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
oregonlotteryhelp.org