Portland observer., January 11, 2006, special edition, Page 24, Image 24

U A M
Page B1 2
M a r tin L iti h i r K in g J r ?"« R o s a P a r k s
? <
n
p e c i a
January 11,200b
/ have a dream
that one clay this
nation will rise
up and live out
the true meaning
o f its creed: “We
hold these truths
to be self-evident:
that all men are
created equal.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in
his "I Have a Dream" speech,
Aug. 28,1963
Dr. King’s ‘Beloved Community’
continued
from Hl I
“Hurricane Katrinaand Rita's
horrible aftermath and the ne­
glect from the White House in
Washington D.C. was the break­
ing down of “Beloved Commu­
nity,’’’Gordly explained.
She said here at home, suf­
fering comes to people facing
“Intelligence plus
character.
That is the goal
of a true education.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
got scolded by my mom for not
concentrating on breakfast.”
The reading habit ran in her
family.
“ My g re a t g ra n d m o th e r
read, so did my grandm other,
as well as my m other, none of
them could seem to put g book
down, and then o f course, I
too joined in on the reading
tations and accountability.”
“That is how it was when I
was growing up,” she said.
“O ur country has lost that and
we need to recapture it.”
Gordly said people must also
participate more in the political
process by voting.
“You cannot afford to keep
saying that voting does not mat-
O f all the forms o f
inequality, injustice in
health is the most
shocking and the most
inhuman.
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sen. Avel Gordly
disparities in healthcare, educa­
tion and welfare.
“A lot of children still languish
in poverty in Oregon with not
enough to eat. arriving at school
hungry,” Gordly said.
She shook her head at the
difficulties people face in get­
ting health care, quoting Dr. Mar­
tin Luther King Jr. who said,
“Of all the forms of inequality,
injustice in health is the most
shocking and the most inhuman.”
Gordly wants to see greater
educational opportunities.
“Reading is the key for the
younger generation, and every­
one for that matter,” she said. “I
used to read cereal boxes and
right along with them .”
Gordly also credits travel as
a way to acquire knowledge,
encouraging folks to get out of
their neighborhoods.
“I had the opportunity to
travel to Africa when I was
much younger in 1971,” she
said.
D escribing the em pow er­
ment of seeing black leaders
run the governm ents o f Nige­
ria, Ghana and Senegal, she
said, “ My trip to Africa was
em powering and my identity
was elevated.”
As to what other things people
can do for themselves, Gordly
said, “We need to have expec-
ter; it is not a privilege not to
vote, it is a privilege to vote.”
Reflecting on Rev. Martin
L uther King Jr. and Rosa
Parks’s legacy, she said that
“Part of our hope as a people is
our healing. It is to understand
how certain things happened in
this country, like where did the
alcohol and drugs that ferment
our neighborhoods come from?
Responsibility starts with one
another.”
“The ark comes back to the
king.” she said, describing what
happens when we don’t take
care for each other and more
importantly have basic respect
for one another.
We celeb rate
the life and
contributions
of Dr. M artin
Luther King, Jr.
Portland
Community
College
We're all about your future.
An Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Employment Institution Financial Aid available Approved tor Veterans training
On the day o f Parks’ arrest, the bus driver instructed her and three other
black passengers to give their seats to standing white men. Bus drivers
were afforded power as a police officer o f the city when carrying out
orders o f equal but separate accommodations. However, blacks seated in
the section set aside for them did not have to relinquish their seats to
whites unless there were other seats available. The bus was full that day;
the driver had violated regulations.
I