Page 4
^ortlanb (Observer
July 16, 2014
Silencethe
Violence!
c o n t i n u e d f r o m fro n t
northeast, outer southeast Portland and
nearby suburb Gresham.
Tarvon Randolph, 14, co-chair of Striving
to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere
(STR Y VE), helped organize the “Silence the
Violence” event at McCoy Park.
Randolph says he’s lived in New Colum
bia for eight years and was down the street
when 24-year-old Andrew Coggins was killed
in a daytime drive-by shooting on Fessenden
Street, a block from the park, in late June.
He says his mom is afraid for him to be out
with his friends now, even if just for a stroll
to the neighborhood basketball park.
“I wanna be able to come out here and
hang out with my friends and chill. You
know, play basketball and do fun things,” he
says.
As for the quiet demonstration, Randolph
says it was a move to show the community
that the youth want and can do positive
things for themselves and others.
“We all care, I care,” he says. “I will do my
best to make this a better place.”
Abdullah Hafeedh, a com m unity health
w orker for STRYVE says a public re
sponse to the violence is especially im
portant in a town like Portland, where
many Black and Latino com m unities are
fragmented.
A Southern California native, Hafeedh
also called on government to invest more in
..
..
photo by D onovan M. S mith /T he P ortland O bserver
Mayor Charlie Hales visits with local youth Friday during a ‘Stop the Violence'demonstration in north Portland's McCoy Park.
vulnerable populations.
Days earlier, after a 5-year-old boy was shot in the leg in a suspected gang-related shooting, Hales called gun violence in
He acknowledged that there is gang activ
ity in Portland, but as someone who was Portland a public safety and a public health crisis’.
incarcerated for gangbanging in California some groups involving them selves in some
about that.”
He later led the crowd in a cheer, inspired
before turning his life around, he says the type of gang-on-gang interaction but there
Back at M cCoy Park, the youth form ed by youth that want to preserve a popular
situation here seems to have less to do with hasn’t been an all-out war inside o f Port
a circle with Hafeedh at the center. He reference to New Columbia before it was
full-on gang organization around control land for years.” he says. “So that lets me
addressed them by explaining how the reconstructed and renamed from Columbia
ling markets like territory and drug traffick know the m ajority o f the conflicts w e’re
idea to rally against the violence, wear Villa, “They call [this] ‘The Villa’, they wanna
ing, or making a name for oneself.
having here and there is not from direct black and white, and keep the gathering as
take that back. Everybody say that with m e!”
“P ortland’s scenario is more interper gang-violence per-se, m eaning cats try
an overall silent protest, was all the idea of
The crowd responded in force, “The
sonal conflict that plays out with maybe ing to put their hood on the m ap— it’s not
young people.
Villa!”
THE
SPINACOLUMN
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Am ericas natural healing profession.
Part 6. HEADACHES: Why Chiropractic is
nature’s long-lasting pain reliever.
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eye. What can Chiropractic possibly Chiropractic.
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fu ll course o f Chiropractic when headaches or for answ ers to any
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drugs often relieve my headaches? questions you m ight have about
or another. The type you describe A
is : Drugs work primarily on re
your health, please call us at the
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2124 NE Hancock, Portland O regon 97212
describe. Any type o f pressure or
irritation on these nerves can cause
Phone: (503) 287*5504
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Dr. Billy R. Flowers