www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
May 28. 2008
Ainsworth in the City
Top performers will .highlight
weekend J festival, J J fundraiser y &
i  i & °f
community service
See Religion, page B5
^tlnrttanò © bseruer
/ n t ) m m u n it y
C a le n d a r
Connections Job Fair
Thursday, M ay 29 from 11 a .m .to 4 p .m .,
the Urban League o f Portland host the
annual career fair at (he W orld Trade
C enter. 121 S.W. Salmon St. Dress pro
fessionally and bring lots o f resum es for
an opportunity at a new and exciting
career. Pre-register at info@ ulpdx.org;
attach a current resum e and they will be
distributed to all vendors at the fair.
OHSUTram Run, Walk
S aturday, June 1, from 9 a.m . to 5 p.m .,
the fam ily -frien d ly ev en t w ill start at
• the base o f the aerial tram , 3303 S.W .
Bond A ve., benefiting D o ern b ec h er
C h ild re n ’s H o spital, featu rin g a h ealth
fair, gam es and m ore.
Flex Your Gray Matter
Thursday, June 5, from 6 to 9 p.m ., test your
knowledge o f women to pop culture, win
prizes and support a local feminist m aga
zine. Bring your friends to the patio
of the Vita Café, 3024 N.E. Alberta.
Juneteenth Celebration
Portland’sJuneteenth celebration will be
held Saturday, June 14 with a parade at 11
a.m., starting from the W ells Fargo bank
at 5730 N.E. M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Activities will follow at Jefferson High
School from 1 to 8 p.m. with free food for
children, entertainm ent and booths set
up by local businesses. For m ore infor
mation, call Doris Rush a t503-605-8252or
Tisha Stigler at 503-249-9093.
SECTION
Bringing Hope to the Underserved
Inmates inspired
by MLK writings
G rad u ates o f an o u trea ch p ro g ram at
the E astern O reg o n C o rrectio n al In sti
tution p resen ted th e ir final th o u g h ts in
a form m o d eled a fte r th e ir fav o rite text,
“ L etter from B irm in g h am Ja il" by Rev.
M artin L u th er K ing Jr., w ho d rafted
w ords on a roll o f p riso n to ilet paper.
T he " L e tte r from F O C I" reflected on
som e o f the w ays that the H um anity in
P ersp ectiv e co u rse they ju s t co m p leted
help ed them get past ed u c atio n al fa il
ures that began at an early age.
“ I’ve learned to grow o ut o f the m ask
that I w ear and to grow as a h u m an ,” one
inm ate w rote.
A n o th er in m ate w ro te, “ Som e o f the
m ost im p o rtan t k n o w led g e and realiza-
, (ions com e from ex a m in in g (he g rey a r
e a s .”
T he p ersp e ctiv e p rogram g iv es e c o
n o m ic ally d isa d v a n ta g e d in d iv id u als
the o p p o rtu n ity to study the h u m a n i
ties in a y ear-lo n g , co lleg e-lev el course.
T he effo rt is u n d ertak en by the O regon
C ouncil fo r the H u m an ities and Reed
C olleg e in the shared co n v ictio n that
the h u m an ities p ro v id e access to ideas
and skills th at in fact ch an g e p e o p le ’s
continued y ^ on page 84
In m a te s a t th e E a ste rn O regon C orrectional In stitu tio n g e t in sp ired a b o u t e d u c a tio n b y writing a le tte r m o d e le d a fte r civil-
rights le a d e r M artin L u th er King Jr. 's “L e tte r from B irm ingham Jail, ” which w a s a lso d ra fte d on a roll o f to ilet p a p er.
Leadership Course
liirns Lives Around
Kids Self Defense Camp
June 16 thru June 20, from 9 a.m. to noon,
the Tulen C enter for M artial Arts and
W ellness, 10004 S.W . Canyon Rd., will
teach easy and effective self-defense
techniques for children ages 6 to 12. Call
503-291-9333.
Summer Camps for Kids
Plan an exciting sum m er for your child
through the Mt. Hood C om m unity C ol
lege sum m er cam p program s. All cam ps
begin at 9 a.m. and finish by 4 p.m. with
before and after care available. For de
tails, visit m hcc.edu/kidscam ps.
Breaking the Cycle
Saturday, June 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m ., at
Calvary Christian Center, 126N.E. Alberta
St., hosts a w orkshop teaching men o f all
ages how to deal with addiction, depres
sion and other pressi ng issues; $ 10-lunch
provided. For more inform ation, call 503-
422-8573.
Learn to Swim
Sw im m ing lessons for ages 8 m onths and
up will begin on June 16 at the Mt. Hood
C om m unity C ollege A quatic C enter.
Adult classes available in w ater aerobics,
sw im m ing lessons and more. For a com
plete summer schedule, call 503-491 -7243.
Concert Volunteers Needed
W arner Pacific College will host aconcert
to benefit higher education for the people
o f G hana, W est A frica on Saturday, June
28. V olunteers are needed. Call 503-
348-4912.
