Page 6
February 12, 2020
Fear of
a Black
Republic
Concordia to Shut Down
C onTinued from P age 3
Scholar Explores
US - Haiti Relations
Leslie M. Alexander
mantra: “Haiti is the poorest coun- earth?
Celebrating Black History Month,
try in the Western Hemisphere.”
How did Haiti go from being the Reed College invites the community
“Pearl of the Antilles” and the most to hear from Leslie M. Alexander,
profitable New World colony in associate professor of history at the
the 18th century to being the most University of Oregon, when she
despised and persecuted nation on presents a free public lecture “Fear of
a Black Republic in the Aftermath of
the Haitian Revolution,” on Monday,
Feb. 17 at 4:30 p.m. in Psychology,
Room 105. Reed is located at 3203
S.E. Woodstock Blvd.
The presentation will explore how
US and western European nations
Web: www.sunlanlighting.com
used their economic and diplomatic
E-mail: kay@sunlanlighting.com
strength to isolate and impoverish
the “Black Republic” from its birth
3901 N. Mississippi Ave.
in 1804 through the 20th century.
Portland, OR 97227
Professor Alexander is an es-
teemed scholar and a former pro-
503.281.0453
fessor at Ohio State who relocat-
Fax 503.281.3408
ed to Oregon in 2017. She is also
the sister of Michelle Alexander,
author of widely acclaimed “The
New Jim Crow.”
It’s been10 years since a mas-
sive earthquake struck the island
nation of Haiti, devastating large
portions of the small country and
killing nearly 300,000 people. In
the quake’s immediate aftermath,
U.S. media incessantly repeated the
Concordia currently serves
about 6,000 students – 1,600 un-
dergraduates and 4,300 graduate
students, down from 8,000 stu-
dents just a few years back. The
school’s closure will also include
its law school in Boise. The school
says it will work with students, but
just where they will continue their
education and where Concordia
employees will find jobs is still up
in the air. The college had 340 em-
ployees, including 200 full-time
and part-time faculty.
The Concordia campus on
Northeast Holman Street will
likely be sold, officials said, but
the sale will not impact Faubion
Elementary, an adjacent school
building facing Northeast Dekum,
official said.
Faubion, a newly constructed
school that replaced an outdated
building, is owned by Portland
Public Schools. Concordia stu-
dents and faculty worked with
Faubion teachers in a wrap around
program called “3 to Phd,” help-
ing low income families and stu-
dents of color obtain success in
life, from age three to advanced
college degrees.
The college was known as an
important resource for its educa-
tion and nursing programs, bring-
ing new teachers and nurses of
color to local schools and medical
facilities. The campus also ex-
panded its footprint in the last de-
cade with new athletic fields and
a library.
According to a recent U.S.
News & World Report, many
small colleges are shutting down
because of financial pressure and
declining enrollment.
Marylhurst College in Lake
Oswego, which awarded its first
degree in 1897, closed at the
end of 2018, citing declining
enrollment as the main reason.
Some Marylhurst students went
on to study at Concordia Uni-
versity.
Ries came to Portland in Jan-
uary after serving as president of
Concordia University in St. Paul,
Minn., where he was able to low-
er tuition and increase enrollment,
something he had hoped to do here.
But the financial hurdles were
too large to overcome, Ries told
KGW New8.
“It has had negative cash flow
for quite some time and its assets
and its liabilities are out of bal-
ance,” he said. Ries said enroll-
ment has dropped dramatically in
recent years.
Ries said the school will help
students transfer to other schools
and faculty and staff would be
told more about their options in
coming weeks.
The last commencement cere-
mony at the university will be on
April 25 and the law school grad-
uation will be on May 2.
Isham ‘Ike’ Harris for Portland
City Commissioner, Position 1
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I am running for Portland City Commissioner
because, like the Biblical land of Canaan, America
is a good land flowing with milk and honey, but it
has giant problems that must be defeated.
Giant Problem #1, Poverty:
56 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an
unconditional war on poverty and $22 trillion was spent on
poverty programs, but the war on poverty was a failure. Six
types of poverty exist: Situational, generational, absolute,
relative, urban and rural poverty. There are also 40.6 million
people living in poverty in America.
Giant Problem #2, After School Funds:
We need sustained funding for after-school
programs.
Giant problem #3, Achieving Clean Air:
In the age of global warming, we can improve
air quality by controlling carbon emissions
and adopting a system of cap and trade.
Giant Problem #4,
City Government Structure:
I support a change from the commission/
mayor form of city government to one of
elected representatives by individual districts
and hiring an executive manager who
oversees the various city bureaus.
Giant Problem #5,
Supporting Neighborhood Associations:
I encourage the sustainability and longevity of
Portland’s 95 Neighborhood associations by
encouraging participation; by getting to know your
neighbors; and by attending community potlucks,
block parties and social events, all in the name of
promoting safety, livability, the love for neighbors
and changing my neighborhood to a brotherhood.
Giant Problem #6, Portland’s Racist History
We need to revisit the historical displacement of
families of color from the Albina district. Bring
representatives of Legacy Emanuel Hospital, the Rose
Quarter’s Memorial Coliseum and Moda Center, and
the Oregon Department of Transportation together
to discuss how to atone for sins of displacement for
people of color.