April 8, 2015
Page 3
INSIDE
This page
Sponsored by:
L ocal N ews
Empowering Youth
S ports
page 5
Trayvon
Martin’s mom
to visit Portland
O livia O livia
T he P ortland O bserver
Many of those who remem-
ber the story of Trayvon Mar-
tin, and black Florida teenager
murdered in 2012, and the in-
famous trial surrounding his
killer, George Zimmerman,
might remember another name
– Sybrina Fulton.
Fulton, Martin’s mother,
brings her powerful and inspi-
rational message on “Empow-
ering Our Youth” to Portland,
courtesy of the African Ameri-
can Alliance and the YWCA of
Greater Portland.
The program will be held
on Monday April 13 from 6:45
p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Maranatha
Church, 4222 N.E. 12th Ave.
Seating for the event is limit-
ed and interested parties are
encouraged to arrive by 6:15
p.m.
Along with Fulton’s mes-
by
pages 6-7
O pinion
M etro
page 9
Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, will bring a
powerful and inspirational message about empowering
youth during a forum in Portland, Monday, April 13 at Ma-
ranatha Church.
sage, there will be spoken is free and open to the public.
word, poetry, and music from For more information, you can
black youth and other com- leave a message at 503-288-
munity members. This event 8429.
Police Reform Panel Gets an Earful
Outreach brings emotional testimony and frustration
O livia O livia
T he P ortland O bserver
Community
frustrations
with Portland police were
expressed in emotional testi-
mony as a panel tasked with
monitoring police reforms in
the city got an earful at its first
public hearing on issues divid-
ing law enforcement and the
community.
African-American and Lati-
no mothers were among those
who shared their concerns
about the safety of their sons
in their interactions with police
during the Thursday session in
northeast Portland sponsored
by the Community Oversight
Advisory Board.
Mothers who lost their sons
by
pages 8-13
C lassifieds
C alendar
page 14
page 15
to violent encounters with po-
lice, and others who felt mis-
treated by police, stepped up
to rail against racial profiling
and urge officers to treat all
people with respect, no matter
the color of their skin. A cen-
tral theme from the testimony
was a demand for the city and
Police Bureau to hold officers
accountable for misconduct
or excessive use of force.
The oversight board was
created to help monitor fed-
erally-mandated reforms to
Portland police training and
policies. After the first hour of
the forum was used up by the
police to show how they were
working to making connec-
tions with the public through
social media, billboards and
other outreach efforts, resi-
dents grew restless and anx-
ious for a chance to express
their long-term grievances.
President of the Portland
NAACP chapter Jo Ann Hard-
esty said the meeting showed
the community is frustrated
and expressed the disconnect
between what the police say
they want and what is happen-
ing on the street.
One
Portland
woman,
through an interpreter, said
that when she called a police
officer to assist her in a local
dispute over her son’s car be-
ing towed, the police officer
C ontinued on P age 5