Pilot Women are
Champions '
Benson Student
Crowned
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Kelci Rae Alberti-
Flowers is the new
Miss Oregon Teen USA
years °/
•/community service
The No. I University of
Portland Pilots shutout
UCLA in College Cup final
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Jaortlauit ©bserUEt
‘City of Roses’
www.portlandobserver.com
Established In 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXV, Number 48
Wednesday • December 7, 2005
Torturing Called Justified
Most Americans and a majority
of people in Britain, France and
South Korea say torturing terror­
ism suspects is ju stified at least
in rare instances, according to
AP-Ipsos polling. M ost people
opposed torture under any cir­
cum stances in Spain and Italy.
___
Plane Slams Into Building
A plane loaded with Iranian jo u r­
nalists slammed into a 10-story
apartm ent building in Iran T ues­
day, as the pilot attem pted an
emergency landing after devel­
oping engine trouble. At least
128 people were killed including
34 on the ground.
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Marine Pilot Rescued
The pilot of a M arine H arrier jet
that crashed T uesday o ff the
coast o f St. A ugustine, Fla. was
rescued by a Coast G uard boat.
The Harrier crashed about 9:20
a.in. and the pilot was rescued
about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, a C oast
Guard spokesman said.
Hasan Davis portrays York, the only African-American member o f the Lewis and Clark Expedition o f 1804, at the Corps o f Discovery II Lewis and Clark National
Historic Trail touring exhibit at Fort Vancouver.
‘York’
FEMA Response Broken
Facing a grow ing body count and
shortages o f food, w ater and ice,
federal emergency officials knew
their response system had been
shattered by H urricane K atrina
and were unable to provide fast
help even obvious needs, new
docum ents o f the Aug. 29 storm
reveal.
DeLay Charges Upheld
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas,
could face a trial early next year
now that a judge has refused to
throw out m oney-laundering al­
le g a tio n s a g a in st th e fo rm er
House m ajority leader.
Race Riot Suit Settled
The children and sisters of a Lillie
Belle Allen, a black woman who
was killed during race riots in the
central city o f Pennsylvania 36
years ago will share in a $2 million
se ttle m e n t, c ity o ffic ia ls a n ­
nounced Tuesday.
Food Wagon Ban Wanted
Citing health concerns, the city
o f Nashville, Tenn. is consider­
ing a ban on the food wagons that
dot busy streets in im m igrant
neighborhoods. But critics say
the proposed ban has more to do
w ith cultural d ifferences than
health.
Professor Attacked
A K ansas c o lle g e p ro fe sso r,
whose planned course on cre­
ationism and intelligent design
was canceled after he derided
Christian conservatives, said two
men along a rural road beat him
early Monday.
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‘Tent of Many
Voices’ rooted in
many cultures
Fort Vancouver’s National Historic Re­
serve is telling the story of York, the slave
and only African-American member of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804, as part
of the touring exhibit Corps of Discovery 11:
200 Years to the Future.
York and tribal stories from across the
Lewis and Clark Trail is a multicultural focus
to the exhibit’s two-week stop in Vancouver.
The event with actors portraying America’s
early explorers and native peoples is draw­
ing thousands of people to the Historic
Reserve, including hundreds of school chil­
dren each day. The exhibit is free and open
to the public through Sunday, Dec. 11 from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Little is known still today of all of York’s
contributions to the trek by Meriwether
Lewis and William Clark, the white explorers
dispatched by President Thomas Jefferson
to find a passage across the continent to the
Pacific Ocean.
A play written for the exhibit by Spokane,
Wash, actor David Casteal, and co writer
Bryan Hametiaux explores York’s life from
childhood through the expedition years and
beyond.
Expedition re-enactors and several pro­
grams put a special focus on the histories of
Coastal, Columbia River and Columbia Pla­
teau nations in the exhbit’s "Tent of Many
Voice." Programs about the landscapes of
the trail from conservation groups and other
state and federal agencies are also included.
continued
on page A6
Call to
Action on
Health
Local leaders
want disparities
narrowed
by K hava D arko
T he P ortland O bserver
The Multnomah County Health Depart­
ment led by Lillian Shirley and Sen. Avel
Gordly, held a healthcare disparities briefing
with U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith. R-Ore. at
Emmanuel Temple Church in north Portland,
urging him to support legislation to narrow
the health care gap between majority and
minority populations.
A consensus at the Nov. 30 meeting
concluded that racial and ethnic health dis­
parities in the delivery of healthcare ser­
vices result from a variety of sources and
that the government must commit finan­
cially to narrowing the gap.
The differences were blamed on such
factors as lower income, inequities in social
and physical environments o f certain popu­
lations, differences in health risk behaviors
and limited access to quality healthcare
services.
Also in the view of many researchers,
racism and discrimination, both current and
past, are thought to be the underlying causes
of the inequities, said Dr. Norwood-Knight
of Oregon Health and Sciences University.
He said African Americans would be
more at ease if they were dealing with one of
their own.
“Due to the history of this country, there
is a lack of trust in the care they might receive
continued
on page A6
Students from north Portland 's Self Enhancement Middle School sign their names to a poster recognizing Rosa Parks
as the mother o f the modern Civil Rights movement.
photos by I saiah B olie /P ortland O bserver
Moment of Silence for Rosa Parks
Portland's TriMet buses paused briefly
Thursday for a moment of silence dedi­
cated to Rosa Parks' memory after her
recent death and the SO"1 anniversary of
the Montgomery, Ala. bus boycott.
The civil rights activist is considered
the mother of the modern civil rights
movement for fighting segregation in the
United States by refusing to give up her
seat in a public bus sectioned off in re­
serve for white passengers only.
Her courage sparked a bus boycott
that lasted for 381 days in a Montgomery.
Ala. bus system made up of majority
black riders who refused to ride.
“By saying ‘no’ to inequity. Parks said
‘no’ ^discrim ination of black Americans
through segregation that included sepa­
rate drinking fountains, restrooms and
schools, TriMet official said.
The local transit agency and the com-
continued
on page A6
TriMet Bus Drivers Alberta Phillips and Jean Brown attend Portland's memorial
for Rosa Parks on the 5CF anniversary o f the Montgomery, Ala. bus boycott.
1