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Il,r J l o r t l a n b
May 17. 2006
( O b s e r v e r Established
1970
USPS 959-680 _______________________________
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
Charles H. Washington
EoiTOK.Michael Leighton
D is td ib u tio n M anaged : Mark W ashington
C reative D idectod : Paul N eufeldt
O ffic e M anaged : Kathy Linder
R eported : Sarah Blount
E ditod - in -C h ie f , P ublished :
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and pholographs
should beclcarly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope.
All created design display ads become the sole properly of the newspaper and cannot be
used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general
manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE
PORTLANDOBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE
OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED
The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication- is a member of the
National Newspaper Association—Founded in 1885. and The National Advertising
Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York. NY. and The West Coast Black
Publishers Association
P ostmaster :
Send address changes to Portland Observer,
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CALL 503-288-0033
FAX 503-288-0015
news@portlantlobserver.com
Some o f the bravest
men m
’a the first black lawyers,
i*
Despite all odds, they
«• ,# J f l fought their way through
white colleges. If they
graduated
black
by Ron Weber colleges. Southern states
often ignored their de
grees, preventing them from entering the
legal system. Black women had even a
harder time.
John M ercer Langston was only the
fifth African Am erican man to graduate at
O hio's Oberlin College, a school founded
in 1833 and the first American college to
offer diplomas to women and minorities.
Langston was born in 1829, the son o f a
wealthy white plantation ow ner and a
m other w ho was black and Native Am eri
can. His mixed heritage would force him to
endure much racism. But a large inherit
ance after his parents died when he was
jus, five years old, paved the way for him
to become educated.
The highly regarded African American
leader Frederick Douglass took note of
Langston when he was a young man and
brought him to powerful events such as the
National Black Convention and m eetings
with other powerful leaders.
At Oberlin, Langston was denied a for
mal college law degree, forced to stop
after attaining a m aster’s degree. How
ever, his determ ination and influential
friends did help him find a mentor, the
noted attorney Philemon Bliss from Elyria,
Ohio.
Linder B liss's tutoring Langston passed
the state bar exam in 1854 and becam e the
first black lawyer in Ohio.
Langston knew that he would have to
move quickly to ensure him self a stable
and lengthy legal career in such volatile
times. Im m ediately upon passing the bar
he established a law practice in Brownhelm,
Cleveland Teacher Honored
Cleveland High School
teacher Robert Schlichting
has earned a Presidential
Award for Excellence in
M athematics and Science
Teaching.
Schlichting received the
honor earlier this month in
Washington, D.C. during vis
Progress. Excel. Achieve
For every Portland police
officer, there is a story...
Officer Charles Lovell
School Police Division
"I chose the Portland Police
Bureau because it has
a strong com m itm ent
to com m unity policing.
It's diverse, and a place
where a lot of different
people and ideas are
accepted."
Join us and write the
next chapter.
W
John Mercer Langston
Ohio where he won the election for
Town Clerk. He is believed to be
the first African American elected
to a political office in the United
States.
A decade later, Langston jum ped
right into politics again, something
that most black Am ericans had
little or no access to, when he won
a seat on the Oberlin City Council
and Oberlin Board o f Education.
He later shocked the nation when
he won a seat in the U.S. House of
R epresentatives.
Racists contested his victory for
alm ost the entire two years he was
a m em ber o f Congress. But he
never gave up and enjoyed politics
immensely.
Langston was also a military
hero. As a chief military recruiter,
he helped form the M assachusetts
54lh and 55lh, our nation’s first all
black regim ents, along with the
Ohio 5,h regiment.
After retiring in 1894, Langston wrote a
book, “From the Virginia Plantation to the
National C apitol”.
Looking back at his own life, he said his
highest m om ent was the day in 1867 when
black men won the right to vote, knowing
that the right of wom en to vote would soon
follow. Langston died in 1897 at the age of
88. Both Langston University in Langston,
Okia. and the town are named in his honor.
Contact
Officer Larry Anderson
503-823-0473
landerson@portlandpolice.org
www.joinportlandpolice.com
Integrity • Compassion • Accountability • Respect • Excellence • Service
its to the White House, the
U.S. Capitol and the National
Academy of Sciences. He is
the only science winner from
Oregon and one of 100 sev
enth- through 12th-grade
teachers nationwide to receive
the award.
He .received a $10,000
grant from the National Sci
ence Foundation, the inde
pendent federal agency that
administers the awards pro
gram on Behalf of the White
House, and the all expenses-
paid trip to Washington.
Robert Schlichting
Barbecue Supports School Program
Area residents and business
leaders are invited to attend a
Thursday, May 25 Civil Rights
Barbecue to support an after
school program at King School.
Entertainm ent will kick o ff
the 6 p.m. event at the school
located on Northeast Sixth Av
enue ju s t south o f A lberta
Street. The barbecue is hosted
by Schools Uniting Neighbor
hoods, a non-profit that works
in econom ically unstable areas
trying to equal ize children’s op-
portunities for education.
The after school program aims
to increase children's academic
and extracurricular capabilities
in a safe environment, as well as
offering classes for parents and
community members.
1st A n n u al SEI Academy
Show case!
Come and Explore the Academic
Student Experience at Our End of
the Year Open House!
Thursday May 25th 6-7:30pm
The Center for Self Enhancement
3920 N. Kerby Ave. Portland, OR 97227
Contact: Natasha Butler @ 503-249-1721 ext 327