Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2004)
Page A6 Jarliani* föbsern er Civil Rights Experience Stories Wanted March 17,2004 Hewlett-Packard Honored for Racial Justice VAf AARP and the L eadership Conference on Civil Rights are unveiling a year-long project to build the w orld's largest archive o f first-hand accounts o f the civil rights struggle in America, sup ported by an array o f media ven tu re s , e x h ib its an d s p e c ia l events. "Americans have stories and we want to hear them, to collect them and to archive them at the team members o f Vancouver are honored with the Val Joshua Racial Justice Library of Congress. For unless we remember, neither we, nor fu ture generations can understand," said AARPCEO Bill Novelli. The project will go beyond collecting stories o f the Free dom Rides, lunch counter sit- ins, and the 1963 March on W ash ington to include the memories o f those who worked— and co n tinue to work— to stamp out discrim ination against women, people with disabilities, Hispan ics, and others. Throughout the year. Voices (A P)— The 50th anniversary of o f Civil Rights will collect and the Supreme C ourt’s landmark preserve thousands of poignant Brown v. Board of Education de memories o f people who wit segregation decision, has gener nessed or took part in the civil ated an outpouring of enthusiasm rights struggle. Much o f the and a flood of events by schools, p ro ject w ill be an online libraries and other organizations. w w w .voicesofcivilrights.org. "It's a more emotional issue. The A book titled “My Soul Looks mood is more personal,” said Sylvia Back in W onder: Voices o f the Cyrus-Albritton, interim executive Civil Rights Experience” will be director of the Association for the published in May to correspond Study of African American Life and with the 5O‘h anniversary o f the History. Sylvia Cyrus-Albritton, in te rim d ire c to ^ fth e A s s o c ia tio n fo ^h e Supreme C ourt’s Brown v. Board On May 17, 1954, the Supreme o f Education ruling, which de Court ruled unanimously that sepa study o f African American Life and History, speaks at a sym po c la re d “se p a ra te but e q u a l’ rating black and white children in sium on black history at Howard University. schools to be unconstitutional public schools was unconstitu- inherently unequal.” A m e ric a n a p a r th e id ,” sa id A dditional stories, features, tional. Segregating students solely The ru lin g o v e rtu rn e d the Theodore Shaw, associate direc interview s, and essays will ap on the basis of their race denied court’s 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson tor-counsel o f the NAACP Legal pear in a special edition of A ARP black c h ild re n the 14th decision, which concluded there D efense and Educational Fund, “The M agazine," followed by Amendment’s guarantee of equal , was nothing u n c o n stitu tio n a l •nc. .... It was a case that finally coverage throughout the year in protection under the law, it said. about a Louisiana law that re breathed life into the 14th Amend- all AARP publications and radio In the field of public education, quired separate but equal rail men, for African A m ericans.” program s as well as on the Lead the doctrine of ' separate but equal’ road cars for black and white pas Brown gave the c.v.l rights ership Conference W eb site at has no place,” the court ruled. sengers. movement a great boost,” agreed www.civilrights.org. Separate educational facilities are “Brow n broke the back o f historian John Hope Franklin, Congratulations are going out from the YWCA o f Clark County to Hewlett-Packard, Vancouver for their leadership in advocating for racial justice. The company and its employees were recently awarded the Val Joshua Racial Justice Award by demonstrating leadership in work ing to eliminate racism, significant involvement in the struggle for peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all people and demonstrating the commitment to self-determined social change for all people. The company has a strong com mitment to this work through many diversity and inclusion activities at its Vancouver site, including imple menting adiversity leadership coun cil, adopting diversity curriculum, employing and recruiting diverse interns and holding a diversity and inclusion speaker’s series. Victory for Equality Celebrated 50 Years Later Brown v. Board of Education struck down segregation Who helped develop the legal brief lawed in public parks, recreation that led to the Brown decision. “It areas, interstate and intrastate ecame an arm or in their fight to equalize opportunity — no, only education, bu, in other areas, too.” A year and a half later, a tired, black seam stress named Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat to a white passenger, launching the yearlong M ontgom ery bus boy- cotts. The campaign ended after a Supreme Court decision de- com m erce facilities, libraries, courtroom s, hotels, restaurants and other public places Some caution the anniversary events should be infused with a careful exam ination o f race rela- tions today. Schools across the nation are becom ing more segre- gated for black and H ispanic stu- dents, a recent report by H arvard f Brown broke the back o f American apartheid. It was a case that finally breathed life into the 14th Amendment fo r African Americans. - Theodore Shaw, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund d a re d the city ’s segregated seat ing unconstitutional. It was a sign of how Brown energized both activists and the courts. O ver the next 12 years, the Supreme Court “handed down decision after decision that fol | 0Wed the p a th B row n had opened,” Richard Kluger writes in “Simple Justice," a book about the decision, Segregation was finally out- X U niversity’s Civil Rights Project found. “W e’re at a really serious risk o f losing what w e’re celebrating,” said Gary O rfield, co-director o f the project. “W e’re trying to in je c t into this a sense o f both the am azin g ac c o m p lish m e n ts o f Brown and the Civil Rights Act and the fact that w e ’ve been pretty much going backw ards now ever since the early 1990s.” After Hours Emergency Numbers in Multnomah County (o u n tr ie s o f A fr ic a City ot Portland/M ultnom ah County Information and Referral........ ........5 0 3 -8 2 3 -4 0 0 0 Police Non Em ergency........................ ....... 5 0 3 -823-3333 M ental Health 24 H our C risis...... ....... 5 0 3 -988-4888 A ging and D isability Services 24 H our Help L ine.......................................503-9 8 8 -3 6 4 6 ment workers, the general population received little in exchange for being ruled by the French and protested bitterly. As France demanded their colonies to be self- ............................5 0 3 -7 2 1 -1 5 0 0 supporting, much of the burden was put on the lower class with harsh working condition, low nay and ^ Z w a s c o m m o m A ,7 m ............................503-2 4 4 -1 3 1 2 « h France. Like so many other African countries hound poverty Cored' L oire i, selling offm uch it, tand and business opponent,ie, were sold to out , ider, make ,h|( ° A lcohol and D rug Help L in e.................... Statew ide Toll F ree........................ ...................... 1-8OO-923-HELP land and hustness opponunities to foreign nation,, wealthy white Euntpean planter, heneli ed M ghl, Tht, has created the extremely rich and the extremely fmm this arrangement. M ine, lumber bu, X Z m Z ^ A T Z — » « Z -re e s o fe x p o ria Z Z Z ...............503-988-7387 (Pets) t much Afnctt. Long term leaders have provided eftted.T htscreateda very ehtesocrely o fth e n c h in « k e d om d S' abll" y “nd “ democratic soctety However, a , we enter gf™ “ “* oommon < * « • fueling hatted and jealousy o f those who had money U nited W ay................................... ...........................503-228-9131 C entral C ity C o n cern .................................. .......................... 503-294-1681 M ultnom ah County Circuit C ourts................... X 7, ™ y “ AfK' ■Rssar’ Louis ..........................5 0 3 -988-3957 countries worldwide. ..........................5 0 3 -9 8 8 -4 3 0 0 this nation, bordered by, .........................503-988-4233 Burkina, Faso, Ghana and .........................5 0 3 -988-4884 sic a lly Recorded history of S h eriff’s O ffice........................................ Kiffa •Kaolack iB IA a ^ to * Tan .Kayos unite the Atlantic Ocean is ba Transportation H otline............................. 5 0 3 -6 18-CITY (618-2489) n o n -e x iste n t. guinea Kankßfi Conakry Reetown* Searching for gold and cola nuts, various tribes Monrovia O " * G, SW1’’ Moot) SENEC Liberia, Guinea. Mali, M ultnom ah C ounty Em ergency M anagem ent. C ity o f G resham ................. R on W eber /T hf . P ortland O bserver Although this northwestern African nation once fought bitterly again,, French Colonialism, the land Z Z Uk " r Z S “ 6‘ r W inter Shelter L ine............................... Anim al S ervices................................ by • ■ Samak, _ , • — - - - - outlawed. Communism was also strongly rejected. Po litical struggles continued RKIn throughout much o f the FASO ^ O u a g a 1900s. However, by the early Dioulasso1 to mid 1970s, Cote d ’ Ivoire was seeing economic suc • Kdl CÔTE D'IVOIRE O cess, causing many rural tribes people to come to the LIE city for stable wages. The during the I6,h century. economy had finally turned M ultnom ah County After Hours N urse Triage (Bilingual-Spanishl...........5 0 3 -988-3333 Dense forests through OK* Juvenile Justice A fter H ours L ine............... out much of the Ivory Ift — Coast provided on easy in around, causing a positive feelings regarding French Health Departm ent Information & Referral (Daytim e O nly)......................5 0 3 -9 8 8 -3 8 16 ................................. 503-988-3475 Adult C om m unity Justice A fter Hours line Child A buse R eporting L ine......................... A m erican Red C ro ss................................... .................................5 0 3 -9 8 8 -3 2 3 0 ................................ 5 0 3 -7 3 1 -3 1 0 0 ................................ 503-2 8 4 -1 2 3 4 D om estic Violence Services: W om en’s C risis L J n e (translationavailable) 503-235-5333 B radley-A ngle H ouse........................................ Volunteers o f A m erica.................................. Salvation Arm y West W omen & Children Shelter. ventured into the area Cote d ’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast) centives for different tribes to isolate themselves from dictable worldwide reces sion soon caused extremely high unemployment one another, thus adding to the problem of one good » .I d historical record of the area and its peo p le. rates and the country was struggling once again. Although improveme„K „ . A sm many ptaeesaem ss the globe.,he P „ „ „ g „ e ,e ca, and economic stmemre are „1,1 needed ,he For h I 7 Z ' " 8 h e r e ,h e ' “ C" “n" Y i! b“ k '» For hundreds of years they would struggle with Great in the 1970s < * »»Willy once 'seen Today, the Republic o f Cote d ' Ivoire has around Z a b le Z T • andv U C , O W 3 S ,Cnned “inh° S' pitable comhtton, (rocky coast line, steep cliffs, thick 20 mil,i° n inhabitantS and » sti" ^ ¡ n g forward in a positive direction. Human nghts o r e a n Z o n s Zd fL zz±xzza w as “ ................................ 503-2 3 2 -6 5 6 2 e x t Z i 7 n b7 a la n d Z rder° ? ' amPaigninVOlVin8^ HfeeX^ ............................... 503-2 4 4 -7 7 1 8 Fr nee f ,O <The numbers above are provided as a public service from The Portland Observer) — Bntain and France forownershipof the territory. In what .................................5 0 3 -281-2442 Yolanda H ouse.................................................................................................... 5 0 3 -9 7 7 -7 9 3 0 leadership. Sadly an unpre ' H Z T ^ French CO" tinues ‘he official lan- 19™ Fariv ; r Ct P 6,eCOntrO,;)f,h eto u n ^ in g - g e . The religious composition of the country Uarly 20* century civil servants o f the nation were shows approximately 20 percent Christian 20 Z reared well by the French as they received job security, cent Muslim and 60 percent indigenous beliefs £ ,e educattonal«7pportumt.es. economic stability and land country’s inhabitants still wish for total indenen rights. Though this satisfied small numbers of govern- dence and a bright future
