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January 10, 2 0 0 /
Bringing It All
Back Home
Choosing to be p art of Portland’s
young black leadership
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
When I met Cyreena Boston, I asked
her the same question this young Afri
can American leader in Portland is asked
every day.
Why did Boston leave Atlanta, known
as the “D.C. of the South” to return to
Portland, where the black community
and black leadership are only a fraction
of the southern capital’s.
Boston, a Portland native, spent seven
years in Atlanta, studying history and
Arabic immersion at Spelman College, a
private, historically black women’s uni
versity in the heart of the city. After
school she was poised to launch a
career.
“It was 100 percent amazing on an
academic, social and cultural level,”
Boston said. “But it was a very cocooned
experience."
Atlanta is honored as the birth of the
modem Civil Rights Movement, a place
where Boston excelled among the up
per echelon of African American soci
ety.
But among the elite she found it hard
to ignore the enormous disparity be
tween rich and poor. She decided to
leave Spelman during her junior year in
favor of hands-on public service work
in drug abuse and child prostitution.
Eventually, she launched her own pub
lic affairs television show, “Talk To Me
Atlanta”.
During her final year in Atlanta, Bos
ton returned to school to graduate with
a degree in American and European
History.
It was then she made the decision to
leave the South, but not for Washington
D.C., like her family and peers ex
pected. Instead, Boston found her way
back home in Portland, taking a job at
the Blazers Boys and Girls Club. Now
settled, she works as constituency di
rector for the Democratic Party of
Oregon.
Boston’s parents are supportive, but
she believes their opinion is that she
could have had her pick of careers in
D.C.
So back to the question Boston finds
a little annoying - why Portland? She
explains:
“ I got the seven-year itch and 1 knew
I couldn't be objective anymore,” she
said. “There was no challenge. I knew
as a black woman Oregon deserved my
photo by S ean O ’C onnor /T he
P ortland O bserver
Cyreena Boston is one of. many young African Americans from Portland who were whisked away to bigger and more
diverse cities. It's tough losing them, but sometimes, as in Boston 's case, they come back with a fresh perspective.
perspective.”
Boston has chosen to make Portland
her home again, but she won't tiptoe
around criticism of the city and its black
leadership. She believes leaders of the
1960s through the 1980s fought hard to
blaze a way, but...
“I’m not into hero worship. In my
parents’ generation a lot of ‘first tim
ers' were the first woman, black per
son, and Hispanic to have positions in
Multnomah County and Salem. With
that comes a lot of pressure, and keep-
continued
V
on page B3
Finding Common Ground in Justice
Activist follows Dr. King's message
to unify human struggles
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Kathleen Saadat has a mantra: big
otry is bigotry is bigotry.
The activist for African American,
women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender rights now serves as direc
tor of diversity and human resources at
Cascade AIDS Project, Oregon’s lead
ing HIV/AIDS advocacy and education
organization.
But since moving to Portland from
St. Louis 36 years ago, Saadat has
never limited her life’s work to race,
gender or class. Her devotion to human
rights follows the path of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., who said we must not
allow ourselves to be managed by ha
tred or terror.
“I have my own need to feel liber
ated, and I extend that need," she said.
Going back to her mantra, Saadat
finds that bigotry threatens to separate
Americans, as we splinter off into groups
to fight our own causes.
“We talk about freedom and justice
for all - and then say ‘not them’, and we
need to get over that,” Saadat said.
“Ci vil rights and justice are not divisible
along the lines of gender, sexual orien
tation and age.”
During her many years of experi
ence, a shining moment of Saadat's
advocacy occurred in the early 1990s,
when conservative supporters of Mea
sure 9 waged war with their anti-gay
ballot initiative.
Measure 9 failed in 1992, but the true
victory was when African Americans
and the LGBT community joined in the
fight together.
“W e’re confused about what civil
rights means," she said, “we think it
only has to do with race."
Saadat cites Huey P. Newton, co
founder and leader of the 1960s Black
Panther Party.
In his book of writings “To Die For
the People”, edited by Toni Morrison,
Newton expressed the need for the
black community to reach out to the
gay and lesbian community.
“Why don’t we know about this,”
Saadat said. “Because we are scared to
Kathleen Saadat
is a 65-year-old
African American
lesbian activist who
has supported a
rainbow o f human
rights causes for
more than 30 years.
We ’re confused about
what civil rights means...
we think it only has to do
with race.
- Kathleen Saadat, Portland activist
take hold of it, but Dr. King taught us it
was ok.”
Saadat’s role at Cascade AIDS Project
is to unite rather than divide civil liber
ties.
“I want this agency and staff to be
comfortable in the midst of people from
other countries and cultures.”
CAP was founded in 1983, at a time
when Americans were told HIV/AIDS
was a gay white man’s disease.
Over the past two decades we've
learned that silence and racial disparities
have caused a disproportionate number
of African Americans to contract HIV.
“ Black gay men kept raising the issue
and over time CAP started paying atten
tion.” Saadat said.
Her role at CAP is to culturally
expand HIV/AIDS awareness and edu
Judge Sees
Inequality at
an Early age
Local Leader
Committed to
King's Dream
Judge Adrienne
Nelson
Pursuing economic
justice for all
See page B11
cation by reaching out to minority
populations. Saadat initially came to
CAP in 2005, when former executive
director Thom as Bruner hired her as
m anager o f the Com munities of Color
initiative.
With full support of the board and
staff, current director Jean Ann Van
Krevelen created the position of diver
sity and human resources director this
past August. She said it was a natural fit
for the two roles to be combined.
“ Kathleen was promoted because of
her experience in both areas,” Van
Krevelen said. “She is an intelligent,
thoughtful, committed and compassion
ate person who is dedicated to serving
continued
on page H4
Black in
America
Charlene
McGee
See page B7
See page B15
»
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