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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2019)
Page 6 April 24, 2019 Lifetime Achievement C ontinued froM P age 2 surrounded by social injustices in a deeply segregated town in the 1940s, he was expected to succeed through a value system of sheer determination and hard work. Those lifetime values have served him throughout his career as a catalyst for change. Herndon moved to Portland to attend Reed College under a schol- arship. After graduating with a de- gree in history in 1970, he went on to graduate studies in Liberia and Nigeria. Back on U.S. soil in the 1980s, he focused on education and became an activist working to solve issues affecting the African American community, culminat- ing in his appointment as Director of Albina Head Start in Portland for more than four decades. Head Start’s mission is to serve children and families by providing child growth and development services and education to strengthen and enhance their abilities to success- fully function in society. Under his leadership, the or- ganization has grown from 126 children and families in 1975 to serving more than 1,000 children at 25 sites today. He also served as President and Board Chair of the National Head Start Associa- tion from 1991 to 2013, where he provided leadership and support to Head Start programs across the nation. His public service also includes co-founding numerous commu- nity-based organizations such as the Black Educational Center, an independent primary school de- signed to meet the academic and cultural needs of black children. While no longer in service, at that time the center grew from a sum- mer program to a full-time school serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Herndon also helped co-found Black United Front, Oregon Hu- man rights Coalition, Rainbow Coalition and the Black Unit- ed Fund, Northeast Community Development, Youth Gang Task Force, Work Force Center and the Economic Development Alliance. His work as a teacher, coun- selor, college instructor VISTA volunteer and activist has impact- ed countless families and young lives. Herndon sums up his life’s work in his typical understated fashion, “If we do this well then young children will have the pos- sibility of living more indepen- dent and fulfilling lives.” C alendar April 2019 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 8 9 10 11 Trina Schart Hyman born, 1939 Robert E. Lee sur- rendered to Ulysses S. Grant (1865) Margaret Peterson Haddix born, 1964 Encourage a Young Writer Day National Sibling Day U.S. Patent System established (1790) 15 16 17 Income Tax Day Boston Marathon bombings, 2013 Leonardo Da Vinci born, 1452 22 Earth Day estab- lished 1970 Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day National Jelly Bean Day 29 Zipper Day (patented by Gideon Sund- back in 1913) Garth Williams born, 1912 Aviator Wilbur Wright born, 1867 Richard the Li- on-Hearted re- turned to England (1194) President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, 1964 (1964) 18 Paul Revere’s Fa- mous Ride (1775) Great San Francisco Earthquake In 1906 Pet Owner’s Day FRIDAY SATURDAY 12 13 Author Beverly Cleary born, 1916 Space Shuttle Columbia First Launched, 1981 19 Passover Begins at Sundown Humorous Day Revolutionary War began (1775) 23 24 25 26 Home Run Day, Hank Aaron hits his first home run in 1954 William Shakespeare born, 1564 Admin. Profession- als/ Secretaries Day Library of Congress established (1800) Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day Take your Daughter to Work Day World Penguin Day Arbor Day Hug a Friend Day National Pretzel Day Seismologist Charles Richter born, 1900 30 National Honesty Day Anniversary Lou- isiana Purchase completed (1803) SUNDAY 14 3rd President Thom- as Jefferson born, 1743 Lee Bennett Hopkins born, 1938 Palm Sunday Webster’s Dictionary Published, 1828 20 21 Scientists Marie & Pierre Curie isolate radium (1902) 27 Tell a Story Day Easter Kindergarten Day Barbara Park born, 1947 28 James Monroe born, 1758 (5th Presi- dent)
