Committed to Cultural Diversity
M etro
Æl"' JJorttanb (Ohseruer
October 26. 2005
www.portlandobserver.com
Everything That
Lives Must Die
'Blame it on the Moon ’
brings understanding
See Foeus Section, inside
o m m u n it y
C a l e n d a r
Haunted House
One o f the north w est’s largest
h au n ted h o u ses tak es place
each night daily inside the Rose
Q uarter E xhibit Hall through
M onday, Oct. 31. T ickets are
$20 and can be purchased at
the door. $5 o ff coupons and
more inform ation is available at
www.frighttown.com. Some ma
terial may not be appropriate
for children under 15.
NAACP Meeting
The O ctober general m eeting
o f the N A A CP will be held at
T errell Hall on the PCC C as
c a d e C a m p u s a t 7 0 5 N.
K illingsw orth Ave. on Satur
day, Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to
noon. For more information, call
503-288-3710 or send an email
to n a a c p l 120@ aol.com .
The cast o f ‘Voices,' a play about abused inmates searching for identity during
the Civil Rights era o f the 1960s.
Free CPR Training
The Interstate Firehouse C u l
tural C enter in north Portland is
able to offer free training and
certification in CPR to 15 area
residents. Nic G ranum , a vol
unteer firefighter and excep
tional teacher, will lead the class
w ith equipm ent donated by the
Portland Fire Bureau. Call 503-
823-4322 to register or send an
em ailto o ffice@ ifcc-arts.o rg .
Catlin Gabel Rummage Sale
C elebrating its 61” annual rum
mage sale, Catlin Gabel School
will hold a m assive fund-raiser
from T hursday, Nov. 3 to Sun
day, Nov. 6 at the Portland Expo
Center. The fair features liter
ally tons o f cheap buys span
ning over 88,000 square feet.
H ours are 5 to 9 p.m . on T hurs
day, 10a.m . to 6 p.m. on Friday
and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. on Sunday.
T a k es S ta g e
A search for identity
A fictional story that follows the lives
of a handful of abused inmates search
ing for identity in the midst o f violence
will be presented for two weeks only at
the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center
in north Portland.
“Voices” was written by Kwik Jones,
a Portland author, theater producer and
Jefferson High School graduate.
His inspiration for the play is the Soledad
brothers and brother George Jackson,
inmates at California’s San Quentin Prison
during the Civil Rights movement of the
1960s.
While Jackson, a powerful leader
among the inmates, speaks on finding
and maintaining a voice, the prisoners’
ideas are challenged. Can they face
their fears to overcome the oppressive
ways of abusive guards and will Jackson
survive the betrayal from one of his
own?
the ‘Voices’ production at the 1FCC,
5340 N. Interstate Ave.
Performances are Nov. 3-13 at 8
p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and
2 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $ 10 and $7
for seniors and students.
In addition to the play, there will be a
free show ing o f A frican-A m erican
paintings by Mo Jones in the IFCC
Gallery.
Enjoy This Play
Spaghetti Dinner
Those looking to help out a
cause by eating som e yummy
Italian food can visit a spaghetti
dinner being held by St. Charles
C hurch at 4 2 nd and N ortheast
Em erson Streets on Sunday,
Nov. 6 from noon to 6:30 p.m.
Spaghetti and m eatballs, salad,
garlic bread, a beverage and pie
will be served, and wine will be
available. For more information,
call 503-281-6461.
The African-American cast by Stu
dio 20 Entertainment features Victor
Mack, Shuhe, Kenneth Dembo, Andre
Barnes, Malcolm Ricks, Kwik Jones,
Sean Riley and Brian Jones.
Area residents are invited to a free
reading from the play at Reflections
Coffee House, 446 N.E. Killingsworth,
on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. The
community is also encouraged to attend
by
K wik J ones
If someone goes into cardiac arrest you
have up to four minutes to administerCPR,
10 minutes more to administerelectric shock
and hopefully if these steps are happen
ing, the person has a 40 percent chance of
survival.
Unfortunately, when it comes to keep
ing black art alive in the city, we are falling
into the fatality list.
Where are you, cinched in your grave
with your remotes? Stuck in the club with
Mike Jones, spinning on that bar stool, too
dizzy from your favorite cocktail or cock
tails?
