37 years 50j¿ Dancing Away C ontroversy PSU student body celebrates Roots o •s community servici nepe’ ‘City n of f ß Roses See Metro inside 4 Ttnrtlanò ‘P i t v P c l Established ok 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