4 a deagnaU a M t ' "*> near you ^^Jartlaxxb © hseruer BP- it B ft 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, P 0 B o x 3 1 3 7 , Portland, 0 R 9 7 2 0 8 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