Businesses Make Big Impact
Minority & Small
Business Week
From Alberta eateries fueling the local economy
to a florist opening a neighborhood shop,
Portland entrepreneurs shine with hope
See Minority Business Section B, inside
(Observer
‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970
Volume XXXV. Number 39
T. Week ¡n
TheReview
Rita Wrecks Smalt Towns
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • September 28. 2005
Self Enhancement, Inc.
Bunds Futures
Residents of the Texas refinery
towns hit hardest by Hurricane
Rita on Saturday were blocked
from returning totheirhomesTues-
day because of the danger of de
b ris-c h o k e d stre e ts, dow ned
power lines and a shortage of ice
and generators. Damage to the
small, rural towns of Jasper, Port
Arthur and Orange and several
other towns in Louisiana were vir
tually complete.
Police Chief Resigns
New Orleans Police Superinten
dent Eddie Com pass resigned
T uesday a fte r fo u r turb u len t
weeks in which the police force
was wracked by desertions and
d iso rg an izatio n in H urricane
K atrina's aftermath. As the city
slipped into anarchy during the
first few days after Katrina, many
officers deserted their posts, and
some were accused of joining in
the looting that broke out.
Former FEMA Head Grilled
Form er FEMA
director Michael
Brown blamed
o th e rs, e s p e
cially Louisiana
G ov. K athleen
Blanco and New
Orleans Mayor
Ray Nagin, for most government
failures in responding to Hurri
cane Katrina on Tuesday. Brown
said that in the days before the
storm, he expressed his concerns
that “this is going to be a bad one”
in phone conversations and e-
mails with President Bush and his
Administration.
Negro Leagues Player Dies
Byron “Mex” Johnson, a short
stop for the Kansas City Mon
archs of the Negro leagues and
Satchel Paige’s traveling team,
died Saturday at 94. Johnson
played for the Monarchs in 1937-
38, when blacks were barred from
the N a tio n a l and A m erican
leagues. He joined the traveling
team o f the legendary pitcher
Satchel Paige in 1939 and stayed
through 1940.
New Citizen Wins Lottery
A man who immigrated from Kenya
to the United States found pros
perity beyond his expectations on
the day he became a U.S. citizen.
Shortly after Moses Bittok, of
West Des Moines, took the oath
of citizenship on Friday, he dis
covered he had a $1.89 million
winning ticket from the Iowa
Lottery’s Hot Lotto game.
5
photos by K atherine
B lackmore /T he P ortland O bserv er
Self Enhancement, Inc. President Tony Hopson Sr. and the SEI Gospel Choir at the SEI Center, 3920 N. Kerby Ave.
Youth benefit from
comprehensive
training program
by K atherine B lackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
In fifth grade, school w asn’t Crescentia
Dixon ’ s highest priority. Sitting in class was
a daily task before coming home to help her
single mother take care of her younger
brother and two sisters.
Then Dixon became involved with Self
Enhancement, Inc., a local program that
directs youth toward a life of positive fulfill
ment.
“SEI was my escape sometimes when I
was overwhelmed at home,” Dixon said.
“This is my life. It’s a part of me, part of my
family. The coordinators are like your par
ents - they’re your second mom and dad.”
Now at 24, she said the values instilled in
her through SEI have helped shaped her in
a remarkable way.
“It’s not just a youth program,” she said.
“ You feel it in your heart. These people want
to be here and want to help. It’s another
culture here. When you walk into the build
ing, you’re home and no one will ever turn
you away. There are so many opportunities
we’ve been given.”
Nicknamed “Cupcake" by others around
SEI, Dixon now works as a receptionist for
Crescentia Dixon, 24, has been a part o f the
Self Enhancement Inc. program since fifth grade.
She now works as a receptionist with the
community service agency.
the program while taking care of her 3-year-
old son. Khali Warren. She said without the
lessons she’s been given through the pro
gram. raising her toddler wouldn’t be the
same.
