Committed to Cultural Diversity
Theater Hosts Harlem Choir
M etro
Performance scheduled in Longview
See inside, page B3
11,1 ^(.ìortlanò (©bserucr
/community
L it le n d a r
Write Around Portland
Are you interested in becom ing
a facilitator for W rite Around
P o rtlan d ’s volunteer-run ten-
week w orkshop? The w orkshop
is for low -incom e adults, hom e
less or m entally disabled people
or others w ho face barriers to
w riting workshops. C ontact Jill
Tuleya at 503-796-9224.
Pamper Yourself
The
E m m a n u e l T e m p le
W om en’s D ept. invites w om en
to a “ P am per M e” g athering on
S aturday, A pril 8 from 10 a.m .
to 1 p.m . to relax and en jo y one
an o th e r’s com pany w hile g e t
ting p am pered w ith free skin
and h a ir c a fe co n su lta tio n s,
foot and hand m assages and
w e lln e s s in f o rm a tio n . T h e
event takes place in the m u lti
purpose room o f the church at
1033 N. S u m n er St.
1-5 Bridge Planning
The public is invited to evaluate
ideas to reduce 1-5 bridge con
gestion on W ednesday, April 12
at Hudson Bay High School in
V ancouver and Thursday, April
13 at the Red Lion Inn-Jantzen
Beach in north Portland. Both
sessions, sponsored by the C o
lumbia River Crossing project
team, will take place from 4:30 to
7:30p.m.
T h e se c o n d a n n u a l m o b ile m u se u m
d e d ic a te d to N e g ro L e a g u e s , p r e
s e n te d by R o a d w a y E x p re ss an d its
p a rtn e r, the N a tio n a l N e g ro L ea g u e
B a se b a ll M u se u m , c o m e s to to w n
A p ril 12 a n d 13.
B efore Ja ck ie R o binson suited up as
a B rooklyn D odger, A frican A m erican s
th riv ed in th e ir ow n N eg ro N ational
L eague, foun d ed by A ndrew "R u b e”
F oster in 1920. T h e league o rig in ated in
the late 1800s and co n tin u ed until its
d eclin e in th e early 1960s. A thletes
crisscro ssed the co u n try , play in g e v
ery venue im ag in ab le in the pre-C ivil
R ights era, an d ap p ealed to all A m eri
can s w ith their g ifted ath leticism and
cro w d -p lea sin g sh o w m an sh ip .
M a jo r L e a g u e B a se b a ll e v e n tu a lly
re c ru ite d th e fin e st b la c k p la y e rs fro m
te a m s lik e th e L in c o ln G ia n ts, N e w
ark E a g le s a n d M o n tg o m e ry G re y
S ox P lay e rs. O th e r p la y e rs fad e d from
th e g a m e , a n d s o m e r e lo c a te d to
C a n a d a , b u t th e ir c o n trib u tio n s live
continued
on page B6
Jefferson Alumni
Basketball
O n April 14 at 6 p.m. Jeff alum s
will play a total o f three gam es:
late 80s versus early 90s; late 90s
versus 2000s; w inners’ cham pi
onship. Tickets are $5 for adults
and $3 for students. For more
inform ation, call 5 0 3 -9 16-5180,
extension 1352.
Royal Blues Rummage Sale
G rant’s Royal Blues Cham ber
Ensem ble hosts a rum m age sale
with than 33 families on S atur
day, April 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
at Rose City Park United M eth
odist Church, 583ON.E. Alameda
Ave..
Remodeling Workshop
M etro o ffers free w orkshop,
household lead test kit and home
im provem ent manual for do-it-
yourselfers w orking on homes
built before 1978. Saturday, April
8 from 10 a.m. to noon at the
Historic Kenton Firehouse, 8 105
N. Brandon Ave. No registration
required, for more inform ation
call 503-988-4000.
years r
•Tcommunity service
Before black men were allowed in Major League, they thrived in their own Negro Leagues. Find out more at the traveling
exhibit “ Times of Greatness" April 12 and 13 at PGE Park.
