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Star athlete achieves
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Preacher Guilty
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‘City of Roses’
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXV, N um ber 25
T, W eek ¡n
The Review
Bush, Vietnam Leader Meet
President Bush opened the Oval
O ffice on T uesday to the high­
est-ranking official from com ­
m unist V ietnam since the end
o f the w ar that divided A m erica
and claim ed the lives o f more
than 58,000 U.S. troops. The
president and Prime M inister
Phan Van Khai focused their
attention on V ietnam ’s desire
to jo in the W orld Trade O rgani­
zation as well as its hum an-
rights record, which some law ­
m akers say rem ains tainted. •
Trial to Probe Slaying
of Notorius B.I.G.
Long and short­
term residents find
some optimism
by K atherine B i . ackmorf .
T he P ortland O bserver
There’s something strange going on in the neighbor­
hood, and Daniel Sullivan recently did a study to find out
how people are responding to it.
It’s gentrification.
In urban areas, gentrification has been described as
the restoration of run-down areas by the middle class,
resulting in the displacement of lower-income people.
Need an example? Take a stroll down Alberta Street
between 15th and 30"'.
An assistant professor of sociology at Portland State,
Sullivan did a report on examining the change in the
northeast Alberta community and attitudes toward it.
One of the most racially diverse areas in Portland, the
area has undergone rapid change over the past 15 years
with new businesses, rising cost of housing and an
influx of non-minority residents.
“We could see that the Alberta area and different
parts o f northeast neighborhoods are integrated,”
Sullivan said, “but to what extent are these people who
are very different from each other socially integrated?”
The revolution has positive and negative effects.
“Historically in U.S. cities, neighborhoods have been
The m ystery
of who gunned
down Notori­
ous B.I.G.-and
why - has frus­
trated and fas­
c in a te d the
hip-hop world
for eight years. The case finally is
in court, as a wrongful death law­
suit filed by the New Y ork rapper’s
family began with jury selection
on Monday. Christopher Wallace
was killed in Los Angeles after
someone in a dark sedan fired
seven shots into his sport utility
vehicle.
Alberta Street has become a haven for new
businesses and lifestyles, which can be good for the
economy but costly for local homeowners and renters.
The Alberta Street Clown
House is an eccentric fixture on the
street, with a lawn full o f double-
decker bikes and other bright
Human Embryo Cloned
Scientists have cloned human
em bryos for the first tim e using
unripe eggs m atured in a dish -
a technique that may help clon­
ing becom e a viable option for
grow ing patients’ own replace­
ment tissue to treat diseases.
The experim ent brings the Bel­
gians to the forefront o f human
clo n in g aim ed at p roducing
stem cells that w ould be a ge­
netic match for injured or sick
patien ts.
kinetic sculptures.
photos by I saiah
B ouie /
T he P ortland O bserver
Area Residents Sound Off on Displacement
How do you feel about gentrification and the restoration of run-down areas
resulting in the displacement of some local residents, including minorities?
I think it’s better than what it used to
be. A lot more people are talking about
the street in terms o f business rather
than criminal activity. -Jermaine Hall
U. S. Military Deaths in Iraq
As o f Tuesday, June 21, at least
1,724 members of the U.S. military
have died since the beginning of
the Iraq war in March 2003, ac­
cording to an Associated Press
count. At least 1,319 died as a
result of hostile action. The fig­
ures include five military civil­
ians. Since the start o f U.S. mili­
tary operations in Iraq, 13,074 U.S.
serv ice m em bers have been
wounded, according to a Defense
Department tally.
Wednesday • June 22-, 2005
Gentrification Results Surprising
Guilty Verdict In 1964 Killings
Forty-one years to the day after
three civil rights workers were
beaten and shot to death, 80-
year-old preacher and former Ku
Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen
was found guilty of manslaugh­
ter Tuesday. The 1964 killings
g a lv a n iz e d th e stru g g le for
equality and helped bring about
passage of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act. K illen could spend the rest
ofh is life behind bars. See story,
page A2.
www.portlandobserver.com
Established in 1970
It’s okay, but I feel blacks have
been pushed out and that’s not a
good thing. -Barbara King
It’s not the same. Living expenses are too
high. Our urban area is turning into areas
like northwest Portland and Hawthorne.
Portland is growing in the wrong direction.
I grew up here and I think it’s
terrible. People are getting forced
out o f the city, especially people of
color and that's not good.
-Rev. Joseph Reid
-A lecD unn
Gentrification has such a bad conno­
tation. I live here by default for cheap
housing not because it’s cool.
It’s been amazing to watch how much
rent has gone up around Northeast
Alberta and Mississippi It’s depressing.
I don’t want to live around yuppies.
-Arnold Benson
—Katie Burkart
KMKMMM
Jury Takes Kendra James Case
Smith Late on
Lynching Apology Family seeks
why Smith was tardy signing the
apology orexactly when he added
One of Oregon’s
his voice to the issue.
He did stress that
tw o U .S. senators
signed up late for a
Smith was a long-time
S en a te re so lu tio n
supporter o f civil
rights.
apologizing to vic­
When the resolu­
tims of lynching.
The apology was
tion was adopted
June 13 by “unani­
in response to 100
y ears o f S en ate
m ous
c o n s e n t,”
b lo c k a g e o f p ro ­
which means it did
U.S. Sen.Gordon
posed anti-lynching
not re q u ire in d i­
Smith, R-Ore.
legislation dating to
vidual votes. Smith
the mid 1800s to mid 1900s.
was one of 20 senators, all Re­
Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. publicans, who did not go on
supported the resolution but was the record as a co-sponsor.
According to the Black Press
not a co-sponsor until after it
passed, Tucker Bounds, a mem­ of America, Oregon's other U.S.
ber of Smith’s office said Mon­
continued
on page A2
day. Bounds said he didn't know
M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
by
judgment in
police shooting
It was roughly two years ago that
21 -year-old Kendra James was shot
and killed by Portland police officer
Scott McCollister after attempting
to drive away during a traffic stop.
Jam es’ family wants something
done about it. Although McCollister
was suspended for 5 */i months after
the shooting for poor decision-mak­
ing, he is now an officer in the East
Precinct of Portland. This is obvi­
ously unsettling for an African-
American family who lost a young
loved one.
Jury selection for the civil rights
case began Monday morning and is
being tried before U.S. District Judge
Ann Aiken.
Thecharge against McCollister says
the officer violated James' right to due
process by using excessive force.
McCollister, on the flip side, claims
that he was afraid for his life when he
shot Jam es, a
statute
p ro ­
tected by the
state of Oregon.
It is a consen­
sus that the car
James rode in on
May 5, 2003,
was pulled over
Kendra James
by Officer Rick
Bean on North Skidmore Street for a
minor traffic violation. The driver and
another passenger left the car when
McCollister attempted toarrest James,
who had an outstanding warrant.
McCollister drew his gun and de­
manded surrender when James re­
sisted and started the car. After a
scuffle inside the car. the vehicle
shifted into drive and moved for­
ward.
W h at’s being disputed is n 't
whether the events leading up the
shooting happened, but whether
McCollister was standing safe out­
side of Jam es' moving car when he
shot, or falling backward outside of
the car.
Jam es’ estate will be represented
by three Portland lawyers and as­
sisted by Milton Grimes from Santa
Ana, Calif., who fought for Rodney
King against the Los Angeles Police
Department.
McCollister will be sided by two
Portland attorneys.
The estate of James has plans to
bring more than 15 witnesses to the
stand, while McCollister’sattorneys
are planning for 30 witnesses. The
case is expected to run into the be­
ginning of July.