Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.eom
A p ril 18. 2 0 0 7
Paintings Inspire
Dayton Dancers
M etro
Boast the world's largest
repertoire o f works by African-
A merican c horeographers.
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See A & E, page C3
/community
C a I e n d a r
Reflections Hosts Author
Saturday, April 2 1, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.,
Reflections and The Talking Drum Book
Store, 446 N.E. Killingsworth, presents
James Gordon, author of the Unbegotten
Series, signing his newly released book
Nationhood.
Financial Aid Workshop
Saturday,April2l,from9a.m.to 1 p.m., the
Mt. Hood Community College Office of
Financial Aid will host financial aid work­
shops in the College Library, Room 3333.
The seminars begin at 9:30 a.m. and con­
tinue each half hour throughout the day.
Call 503-491 -7262 for more information.
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Earth Day Spiffin' Up
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Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.,
the community is needed to join together
in pride toclean up litter and graffiti along
Martin Luther KingJr. Boulevard. Volun­
teers will meet at 3117 N.E. MLK BI vd. at
8 a.m. To volunteer, visit solv.org.
Neighborhood Clean Up
Saturday, April 21, the North Portland-
Earth Day clean-up project invites resi­
dents to drop off unwanted recyclable
goods to 4340 N. Lombard. For more drop
off sites and information on how you can
help clean up the neighborhood, call 503-
823-4099.
Urban Scavenger Hunt
Saturdays and Sundays, April 21 -22 and
Apri 128-29, the Give a Buck for Buckman
Association will host an architectural
urban scavenger hunt to help raise aware­
ness to preserve the historical neighbor­
hood. Join the fun, learn something new
and make a difference. Visit pyung.com/
dev or call 503-236-2214.
Nursing Scholarship
The Black United Fund is seeking appli­
cations for the Linfield School of Nursing
Scholarship. Email cjenkins@bufor.org
orvisitbufor.org for application packets.
African American Council
You’re invited on the third Tuesday of
each month from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
when the African American Advisory
Council meets at the King Facility, 4 8 15
N.E. Seventh Ave. Call 503-823-0000for
more information.
Autism Walk-A-Thon
Sunday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to noon, the
Autism Society o f Oregon, launches the
5th annual fundraising walk-a-thon from
Oaks Park near the east end o f the
Sellwood Bridge. For registration forms,
visit autismwalkathon.com.
Party for the Planet
Sunday, April 22, from noon to4 p.m., the
Oregon Zoo. 4(X) I S.W.Canyon Rd., will
host an Earth Day event. For more infor­
mation visit: oregonzoo.org or call 503-
226-1561.
Earth Day: Pinot Pedal
Sunday, April 22, Urban Wineworks and
Bishop Creek Cellars, host the 20-mile
inner city bike ride. The ride will kick off
at noon, from Urban Wineworks, 407
N. W. 16th Ave., with lotsof fun, food and
exercise. For more information visit
orbike.com.
Fostering Diversity
Thursday. April 26 thru Friday, April 27,
Ml. 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.
82nd Avenue of Roses Parade
Saturday, April 28, at 9 a.m., beginning at
the Eastport Plaza, 4000 S.E. 82nd Ave.,
the parade will travel north on 82nd turn­
ing west at S.E. Yamhill, disbanding at
S.E. 78th Ave. For more information or to
participate contact: 503-771 -3817.
SOLV IT Challenge
Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to I p.m.,
Portland General Electric presents the
SOLV- IT Challenge, the largest Earth
Day clean up event in the metropolitan
area.Volunteersareneeded.Visitsolv.org
or call 503-844-9571.
Women’s Health Conference
Saturday, April 28, from 7:30a.m. to4:30
p.m., at the Oregon Convention Center,
New York columnist, lane Brody, will be
discussing issues related to women’s
health. To register call 503-494-0712 or
visit ohsuwomenshealth.com.
A historic photo is testament to a lack o f a color line in Vanport when a diverse group o f children and adults gather for Bible school class at Vanport's Recre­
ation Center No. 5.
