M a r tin L u t h e r K ing J r .
January 10, 2007
Page B7
2007 sp e c ia l ed itio n
Suddenly Black in America
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photo by S ean O ’C onnor /T he
P ortland O bserver
Charlene McGee is a young African woman living in America. Experiencing a clash
of cultures led her and her brother Charles to become community activists.
Siblings from Liberia follow in King’s footsteps
Charlene McGee wants you to know she is an
African - not an Oregonian or an African
American. But having spent the past 14 years
living with her family in Portland, she under
stands what it is like to be black in America.
As a native Liberian, McGee experienced an
ideal childhood turned nightmare when civil war
brokeout in her country in 1989. Family reunions
were traded for dodging bullets and a life in
hiding.
“You know the images in ‘Hotel Rwanda'?"
she asks. "That's what my family went through.”
As a child in Liberia, her grandmother re
turned from the United States with a stack of
books about Martin Luther King Jr. “This was
my first introduction of his philosophy,” she said.
“During the war 1 saw the bad. but King taught
us to see peace."
More than a decade has passed since McGee,
now 25, was brought safely to the United States,
but the trauma o f being black in Americacan still
shock her.
“The institution of racism is ingrained in
The institution o f
racism is ingrained
in America.
-Ch a rlen e McGee
America,” she said.
On the day she shares this story, U.S. Mar
shals rove about her café table. Minutes earlier
they had questioned McGee, probing her for an
affiliation with a person of color they were
searching for.
Her interaction with the heavily armed men
left her visibly shaken.
“What I saw this morning left me feeling so
exposed,” she said. “I grew up believing the
police were good people,” she said. “I came
here and it has changed, but I’ve realized I have
continued
on page Hl2
Working Together
to Build Our
Community Since
1945
photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Charles McGee outside his northeast Portland campaign headquarters in 2005 during a race for
school board. He said the campaign was the best learning experience he ever had.
Emergingyoung leader draws on his past
C harity P rater
T he P ortland O bserver
ForCharles McGee, finding unity among races,
genders and cultures means building bridges,
creating relationships and educating people about
diversity.
McGee, 21, is one of Portland’s emerging
young leaders. He looks to build his career with
elements of leadership, community and educa
tion just as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
did.
“Some people forget that Martin Luther King
Jr. sweat, cried and put his life at risk so that 1
could have the freedom that I do today," he says.
Born in war-torn Liberia, McGee and his
family, including his three sisters and one brother
came to America in search of a better life. His
father became his ideal role model as a promi
nent member of American society and success
ful school teacher.
McGee looks back to his childhood in Liberia
and vividly remembers seeing the tragedy of
by
/ see joy in everything
that happens. I believe
that everything happens
for a reason.
- Charles McGee
war. He remembers being a majority in a coun
try full of dark skinned people with prominent
black doctors and lawyers that looked like him.
After coming to America he saw a country
torn by racism. The discrimination of people
based on color gave him a better understanding
of the significance of being black in America.
Aftergoing through the Portland Public School
System, graduating from Franklin High School,
McGee saw the obvious need to change the
continued
on page B12
Mt. Hood Community College salutes the
dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
and his hopes of tomorrow.
Photo:
New Columbia, Portland, OR
Subcontracting opportunities a va ila b le
on the Hum boldt G ardens project.
Call Carolyn W ilson at 5 0 3 .2 2 2 .4 3 7 5
fo r m ore inform ation.
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