lattò ©bseruer
January 14. 2009
Drum Majors for Dr. King
continued
from Front
benches downtown and in the
Lloyd D istrict, and has pledged
to provide more free public toi
lets and indoor gathering places.
S iste rs fo u n d e r G enney
Nelson was part of a “vision com
mittee” that created a master plan
for the Old Town/China Town
district. Under her leadership, the
café asserted its own rights but
also respected those of its neigh
bors.
Once responsible for virtually
all activities at Sisters, Nelson
has been gradually fazing herself
out of day-to-day responsibili
ties, dividing them among several
people.
“We work on the theory that
you should recruit a successor
who’s better than you are,” she
told the Portland Observer.
This past year, S isters’ work
earned the group a Spirit of Port
land Award as one o f tw o out
standing non-profit organiza
tions. (A nother award went to
the publication Street Roots, a
new spaper by and for the hom e
less.) The awards are given an
nually to groups and individu
als who enhance the c ity ’s liv
ability. N elson received the
honor as an individual several
years ago.
Patrick Nolen, a Sisters volun
teer who headed a delegation to
receive the group award from
Commissioner Randy Leonard at
a ceremony at City Hall last month,
re m a in e d
tru e
to
the
organization’s tradition. After
Sisters March
Honors King’s Work
Sisters of the Road Café honors Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. and the work of his Poor People’s Campaign, with an
annual march on the Martin Luther King Jr. National
Holiday, Monday, Jan. 19.
The march will begin at 3 p.m. at the Sister’s headquar
ters at 133 N.W. Sixth Ave., and proceed to St. Marty’s
Academy at 1615 S.W. Fifth Ave.
Scheduled this year on the eve of the inauguration if a
new U.S. President, organizers say the march is a fitting
time to remember Dr. Kings’ work for economic human
rights and advocate for needed change in Portland.
Especially important will be the group’s call to restore
civil liberties to the homeless community by repealing the
city's Sit/Lie ordinance.
Next month, the café's hosts its largest fundraiser of the
year, the Winterfolk concert at the Aladdin Theatre. The
Feb. 7 event is dedicated to the late Bruce "Utah” Phillips,
a dedicated Sisters supporter for decades. Tickets are $28
in advance and are available from the Aladdin or Music
Millennium.
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James Marsh serves a healthy meal to Doug Chandler at the Sisters of the Road Café, 133
S.W. Sixth Ave., a non-profit organization that follows in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. by working against homelessness and poverty
saying that he “appreciates the
recognition,” Nolen called on the
council to repeal the Sit-Lie ordi-
nance - thus living up to the
admonition of another African
American leader, W.E.B. Dubois,
who said people should raise their
voices against injustice “in sea
son and out of season.”
Cully Leader Makes a Difference
their faire, or Harvest Fest. She prevails on
local business people to contribute items for
door prizes. Albertson’s regularly contrib
implementation.
utes snack food.
Cully opposition persuaded the Boeing
Under Fuerstenau, Cully used a small
Corporation not to seek a major air pollution
grant to send out an inform ation letter to
discharge permit for its aircraft maintenance
all residents w ritten in Russian, Spanish
facility. The group is currently opposed to
and Somali as well as English. They pro
the Portland AirNational Guard base practic
vide new homeowners with a welcome
ing aerial maneuvers by F -15 fighter jets over
packet containing both useful inform a
the residential neighborhood.
tion about available services and cou
Cully has one of the largest neighborhood
pons from local businesses.
cleanups in the city, and they have inspired
The Cully newsletter, Fuerstenau says is
the local Albertson’s store to sponsor a
“pretty
good, if I do say so myself." For their
monthly volunteer litter pickup.
meeting
on The Arbor, Fuerstenau invited
The group received a Spirit of Portland
the
park’s
residents. “They realized that they
award as Neighborhood of the Year in 2(X)6.
did have a say and a voice through
us,” she says.
Cully is home to Hacienda
Community Development Corp.,
anon-profit providing affordable
housing to Latinos. The neigh
borhood group has sometimes
been critical of Hacienda's man
agement, but has also worked
cooperatively with them on some
projects.
Fuerstenau was born at a mili
tary base in Tokyo, the daughter
of a Japanese mother and a Japa
nese-American military inter
preter.
She spent much of her child
hood shuttling back and forth
between Japan and Portland. She
and her husband Jerry moved to
Cully “almost 30 years ago. We
found a house 1 liked, near
Sacajawea Park, with a fantastic
grape arbor.”
The area, then part of unincor
porated
Multnomah County, was
photo by L ee P eri . man AT he P ortland O bsery e r
later
annexed
to the city amid
Cully Association o f Neighborhoods Chair Kathy Fuerstenau is a tireless advocate for her
promises
of
great
improvements.
northeast Portland community.
“O h’s it's really going to be
U nder Fuerstenau, meeting attendance great to be part of the city, you’ll have new
Fuerstenau is not personally responsible
seldom
drops below 40 on a slow night, streets and services,'" Fuerstenau mimics
for all of this; she has many tireless helpers
and
not
infrequently tops 100 for a hot promised made, sarcastically. “It doesn't
such as Erwin Bergman, a passionate critic of
seem to have happened.”
Portland International Airport and advocate topic.
However, she adds, “It keeps you going
“
I
would
call
up
key
people,"
she
told
the
for additional open space.
when
you have little successes.”
Portland
Observer.
“I
would
send
out
agen
Just a few years ago. Cully meetings were
She
counts as one success the Cully-
das
to
people
who
had
signed
our
atten
attended by less than a dozen people, but
C’oncordia
Community Assessment, which
dance
lists,
and
urged
them
to
come
and
things started to change in 2002, when Cully
she
praised
as “a doable action plan” in
bring
friends.
People
come
back
because
I
land use chair Steve Yett started working on
testimony
before
City Council last Novem
have
good
topics
and
good
speakers.
People
a major development project that would take
ber.
know
this
is
the
best
place
to
get
informa
10 acres of land for employment and indus
In return Adams, then a city commis
trial use, and develop housing on adjacent tion.”
It is also fun. The neighborhood group sioner, told her, “Thank you for your stal
land at a higher density than the homes
has special events such as Cully Cuisine, in wart, persisten, advocacy. I wish every ncigh-
around it.
A large number of neighbors protested. which local restaurants bring samples of borhixxl had the kind of leader you've been ."
continued
PageA9
from Front
Oftbseruer
and Fuerstenau emerged as their leader. She
helped broker a deal whereby some of the
land slated for residential development would
instead be donated for addition to the adja
cent Sacajawea Park, and conditions would
be placed on the industrial development. At
the next neighborhood election she was
elected chair by a large majority.
“It changed my whole life,” she says now.
I w asn't involved in anything, so 1 plunged
in. It was interesting going around the neigh
borhood, learning how to do a land use case.
I’d never done it, but I'd never failed at
anything I’d tried to do. Thank you, Steve
Yett!” (YettremainsCully’slandusechairto
this day.)
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