M a rtin L u t h e r K ing J r .
Page B22
200<S sp ecia l edition
January 9, 2008
Inspired by King's Letters
continued
photo by R aymond R endleman /T he P ortland O bserver
From a garage next to 1112 N.E. Morton St., Jamie Bolwyn responds to a book
request from an inmate in Aberdeen, Wash.
A MORE
R E W A R D IN G
from H15
romance novels and action thrillers dominate the
small selection.
Making the task even more difficult locally,
Oregon laws prohibiting used books hinder the
campaign for literacy among the growing number
of prisoners living in this state.
“It’s very hard to get new books donated, and it
takes a lot of money to get those new books,” says
Alex Johnson, who has worked regularly with the
program for five years. Finding he couldn’t send
literature to a couple of friends in jail, Johnson
helped start an organization called Books to Oregon
Prisoners to specialize in soliciting publishers. Beg­
ging for new books uses most of his spare time, but
he also squeezes in moments to show those in
power that state laws limit prisoners’ opportunity
for self-empowerment, education, and entertain­
ment through reading. There are dozens of organi­
zation across the country developed to go beyond
the barriers for prisoners receiving books, but few
ever even try to send anything to Oregon prisoners
because of the unique laws.
King approved of finding ways around laws until
civil-rights amendments passed. “The purpose of
our direct-action program is to create a situation so
crisis-packed it will inevitably open the door to
negotiation,” reads King’s Letter from Birming­
ham Jail.
There are many ways you can help the efforts,
including filling donation bins at the Hollywood
Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy, In Other Words, 8 N.E.
Killingsworth, or Laughing Horse Books, 12 N.E.
10th.
Both groups are looking for books with educa­
tional content: dictionaries, thesauruses, GED study
guides, foreign-language materials, fiction and po­
etry, and books on music, trade, hobbies, crafts and
business.
The groups most often get requests for dictionar­
ies and history books, especially African-Ameri­
can, Indigenous, Latina/o, Asian and queer studies,
literature by women and biographies.
You can volunteer to open letters, match up
requests and package books for Portland Books to
Prisoners mailing nights on Mondays and Wednes­
days from 5 to 8 p.m. in the garage next to the house
at 1112 N.E. Morton St. Books to Oregon Prison­
ers mailing days are the second and last Saturdays
of every month from noon to4 p.m. at the Blackrose
Collective Bookstore, 4038 N. Mississippi Ave.
Marian Wright Edelman
PSU Presents
Children’s Advocate
Will deliver MLK Tribute
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and presi­
dent of the Children's Defense Fund, will be the
featured speaker on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7
p.m. at Portland State University’s Lincoln
Performance Hall.
The community-wide event, commemorat­
ing the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., will also include special performances
by the Highland Choir. The event is sponsored
by PSU and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Limited seating tickets are $10 for the gen­
eral public and free for students with a valid
student ID. They are available for purchase at
the PSU Box Office (Smith Memorial Student
Union, room 102) by calling 503-725-3307 or
through all Ticketmaster outlets.
For more information call Sa'eed Haji at
503-725-5345.
Edelman, a lifelong advocate for the Ameri­
can people, was the first black woman admit­
ted to the Mississippi Bar.
She began her role in the Civil Rights Move­
ment as a director for the NAACP Legal
Defense and Educational Fund and later be­
came a counsel for Dr. King’s “Poor People’s
Campaign.”
Edelman went on to establish and lead the
Children’s Defense Fund. She is the recipient
of the 2000 Presidential Medal of Freedom and
the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement
Award.
E X P E R IE N C E ------------- --
This ad is dedicated
to a man who could
dream in color.
V
The State of Oregon is proud to honor Martin
Luther King Junior’s birthday, as well as the
upcoming Black History Month. We also
would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate the Portland Observer on its
38th year of publication. The Oregon Liquor
Control Commission (OLCC) and the
Department of Administrative Services (DAS)
are the sponsors of this message and are
Equal Opportunity Employers committed to a
diverse work force. You can find current job
announcements for the State of Oregon, on
the Web at www.oregoniobs.org
You can also find out about current job
openings at OLCC by calling the Job
Information Line at 503-872-5238.
The Chehalis Tribes' salute Dr. Mar tin Luther King, Jr.
for his tireless efforts to end racial discrimination.
We urge everyone to honor his memory by continuing
to work toward that goal.
'E A G L E S L A N D IN G H O T E L
1-5 Exit 88/88 B. West on Hwy 12 to Anderson Road • Rochester, WA
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800-720-1788 • w w w .lockyeagle.com -------------------—
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