Toxic Fish in
Willamette
Waterfront Blues Fest
Stage prepared for
Independence Day fun
0-
*
Fishing advisory posted
See story, Focus Section C
See story, Metro section B
ffîirse riie r
‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXIV • Number 24
Week in
TheReview
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • lune 23, 2004
Qetting Ready for the Rail
Clinton Book Hits Shelves
Eager for a few seconds of I
face time with their idol, hun­
dreds of Bill Clinton’s fans)
Selena Malone, a
recent high
school graduate,
demonstrates
poise and
restraint
preparing for this
weekend’s Les
Femmes
Debutante Ball.
lined up Tuesday near a Man­
hattan bookstore where he I
was scheduled to sign copies
of his new memoir, “My Life.'
S. Korean Hostage
Beheaded
An Iraqi militant group be-1
headed its South Korean hos­
tage, officials said Tuesday,
just hours after a go-between
said the execution had been
delayed and there were nego­
tiations for the man’s release. |
Smoking: Quit It
At least half, and perhaps as I
many as two-thirds, of people
who begin smoking in their
youth are eventually killed by
the habit, according to a mam­
moth 50-year medical study |
by British researchers.
U.S. Admits Rise In Terror
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Rom-1
ney, whose state is the only
one to recognize gay mar­
riages, urged passage of a
constitutional amendment
banning same-sex unions,
even as the conservative who
wrote a federal law denying
recognition to such marriages
said that current law was|
sufficient.
M ark
W ashington /
T he
Secretary of State Colin I
Powell announced a sharp in­
crease last year in victims of
terrorism worldwide, correct­
ing findings that were used to
bolster President Bush’s claim
of success in countering this |
scourge of violence.
Same-Sex Marriage
Amendment
PHOTO BY
P ortiani )
O bserver
D e b u ta n te s
o f 2004
by J aymee R. C u n
T he P ortland O bserver
If you’ve ever heard that debutantes are
back in fashion, one local group reminds us
that they never left.
Les Femmes has a long history in Port­
land. dating back to the 1950s. The African-
American civic group annually helps young
women learn social graces, proper behavior
and training in the finer points o f life. This
began during a time when finishing school
was reserved for wealthy, white women.
This year, Les Femmes is presenting 14
young ladies to the community at the Les
Femmes annual Debutante Ball at 7 p m.
Saturday, June 26 at the Sheraton Portland
Airport Hotel at 8235 N.E. Airport Way.
All o f the debutantes being honored are
graduates from area high schools and are
eligible for the Les Femmes college scholar­
ship fund.
According to Pauline Bradford, a histo­
rian for Les Femmes, the organization affords
members many opportunities, from making
continued
P ushing B a ck against aids
Symposium to tell
reality of disease
African Americans were misled about
th e d a n g e ro u s an d d e a d ly c o n s e ­
quences o f AIDS, a disease th a t’s a f­
The global HIV/AIDS epi­ fecting them at record rates, experts
demic is threatening efforts to | say.
O rganizers and health officials have
achieve sexual and reproduc­
created
a free com m unity sym posium
tive health goals that are sup-1
discussing HIV and AIDS in the A fri­
posed to improve the lives of
can-A m erican com m unity on Friday,
women and reduce poverty, June 25 from 4 to 9 p.m. at S elf E nhance­
the head of the United Na-| m ent, Inc., 3920 N. Kerby Ave.
tions population agency said.
“ Back in early 80s, we heard in the
A fric a n -A m e ric a n co m m u n ity th at
U.S. to Hand Over Saddam
AIDS is a white, gay m ale disease. U n­
The United States will hand I
fortunately, that was a lie,” said M ardica
over legal authority but retain
H icks, an event organizer and executive
physical custody of Saddam
vice president o f New Earth M anage­
Hussein and an undetermined | m ent Corp.
number of other former re­
A ccording to the C enters for D is­
photo by M ark W ashington AT h e P ortland O bserver
gime figures to the interim I ease C ontrol statistics, although A fri­ Mardica Hicks (from left) leads a discussion on HIV/AIDS prevention in the African-
Iraqi government as soon as can A m ericans m ake up ju st 12 percent American community with community advocates Hilton Levias and Taha Gad.
AIDS Threatens
Reproductive Health
Iraqi courts issue warrants for
their arrest and request the |
transfer, a U.S. official said.
by J aymef . R. C im
T he P ortland O bserver
B
O
r-,
O ©
CZ5
o f the national population, 19 percent
o f reported AIDS cases today are from
A frican A m ericans.
The local sym posium is the resu lt o f
collaboration betw een SEI, the P ort­
land chapter o f The Links, an A frican-
A m erican organization, C ascade AIDS
Project, the M ultnom ah C ounty H ealth
D epartm ent, Portland State U niversity
and other organizations.
A rea residents who attend the sym ­
posium are “going to leave with an
understanding that we are all at risk for
HIV and A ID S, that this disease is 100
percent preventable, and that we as a
com m unity can turn this around,” Hicks
said.
The objective is to get inform ation
out to A frican A m ericans about the
d ise ase’s devastating im pact on the
com m unity, to identify risky behavior,
to stress the im portance o f g etting
tested and to inform participants about
continued
yf
on page A 6
Excessive Force Resolution Submitted
Advocates push for
change at City Hall
zu
ii ©
on page A 6
Community advocates led by the Albina
Ministerial Alliance have submitted a reso­
lution to the Portland City Council to toughen
local laws holding police officers account­
able for use o f excessive force.
An ad hoc coalition o f the A frican-
A m erican group o f church leaders, pre­
sented the resolution at a C ity Council
m eeting last w eek during a public co m ­
m ent segm ent.
It called for the removal and severe disci­
pline of Officer Jason Sery, who shot and
killed unarmed African-American motorist
James Jahar Perez on March 28 in the St.
Johns community o f north Portland.
T he reso lu tio n also stip u lates that
Portland’s police officers should receive
community-approvedcultural diversity train-
Finally, the resolution addresses racial
profiling, stating that no police action should
be made on the basis o f race.
“We have marched in the streets. We
> We have marched in the streets.
We have felt the community's anger
and frustration. Now we are taking
our words to City Council for
policy changes.
— Dr. LeRoy Haynes, chalrof the Albina Ministerial Alliance
ing and that officers receive 22 weeks of
training in the police academy, as a com bi­
nation o f field, classroom and consultation
training, prior to the 14-weeks of on-the-job
training currently in place.
have felt the com m unity's anger and frus­
tration No w we are taki ng our words to City
Council for policy changes," said Dr. LeRoy
Haynes, chair of the AMA.
The proposed new regulations also are
1
a response to the death of Kendra James, an
African-American woman shot and killed by
police while trying to flee a traffic stop in May
2003 on the North Skidmore Street 1-5 over­
pass.
“We have said ‘neveragain’ and yet many
o f the policies and much o f the training that
led to the death of Kendra James continue
on, as we saw with the death o f James Jahar
Perez," Haynes said.
City commissioners did not address or
d is c u s s th e p ro p o sa l d u rin g la st
W ednesday's session and the resolution
could virtually be ignored unless a com m is­
sioner takes up the cause.
The AMA urges churches, citizens and
other groups to support their resolution
through letter writing and calling city politi­
cians.
To get involved, call Haynes at 503-287-
0261.