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Bi-racial Challenges
fPClPS o f
•^community service
‘City of Roses'
Ballet Flamenco
Playwright on
journey of self-
realization
Acclaimed dancer
coming to Portland
See story, Metro section
See story, Metro section
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^Inrtlatth (Dhseriuu*
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVI, Number 46
TLWeek ¡n
The Review
Randolph Sued for $1 Million
Zach Randolph,
the
lead in g
sc o re r
and
rebounder for
the P ortlan d
Trail Blazers,
has been sued
by a woman who al leges he sexu
ally assaulted her last August at
the Hotel Vintage Plaza in down
town Portland. The civil suit seeks
at least $1 million in damages.
Randolph was not criminally
charged after a police investiga
tion of the complaint.
Grant Stays Undefeated
Grant High School advances in
the State Football Cham pion
ships following last Friday’s 7-6
victory over Reynolds. They face
West Salem at 7 p.m. this Friday
at Lincoln High School. The Gen
erals are undefeated for the sea
son and the only team left in the
playoffs from the Portland Inter
scholastic League.
Legendary Journalist Dies
Legendary ‘60
M inutes’ cor
respondent Ed
B rad ley , the
p r e - e m in e n t
African-Ameri
can journalist
of his time, died of complications
from leu k em ia T h u rsd ay .
Bradley's probing questions and
salt-and-pepper beard d istin
guished him to millions of televi
sion viewers. He was 65. See story,
page A2
Racial Disparities Persist
Decades after the civil rights
m ovement, racial disparities in
income, education and home
ow nership persist and, by some
m easurem ents, are grow ing.
W hite households had incomes
that were two-thirds higher than
blacks and 40 percent higher
than Hispanics last year, ac
cording to data released T ues
day by the Census Bureau.
Stereotypes Hurt Men
Flawed government policies and
negative stereotyping of minor
ity men have limited their eco
nomic opportunities, a new study
says. The study by the Join, Cen-
terfor Political and Economic Stud
ies urges improved health care
and education for minorities and
less media consolidation.
Officer Admits Misconduct
A police officer
accused of asking
women to lift their
skirts duringatraf-
fic stop pleaded
guilty to official
misconduct and resigned from
the Portland Police Bureau Mon
day. John Wood, 31, faces two
years of probation and 100 hours
of community service. See story,
page A2.
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • November 15, 2006
M onument for the Ages
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The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. deliv
ers his ‘I Have a Dream' speech dur
ing the 1963 March on Washington,
not far from where the King Memorial
will be built on the National Mall.
civilian on the Mall.
Clinton, who received a standing ova
tion from the largely black crow d, noted
that the memorial will stand between the
Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln M e
morial. He said it is appropriate for King's
memorial to be between the man who
helped found the nation and the man who
protected the nation's ideals during the
Civil War.
"It belongs here," C linton said.
About 5,(XX) people braved light rain,
cold winds and mud for the cerem onial
groundbreaking, including poet and nov
elist Maya Angelou, television personal
ity Oprah W infrey, the Rev. Jesse Jack-
son and several m em bers o f Congress.
W infrey credited King and other civil
rights leaders with making it possible for
her to achieve what she's done.
continued
on page A3
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. (center), overcome with emotion, with Yolanda
King, and Rev. Al Sharpton, take part in the ground breaking ceremony for
the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington Monday. (AP photo)
Ground Broken for King Memorial
(A P) - President Bush, appearing at a
groundbreaking cerem ony Monday for a
memorial honoring slain civil rights leader
Dr. M artin L uther King Jr., said the
National Mall m onum ent will "preserve
his legacy for ages."
U nder overcast skies, Bush joined
form er President Clinton and a host of
civil rights figures and m em bers o f C on
gress to celebrate the m onum ent to be
built not far from w here King gave his "I
Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963.
"When Martin Luther King cam e to
W ashington in the sum m er o f 1963,"
Bush said, "he cam e to hold this nation to
its own standards. ... He stood not far
from here ... with thousands gathered
around him. His dream spread a message
o f hope."
"An assassin's bullet could not shatter
his dream," Bush said. "As we break
ground, we give M artin Luther King his
rightful place am ong the many A m eri
cans honored on the National Mall. It will
unite the men who declared the promise
o f A m erica and defended the promise of
A m erica with the man who redeemed the
prom ise o f A m erica."
The memorial, to be built roughly a
half-m ile from the Lincoln M emorial,
where King gave his historic speech, will
be the first to honor an African American
VOTING
Bernice King, daughter o f slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., is
kissed by her father's sister Christine King Farris during the ceremonies,
marking the beginning o f the construction o f the King Memorial on the
National Mall in Washington D.C. (AP photo)
Oregonians and citizens nationwide overwhelmingly voted to the left
during the Nov. 7 election, forcing Democratic Party control o f both
houses o f Congress fo r the first time since 1994. The Portland Observer
asked people what they hope to see from their new representatives.
Neighborhood
Citizens Force Change: Residents Speak Out
I think we need to lixik
at what people have
already tried that
doesn’t work. We
need to take a more
active, grassroots role
with more local
participation.
-K im m y Figueroa
Congress usually tends to
compromise when they’re not
in agreement. Clinton man
aged to balance the budget
and give us a surplus with a
Republican Congress.
-Joseph Mclnturff
After 20 years of
voting I think they're
all the same, but I
don’t think Congress
and the president
should ever be in the
same party.
-W ayn e Wagner
I’m excited about (Gov.)
Kulongoski because I’m a
union man. I’d also like to
see some change in the
course of action in Iraq.
-M ichael Wallingford
The most exciting thing is increased partici
pation in African American leadership,
including the governor-elect of Massachu
setts (Deval Patrick) and the Chair of the
House Ways and Means Committee (Rep.
Charles Rangel. D-N. Y.). I think democrats
are the only hope we have for increasing
access to health care and education.
-L aticia Tillman
Portland Community College
offered non-credit classes I
was interested in until
cutbacks. I think there will
be more course offerings,
student aid and grants.
-P eterC hang
t* Africa Center Unites a Continent
Fast growing
community served
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Portland's Immigrant and Refugee Com m unity
O rganization (IRCO) has begun a new chapter for
African refugees living in Oregon. The launch o f
A frica House, a service center supporting im m i
grants from 28 countries, is the first for O regon’s
pan-African com m unity.
The center will extend beyond IR C O 's services
to
help refugees adjust them selves culturally, civi-
photo by M ark W ashington TT hf . P o r ti . ank O bserver
cally and socially by providing help in navigating
Djimet Dogo coordinates services at the new Africa House,
providing social and cultural services for thousands of African A merican society - social services, health and w el
refugees and citizens living in Oregon.
fare assistance, education and transportation and
V
cultural norms.
“W e’ve been dream ing about this for a long tim e,"
said Djimet Dogo, the project’s coordinator and a
native o f Chad who m oved to O regon in 1999.
O regon’s African population is one o f the state's
fastest growing, home to many “second m igrants",
w ho m oved here from other states. O ut o f an
estim ated 15,000 to 2(),(XX) A fricans living here,
many are refugees living in the upper W illam ette
Valley.
Dogo said the state can expect even more A fri
cans when an influx o f 2O.(XX) central A frican
refugees arrive in the United States next year.
IR C O 's advisory board, the African Com m unity
Center o f O regon, consulted IRCO on the needs o f
African refugees, com ing up with the Africa House.
continued
on page A J