lune 27, 2007
il,t'|JnrtIanh (S)bseruv 2X‘
Page A3
Camps Rich in African Culture
The H om ow o African Arts and
Cultures group is back again with
three sum m er cam ps providing rich
cultural experiences for one week at
a time.
D esigned to introduce young
sters to a variety o f perf orm ing arts
activities w hile learning about the
richness o f A frica and cultural arts,
classes are taught by H om ow o
perform ers w ho share their know l
edge o f G hanaian drum m ing and
dance through lively activities. Stu
dents will learn to play som e basic
drum rhythm s, dance and hear A f
rican stories.
T he first cam p began this week
at Portland Children’s Museum. The
second cam p takes place July 9
through July 13 at the Friendly
House C om m unity Center, 1737
N.W . 26th Ave. T he third cam p
lakes place July I ('through 20 at the
Interstate Firehou e C ultural C en
ter, 5340 N. Interstate.
For m ore inform ation, call 503-
2 8 8 -3 0 2 5
or
e m a il Summer camps by the Homowo arts and culture group introduces kids to African dance and a
variety o f performing arts activities.
susan@ hom ow o.org.
Local Schools Score Writing Gains
Prelim inary assessm ent results
show Portland students are making
substantial gains in w riting profi
ciency.
Superintendent Vicki P ullipsre
leased district-wide scores at a press
conference Tuesday at King E l
e m e n ta ry S c h o o l, a n o rth e a st
school that raised its percentage o f
students m eeting or exceeding the
w riting benchm ark by 48 percent.
All Portland Public Schools fo
cused on w riting-this year to in
crease teaching capacity and stu
dent achievem ent in all schools.
"W e’re giving our teachers the
tools they need to really make a
difference and they are,” Phillips
said. "T here is much w ork to be
done, but theses scores are a sign
that our targeted focus is helping to
raise achievem ent in classroom s
throughout the city."
T he increases in reading test
scores were not lim ited to any one
cluster or school. Chapm an, King,
W interhaven and Faubion showed
marked improvement over last year.
Debut Film on Tribal Rights
A P ortland native and in d e
pendent film m aker m akes her na
tio n a l te le v is io n d e b u t w ith
“ Standing Silent N ation,” a d o cu
m entary d ep ictin g the co llisio n
b e tw e e n a N a tiv e A m e ric a n
fa m ily ’s hem p grow ing practices
and op p o sin g U .S. g o vernm ent
fo rces.
T he film tak es us back to A pril
2000, w hen Alex W hite Plum e and
his L ak o ta fam ily p la n ted in d u s
trial hem p on the P ine R idge R e s
erv atio n in South D ak o ta after
o th e r cro p s had failed.
W hen fed eral a g e n ts raid ed
th e ir fields the L ak o ta N ation w as
sw ep t into a B y zan tin e stru g g le
Judge bring unique
perspective to bench
con tin u ed
fro m Front
treated fairly, both professionally
and intellectually.
W alker is proud that he w as able
to bring diversity to the bench. “It
is im portant for everyone to reach
out and identify with people o f other
races. The more people you meet
the sm arter you will becom e," says
Walker.
Com ing from a difficult child
hood, W alker sym pathizes with
those that are struggling financially,
with drug use, and those that turn
tocrim e.
"I w ould say that 99 percent o f
the crim inal justice system is due to
poverty," says W alker. “I see m y
self on the other side o f the bench
all the time. It was a very real future
for me grow ing up w here I did and
I am thankful I had the opportunity
to get out o f LA .”
For som eone w ho has com e so
far. W alker is an exam ple for all
y o u n g p eo p le. W h e re are his
friends from Com pton today?
"They are either dead or spend
ing life in prison,” says W alker.
o ver tribal sovereignty, econom ic
rig h ts and co m m o n sense.
T he d o cu m en ta ry w ill b ro ad
cast on O P B ’s "P o in t o f V iew "
T u esd ay , Ju ly 3 at 10 p.m .
H erm ann i s an in stru cto r in the
d ig ital film an d v id eo d e p a rt
m ent at the A rt In stitu te o f P o rt
land.
Dear Deanna!
My grandm other is em barrass
ing because sh e’s old and still
trying to act young. It’s annoy
ing td see my grandm other trying
to sing rap songs, sm oke ciga
rettes and w earing jeans. My
parents d o n ’t mind but I d o n ’t
think its right. I feel that she makes
h erse lf look fo o lish and she
d o esn 't realize that people arc-
laughing at her. I would likea few
suggestions on how I can have
this discussion with my grand
m other without appearing disre
spectful? --Amber; Oklahoma
City, Okla.
Dear Amber:
Your grandm other is old enough
to live her life without worrying
about w hat you or anyone else
thinks. You could learn things
such self-co n fid en ce and the
ability to love life from this woman.
If she was smoking marijuana and
d ressing like a h oochie, you
would have a legitim ate problem.
