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Black History Month
See page A8 for details
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‘City of Roses’
te r
Established in 1970
Volume XXXIII • Number 8
m . portlandobserver.com
to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • February 25.2004
’Week in
1 heReview
Call for Gay Marriage Ban
Jumping into a volatile election-
year debate on same-sex wed
dings, President Bush on Tues
day backed a c o n stitu tio n a l
amendment banning gay marriage,
a move he said was needed to stop
•judges from changing the defini
tion of the “most enduring human
institution.” Sen. John Kerry,
Bush's likely Democratic oppo
nent, issued a statement saying
that Bush was injecting into na
tional debate a "wedge issue to
divide the American people and
draw attention away from issues
such as job losses and foreign
policy.
X-
Haiti Pleads for Help
With rebels threatening to assault
the capital, Haiti President Jean-
Bertrand Aristide on Tuesday
confirmed another city had been
attacked and sought international
help to bolster his government,
saying that thousands might oth
erwise be killed or become boat
people fleeing to the United States.
Tapes Taunt Bush
Two audiotapes believed to be
from al-Qaida’s second-in-com
mand - one taunting President
Bush and the other assailing
France’s decision to ban Muslim
headscarves in public schools
were broadcast on Arabic televi
sion networks on Tuesday. One
o f the tapes said the terror net
work is “still in the holy war battle
ground” and vowed to carry out
more terrorist attacks against the
United States.
CIA Sees Growing Threat
CIA Director George Tenet said
Yuesday that the al-Qaida terror
group is seriously damaged but
has spread its radical anti-Ameri
can agenda to other Islamic ex
tremist groups that now pose the
greatest threat to the U nited
States. “The steady growth of
Osama bin Laden’s anti-U.S. sen
timent through the wider Sunni
(Islamic)extremist movement, and
the broad dissem ination o f al
Qaida’s destructive expertise, en
sure that a serious threat will re
main for the foreseeable future,”
Tenet said.
Executions on TV Supported
Tw o-thirds o f Am ericans polled
last month said they support the
idea o f televising executions -
and 21 percent said they’d pay
to watch Osama bin Laden put
to death. Eleven percent said
they would pay to see Saddam
Hussein executed. The national
telephone poll of more than 1,000
people aged 18 or older was done
forT rio cab le network by Harris
Interactive.
Í '
I
Portland hip-hop and rap artists M ackin■ Rob. also known as Rob Sacóte (from left): Tommy Gum. aka Tommy Mitchell: and MacTay. aka Dontay Antoine-are the
vocals behind Young F.A.M.E. and the group's debut album “ The Movement."
S ta r
by J aymee
Quality
R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
Portland’s urban black music scene needs
help, according to a young rapper, musician
and owner of his own record label.
The city is not without talent, says Brian
Mason Jr., but local performers suffer from a
lack of unity and have difficulty finding
breakout success.
Mason is trying to combat that by work
ing with hip-hop and rap artists in what he
calls “the movement" and -yting them up
with professional quality recordings and
marketing.
“We have good talent and we want to
add rappers with the concept that multiple
rappers can have a group and a solo career
and support the movement to break out of
Local hip-hop group
paving the way
this local rap scene," he says.
Mason is also his own client.
As B Maja, he performs for Pound 4
Pound records and works behind the scenes
with Young F.A.M.E., one of the most an
ticipated groups to emerge from the local
music scene. Mason functions as the
group’s engineer and promoter.
He gets help from Young F.A.M.E.’s
vocal talents, including Dontay Antoine
(MacTay), Tommy Mitchell (Tommy Gunz)
and Rob Bacote (Mackin' Rob).
Antoine works at Geneva’s Shear Perfec
tion Barber and Beauty Salon just north of
Killingsworth Street on Northeast Martin
Luther King Boulevard where he hands out
continued
yf
on page B3
BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECIAL
When Faith and
Politics Intertwine
Drawing from
Black Panther
experience
by S ean P .
N elson ,
T HE PoR T I.A N D O BSERVER
The often controversial Black Pan
ther Party was part of a major move
ment for equality for African Ameri
cans during the civil rights era. While
its legacy persists, many of its stories
are lost and misconstrued by modem
analysts.
From northeast Portland’s Allen
Temple Christian Methodist Episco
pal Church, Senior Pastor Dr. Rev.
Leroy Haynes sets the party’s record
straight and discusses his connection
to the social movement during a time
when African Americans made leaps
and bounds toward equal rights.
Haynes preaches to his congrega
tion of 600 drawing from his experi
ence as a Black Panther in Texas in the
1960s.
It also advocated for poor minorities
against an establishment too intent on
maintaining the pri vilegesof affluent white
businessmen and professionals at the ex
pense of African Americans.
In 1969, an attempt to merge the organi-
zation with the Student Nonviolent Coordi-
n ating C o m m itte e led to S to c k e ly
Carmichael being appointed as the prime
minister of the Black Panther Party in Los
Angeles. An effort was then made to create
a chapter of the Black Panther Party to
Texas. It was to be located in Dallas.
“The Black Panther Party was the
vanguard of the African-American
revolution in America during this par
ticular stage. It was the epitome of the
rights and dignity struggle of Afri
can Americans," Haynes said.
Although the party is known for
wanting tochange police procedures,
most of its work involved survival
programs for African Americans,
many of which still exist today. These
included free breakfast programs at
local schools, free health clinics, di
rect deposit programs for elderly Af
rican Americans' Social Security and
Sickle Cell Anemia programs, and
Liberation Schools which taught
African-American history.
Because of these programs, the
Black Panther Party grew rapidly.
Haynes participated efforts to
advance the party in Texas, where
chapters were formed in Dallas, Hous
ton, San Antonio, Beaumont and
Tyler. He served as a co-chair of the
Black Panther Party in Texas after
being a co-organizer of a local Texas
chapter.
He believes African Americans to
day need a spiritual compass to ac
complish change in America.
The B lack Panther Party was started
in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey
Newton in Oakland, Calif. It advo
cated a defensive posture by African
Americans against the racist, corrupt
tactics of the Oakland Police Depart
photo by C harles C. K ing /F or T iie P orti and O rse «VER
ment. Later, the party was active in Los
Dr. Rev. Leroy Haynes o f northeast Portland's
Angeles and elsewhere in the coun Allen Temple Church preaches form his expert
try.
ences as a Black Panther during the 1960s.
Today's idea of community polic
ing is a legacy of the Black Panther
continued
on page A2
Louis Farrakhan
F arrak h an
to S peak
V ia W orld
B ro a d c a st
The Honorable Louis Farrakhan will
address the nation via satellite in a live
broadcast to air in Portland and over 113
cities across America, Europe, Africa, the
Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and
South America.
The event takes place on Sunday, Feb.
29 at 10 a.m. as Minister Farrakhan delivers
the keynote address at the University of
Illinois-Chicago Pavilion.
He will speak on reparations, but he will
also cover subjects on the Nation of Islam
and Michael Jackson, the war in Iraq, the
upcoming 2004 presidential elections and
other vital issues confronting our commu
nity.
The broadcast will be aired locally via a
big screen at Self Enhancement, Inc , 3920
N. Kerby Ave. A $10 donation will be
accepted with doors opening at 9 a.m. For
more information about the SEIevent,call
503-331-9829.
For further information on where you
can view the live satellite broadcast call
toll free at 866-602-1230, extension 200or
email fcnprod@aol.com.