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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2020)
March 4, 2020 Page 3 INSIDE L O C A L N E W S The Week in Review page 2 Community Leaders Honored Commission for Women announce awards M ETRO O PINIONATED J UDGE page 9 page 6 Oregon Supreme Court Justice Adrienne Nelson and long time social justice leader Sharon Gary- Smith, two members of Portland’s African American community, are part of a group of four women being recognized by the Oregon Commission for Women for out- standing leadership in promoting equity and diversity. Nelson and Gary-Smith join Be- linda Carroll, a stand-up comedian and LGBTQ activist, and Andrea Paluso, co-founder of a nonprofit building economic and political power for mothers and caregivers, as the commission’s 2019 Wom- en of Achievement winners. The honorees will receive their awards on Tuesday, March 10 as part of a Women’s History Month procla- mation signing ceremony by Ore- gon Gov. Kate Brown. Nelson was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court in 2018, making her the first African American to sit on the state’s highest court and on any appellate state court. Her election during the same year to a six-year term made her the first African Amer- ican woman elected statewide in Oregon. She previously served as a trial judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court. Over the years, Judge Nelson Sharon Gary-Smith Adrienne Nelson has been a tireless advocate and mentor for others, helping people succeed by living their best lives. She is a frequent speaker on sev- eral topics including diversity, inclusion, equity, leadership and professional development. She sits on the Reed College Board of Trustees, chairs the Self-En- hancement, Inc. (SEI) Board of Directors, and serves on the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars Advisory Board. Sharon Gary-Smith is a native born Oregonian, a second-gen- eration racial and social justice activist and community leader. She served as the first national director of self-help programs for the National Black Women’s Health Project in Atlanta, was a vice president for the Austin Area Urban League in Texas, and was a special advisor to the late Tex- as Gov. Anne Richards. Recently she led the MRG Foundation, Or- egon’s leading social justice fund for more than five years, retiring in 2016. Belinda Carroll is a writer, stand-up comedian, actor and ac- tivist. She was awarded a Queer Hero award by the Gay and Lesbi- an History Archives of the Pacific Northwest in 2018. Andrea Paluso has led campaigns for paid fami- ly and medical leave, affordable child care, equal pay, increasing the minimum wage, paid sick time, pregnancy accommodation, protections against workplace dis- crimination, reproductive health care access, and more. She is co-founder and Executive Direc- tor of Family Forward Oregon and Family Forward Action. Neighbor Apologizes for Hate Crime Arts & ENTERTAINMENT O PINION C LASSIFIED /B IDS page 12 F OOD Admits gun threat on innocent teen pages 7-8 pages 9 pages 10 A white Gresham man was sen- tenced to three years probation last week after a judge found him guilty of intentionally threatening an African American teen with a gun because of the victim’s race. Michael Black, 65, was con- victed of intimidation and men- acing for threatening to shoot the 14-year-old and his friends last May, “simply because they walked by his house and he didn’t like that and because of the victim’s race,” said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney B.J. Park. If Black fails to comply with terms of his probation, including 150 hours of community service and completing an anger man- agement course or diversity-sen- Michael Black sitivity training, or if he violates any laws during his probation, he could face additional sanctions, including up to a year in jail. The investigation started when the victim and his friends were walking home from school around 7:30 p.m. in the 19400 block of Northeast Glisan Street and the teen rode his bicycle into a cul-de-sac. Authorities said Black was sitting in his garage when he saw the victim and proceeded to yell out “this is private property” and immediately used a racial slur. When the victim brushed off the remarks, Black yelled “I’ll blow your head off,” stood up and went inside his house, prosecu- tors said. The teens fled fearing he would come back out with a gun. When questioned by police, Black told them he would have only shot at the victim had the victim attempted to come on his property but he could not provide any reason as to why he believed the teen – who was approximately 50 feet away from him – was go- ing to enter his home. At his sentencing hearing, Black expressed remorse for his actions and apologized directly to the teen’s mother.