www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
M arch 31. 2 0 0 4
Love and Diane, an Urban Portrait
M etro
A documentary featuring Love Hinson and
her family surviving in poverty.
Focus, page B3
JJortlanb ©bseruer
SECTION
C
E
o in m u n i t y
a le n d a r
Fundraise for PALS
The Police A ctivities League,
w hich serves youth in Portland
and G resham , is sponsoring its
8lh annual PA L Cam paign for
C ops Helping Kids dinner auc­
tion benefiting PAL at 5:30 p.m.
May 8 at the M ultnom ah A th­
letic Club. For more information,
call 503-823-0250.
Valuable Discussion
A talk about V alues, Cultures
and C onflict is at 6 p. m. April 6 at
W om anTree Resource C enter,
2641 N.E. A lberta St. T ickets,
ranging from $1 to $5, are on a
sliding scale. For more inform a­
tion, visit w w w .w om antree.org.
Benefit Laughter
C om edySportz hosts a benefit
show for the Portland T illam ook
C ooperative Preschool at 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 17 at 1963N.W .
K earney Street. T ickets are $ 10.
For m ore inform ation, call 503-
236-8888.
Get Involved!
A Black M useum com m ittee
meeting is at Sylvias, 1301 N.E.
D ekum from 1 to 3 p.m. April 3.
For more inform ation, call 503-
284-0617.
R. CUTI/TH E PORTLAND OBSERVER
Bunny Love
PHOTO BY J a YMEE
The Oregon Human Society is
open Easter Sunday, April 11, for
Easter bunny adoptions and a
lesson on how bunnies make great
pets. The Easter Bunny will be
there from 1 to 4 p.m. For more
information,call 503-285-7722or
visit ww w.oregonhum anes.org.
Mentor Walter “ Tiny" Butler (left) talks to his client
Ticole Waller about his future during a meeting at the
YO Center on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Hospice Training
K aiser Perm anente is offering
free training to adults interested
in providing physical and em o­
tional support to term inally ill
patients. T he trainings are on
Tuesdays and T hursdays from
6 to 9:30 p.m., from April 27
through M ay 13. For more infor­
mation, cal 1503-499-5285.
Bloomfest
E aster Seals O regon announces
Bloom Fest from April 6-10, ask­
ing volunteers to coordinate and
sell fresh-cut tulip bunches for
$5. For m ore inform ation, call
503-228-5108ext. 317.
Interest in Adoption?
A free inform ation m eeting for
p ro sp ectiv e adoptive parents
held the third W ednesday o f
every m onth from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
at Belm ont Public Library. 1038
S.E. 39lh Ave. For more inform a­
tion, call 503-226-4870 or visit
w w w .openadopt.com .
Reunion Watch
Form er students and faculty o f
G irls Polytechnic, Jam es M on­
roe and W ashington-M onroe
high schools have the 66'*' an­
nual all-school dinner at 5 p.m.
M onday, April 12 at O ur Lady of
S o rro w s S ch o o l, 5 2 3 9 S.E.
W oodstock Blvd. Tickets are
$15. For m ore inform ation, call
503-236-6557.
Packy Turns 40
Packy, the O regon Z o o ’s el­
ephant w hich becam e nation­
ally renow ned as the first Asian
elephant born in the W estern
H em isphere in more than 44
years, celebrates his 4O'h birth­
day with a cake stom ping from
I0 a .m .to 4 p .m . April 14.Com e
by to sing happy birthday to
Packy, and have a piece o f cake
for yourself. For more inform a­
tion. visit w w w .oregonzoo.com .
Trees Need Friends
Friends o f T rees will plant trees
and shrubs in the Piedm ont and
Cathedral Park/St. Johns neigh­
borhoods on M arch 27. and in
th e G o o s e
H o llo w
an d
M ontavilla neighborhoods on
April 3. If you want to be a help
to your com m unity and environ­
ment, call 503-284-TR EEor visit
w w w .friendsoftrees.org.
LENDING A SHOULDER
Community mentors
change lives
by J aymee R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
If it takes a village to raise achild, mentors
say they are preparing young people to take
their place in that village.
Harold W illiam s and W alter "T iny" But­
ler often see kids w ho are m ixed up in gangs,
crim e and problem s at home. They are com ­
m unity m entors, w orking through com m u­
nity organizations such as C H 2A , C om m u­
nities o f Color, Janus Youth Program s and
the YO Center.
