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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2020)
Page 10 June 10, 2020 Rising to the Top c ontinued froM P age 3 end of racial discrimination against African Americans sparked by the police custody killing of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, and other killings of black Ameri- cans by police officers in Portland and across the nation. The shakeup also comes as Portland police have been sharp- ly criticized for using what some people called inappropriate force against some protesters. It also follows a complaint over the lack of diversity in the Police Bureau’s leadership ranks. Three African American groups wrote a letter over the weekend saying the city’s commitment to diversity “rings loud, hallow and tone deaf” considering an “all-white leadership team” un- der Resch. According to the Or- egonian, the letter was signed by leaders from Black Male Achieve- ment, Word is Bond and the Coa- lition of Black Men. During the news conference, Wheeler agreed the bureau hasn’t done enough to support people of color for promotions and succes- sion to leadership positions. Lovell said that his appointment was com- pletely unexpected and he’s going to care about the community. Lovell, 46, a native of Brook- lyn, N.Y., and a former member of the U.S. Air Force, served as a school resource officer in Portland from 2007 to 2011 and rose to the rank of lieutenant. He served as an executive assistant to Outlaw during her tenure as chief and for Resch he oversaw a new commu- nity outreach division. Lovell was able to gain the trust of students at Jefferson by dealing with problems with compassion and a steady level-headedness, according to Antoinette Edwards, who recently retired as director of the city’s Office of Youth Violence and Prevention. “He has real humanity,” she told the Oregonian. Daryl Turner, the black presi- dent of the Portland Police Associ- ation, released a statement saying he looks forward to working with Lovell as the bureau “heads into a new era in policing and continues to evolve and grow along with the needs of the diverse community we protect and serve.” Resch, a police officer for 20 years in Portland, had been chief for just six months. She plans to stay employed with the bureau. In December she replaced former Portland Police Chief Daniel Out- law, the city’s first black female police chief, after Outlaw moved to take command of the police de- partment in Philadelphia. After Protests, Mayor Re-Assigns Officers “Leaders must listen and re- spond to community,” he said. “We must disrupt the patterns of schools. The decision will impact all racism and injustice.” In conjunction with Wheeler’s of Portland’s high schools and decision, Portland Superintendent include Parkrose and Reynolds Guadalupe Guerrero agreed he High Schools. c ontinued froM P age 3 For your light bulbs & parts to repair or make fixtures Web: www.sunlanlighting.com E-mail: kay@sunlanlighting.com 3901 N. Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR 97227 503.281.0453 Fax 503.281.3408 State Farm R Michael E Harper Agent Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomingon, Illinois 61710 We are located at: 9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OR 503-221-3050 • Fax 503-227-8757 michael.harper.cuik@statefarm.com would discontinue the regular pres- ence of school resource officers in all of the district’s high schools, pledging to invest in more social workers, counselors and culturally specific support for students. For years, advocates for police reform have called on schools and local governments to remove armed officers from local high schools, including Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, the first black female member of the Portland City Council. Hardesty had earlier proposed defunding $1.6 million from the police bureau’s budget for the school resource officer program that provides for 11 armed police officers to patrol the halls of the city’s 11 high schools. Police officers on regular pa- trols will still respond to emer- gency calls from school campuses regardless of the program’s fate, officials said. The COVID -19 Pandemic I feel like I’m stuck my whole life now messed up I went from waking up and accomplishing my goals to laying in bed thinking about the dead How many lives have been taken from something in disguise? What’s in the win for us? Is it all just for a prize? We got some cluck duck as a president making me wanna look at my amendments We got a right to free speech and I’ll tell you right now duck I hate you with everything I preach I’m laying in bed contemplating in my head why there’s a conspir- acy theory that you’re the one to blame and this is just a game We are the pawns to your board game and you have us right where you want us obeying and bending down while you the king sits on the couch holding his crown. I guess that’s what I get for blaming the one above us Dear god if you’re out there I don’t think I believe I don’t know how you could let something like this happen. You have me on my knees. I pray and pray this all goes away but the truth of the matter is it’s not and that’s not okay. I’ve spent eighteen years waiting for my freedom and now that I have it it’s taken away I feel i’ve been stripped and used for play My senior year like most was something I was looking forward to now it’s something I wanna fast forward to twelve years of fun, laughing, making friends, crying, and playing the dog ate my home- work game for a diploma and a walk across the strange but now that has to wait I might come off as mad but it’s because I am Out of six years of working non stop my life now on pause my biggest sigh is not being able to say goodbye to the kids I taught the laugh and cries I’ll never miss my performances with my little look alikes Although this is sad i’m quite glad this happened because i’ll nev- er take anything for granted again This opened my eyes to see more than the sky and more of what life looks like when time is stopped and life as we know it becomes a date in history that people will never forget. --Amaya Krasnitz A Year that Went Astray I wasn’t expecting the senior year to end this way With coronavirus, it went astray From vacay to decay, Our spring break of delay Never ended and felt like it was stuck on a replay With summer comes jobs and new lives to start Hope we stay friends together and don’t grow apart I’ll go to college for arts I hope I can get a good start So I can sing songs and reach the top of the charts -- Gavin Shaefer
