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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2005)
Dance Series Opens with Jazz Bill Mays Trio 5()j¿ Pianist kicks off 'Concerts in the Chapel' o /i- 'community service Whitebird celebrates 8th year See stoiy on page B5 w ‘City of Roses’ See story on page C3 w w w .portlandobserver.com Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXV, Number 42 Wednesday • October 12, 2005 ■■■■■■■B .Week ¡n The Review Local Leaders Leave Legacies Death Toll Reaches 35,000 Heavy rain and hail forced the cancellation of some relief flights to earthquake-stricken regions of Pakistan Tuesday. Officials said the death toll from Pakistan’s worst quake had surpassed 35,000, with many bodies still buried be neath piles o f concrete, steel and wood. Millions were left homeless in the region touching Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. See story, pageA 2 Police BeatingVictim Baffled A retired elemen tary teacher who w as re p e a te d ly p u n c h e d in the head by New O r leans police in an incident caught on videotape said Monday he was not drunk, put up no resistance and was baffled by what hap pened. See story, page A2. Stevie Wonder: Time to Love M il getting back to work. He was getting back to the message that has formed the cor nerstone of his legendary career. Wonder says his 15 new tracks touch on love in all its forms and he hopes they will inspire people and leaders in government to make the world better. L.A. Power Fails Again A blackout hit downtown govern ment buildings, Chinatown and adjacent areas of Los Angeles Tuesday, bu, backup power kept key parts o f City Hall and police headquarters running. It was the third significant electrical failure in the city since mid-September. Oregon’s First Black Judge Deiz was mentor, pioneer Mercedes Frances Deiz, Oregon’s first African-Ameri can judge, will make an impact for future generations because of her work as a determined mentor to young women and minorities. Deiz, who died Oct. 5 at age 87 in her Portland home, first started paving the way for other African Americans in law in 1970 when Gov. Tom McCall appointed her state district court judge for Multnomah County. Tw o years later, she was elected Circuit Court Judge, a position sought by seven men at the time. Deiz stayed on to serve four con secutive six-year terms, focusing primarily on family law. “She saw her role in the right way - not just being the first, but mak ing sure there w ere many more to follow h e r ,” said E llen Rosenblum, an Oregon Court of Appeals judge who worked alongside D eiz in M ultnom ah County. Mercedes Frances Deiz She w ent on to win the A w ard o f M erit, the highest honor by the O regon State Bar A ssocia tion in 2000, and was given the b a r’s A ffirm ative A ction aw ard in 1992. T hese w ere ju st a couple o f m any noted accom plishm ents she made over her career, also being recognized by such organizations as O regon W omen Law yers, the A ssociation of B lack Law yers and the Urban League. D eiz is rem em bered by her fellow attorneys for the qualities that made her a good lawyer: com m on sense, quick wit, decisiveness, concern for the com m unity at large and above all, passion for and respect of law. Born on Dec. 13, 1917, in New York C ity, D eiz m oved to O regon in 1948. She w orked for the Urban League and N A A CP in Portland, and after graduating in 1959 as fourth in her class from N orthw estern continued on page A3 Flood Waters Almost Gone The U.S. Army Corps o f Engineers said Tuesday that it has finished pumping out the New Orleans met ropolitan area, which was flooded by Hurricane Katrina six weeks ago and then swamped again by Hurri cane Rita. “O f course there will be a little puddle here and there, but as far as accessibility goes everything is pumped out,” Corps spokes woman Lauren Solis said. Community public service fundraising drives in the 1960s were part o f Jimmy ‘Bang Bang’ Walker’s legacy in Portland. The champion fighter, activist and newspaper editor died Oct. 4 at the age o f 73. Champion In and Outside Ring C om m unity advocate rem em bered Jimmy ‘Bang Bang’ Walker, one of O regon's boxing legends who became a community activist and newspaper editor, is being remembered for both his athletic achievements and his civil rights advocacy on behalf o f other Afri can Americans. W alker died of natural causes on Oct. 4 in his north Portland home at age 73. During his professional prizefighting career between the 1950s and 1960s, W alker took the Northwest lightweight championship, along with the Junior Golden Gloves California championship. He also earned five Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart award while serving in the Korean War. Walkereven acted as Portland's popu lar black Santa Claus. Bom in Birmingham, Ala. in 1932, Walker married Jeanette Adams in 1955. The couple moved from Klamath Falls to Portland in the late 1950s with their children James Jr. and Debra. After hav ing three more kids, they divorced in 1965. A round that tim e. W alk er w as re p o rtin g for the N orthw est C la rio n , a co m m u n ity n e w sp ap er for A frican continued on page A3 MMM Celebrating Musical Successfor Youth Iraqis Agree on Constitution Iraqi negotiators said Tuesday they have reached a deal on the draft constitution four days ahead of a crucial vote and at least one Sunni Arab party said the change would allow it to reverse its rejec tion of the document. The an nouncement was the first break in the ranks of Sunni Arab leaders, who have been campaigning hard to defeat the constitution at the polls in Saturday’s vote. ' Celebration Academy o f the Performance Arts music teacher Andy Bell shows seventh grader Dreydon Wooden how to play bass guitar during an after school program at the North Denver Avenue location. PHOT«) BY K atherine B i . ackmore / T he P ortland O bserver After school program gives students creative outlet by K atherine B lackmore T he P ortland O bserver When seventh grader Casey Leighton has absolutely the worst day ever, the solution to sooth her nerves is simple: play the clarinet. “It gets you going if you're in a bad mixxl,'' Leighton said. “It helps calm you down.” It also gives her focus, which not only helps with her musicianship, but the schoolwork she does as a student at the Celebration Academy of the Performing Arts in north Portland. Leighton is just one young participant in an after schixil program, hosted by the academy and the Eighty Eight Keys, that shows students the importance of music in their daily lives. It’s director John Tolbert's hope that the program will soon be able to expand far beyond its 18 students, who take private, group and after school lessons in drumming, guitar, wind instruments, piano and more. Beyond youth from surrounding communities, he’s kxiking for volunteer sup port - whether it means taking time out to teach, donating that dusty guitar in the comer, or helping out monetarily. Picking up the slack from budget cuts to sch«x)l music programs, Tolbert recognizes the art form as something more than just a past time to be disregarded. "There's a lot of hard work and dedication that goes into it,” he said. “One of the neat things is that sch«x)l bench scores improve when kids have an outlet. It creates more creativity within the child. It gives them an opportunity to develop and have confidence in their craft.” The program 's lessons range from finding a sense of rhythm through drums, plucking the fretboard o f a bass guitar or tickling the ivories of a grand piano. Styles o f jazz, continued on page A 6 V