February 9, 2011 The Page 25 Portland Observer Black Histoiy Month Activist, Political Leader Writes Memoir c o n t i n u e d f r o m fr o n t fo r m o re th an $ 2 ,2 0 0 s h o w c a sin g h e r b ro a d su p p o rt. In w inning the 1996 election she becam e the first A frican-A m erican w om an to be seated in the O regon Senate. G o rd ly w on the p u b lic o v e r through constant involvem ent w ith pro g ressiv e civic issues such as e n v iro n m e n ta l ju s tic e , w o m e n ’s rights, funding for early child h o o d program s as well as raising the state m inim um wage. S h e ’s been a leader in honoring the past accom plishm ents o f A fri­ can A m ericans, and sponsored the bill that proclaim s Juneteenth, June 19, o f every y ear to be a day o f statew ide celebration o f dignity and freedom o f all citizens. G o rd ly a lso w as a sta u n c h s u p ­ p o rte r o f o p e n in g d o o rs to the p u b lic ’s rig h t to a c c e ss a p a r ty ’s p o litic a l p la n n in g se ssio n s. D is ­ c o u ra g e d w ith th e p a rty c a u c u se s w ith in the D e m o c ra tic P a rty , she b e c a m e an In d e p e n d e n t in 2 0 0 6 . H e r a c tio n s w ith in th e L e g is la ­ tu re e a rn e d h e r re c o g n itio n as “T h e C o n s c ie n c e ” o f b o th the H o u se a n d S e n a te. A s p a rt o f the la st d a y s o f th e 2 0 0 7 L e g isla tiv e se ssio n , she te a m e d w ith O re g o n A tto rn e y G e n e ra l H ard y M y ers to p ass a law re q u irin g a p la n n ed re sp o n se to in c id e n ts in w h ich p o lic e u se d e a d ly fo rce . G ordly ’ s com m i tm ent to O regon ex ten d ed to econom ic issues such as trade w ith South A frica. S h e ’s m ade m ore than 17 trips to A frica to learn ab o u t issues in nations there as well as rep resen t O regon b u si­ ness and social interests. G ordly ad v an ced h er education at the sam e tim e, and earn ed reco g ­ nition for com pletion o f the Program for S en io r E xecutives at H arvard U n iv e r s ity ’s Jo h n F. K e n n e d y School o f G overnm ent. She is a S enior Fellow o f the A m erican L eadership Forum . P ortland honored G ordly for her public service in July o f 2007 w ith a proclam ation and reception in the C ity H all council cham bers. G ordly ’ s m em oir. R em em bering the P ow er o f W ords: T he Life o f an O regon A ctivist, L egislator, and C om m unity L eader is co-authored Take Action Get Tested Multnomah County Health Department's j HIV C o m m u n ity Test Site o ffe rs | c o n fid e n tia l HIV te s tin g | w ith o r w ith o u t y o u r n a m e | at th e se lo c a tio n s : fr o m f r o n t fantastic. W e want to take the same concept to the field, and use it as a com m unity resource ju st like the li­ brary is” . Spanning four city blocks and cov­ ering alm ost 16,000 square feet, the new turf field and athletic center will seat over 1,800 fans, while providing not only first-class facilities for C ava­ lier athletics and N A IA sports, in­ cluding soccer and baseball, but a hom e field for neighborhood soccer clubs, and serve as a host exhibition site for the Portland Tim bers. C onstruction is underw ay and the athletic com plex is anticipated to open during this fall. In the past, athletes, including C oncordia students and com m unity team s, have either played o ff cam pus for gam es or on the only cam pus field, which now serves as the new loca­ tion for the library and cam pus green. The old grass field had no lights, and the hours o f field use were very lim ­ ited due to a full season o f w ear and tear that caused poor playing condi­ tions. W ith a future o f lights and syn­ thetic turf, the new athletic com plex will be able to dedicate m ore hours to field use on a year-round basis. “M ore than half o f the field time w ill be dedicated to com m u n ity groups,” says M adeline Turncock o f C oncordia’s m arketing and com m u­ nications departm ent. The athletic com plex will devote 63 percent o f its available hours to the com m unity and 37 percent to C oncordia athlet­ ics, according to the project’s website. C avalier fans and players c a n ’t wait to finally cheer on team s in their ow n backyard. C oncordia athletics hope to see a new bubbling o f school spirit as stu­ dent athletes and fans are brought back to the cam pus for hom e gam es. W ith the latest features including a press box, space training, team rooms, stadium seating, concessions, and restroom s, what current or perspec­ tive athlete w ouldn’t love to play in the new facility? “ I think to have a hom e for soccer and baseball team s is very exciting for o u r student athletes and an o p ­ portunity to bring back the hom e field ad v an tag e,” says E nglish, w ho also believes that m ore students will be apt to stay on cam pus in the evenings to w atch gam es, keeping them safe and engaged w ith the university. The A thletic C om plex is ju st one o f several recent additions for the university. In 2009, the private, C hris­ tian, liberal arts university opened the G eorge R. W hite Library and Learning C enter, and in effort to invite com m unity m em bers to its use, issued 1,500free library cardstoneigh- bors. D uring the sam e year, the new C o n co rd ia P lace A p artm en ts on N ortheast 27th A venue also opened for students and com m unity resi­ dents. C oncordia University is one o f 10 universities founded by the Lutheran Church, M issouri Synod. The school first began as a four-year academ y in 1905 to m eet educational needs o f local pastors and parochial school teachers for the church. O v er 100 years later, C oncordia has evolved into a university c o m ­ parable to larger accredited O regon colleges, offerin g a full liberal arts e d u ca tio n , p re -p ro fe ssio n a l p ro ­ gram s, professional church w ork program s, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in education and b u sin e ss. C oncordia offers ^ u n d e r g r a d u ­ ate m ajors w ith concentrations in m ore than 20 fields, and is accred ­ ited by the N orthw est C om m ission on C olleges and U niversities. I D owntown Com munity Test Site Call 503.988.3775 for an appt. Mon I Thurs | Fri | 426 SW Stark St., 6th Floor, | Portland, 97204 j j Concordia’s Big Step c o n tin u e d by P atricia A. Schecter, w ho is an associate pro fesso r o f H istory at PSU. G ordly and S checter are sched­ uled to speak on the book on S u n ­ day, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. at the O regon H istorical Society. Northeast Health Center Just walk in ■ Tuesdays | 5:30 - 7:15 pm ■ 5329 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, 2nd Floor, | Portland, 97211 | w ith this coupon” o rs Public Health Pit, m il H ealth D ep artm ent P»