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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2013)
M artin L u th er K ing J r . Page 18 January 16. 2013 2013 s p e c ia l e o ition We’re in this together. At the American Red Cross, our clients, volunteers, employees, donors and suppliers represent a wide array of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, ages, lifestyles, beliefs and philosophies. We embrace the rich diversity around us, and come together to help those in need. American Red Cross O r e g o n R e g io n ALL ABOARD! RAILROADING AND PORTLAND’S BLACK COMMUNITY On display January 15-Apnl 21,2013 THF OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Z q BEGO/ v 0RW °N B IV K PI9N E E Ç S OREGON 1200 SW Park Avenue | Downtown Portland WWW.OHS.ORG I 503.222.1741 ' H IS T O R Y M U S E U M O. Hm Oregon Humanities NRHS P atrick S mith P hotography Portland civil rights activist Rev. Renee Ward takes heart to the national Martin Luther King holiday as a time ‘to reflect and restore ourselves to be motivated and get involved, because there is still a lot of work to be done.’ Walking Among Everyday People www.redcross.org/oregon In this original Oregon History Museum exhibit, learn about the black community that grew up and worked around Union Station in the late 19th to mid-20th century, and the churches, newspapers, and businesses they built which forever changed the city of Portland. photo by Trust Management Services, LLC c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 5 With words soaked in experi ence and inspiration, she advises, “Y ou’re going to have to serve and educate yourself, strengthen yourself and empower yourself, and dedicate yourself to passing the baton on.” Celebrating the national M ar tin Luther King holiday, she said, is a time “to reflect and restore ourselves to be motivated and get involved, because there is still a lot of work to be done.” “I never worry what people think of me,” she said. “If I were to worry about what people think from each day I step out the door, stranger to people who do, I w ouldn’t get much accom plished.” Unpopular conversations are an instigator for Rev. Ward. She references nature’s tiny dung beetle, which slowly and steadily, but surely pushes a ball of feces to its destination. “It’s not an attractive or popu lar thing to be pushing,” said Ward. “I deal with the real, non- con ventional, uncomfortable con versations nobody w ants to have.” Conversations like AIDs. In the late 1990s, Ward watched her husband, Joseph Morman, suffer and eventually die from an HIV/AIDS-related illness. The emotional toll was painful enough, but seeing his ostracization, isolation and preju dice because of the AIDs stigma, pushed her to a tipping point. W hen no one else was w ill ing to speak up, she gave H IV / AIDS a voice and encouraged others to do the same. “I sincerely hope to accom plish, not a selfish act, but more a selfless act of making sure nobody has to experience the pain and suffering, the isolation that many folks go through, not only with AIDs, but socially un acceptable labels and barriers that are totally unsolicited an no fault of their own.” Following his death in 1998, Ward founded Chrysalis M inis tries, a faith-based agency dedi cated to addressing health dis parities. Today, the non-profit’s many volunteers do outreach and educate com m unities, mainly African and African Americans continued on page 39
