www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
February 7. 2 0 0 7
Super Bowl Win
M etro
Dungy beats protege
Smith fo r biggest
win o f his career
iCl’c ^.lortlaitb QDbscrticr
See Sports, page B6
/ c o m m u n it y
C a le n d a r
Bernice King Honored
Saturday, Feb. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the H oli
day Inn Convention Center, 1441 N.E.
S e c o n d A v e ., th e W illia m s -K in g
V ancouver A venue B aptist Church schol
arship banquet will host Bernice A. King,
the youngest daughterof'D r. Martin Luther
King, Jr., as the motivational keynote
speaker. Tickets are $50 per person. For
more information, call 503-282-9496.
Ghana Women’s Art Exhibit
W SU Vancouver, 14204 N . E. Sal mon Creek
Ave., hosts a pow erful W est African art
exhibit with guest lecturer and well-knowni
G hanaian art historian Nii Q uarcoopom e.
T he gallery hours are M onday thru T hurs-
day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. For more inform ation, call 360-1
546-9580.
Say Hey Meet and Greet
Thursday, Feb. 8, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Partners in D iversity will host a Say Hey,
NW meet and greet reception to welcome
new professionals o f color to Oregon and
Southw est W ashington, at S elf E nhance
ment, Inc., 3920 N. Kerby Ave. Call 503-
5 16-3505 orem ail nakashim av@ mac.com.
Girl Scouts Screen Video
Sunday, Feb. 11, from 2 p.m. to4 p.m., at the)
Kennedy School Theater, the Girl Scouts
will raise funds for its Fam ily G iving Pro
gram with the screening o f the locally
produced video “A Circle is Round.”
Men’s Wellness Screening
Saturday, Feb. 10, Legacy Emanuel Hospi
tal, Lorenzen Center, host M en's W ellness
screening, 8 a.m. to Noon: health-screen
ing tests are available for a fee o f $10, to
schedule a required appointm ent, call 5034
335-3500.
PCC: Recruiting Fair
Saturday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m..
Portland C om m unity C ollege C ascade
C am pus Student C enter Building-Diningj
Room . 705 N. K illingsw orth St., host the
free instructional fair to inform part-tim e
faculty candidates o f available opportuni
ties.
Presidents Day Rally
M onday, Feb. 19, show your support to
im prove Portland public schools. Sup
porters will rally, rain-or-shine, on the capi
tal steps in Salem at Noon. Visit stand.org/
or/2007rally for more information.
SECTION
B
C ritical H ousing Success
Southeast site
transforms
unsafe area
Lincoln W oods has a sordid past
life as adilapidated drug house amid
a v acan t field, but now stands
proudly as an affordable and safe
com m unity for East County resi
dents.
Lincoln W oods. 2333 S.E. 130th
Ave., is the latest com plex opened
by Human Solutions, a local non
profit serving low-income and home
less individuals and fam ilies in
M ultnom ah County.
T he new neighborhood en v e
lopes four buildings made up of
apartm ents and tow nhouses for 70
fam ilies, including nearly 200 chil
dren.
The original house was set on
crum bling foundation with rotten
floors, broken window s, m old and
num erous leaks left by squatters
and frequenting drug addicts. But
y o u 'd never know that by its present
sight.
From the advanced framing tech
niques and energy efficient co n
struction to a playground as its
centerpiece, Lincoln W oods is a
brightly painted and landscaped
exam ple o f how one organization
can transform an unsafe area into a
accessible com m unity for low-in-
com e families.
In a city w here affordable hous
ing is a critical social issue, Lincoln
W oods' monthly rent is set at 30
percent to 50 percent o f the Area
M edian Income. In their part to fill
the gap, every unit was leased less
than two weeks after the grand open
ing last month.
The southeast Portland affordable housing community of Lincoln Woods opened last month with 77 apartments and
townhouses for families with children.
Portland non-profit Human
Solutions demolished this
drug house and turned the
property into a new housing
site, with the help of $8
million in Low Income
Housing Tax Credits and a
$1 million loan.
Portland International Film Festival
Sisters Fat Tuesday
T uesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30
p.m. at 137 S.W . Sixth Ave., Sisters o f the
Road, a non-violent com m unity advocacy
group, will celebrate breaking ground on
the P ersonalistC enterexpansion, with Fat
T uesday festivities include music, gum bo,
and Mardi G ras fun. All are welcome to this
free event.
