www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity M etro March 7. 20 0 7 Local Rap Group Hosts NBA Party Sec Sports, page B6 ^3ortlanh (©bseruer /c o m m u n ity C a le n d a r Summer Job Fair Thursday, M arch8 from lOa.m.to 1 p.m., MHCC College Center, 26<XX) S.E. Stark St. in Gresham, will host the first ever Summer Job Fair.Opportunitiesavailable for summer employ ment and summer re cruitment, contact 503-491 -7432 for more information. What Happened to Pluto? Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Mt. Hood Community College Plan etarium Sky Theater, located beneath the campus library, you can explore Pluto the ‘dwarf planet’. Seating is limited, admis sion $ 1. Visit starstuff.com for more infor mation. Camp Fire Party Saturday, March 17, from noon to 2 p.m.. the Camp Fire USA Portland Metro Coun cil will host their97th birthday party with fun for all ages. Activities include live entertainment, games, prizes, music, and even birthday cake. Call 5O3-224-78OO for details. Ruth Pitts-London brings a voice to civil rights and justice issues in her new community o f Gresham. photo bv M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver End the War Now Rally Sunday, March 18, at 1:30 p.m. at the South Park Blocks, local residents will mark the 4th anniversary of the Iraq War with a peaceful march through down town Portland. Call 503-230-9427 for more information. Spring Beach Cleanup Saturday.March24,from lOa.m.to 1 p.m.. thousands of volunteers are needed to help restore the coastline to a pristine condition. Volunteers can call 8(X)-333- 7658 or visit solv.org to register. Zoo Teens Needed The Oregon Zoo needs 3(X) high school students for the summer to assist in edu cating zoo visitors. If you love animals and teaching others, call 503-220-2449. Spring Break Art Journeys Monday, March 26 thru Friday, March 30, the Portland Art Museum hosts the instructional art series for children ages 7-12. Contact 503-226-2811 or visit portlandartmuseum.org, for more infor mation. Used Book Sale Wednesday, March 28, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., the Multnomah County Library used book store at 216 N.E. Knott St. will celebrates its 19th anniversary by offer- ingall used merchandise at 55 percent off. Ghana Women's Art Exhibit WSU Vancouver. 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., hosts a powerful West Afri can art exhibit with guest lecturer and well-known Ghanaian art historian Nii Quarcoopome. The gallery hours are Monday thru Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more i n format i on, cal 1360-546-9580. Life After High School Monday, April 9. from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., PSU’s Smith Ballroom, will host the Ca reer and Educational Opportunities Fair, a venue for local businesses, trade ap prenticeships. summer work programs and educational organizations to present careeropportunitiesavailable within their organizations. For more information call 503-230-9427. Fostering Diversity Thursday, April 2 6 thru Friday. April 27, Mt. Hood Community College and Port land State University, will host the two- day conference to address critical diver sity-related issues in the Portland and Gresham communities, with educational, business and cultural leaders. Call 503- 4 9 1 -7254 for more information. Community Support The African American Health Coalition, a non-profit that touches the lives of millions of African Americans each year, reminds you to support your community organization. All donations, grants, and gifts are tax deductible. For more informa tion, visit aahc-portland.org. NAACP Voice forEast County New chapter forming in Gresham by S arah B lount T he P orti ani ) O bserver 13 years ago Ruth Pitts-L ondon m oved from N ortheast 19'1’ Avenue to outer east Portland - not because she w anted to, but because gentrification made it difficult to afford housing and living costs in her close-in neighbor hood. But moving meant leaving the heart o f the city 's African American com m u nity. "B eing out there, 1 had no resources," Pitts said. "M y church and family were here |in northeast Portland].” Since then, many m inorities have joined Pitts in relocating to East County and Gresham , and as a result have af fected the dem ographics of a once pre- dom inantly-w hite area. One exam ple of that change is the formation o f a new NAACP Branch in Gresham. Pitts-London became interested in opening the branch in 2002 when, as a state-registered childcare provider, she took a foster care issue to the NAACP Portland branch and encountered an understaffed office that was unable to resolve her issue. She served as branch secretary at the time, but decided to step down to open a chapter closer to her home. “This is important because people in Gresham are not used to dealing with minorities," she said. The Gresham-Territorial Branch istech- nically in its planning stages, but volun teer staff members are now serving resi dents of East County. To become a chartered branch they must have 100 members, and must estab lish a youth chapter and college chapter. The branch is also in need of volunteer attorneys and a permanent office loca tion. “W e're looking for businesses to do nate available space for lease or rent.” she