Page A3
July 11,2007
Singing About Portland’s Ghosts and Marijuana
Lee “Scratch” Perry performs
Friday at the Wonder Ballroom
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserver
Lee “Scratch” Perry has a market
niche nailed down: There can only
be one reggae superstar in the busi
ness of catching spirits.
Even as a septuagenarian. Perry,
a Jamaican living in Germany,
doesn’t plan on relinquishing his
brand of vampire-luring dub-echo
trance anytime soon.
He has only moved his focus of
his “powers” in Portland eastward.
For many years in a row. Perry has
packed concert halls downtown,
but Friday the 13th’s gig will be at
the Wonder Ballroom on Northeast
Russell Street.
Preparing for the show by speak
ing with the Portland Observer, he
claims that this city has been an
important haven for various spirits
and people who know how to deal
with the spirit world.
"There are lots of ghosts in Port
land, and I am the ghost catcher,”
he says. Wanting to verify that he
knows how to properly handle vari
ous kinds of spirit matter, he adds,
"but I don't burn them."
If his past concerts are any
indication. Perry will require much
on-stage consumption of mari
juana to perform his musical in
teraction with the spirit world.
Calling marijuana "rain,” he sug
gests that the substance is im
portant to protect against inevi
table encounters with vampires.
“E verybody's yearning for
blood, but there is nothing rain
can’tdo, so all m yenergy'seom -
ing from rain,” he says.
Perry supports recent efforts
in Portland to decriminalize mari
juana, and he condemns local
Lee "Scratch " Perry
politicians who stand in the way
of this "medicine.”
He says, "W e need to see
who's running in the Portland
government, making laws keep
ing people from lighting a ciga
rette.”
But Perry makes it clear that he
only supports marijuana ciga
rettes. "What I really wish the
people in Portland to do is to stop
smoking nicotine cigarettes, stop
drinking alcohol, stop eating
dead meat and eat vegetables.”
By doing so, Periy chooses to
be a "white magician," w hich he
says is important as a black man.
Only sometimes are Perry’s
magical workings really beyond
comprehension. He says, "I’m
w orking w ith Buddha the headmas
ter, and if you want an encounter
with Buddha, you have to put your
hands over your head like you're
making a red bow, you know like
Buddha makes when he's making a
skipping rope, so you put your
hands over your head like you're
fanning a rope, but don't do it too
much, use your imagination."
Perry is looking forward to let
ting loose in the U.S. before buck
ling down to m ake a new album
with a friend in Germany.
"On the West Coast I'll really
turn the clock, and if the people are
Buddha-nice, I'll give them another
crypt and I’ll let them have a happy
earth day," he says.
Funeral Puts N-Word to Rest
NAACP held eulogy for the slur
The N-word is officially dead to
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People.
The Civil Rights organization,
which held a symbolic funeral in
Detroit forthedemiseofJimCrow in
1963, recently conducted a similar
funeral fora similarly noxious term -
the N-word - during their national
convention July 7-12 in Detroit.
Rev. Wendell Anthony, presi
dent of the organization's Detroit
branch, said members and support
ers of the NAACP conducted ser
vices on Sunday, complete with a
“eulogy" for the racial slur.
"We are committed to ending
hate," Anthony said. "It doesn’t
do anyone any good, whether it's
ajournalistonTV orarapperon the
radio.”
Kashaya Lewis and Catherine Darling enjoy a cool treat on the playground of Portland's newest city
park, Earl Boyles Park at Southeast 112th Avenue and Boise Street. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was
held Monday for the Lents neighborhood green space, which includes a new water playground, tod
dler-sized play equipment, community garden, volleyball court and horseshoe pits.
Smoke around your children and
they could inhale
equal to 102 packs
of cigarettes
by age 5.
Candidate Criticizes Transportation Disparities
Fills potholes in
front of his
northeast home
bv R aymond R endeeman
T he P ortland O bserver
The mudslinging has begun, lit
erally, for the city-counci I seat that
oversees transportation issues.
Commissioner Sam Adams has
not yet announced whether he will
run for reeleetion or mayor, but his
only potential challenger so far.
E th o s M usic C e n te r fo u n d e r
Charles Lewis, is already attacking
his transportation plan by privately
Charles Lewis
filling potholes in northeast Port
land this week.
