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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 2007)
50£ ,37 years (Lite < 33nrtÍ£mít Documentary Spotlights Spanish Culture Spain as never before seen of community service See el Observador, page A6 itv n Pncpc’ ‘City of f Roses r _ i._ l.li_ l I im o Established in 1970 ........................... i l l_ l www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXVII, Number 26 Sam Brooks Makes History in Business On July 1 six business lead ers jo in ed the Portland B usi ness A lliance board o f direc tors, and heading that group is Sam Brooks, an advocate for minority, w om en and em erging sm all businesses in Portland and the region. B ro o k s is p re sid e n t and fo u n d er o f both S. B rooks and A sso c ia te s and the O regon A sso c iatio n o f M inority E n trep ren e u rs (O A M E ). He is also the first A frican A m eri can to serv e as ch a ir for the d o w n to w n b u sin ess gro u p in its 137-year h istory. B rooks founded his self- nam ed em ploym ent agency 26 years ago in northeast Portland, creating O reg o n ’s first m inor ity staffing firm. In 1987 he form ed O A M E, acollaboration o f more than 800 com panies in the northw est doing business w ith 57 countries. The group has grow n to becom e the most diverse business association in the Pacific Northwest. He will chair the PBA board after 20 years o f personal in volvem ent. “ B rooks has w orked tire lessly on behalf o f m inority- and w om en-ow ned businesses and we are fortunate that he will be leading our organization,” said Sandra M cD onough, A lli ance president and CEO. N ine other board m em bers will step into leadership roles at the PBA, including treasurer C harles W ilhoite. W ilhoite is d irectorof W illam ette M anage m ent A ssociates and a form er board chairm an o f the Urban League o f Portland. Wednesday • July II, 2007 TI Week in The Review Searched Man Wins Appeal The conviction o f a Portland man in 2004 w as throw n out by a fe d e ra l a p p e lla te c o u rt la st m onth, stating that even though Bennie D em etrius W ashington gave his consent to a search that led to the discovery o f a 9 mm handgun, the search w as not legal. See sto ry , p ag e A2. N-Word Funeral T h e N A A C P had a fu n eral fo r the N -w o rd M o nday at th eir an n u al c o n v e n tio n , in hopes o f rem o v in g o ne o f th e m ost v o la tile w ords in the E nglish la n g u ag e from pop cu ltu re and rap so n g s. T h e m ock funeral featured a horse draw n carriage and black flo w ers. In 1944, the N A A C P held an o th er funeral to bury Jim C row . S ee s to r y , p a g e A 3. photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Little League Tournament Play at Peninsula Park Northside Little League members (left) join Peninsula Little League President Mary Dunn and District Representatives Marsha Mills and Mary Brooks at Peninsula Park in North Portland for the District 1 Softball All-Star Tournament, held at the park from July 5 through July 16. This is the first time the tournament has been hosted by Peninsula Park. Diddy & Porter Done Just m onths after his longtim e girlfriend Kim Porter gave birth to tw in g irls, S ean “D id d y ” C om bs announced Tuesday that the pair has split up. The m ove cam e a few m onths after the two publicly proclaim ed their love for one another in a cover story for E ssence m agazine, w hich detailed their turbulent history. New Seven Wonders ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■MM ■NHMMR ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■HM M HHHM £M W RM SM tt£*W &W '«'ftaM ¡M BM B» The New Seven W onders o f the W orld was announced during the O fficial D eclaration ce r em ony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday after the first ev er glo bal election. The new w onders include the G reat W all o f China, India's Taj Mahal and the Ro man Coliseum. The Statue o f Lib erty was the only A m erican w on der to reach the finals. Oden Out for Summer TheTrail Blazers m ade a spur-of- the-m om ent decision on M on day, deciding top draft pick Greg O d en 's tonsils needs to be re moved right away, m eaning he'll likely miss the rest o f sum m er league. B lazers g en eral m an ager K evin P ritchard said O den w as p lay in g w ith to n sils the size o f g o lf b alls, h am p erin g his b re a th in g . S ee sto ry in S p o r ts, p a g e B6. Bush Continues Showdown Charles Wilhoite Judge Youlee You serves Multnomah County as the first Korean-American judge in the state court system. ! hd Making the Courtroom More Diversified First Korean- American judge promotes fairness by C harity P rater F or the P ortland O bserver It is an am azing responsibility and accom plishment to be the first Korean-American judge and the first A sian-A m erican judge to be ap pointed to the state court system in Oregon. Y oulee You o f Portland said it has also been a big role reversal from h erdays practicing law. “ I was so accustom ed to being an attorney for such a long time that I really had a hard time trying to not critique the attorney in trials," says You. “I had to get used to not litigating for them ." You said she pursued her February appoint ment because she w as drawn to being a person that applies the law in acorrect way, preserving dignity in the courtroom and w orking with other professionals like her. She has follow ed other female judges and m inorities into the courtroom , like Kenneth W alker o f Portland and Betty Roberts with a strong determ ination and perseverance. “ I grew up with a strong sense o f Asian culture in my fam ily," says You. “That is a big part o f who 1 am and I am happy to m ake the courtroom more diversified." You has spoken at the K orean-A m erica Youth C onference to encourage children to find careers that they love. She also spoke at the Oregon M inority Lawyers Luncheon, which is a non-profit organization that helps find schol arship money for people o f color w ho are taking the Bar. You earned a Bachelor o f Arts in econom ics and urban planning from W ellesley College in M assachusetts in 1986. After that, she attended the University o f W ashington School o f Law to earn her J.D. in 1989. A fter college, she worked as a staff attorney at the M etropolitan Public D efenders O ffice in Portland for four years. There she worked as a continued ^ ^ r n ip a g e A 6 G eorge Bush refused to tu m o v er docum ents M onday and urged two form er aides to refuse to reveal evidence before congres sional com m ittees about the fir ings o f nine law yers last year. The m otion is the latest in a legal battle betw een the W hite House and lawm akers. If neither side yields, the m atter could land in federal court. Baghdad Claims Life of Oregon Woman Spc. M ichelle Ring, 26, o f O r egon w as killed T hursday by m ortar fire w hile on guard at a cam p in Baghdad. Ring was a single m other o f tw o young boys when she enlisted in the U.S. Army tw o years ago. She is the first w om an soldier with O regon ties to die in the Iraq war.