But since sh e’s enjoying life, you
should relax, take her shopping
and be blessed that you have a
grandm other th a t's on her feet
and not deceased or in a nursing
home.
Dear Deanna!
My daughter has left for college
and m ade a mess out o f her life. I
took the time to help with student
loans and scholarships and she
has Bunked out o f the first se
mester. I learned that she never
went to class and her school sup
plies haven’t been touched. To
m ake m atters worse, sh e’s now
back at hom e pregnant and un
em ployed. I d o n ’t have time for
this and I'm tired o f dealing with
her drama. I know this is my
daughter but w hat can I do to
help w ithout disrupting my life?
—Glenda; Birmingham, Ala.
Dear Glenda:
Courtney Hermann
Your daughter’sbad life and m is
takes are a reflection o f your poor
parenting skills. Ifyou don’t have
tim e for your daughter now, you
probably d id n 't have tim e when
she was growing up and now she
A s k Deanna !
Real People,
Real Advice
An advice
column
known fo r
reality based
subjects!
doesn ’ t know i f she’s going or com
ing. You need to make tim e now
because ifyou d o n '(y o u 'll be stuck
with her longer than you think. Help
her restore her options in life and
encourage her to go back to school,
get a jo b and find the b ab y 's father
so sh e'll have help.
Dear Deanna!
I recently gave birth to a baby girl.
My boyfriend was hoping for a boy
an d he se e m e d d is a p p o in te d .
T hings were fine until the baby was
three m onths old. My boyfriend
stopped com ing around and when
he did, he alw ays seem ed distant. I
later learned that he has a new son
that is a month older than my daugh
ter. He cheated on me, got som eone
pregnant and we had our kids at the
sam e time. I am devastated and
d o n 't know what to do about this
relationship? -Devastated New
Mom; Queens, N. Y.
Dear Devastated:
Y our first m istake is having a baby
out o f wedlock. A nother m istake is
a boyfriend that show ed disap
pointm ent because o f the baby's
gender. You can see in advance
that ifyou stay with this man y o u ’re
going to have cheating, dram a from
another w om an and a stressful re
lationship. It’s to your advantage
to organize the child support pay
m ents and seek com m itm ent. If he
w o n 't do the right thing, kick him to
the curb, raise your child and keep
it moving.
Ask Deanna is written by Deanna
M. Write Ask Deanna! Email:
askdeannal@yahoo.com or 264
S. LaCienega Bird. Suite 1283
Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Website:
it'trw. askdeanna, com
Gambling Can Put You
at Odds with Yourself.
When you play, set a time limit and stick to a budget.
DON’T LET THE GAME PLAY YOU.
C a s e S t u d y in L e g a l F i g h t
H a s T ra g ic E n d in g
con tin u ed
fro m F ront
cry W ard that allowed him his cozy
home.
Enjoying life to the fullest, O rr
alw ays had a positive attitude that
revealed itself through self-deter
mination, but his independent spirit
ended up w orking against him in
hard times.
A fter his stroke and bouts with
mental illness, he found that the
legal system was badly equipped
to deal with his circum stances.
Fighting hard to overcom e his
condition, he was alw ays saying, “ I
got to go to w ork," even on his sick
bed.
B u t, a few m o n th s a g o at
S u n n y sid e H o sp ita l, he b roke
dow n cry in g saying he w ould
n ev e r play g o lf again, and he w as
ready to "go w est.” A sked to
clarify , he said that he w as not
referring to his repossessed hom e
in A loha, the area w here he was
on e o f the first A frican A m eri
ca n s to live startin g nearly 40
y ears ago.
Out o f panic or neglect, no one
may know for sure, a Are dam aged
a room o f his house before the
authorities dragged him out for the
last time.
O rr resisted legal help because
he was convinced that outsiders
w ere conspiring to steal his trea
sured possessions.
His previously strong sense o f
autonom y, along with not finding
anybody in the legal system who
could relate to him as a black man,
added to those woes.
Perhaps if a lawyer had special
diversity training, advocates claim ,
state custody over his affairs m ight
have been avoided.
When O rrdied, his sister Thelm a
Stone was in a battle to gain control
over his medical care and state o f
affairs.
T o honor his life. Stone co m
posed a piece titled "Lam entation
for my B rother," based on her fight
with creditors and Aging and Dis
ability Services, saying in part, “ It
seem s the system failed him, as it
has many others.”
R a th er than O rr beco m in g an
o th e r statistic o f m ental illn ess.
S tone w ants “all o f h u m an ity to
re m e m b e rth e lesso n s o fh is life."
O rrd ie d Ju n e 15 ,2 0 0 7 at the age
of 64. His memorial service was held
Friday at Rose City Cem etery.
His son Steven O rr preceded him
in death in 2005. He is survived by
eight brothers and sisters: Ann Lee,
K enneth O rr, N ettie S an d ifer,
Thelm a Stone. Shelton Glass, Verna
G lass, Edward G lass and Evelyn
Williams.
877-MY-LIMIT
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