February I. 2006
Page A6
Promoting Equal Justice for 61 Years
continued
from Front
fleer Vanessa Gaston left her position at the W ash­
ington State Department of Veteran Affairs to direct
the Portland league. She introduced a strategic plan
to push the league into a prom ising new direction.
Today, the organization has dodged the non­
profit kiss of death by stream lining its organization
and focus. The revitalized chapter has pared down
its staff to 17, with the same num ber serving on the
board. A shorter list o f program s em phasize quality
services designed to promote a single, priority
focus: closing the educational achievem ent gap.
The sweeping changes were the result of a rule
Gaston learned in the military: use your resources
wisely.
“The military taught me how to work in diverse
environm ents and focus on what the ultimate m is­
sion is,” Gaston said.
Adopting a single focus allowed the league to
use limited resources to connect education with
theirdevelopingem ploym ent programs. They made
a decision to move away from health and environ­
mental issues and traditional employment programs
because other non-profits focus on those areas.
Current services include NULITES, the National
Urban League’s Incentives to Excel and Succeed pro­
gram. This year they’re working with Roosevelt High
School freshman. They are redeveloping their employ­
ment program, which includes an existing annual Ca­
reer Connections Job Fair.
O ther programs include community outreach and
advocacy, and a multi-cultural senior center. The
League also helps low-income individuals by rent­
ing out 24 studio and one-bedroom apartments
above their north Portland offices.
Black History Month: Yes or No?
Observance draws debate
Vanessa Gaston, chief
executiveofficerof the Port­
land Urban League, replied
O scar-w inning actor
to Freeman’s statements
Morgan Freeman perpetu­
w ith a m irror-opposite
ated a debate when he re­
opinion.
cently suggested that the
“We created Black His­
observance of Black His­
tory Month because we
tory Month was ridiculous
were not learning about our
because it regulated black
accom plishm ents,” she
history to a month.
said. “Having the month is
Freeman said black his­
the right thing to do, until
tory is American history Vanessa Gaston
we become equal.”
and that the only way to
Gaston said Freeman,
end racism was to stop talk­
personal ly experienced the
ing about it.
first wave of the modem
The month was origi­
Civil Rights movement, but
nally Negro History Week,
believes the younger gen­
designated in 1926 by Af­
erations of black Ameri­
rican American educator
cans are culturally discon­
Carter G. W oodson’s to
nected from the anti-dis­
commemorate the mid-Feb-
crimination
movement.
ru ary
b irth d a y s
of
They haven’t had the
Frederick Douglass and
same experience with pov­
Morgan Freeman
Abraham Lincoln.
erty and racism, she said.
Woodson himself said
“What we need to do is bridge that gap,
he hoped the week would one day be
eliminated, when black history became and move the younger generation into that
movement.”
American history.
Gaston said in an equal world. Freeman’s
But, 70 Februaries later, the two don't
comments would have made sense.
seem near a harmonious merger.
S arah B lount
T he P orit . ani ) O bserver
by
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE O REGON HISTORIC SOCIETY
Edwin “Bill" Berry was named the first director of the Urban
League of Portland in 1945.
School Tax Supported
Mayor’s funding proposal to go to voters
Mayor Tom Potter unveiled a
new funding plan to save Port­
land schools on Thursday in front
of an enthusiastic crowd of par­
ents, educators, business and
community leaders.
The 5 p.m. rally at Benson High
School in northeast Porltand was
the kick-off to the campaign for a
proposed citywide income tax that
will be on the May ballot. The
new funding stream would be used
to keep Portland’s five school dis­
tricts afloat after the Oregon Leg­
islature again failed to fund the
state’s schools adequately.
"Portland isn’t turning its back
on Portland’s children,” the mayor
told an enthusiastic crowd. “To­
night, we begin to keep our promise
toour children to give them the kind
of quality education they deserve -
and they will need in order to have
the future we want for them.”
Mayor Potter’s plan calls for a
Portland-only income tax that would
last 4 years - or end as soon as the
Legislature adequately addresses
the state’s education needs. It
would end the double taxation im­
posed on Portland’s small busi­
nesses by the Multnomah County
l-Tax.
All of the funds collected would
stay in Portland; voters in David
Douglas, Centennial, Reynolds and
Parkrose districts will receive ap­
proximately $1.30 for every $1 in
taxes paid, while those in the Port­
land Public School district would
keep 95 cents of every tax dollar
paid.
Reed College celebrates
Black History Month 2006
photo by I saiah
c*
fccfclneerS /
*<
HEAVY
EQUIPMENT
OPERATORS
WANTED
bell hooks
Lecture: “Talking Intersections: Class, Race,
Gender, Nationality, and Religion”
7 P.M. I THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
TICKETS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
Feminist, social thinker, intellectual and author
hooks reflects on complex issues of our time.
Develop skills and build a
career in construction
Heavy Equipment
Operator
Michael Eric Dyson
Lecture: “Come Hell or High Water”
7 P.M. I FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
TICKETS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
and
Heavy Duty
Repairer
From his forthcoming book, Dyson speaks on what
Hurricane Katrina revealed about race and poverty
in America.
White
LEAftMf
“The Incredible Journey of Jazz’
Concert and Lecture
2 P.M. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
KAUL AUDITORIUM
Co-sponsored by the Portland Jazz Festival, this program
presents the story of jazz for middle-school children and
their parents.
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
Concert
7 P.M. I TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
rf/t *
ELIOT HALL CHAPEL
This group of acclaimed, rule-bending musicians fuses
traditional and popular African music in this avant garde
performance.
For more information, visit web.reed.edu/black_history_month/
or call the Reed events line at 503/777-7755.
REED COLLEGE
B ouif / T he P ortland O bserver
School advocates gather at Benson High School in northeast Portland Thursday to cheer Mayor
Tom Potter's proposal to financially support o f local schools with a new temporary income tax.
5203 St Woodstock Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97202
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