Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
February 25. 2004
Myths of Africa
M etro
Illustrations shared
during Black History
Month
Æl!C ^Iorttanì» (©bseruer
See Focus, page B3
Missy Elliot and
Christina Aguilera help
fight HIV and AIDS.
See Focus, page B2
SECTION
C
o m in u n i t y
a I e n d n r
Trees Need Friends
Friends o f Trees will plant trees
an d s h ru b s in th e H o u g h /
Rosm ere and V ancouver neigh­
borhoods on Saturday, M arch
6. If you want to be a help to your
com m unity and environm ent,
call 5 0 3 -2 8 4 -T R E E o r visit
w w w .friendsoftrees.org.
Health For Everyone
The 6th annual Health Fair featur­
ing “Health Issues that Affect
E veryone” is from 9:30 a m. to
2:45 p.m. Saturday, M arch 13 at
the A insw orth U nited C hurch o f
Christ, 2941 N.E. A insw orth
• United Church o f Christ. The
event is free, and lunch is pro­
vided. For more information, call
503-284-8767.
Government Contracting
A one-day conference for small,
m inority, d isad v an tag ed and
w om en-ow ned b u sinesses to
learn how to participate in fed­
eral g o v ern m e n t co n tra ctin g
p ro sp ec ts is held T h u rsd ay ,
M arch 1 8 fro m 7 :3 0 a .m .to 5 :3 0
p.m. at the D oubletree Hotel-
Jantzen Beach. The session is
sponsored by the U.S. Dept. o f
H ousing and Urban D evelop­
m e n t. R e g is te r o n lin e at
w w w .h u d .g o v /w ash in g to n or
by phone at 1-877-741-3281.
A Healing Song
S an k o faa H ealth Institu te o f­
fers a free d ia b ete s support
group from 6 to 7:30 p .m . every
th ir d T h u rs d a y a t A lb e r ta
Sim m ons Plaza, 6707 N E. MLK
Blvd. For m ore inform ation, call
503-285-2484.
What’s Fido Thinking?
Learn about w hat goes through
your pooch’s m ind at Canine
101 through the Oregon Humane
Society, 1067 N.E. Colum bia
B lv d .C lassesisat 11 a.m. Satur­
days, M arch 6 and 20. D ona­
tions are $ 10. F or m ore inform a-
• tion, call 503-285-7722.
Mood Enhancement
Learn about how food affects
m ood at N ew Seasons M arket,
5320N .E.33A ve.,ffom 5to7p.m .
Sunday, Feb. 29. For reserva­
tions, call 503-288-3838.
Daffodil Bouquet
Treat yourself or loved ones to a
beautiful daffodil bouquet and
help cancer research with a Port­
land State Cascade Campus Phi
Theta Kappa fundraiser through
the A m erican C ancer Society
Daffodil Days. All orders are due
by March 5. Flowers cost $ 12 with
a vase and $7 without. For more
information, call 503-295-6422or
e-mailjanne.ault@ ptk.org.
photo by M ark
A Victorious Start
by J aymee R, C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
Northeast charter
school finds success
MMMMMMMMMM
V ictory M iddle S chool’s inventive ap ­
proaches to learning seem to be paying off.
City eyes street
changes, more
housing
“T h e y ’re going to ch an g e the zoning
from R5 to R l , w hich w ill give us five
tim es the (h o u sin g ) d e n sity ,” she said.
“W e d o n ’t h av e en o u g h b u sin ess to fill
the sto refro n ts w e alre ad y h av e.”
B arry M anning, p ro ject m an ag er for
by L ee
P eri . man
T he P ortland O bserver
the gro w th p lan , said w h a t's p ro p o sed is
m odest in co m p ariso n to o th e rc ity n eig h ­
b o rh o o d s.
