Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 27, 2008, Page 14, Image 14

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    February 27. 2008
Page B6
D
Natural Cuts & Styles
B lack H istory M onth
Men
Women
Children
N
I
E.
f t .
5514 N.E. 16th
Portland, OR 97211
(503) 284-1213
Tues-Sat 1 lam-8pm
State Farm*8’
Providing Insurance and Financial Services
iM tU ltM U
Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710
Michael E Harper Agent
We m oved to our new location at:
9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OK
503-221-305«
Fax 503-227-8757
r ------------------ — ------------------------------------------------------- --
I
300 N. Killingsworth
I
Phone
(503) 286-1339 |
Fax (503) 286-7088 {
S I — off Any Dinner
I
Best tasting Fish in town
|
lA Burger and Fries $2.99
Melt in your mouth PhillySteak
k _ —
They were 2007 PIE Champions!
Historian Proved Teacher Wrong
Even as a 4th grader, Charles
< Blockson knew better
----------------------------------------------- J
They've won 49 games out o f 51
during the last two seasons!
PHOTO COURTESY CHARLES L. Bl.OCKSON A FR O -AM ER IC A N C O L LEC TIO N ,TEM PLE UNIVERSITY
African Americans call for equal rights during World War II when racism and discrimination were rampant. 4 s white workers went out
on strike to protest the hiring o f black trolley operators, black Philadelphians mounted their own campaign in support of the opera­
tors, including a march in August 1944.
(A P ) — A s a c h ild g ro w in g
up in th e 1 9 4 0 s , C h a r le s
B lo c k so n w as o n c e to ld by a
w hite te a c h e r that black people
had m ade no c o n trib u tio n s to
history.
E v e n as a f o u r th - g r a d e r ,
B lo c k so n . w ho is b lack , knew
b e tte r. So he b e g a n c o lle c tin g
They won the Nike Laker Interstate
Shootout in December!
His continual collecting and research
helped him become an expert on the
Underground Railroad; he wrote several
hooks, lectured around the world and
met historical figures including Rosa
Parks, Langston Hughes and Malcolm X.
They’ve beat every PIE 6-A team
they've played this season!
And they'll start on the road to
the 2008 state tournament
by playing in the PIL Playoffs
Charles Blockson
7:00 PM • Friday • February 29
In the Jefferson gym
Adults $6 • Students with ID $4
Wear your blue and gold and
SHOW CP fur THE LADY DEMOS
the 16th c e n tu ry . It in c lu d e s
Paul R o b e so n 's sh e e t m usic,
A frican B ib les, rare letters and
m a n u sc rip ts, sla v e n a rra tiv e s,
c o r r e s p o n d e n c e o f H a itia n
re v o lu tio n a rie s and a first-e d i­
tion b o o k by W .E .B D u B o is.
"It's re a lly in v a lu a b le ." c u ­
ra to r D ian e T u rn e r said. "T he
a h o y living in the P h ila d e lp h ia h o p e s th ey w o u ld still be th ere
su b u rb o f N o r r is to w n . H is w hen he sa v e d up the m o n ey .
A t Penn S tate U n iv e rsity ,
q u e st b eg an a fte r he a sk e d a
su b stitu te te a c h e r a b o u t fa ­ w h e re his sta rrin g ro le s on the
m ous black p e o p le in h isto ry . f o o t b a l l a n d t r a c k te a m s
S he re p lie d th a t th e re w e re n 't e a r n e d h im th e n ic k n a m e
" B lo c k b u ste r," his frie n d s did
any.
"I se t o u t to p r o v e h e r not u n d e rsta n d his p a ssio n .
"P eo p le u sed to say , W hat
w ro n g ," B lo c k so n said.
A m ong his first p u rc h a se s are yo u c o lle c tin g th o se o ld
w ere the b o o k s "U p from S la ­ h o o k s f o r ? '" B lo c k s o n r e ­
very" by B o o k e r T. W a sh in g ­ c a lle d .
A fte r g ra d u a tin g in 1956, he
ton, "G o d 's T ro m b o n e s" by
tu rn e d d o w n an o ffe r to play
fo o tb a ll w ith the N ew Y ork
G ia n ts and b rie fly e n te re d the
m ilitary. H is c o n tin u a lc o lle c t­
ing an d re se a rc h h e lp e d him
b e c o m e an e x p e rt on the U n ­
d e rg ro u n d R a ilro a d ; he w ro te
several b o o k s, lectu red aro u n d
the w o rld and m et h isto ric a l
fig u re s in c lu d in g R o sa P ark s,
L a n g s to n
H ughes
and
p ro o f.
