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Committed to Cultural Diversity
February 27. 200S
Celebrating Black History
M etro
From facing wartime challenges
to the NA AC P's 99 years
See coverage inside, pages B2, B3 and B6
¿riu' ^ io rtla tib (IDhserucr
»
o m m u n ity
C a l e n d a r ‘The Inspirational Legacy of AI Forthan’
Homework Help
The Black Parent Initiative and Concordia
Teachers Corp, provide free homework
help fo r kids ages 5 to 19 on Tuesdays
and Thursdays, from 3:45 to 5 p.m. at
Grace C ovenant C hurch, 5450 N.E.
Flanders; and from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at C al
vary Christian Center. 126 N.E. Alberta;
as w ell as M ondays and Wednesdays
from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the East Portland
C om m unity Center, 740 S.E. 106th Ave.
‘Sweet Crude’ Reception
Thursday, Feb. 28, from 4 to 6 p.m.,
Portland's S w ahili Imports hosts a pre
show reception fo r "Sweet Crude” film
producer and director Sandy C io ffi. The
vie w in g o f the film , adocumentary about
o il d rillin g in the N iger R iver Delta, w ill
fo llo w at 7:30 p.m., at the Portland C om
munity College Cascade campus Moriarty
Building.
Catch the Authors
Thursday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m., In Other
Words, 8 N.E. K illin g sw o rth S t., w ill host
a reading night featuring five gay, lesbian
and transgender authors. For more in fo r
mation, visit inotherwords.org or call 503-
232-6003.
V-Day Portland
Friday, Feb. 29 and Saturday. March I , at
6 p.m., the Center fo r S elf Enhancement,
3920 N. K irb y St., presents Eve Ensler’ s
The Vagina Monologues, to raise aware
ness and end violence against women.
A dm ission is fo u r cans o f nonperishable
foods or new w om en’ s toiletries; fo r more
information.1 call 503-901 -5501.
Film honors
late counselor
A local center that helps men recover
from alcohol and drugs is celebrating a
remarkable story and new documentary o f
a local A frica n Am erican who overcame
his addiction.
The Volunteers o f Am erica Men's Resi
dential Center w ill host “ The Inspirational
Legacy o f A l Forthan," at the H o llyw o o d
Theatre on Thursday, March 13. Forthan
was the first person to move from an
alumnus o f the treatment center to come
back and w ork fo r the M H C .
He passed away in 2006. But his amaz
ing story and the fine w ork he did for
others is told in the center's archives.
A n im posing 6-foot-4-inch frame, a
tough street-smart attitude, a long record
o f conv ictions and hard tim e— it was the
kind o f "currency” that commanded re
spect among fe llo w prison inmates. A l
Forthan had it all.
He also had a 25-year addiction to heroin
and enough hustlers and players w aiting
back on the streets to keep the cycle
going. It w ould take some potent interven
tion to turn this life around, that and the
one last close-call w ith police that left
Forthan shaken fo r days.
Forthan was born in Portland, the el
dest o f seven children. The fa m ily was
But when Forthan was introduced to
heroin, the stakes were suddenly raised. It
was no longer enough to just deal— now
it required acts o f violence in order to
support his own addiction. His arrests and
convictions led to nine stretches in prison,
and w hile none o f the convictions were
serious enough to keep him from eventual
parole, they still robbed him o f a total o f
tw elve years o f his life.
«Mk
Al Forthan was known for inspiring others to quit drugs and alcohol.
shuffled around from one housing project
to another until Forthan was 13. His par
ents did their best raising the fa m ily w ith
his father insisting that they get the edu
cation he never had.
He w asn't buying it. Except fo r sports,
school was no match for hanging out w ith
friends on the street and in pool halls,
pushing the lim its o f the law and eventu
ally, at age 19, getting arrested fo r robbery.
When he emerged from the Oregon
prison system 18 months later, he fin a lly
felt his life had some direction. He had
learned a more sophisticated rule o f street
ethics: how to play the system, how to
tra ffic in drugs and all the fin e r points
necessary fo r starting the life o f a career
crim inal. And. so it began.
It was the m id -’ 60s, back when drug
dealing was relatively lim ite d to pot and
pills. Before long, he had more money than
he had ever had before and the rush he felt,
this new sense o f purpose, gave him what
he believed to be “ self-esteem." Every
thing he had learned in prison seemed to
be paying off.
Friday. Feb. 29 through Monday, March
3, the Portland Japanese Gardens w ill
host the D o ll Festival.
Camp Fire Incredible Kids
Envisioned
To reduce
domestic violence
The R otary C lu b o f Portland has
awarded $ I m illion to Bradley-Angle House
as the first step toward creating a Rotary
Center fo rC o m m u n ity Empowerment— a
com m unity resource center that w ill bring
together concerned citizens from all back
grounds to w ork on reducing domestic
violence in the greater Portland area.
The donation provides the foundation
for a project that could exceed $3 m illio n
before its doors are opened in M ay 2010.
The domestic violence group w ill seek
additional donations from private founda
tions and individuals to purchase a prop
erty. remodel it, and fund basic center
operations fo r three years.
Town Hall Education Forum
Saturday, March 8, from 10:30 a.m. to
noon. Rep. C hip Shields w ill host a Town
Hall forum on education at the PCC-Cas-
cade Campus Student Services Cafeteria.
Electric Car Races
Saturday. March I, M t. Hood C om m u
n ity College-Gresham Campus, w ill host
the electric car races beginning at 11 a.m.
For more inform ation, call M ark Watts at
503-762-6180. extension 5579.
Children's Book Fair
As the oldest domestic violence orga
nization on the West coast. Bradley- Angle
House was founded in Portland in 1975 by
women who needed services and support,
neither o f which was available anywhere
at that time.
