a 29-5 record studding his resum e, he said his inexperience is the only thing that can hold him back from the Olym pics. “I’ve been fighting guys who have been fighting since th ey 'v e been in their teens,” the young Lam pkin said. “ I’m still learning on the go.” continued on page B6 Activists Make Call to Mothers SO Die In Baghdad Truck Bombing A truck packed with an estim ated 500 pounds o f explosives blew up T uesday m orning at a police sta tion south o f Baghdad as dozens o f w ould-be recruits lined up to apply for jobs. A hospital official said at least 50 people were killed and 50 others w ounded. photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Sfate Sen. Margaret Carter, D-Portland, and John Canda, executive director o f the Northeast Coalition o f Neighborhoods, ask the public for help after gunfire sprays northeast Portland neighborhoods. M others were am ong com m unity m em bers getting special m ention in acall to help stop local gun violence. State Sen. M argaret C arter and other activists addressed a group o f residents at Northeast 18'h A venue and Junior Street on T hursday, the location w here 14-year-old Tyniece M cCorvey w as shot in the back of the head on Feb. I . T he African-A m erican leaders called on the com m unity to stop the Businesses, city also enlisted in curbing violence by J aymee R. C u t i T he P orti . and O bserver i violence plaguing inner city n eighbor hoods. “I want to issue a call for all m others to know where your children are, to have greater expectations for your children and encourage them in school," said Carter. “ Yes, this is black-on-black crim e, but we need your help and the help o f all people o f this com m unity.” The lawm aker, educator and longtim e com m unity leader also called on the busi ness com m unity to create jo b s for young people and the city to help support after school program s to keep young people o ff the streets. She asked churches to be a safe place for youth to hand over guns. The pleas cam e during a press conference called by the Northeast C oalition o f N eigh borhoods, after a bloody w eekend o f five separate shooting incidents leaving three dead and M cCorvey hospitalized. A 16-year-old suspect w as arrested Fri day in M cC orvey’s shooting, charged with attem pted murder, first-degree assault and unlaw ful p o ssession o f a w eapon. Eric M andley, w ho is being held in the county juvenile detention center, told police the bullet was not intended for M cCorvey. M andley is the only suspect arrested in co n n ectio n to any o f the five separate sh o o tin g s. Bradford H olm an, a m em ber o f the C oali tion o f Black M en. am plified the feelings o f m any at T hursday's forum. He referred to a perceived m istrust o f the police departm ent that prevents w itnesses o f crim e from co m ing forward. “I want to talk ;ous black people. There isacall for information nght now, but fear is holding us back," Holman said. “On theeveofBlack History Month, wecallouttothedominant community to assist as and stand for trust.” Capt. D orothy Elm ore said her role for building trust with young people is tw ofold, as the captain o f the School Police D ivision and as an A frican-A m erican mother. “ My roles intersect as a m entor, in and out o f uniform ," said Elm ore. She and her colleagues at the Portland Police D epartm ent are participating io the D ialogue C ircles program , going to schools to dispel m isconceptions about police. “W e 're taking o ff our guns, taking o fto u r ; continued on page,
