February 17, 2010
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Portland Observer Black History Month
Page 21
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Support
Students
Ralph David Abernathy, was Martin Luther King’s best friend and
chief advocate.
Carrying on a Legacy
Civil rights leader Ralph David
Abernathy was the best friend and
trusted assistant o f Martin Luther
King Jr., whom he succeeded as
president o f the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, a nonvio­
lent civil rights organization.
Abernathy aspired early on to
become a preacher and was ordained
as a Baptist minister. After his col­
lege education, he served as minis­
ter at the Eastern Star Baptist church
near his hometown o f Linden. Ala.
While boycotts o f the Montgom­
ery, Ala. buses began shortly after
Rosa Parks refused to relihquish her
bus seat, ministers formed the Mont­
gomery Improvement Association
- a name suggested by Abernathy
- to coordinate the boycott.
Abernathy’s first project as presi­
dent o f the SCLC was the comple­
tion o f King’s plan to hold a Poor
People’s Campaign in Washington
during which poor people o f any
race would present their problems
to President Lyndon B. Johnson
and Congress.
After resigning from the SCLC
in 1977, he formed an organization
called Foundation for Economic
E n terp rises D evelopm ent, d e ­
signed to help train African Am eri­
cans for better econom ic oppor­
tunities.
He continued to carry out his
ministerial duties in Montgomery
and lectured throughout the US.
Abernathy died o f a heart attack in
1990 in Atlanta, Ga.
A Light for Civil Rights
Dorothy Cotton (1930- ) was a
leader o f the 1960s African-Ameri­
can Civil Rights Movement and a
member o f the inner-circle o f one o f
its main organizations, the South­
ern Christian Leadership Confer­
ence. As the SCLC's Educational
Director, she was arguably the high­
est ranked female member o f the
organization,
Cotton helped to organize the
students during the 1963 Birming­
ham M ovem ent and its Children's
C rusade and conducted citizen­
ship classes throughout the South
during the era. She also accom pa­
nied M artin Luther King, Jr., the
co-founder and first president o f
the SCLC, on his trip to Oslo,
Norway to receive the 1964 Nobel
Peace Prize.
Dorothy Cotton
Fannie Lou Hamer
was an outspoken ad­
v o cate for A frican
American civil rights.
In 1962, Hamer was
invited to attend a Stu­
dent Nonviolent Coor­
d inating C om m ittee
meeting. After hearing
the com m ittee’s pre­
sentation, she was con­
vinced she should try
to register to vote no
matter what the cost.
T h ough she w as
regularly threatened
and faced beatings, a
bombing and ridicule,
Hamer continued on
with herjoumey to seek
equality.
One year after at­
Fannie Lou Hamer
tending the SN CC meet-
ings, Hamer became a registered voter and a field secretary for the
organization. She worked with voter registration drives in various
locales and helped develop programs to assist economically deprived
African American families.
Hamer continued to be politically active and from 1968 to 1971 and
was a member o f the Democratic National Committee from Mississippi
and was a catalyst in the development o f various programs to aid the
poor in her community.
Hamer died o f cancer in 1977 in Mound Bayou, Miss.
A Portland non-profit needs
your Internet vote to win a grant
to buy com puters for local stu­
dents.
Minority Information Outreach
is a Portland-based organization
that provides underprivileged
youth, specifically R oosevelt
High School students, with com­
puters.
The organization is com pet­
ing in online voting to deter­
mine which ideas will receive a
$25,000 Pepsi Refresh G rant,
with voting ending Feb. 28.
T his gran t w ould pro v id e
2,500 com puters to low -incom e
students in the Portland Public
School District.
RahMiel Mitchell established
the outreach effort to give low- ’
incom e and the latest resources
they need to im prove their lives
and their futures.
To vote in the grant competi­
tion, visit refresheverything.com/
rahmielmitchell.
B la ck H isto ry M o n th events at
REED COLLEGE
www . reed . edu / bhm / index . html
Events are free unless otherwise noted.
Reed Celebrates Black History Month
LECTURE: FEBRUARY 19
7 P.M., VOLLUM LECTURE HALL
M e lis s a H arris-Lacew ell
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is an associate professor of politics and African American studies at Princeton
University. She is the author of the award-winning book Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk
and Black Political Thought (Princeton, 2004).
ROMP! CONVERSATION: FEBRUARY 2 0
2 P.M., PSYCHOLOGY IO 5
Imani W in d s
Grammy-nominated Imani Winds has carved out a distinct presence in the classical music world. In
conjunction with Black History Month, the members of Imani Winds will discuss their musical tribute
to iconic African American entertainer Josephine Baker. The conversation, part of ROMP1 and moder­
ated by Reed professor of music Mark Burford.
CHAMBER M USIC NORTHWEST & ROMP! CONCERT: FEBRUARY 2 0
7 3 0 P.M., KAUL AUDITORIUM
Imani W inds
Imam Winds presents a program influenced by tango and Cuban music. Tickets- $ io - a 8- call
503/294-6400.
4 ’
LECTURE: FEBRUARY 27
7 P.M., VOLLUM LECTURE HALL
P e n ie l E. Joseph
Peniel E. Joseph is a professor of Africana studies at Brandeis University and an expert on the black
radical tradition, pan-Africanism, black social movements, and African American feminism. Joseph's
first two books, Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History o f Black Power in America and The
Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era. were published in 2006.
REED COLLEGE
3 2 0 3 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD. | EVENTS LINE:
503/777-7755