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October 7, 2015
Mother of Juneteenth Dies
Clara Peoples
brought
celebration to
Oregon
O livia O livia
T he P ortland O bserver
Clara Peoples, a beloved com-
munity leader, educator, and
mother of Portland’s annual June-
teenth celebration, died Monday,
Oct. 5.
Born in Muskogee, Okla. on
Sept. 8 1926, Peoples grew up
with a passion for community ser-
vice and spread her efforts to Ore-
gon when she moved here in 1945.
Peoples was surprised to learn
that Juneteenth, the celebration of
the end of American slavery, was
not celebrated in this part of the
country. She introduced the holiday
to her fellow workers at the Kaiser
Shipyards, and later helped to ini-
tiate Portland’s annual citywide
Juneteenth celebration in 1972.
by
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The
Clara Peoples with her great-granddaughters (from left) Tamia
Robinson and Kiyara Tolston at Portland’s annual Juneteenth fes-
tival in 2010. The photo was orignally taken by the Oregonian and
shared on social media.
She eventually became known
as Portland’s “Mother of June-
teenth.” She also gave years of
service as an active and dedicat-
ed community leader. She was
a counselor at the former John
Adams High School in northeast
Portland and she helped fight hun-
ger in our community as well as
multiple other good works.
Peoples is survived by her sev-
eral family members, including
five great grandchildren. End of
life services will be held Satur-
day, Oct. 10 at the Bethel A.M.E.
Church, 5828 N.E. Eighth Ave.,
starting with a family viewing at
9:30 a.m., a public viewing at 10
a.m., and a funeral services start-
ing at 11 a.m., with a repass fol-
lowing. Guests are encouraged to
bring canned food for donation to
Community Care, the organiza-
tion that Peoples founded.
Week in Review
one of those critics. “I think she was a bit of a hero,
because she kind of flipped on society a little bit,”
the 27-year-old pop star told Vanity Fair in a wide-
Missing Cargo Ship and 32 Crew Members
The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating the sinking ranging interview published Monday.
of a cargo ship and looking for 32 missing crew Publisher Calls Slaves ‘Workers’
members who vanished last week near the Bahamas. A big time publisher came under fire this week for
Officials said the ship sank in the brutal seas and selling and distributing history text books in Texas that
high winds of Hurricane Joaquin.
described African American slaves as “workers.” The
story went viral after the mother of a student shared
Devastating Floods in South Carolina
Fourteen people were killed from massive flooding footage of the McGraw-Hill text book, which also
in South Carolina since Saturday and at least 10 described the Atlantic Slave Trade as “immigration”
dams have breached or failed in the state and in and avoided any mention of enslavement whatsoever.
North Carolina. Officials said the record rainfall has Carter to Help Resolve King Family Dispute
caused billions of dollars in damage and brought Former President Jimmy Carter is stepping in to help
175 water rescues so far, with more than 800 people resolve a legal battle over the Rev. Martin Luther
in temporarily housed in shelters.
King Jr.’s traveling Bible and 1964 Nobel Peace
Prize, a statement from Carter indicated Monday. A
Rihanna calls Dolezal ‘a bit of a hero’
Rachel Dolezal, the former Spokane NAACP leader string of legal disputes have divided the King heirs
who resigned earlier this year after being accused in recent years, but Bernice, Martin III and Dexter
of lying about her race, was widely criticized for released a joint statement expressing optimism after
representing herself as black. But Rihanna wasn’t their meeting with Carter.