Page 2
Week
in
Review
The
August 19, 2015
icans killed in officer-involved
shootings.
Transient Man Stabbed
Portland police are investigating
a stabbing that occurred under the
westside of the Burnside Bridge
on Monday night. The attacker
fled before authorities could figure
out who he was. The victim was
transported to a Portland hospital
where he was treated for traumatic
injuries.
Birthday Party Shooting
Civil Rights Activist Dies
A Portland man was shot and in-
jured Sunday following an argu-
ment at a child’s birthday party at
Laurelhurst Park. Ejante S. Paden,
20, was transported to the Legacy
Emanuel Hospital, but was un-
willing to cooperate in the investi-
gation, police said. Witnesses say
the male shooter was between 25
and 30 years old, about 5-foot-8
with a medium build and wearing
all black clothes.
Civil rights activist and Ex-
NAACP chairman Julian Bond
passed away at the age of 75 on
Saturday after battling with ill-
ness, according to the Southern
Poverty Law Center. Bond is well
known for having helped found
the Student Non-Violent Coordi- First Trans Woman in White House
Reports say that the White House
nating Committee in the 1960s.
has hired its first openly transgen-
North Portland Shooting
der staff member, Raffi Freed-
A North Portland home was hit man-Gurspan is a director in the
by gunfire early Tuesday morn- Office of Personnel according
ing, but authorities say none of the to an announcement the White
three occupants were hit. One of House made on Tuesday. LGBT
the residents called police, who advocates say she is the first open-
arrived around 5:15 a.m. but could ly transgender woman of color to
not find suspects or motivation.
have such a role.
Singer’s Speech Censored
Singer Janelle Monáe had her
speech cut as she opened up about
Black Lives Matter on the ‘Today’
show. NBC cut away as Monáe
was making a speech after her
Friday performance of “Hell You
Talmbout,” news outlets reported.
The song names African-Amer-
Escaped Prisoner Caught
A Columbia River Correctional
Institution inmate who escaped
custody last week was caught on
Friday when U.S. Marshals found
him in Fairview. Danny Spillers
is charged with escape. A woman
who is believed to have helped
him escape is also under arrest.
Established 1970
P ublisher : Mark Washington, Sr.
E ditor : Michael Leighton
E xecutive D irector : Rakeem Washington
A dvertising M anager : Leonard Latin
Office Manager/Classifieds: Lucinda Baldwin
C reative D irector : Paul Neufeldt
R eporter /P hotographer : Olivia Olivia
In this July 17 photo, President Barack Obama meets with Emma Didlake, 110, the oldest known
World War II veteran, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.
Oldest Veteran Dies at 110
‘Big Mama’ was trail
blazer for generations
(AP) — An African-American woman who was
believed to be the nation’s oldest veteran at 110
has died, about a month after meeting President
Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
Emma Didlake died Sunday in West Bloomfield,
Mich., northwest of Detroit. She was a 38-year-
old wife and mother of five when she signed up
in 1943 for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.
She served about seven months stateside during
the war, as a private and driver.
She spent time with the president in July during
a trip to Washington that was arranged by Talons
Out Honor Flight, a southwest Michigan chapter
of a national nonprofit that provides free, one-day
trips for veterans to visit monuments and memori-
als in the nation’s capital.
“Emma Didlake served her country with dis-
tinction and honor, a true trailblazer for genera-
tions of Americans who have sacrificed so much for
their country,” Obama said Monday afternoon in a
statement. “I was humbled and grateful to welcome
Emma to the White House last month, and Michelle
and I send our deepest condolences to Emma’s fam-
ily, friends, and everyone she inspired over her long
and quintessentially American life.”
Didlake was born in Alabama and moved with her
family to Detroit in 1944. She was known to her fam-
ily as “Big Mama” and recently moved to an assisted
living family in suburban Detroit.
She was deemed the oldest U.S. veteran based on
information gleaned by Honor Flight representatives
through national outreach campaigns.
Granddaughter Marilyn Horne told The Associ-
ated Press last month that when Talons Out officials
presented her grandmother with a short-sleeved shirt
bearing the group’s logo to wear on the trip to Wash-
ington, Didlake took a look and said: “’I don’t have
Michelle Obama arms — I’m going to need a jacket.’”
---------------------- USPS 959 680 ------------------ 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design
display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased
the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland
Observer--Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a member of the National Newspaper Association--Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc,
New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association
CALL 503-288-0033 • FAX 503-288-0015
news@portlandobserver.com • ads@portlandobserver.com • subscription@portlandobserver.com
Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland Observer , PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208