“We live by the standards, we value
them," Dixon said.
The program’s “seven standards” are a
mantra among its youth, based on values of
integrity and respect. They include: greet
ing each other every day with a smile and
handshake: honoring and respecting each
other with proper language and speech:
t
Its not just a youth program. You
feel it in your heart. These people
want Bo be here and want to help.
-
valuing the space of oneself and others;
being mindful of truth and honesty; treasur
ing cultures, whether it be your own or
others; and reflecting beauty both inwardly
with understanding and outwardly with
appearance.
“If I could sum it all up into one word, it
would be that it’s a blessing because so
many people are watching overyou,” Dixon
said.
Humble beginnings, happy endings
The one person w ho’s always watching
over SEI is Tony Hopson Sr., the agency’s
founder, president and chief executive of
ficer. He planted the seed with a one-week
summer sports camp in 1981 and its roots
blossomed into a popular meeting place
where more than 700 local youth are guided
continued
Crescentia Dixon
MMMMMMMI
on page AS
SN M M H HM M H I
Knott Street Boxers Enter Hall of Fame
Northeast
gym holds
generations
of champions
by K atherine B lackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
After years of fighting for honor,
the Knott Street Boxers o f north
east Portland have finally found
some recognition from the Oregon
Sports Hall o f Fame. The team that
made boxing history from 1956 to
1972 will be inducted with a cer
emony on Oct. 11 at the Multnomah
Athletic Club.
Being included in these ceremo
nies has been a long sought goal of
the team, having named lONational
Amateur Athletic Union Champion
boxers, two Olympic team members
and many top 10 rated professional
boxers during their heyday.
“It’s a long time coming," said
Halim Rahsaan, one o f K nott
Street’s champion boxers. “We
were really responsible for putting
Oregon on the map as far as sports,
post and pre-civil rights era.”
Rahsaan credits trainer Chuck
Lincoln as the backbone of the gym
during that time.
“He pushed us, giving us the
confidence we needed. He was a
father figure, a doctor, a psycholo-
Portland is Laura Dalente.
gist, a sociologist,” he said.
Lincoln, a Golden Glove cham
pion who once found it difficult as
a welterweight to get professional
boxing matches because of his in
tim id a tin g sta n c e , e v e n tu a lly
turned to coaching, churning out
the bread and butter of the Knott
Street ring.
“I enjoyed it. I learned a lot from
tf ise guys. It was a lot o f hard
work, but it was enjoyable. I just
stepped in to see how far we could
go. We just kept on winning and
winning and I got used to it." Lin
coln said, grinning
The team, which has 40 Golden
Gloves titles to its name, includes
Thad Spencer, who will be honored
in his own right at the induction
ceremonies. Spencer was ranked
top heavyw eight co n ten d er to
champion Muhammad Ali in 1967.
A lthough the induction c e r
emony is limited to 350 people, it
will also be broadcast locally on
FOX before game one o f the World
Series on Saturday, Oct. 22.
Those wanting to experience the
wonders of a more modem Knott
Street Boxing team before the in
duction ceremony can cheer at the
Downtown Rumble, being held on
Sunday, Oct. 2 at dow ntow n's
Hilton Grand Ballroom. Fighters
ranging from ages pre-teen to mid-
20s will be boxing in a benefit for the
Knott Street Boxing Club and JOIN,
a non-profit housing program for
Portland's homeless community.
The inducted boxers will also be
honored at this event.
“There’s a lot of young talent
that's com ing along.” Rahsaan
said. "I see the tradition being car
ried on. I like to see the young
boxers look up to the older boxers
as role models.”
Laura Dalente is one of the mod
em boxers fighting in the Down
town Rumble, nicknamed by trainer
Ray Milton as “The Million Dollar
Baby That Lives," referring to the
Oscar-winning movie staring Hi
lary Swank as a star female boxer,
with Clint Eastwood as her mentor.
continued
on page A III