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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2012)
îl!e ^Jortlanb (©bscruer November 14, 2012 This page Sponsored by: r * . », f Fred Meyer THE What's on your list today?. W A R R IO R ’S SILENCE Saluteto Our Veterans The Portland Observer gives thanks to all current and form er members o f the Armed Forces on this Veterans Day 2012. We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you have made and honor your dedicated and loyal service to the country. C alendar Page 3 Pathsto Success Accomplished professionals give back at SEI page 4 O pinion pages 8-9 ' M JET R O PHOTO BY C a RI H a CHMANN/T h E PORTLAND OBSERVER New York author Mitchell Jackson returns home to Portland to talk about his local roots and inspire students at Self Enhance ment, Inc. to reach for their goals. page 11 C ari H achmann T he P ortland O bserver “T h e re ’s a lot o f different w ays in w hich you can becom e success fu l,” T ony H opson, president o f S e lf E n hancem ent, Inc. told a group o f students at a panel discussion Friday inside the school auditorium w here fo u r SEI alum ni spoke about their paths to professionalism . “ Y ou do not have to be an athlete o r an en tertain er,” he said, “but you do have to becom e ed u cated .” Education, finding your gift, fall ing dow n, getting up and persever ing were them es all speakers touched on, but it was M itchell Jackson’s story that fell closest to home. T he sm artly dressed au th o r o f “O v erso u l,” a collection o f short by stories and essays on grow ing up in north and northeast Portland, m ay have surprised his young audience w hen they learned that he once sat w here they did. T he 37-year-old, dressed head- to-toe in black, said he had few intentions o f ev er becom ing an a u thor w hen he w as a young m an living on N ortheast Sixth A venue and M ason Street. Som e o f his early life im pressions began looking out the w indow o f his hom e and w atching his m other d isap p ear into the n eig hborhood behind the unfam iliar doors o f a crack cocaine addiction. A ttending SEI w hen it was lo cated on N ortheast W eidler Street, Jackson said he learned focus and perseverance, but it was through basketball that he believed he w ould m ake his escape. He transferred to Jefferson H igh School to play on the sch o o l’s reputable hoop team , but w hen D ivision 1 college recruits failed to n otice him , he chose to continue playing nearby at PCC. In the early 1990s w hen Portland w as at the height o f A m erica’s “w ar on drugs,” Jackson w as a young college student w ho began dealing dope. In his ju n io r year, he got caught and w as sent to prison for 16 m onths. W hen he got out, Jackson was hopeful w hen he learned he could go back to school. He returned to P ortland State U niversity w here he ultim ately w alked aw ay w ith a M as ters degree in C reative W riting. “ I found som ething I w as finally passionate a b o u t,” said Jackson, w ho now lives in N ew Y ork City as a teacher at N ew Y ork U niversity and ed ito r o f a lifesty le m agazine, “A nd I think you guys are going to have that to o ,” he told students. “ It’s going to be a feeling in you,” co ntinued the Portland native, “ It’s going to be boom ing in yo u .” Jackson w ent on to tell students that it w o n ’t be easy. People will reject you. H e read three rejection letters he received from publishers trying to get som ebody to buy his book. W ow , I thought I could w rite, he recalled thinking. E ventually, he found his w ay as an author. His ebook collection explores topics like literacy, black m anhood, love and relatio n sh ip s, the prison system , m o th er and son bonds, and the gentrification o f urban cities. Jack so n ’s novel, “T he Residue Years,’ ’ will be released by B loomsbury US A in the spring o f 2013. “ If you keep persevering, som e one is going to rew ard you for that p ersev eran ce,” said Jackson. MHNMHHHMMNMNMMMMMHMMNMMMMMHNMNNI Forum Tackles Broken Families ENOUINMtNI pages 13-19 C lassifieds MMM pages 18 “ W h ere is m y fa th e r? ” C h il d ren in 30 p ercen t o f all U .S. h o u se h o ld s ask th is q u e stio n a c c o rd in g to a su rv e y b y th e N a tio n a l C e n te r fo r F a th e rin g . T h e e p id e m ic o f a b se n te e fa th e rs a n d th e re s u lt ing d a m a g e to th e n a tio n 's so cial fa b ric w ill be d is c u s s e d by local an d n a tio n a l le a d e rs at a c o n fe r e n c e , F a th e r-S h ift, to be h e ld in P o rtla n d , T h u rsd a y an d F rid ay , N ov. 15-17. S p e a k ers in c lu d e P a sto r M ark continued 'W ' on page 6
