April 23, 2008
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Voter Registrations Due on Tuesday
Groups canvass
to build power
With the Tuesday, April 29 voter registration deadline
drawing near, African-American-led campaigns tor par
ticipation in the May 20 Primary Election have taken oil.
The Oregon Students of Color Coalition has worked
statewide to turn out the vote while a Portland religious
alliance is following up on the success ol its registration
drive.
Entitled "Color the Vote!," students at Portland State
University have joined students at other public universi
ties and colleges to register students to vote. A series ol
events draw on the historic student-ol-color-led vote
drives that built communities’ of color power to win con
crete change during the Civil Rights Era and other move
ments.
"Oregon is failing to get our students ot color to col
lege," said Aimeera Elint, OSCC board member, "and we
want to change that. The first step to building our power
is making sure that students of color turn out at the ballot
box. Join us in registering students of color to vote!’
While a college degree is crucial in the current
economy, college-enrollment rates have declined lor the
majority of communities of color—even when the state's
population of color is increasing.
This Saturday, April 26, another voter-registration can
vass will build on the 200 new signups achieved last
Saturday when the 2nd-annual Legislative Educational
Day was held at Calvary Christian Center in northeast
Portland.
Canvassers will set up teams all day from the corner
of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and
Mason Street to increase turnout among homeless, ex
offenders, persons in recovery, women and minorities.
For more information, contact Rev. Renee Ward at
503-548-7537.
May 20 Primary
Reminders
photo by R aymond R endi . em \ n /T iie P ortland O bserver
Carmen Anderson, a senior at Portland State University, rallies others to register to vote during a
campus event Monday, including signing up sophomore Spencer Potter.
Sunday Youth Summit Agenda
TV Judge Greg Mathis and a groupof
local community leaders will show their
support for Jefferson High School stu
dents during a Youth Summit. Sunday,
April 27 at the Lloyd Center Doubletree
Hotel.
The event was rescheduled from an
earlier date. Il is sponsored by Corner
stone Community Services under the
direction of Rev. B.E. Johnson and will
start with ajobfairat4:45 p.m. and will get
followed up by a banquet at 6: 15 p.m.
Mathis, a syndicated columnist and
judge w ill serve as the keynote speaker.
Tickets to the dinner are $I(X), hut
those who cannot afford the price will
not be turned away. For more informa
tion, cal I Cornerstone at 503-281 -4587.
Open up your heart and home to a youth
• Vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out two
weeks before Oregon’s May 20 Primary
Election.
• The ballots must be received at any county
election office or designated drop site by 8
p.m. on Election Day. Postmarksdon'tcount.
• To vote in the historically competitive
presidential race between Sen. Hillary Clinton
and Sen. Barack Obama, you must be regis
tered in the Democratic Party.
• The voter registration deadline is Tuesday,
April 29. Postmarks will count for mailed
registration forms.
• Current addresses are required. If you’ve
moved or changed your name, you must
reregister to vote. Ballots cannot be for
warded by the U.S. Postal Service.
• New federal regulations for voter registra
tions require a driver’s license number or the
last four digits of a Social Security number.
Also make sure to indicate a political-party,
"no political party” or "other.” Do not mark
more than one party.
• Voter registration cards can be filled out at
the Mu Itnomah County Elections office, 1040
S.E. M o rriso n S t., or p rin ted from
Oregonvotes.org and mailed in.
Registration forms are also available at
post offices, community centers and Sisters
of the Road, 133 N.W. Sixth Ave., which
offers its address so homeless people can
participate in the election.
C ivil R ig h ts C h a m p io n to V isit
One o f the nation’s leading ci v i I -
ghts attorneys, Fred Gray, will
teak at the M allory Church of
hrist about the Tuskegee Human
id Civil Rights M ulticultural Cen-
•r prior to delivering the com-
lencement address for Cascade
ollege.
Gray served as M artin Luther
¡ng Jr.'s first civil-rights lawyer,
e also represented Rosa Parks in
te historic ease that led to the
lontgom ery, A la., bus boycott in
955.
K«»», v non!
Fred Gray
lifetime fighting social injustice and
setting precedent - as in Browder
vs. Gayle, which integrated M ont
gomery buses in 1956. A ddition
ally, Mr. Gray took NAACP vs. State
o f A labama to the Suprem e Court,
winning the right of the NAACP to
do business in the state.
Gray and State Senator Margaret
Carter will speak at the Mallory Church
of Christ, 3908 N.E. Mallory, on Fri
day, April 25, at 7 p.m. Cascade
College's commencement ceremony
will be held Saturday, April 26at 2 p.m.
in the gym, 9101 E. Burnside.
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Experience the rewards of
being a Foster Parent!
Come to an information session at Boys & Girls Aid:
TUESDAY, MAY 6th from 6:30 - 7:30 pm
RSVP: 503-542-2323
018 SW Boundary Court Portland, OR 97239
For information call
Boys & Girls Aid
www.boysandgirlsaid.org
( Jregnn Department
of Human Swvtcm
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