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‘City of Roses’
www.portlandobserver.com
Established in 1970
Wednesday • (une 29. 2005
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXV, Number 26
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TheReview
Bush Tries to Ease Doubts
President Bush used the first anni­
versary o f Iraq’s sovereignty to
try to ease A m ericans’ doubts
about the war and outline a win­
ning strategy for a violent conflict
that has cost the lives o f more than
1,740 U.S. troops and has no end in
sight. Bush has refused to give a
tim etable for troop withdrawal,
even though some Democrats and
a few Republicans in Congress are
supporting a resolution that calls
for Bush to start bringing them
hom e by Oct. 1,2006.
Kendra James
Family’s
Claim
Rejected
Venus Williams in Semifinals
T w o-tim e cham ­
pion V enus W ill­
ia m s w ill p lay
ag ain st d e fe n d ­
in g c h a m p io n
M aria Sharapova
in the W im bledon G rand Slam
sem ifinalson Thursday. W illiams,
bidding for her fifth m ajor title
and her first since 2001, overcam e
five set points in the tiebreaker to
elim inate M ary Pierce. “1 feel like
I deserve to be in the sem ifinal,”
W illiam s said. “1 feel like w hen I
play my best, T m still a step ahead
for sure.”
Jury sides with
officer in Kendra
James’ death
Good in the Neighborhood
Two Wounded Downtown
T w o people w ere w ounded in a
w eekend shooting in a crow ded
area o f dow ntow n Portland in an
incident police say m ay be gang-
related. A bout 10 shots w ere fired
early Sunday, many hitting parked
cars and nearby buildings. M ikael
Jo Pugh, 21, w as found in her car
w ith a shoulder w ound she told
police she got w hile stopped for
a traffic light. Jam es H artley, 28,
took him self to a hospital w ith a
w ound to the forearm . H undreds
o f people left the area before po­
lice could interview them .
This year's Rose Festival Court marched in the Good in the Hood Parade last weekend. From left, are Angela Gill o f Jefferson, Lily
Bosombath o f Marshall, Charlotte Marshall o f St. Mary's, Queen Katelyn Callaghan o f Central Catholic, Nicole Gutierrez o f David
Douglas, Bryndle Rueck o f Franklin, Kristina Stone o f Madison, I inh Bui ofParkrose, Nicole Roberts o f Lincoln, and Rachel
Castaneda o f Cleveland. See additional parade photos, page B6.
photos by K atherine B i . ackmore / T he P ortland O bserver
Pfizer: Viagra Doesn’t
Cause Blindness
Pfizer Inc. said that a review con­
cluded that Viagra doesn'tincrease
patients’ risk o f blindness but that
it is still working with federal regu­
lators to update the drug’s label to
reflect rare reports o f vision loss.
Last month, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration said it had 38
reports o f blindness caused by a
condition called non-arteritic an­
terior ischem ic optic neuropathy
am ong users o f Viagra.
A historic newspaper article from the Knott Street
Boxers' heyday is featured in a glass case among
many trophies won by the team.
Shuttle May Fly in Days
U.S. astronauts will blast back
into space in a m atter o f days, the
head o f N A SA said T uesday,
despite a new , critical report ques­
tioning the safety o f this explora­
tion. T op shuttle m anagers are
conducting a flight readiness re­
vie w thi s week in hopes o f launch­
ing the shuttle D iscovery as early
as July 13, the first m ission since
Colum bia broke apart during re­
entry on Feb 1, 2003, killing all
seven astronauts aboard.
Boxing gloves take a rest on the ring at the Knott Street boxing gym
inside the Matt Dishman Community Center in northeast Portland.
‘ Knott Street’
Fights for
Recognition
Champion boxers await Oregon Hall of Fame vote
K atherine B i . ackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
Back before the Portland Trailblazers, b e­
fore bling bling w as a m ajor priority in the
w orld o f sports, before OJ and his glove -
W e w eren 't involved in drugs, in the crim inal
by
there w as boxing.
At the forefront, locally, w as the Knott
Street B oxing Team o f northeast Portland.
Betw een the late ‘50s to the early ‘70s, being
in the K nott Street ring or punching a speed
bag betw een m eant you w ere it.