Parallel o New Orleans
Survivor speaks
to Vanport's
multicultural legacy
"The Katrina disaster sort of rebrought
that home for me," says Dale Skovgaard,
who recently submitted his memories of
living in Vanport to the Oregon Historical
Quarterly. His essay discusses many as­
pects oflife and disaster at Vanport, but he
felt comfortable going into much more
detail about race relations in an exclusive
by R aymond R endi . eman
T he P ortland O bserver
ulture shock isa mild term for what
people of the 1940s experienced
upon moving to Vanport. The town
located near the Columbia River between
Portland and Vancouver was one of the
coun try’s only multicultural housing
projects.
Everyone shopped at the same new­
fangled supermarkets and utilized the same
publicly funded 24-hourdaycare. It was a
mini-city of 18,(MX) people and more than
one-third of them were black.
But just when people got used to this
m ulticultural experim ent, they were
shocked again by floodwaters which
washed away everything. The spectacle
paralleled the hurricane hitting the Ninth A racially integrated town of 18.000 people, unusual for America in 1948,
Ward of New Orleans.
lays destroyed after the Vanport flood.
C
interview with the Portland Observer.
Vanport was a particular shock for this
10-year-old boy from southwestern Min­
nesota.
"I had never seen African Americans,
except in movies," says Skovgaard. "but
then I walked through a black community
every day on my way to school.. . I guess
you'd call that segregation in that they
would house people in different districts."
While most of Vanport’s blacks at­
tended a Baptist African American con­
gregation, Skovgaard's family “of course"
went to a Lutheran church with the white
religious folk of the community. But
Skovgaard thinks that Vanport's inte­
grated schools worked quite well.
He remembers only one incident while
walking to school with a trumpet and en­
countering a black boy who insisted on
playing it. "My dad told me to never let
anyone else blow my horn,” he says.
Skovgaard's experience was child's
play compared to issues in other areas
continued
on pane 111
Ebony Fashion Fair Presents:
A design by Gianni Caglinano
Couture o f Rome has Swarovski
crystals and stripes o f satin
ribbon ornamenting a back laced
bustier worn atop a ball skirt
uniquely covered with cascading
abstract shapes cut from sheets
o f opaque plastic.
"Stylishly Hot,’ — a benefit
for local scholarships
he 49lh annual Ebony Fashion Fair "Stylishly Hot"
will appear in Portland at the Oregon Convention
Center on Friday. April 20 at 8 p.m.
The world's largest traveling fashion show is produced
and directed by Eunice W. Johnson, a premier fashion
authority. The show is sponsored by The Portland Chapter
of The Links, a national African American women's orga­
nization. Proceeds benefit local scholarships.
This extraordinary show will reveal fresh, original and
exciting designs, featuring the latest styles by world-fa­
mous designers, such as Bill Bass, Oscar de la Renta.
Carolina Herrera, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Louis
Scherrer.
Thirteen magnificent models, including I I gorgeous
women (including a lull-figured model) and two strik­
ingly handsom e men will don the breakthrough designs.
The show is characterized by its glam our, elegance
and beauty and has all o f the energy o f a Broadway
show. The flare of the w orld's most creative clothing
designs make Ebony Fashion F air's “Stylishly Hot" an
even, not to be missed!
Jonnie Reed Bell, general chairm an of the benefit
perform ance, indicates ticket sales are going exception­
ally well and she expects an even larger attendance than
last year.
No tickets will be sold at the door, but are available in
advance at G eneva's Shear Perfection. 5 6 0 1 N.E. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd., 503-285-1 159; Simply Elegant
Nails. 35 N.E. 82'”' Ave., 503-262-8208; One Stop Music
Store, 1615 N.E. K illingsw orth St.. 503-284-2435:
Tondalayera Designers Salon. 5401 N.E. Cully Blvd.,
5O3-284-O7I2; Talking D rum /Reflections Book Store.
T
continued
on pane R2