Boxing Champs Remembered at Knott Street
The city honored
heroic legends
C y c le
P o r tla n d
Habitat for Humanity
Fundraiser
Bri ng your treasures to Holladay
Park Plaza for the 3n* Annual
A ntique Appraisal Fair on April
1 l.fro m 10a.m. to 2 p .m . at 1300
N.E. I6'h Ave. RSV P is appreci
ated, by calling 503-280-2216.
B
Mobile museum illustrates a rich history of black baseball
G et your hands dirty at the
PCC no n -cred it class Intro to
C lay, 9 a.m . to 3:30 p.m . on
S aturdays from A pril 8 through
June 17 in room M A H B 108 at
the PCC C ascade C am pus, 705
N. K illin g sw o rth .C o st is$ 2 1 9 .
For m ore inform ation, call 503-
978-5205.
Discovering Treasures
___________________________________ SECTION
Negro League Comes to Portland
Turn Clay Into Art
Enjoy a great barbecue and m u
sic at “G ospel Lunch" at Beale
Street NW BBQ, 10721 N.E.
Sandy Blvd. on Sunday, April 9
from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Suggested
donation is $5, and 15 percent o f
fo o d s a le s g o e s to w a rd
P o r tl a n d ’s
H a b ita t
fo r
H um anity's hom e building ef
forts in Louisiana.
A p ril 5. 200 6
w w \.portlandobserver.com
S arah B i . ount
A bout 150 m em bers o f the bike
com m unity gathered in Eugene last
w eekend to discuss a serious cause:
how to put the “funding” in fun.
The goal o f the first ever Oregon
Bike Sum m it was to find w ays to turn
Oregon intothe “Cycling State”, much
like K entucky ow ns bluegrass and
T exas conjures im ag eso f the lone star.
I found out we have a long way to
go, if we w ant to catch up with the old
school and hardcore cyclists o f V er
m ont and Maine. And it’ll be years
before we can match F rance’s reputa
tion, w here every man, w om an and
child aspires to be a Tour de France
champ.
But w e’ve got a lot, and form er
chairm an o f O regon Parks and R ecre
ation John Blackwell put it best - “we
need to exploit w hat we have.”
So the bloggers, cycling advocates,
bike shop ow ners, festival organizers,
city em ployees and other m overs and
shakers met to figure out how to do
that best.
C ongressm an Peter D eFazio (the
only bike m echanic in C ongress) d e
livered the sum m it’s keynote address.
Standing at the podium in a plaid shirt
and jeans, D eFazio’s speech had me
envisioning beautiful bike paths in
se c lu d e d , w o o d sy se ttin g s am id
snow -capped m ountains. T ow ard the
end o f the speech I had to pull m yself
back dow n toearth. and into that Hilton
conference room , ju st in tim e to for
everyone to break intogroupstobrain-
storm marketing, resource and website
ideas.
Som e plans w ere tossed around,
including a great idea to link city and
county tran sp o rtatio n w eb sites to
m ake it easier for cyclists to navigate
the entire state.
A couple o f hours later most o f us
w ere satisfied with enough bike info,
inspiration and free flashing lights,
and we filed backinto the world to put
our new ideas into practice. Som e re
turned to their jobs, where they make
the effort to knit cycling culture into
the m ainstream . O thers, like myself,
got back onto our bikes, giving life to
the Italian phrase “beneath every
happy person lies a bicycle."
by
Sarah Blount is a reporter fo r the
Portland Observer.
Some o f Portland’s proudest sports his
tory cam e to life last Friday at the old Knott
Street G ym , now know n as the Matt Dishman
C om m unity Center. M ayor Potter and C o m
m issioner Dan Saltzman honored the famed
Knott Street Boxing Team, which included ten
A m ateur A thletic Union cham pions in the
glory years o f the 1950s, 6 0 ’s and early 70s.
The local honor follow s their induction into
the Oregon Sports Hall o f Fame last October.
“W hen you co n sid er our acco m p lish
ments, w e’re certainly the m ost successful
am ateur team in the history o f Oregon sports,”
said 1964 national AAU cham pion A. Halim
Rahsaan, the form er Bill Cross. “We should
have been in the Hall o f Fame a long time ago.”
A fram ed proclam ation by M ayor Potter
was unveiled, recognizing the team 's “co m
mitment to fostering com m unity relations,
youth outreach and racial equality at a time
when discrim ination w asstill widely accepted
and propagated in the United States.”