“ It w as the heyday for little boxers all the
w ay up to big boxers. It was som ething you
could look forw ard to. It was som ething you
could do to bring recognition to yourself, to
your fam ily, and to your state. It w as the
appetite o f the tim es,” said A. Halim Rahsaan,
know n back then as Bill Cross, a form er A m a­
teur A thletic U nion N ational Boxing C ham ­
pion.
T he Knott Street G ym , incepted in 1956 and
now called the M att D ishm an C om m unity
You had a lot o f
African American
boxers to look up to.
You wanted to
emulate them.
-A. Halim Rahsaan
*
C enter, w as a place w here cham pions were
trained and honed until they were ready for the
grand ring o f the bell. The boxers had a second
hom e at N ortheast Knott by Martin Luther
King Jr. B oulevard, where they congregated
to get o ff the streets w ith bigger hopes for life.
“ You had a lot o f African American boxers
to look up to. Y ou w anted to em ulate them ,”
Rahsaan said. “W e w ere good role m odels.
ju stice system .”
Boxing to these men m eant hard work,
dedication, and astute listening. A nd it paid
off.
Ten national cham pionships were won by
individuals on the team trom 1956 to 1972.
T he team churned out Ray Lam pkin, the
first A frican A m erican in O reg o n 's history to
fight for the lightw eight contender world title
and the only African Am erican boxer to be
inducted into the O regon Sports Hall o f Fame.
K nott Street boxer Thad Spencer w as ranked
num ber one heavyw eight contender in the
world tocham pion M uhammad Ali in 1967 and
1968. M ichael C olbert, now know n as A dofo
Akil, w as the num ber one middlew eight world
contender in 1977. Steven Forbes won the IBS
W orld C ham pionship in 2(XX), being the first
A frican A m erican b o x erto win a professional
continued
on page AS
by K atherine B lackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
It w as a bitter loss T uesday for
the A frican-A m erican fam ily o f a
young m other w ho w as fatally shot
by a Portland police officer tw o
years ago.
A federal court ju ry rejected the
claim s o f K endra Jam es’ fam ily in
their wrongful death lawsuit against
Scott M cC ollister, the police of­
ficer w ho shot the 21 -year-old m o­
torist as she tried to flee a North
Skidm ore Street traffic stop.
In final argum ents, law yers rep­
resenting the fam ily argued that
M cCollister was lying, accusing him
o f concocting a story that he fired
at Jam es because his life w as in
danger because the car suddenly
m oved forw ard w ith her in the
d riv er’s seat.
The 8-m em ber ju ry , sided w ith
the officer, rejecting the fam ily ’s
c la im o f$ l 2 m illion in dam ages for
a violation o f Jam es’s C onstitu­
tional civil rights.
“W e are very disappointed. W e
feel like we put on a good case,”
said T am ek a P ry c e, c o u sin o f
K endra Jam es. “I feel like w e d id n 't
get ju stice because he w as a police
officer. If he w as som eone else, the
outcom e w ould be different. It’s
been a long tw o years for my fam ily,
and we w anted clo su re.”
A ttorneys for the fam ily argued
that M cC ollister m ust have been
standing several feet from the car
w hen he shot her. But ju ro rs heard
conflicting testim ony from w it­
nesses, doctors, and experts in fo­
rensics and in the use o f deadly
force.
M cCollister was suspended from
the police force for 5 Vi m onths after
the May 5 . 2(X)3 shooting as part o f
a reprim and for poor decision-m ak­
ing. The death galvanized A frican-
A m ericans and others and brought
m assive p ro tests fo r p o lice a c ­
countability.
“W e should not forget, how ­
ever, that as tragic as K en d ra's
death was, it helped bring the co m ­
m u n ity to g e th e r, b la ck , w h ite,
L atino against police m isconduct
and led to the resignation and firing
o f (form er Police) C h ief K roeker,”
Portland Copw atch spokesm an Dan
H andlem an, said T uesday in reac­
tion to the verdict.
The fam ily hoped a trial w ould
force the Police Bureau to change
its practices and have the city take
action on future police shootings.
During the civil trial, M cCollister
said he w as reacting to a volatile
situ atio n . H is atto rn ey s argued
Jam es resisted arrest w hile high on
a lethal dose o f cocaine.
M cC ollister said the car lurched
forw ard as he tried to pull Jam es
continued
>
on page A2