Lewis thinks the neglected dirt
road in front of his Cully neigh
b o rh o o d h o u se re p r e s e n ts
cityw ide disparities in the way
transportation funding is allo
cated.
“ N o rth /n o rth e a s t P o rtla n d
gets stuck paying for the cost
tw ice,” he says, when projects
like theOHSU tram get funds while
neighborhood streets continue
to deteriorate.
Adams claims that a lack of in
vestment in general transportation
funding during the last decade
forces him to seek sources of "emer
The announcement came after a
renewed discussion nationally about
racial insensitivity, brought on by
Don Im us’ derogatory "nappy
headed ho" comments about black
members of the Rutgers University
women’s basketball team. The re
mark led to Imus being fired by both
CBS RadioandNBC aftermajorcom-
panies pulled their advertising.
“Now that corporate America has
caught up, maybe something will
happen,” Anthony said. "We have
to stop investing in stuff that is
killing us.”
Jim Crow was the systematic,
mostly Southern practice of dis
crimination against and segrega
tion of blacks from the end of post-
Civil War reconstruction into the
mid-20th century.
gency” funding.
“We either pay now or pay a lot
more later," says Adams, who met
last month with Cully's neighbor
hood association to address the
unimproved-roads issue.
Bashing Adams' call for a mu
nicipal 12-cent gas tax, Lewis ar
gues that the proposal would dis
proportionately impact lower-in
come people who wouldn't he able
to buy their gas outside of the city
limits.
He vows to use funding more
efficiently if elected, saying, "we
can't continue to spend our way
out of problems caused hy poor
planning and lack of oversight."
Everyone has the right
to breathe dean air,
especially our children.
Activist on State Education Panel
Portland community activist Lew
Frederick has joined the State Board
of Education as its newest member,
replacing Urban League of Port-
landexecutive Vanessa Gaston who
left the board last year when she
moved out of state.
Frederick is a consultant and
writer specializing in community
relations, science journalism, edu
cation, minority issues, health is
sues and political strategy.
He has served in public relations
for the Cascade Campus of Port
land Community College and was a
¡_ew Frederick
longtime Director of Public Infor students are prepared for college or
mation for Portland Public Schools. the work force with 21st century
He is also a former a television and skills, it is the state board that will
radio reporter for KGW in Portland. oversee the important work of imple
Frederick earned a Bachelor of menting Oregon's new high school
Arts in drama from Earlham Col lege diploma requirements."
in Richmond, Ind. and he is pres
ently a Pli.D. candidate at Portland
State University in urban affairs
and speech and communications.
"The members of the state board
are serving at a critical time," said
State Superintendent of Public In
struction Susan Castillo. "As we
move forward to ensure that all
Jfi>HS
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Jefferson Documentary Selected for Festival
Student films take
part in awards
The documentary film "Reading
Between the Lines: Jefferson - Our
Story," has been chosen for the
31st Annual Young People's Film
and Video Festival taking place
Sunday, July 15 at 2 p.m. at Portland
Art M useum's Whitsell Audito
rium, 1219 SE Park Ave.
The festival is a part of the North
west FilmCenter's Young Filmmak-
ei s Program and will screen the best
film, video, animation and digital
mi’ ’ , .oduccd by students and
schools throughout the northwest.
T w enty-six pieces were se
lected for this y e a r's program,
many o f which are from the Port-
land/V ancouver area, including
“Reading Between the Lines,” a
film originally made by Jefferson
High School students fortheC om -
munity Drug A wareness Project
and sponsored hy the Northwest
Film C enter and Oregon Partner
ship.
The film was made in Spring 2( X)6
by 31 Jefferson sophomores who
shared their story to learn the tech
nical aspects of the craft and chal
lenge stereotypes about gangs,
violence and p<x>r performance that
plagued their school's identity.
It features interviews with fellow
students as well as city leaders and
Portland activists.
The 2 1-minute film received a
standing ovation at its November
premiere at the Portland Art Mu
seum and was re-screened in Janu
ary for Jefferson students and com
munity members at Portland Com
munity College's Cascade Campus.
The Young People's festival
winners will be on hand Sunday to
receive certificates of achievement
and recognition by family and the
community. Other local winners
include students from Portland.
B eaverton, Eugene, G resham ,
Vancouver and Hillsboro.
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