February 12, 2014
The
Portland observer
IN S ID E
TheWeek Review
Black History Month
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Change Agent
B lack H istory
Issues of race
and disability
move into the
spotlight
by M ichael
L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
Issues o f race and disability
have m oved into the spotlight at
City Hall thanks to Portland’s first
ever Office o f Equity and Human
Rights.
Dante J. James, the office’s first
bureau director, presented an an
nual report on the work accom
plished by the departm ent to the
E l O bservador
full City Council last m onth and
recently met with the Portland
O bserver to help build public sup
port for the mission.
“W hat’s im portant is to tell
what has been done,” Jam es says.
“The com m unity wants to know .”
Since its creation two years
ago, the office has helped improve
contracting and em ploym ent op
portunities for people o f color and
people with disabilities; m ade
equity part of the city budget pro
cess; conducted equity training
for 600 em ployees at over half o f
the city ’s 26 bureaus; and created
a city w id e equity co m m ittee;
among other things.
The O ffice o f Equity and Hu-
Dante J. James
man Rights was created two years
ago to resolve issues rooted in
bias and discrim ination. The of-
co n tin u ed
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METRO»
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C alendar
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Grimm star Russell Hornsby leads August Wilson Monologue Competition regional finalists
through acting exercises.
C lassifieds
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Celebrating a playwright
of color along with
performers of all colors
O pinion t
pages 18-19
,
F ood
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Budding Actors Hone Skills
1
"
Portland area students are getting exposed to the
work of the late Pulitzer Prize winning and African
American playwright August Wilson in a real theater
experience.
Sixteen high school students are finalists for parts
in a local acting competition’s final round. The Port
land August Wilson Monologue Competition Re
gional Finals are produced and presented by the Red
Door Project, and co-hosted by Portland Center Stage.
“From theatres to educators, we’re involving ev
eryone in a small way, - said Red Door Project co
founder Kevin Jones, a black actor from Portland. “By
giving these young people the opportunity to meet,
engage, and support each other, the competition di
rectly affects our racial ecology. It’s introducing them
to the movers and shakers in our community who can
help them change their lives.”
Designed to build more than acting skills for its
participants, the students develop the confidence,
discipline, and drive necessary to thrive as adults in a
rapidly changing world, by learning how to take feed
back and improve their performances in real time.
“Competition is important, not because we're trying
to create winners, but because it’s how the sword gets
co n tin u ed
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