50¿
37
years
Black
Special
Of
S community service
Coverage
Issue
Festival opens Friday with
Chick Corea and Gary Burton
Month
®íje
‘City of Roses’
Two Hot Weeks
of Portland Jazz
See Metro inside
Established in 1970
.W eek in
The Review
New
dollar
coin
New Dollar Coin Debuts
it's not easy overcom ing people's
indifference to dollar coins. An
A P-lpsos poll found that three-
fourths o f people surveyed op
pose replacing the dollar bill with
a dollar coin. A new version o f the
coin, paying tribute to A m erican
presidents, goes into general cir
culation Thursday.
Local Soldier Dies in Iraq
The Defense
.
IJepartment
announced the
1
death o f a Port-
land soldier in
•W
jfc a l A fg h a n is ta n .
Sgt. Long N.
N g u y en , 27,
died Feb. l()of what officials cal led
a "non-com bat related wound."
N guyen was bom in V ietnam but
moved to A m erica when he was 3.
He graduated from M adison High
School in 1996.
*
Fierce Debate on Iraq War
H ouse m em bers fiercely debated
Iraq w ar policy T uesday in an
emotional and historic floor faceoff
ovei aconflict that S peaker Nancy
Pelosi lambasted as a U.S. com m it
m ent with "no end in sight." See
sto ry , p ag e A2.
Bush Called an Alcoholic
A l-Q aida’s No. 2 said President
Bush was an alcoholic and a lying
gam bler w ho w agered on Iraq and
lost, according to a new audiotape
released Tuesday by a U.S. group
that tracks extrem ist messages.
Frenzy over Playmate Death
F ans o f A nna
N ic o le S m ith
a r e n 't m aking
pilgrim ages to
the place where
sh e sp e n t her
f in a l
days.
T h e y ’re not le av in g flo w ers.
T h ey’re not gathering in crow ds
to express their grief. Instead,
em otions are being expressed on
blogs, W eb pages and online m es
sage boards. See sto ry , page A2.
Marijuana Eases Foot Pain
S m o king m arijuana eased H IV -
related pain in som e patien ts in
a sm all study that n ev e rth eless
rep rese n ted one o f the few rig o r
ous attem p ts to fin d out if the
drug has m edicinal b enefits. See
s to r y , p a g e A2
Teen Goes on Rampage
An 18-year-oldgunm ankilledfive
people and w ounded four at a Salt
Lake City shopping mall Monday
before being shot dead by an off-
duty police officer.
wwtv.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVII. N um ber 6
-■»■X
Wednesday • February 14, 2007
Sen. Obama Launches White House Bid
Evokes Lincoln
to unite a nation
(AP) - Barack Obama announced
his bid for president Saturday evok
ing A braham Lincoln’s ability to
unite a nation and portraying him
self as a fresh face capable o f lead
ing a new generation.
"Let us transform this nation," he
told thousands shivering in the cold
at the cam paign’s kickoff Saturday
at the Old State Capitol in Spring-
field, 111, the historic statehouse o f
A braham Lincoln.
Obama, 45, began his elective
career 10 years ago in the Illinois
L egislature. T he first-term U.S.
senator sought to distinguish him
self as a staunch opponent o f the
Iraq war and a W hite House hope
ful whose lack o f political experi
ence is an asset.
"I know I haven't spent a lot o f
tim e learning the w ay so f W ashing
ton . But I've been there long enough
to know that the ways o f W ashing
ton m ust change," O bam a said to
som e o f the loudest applause o f his
20-m inute speech.
In his speech, O bam a did not
mention his roots as the son o f a
man from Kenya and a woman from
Kansas, his childhood in Hawaii
and Indonesia or the history he
would make as the first African
A m erican to hold the highest office
in the land if elected. That com pel
Sen. Barack Obama, D-lll. waves to spectators as he arrives to announce his candidacy for
president o f the United States at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, III., the historic statehouse of
Abraham Lincoln.
ling biography has turned him into
a political celebrity.
Instead, he focused on his life in
Illinois o ver the past tw o decades,
beginning with a jo b as a com m u
nity organizerwitha$13,(XX)-a-year
salary that strengthened his Chris
tian faith. He said the struggles he
saw people face inspired him to get
A Multicultural Life
See related story, page A5
a law degree and run for the L egis
lature, w here he served eight years.