said. A college chapter at nearby Mt. Hood Community College is in the works and youth are encouraged to join or help es tablish their own chapter. Meetings are held the third Saturday of each month at the Midland Library, 805 S.E. 122nd Ave. To become a member one must live or work in the Gresham area and pay $30 annual membership dues. If you are inter ested in joining or more information, cal' Pitts-London at 503-772-5059. Stopping Domestic Violence Men at the core of change Dr. Christopher Huffine lends his support to Bradley- Angle House ’s "Allies for Hope" domestic violence eradication campaign. BY N lA DlYG F or T he P ortland O bserv er Changing the destructive ways of relat ing to their loved ones is the aim of a new domestic violence eradication campaign. The Bradley-Angle House’s “Allies for Hope" enlists the proactive support of business and professional men and mir rors the three-year-old "Bridges of Hope: B u siness and P rofessional W om en Against Domestic Violence” campaign, earning support of psychiatrists like Dr. Christopher Huffine. formerly of the Men's Resource Center. “If you’ re not part of the solution, you’ re part of the problem,” he said. “Our goal is to help men realize that domestic violence is a much larger problem than the physical abuse." Gary (not his real name) has first hand experience in the violence and conse quences of causing harm to another per son. A tall, articulate man in his early 40s, he speaks candidly about his own experi ence: He was arrested two years ago on a domestic violence charge involving his then live-in partner ofmore than four years. An argument escalated into a physical altercation. He taunted her to call the po lice. So she did. “I don't remember all the details," he said. "I was intoxicated that night, but that was not always the case when I became abusive.” Gary pushed his girlfriend down on the floor and pushed her face into the carpet. PHOTO BY NlA DlYG/ T he P ortland O bserver The incident, which landed him in jail for 28 days for resisting arrest and assault ing an officer, as well as the domestic assault charges, was the wake-up call he needed to change his life. “I always realized I had a violent tem per." he says, "but I didn't realize how deep and big the issues were, nor did I Healing Roots Center Opens The Bradley-Angle House, the first domestic violence shelter established on the West Coast, is celebrating the opening of the Healing Roots Center, a multicultural drop-in center a, 5432 N. Albina Ave.,just south of Killingsworth Street. The facility is a new program for African and African American women and children affected by domestic vio lence. Funding comes from the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette with support from mental health experts at LifeWorks Northwest and Nappy Roots Press, the group founded by Oregonian columnist and local African American activists. Renee Mitchell. The partners hope that by working together, they can raise awareness and create communities in which domestic abuse and sexual violence are not toler ated. realize how much I was hurting my self as well as those closest to me." He grew up in a family where his parents were emotionally abusive to each other and often physically abusive to him and his brother. Seeing the same dysfunc tional behaviors in the homes of his rela tives. he grew up believing that it was normal. In April 2005, he began 15 months of co u rt-m andated w eekly sessions at H uffines Allies in Change Counseling Center and four months of weekly outpa tient alcohol treatment. He soon began to realize not only the depth of his problem, but more importantly learned how to deal with life in a new way, using the tools he continued on page H6 Diabetes Support Group Legacy Emanuel Hospital hosts a diabe tes support group the first and third Thurs days of every month, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., in Room 1027. Bradley-Angle House The Bradley-Angle House needs volun teers to help its outreach against domes tic violence. Women of color and bilin gual women are encouraged to call. For more information,call 503-282-9940. J Bike Safety Fair at PCC In a bike friendly city like Portland, it’s im portant to be safe on the roads. T h a t's why Portland Com m unity C ol lege is hosting an event to teach kids and their parents the value of bicycle safety. The Bicycle Safety Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 24 in front of the Public Service Education Build ing at the PCC Cascade Campus in north Portland. Children aged 16 and younger attend ing the event will receive a free bicycle helmet (while supplies last) and get to navigate a bicycle safety course. Attend ees w ill also have the chance to tour vari ous emergency response vehicles pro vided by several area police and fire agen cies. and the PCC Student Association of Firefighters. Plus, there will be a raffle for two children's bicycles complete with match- 3 ing helmets to benefit the PCC Criminal Justice Club. Students from the school' s 9 -1 -1 Emer gency Com m unications program will be handing out and assisting w ith KidPrint packets for parents. The packets con tain a stamp pad. fingerprint sheets and a photo as tools to assist law enforce ment in finding lost or m issingchildren.