Committed to Cultural Diversity
M etro
May 4. 2005
www.portlandobserver.com
Driven by Volleyball
and Academics
years
Amy Henley headed to
Jackson State
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•Tcommunity service
See Sports, page B6
SECTION
o in m u n i t y
a le n d a r
C
Portland School Board
Candidate Forum
Oj
B
Breakingthe Color B arrierin Cycling
C andidates for the Portland
school board will appear before
the public on Thursday, May 5
at 6:30 p.m. at school district
headquarters, 501 N. Dixon St.
The event is co-sponsored by
the Urban League o f Portland.
The election to replace three
school board members will take
place on May 17 but this is an
opportunity to hear from pro
spective candidates.
Health and Safety Fair
On Saturday, May 7, King Neigh
borhood Association along with
King SUN School is sponsoring
a health and safety fair at the
King Elementary School Cafete-
ria4906N.E. Sixth Ave. from 1-4
p.m. There will also be music,
food and prizes. For more infor
mation, contact Kristen McKee
503-335-2717
LIFE Center Farewell
On Saturday, May 7, the LIFE
Center Board o f Directors has
invited all volunteers, past em
ployees, com m unity leaders,
partner agencies and support
ers to a farewell celebration at
the center located at 2746 N.E.
Martin Luther King Jr. BI vd. from
noon to 4 p.m.
Neil Kelly Awards Luncheon
On Friday, May 6 at 11:30 a.m.
four students and five busi
nesses will be honored for their
excellence in community issues.
The Rotary Club of Albina and
the North/Northeast Business
Association sponsor this event.
Tickets are $50 and $30 is a do
nation.
Kids’ Learn Safety
On Saturday, May 7, join Ameri
can Medical Response and Port
land-Metro Kids Coalition at the
Oregon Zoo on May 7 for hands-
on activities to learn more about
safety in and out of the home.
There will be prizes for kids who
complete the scavenger hunt for
safety. The event starts at 10a.m.
‘Stamp Out’ Hunger
The 1 l Ih annual National Asso
ciation o f Letter Carriers Food
Drive is held this month. Fill
designated bags with nonper
ishable, canned foods and on
Saturday May 14, a postal worker
will collect them. Information at
www.oregonfoodbank.org
Lunch with the Girl’s
Saturday May 21, DinnerGrrl’s
will be hosting their spring pot
luck. The goal is build broaden
professional horizons of women,
network and to encourage other
women in their career aspira
tions. For more inform ation
p le a se R SV P by e m a il at
Portland@ dinnergrrls.org.
Local coach guides
first black team
by
J ennifer B rinkman
As they bowed their heads in prayer, the crowd
roared. Finally, the moment Team Marshall had
prepared six m onths for was here. Indiana
University’s “Little 500” bicycle race was about to
begin.
The first all African-American women’s team in
the history o f the 55-year-old race had some local
flavor to help on their journey.
John Benenate, director o f b.i.k.e. (Bicycles and
Ideas for Kids’ Empowerment) has been coaching
Portland kids and adults for 12 years, bringing
diversity into the sport on a local level.
Once a bicycle messenger and a collegiate racer,
a tragic fall from a high deck left him a paraplegic.
Though he could not ride like he used to, he decided
to devote his life to the world of cycling and to
change the face o f the sport by developing the skills
of “non-traditional racers.”
He has found enormous success in Portland
reaching out to women, especially elders and mi
norities, especially African American youth.
Since Tiger Woods became the brown face of
golf, African-Americans have made their mark in
other sports that were considered “for whites only,”
such as racecar driving, hockey and the Olympic
Jamaican bobsled team. The face of cycling soon
may not belong to Lance Armstrong.
Team Marshall was a rookie cycling team con
sisting o f six young women from Indiana Univer- Jeria Datson helps Nilaja Neely do some pre-race yoga.
TEAM MARSHALL: Nitaja Neely,
Tiffany Brown, Jeria Datsonand Olivia
Fradin are all smiles as they get set to
race as the first all African-American
women's team the Little 500 cycling
tournament in Bloomington, Ind.
sity. Their dream was to become the first all
African-American women’s team to com
pete in the famous 55-year-old race and one
o f the few teams of color in the sport.
Last August, IU freshman Olivia Fradin
emailed Benenate, asking him to come to
Bloomington to help her team succeed.
It had been two months since her class
mates decided to form a cycling team, but
coach after coach left them for other things,
and team spirit was in low ebb.
“I felt like we are passed from coach to
coach like some kind o f charity case,”
Marshall teammate Jeria Dotson said.
Benenate could not refuse.
Passion for the sport of cycling lives with
in Benenate and he has made it his personal
mission to “change the face of American
cycling, one pedal stroke at a time.” Starting
with Team Marshall seemed to be the way to
start.
B enenate coached the team via the
Internet at first, urging them to keep their
resting pulse rates and do yoga. After send
ing clothing, tools, bicycles and trainers, he
was on his way for a visit. However, Benenate
continued y f on page B6
Great Strides Walk-a-Thon
Join the Cystic Fibrosis Foun
dation on Saturday, May 21 at 10
a.m. for their annual walk-a-thon.
The group welcomes walkers,
volunteers and donations for
more information or to register
contact Oregon Chapter Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation at 503-226-
3435 or www.cff.org
Cinco de Mayo
Begins Thursday
Fiesta keeps the party
going over four days
Be a Hospice Volunteer
Providence Hospital offers free
training for volunteers at least
18 years old who can commit
four hours a week for a year. Pre
registration is required. For more
information or to get an applica
tion packet please call Cynthia
Cohen, volunteer coordinator at
503-215-5774
Women Mentors
Women in Community Service
are seeking volunteer mentors
for female offenders at Coffee
C reek C orrectional Facility.
Mentors provide support and
e n c o u ra g e m e n t to w om en
transitioning from prison. Men
tors must be female, 24 or older.
Call 503-57(46614.
PHOTO COURTESY PoRTIAND-G UADAlAJARA SISTER C lTY ASSOCIATION
The beautiful costumes o f Mexico give grandeur to an opera performance by local children at Cinco
De Mayo on the downtown Portland waterfront. Arts, music and culture are part of the annual four-day
celebration opening Thursday.
The 21st Annual Cinco de
Mayo Fiesta will kick of its cel
ebration of “Family, Culture, and
Community” on Thursday, May
5, and will keep the party going
through Sunday, May 8, at Tom
McCall Waterfront Park.
T he P o rtla n d -G u a d a la ja ra
SisterC ity Association, the non
profit organization responsible
for coordination o f the fiesta,
brings this celebration o f Latino
arts, music, culture, and tra d i
tion to Portland and anticipates
approximately 300,000 people to
attend over the duration o f the
celebration.
The largest multi-cultural festi
val in Oregon is a wonderful op
portunity for families to enjoy the
dancing, music, colors, tastes, and
crafts from Portland's sister city
of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Portland MayorTom Potter and
Guadalajara Mayor Emilio X will
officially open the Fiesta with a
ribbon cutting at W aterfront Park
at the Main Stage Thursday at 10
a.m. The ceremony will include an
audience of 1,300elementary and
middle school students, mostly
from public schools in the Port-
continued y f on page H2
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