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^Jnrtlanb (Observer Established 1970
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D istribution Mintijtt:
O pinion
Sarah Blount
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Oregon
Shakespeare
Festival
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
Failure on Minority Contracts
Murk W ashington
C reative D irector : Paul N eufeldt
Office M anager : Kathy Linder
R eevrter :
May 31. 2006
A shland
O rganized bus tours
June 9-11
contract opportunities than any
other group.
As the ranking member of
the Oregon congressional del
The follow ing is an open egation and one who has per-
letter to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, s o n a I
D-Ore.:
D ea r Sen. W y d e n :
Thank you for host
ing the February 2(X)6
meeting at Emanuel hos
pital with segments of
the African American
com m unity. As you
know, I was quite vocal
about the chronic, long
standing lack of participation of knowledge of this historical
African Americans firms and trend, it is time for you to take
workers on federally funded serious action and get directly
involved at the highest levels
projects.
As we d iscu ssed in the o f federal agency m anage
meeting, the situation over the ment. You must convene the
last decade or so has gotten major stakeholders and help
worse instead of better. In them formulate a clear and
fact, according to the most creditable strategy; assist in
recent data, African Am eri assuring the implementation of
cans continue to receive fewer a plan; monitor critical out-
Oregon’s Ron
Wyden can help
regional m em orandum that
would include best practices
of programs or program ele
ments known to have success
fully include African Ameri-
~ c a n s in e s s e n tia l
p h a se s o f fe d e ra l
projects.
You must person
ally set the agenda,
coordinate the partici
pation, clarify the ex
pectation, and pro
duce a document con
firming a collective
- James L. Posey, Coalition of Black Men
---- ™ c o m m itm e n t
to
start in the next few months, achieving substantial results
we recommend that you im over a reasonable period.
Your direct leadership, per
mediately convene a meeting
sonal
involvement, and assur
with Fred Hanson at TriM et,
Matthew1 Garrett of Oregon ance that this issue gets atten
Dept. of Transportation, Bill tion is our best guarantee that
Wyatt at the Port of Portland, genuine progress will be made.
James L Posey, Chairman,
and Portland M ayor Tom Pot
ter, to discuss participation in Economic Development Com
an alliance that would devise a mittee fo r the Coalition o f
proposal involving a potential Black Men
comes; and if necessary, rec
om m end appropriate san c
tions.
Because of several large
federal projects scheduled to
African Americans
continue to receive fewer
contract opportunities than
any other group.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William Shakespeare
intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
Racial Disparity in Court System
Bus Stop
by William Inge
($345/person double occupancy)
Equal justice
must mean
something
Sept. 2-3
The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William Shakespeare
The Winter’s Tale
by William Shakespeare
($275/person double occupancy)
Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
($345/person double occupancy)
j
V
- Qt
the tragic a I History o f Doctor fa u ttm IJ005) Ensemble
Intunote Apparel (zoo6) Gwendolyn Mulamba, Tiffany Adam».
Photos David Cooper and T Charles Erickson
Round-trip coach trip; dinner
with OSF actors; indoor and
BOOK NOW!
outdoor performances;
lodging In downtown hotels;
( 5 4 l) 482-2111, e xt.240
shopping and much more!
that fewer blacks support the
death penalty than whites and
other data shows that white
jurors are more likely to be
lieve the testim ony o f the po
lice and the prosecution's w it
nesses than the word of the
by
Sept. 29 - Oct. 1
Relax and Enjoy!
J udge G reg M athis
Racial disparity in the
court system has been a
problem for many years.
From arrest to trial to sen
tencing, many African-
Americans are all too
aw are o f the legal
system's injustices. Oth
ers, however, have failed
to acknowledge them.
Now, there is solid
proof that racial biases can af
fect a key component of the
justice process: the jury. Re
cent research shows that all-
white juries can be and often
are biased when deciding the
fate of a black defendant. Per
haps this ‘new’ evidence can
pave the way to change, ensur
ing juries are diverse and fair.
The study published in the
Journal of Personality and So
cial Psychology reveals that di
verse juries, especial ly those that
have both black and white ju
rists are more likely to hand
down a fair verdict.
Fifty percent of the study’s
participants on the all-white
mock juries thought a defendant
was guilty - even before delib
erations. On the diverse jury,
only 34-percent of whites had
made up their minds before re
amyr@osfashland.org
A thrte-day celebration hosted by the congregation
of
Ainsworth United Church o f Christ (AUCC), whose activities in
clude social response and action in Ihe greater Portland area,
support fo r community issues, and promotion o f interfaith under
standing. Proceeds will support the mission and ministry o f A UCC,
as well as our community partner f o r 2006, Elders in Action. A UCC
is also offering a special raffle fo r a three-night stay fo r two at the
Bellagio Hotel in lots Vegas, Nevada.
Friday, June 2 - Silent Auction, Hors D'Oeuvres and Dancing
When the sun goes down in Stump Town, we will gather at
McMenamin’s Edgefield, 2126 S.W. Halsey in Troutdale. From 6:30
to 10:30 p.m„ we will enjoy a plethora of hors d'oeuvres, have
great fun with our silent auction, Live music -featuring Janice
Scrogginsl-dancing. There will be something for everyone's taste.
