Page 8
March 18, 2020
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
First Black Forest Supervisor Writes Memoir
Portland woman
tells story of her
historic journey
b y b everly C orbell
T he P orTland o bserver
When Gloria Brown was just
30 years old and the mother of
three small children, her hus-
band was killed by a drunk driv-
er. Her future looked bleak, but
through perseverance, hard work
and smarts, she ascended and
became the first African Ameri-
can woman to be named a Forest
Supervisor with the U.S. Forest
Service.
Brown has written a book
along with history professor
Donna Sinclair, about her expe-
riences in the Forest Service ti-
tled “”Black Woman in Green,”
recently published by Oregon
State University Press.
Brown recently sat down
PhoTo by b everly C orbell /
with the Portland Observer to
T he P orTland o bserver
talk about her journey. She said
she was working for the For- Gloria Brown, the first African American woman to attain the rank of Forest Supervisor at the
est Service as a clerical work- U.S. Forest Service, has written a book about her experiences, ‘Black Woman in Green,” recently
er in Washington, D.C. when published by Oregon State University Press.
Subscribe ! 503-288-0033
Fill Out & Send To:
Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208
$45.00 for 3 months • $80.00 for 6 mo. • $125.00 for 1 year
(please include check with this subscription form)
Name:
Telephone:
Address:
or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com
her husband was killed and she
knew she had to work hard to
make ends meet. People of color
didn’t have great opportunities
for advancement in D.C., so she
asked for a transfer so she could
move up and make more mon-
ey to support her children. She
was hoping to go to Atlanta, but
instead was sent to Missoula,
Mont. where she ran into blatant
racism.
She had been in Montana for
several years when her daugh-
ter, Nicki, who was in high
school, was attacked and called
the N-word by a white girl, the
captain of the basketball team.
Her daughter fought back and
both girls were suspended, but
Brown soon learned that the
white girl was continuing to go
to basketball practice. When
she asked the assistant princi-
pal why, she was told that the
school “didn’t have these prob-
lems” until her children came
into the school system.
Outraged,
she
contacted
C onTinued on P age 11
Actors from Portland’s PassinArt production of “Seven Guitars.” The dramatic play about African
American life in the 20th Century was cancelled Monday just as it was scheduled to begin because of
concerns over the coronavirus epidemic.
‘Seven Guitars’ Canceled
Passinart, the theater group
grounded to Portland’s African
American community, announced
Monday the cancelation of its lat-
est production “Seven Guitars.”
The dramatic play by August Wil-
son was scheduled to begin a one
month run this week at the Inter-
state Firehouse Cultural Center in
north Portland.
Passinart said they made the
decision to cancel the production
to ensure the safety and health of
the public, artists, staff and volun-
teers in light of recommendations
by public health officials to limit
group events to fight the spread of
the coronavirus epidemic.
If you have already purchased a
ticket, you can request a refund by
emailing passinart@yahoo.com or
you can donate your ticket(s) back
to Passinart and receive a donation
receipt.