What happened to us going to see com
munity plays?
Let me go back in time when it was cool to
check out a play; the days of when all the
mommies and daddies would get suited from
head to toe just to check out a show. When
cats would hit the streets with their honey.
Those days ot Langston, Zora Neale Hurston.
W.E.B. Du Bois; “The Negro Movement” aka
The Harlem Renaissance; the days of strong
black literature, art, music, and playwriting
and support from a community.
W e’re letting black art die. I don't want to
bring back the good old days. I want us to
make some new ones.
We must breathe life into our arts commu
nity so it will be accessible to those younger
ones who want to participate later on in their
lives. We must shock the community with
our support so black art isn’t just appearing
during Black History Month.
On some nights my pulse beats for the
theater or an art gallery. Remember you
only have four minutes to administer CPR
after cardiac arrest and only 10 minutes
after CPR to give the heart the electric
shock. Are we too late?
Kwik Jones has been w riting and pro
ducing plays fo r 10 years. His Studio 20
Entertainment Production o f Voices, fe a
turing an African American cast, opens
Nov. 3 fo r two weeks only at the Interstate
Firehouse Cultural Center.
Blood Drive
Essence M agazine, a lifestyle
publication for A frican A m eri
can wom en, will partner with
the Red C ross to host a blood
driv e at the P ortland D onor
C enter on 3131 N. V ancouver
Ave. from 7 a.m . to 2 p.m. on
N ov. 19. For m ore inform ation
or to make an appointm ent, call
1-800-GIVE-LIFE.
Adult Computer Classes
P o rtla n d Im p a c t’s M arshall
High School SUN program is
offering a free com puter class
for parents. T opics will include
basic internet, M icrosoft O f
f ic e an d W in d o w s s k ills .
C lasses will be held Nov. 9 and
16 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at
M arshall High School on 3905
S.E. 91” Ave in room A-43. To
register foreither class, call 971 -
570-1384.
Caregiver Resource Fair
A free resource fair for local
caregivers will be held Friday,
Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
th e P r o v id e n c e M e d ic a l
C en ter’s Social Room at 4805
N.E. Glisan St. The fair will fea
ture inform ation on in-hom e
assistance, adult day program s,
support organ izatio n s, stress
re d u c tio n , legal issu e s and
more. For more information, call
503-988-3646.
y e a rs
• T c o m m u n ity s e r v ic e
Kids Café Feeds Growing Minds
Boys and Girls
Club hosts
free meals
by K atherine B i . ackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
As anyone with a stom ach know s, it
can be difficult to concentrate with a
grow ling tum m y. Y our mind and body
either slow down to a standstill or run into
hyperactive overdrive when your highest
priority becom es figuring out the next
tim e y o u ’ll be able to feed yourself.
At the B lazer's Boys and G irls Club in
northeast Portland, as many as 500 stu
dents are getting help at balancing out
their hunger with the newly renovated
Kids Café, a program through A m erica's
Second H arvest which serves free, nutri
tious and tasty after-school m eals to ch il
dren and teens ages 6 to 18.
In addition tocreative, globally infused
cooking, the kids are taught how to keep
an eye on food labels, how to replenish
their bodies with better alternatives to
vending m achine fare and how to cook
dishes in their own homes.
“H opefully, starting this early will get
the kids in the p ro cess o f ch oosing
healthy food," said Scott Langen, resource
developm ent m anager for the Boys and
Girls Club.
W hile the club and the group Social
Venture Partners Portland join forces to
help low -incom e households feed their
Up to 500 local kids are given free, healthy meals every day after school at the Blazers Boys and Girls Club at 5250 N.E.
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
children, th ey ’re also providing kids with
w orking parents after-school activities.
The c afe serv es a hot dinner and
evening snack daily during the school
year, and a hot lunch and afternoon snack
during the summer.
A cook for more than 40 years. Kids
Café chef Betty Brain realizes the im por
tance o f a healthy, natural meal.
“ W hen they go back to do their hom e
work, they can relax and concentrate on
school or have energy for sports,” she
said.
Brian noted that sin ce m ost o f the
food, donated by the O regon Food B ank,
is n ’t p ro c e sse d , the end resu lt not only
continued
on page R5