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M ay 18. 2011
IN S ID E
The Week ¡n Revi ew
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C alendar
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CAPTION (photo #4261 in Smith folder): Commissioner Loretta Smith opens a town hall meeting on
Wednesday, May 11th, where African American men were invited for the first time to speak about
their lives while living in Portland.
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pages 8-9
African American Men Speak Out
by M indy C ooper
pages H-14
C lassifieds
page 15
H ealth
pages 16-17
R eligion
page 19
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m ent.”
m ake you feel successful in your
L ast w eek on W ednesday, M ay
Sm ith ex plained that she m ore life, and the second: W hat assis­
1 1th, C o m m issio n er L oretta Sm ith than reached h er goal o f the evening tance does y o u r co m m u n ity p ro ­
hosted a special tow n hall event w hen she looked at the o v erw h elm ­ vide you?
w here A frican A m erican m en cro ss­ ing turnout, w hich she said show ed
A fter the event S m ith explained,
generations shared th eir p ersp ec­ clearly these individuals d o n ’t feel “Jobs w as a huge issue, not only
tives o f com m unity, resource d istri­ they have a voice, and they n ev er w ith o u r youth, but also w ith adults.”
bution and w hat needs to change in get asked about their situations.
She ad d ed that re-entry program s
ord er to attain a m ore equitable en ­
“T hey are m y bo sses,” said the and m entors seem ed to also be an
vironm ent fo r m inorities w ithin the com m issioner. “Psee this T ow n Hall im p o r ta n t is s u e m a n y p e o p le
Portland area.
as a unique opportunity to m ake a throughout the com m unity are fac­
Sm ith ex p lain ed the event is one resounding statem ent to the c o m ­ ing.
that w ill go d o w n in history.
m unity and to o th er elected o ffi­
From jo b s to education, health
W h en I first en co u n te re d the cials.”
and housing, individuals one by
an n o u ncem en t fo r the m eeting, I
As the only A frican A m erican one co u rageously spoke about their
w a sn ’t sure w hat the hype w as all elected official w ithin M ultnom ah first-hand accounts o f having d if­
about. I read that C o m m issio n er C ounty in 20 years, she has a unique ferential access to resources, their
Sm ith w as go in g to organize a tim e perspective w ithin the political arena circu m stan ces and the issues they
for B lack m en to speak at T o w n hall in P ortland to truly m ake a d iffer­ en co u n ter w hile living w ithin the
and share th eir perspectives, but I ence for the com m unity, w hich has city filled w ith environm ental rac­
w anted to know w hat w as on the often been overshadow ed in P o rt­ ism.
ag en d a.
land politics.
She fu rth er addressed the need
“W hat is the p o in t?” I asked
“I ’ve spent m y entire adult life in fo r youth w ithin the com m unity to
m yself, and I w as not alone in m y N o rth e a s t P o r tla n d ,” sh e sa id . have p laces to go after school and
curiosity.
“W hen I look into the audience I see in the sum m er. “T his past m onth it
B efore the m eeting began, w h is­ m y son, and I see m y friends.”
has been really hot on the street,”
pers o f co n v ersatio n s and sk ep ti­
Sm ith, w ho is the co m m issio n er she explained. “ I w ant to m ake sure
cism filled the air. “ I hope this is n ’t o f D istrict 2 that includes N orth and that in this b udget cycle w e create
ju s t an opp o rtu n ity to m ake a p o liti­ N ortheast Portland, explained the policy and d irect reso u rces that will
cal statem en t,” o ne w om an said.
county is at a pivotal point w ithin its im p a c t o u r u n d e r r e p r e s e n te d
B ut as chairs began to run ou t for budget cycle, w hich requires the y o u th ,” said Sm ith.
the vast nu m b er o f people g ath er­ need to talk w ith people and u n d er­
At the m eeting, kids asked for
ing w ithin the room , I glanced around stand w hat is and isn ’t w orking.
teachers w ho will listen to them w hen
at o v e r270 individuals from 12 to 70
A t the e v e n t on W ed n e sd ay , they ask questions, and spoke up
years old w ho occupied the space q uestionnaires w ere prepared to ask for their ed u cato rs w ho they believe
m eant fo r 190 people, m aking the those w ho attended intim ate details deserve m ore resources to help them
im portance o f the evening suddenly about th eir circu m stan ces, in clu d ­ from a go v ern m en t that is supposed
very obvious that this group has ing: ‘W here do you feel m ost safe? to protect them w hen they are in
som ething to say.
W hat barriers to success do you danger.
“T h ere has n ev er been a forum co n fro n t? W here do you see y o u r­
Sm ith added a lot o f resources are
w here A frican A m erican m en have se lf in five y e ars? ’
spent on public safety, but they
been asked to com e into the board
A lthough the results from the need to be spent on ed ucation and
room and give their in p u t,” said survey are cu rren tly being sorted, p revention.
C o m m issio n er Sm ith at the ev en t on individuals had the opportunity at
“ W h at I w a n t to d o is g iv e a
W ednesday night. “ I am excited that the m eeting to take the m icrophone v o ic e to th is g ro u p , w h o h isto ri-
th e re ’s a huge response, and youth and an sw er tw o very big questions.
continued ' W ' on page 18
are interested in o u r civic engage-
T h e first: w hat do you need to