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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2014)
Page 36 ÌÌ V‘) M a r t in L u t h e r K in g J r . Januaiy 15. 2014 2014 s p e c i a l e a t lio n Building African-American Pride c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 35 A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan. -- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. INVEST TODAY IN YOUR CHILD'S FUTURE they secured a building on N ortheast M orris Street, and fixed it up with their own labor. They recruited kids at the grassroots level, patrolling the neighborhood for children with idle time during sum m er break. The desks at the Black Education C enter were soon filled with 120 students that sum m er in 1970. By 1974, the center expanded to being a full-tim e private school. Though the Black Education C enter was forced to close down in the late 90s it became a staple in Portland’s African-American community. “Portland was pretty fertile ground for some o f the things we d id ,” she says. H arris’ proactive approach to culture and education followed her through the years, an attribute perhaps rooted in the mentoring she received years ago from her grandm other. W ith fondness, H arris recalls how her grandm other w ould say to her as a youth, “Y ou’ve got a good head on you, you get the best education, ‘cause can’t nobody take that away from you.” W ith a sm ile creeping across her face, Harris says, “she was absolutely right.” Fittingly, now adays Harris, who received her M asters in Education from Portland State University, serves as director of the Region X Equity Assistance Center at Education North west, a position she has held since 1994. It is all seem s a natural extension o f what she’s been doing since her high school years when she collaborated with other student government leaders and a handful o f teachers to get classes started again am idst a lengthy teacher’s strike. ‘I know how fired up I get when culture is a part o f w hat I ’m doing,” she says. H am s uses the A frican-A m erican holiday o f K wanzaa as example. This tradition started in 1966, and H arris and others gave that tradition roots in Portland in 1970. She w arns that young people aspiring to become leaders in the community should study the successes and failures o f not only national figures, but those who spearheaded things in their own backyard. “We have to look at the shoulders o f people we stand on. W ithout a Fannie Lou Ham er, there would not have been a Barack Obama. There w ouldn’t have been,” she says. She continues this thought by referencing Rev. Dr. M artin L uther King Jr., saying “he had m ore than a dang dream .” “I always tell people you need to study Dr. King, you need to read his writings,” Harris says. In doing so, she says people will discover the intricacies that fueled the great Civil Rights leader; like the unnamed cast of supporters from King’s church that constantly checked in on him throughout the intense struggles of the time. Ever the educator, Harris recom mends that people look for m ore inform ation on King and the M ontgom ery Bus B oycott he so fa mously led. Check out the book “Strides Tow ard Free dom ,” she says. “I think one o f the areas we really need to tighten up on is teaching our kids, their history and culture.” It all adds up to another piece to the civil rights puzzle, as King so famously demanded in his “I Have a Dream Speech” 50 years ago on the N ational M all in W ashington, D.C., that his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color o f their skin, but the content o f their character.” FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE Thursday • February 20th • 6:30 - 8:00 pm © Trinity Lutheran School Academic Excellence. Inspired By Christ Since 1891. (jf-Q c le . »Small Class Size*Family Centered Challenging Curriculum • Diverse Student Body • Computer Lab • Spanish Sports*Music*Cully Garden • Drama• A rt• Licensed Extended Care 7am-6pm Allen Harrison Sat.* Feb. 22nd *6:30 pm Love is a force capable o f trans forming an enemy into a friend. 11-17: $5 • 18 & Up $10 10 & under-Free Benefits TLS-PT0 -- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
