Freedom
to Marry
Same-sex couples
line-up for
licenses
Animal Odysseys
Zoo camps
scheduled for
winter break
See Arts &
Entertainment, page 12
See stnrv. nape 3
‘City 0/Roses’
Volume XXXXI
Number 47
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • December 12, 2012
Established in 1970
C om m itted to C ultural D iversity / C s d i i iu> oj
•
s •'conimuntfv servn •e
Charles Washington Remembered
Portland
Observer
publisher dies
at age 60
Portland Observer Publisher and Editor-
in-Chief Charles H. Washington died Satur
day. He was 60 years old.
Washington led the newspaper, the old
est African-American publication in the state,
since 1995 when he took over the company
from his mother, Joyce Washington.
Hejoined the Portland Observer in 1990 as
public relations director and assistant editor
after a 15 year entrepreneurial stint in small
business ownership and property manage
ment.
He developed a new marketing strategy,
restructured operations, and was instrumen
tal in propelling the paper into the main
stream publication and influential comm u
nity voice that it is today.
He was a strong advocate for local schools
and im proving the econom ic base o f
Portland’s minority communities.
Last month, when the Portland Observer
Foundation sponsored a community ban
quet to award scholarships for young people
and recognize leaders from the community
who are advocates for disadvantaged and
minority communities, the event showcased
the publication’s mission.
W ashington’s goal as publisher was to
create a media outlet that was dedicated to
diversity, the African-American community,
but also the Latino, immigrant and newly
gentrified communities. As Portland grew in
diversity, the Portland Observer grew.
With the help of his brothers and wife,
Elizabeth, Washington worked hard to en
sure that his mother’s legacy as a tireless
advocate for the community continued.
He established in 1996 the Joyce W ash
ington Memorial Scholarship Fund for gradu-
continued
on page 4
Portland Observer Publisher
and Editor-in-Chief Charles
Washington