December 30, 2015
Page 5
in Review
50 Years of Praise
April 8 – Emmanuel Church, a historic African American congre-
gation serving north and northeast Portland, celebrates 50 years
of ministry, community service and helping vulnerable populations
with a weekend of celebrations, music and sermons.
Soul Harmony
April 15 – The Portland theater group Stumptown Stages tackles the birth of R&B with its all-original
musical “Soul Harmony,” based on the real life history of Deborah Chessler, a young Jewish woman,
and the dynamic black male vocal group Sonny Till and the Orioles.
Voices for Justice
May 6 – Activists from Black Lives Matter and other groups march
from Portland State University to City Hall to raise issues over
police brutality to raising the minimum wage. The outcry follows
the death of Freddie Gray, an unarmed black man who died at the
hands of police in Baltimore.
Sucked
into Debt
Picking up the Baton
May 20 – Activists and community members honor the
memory of Keaton Otis, a young African American who
was killed in a hail of police gunfire during a 2010 traffic
stop, and his father Fred Bryant who pursed justice in
the case with monthly vigils until his death more than a
year ago.
June 10 – A group
of Portland State
University students
give a voice to a
generation of stu-
dents who are ac-
cumulating heavy
debt burdens to go
to school.
Struggling to Hold Its Place
May 27 – Friends and neighbors form
a petition to get relief from the city over
code violations and fines that threaten
the future of the historically African-Amer-
ican St. Joseph Grand Lodge, one of the
last vestiges of the black community on
North Mississippi Avenue.
Solidarity with Charleston
A Rightful Place
June 24 – A community vigil brings hundreds of peo-
ple of all ages and ethnic backgrounds to Bethel AME
Church in northeast Portland to mourn the lives lost in
Charleston, S.C., where a 21-year-old self-proclaimed
white supremacist killed nine members of a black
church during bible study, including the church pastor.
July 22 – Social justice and art-focused
organizations sponsor a new mural at the
Black United Fund building on Northeast Al-
berta Street to provide a dramatic visibility
to an African American community that is
struggling to hold on in the area.
C ontinued on p age 6