A p roposed plan fo r urban grow th
in the St. Jo h n s-L o m b ard n eig h ­
He said the m ix ed -u se d ev e lo p ­
b o rhoods o f north P o rtlan d goes
m ent on L om bard is prom oted but
before the public during a open
not required.
h o u se S a tu rd a y , Feb. 28,
A d v iso ry co m m ittee m em ­
from 10a.m. to 12:30p.m. at
b er Pat O p d y k e said traffic
the St. Jo hns C om m u n ity
circles in the St. Johns tow n
C en ter, 8427 N. C entral
c e n te r c o r e w e re p r o ­
St.
p o s e d f o r p e d e s tr ia n
T he plan has been
safety an d keeping the
approved by the P ort­
n e ig h b o rh o o d ’s
land P lanning C o m ­
u n iq u e ch aracter.
End Tobacco Dependence
m is s io n , b u t h a s
d ra w n o p p o s itio n
a lo t o f d if f e r e n t
from a com m ittee of
p eo p le to have a lot
lo c a l
o f different perspec­
K aiser P erm anente o ffe rs fit­
ness tips and w eight m a n ag e­
m ent by ea tin g fo r vitality,
h e a lth and p le a su re w ith a
tw elv e-serie s class on F re e ­
dom From D iets from 6:3 0 to
8 :3 0 p.m . T h u rsd ay s starting
M arch 4 thro u g h M ay 20.
continued
y^
on page H6
■MM
M M IM M M M M M M
End tobacco dependence per­
m anently in a six-series class
from 6:30 to 8 p.m. M ondays
from M arch 15 through April 12
at K aiser P erm anente’s North
Interstate S ervices B uilding,
7201 N. Interstate Ave. C ost is
$125. For more inform ation, call
503-286-6816.
Quit Your Diet
The ch arter school sponsored by the
O regon D epartm ent o f Education says it has
im proved learning, nipped behavioral prob­
lems in the bud and has plans to expand.
C urrently serving 102 sixth graders, with
a 15 to one student to teacher ratio, the
school plans to add a seventh grade in the
fall and w ants to add a high school in the
distant future. T he school operates out o f
the B lazer’s Boys and G irls C lub on Martin
L uther King Jr. Boulevard in northeast Port­
land.
School leaders say placing two teachers
in each classroom and planning acurriculum
a year in advance has im proved concentra­
tion and grades am ong students, but most
notable is the innovative disciplinary tactics
dream ed up by the school’s principal.
Students w ho m isbehave are not sent to
the principal’s office or even to detention.
Instead, they are assigned to the Learning
C enter, w hich operates as a regular class­
room , follow ing the sam e curriculum as the
m ainstream class, with one poignant differ­
ence: a behavioral specialist observes the
class and keeps kids on task.
“They behave better because they have
strong discipline and really focus,” said
Rich Blizzard, principal at Victory. “The Leam-
ing Center is one o f the highest achieving
classroom s in school."
W hile fighting and backtalk were a prob­
lem earlier in the year, according to Blizzard,
m ost o f the problem s have ceased.
"T hey’ve com e to trust teachers instead
o f solving their problem s them selves,” he
said.
O ne o f the advantages o f operating within
the B oy’s and G irl’sC lu b is latching on to its
rew ards system. V ictory’s best citizens be­
com e Victory Stars and earn Club Bucks,
good for pizza parties, dances and gam e
days.
V ictory’s diverse student body is co m ­
posed o f 80 percent African Americans, with
Caucasians and Latinos m aking up the re­
m aining 20 percent. According to Blizzard,
the racial m akeup has been a non-issue at his
school.
“ Race isn ’t really an issue. The issue is
really if kids develop the m indset to pick up
a book and contribute to their own learning.
W e’re making strong progress in that direc­
tion. Kids are taking their own learning seri­
ously,” he said.
V ictory’s approach to non-native English
speakers is unique, as well. Instead o f hav­
ing a separate instruction for Spanish-speak­
ing students, at Victory, an English as a
Second Language teacher is present in a
m ainstream classroom.