From the looks o f their toweri ng statures,
one might expect these men to coach or play
professional sports, but these gentle giants
have dedicated their lives to P ortland’s kids.
W illiam s and B utler say their approach to
m entoring is holistic.
“ It’s kind o f hard to ju st deal with the
client and not to deal with the other issues in
his life," W illiam s said. “ It kind o f trickles
dow n.”
O ften, m entors find them selves connect­
ing entire fam ilies with counseling, housing
needs o r jo b opportunities.
M any o f the clients W illiam s and Butler
work with are assigned through the Oregon
Youth A uthority or by probation officers.
“W e w anted to give kids som ebody who
w ould be in their corner w hen their co m er
w as em pty," said Butler.
High school and m iddle school-aged cli­
ents com e to them with problem s ranging
from hom elessness and a lack o f education
to drugs, alcohol and gang involvem ent,
they say.
W illiam s is a lifelong Portland resident
and Jefferson High School graduate. He
says his form er coaches in track, w restling,
football, golf and M idnight Basketball helped
show him the value o f mentors.
Butler mentors to give back to h isco m m u -
nity. A Madison High SchtMil graduate, Butler
found him self in trouble and in jail for what
he calls “bad choices.”
"I want to make sure kids d o n 't go through
som e o f the things I w ent through,” he says.
Ticole W aller, 22, has been B utler’s client
for three years through the YO C enter in
northeast Portland.
continued y ^ on page H6
Candidate Pledges
Support for Minorities
Woodlawn resident
runs for state
representative
by M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
A neighborhood activist w ants to build
ties to the local A frican-A m erican com m u­
nity in her pledge to support m inority issues
in a race for state representative.
T ina Kotek prom ises to
build the necessary rela­
tionships and coalitions
to cham pion sm art public
policies in the State Legis­
lature that are important to
local residents. She is run­
ning forelection in the May
D em ocratic Prim ary for
H ouse D istrict 43, rep re­
senting north and north­
east Portland.
K o tek 's central cam ­
paign them e is m aking a
positive difference forchil-
dren and families. T he e f­
fort m eshes with her jo b
experience as policy direc­
tor for Children First for
O re g o n , a n o n - p ro f it
ch ild ren 's advocacy group, and as a public
policy advocate for the O regon Food Bank.
She said her district needs an experienced
activist like herself to prom ote health care,
affordable childcare and getting at the root
causes o f hunger.
“No fam ily should be left out," she said.
Kotek moved to northeast Portland three
years ago, lured by an affordable hom e in
her W oodlaw n neighborhood and a diverse
com m unity. A native o f W ashington, D C.,
she fell in love with O regon afterenrolling at
the U niversity o f O regon in Eugene in the
late 80s.
Kotek serves as secretary and land use
chair for her W oodlaw n N eighborhood A s­
sociation. She previously served in the
H osford-A bernethy N eighborhood A sso­
ciation o f southeast Portland.
She prom otes the revitalization o f local
photo b \
Tina Kotek wants
to represent north
and northeast
Portland in Salem.
photo by M ark
W ashington /
T he P ortland
O bserver
neighborhtxxls, but not the econom ic co n ­
sequences w hen m inority and low-incom e
populations are driven out, a process often
referred to as gentrification.
“Revitalization is im portant, but we want
to keep the diversity," she said.
continued y ^ on page H6
J aymee R. C i ti /T he P or i land O bserver
WomenStrength instructor Brooke Brown simulates an aggressive stance to take
when approached by a stranger.
Women Find Strength
Free self defense
class empowers
participants
by J aymee R. C lti
T he P ortland O bserver
The reasons that brought m ore than 20
w om en together for a free self-defense class
were as diverse as the w om en them selves.
Som e
a tte n d e d
th e
th r e e - p a r t
\
W om enStrength scries to participate in pro-
gram s em pow ering w om en. For others, they
have been victim s o f dom estic violence or
sexual abuse them selves, and w ant to learn
skills to break that pattern.
W o m e n S tre n g th , a p ro g ra m fu n d ed
through the Portland Police Bureau, has
been active in Portland since 1979, ed u cat­
ing and training w om en to defend them ­
selves from attackers. The strength o f the
continued y ^ on page R6