Page 2 31b* ^orttani» (Observer October 23. 2013 Saving Our Boys LET'S GET DOWN Reframing the narrative TO BUSINESS Starting Nov. 1, 2013, you'll find Metro Sheltered Market Program construction contracting opportunities between $5,000 and $50,000 listed on the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN) website orpin.oregon.gov. To find out more ways your company can get in the game MAKING a and compete for contracts to serve Metro facilities - from GREAT the Oregon Zoo to the Portland Expo Center, contact PLACE Michelle DePass, MWESB program coordinator, at 503-813-7596 or bidsandproposals@oregonmetro.gov. D onovan M. S mith T he P ortland O bserver A frican A m erican parents and other parents o f children o f color gathered for a sym posium Saturday to find new w ays to elevate the aca dem ic achievem ents o f their seeds. T he 5 -h o u r sym p o siu m hosted by B lack Parent Initiative w as held at the d isb an d ed M arsh all H igh School cam pus in southeast P o rt land. It w as the fourth y ear the group has sponsored a range o f w o rk shops p ro m o tin g equity and e x ce l lence in the classro o m through in c re ased p a re n tal in v o lv e m e n t at school and at hom e. ’ Speakers included the d irecto r o f Charles McGee cu rricu lu m and in stru ctio n fo r the O re g o n E d u c a tio n I n v e s tm e n t state o f o u r num bers in them selves Board, Dr. Doris M cEw en, BPI board are bad, but w e ’ re not the problem in m em b er A ndre H erring, and a video A m erica, w e ’re not the problem in m essage from S y b rin a Fulton, the this state.” m o th er o f slain F lo rid a teenager M cG ee, a pro u d fath er to a young T rayvon M artin. F ulton w as sch ed son, says the sy m p o sium w as pri uled to attend the sym posium , but m arily m eant to serve as a kind o f c a n c e lle d d u e to an u n fo resee n “educational co m m ercial.” H e says em ergency. he is m ore anxious about the w ork H erring, w h o ’s been heavily in that gets done w ith people after the volved w ith the o rg an izatio n fo r a ev en t. n u m b er o f years, says he w as c o m “I think it’s easy fo r people, g en p elled to speak at this y e a r’s event erally, to co m e to som ething for one w hen asked by B P I fo u n d er C harles day. A lot o f p eople cam e for a M cG ee. co u p le h o u rs in the m orning then A father o f a 4 -y ear-o ld girl h im they left, and then som e cam e fo r the self, a sizeable p ortion o f H e rrin g ’s aftern o o n then they left. B ut it’s speech aim ed to en lig h ten parents w ho co m es to the classes, right? and teachers that though A frican- B ecause I really believe that w e are A m erican ch ild ren are often p o r at a p o in t o f an em ergency. If black trayed as the face o f u n d erach iev e m en w ere salm on, the E PA w ould be m ent in schools nationally, that it is out, and the Fish and W ildlife w ould statistically im possible to say black be out and th e y ’d be testing us and students in O regon bring dow n the try in g to figure ou t how to get us to re la tiv e ly lo w s c o re s th e sta te reproduce. W e are at an em ergency schools receive. point. A nd I am really hoping and H e said that n ugget o f in fo rm a p raying that as a co m m unity w e tion w as im portant to how black stand up and step up and take care by If you operate a certified minority-owned, woman-owned or emerging small business in the construction trades, Metro has a new way to help you grow. TOGETHER M e tro African American Alliance for Homeownership AAÀÉt Presents the 15th Annual Homeownership Fair parents view p roblem s o f ach iev e m ent w ith th eir ow n kids in term s o f se lf im age m oving forw ard. “W e th in k a b o u t sch o o l c lo Saturday, October 26,2013 ■m M M M M M NI 10 am - 3 pm Legacy Emanuel Hospital Atrium 501 N. Graham St., Portland I Enter to Win a $ 1,000 grant give-away and other great prizes! • Visit over 40 housing professionals; Attend free workshops • Home Retention Resources for current homeowners Free Lunch > Free Parking 0 Pre-registration is NOT required FREE & OPEN to the Public LENDER www.aaah.org 1 ^ *5 5 ! 503-595-3517 [HomeStreetJßanfe SAFEWAY 0 o f o u r o w n ,” M cG ee says. M ore inform ation o n the w ork o f B PI can be found on their w ebsite th e b p i.o rg . HMNNMMHnMNMNMHB King Hoodie Call Mystery D onovan M. S mith F u rth e r in v e stig a tio n by T h e T he P ortland O bserver P o rtlan d O b serv er found that the If som eone w anted kids at K ing K ing PT A w as n ev er behind the E lem entary to w ear h o o d ies in soli h oodie request, n o r w as the school darity w ith the fam ily o f slain te en d istrict o r B lack P aren t Initiative. ag er T ray von M artin, no one is tak W h e n K in g P T A p r e s id e n t ing responsibility fo r it. K e n n y B u tle r se n t o u t an e m a il to L ast w eek, a p o ster w as c irc u n e w s m e d ia o n F rid a y c la rify in g lated claim in g to be sp onsored by th e s c h o o l’s p o s itio n , th e c o rre K ing S ch o o l’s PT A and requesting s p o n d e n c e w a s a p p a r e n tly h i the students at K ing to d on hoodies ja c k e d w ith a d d itio n a l in fla m m a on Friday in m em o riam to M a rtin ’s to r y la n g u a g e th a t s u g g e s te d fam ily the day b efo re his m other M a r tin ’s c h a ra c te r w as ju s tif ic a w as scheduled to k ey n o te a P o rt tio n fo r h im b e in g sh o t an d k ille d . land event headed by the Black Parent As o f now , no-one is taking claim Initiative. M artin w ore a h o odie the fo r the p o ste r’s creation, o r the ap night he w as k illed in Florida. p aren t h i-jacking o f B u tle r’s em ail. K G W C hannel 8 subsequently C la s s e s at K in g w e n t on as ran a story w ith an unidentified p a r sc h e d u le d F rid a y w ith o u t a d e m en t w ho criticized the school. o n s tra tio n . • by Sponsors sures, w e think about problem s in the city, o r v iolence, and it’s alw ays p osted as b lack kids and brow n kids - that these are the ones m essing up the sch o o ls, the reason that the scores are lo w ,” he says. “B ut w e ’re not bringing dow n the num bers, the CHASEO S k y lin e HOME t OAKS S lA n fliR NOW * Group J