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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
The February 18, 2015 Portland Observer Black History Month Page 7 Terrorism Task Force Draws Fire Leader cautions city about FBI abuses Avel Gordly, one of Portland’s most respected African American leaders, has joined a chorus of voices urging the Portland City Council to not re-join a Joint Terrorism Task Force on a full time basis. The former state senator ex- pressed her concern in a letter to the City Council on Thursday. “The African American commu- nity, the Arab/Muslim community, the Latino community and other people of colour, and immigrants, as well as activists of all stripes, are likely to be subjects of FBI investi- gations given the low level of sus- picion needed to open up files,” Godly said. “Most troubling, the FBI has told the mayor he will not be able to receive a security clearance, which is unacceptable, she said. Gordly urged Portland to take a stand that is right, just, and fair as an example to other cities, rather than going along with the status quo. “Please vote for staying out of the task force, and against assign- ing two full time officers,” she said. The task force bills itself as a partnership between various Ameri- can law enforcement agencies that is charged with taking action against Avel Gordly terrorism, which includes investi- gation of crimes such as wire fraud and identity theft. There are currently 100 Joint Ter- rorism Task Forces nationwide, in- cluding at least one at each of the FBI Field Offices, except in Portland. Port- land became the only city in the na- tion to withdraw from a Joint Terror- ism Task Force on April 28, 2005. The Center for Intercultural Or- ganizing, the Japanese American Citizens League, Jewish Voices for Peace, and the American Civil Liber- ties Union have all also spoken out against Portland re-joining the Joint Terrorism Task Force. The City Council has postponed its decision on the matter on Thurs- day. The next scheduled vote on the resolution has not been announced. Discussions on Race and Policing Widespread protests in re- sponse to the deaths of black men at the hands of police in 2014 have prompted a national conversation over issues of race and policing— subjects with which many resi- dents of the Portland area have long been familiar. Oregon Humanities invites community members to talk about the challenges built into how we protect ourselves in a series of discussions on race and policing led by trained facilitators. The free and open to the public sessions will take place this month at the following times and locations: Saturday, Feb. 21, 1:30 p.m. at the Center for Intercultural Orga- nizing, 700 N Killingsworth St. Facilitated by Veronica Dujon, professor of sociology and asso- ciate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Portland State University. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 5:30 p.m. at Mount Hood Community College, Student Union, 26000 S.E. Stark St., Room 105. Facilitated by Adam Davis, executive director of Or- egon Humanities. Saturday, Feb. 28, 4:00 p.m.at the Rockwood Library, 17917 S.E .Stark St. Facilitated by Wendy Willis, executive director of the Policy Consensus Initiative. To Place Your Classified Advertisement Contact: Phone: 503-288-0033 Fax: 503-288-0015 e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com CELEBRATING: Black History Month