500
years*
ciiinmuHin service
Human Rights on Film
Woman of Achievement
| Director's film on ethnic
cleansing in America
included in local film series
Pastor Mary Overstreet,
a person who sees need
and acts to meet it
See A&E section, inside
ortlanb
‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVII, Number 39
.Week ¡n
The Review
See Metro section, inside
Wednesday • October 10, 2007
Fifty Years
Oregon Schools Graded
DaVinci Arts Academy and Beau­
mont Middle School in northeast
Portland were among the Portland
schools that improved grades on
Oregon education report cards re­
leased Monday. Overall, the scores
for most schools were mixed.
Jones Forfeits Medals
Track star M arion Jones gave back
the five m edals she won at the
Sydney O lym pics on M onday fol­
low ing her adm ission that she was
a drug cheat, and also agreed to
forfeit all results, medals and prizes
dating back seven years. See sto ry ,
p ag e B6.
Polluter Pays Billions
W ith a $5.6 billion paym ent to a
dozen East C oast states, A m eri­
can Electric Pow er Co. ended an
eight-year legal battle T uesday
o ver sm okestack pollution that
chew ed away at m ountain ranges,
bays and national landmarks.
of Community Links
Celebrating a legacy
o f involvement
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserver
Ten w om en with strong ties to our African-
Am erican com m unity started aci vie group in 1957
with the goal o f nothing less than universal equal­
ity. Fifty years later, their ranks have sw elled with
a transform ational vision that is ju st as strong.
The Portland ehapter o f Links, Inc. will cel­
ebrate its G olden-anniversary on the w eekend o f
Nov. 2, providing the group with an opportunity
to celebrate past accom plishm ents as they plan to
repeat their success.
Tw o surviving original m em bers help connect
the 30 others w ith a founding philosophy that
continues to thrive in the tight-knit circle.
“Links has alw ays w anted to open doors,” says
C arm en P. W alker, w ho happened to be the
society’s tallest m em ber when it first form ed with
10 members. T he o ther surviving founding m em ­
ber was Fannie Stills Chatm an.
N ever even m entioning the tidy sum s o f m oney
raised for local scholarships and their support for
advocacy organizations over the years. W alker
photo by K athleen
sees the g ro u p 's greatest triumph in the visibility
they have brought to black-com m unity issues.
Most people 50 years ago thought black A m eri­
cans on the W est Coast d idn’t have the numbers
or the drive to tackle inequality, she remembers.
“W e w anted to get this thing organized so that our
black children would have the same opportunities
that everyone else had.”
U nlike 50 years ago, m inorities today can pur­
chase hom es anyw here in Portland without regard
o f race, and city em ployees can no longer so easily
get away with racial slurs, but the Portland Links
has zero intention o f easing its drive for justice.
"W e will not stop until the entire nation is linked
together in a chain o f friendship and service,”
says Y vonne W illiam s, who is the current presi­
dent o f the Portland chapter. "W e hope to capital­
ize on the trend toward greater national aw areness
of health issues w hile maintaining our com m it­
ment to youth.”
A lw ays with an eye to the future, W alker and
W illiam s consider the organization's 1960 inau­
gural Ebony Fashion Fair as a turning point in
putting Portland in the national civil-rights m ove­
ment. W hen organizers arrived, they dim inished
Obama Takes Pulpit
Barack Obama stood in front of a
pulpit Sunday at the4,200-seat Re-
d e m p tio n
W orld O u t­
reach Center
and told wor­
shippers that
h is
faith
“plays every
ro le” in his
life. The Democratic presidential
candidate saidG odcouldhelpbreak
down the divisions between politi­
cal parties and among religions.
Michigan Vote Stripped
Barack O bam a, John Edwards and
Bill Richardson took the lead Tues­
d a y in w ith d r a w in g fro m
M ichigan’s Jan. 15 prim ary be­
cause D em ocratic Party rules say
only Iowa, New H am pshire, N e­
vada and South C arolina can hold
contests before Feb. 5.
C arr /T he P ortland O bserver
Fannie Stills Chatman (left) and Carmen P. Walker are the two surviving original members of Portland Links, Inc., a
local civic group that s celebrating 50 years o f service to the African-American community.
The 10 founders o f Portland's chapter o f Links Inc., a civil-rights and charity group that started in 1957 with the goal
o f nothing less than universal equality.
continued
on page A6
Deadly Plane Crash
G round searchers found no survi­
vors after follow ing the smell o f
fuel M onday night to the w reck­
age o f a p lane ca rry in g nine
skydivers and a pilot that crashed
in the rugged central W ashington
C ascades.
Pot Pies Contaminated
O re g o n c o n su m e rs are bein g
urged to not eat any Banquet brand
pot pies follow ing a large, m ulti­
sta te o u t­
b re a k o f
s a lm o n e l­
losis, pub­
lic h ea lth
o f fic ia ls
a n n o u n c ed T u esd a y . B anquet
brand pot pies are sold in the freezer
section at grocery stores.
Skill Center Named for Margaret Carter
groundwork laid by M argaret Carter."
C arter played a pivotal role in the cre­
ation and long-term support o f the Skill
C enter through her efforts on House and
Senate com m ittees, and in hercurrent lead­
ership position in the Senate.
T he Skill C enter has taken a hands-on
by R aymond R endleman
approach to applied training
T he P ortland O bserver
fo r th o u san d s o f students
Portland C om m unity C o l­
through life-skill education,
lege honored State Sen. M ar­
including com puter literacy,
garet C arter on T uesday by
office techniques and math
nam ingaprogram in her honor
fo r e n te rin g p ro fe ssio n a l
at the C ascade C am pus in
trades.
north Portland.
"It is difficult to imagine
Carter, a longtime Oregon
w hat Portland C om m unity
lawmaker, served as a coun­
C ollege w ould be like had we
cilor and faculty member at PCC
not had this long, wonderful
Cascade and helped create the
relationship with Sen. Carter,"
Skill Center, which has guided
said PCC District President
thousands o f north and north­ Sen. Margaret Carter
Preston Pulliams. "The sena­
east Portland residents intothe
tor has been an advocate and
workforce. As o f this week, the program will an ally, as well as part o f the PC( ’ family. She
be known as the Margaret Carter Skill Center. is one o f the great cham pions of P C C 's
T he center m ade headlines this spring essential mission: to provide access to
as part o f public-college adm inistrators' anyone who w ants a college education."
successful effort to draw more state fund­
Earlier this year, C arter was named na­
ing. M uch o f the Skill C en ter’s success is tional president o f N O B E L W omen, the
a direct result o f C arter's efforts, both as an N ational O rganization for Black Elected
academ ic and a law m aker who has alw ays Legislative W omen. G atew ood sees this
been responsive to the com m unity, ac­ m om ent o f the national level recognizing
cording toC ascade Cam pus president Algie her gift for leadership as the ideal lime to
Gatewood.
honor her services to the college.
Proud o f C ascade's 4.25 percent enroll­
“The Skills Center reaches out to young
ment-growth rate outpacing other PCC cam ­ people, old people and middle-aged people
puses, Gatew ood says, "Now the program who may not otherwise com e to this cam ­
has expanded to include a pre-apprentice­ pus," Gatewood says. “ It also helps every­
ship program, and that’s all thanks to the one get living-wage jobs that they deserve.”
Longtime leader
helped create
PCC program
photo by
R aymond R endi . eman /T he P or it . and O bserver
Portland Community College Cascade Campus President Algie Gatewood visits the
Margaret Carter Skill Center building.