"We can build a more hopeful
America. And that is why, in the
shadow o f the Old State Capitol,
where Lincoln once called on a
house divided to stand together,
where com m on hopes and common
dream s sti 111 i ve. I stand before you
today to announce my candidacy
for President o f the United States of
America," O bam a said. His voice
rose to a shout as he spoke over the
cheers from thousands w ho braved
tem peratures in the teens.
"I know it's a little chilly, but I'm
fired up," O bam a said as he took the
podium with his wife M ichelle and
daughters M alia. 8, and Sasha, 5,
with U2's "City o f Blinding Lights"
blaring on the speakers.
O bam a gained national recogni
tion with the publication o f two
best-selling books, "Dreams From
My Father" and "The Audacity o f
Hope," and by delivering the k ey
note address at the D em ocratic
National Convention in 2004 — the
same year he w as elected to the
Senate. His optim istic m essage and
personal story immediately sparked
talk o f his W hite House potential.
H e sp o k e o f re sh a p in g the
econom y for the digital age, invest
ing in education, protecting em
ployee benefits, insuring those who
do not have health care, ending
poverty, weaning America from
foreign oil and fighting terrorism
while rebuilding global alliances.
But he said the first priority must be
to end the w ar in Iraq.
"American lives can resolve the
political disagreem ent that lies at
the heart o f someone else's civil
continued
on page A5
Morning Star Church Rises from the Ashes
Faith community
unites in the
wake of tragedy
bv S arah B loijnt
T he P ortland O bserver
A wind blew down northeast Portland on
Sunday carrying the scent o f charred rubble
and mixed with the powerful w ords o f a
special service at M orning Star M issionary
Baptist Church.
A makeshift tent stood ju st behind the
burned out rem ains o f the A frican American
congregation’s historic church at 106 N.E.
Ivy St. The tem porary canvas w alls shook
with the thunder o f evangelical and com m u
nity support.
Just a few days earlier, around m idnight
on Feb. 5, an explosion and nearly instant
inferno brought a heavy toll. Investigators
still cannot provide answers for the fire that
destroyed the tu rn -o f-th e-cen tu ry brick
building. But the first Sunday service fol
lowing the tragedy illustrated how the suf
fering o f one congregation can bring an
entire faith com m unity together to recoup,
rejoice and eventually rebuild.
A ttendance at the church usually hovers
around 140 to 170 people, but grew to nearly
5(X) when church m em bers and leaders
throughout north and northeast Portland
joined the special service.
Following hisearly morning service. Pas
tor Mark Knutson o f Augustana Lutheran
photo bv
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Marci Jackson leads parishioners and visitors at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in prayer during a special Sunday
service following a fire that destroyed the historical church in northeast Portland.
Church led members o f his congregation
from Northeast 15th Avenue and Knott to
M orning Star, standing in solidarity with
Johnson, w ho is a fellow m em ber o f the
m ulti-congregation Albina M inisterial A lli
ance.
“T h e y ’ve been in sp iratio n al to u s,”
Knutson said. “Every congregation shud
ders to think this could happen to them, but
what they did in the midst was a great
continued
on page A3
Father Says Son was
Tortured to Death
Wants police limits on use of force
o
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o-
CZ)
*
£
Z
c
2 •
â a 'j o
o 3
W illia m M c C all
Calling it a "tortured d eath,”
the family o f a m entally ill Port
land man w ho died in police
custody have filed a federal law
suit seeking to change the city’s
policy on the use o f force.
The com plaint seeks changes
to limit the use o f deadly force
and foot pursuits. It also seeks
to estab lish an in d ep en d en t
bv
J (X (
k- t
0
photo bv
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
James Chasse Sr. (left) with his family's attorney Tom Steenson hold a press conference Thursday to
address a federal court lawsuit they have filed over the police custody death of Chasse s mentally ill
son. A picture o f James A. Chasse Jr. hangs on the wall.
oversight panel for review ing
deaths in custody, along with
an intervention system to m oni
tor officers w ho use excessive
force.
A request for dam ages for
alleged civil rights violations and
wrongful death would be d eter
mined at trial.
continued
on page A2