September 20, 2006
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Page A3
PDC Under Fire
Institutional
racism targeted
by activists
** j
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The city agency designed to
reverse blight in urban Portland
is under tire from African A m eri
can leaders, w ho say th e y 'v e
been neglected in the Portland
D e v e lo p m e n t C o m m is s io n 's
agenda.
M ore than 90 people attended
the agency’s board last week to
press the issue o f what Sen. Avel
Gordly called “institutional rac
ism", Gordly was joined by Port
land U rban L eague president
M arcus M unday, Dr. L eR oy
H aynes Jr. o f A llen T em p le
Church and form er PDC execu
tive Baruti Artharee.
Charles W ilhoite, a PDC board
member, said that as an African
A m erican he ap p reciated the
group’s concerns, and that he
shared their opinions.
The outspoken leaders repre
sent a community unsatisfied with
Portland's attem pts to spread its
prosperity into their neighbor
hoods with construction projects
overlooking m inority w orkers,
and a hom e-ow nership gap that
leaves African Americans lag
ging.
PD C ’s annual budget is $247
million this year - money for
projects like recreating the outer
southeast Portland com m unity
o f Lents and developing the high
profile South W aterfront Project
and Pearl District.
Historically, African American
Sen. Avel Gordly
Rev. Dr. LeRoy Haynes Jr
com m unities have felt the short
end of the stick when it com es to
urban renewal. Frustrations have
increased since African A m eri
cans were moved out of North
Portland to make way for Legacy
E m an u el H o spital & H ealth
More and
more people have
told me PDC
means People
Don't Count.
— Baruti Artharee,
former PDC executive
C en ter's expansion in the early
1970s. followed by an upheaval
to make way for Interstate 5 and
M emorial Coliseum.
The activists want to see pub
lic dollars start to work more in
the favor o f African American
neighborhoods. They say that
starts with more representation
in agency staff. PDC, already
lagging behind in em ployee di
versity, recently lost three Afri
can Am ericans in a public depar
ture - Tyrone Henry in contract
ing and Allyson Spencer and Rita
McCain in housing.
Based on voluntary inform a
tion provided by employees. PDC
says about five percent o f its
staff, or 10 o f 185 employees,
are African American. None of
the agency's executives is A fri
can American. About six percent
o f Portland's 514,0(X) people are
African American, according to
a 2005 estim ate by the U.S. C en
sus Bureau.
Artharee gave a sobering ex
ample o f the agency's reputa
tion, telling the board that "more
and more people have told me
PDC means People D on'tC ount",
"This isn't about any single
issue," he said after the meeting.
"It is one o f being ignored and
not caring.”
Portland Broadcasts Scheduled
T w o public gatherings to hear
from N ation o f Islam leader
M inister L ouis E arrakhan are
scheduled this w eekend in Port
land.
O p en E y es P ro d u c tio n s w ill
h o st a w id e sc re e n D V D
b ro a d c a st o f F a rra k h a n 's S tate
o f the B lack U nion A d d re ss,
w ith h o st T a v is S m ile y , on
F rid a y , S ep t. 22 at R e fle c tio n s
C o ffe e /T a lk in g D rum B o o k
s to r e , 4 4 6 N .E . K illin g s -
w o rth St.
T h e free b ro a d c a st b e g in s
at 6 p .m . an d is fo llo w e d by a
d iscu ssio n .
O n S u n d a y , S e p t. 2 4 ,
Farrakhan will address the c o m
m unity via D V D in a speaking
o g is m r u ;
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JET LI IN HIS FINAL
L ARTS EPIC
From the producers
of “HERO” and
CROUCHING TIGER,
HIDDEN DRAGON”
M inister Louis Farrakhan
eng ag em en t titled “T he A buse
ol the F e m a le ', broadcast at
U n iv e rsity Park C o m m u n ity
C en ter, 9 0 0 9 N. Foss in St.
Johns, D oors open at 1 p.m . and
adm ission is free.
Woman Named to Supreme Court
Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed
Martha Lee Walters to the Oregon
State Supreme Court Monday, add
ing a woman to the all-m ale panel to
t ill a vacancy created by the retire
ment o f Justice R. W illia m Riggs.
legal analyst who comes from a
unique background, and we are
lucky to have her serve on the
co u rt," the G overnor said. "She is a
real person who has a sense o f what
is happening on the ground, and
she cares deeply about Oregon, the
laws and the people.
Walters has close to 30 years’
experience in c iv il litigation, labor
law and m unicipal law.
Kulongoski said he was also
pleased to appoint a woman.
She is w id e ly acclaimed fo r her
representation o f disabled profes
sional g o lfe r Casey M artin in his
lawsuit against the PGA T our over
the T o u r's refusal to a llo w M artin
to use a g o lf cart. The case went all
the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,
which ruled that federal law required
the PGA to accommodate M artin
by allow ing him to ride thegolfcart.
“ Ms. W alters is an outstanding
ÎÂ
" It is important to havejudges o f
varied backgrounds and e xp e ri
ences. We need to continue to
strive to d ive rsify both the bar and
bench in Oregon so they better
reflect the population they serve,"
M artha Lee Walters
H f jjjj/ / u r o
he said.
Walters resides in the Eugene
area and is married w ith tw o grown
children.
Sickle Cell Annual Telethon Upcoming
More pledges and
entertainers needed
Join the fight against Sickle Cell D isease by
calling in y our pledge during the A nnual Sickle
Cell T elethon, Saturday, Sept. .30 from 4 p.m. to
8 p.nt. at M etro Fast C o m m u n ity M edia Studio,
829 N F 8th in G resham . T he fun d raiser will air
live on channel 21.
Sickle Cell is an inherited blood d iso rd er p ri
marily affecting m orethan 70,000 African A m eri
cans but frequents H ispanic. G reek. M altese.
I
C aucasian and o ther races. T his painful and
disabling hereditary disease often results in early
death.
T he Sickle Cell A nem ia Foundation o f O r
egon still seeks volunteers o f all kinds to help
with entertainm ent for the telethon. For m ore
inform ation o r to donate o r provide e n te rta in
m ent, call the foundation at 5 0 3 -2 4 9 -1366 or
503-667-7555.
I .ocatedat 4936 N F Skidm ore, the foundation
o tte rs tree testing, lim ited financial support for
those suffering from the disease, free c o u n se l
ing, parent education and support groups.
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