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www.portlandobserver.com
in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVII. Number 22
Wednesday • lune 6, 2007
Shakespeare Festival Spotlights Diversity
Theater company
expands, audience
bv S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
W hen I first arrived in A shland for a
w eekend at the O regon Shakespeare Fes
tival, I had little tim e to pause and take in
the scenery before seeing my first play, a
m atinee o f A ugust W ilson’s “G em o f the
O cean.”
It’s fortunate that W ilson, the late,
Pulitzer Prize-w inning African A merican
playw right, served as an introduction to
my theater experience: Set at the turn o f
the century in Pittsburgh’s Hill D istrict,
he tells the story o f A frican A m ericans
struggling to m ake it in a free society
where equality is still an sought-after
illusion.
Leaving the packed theater, I thought
about the im pact such a pow erful play
had on me during my visit to this south
ern O regon com m unity.
As a Portland resident this though
brought som e questions to mind: How
has the O regon S hakespeare Festival
faced th echallengeofem bracingcultural
diversity in a remote, primarily white area?
continued
on page A6
photos by S arah
B loi nt /T he P ortland O bserver
Bridget B. Sullivan o f Portland reads up on outreach programs within the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, a job she will oversee starting next
month. As the festival s new Artistic Director she will work to attract greater diversity and enrich cultural and educational progran is.
Long Historyof Black Contributions Recognized
• Wells Fargo
to celebrate
Juneteenth
by R aymond R endleman
T he P orti . and O bserver
A frontier bank that was one o f
the few corporations to provide
em ploym ent for African Americans
in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
and w hich currently recognizes the
black financial pow er from its $486
billion in assets, continues its pro
gressive traditions by sponsoring
a Juneteenth celebration.
W ells Fargo banking m anage
m ent will host the June 19 fair and
parade at its branch on 5730 N.E.
M artin L uther King Jr. Blvd. Free
food, entertainm en t, prizes and
booths will be set up by local busi
nesses. Juneteenth com m em orates
the ending o f slavery in the United
States.
T he celebration culm inates the
efforts o f a com pany-sanctioned
group o f black em ployees headed
by T isha Stigler, m anager o f the St.
John’s branch. The A frican-A m eri
can em ployee activists, collectively
called C heckpoint, represent one
o f the ban k ’s 75 different "team
Tisha Stigler pauses at Wells Fargo bank on N.E. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd. The bank is a major sponsor for Juneteenth.
m em ber resource groups" that in
clude organizations called PRIDE,
A m igos and Asian Connection.
Stigler loves bei ng part o f a com
pany w hose minority organizations
have received national recognition
for creating welcoming workplaces.
“W hen 1 was with another com
pany, there was nothing special for
African A m ericans," she says, “but
W ells Fargo respects team m em
bers by creating an inclusive envi
ro n m en t fo r all cu ltu ral b a c k
g ro u n d s."
It’s not all about atm osphere,
since S tigler’s boss sees increased
financial gain by reaching out to
m inority interests and checkbooks.
C heckpoint is part o f the b an k 's
“com petitive advantage." accord
ing to Alan Johnson, regional presi
dent o f W ells Fargo in Oregon and
southw est W ashington.
Not m u ch has changed since the
1888 W ells Fargo em ployee hand
book stated, "Proper respect must
be shown to all— let them be men,
women, children, richorpoor, white
or black— it m ust not be forgotten
that the com pany is dependent on
these same people for its business.”
Com m unity outreach is big busi
ness for P o rtlan d 's 32-m em ber
C heckpoint, which claim s to have
continued
on page A3
Four Black Queens - Then and Now
ROBIN M A RK S
In 1980. Senior Robin Marks was
urged by her friends to try out for
the Rose Festival C ourt at Lincoln
High School. Little did she know
that she would make history as the
first ever African-A m erican Queen
o f Rosaria.
Being “the first" w asn 't always
on her m ind but it was for others.
"The African-American com mu
nity always rem inded me that I was
first," M arks said.
by N icole R onai . H ooper
T he P orti . and O bserver
O ne hundred years o f Rose Fes
tiv a l a n d o n ly fo u r b la c k
P o rtlan d er's can say they were
Q ueen o f Rosaria. The Portland
O b serv er caught up w ith these
honored w om en to find out how
their selection helped them becom e
w ho they are today.
Queen Robin Marks 1980
Queen Raina Beavers 1985
Queen Alisha Moreland 1998
Rep. Maintains Innocence
has declined to label an attack in
O regon City by teenagers on two
Hispanic men a “hate crim e.” Law
enforcem ent officials said alcohol,
stupidity, im m aturity and a pack-
m entality all fueled the May 24 at
tack on 28-year-old Edwin Gonzales
and 26-year-old Alex Guzman, both
o f Salem.
’T
T1Week in
The Review
Barack Obama Statement
D e m o c ra tic
p re sid e n tia l
h o p e fu l
B a ra c k
O bam a said
T uesday that
w ith b la c k
people from
N ew O rleans
and the G u lf C oast still displaced
20 months after Hurricane Katrina,
frustration and resentm ents are
building explosively as they did
before the 1992 Los A ngles riots.
See story, page A2.
■j
Rep. W illiam
Je ffe rso n , D-
La.. will tem po
r a r ily
s te p
dow n from his
p o s t o n th e
H o u se S m all
Business C om
m ittee after he was indicted on 16
corruption-related charges stem
m ing from a tw o-year investiga
tion. Jefferso n ’s law yer saiti even
after prosecutors turned over “ev
ery rock,” they did not allege in this
indictm ent that he prom ised an y
body any legislation. See story,
page A2.
Jury Denies Hate Crime
A C lackam as C ounty grand jury
Libby Sentenced
F o rm e r W h ite
H o u se aid e 1.
Lewis “Scooter”
Libby w as sen
tenced to 2 1/2
years in prison
T u e s d a y a fte r
his conviction in
M arch o f lying
an investigation
Queen Amber Starks 1999
into the 2<X)3 leak o f CIA operative
Valerie P lam e's identity. The judge
did not set a date for Libby to report
to prison.
Kevorkian Vows to Quit
E u th an asia p ro p o n en t Dr. Jack
Kevorkian, dubbed “Dr. D eath” for
assisting in som e 130 suicides,
vow ed he wi11 no longer help people
end their lives, even if they com e to
him in desperation. Kevorkian was
released from prison on Friday after
serving eight years for a second-
degree m urder conviction.
Akon in Trouble Again
Rapper Akon ordered security to
fetch a fan out o f the audience after
the young njan allegedly threw an
object at him. Akon, 25. manhandled
the fan and threw him back into the
continued
on page A J
audience violently. V erizon re
cently halted its partnership with
the rapper after a video show ed
him sim ulating sex with an under
age girl during a concert.
Paris in Jail
Hotel heiress Paris Hilton started
her 23-day sentence for probation
violation on M onday. H ilton, 26,
opted out o f having a cell in an
area reserved for celebrities and
d e c id e d
to
stay in a single
cell am ongst
the regular jail
p o p u la tio n .
H er o rig in a l
sentence o f 45
days was cut
due to cooperation.