“All those students are m ainstream ed in
with the rest o f the students, giving them full
access to content as well as language sup­
port,” said Joshua Zeller, a class group in-
St. Johns Growth Plans Racism
NAACP Meetings
T he Portland Branch o f the
N A A C P will hold two m onthly
executive com m ittee m eetings,
one on the second Thursday o f
the month and the Thursday be­
fore the fourth Saturday o f the
m onth. G eneral m em bership
m eetings are held on the fourth
Saturday o f each month. For
more inform ation,call 503-284-
7722.
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Robert Boyer, a former mediator at the King Facility in northeast Portland, visits Victory Middle School at the Blazer Boys and
Girls Club to present Portland African-American history to a new generation. He told o f the struggles and triumphs o f local
African Americans past and present, including those who once lived in the lost city o f Vanport.
B
“T h e re ’s room for
re s id e n ts
h e a d e d by lo c a l
tiv e s ,”
rea lto r and activ ist
s a id .
S haron N asset.
m o st p eo p le s u p ­
A central focus
O pdyke
“ I b e lie v e
p o rt th is.”
has been a p ro ­
N eith er the St.
posal to install cu rb ex ten sio n s at se ­
Jo h n s B o o sters, the N orth Portland B usi­
lected locations on N orth L om bard S treet,
ness A sso ciatio n nor the St. Johns N eigh­
a m ove the o p p o sitio n g ro u p feels will
b o rhood A sso c iatio n s h av e taken p o si­
in terfere w ith traffic m ovem ent.
tions on the plan.
N asset also o b jects to the d e v e lo p ­
St. Johns chair Robin Plance said the
m ent o f three and fo u r story hou sin g
plan do esn ’t do enough to address truck
com plexes, claim ing they will interfere with
traffic through the neighborhtxxl. but she
ex istin g b u siness ren o v atio n and e x p a n ­
sion.
does support a redesign o f the “ivy island"
I
»
in the heart o f dow ntow n St. Johns.
Persists in
Housing
Market
Campaign combats
homeowner and
rental discrimination
by J aymee
R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
H ousing discrim ination still exists nation­
wide decades after a fair housing act was
enacted to correct the racial disparities, ac­
cording to new study by the U.S. Dept. o f
H ousing and Urban Developm ent.
C arolyn Peoples, H U D 's assistant secre­
tary for fair housing and equal opportunity,
addressed the issue in a visit to Portland.
D espite the Fair H ousing Act o f 1968,
people o f color seeking housing are being
turned aw ay o r preyed upon by unscrupu­
lous sellers making unfair and costly offers,
Peoples said.
N ationally it’s estim ated that 75 percent
o f w hites ow n hom es, com pared to 50 per­
cent o f African A m ericans and Hispanics.
T he Fair H ousing Act prohibits discrim i­
nation based on race, fam ily status, color,
religion, national origin, gender and disabil­
ity. HUD has em barked on a new cam paign
to inform the public o f those rights.
“W e learned that w hite sales are consis-
I
visits Portland to address discrimina­
tion in the housing market.
tently favored o ver m inorities in hom e sales
and rental housing,” Peoples said.
She said A H UD public service announce­
m ent called “A ccents," will condem n a b la­
tantly racist practice w here property ow ners
tell people o f color housing is no longer
available o ver there phone, after identifying
them as m inorities based on their accents
and speech patterns.
O ther attacks will be m ade against the
financial barriers preventing m inorities from
securing housing such as m oney for down
paym ent and closing costs and a lack of
know ledge about the hom e buying process.
In response, H U D is helping buyers with
dow n paym ent costs and providing coun­
sel ing a, hom e buying centers to walk people
through the process.
“W e bring in appraisers, real estate agents
and lenders to provide a person with some
know ledge, so w hen th e y 're ready to buy a
hom e, they w o n ’, be victim s o f predatory
continued
y^
on page R6