Ramadan in
Portland
Muslim community
comes together
to celebrate
Bicycle Safety
Growing numbers
make users o f the
road equally alert
See story, page 3
See Metro, page 13
Read back issues of the Portland Observer at www.portlandobserver.com
City
Roses
Volume XXXXI, Number 34
Wednesday • August 24, 2011
Established in 1970
",
o
Committed to Cultural Diversity
ot
King Memorial Opens
Stone of hope
carved from
mountain
of despair
Visitors got their first up-close look
Monday at the memorial to the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr., including a tow­
ering granite sculpture inspired by the
civil rights leader's "I Have a Dream"
speech.
The opening started a week of celebra­
tions ahead of Sunday's official dedica­
tion. A stream of people filed into the site,
reading some of the 14 quotations from
King's speeches inscribed into a 450-
foot-long granite wall.
The memorial sits on the National Mall
near the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.,
between memorials honoring Presidents
Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.
The sheer size of the 30-foot sculpture of
King sets it apart from the nearby statues A statue depicts the late civil rights leader Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. emerging from
of Jefferson and Lincoln, which are both stone on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial was opened to the public
about 20 feet tall.
Monday ahead o f its official dedication on Sunday.
Pamela M. Cross, 53, a cyber security
professional from Washington, said she
usually passes by the memorial on her
morning walk around the National Mall
and was excited to be able to see it up
close.
Cross said her father, a postal worker,
attended the march on Washington in
1963. She said King's message contin­
ues to resonate.
"The way the country is right now, it's
good to remember his principles," Cross
said. "We are in need of jobs, we're in
need of equality, we're in need o f an
economic vision that's inclusive."
The sculptor, Lei Yixin, said he wanted
the memorial to be a visual representa­
tion of the ideals King spoke of in his "I
Have a Dream" speech.
"His dream is very universal. It's a
dream of equality," Lei said through his
son, who translated from Mandarin. "He
went to jail. He had been beaten, and he
sacrificed his life for his dream. And now
his dream comes true."
Jean Watkins, 67, a neuro-diagnostic
technologist from Washington, said she
was active in the civil rights movement in
her native Norfolk, Va. She said the memo-
continued
on page 4
Letter Carriers Fight for Justice and Survival
Workers say financial
troubles are ‘big lies’
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Contrary to popular belief, letter
carriers say the U.S. Postal service’s
financial crisis, which has been
making headlines for the past sev­
eral months, is not the problem
threatening mail delivery to go to a
five-day schedule come September.
Instead, they say the problem is
political.
For the past year, Portland’s
Postal Service union has been work­
ing to inform the public that elimi­
nating one day of delivery per week
is detrimental to both the quality of
service for customers and the well­
being of postal employees.
“In the greater Portland area, there
are over 1,500 letter carriers,” said
Jim C ook, the p re s id e n t o f
Portland’s letter carrier’s union.
continued
on page 4
Jamie Partridge of
northeast Portland, a
local letter carrier for 2 7
years, delivers the mail
to Griselda Gonzalec.
Partridge says the
postal service is facing
a crisis due to politics.
photo by M indy C ooper /
T he P ortland O bserver