Black History Foundation
T he Black History M useum o f O regon is
seeking the brilliant m inds o f concerned
individuals to help in restructuring the
museum foundation'seom m ittee. Call 503-
284-0617 for more information.
Weight Loss Series
N ew Seasons M arket at Northeast 33rd
and Killingsw orth Street will host free
w eight loss classes on Feb. 28, March 28,
and April 25 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Community Support
T he African A m erican Health Coalition, a
non-profit that touches the lives o f m il
lions o f African Am ericans each year,
rem inds you to support your com m unity
organization. All donations, grants, and
gifts are tax deductible. For more inform a
tion, visit aahc-portland.org.
Diabetes Support Group
Legacy Emanuel Hospital hosts a diabe
tes support group the first and third T hurs
days o f every month, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
inR oom 1027.
Bradley-Angle House
T he Bradley-A ngle House needs volun
teers to help its outreach against dom estic
violence. W om en o f color and bilingual
w om en are encouraged to call. For more
information, cal 1503-282-9940.
Parenting Classes
N ew borns d o n 't com e with instruction
m anuals but parents and parents-to-be
can attend classes through Providence
H ealth System s to learn about a variety of
to p ic s fro m p ain and c h ild b irth to
breastfeeding to infant CPR and much
more. For a schedule o f events, call 503-
574-6595 or visit: providence.org/classcs.
Which is the more dangerous predator: an eagle or a shark? That's a trick question in the New
Zealand film "Eagle Vs Shark" at Regal Broadway Metroplex. Visit nwfilm.org for show times
and dates.
Kicks off with broad mix fo r movie lovers
The Northwest Film Center rem inds movie lovers
there is life beyond big-budget H ollyw ood w ith the
30th Annual Portland International Film Festival,
Feb. 9 through Feb. 24 on silver screens across the
city.
This y ear's festival opens Friday at the Newmark
Theatre at the Portland C enter for the Perform ing
Arts, with the internationally aw ard w inning G er
man film “The Lives o f O thers,” this y ear's O scar
nom inee for the Best Foreign Language Film.
D irector Florian Henckel von Donners will be in
attendance, joining the audience for the opening
night party in the theater's foyer, featuring m usic by
P ortland’s Stolen Sweets.
Festival films also will be shown at the Regal
Broadway Metroplex, KM X)SW Broadway: Newmark
Theatre, 1111 S .W .B ro ad w ay ;C in em a2 l.6 l6 N .W .
21st Ave. and the NW Film C en ter's W hitsell A u
ditorium in the Portland Art M useum, 1219 S.W.
Park Ave.
T he film festival is one o f the region's most
culturally diverse arts events and offers a window
continued
on page B5
Diversity Officer Takes Helm
P aul S c a rle tt, d ir e c to r o f
Portland’s Bureau o f D evelop
m ent S erv ices, has p rom oted
M ikal Shabazz to a newly created
position for m anagem ent o f the
bureau's diversity developm ent/
cultural com petency and affirm a
tive action program s.
Shabazz is charged with ad
dressing various levels o f bureau
work related to conflict resolu
tion, relationship building, o u t
reach. recruitm ent and a host of
other assignm ents.
"This appointm ent is aim ed at
furt heri ng one o f my pri mary goals
within the bureau and that is to
foster and prom ote a positive,
productive and accepting w ork
ing environm ent for both our em
ployees and cu sto m e rs” , says
Scarlett.
Shabazz has been em ployed
with the city for 18 years and
Mikal Shabazz
“37 Uses for a Dead Sheep" will be screened at Regal
Broadway Metroplex. 1000 S.W. Broadway, during the
Northwest Film Center's Portland International Film Festival,
Feb. 9 through Feb. 24.
Mikal Shabazz promotes workplace goals
worked previously as a plumbing
inspector.
As a respected leader in the
com m unity, he brings years of
experience to the position in deal
ing with cultural com petency is
sues and facilitating resolution o f
com plex interpersonal and group
conflicts.
He is an internationally known
speaker on diversity issues and
recently traveled to Sierra I ro n e to
assist villagers with health, infra
structure and com m unity issues.
“T o ev o lv e the co n c ep t o f
d iv e rsity fro m c o m m itte e to
co m m itm en t, th ere m ust be a
firm reso lv e on the part o f m an
agem ent to d ism a n tle sy stem ic
ex c lu siv ity an d co n stru e , from
the gro u n d up in c lu siv ity not
only in w ords but in d ee d s,"
says S h ab azz. "C h an g e is no,
alw ay s easy , bu, n e c e ssa ry ."