In its 33 years, the group has been a
national anil a regional leader in a move
Lorna Nakeli opens her studio to the pubic.
Volunteer Elder Advocates
Problem Pooch - Finicky Feline
The Oregon Humane Society offers an
swers to your pet’ s behavior issues. Prob
lem Pooch class, Saturday, March I at
12:30p.m., F inicky Felineclass, Saturday,
March 8 at 12 :3 0 p.m., both classes w ill be
at 1067 N.E. Colum bia Blvd.
In Search of Black Holes
M onday. March 10, at 7 and 8 p.m.. Plan
etarium Sky Theater at Mt. H ixtdC om m u-
nity College-Gresham Campus, w ill ex
plore the mysteries o f black holes. L im
ited seating and $1 admission. For more
inform ation.call 503-491 -7 2 13.
Great Oregon Beach Cleanup
Saturday. March 29. between 10a.m. and
I p .m .,S O L V needs thousands o f volun
teers fo r the 24th annual beach cleanup to
restore the coastline to pristine condi
tio n .T o g e t in vo lve d .ca ll 800-333-7658.
Breaking the Cycle
A safe and confidential forum fo r males
lakes place every first and third Friday at
6 p.m. in the Calvary Christian Church,
126 N.E. Alberta. For more inform ation,
contact Pastor Eric Carson. 503-422-8573.
on page 112
Center
Camp Fire U SA Portland M etro Council
invites the p ublic to honor any incredible
child. Honorees w ill receive an award,
coupons and their name in print. The fee
is $25 per ch ild w ith registration available
until March 3 1. For more inform ation call,
503-224-7800, extension 142.
Thursday. March 6. certification classes
begin fo r volunteer advocates and inves
tigators to serve the needs o f the elderly
and those in assisted-living centers to
insure they receive the propercare needed
w ith respect and d ig n ity. C all Kathy
Walters at 800-522-2602 to sign up.
continued
Empowerment
Doll Festival
Sunday. March 2, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
the U niversity o f Portland-Chiles Center,
5(MX) N. W illam ette B lvd., hosts a free
book fa ir featuring activities fo r children
o f all ages. Each child attending receives
a free book.
" It d id n 't matter i f I was in prison or
out," Forthan recalled. " I was •somebody,'
I had power. 1 was respected inside and on
the streets. I'd get out and then step right
back into the same game, the same habits.
I d id n ’ t realize that the lifestyle itself, the
power and control. had become as much o f
an addiction as the drugs.”
O ver the years. Forthan participated in
several drug rehabilitation treatment pro
grams. It was never a comm itted relation
ship. Nothing took. “ Spin dries" he calls
them. “ No life altering counseling. No
fo llo w -u p mentoring. Y o u're in. you get
clean, yo u 're out. Spin dries."
The turning point came in July o f ‘91.
As he pulled his car into the driveway, he
saw police cars and officers in the process
o f a bust. They were not there looking for
him , they waved him to get out o f their
way. Forthan’ s car was fille d w ith drugs
and paraphernalia, a gun and enough cash
to have landed him in a Federal prison
in definitely. M iraculously, nobody even
Portland Open Studios is recruiting
m inority and m ulticultural artists for next
fa ll's annual tour o f artist workspaces.
O f course, there are advantages to
the artists who open their studios. A u
diences are b u ilt, artwork sold, inspira
tion grows and communication happens.
ment to create co n fid e n tia lly located safe
houses to shelter survivors and provide
peer support until they can gain the con
fidence. skills and resources needed to
live safely on their own.
The new center w ill be open and acces
sible to the public, where conversation,
strategizing and com m unity input can be
channeled tow aril initiatives that w ill make
domestic violence less and less socially
acceptable.
The fa c ility is m in im a lly projected to
house B ra dley-A ngle's non-residential
services (including youth services), ad
m inistrative offices, volunteer services, a
One artwork image from each artist ap
pears both in the o ffic ia l tour guide and
on the Portland Open Studios website,
w hich extends the benefits after the
scheduled tour weekends o f Oct. 11 and
18.
There are advantages to each neigh
borhood where artists have their stu
dios, too.
V isitors discover the art in their own
backyards and venture out in to parts o f
the metro area that they have never
been. A rtists and visitors participate in
grow ing a local arts com m unity fille d
w ith a diversity o f artists making art in all
library and resource center, an affordable
licensed childcare center, community meet
ing rooms, performance and exhibit space,
and a healing garden. Depending on the
size o f the building, other programs could
be based there as well.
"The only possibility we have to end
domestic violence is to involve the entire
com m unity in changing the conditions
and perceptions that perpetuate the v io
lence." said Karla McFarland. Bradley-
A ngle House executive director. "W e
welcome R otary's vision in selecting this
media.
Painters who use o il. acrylic or water
color: sculptors who cast bronze, weld
found objects or mold clay: fiber artists
who weave, make quilts o r print fabric:
mask makers: book artists: and artists
w ho use just about anything else that
artists use to make artworks can all ap
Joe Pogan works with metal.
ply.
Portland Open Studios offers the K im
berly Gales Emerging /Artists Scholar
ship to encourage young artists be-
tween 20 and 30. The w inner receives a
w aiver o f all fees and a $100 stipend.
To apply for participation or for more
»
project from the dozens o f w orthy subm is
inform ation on the scholarship, go Io
p o rlla n ilo p e n s tu d io s .c o m . A p p lic a
tions are due March 15.
/
sions. Domestic violence intersects w ith
so many other issues facing our c ity right
now
homelessness, drug a d d ic tio n ,
continued
on page It 2