There isn’t another am ateur boxing club in
the country that has produced ten national
champions. Knott Street’s A. A.U. gold medal
photo by I saiah
B ouie /T he P ortland O bserver
Ray Lamkin (left), Mayor Tom Potter and A Halim Rahsaan honor Oregon Sports
hall o f famer Wade Smith (seated in center) last week in a ceremony for the
Knott Street Boxers.
winners included Tommy Thomas ( 1956), Pete
G onzalest 1961 ), Johnny H ow ard( 1961.1963,
1966) W ade Sm ith ( 1 9 6 2 ,1 9 6 3 )and M ichael
Colbert! 1968,1972).
Jody Harris and Louis Johnson com peted in
the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Nine of the
ten boxers were trained and coached by Chuck
Lincoln, a former Golden Glove champion who
later fought professionally as a welterweight,
middleweight and light heavyweight.
New Avenuesin Waldorf Education
"O ne o f our m issions was to
by S ahoi B lount
diversify W aldorf education,”
T he P ortland O bserver
Truby said. “Part o f our aim
A g ro w in g m o v e m e n t o f
was to com e to com m unities
“W aldorf-m ethod” schools across
w ithout many innovative o p
the nation blends the benefits o f
tio n s.”
holistic education with traditional
The
W a ld o r f- m e th o d
and accessible public schooling.
school will be unique within
Historically, W aldorf Schools
the Portland Public Schools
have reached children o f white,
system , in a w ay that breaks
middle to upper class parents who
down the traditional classroom
can afford the tuition of small class
structure.
room s and alternative p h ilo so
"T here’ 11 be sort o f a breath-
phies. W aldorf education is best
ing
rhythm th ro u g h o u t the
described as developm entally ap
day,"
Truby said. “ M oments
propriate - children are taught
o
f
quiet
work mixed with en
based on their readiness, not their
gaging
activity.
It’s generally
age or grade level.
what
children
are
likeanvway ’’
Social and financial barriers have
A
n
o
th
er
key
d
iffe ren ce is
restricted equal access, but that
the
main
lesson
block.
R ather
has changed in the past decade;
than
trad
itio
n
al
class
stru c
approxim ately 50 public and ch ar
tu
re,
ch
ild
ren
are
tau
ght a
ter schools across the country have
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
p
articu
lar
subject
o
r
them
e in
blended W aldorf and public ed u
The
Portland
Village
Charter
School
will
join
traditional
Waldorf
every
co
u
rse,
o
v
e
r
a
fo
u
r
to
cation, and the Portland Village
schools
in
the
area.
six
-w
eek
p
erio
d
.
S
tu
d
en
ts
Charter School will be the firs, o f its
also
use
so
u
rces
o
th
er
than
tex
tb
o
o
k
s,
and
T
hey’re
looking
at
closed
district
school
build
kind in the metro area. The tuition-free, pub
actu ally cre ate th eir ow n boo k s to keep.
ings for the K-3 school, and will add a grade
licly funded school opens this fall, aiming to
“T eachers teach m aterials, then ask stu
each successive year until they reach K-8.
meet the dem and for W aldorf education within
dents to create stories and draw ings in a blank
T he board found in sp iratio n in oth er
the public system, w hile achieving ethnic and
paper Ixxik, said board m em ber G aye Harris.
W aldorf-m ethod school, notably the Urban
econom ic diversity. The hybrid schtxtl will
“ E ssen tially it’s like startin g art school
W aldorf Schtx,I o f innercity Milwaukee, Wis.,
balance art, music, dram a and imagery with
at age six ," she said. “ By the tim e th e y 'v e
w here more than ninety percent o f students
lessons present in the public school system,
been d o in g it for a n um ber o f y ears they
with an aim to meet state assessm ent stan are African American. Their sister institution,
the Eugene Village Schixtl founded in 2<XX), is
b ecom e rem ark ab le artists."
dards. The school board is scouting locations
“Students keep b<x»ks for years, and feel a
in outer southeast and north Portland, spe a T itle I sch(x>l that reaches low -incom e stu
dents, more than half o f which are eligible for
cifically because they lack many educational
continued
on page R5
free o r reduced lunch
opportunities, said board m em ber Seth Truby.