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November 14, 2012
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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
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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