Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Volume XXXX. Number 13
Wednesday • March 31. 2010
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Special Edition
‘City of Roses’
See inside, pages 4-5
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Yo u n g 1
Black
Gifted
Recognizing kids
on right track
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
Portland’s African-American youth are often caught up
in a net of negative public perceptions brought by news of
gang violence, the sobering achievement gap and school
drop out rates.
But there’s plenty of young black kids in Portland who are
on the right path, making good grades, headed to college,
and are making positive contributions to the city. A new
photographic tribute recognizes the hard work of some of
these students and shows that there is still reason to be
optimistic.
“Young, Black & Gifted,” a photo essay putting the
spotlight on the accomplishments of high-achieving Afri
can-American students, opens to the public on Monday,
April 5 at Portland School District headquarters at 501 N.
Dixon St. and will later be moved to the Lloyd Center
Mall.
The project is the brain child of Reiko Williams, the
district’s family and community engagement manager, who
said she got the idea after having a conversation with
someone who seemed shocked when she mentioned an
African-American student that was excelling. After the con
versation she worried that all the attention on the problems
of young black students was drowning out the hard work of
others.
“You hear so much about deficits and achievement gaps,”
she said.
Williams said the exhibit came together with a call for
nominations of black students doing well district-wide, and
the recruitment of a photographer and web developer.
Skylar Holt, a freshman at Jefferson High School is one of
the 13 students featured in the exhibit.
Holts gets A ’s and B’s in school. She does especially well
in English classes, taught by Anne Novinger, one of her
favorite teachers, and chemistry is getting steadily easier.
Holt plans to go to college and is thinking about law school
down the road.
"I'm enjoying it a lot,” she said of her high school. “I like
continued
on page 19
photo by J ake
T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
Skylar Holt excels as freshman at Jefferson High School in north Portland. Her contribution as one of the
city's "Young, Black & Gifted" students is part of a new exhibit coming to school district headquarters and
Lloyd Center Mall.