Tickets are available now: $35 per person ($10.50 of which is
tax-deductible donation). Call the church as soon as possible at
(503) 284-8767.
Saturday, June 3 - Family Festival
Saturday marks the Fourth Annual Family Festival, featuring food,
beverages, an inflatable "Bounce House," a clown, face painting,
a Portland Fire Truck: and a jewelry, plant and book sale. Festivities
run from lla .m .t o 3 p .m . right next to the church onaclosed N.E.
30th Ave.
Sunday, June 4 -
Celebration Worship Service and Birthday Party
When you are as welcoming as AUCC, the worship service offers
inspiration, jubilation and the Word of God brought to you by people
pf profound faith, witness and service. This morning, Ainsworth's
Pastor Lynne Smouse Lopez’s sermon topic will be "Rejoicing in
the Gift of God's Spirit." Rooted in AUCC's traditional Four Seasons
Birthday Celebration, the after-church activity will honor and
celebrate everybody's birthday with scrumptious food, cakes, punch
and beverages. The drawing for the Las Vegas trip will be done at
the Four Seasons Birthday Celebration. The winner of the drawing
will receive a three night stay at the Bellagio Hotel for two adults
airfare included.
A Multi-Racial, Multi-Cultural, Open and Affirming Church
how diversity can be obtained.
It is still up to the defense
attorney to prove based on a
com m unity’s dem ographics
that whites are over repre
sented on a particular jury.
The defense must also prove
that a jury pool’s
lack of diversity is
a re s u lt o f the
prosecution’s de
lib e ra te e ffo rts .
This is time con
suming and more
often than not dif
ficult to prove.
Federal gu id e
lines need to be set,
guaranteeing that a
defendant of color,
living in a diverse
™ area, will have a
jury that is repre
sentative of that community.
The court has taken the first
step; now the federal govern
ment must follow suit, by pass
ing legislation that ensures the
term “equal justice” actually
means something.
Judge Greg Mathis is na
tional vice president o f Rain
bow PUSH and a national
board member o f the South
ern Christian Leadership Con
feren ce.
Recent research shows
that all-white juries can
be and often are biased
when deciding the fate
o f a black defendant.
viewing the
case.
The e x -----------------------
perts believe
that whites are more likely to
review the case more thoroughly
when there are minorities on the
jury, compelling them to hide
any racial biases they may have.
In other words, white folks will
‘act right' when they’re around
black (or Latino) folks.
Some prosecutors intention
ally try to bump black jurors
from cases involving black de
fendants, especially for death
penalty cases. Polls reveals
black defendant. In short, the
prosecution stacks the jury in
their favor. The defendant has
no chance of a fair trial.
The U.S. Supreme Court
has voted down the practice
of disqualifying jurors based
on race and has more than
once cited the need for jury
diversity. The court, however,
hasn’t made clear just how
‘diverse’ a jury should be and
hasn’t offered any advice on
Letters to the Editor:
The horrific stabbing of north
Portland resident Claudia Rhone
by her ex-boyfriend, despite a
restraining order, jail time for
harassment and multiple calls to
police on the day of her death, is
a tragic example of the severity
of domestic violence in our com
munity.
By no means was this murder
an isolated incident, hut it does
point to the inadequacies of po
lice response, protection and the
inability of the judicial system to
work for victims and survivors
of domestic violence or sexual
assault.
Local domestic violence and
sexual assault organizations have
filled a crucial gap in services
and education, but core services
to survivors could be drastically
reduced with the adoption of
D iane
L in n ’s p roposed
Multnomah County 2006-2007
budget.
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Portland Women’s Crisis Line
is facing a cut of $82,000 in the
proposed budget. This translates
to 43 percent of the crisis line
budget, disrupting services and
making our future unsure.
Last year, the crisis line re
sponded to 35,668 callers and
provided in-person support to
150 survivors of rape and sexual
assault. PWCL provides 24-hour
resources and support to any
individual, friend, or family mem
ber who has been affected by
domestic or sexual violence. We
have been an active participant
in this struggle for more than 30
years and continue to be the
only 24-hour crisis line of its
kind serv in g M ultnom ah
County. Proposed cuts will pro
foundly affect services includ
ing the 24-hour crisis line, crisis
counseling, safety planning, re
source and referral, advocacy,
legal help, shelter bed space,
m otel
v o u ch erin g ,
cab
vouched ng, education and pre
vention services.
Who will answer calls from
survivors of domestic and sexual
violence if we are forced to cut
services in response to the pro
posed budget? Who will work to
fill the gap between survivor
support and the current state of
the judicial system?
The W omen’s Crisis Line
faces a grim reality, as does the
survivors of this community.
This is an issue that deserves
immediate attention.
Colleen McDonald
Portland Women’s Crisis
Line Marketing and Outreach
Committee
L egal N otices
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