Race for Justice
Saturday, June 21, the St. A ndrew Legal
C linic’s,5K R un/W alk and Kids Fun Run
will kick off at the M adeleine Parish, 3123
N.E. 24th Ave., follow ed by a post-event
party a, the parish hall with free pizza,
beer, and roo, beer, proceeds to benefit
low -incom e fam ilies receive legal repre
sentation. V isit salcg roup.org/events/
home.cfm.
African Drumming & American
Jazz Benefit Concert
Saturday, June 28, a, 7 p.m., W arner Pa
cific College M cG uire A uditorium , 2 2 19
S.E. 68th Ave., will host a nigh, where
Ghanaian drumming, dancing and Am eri
can jazz, featuring C hata Addy & The
M osaique Band. For tickets, call Beth at
503-348-4306.
Homebuyer Programs
P D C 's hom ebuyer-assistance program s
address the gap in hom e ow nership rates
between whites and com m unities o f color.
To learn about the new and expanded
hom ebuyers' assistance program s, visit
p d c.us/nhporcall 503-823-3400.
R iko Whirl g o t p a s t h is e c o n o m ic td is a d v a n ta g e s a n d on-track with im proving
h is e d u c a tio n b y ta k in g a fre e co lleg e-level le a d e rsh ip c o u r s e s p o n s o r e d b y
th e O regon C ouncil for H u m a n itie s.
H um anity in Perspective graduates
succeed in the ultimate experiment of chal
lenging the assum ptions about race and
national history to pursue a future for
them selves and their families.
Jam es Boyd said the perspective course
helped him question the racist beliefs with
which he was raised and credits the course
with encouraging him to be a leader in his
com m unity by fighting discrim ination
against people who are HIV positive.
A nother student, Riko W hirl, said he
struggled with education from a young
age. He had already dropped out of high
school at 17 and attem pted higher educa
tion num erous times by the time he heard
about the free Oregon Council for the
H um anities’ course for low-incom e adults
at southeast P ortland's Reed College.
Portland C om m unity C ollege is offering
the hands-on training to create art from
recycled m aterials; classes will be held at
the ReBuilding C enter, 3625 N. M issis
sippi Ave. Call 503-731-6622 for more
information.
Whirl previously attended a magnet
school in a wealthy, white, Chicago neigh
borhood that was an hour-long bus ride
from the tiny w alk-upapartm ent he shared
with his disabled m other who lived on
governm ent assistance.
Engaged in both worlds, he felt a sense
o f not belonging to either, w hich led to
periods o f partial hom elessness, but also
made him curious about peo p le's different
reactions to and experiences with higher
education.
Aware ofhow hiseconom ic background
affected his access to form al education.
W hirl sought to understand through the
perspective program how the issues of
class, race, gender and geography often
continued y ^ on page 84
Housing Designed Affordable and Green
Ground broken
for first-of-kind
building
The S h a v e r G reen
Building is a
p r o p o s e d a p a rtm en t
c o m p le x c o m in g to
N o r th e a st S h a v e r
S tr e e t a n d Martin
L u th er King Jr.
B o u leva rd th a t s
d e s ig n e d to b e b oth
a ffo rd a b le a n d
enviro n m en ta lly
s e n s itiv e with
en erg y effic ien c y
fe a tu re s.
A groundbreaking celebration took
place May 16 for one o f the few apart
ment buildings in the U.S. that is both
green and affordable.
The Shaver G reen Building will be
built on what once was a blighted piece
o f com m ercial property at 4011 N.E.
M artin Luther King. Jr., Blvd.
In the place o f old, rusting appliances
and an unsightly used-appliance store,
a modem six-story building will rise from
the property to serve 85 individuals and
families. O ccupants o f the new building
R u s tin g a p p lia n c e s
form erly to o k u p
sp a ce at 40 1 1
N.E. M artin L u th er
King Jr. Blvd.,
w h ere a n e w six-
sto r y b u ilding will
rise to s e r v e m o re
th a n 8 5 p e o p le
m e e tin g H o u sin g
a n d Urban D evel
o p m e n t in c o m e
re q u irem e n ts.
Learn to Make Recycled Art
*
B
m ust cam at or below 60 percent o f the
county’s tw o-person household m edian
income o f $32,580.
The most unique aspect is that the
d evelopero f Shaver G reen will strive for
either gold or platinum Leadership in En
ergy and Environmental Design (LEED )
certification while meeting H ousing and
Urban Development income level require
ments.
“ Very few if any residential develop
ments in the U.S. offer buildings that are
sustainable, innovative and also acces
sible to those meeting m inim um income
stan d ard s," said d ev elo p er A m strong
His partner Rolanne Stafford said,
“T here are many hard-w orking and re
sponsible people in Portland who are
finding it difficult to keep up with the
rising cost o f housing. O ur goal is to
provide a housing option that will allow
the w orkforce population to have af
fordable rent while saving for eventual
ow nership."
Rents at Shaver Green will be $710 for
each o f the 59 one-bedroom units, $848
for each o f the 25 tw o-bedroom units
and $981 for the single three-bedroom
apartment. Ten of the apartm ents will be
perm anent supportive housing, or hous
ing for those w ho are earning zero to 30
percent o f m edian income.
continued y ^ on page 114