December 4, 2019
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INSIDE L O C A L N E W S
The
Week in Review
M ETRO
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photo Courtesy of t he b ridge
Leaders from both the African and African American communities in Portland brainstorm to plan a
major summit to focus on improving relations between the two populations. The summit will take
place Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13 and 14 on the Cascade Campus of Portland Community College.
To learn more go to bethebridge.ucraft.net.
Dispelling Misconceptions
African and African American experiences explored
b everly C orbell
t he p ortland o bserver
When Rev. Hilary Gbot-
oe moved here from Liberia in
2003, he would only let his chil-
dren have white friends because
of the stereotypes he had learned
about African Americans.
“I was told when I came here
not to engage with black people,
they will bring you down and
your children will become gang
members,” he said.
It was only after Gbotoe (pro-
nounced BOW-TOW) came to
befriend some African Ameri-
cans in Portland that he under-
by
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
page 8-11
stood his perceptions were mis-
guided.
That growing awareness of
the differences within the Af-
rican and African American
communities led Gbotoe and
other black leaders in Portland
to start a series of discussions
leading to a major summit later
this month, called the African
and African-American Summit
Bridge.
The event will be held from
6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday,
Dec. 13; and from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14 at
Moriarty Arts & Humanities
Building on the Cascade Cam-
pus of Portland Community
College, 705 N. Killingsworth
St. There is no charge for the
summit, but donations will be
accepted. Attendees can regis-
ter online at bethebridge.urcraft.
net.
The summit will start out
with song and dance music that
will tell the stories of both the
African and African American
experience, said Levell Thom-
as, who is working with Gbotoe
and Rev. Cliff Chappell to pub-
C ontinued on p age 4
One in Three Can’t Meet Basic Needs
O PINION
C LASSIFIED /B IDS
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F OOD
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Most low- and middle-income
workers in Multnomah County are
being left behind, according to a
new report on poverty. Among the
key findings: 34 percent of Mult-
nomah County households are un-
able to meet their basic needs.
The 2019 Poverty in Mult-
nomah County report, produced
by the Multnomah County Com-
mission for Economic Dignity,
examined poverty in the region
based on years of economic data.
Researchers looked at every angle
of poverty, including its demo-
graphics, geography and how it
affects residents’ well being and
access to opportunities.
The findings paint a picture dif-
ferent from recent headlines about
Portland’s economic growth.
Since 2010, Portland has become
the 10th wealthiest major city in
the U.S. and the number of house-
holds with incomes of $100,000
or more has grown by 45 percent.
But more than a third of house-
holds fall below the region’s
self-sufficiency standard.
The report also found that since
1990, the county’s population in
poverty grew at almost twice the
rate of the population as a whole.
The highest poverty area was east
of I-205, where up to 22% of resi-
dents are impoverished.
The report also found that medi-
an hourly wages in 8 out of the 10
most common jobs in Multnomah
County are unable to support a
family with young children, and
the poverty rates for African Amer-
icans, Native Americans, and Latin
Americans are more than twice the
rate as white residents.