August 17, 2011
Page 21
$tortlanò (Phseruer
North, Portland news and events
£„ St. Johns
N E IG H B O R H O O D
Roosevelt
Freedom Writers
Students
motivated for
social justice
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
“There are many people in the
community who don’t get the credit
they deserve for the work they do,”
said Jocelyn Loyd, a student at
Roosevelt High School and member
of a summer project, the Freedom
Writers. “But that’s doesn’t stop
them.”
Loyd, like other activist-minded
students in the group, first became
motivated to write about local people
that they believe are fighters of so­
cial justice after learning about in­
fluential freedom fighters of the past,
mainly during the civil rights era.
“To be a freedom fighter does not
mean to be something extremely big
or perfect,” said writing student
Dorian Erich. “You can be a freedom
fighter by just speaking up and rais­
ing awareness and issues in our
community,” said classmate Hana
Kent.
bv
Last spring vacation, Roosevelt
students traveled to Alabama and
Georgia on a national college tour to
visit historical African American
colleges and sites of the civil rights
m ovem ent. For m any, the trip
sparked interest in the role young
people play as advocates for free­
dom.
Now, many of the same students
are taking part in the Freedom Writers
project, guided by Kate McPherson,
a longtime English and Social studies
teacher interested in taking student
writing to a higher level.
“It has inspired them to know
what things they care about in the
community and how they can take
action,” said McPherson.
Interested in making their own
writing a more public voice in the
community, the group, made up of
sophomores, juniors, and seniors,
decided to create a student publica­
tion. They began gathering inter­
views, stories and photographs from
activists, writers, professors, publi­
cation leaders, and other people in
the Portland area who they believe
are advocates and spokespersons
for social justice.
Donations Needed
for Youth Football
Hoping to cover football equip­
ment costs for 3rd through 8th grad­
ers, the Roosevelt Youth Football
League needs to raise up to $3,000.
At the same time, the sports pro­
gram is still open to kids who want
to join and play.
As a Police Activities League
program, the non-profit is led by a
dedicated group of north Portland
parents and local business leaders
that serve as coaches and staff.
Checks can be made out to PAL
and designated for use of the
Roosevelt Youth Football program
on the memo line. The mailing ad­
dress for donations is PAL, 449 N.E.
Emerson St., Portland, OR 97211.
Diaper Donations Drop-off
The C hildren’s R elief Nursery regular size cans accepted only).
in north Portland is low on dia­
If you are able to make a dona­
pers, mainly for babies and tod­ tion, call 503-594-4511.
dlers who use size 4 and 5 diapers.
You can also spread the word
O ther im portant needs include on Facebook at facebook.com /
baby wipes and form ula (Sim ilac c rn 4 k id s or on tw itte r at
or Enfamil milk and soy-based, tw itter.com /crn4kids.
The Freedom Writers from Roosevelt High School visit the offices of the Portland Observer to learn
and write about past and present advocates for freedom and social justice.
Jovany Romero said working and while learning about different types practice that will benefit the commu­
interviewing people in the commu­ of writers.
nity as voices o f change.
nity really opened “my eyes to see
The project is part of a larger
“I want to use my craft to do good
and observe more into the prob­ effort to establish writing and pub­ for my community, but I also want to
lems,” such as gangs and poverty. lishing center at Roosevelt.
help other people outside my bound­
Along the journey, the students
As for a new era of Roosevelt aries,” said Loyd.
have honed their own writing skills writers, they hope to continue a
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