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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 2021)
July 7, 2021 Page 2 Portland Man Basks in Pulitzer Prize Black author who overcame hardships now teaches creative writing b y b everly C orbell t he P ortland o bserver Mitchell S. Jackson, Portland native and Portland State University alumnus, was re- cently awarded the Pulitzer Prize, journal- ism’s highest honor, for writing about the life and death of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was shot dead after allegedly be- ing racially profiled and chased by three white men while he was out jogging. Jackson’s long-form feature story in Runner’s World magazine, “Twelve Min- utes and a Life,” (https://www.runner- sworld.com/runners-stories/a32883923/ ahmaud-arbery-death-running-and-rac- ism/) weaves back and forth between sig- nificant and mundane events in Arbery’s daily life and, in excruciating detail, the minute-by-minute events that led up to his stalking and killing in Brunswick, Ga. on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Arbery, whose nickname was Maud, was a formidable high school football player even though, at 5’10” and 165 pounds, he wasn’t a real big guy. But what he lacked in bulk he made up for in heart, as Jackson described in the article. “Game time, the opposing team calls the play that Maud put the fierce kaput on in practice, and beneath a metal-halide glare that’s also a gauntlet, Maud barrels towards the running back and—BOOM!— lays a hit that sounds like trucks colliding,” Jackson wrote. Other excerpts show Arbery’s tender side, such as helping his sister care for C ontinued on P age 10 Writing about the life and death of Ahmaud Arbery has given Portland native Mitchell S. Jackson the Pulitzer Prize, the highest honor in the field of journalism. (Photo from Mitchell S. Jackson Facebook page) The Week in Review COVID Restrictions Lifted Oregon and Washington lifted most of their COVID-19 restrictions last week after vac- cinations against the disease neared 70 per- cent of the population 16 and older. Gov. Kate Brown called it a “truly a historic mo- ment for our state,” with more work to be done to reach everyone with a vaccine. audacious” tax fraud scheme that saw the Trump executive allegedly receive more than $1.7 million in off-the-books com- pensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Nurse Sues for Unlawful Arrest An OHSU nurse who was volunteering as a medic during a Black Lives Matter pro- test last year filed suit against the Port- land Police Bureau last week, accusing an officer of chasing after him, knocking him to the ground, slamming his head to the pavement and then punching him re- peatedly. Hope Fades at Collapse Site Search-and-rescue workers continued to look for open spaces where people might be found alive nearly two weeks after the Champlain Towers South tower collapse in Surfside, Fla. Officials sounded increas- ingly somber Tuesday about the prospects for finding anyone alive. Cosby Freed from Prison Fireworks Ban Limits Calls Portland Fire & Rescue officials thanked residents Tuesday for adhering to a fire- works ban over the long July 4th holiday weekend. The responsiveness helped lim- it potential fireworks related fires to nine incidents, down from 44 during the same period last year, officials said. Trump Company Charged Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what a prosecutor called a “sweeping and Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction last week finding it was unjust because of an agreement with a previous prosecutor that prevented him from being charged in the case. Cosby was released from prison shortly after the ruling. Pedestrian Killed on 33rd A pedestrian died after being hit by a vehicle at about 1:30 a.m. Monday on Northeast 33rd Drive near Columbia Boulevard. Portland Police identified the victim as Michael L. Bute, the 31st traffic death of the year.
