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