T o d a y , th e C h a r l e s L.
B lockson A fro -A m e ric an C o l­
le c tio n at T e m p le U n iv e rsity
c o n ta in s m ore th an 3 0 ,0 0 0 h is­
to ric a l ite m s, so m e d a tin g to
m a te ria ls a re ju s t so w o n d e r­
ful and u n iq u e ."
T h e c o lle c tio n has g ro w n so
m uch sin c e T e m p le a c q u ire d
it 25 y e a rs ag o th at it m o v ed
in to a la rg e r sp a c e on c a m p u s
th is m o n th .
B lo c k so n . 74, is a h isto ria n ,
le c tu re r an d a u th o r w h o b e ­
gan a m a ssin g his c o lle c tio n as
Ja m e s W eld o n Jo h n so n an d a
b io g ra p h y o f G e o rg e W a sh ­
in g to n C a rv e r.
As
he
g re w
o ld e r,
B lo c k so n 's h u n ts fo r b o o k s at
the S a lv a tio n A rm y and G o o d ­
w ill led to se a rc h e s at m ore
ra re fie d sh o p s. H e re c a lle d a
b o o kstore w here he w ould hide
v o lu m e s he c o u ld n ’t a ffo rd in
M alco lm X.
B lo c k s o n w o r k e d a s a
te a c h e r b e g in n in g in 1970.
A b o u t 13 y e a rs la te r, he g av e
his c o lle c tio n to T e m p le and
b e g a n se rv in g as its c u ra to r.
B lo c k so n a lso re c e n tly d o ­
n a te d th o u sa n d s o f item s to
the P enn S ta te lib ra ry , w h ich
p la n s to o p e n the C h a rle s L.
B lo c k so n R oom in A pril.
Roundtable Discussion Looks Back at 1968
Leisure Hour Jr. Golf Program
Portland, Oregon
www.et earn/, coni Leisurelloin JrOolf
‘You Say You Want a Revolution'
It was the year both Dr. Mar-
tin Luther King Jr. and Robert F.
Kennedy were assassinated: the
city o f Chicago was in chaos as
riots broke out a, the Democratic
National C onvention; m ediacov-
e ra g e o f the T e t O ffe n s iv e
brought out the realities o f the
Vietnam War; and theCivil Rights
M ovem ent gained m om entum
with sit-ins and riots.
It’s not your standard funeral home...
it’s the new standard in funeral homes.
RRY FAM ILY
FU N ERA L H O
£ Tee I» UP Fore F“B"
Mailing Address:
3920 N E Higliland
Portland, < d< 97211
Meeting Site-Maple Mallory .Apts
(’0.1) 120-0123 Prunaiy
(503) 936-8568 Secondmy
A 501(c) (3) N on-P rofit Oi aam zation
<
level of service a family can experience
You see, w hen we w ent into business we
aspired to be so far and away the best
that a new level of excellence was to be
created. We w ould like you to know that
from a funeral home.
we've achieved our goal.
In a business where things seemingly stay
the same, a change has taken place. A
change that may raise the bar on the
3800 N.E. Mallory
Portland, OR 97212
T erry
1
75
2337 N Williams Ave
(503) 249-1 7 8 8 • www.terryfamilyfurM’r.iItTomu.iom
The Mt. Hood Community Col­
lege H is to ria n ’s R o u n d ta b le
"1968: You Say You W ant a
Revolution?" will be taking a per­
sonal approach to the events of
1968 through the eyes o f those
who experienced it firsthand.
During this compelling presen­
tation you will hear from MHCC
Dean Kim Freem an w ho was
stranded in a Tallahassee. Fla. mo­
tel by rioti ng after I )r. Mart in Lut her
K ing's assassination. Doug Sweet,
director o f KMHD radio station,
will discuss his work as a civilian
contractor in Da Nang (South
Vietnam), where he w itnessed
the Tet O ffen siv e; instru cto r
Scarlett Saavedra will relate her
experience while attending Dr.
K ing's funeral in Atlanta, Ga.
M HCC student Holly M uleahey
w ill explain w hat it was like w hen
she was living in Los Angeles and
Robert K ennedy was a ssassi­
nated.
The H istorian's Roundtable
"1968: You Say You W ant a
Revolution?" is free and open to
the public. It will be held on
Thursday, March 6, from noon
to I p.m. in Room AC 17 It).