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PagcA2
Septembers. 2007
Back to
School
Ready
Students loaded with
school supplies are
ready for the first day
o f classes after
Saturdays’ school
supplies giveaway
sponsored by the
Links, an African-
American civic group,
and the Portland
Observer.
P hoto by
M ark W ashington /
T he P orti ani » O bseryer
FBI Spied on King’s Widow
con tin u ed
fro m Front
was no great problem for us. But we
don’t put it past the FBI; (then-FBI
Director) J. Edgar H oover hated
M artin Luther King andeverything
that the SCLC stood for.”
A ndrew Young, a lieutenant o f
K ing’s during the civil rights m ove­
ment, agreed. But he said he was
su rp rised that the g o vernm ent
would focus on C oretta Scott King.
‘‘I d idn't know it and I don’t think
she knew it,” Young said. “If ever
there was a woman that had the
m akings o f a saint, it was Coretta. I
d o n ’t know what they were looking
for, I d o n 't know what they were
expecting to find. I d on’t know why
they w asted the g o v e rn m e n t's
money.”
A lso included in the docum ents;
• The FBI suggested that Ralph
Abernathy, a close aide to Martin
Luther King, be made aware o f death
threats against his life for the ben­
efit o f “the disruptive effect o f con­
fusing and w orrying him .”
• An intercepted letter written by
C oretta Scott King in 1971 to the
National Peace Action Coalition, in
which she said the Vietnam W ar
has “ravaged our dom estic pro­
grams.”
• O ne m em o show s that the FBI
even read and reviewed King’s 1969
book about her late husband, "M y
Life with M artin Luther King Jr.”
The agent made a point to say that
her "selfless, m agnanim ous, deco­
rous attitude is belied by ... (her)
actual shrewd, calculating, busi­
nesslike activities.”
There is also evidence that the
Nixon adm inistration and then-Sec-
retary o f State Henry Kissinger were
kept inform ed o f the FB I’s nearly
constant surveillance.
Martin Luther King J r.'s activi­
ties were known to have been m oni­
tored by the federal governm ent as
he led the civil rights m ovem ent in
the 1960s. Intelligence gathering
on fam ous Am ericans and w ar crit­
ics becam e so infam ous that rules
to curtail dom estic spying were
put in place in the 1970s.
K ing's nephew, Isaac N ewton
Farris Jr., said on Thursday that
the surveillance o f his aunt com es
as no surprise.
“We knew she was surveilled,”
said Farris, who is also chief ex ­
ecutive o ffic er o f the M artin
Luther King Jr. C enter for N on­
violent Social Change. "T he only
surprise is the intensity o f the
surveillance after his death. It
appears it was as intense as the
surveillance on my uncle.”
Farris said there was no reason
to m onitor either one o f them,
since they were law -abiding citi­
zens who were standing up for
their constitutional rights.
“This is a w om an who basi­
cally was trying to raise four kids
and honor her deceased hus­
band,” Farris said. “ 1 d o n ’t know
ho w th a t w as a th r e a t to
anybody’s national security.”
Traffic Safety Patrols Begin
Local police are on a mis­
sion to provide a positive and
safe street environment for
children to travel to and from
school and to provide a posi­
tive and safe school environ­
ment for learning.
Every w eekday for the
next tw o w eeks, o fficers
from all five precincts, the
Traffic Division, the Transit
Police Division, and School
Resource officers will place
special em phasis on enforcing
traffic laws in school zones,
bus zones, and crossw alks.
Officers will also enforce laws
re g a rd in g p a rk in g in and
around school zones.
Drivers are asked to remem­
ber that the speed limit in
schools zones is 20 mph on
school days for 7 a.m. to 5
p.m. Fines for speeding in a
school zone could be as high
as $206 foras little as 11 miles
over the posted speed.
Drivers are strongly en­
couraged to slow down and
watch out for kids.
Fathers Take Children to School
State S chools S uperintendent
Susan Casti I lo is recognizing the work
o f the Black Parent Initiative and its
effort to encourage black fathers to
take their child to the first week o f
school.
"The role o f fathers in their
children's academic success cannot
be over-emphasized," Castillo said.
"Children whose fathers take an ac-
li ve role in theirfamily life and educa­
tion get better grades, have fewer
behavioral issues and are more likely
to graduate and attend college.
The event is a demonstration of
hlack men taking public ownership
over the educational interests of their
ch ild ren , ac co rd in g to C h arles
McGee, president and chief execu­
tive officer o f the B lack Parent Initia­
tive. The Portland non-profit is lead­
ing the march towards finding solu­
tions to the “achievem ent gap ”
among students o f color in Oregon's
school systems.
"Research shows that children
have fewer behavior problems when
fathers listen to and talk with them
regularly and are active in their lives,”
McGee said.
Northwest Ground Beef Recalled
O regon health officials say co n ­
sum ers should discard extra-lean
ground beef linked to eight cases o f
E. coli infection in O regon and
W ashington and bearing sell-by
dates from Aug. 1 to Aug. 11.
Tw o affected products w ere sold
under the brand “N orthw est Fin­
est." O ne was in 16-ounce black
trays labeled Natural G round Beef,
7 percent fat with a red and black
label and UPC code o f “7 52907
60012 7." The other w as labeled
O rganic G round Beef, 10 percent
fat with no UPC code. T he pack­
ages also bear "Est. 965" inside the
inspection mark.
H ealth officers say the beef was
sold at Q FC , Fred M ey er and
Safew ay stores in O regon and was
ground by Interstate Meat D istribu­
tors, Inc. in C lackam as County.
E. coli infection was found in ground beef sold in local stores.
Passenger Killed in Car Chase
Sat, Sept 8*8p
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LORÉAL
An lS-year-oldPortlandman
was arrested and his 21-year-
old passenger was killed when
the stolen vehicle they were
driving crashed into a pole Mon­
day night on Southeast Morrison
Street and Grand Avenue.
Police say Dennis Milton
Perryman was being pursued
by a police officer and was not
stopping at red lights when he
smashed into a car and then slid Kristine Hill
adsfi’portlaii.l
ob server.cont
t
into the pole. Authorities said
Kristine Lynn Hill died instantly
in the wreckage.
Perryman, who tried to flee
the scene but was apprehended
before he could get away, has
been charged with criminal neg­
ligent homicide and manslaugh­
ter, among other charges.
Investigators believe that al­
cohol and speed are factors in
the collision.
Kite Fest at Blue Lake
Colorful kites will fill the sky at
Blue Lake Regional Park during a
new fam ily kite festival on Satur­
day, Sept. 15 from I to 5 p.m.
The festival will be a great place
to fly yourow n kite and pick up tips
from local kite enthusiasts, enjoy
interactive kite play and mass as­
cension. and participate in the kite
display and identification contest.
C h ild ren 's events include teddy
bear and candy drops. The Provi­
dence Stage Band will perform hits
from the big band era
All kite activities arc free with an
annual pass or $4 per car or $7 per
bus for park entrance. Blue Lake is
located betw een M arine Drive and
Sandy B oulevard o ff N ortheast
223rd Avenue.
I