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 2l 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.