Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Volume XXXX, Number 10
Wednesday • March 10, 2010
piarti a n't
Portland Clowns Without
Borders benefit supports
humanitarian outreach in Haiti
see Arts & Entertainment, page 11
years
‘City of Roses’
•'co m m u n ity service
Committed to Cultural Diversity
A Grandmother’s
Heartache:
Woeful o f separation,
and lost cultural ties
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
Whenever Carollynn Smith has a birthday party for her grandchildren
C ’Lynn or Kofi, she makes sure there is a cake, and her table is spread
with their favorite foods like greens, chicken and potatoes.
The only thing missing is her grandchildren.
For nearly half a decade, Smith has been in a struggle with the Oregon
Department o f Human Services to gain custody o f her two grandchil­
dren, after Kofi tested positive for cocaine while living with her daughter.
“My babies are coming home,” said Smith, who seems as sure o f this
as she is the sun will rise tomorrow.
Smith hates having Kofi and C ’Lynn separated from her five other
adopted grandchildren. But she’s also uncomfortable with her grand­
children being raised by a white couple in Wilsonville, whom she says
refuse to grant her visitation. Smith worries that the children w on’t have
any connection to their heritage or history.
As the nation becomes more racially diverse and complex and more
couples look overseas for children needing homes, the type o f situation
that Smith grapples with is bound to take on an increased salience. In a
state like Oregon that is overwhelmingly white, but has a disproportion­
ate number o f minorities in foster care, the topic will almost certainly grip
policy makers and families alike.
Transracial adoption in the U.S. has always been tangled, and
contradictory. Since whites have long held a patrimonial role over blacks
many, like Smith, bristle at the idea o f her children being taken from her
and given to a white couple.
“It’s slavery,” said Smith.
photo by
continued
on page 4
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Carollynn Smith, outside the northeast Portland offices of the Oregon Department of Human services,
holds pictures of the grandchildren she lost custody o f to the state after a protracted struggle.
Entrepreneur Stays with Dream
Troubled past gives
way to persistence
After spending 14 years behind bars, Sherman
Jackson learned to be patient.
As the former owner and operator o f SJ’s Inter­
national House o f Billiards and SJ’s House o f Style
on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and
Fremont Street, Jackson was known to flaunt flashy
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
cars and love the entrapments o f wealth. But he
Sherman Jackson welcomes customers to his Platinum Fade Salon didn’t like waiting, which got him involved in drug
at the comer of Northeast Alberta Street and Ninth Avenue. Jackson trafficking and money laundering that scored him
was able to break the chains of drug addiction and crime, scrimping quick cash and a trip to prison.
and saving for years to get back into business.
Today, Jackson has slowly climbed his way back
to the top with persistence, patience, and a rock-
solid knowledge o f how to handle a pair o f shears.
A barber by training, Jackson scrimped and saved
at low-wage jobs so he could open his northeast
Portland hair cutting shop: Platinum Fade Salon.
“The money is slower, but life is better,” he said.
Just off Alberta Street, at 5010 N.E. Ninth Ave.,
the shop sees a steady stream o f customers trickle
in and out looking to get their hair cuts. The room is
clean and sleek. The brown walls, which are lined
with several awards, look freshly painted.
“I stayed with my dream,” said Jackson.
But getting back to where he is now w asn’t easy.
continued
on page 4