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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2021)
KairosPDX Leaders Swap Roles See Local News, page 3 Summer of Soul A beautiful portrayal of 1969 Black culture Black community school announces changes See film’s review, page 7 PO QR code Volume XLVV • Number 14 Connecting ‘City of Roses’ www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • July 21, 2021 with Nature Committed to Cultural Diversity Makayla Harris Grieving for Teen Killed Downtown The Portland NAACP and Metro is helping Black kids and other young people of color spend time in nature, drawing benefits that can lead to healthier, happier communities. NAACP and Metro sponsor youth-led hikes b everly C orbell t he P ortland o bserver Like generations before them, Black and brown kids haven’t always felt safe or welcome in the outdoors, but the Portland NAACP and Metro have started a program this year to reverse that trend and involve them in a new hiking program at area public parks. “It’s so they can build positive memories out in nature and also to allow some of the youth to be around Black and brown professionals in environmental fields,” said J’reyesha Brannon, chair of the NAACP’s Environmen- tal Justice committee, a lead organizer of the program. Made possible by a grant from the regional government by Metro, and a new bill passed by the Oregon Legislature, the outreach came with the recruitment of 10 young locals between 16 and 21 who signed up to be hiking guides. They were trained for three days by Metro to learn about plants, animals and waterways along the trails in the Smith & Bybee Wetlands, Oxbow Regional Park and Scouter’s Mountain. The hikes began July 6, and two remaining outings are still on the schedule, Aug. 2 and Aug. 3. To register for the hikes, go to the NAACP website at pdxnaacp.org/an- nouncements. The young hiking guides earn $700 by leading the two- hour excursions, another way the program uplifts people of color or those that are disadvantaged. “We had over 60 apply (to be guides) but we didn’t know so many would apply,” Brannon said. “So Metro is C ontinued on P age 12 Shocking violence latest in string of shootings Friends and family were left grieving after a young Black woman was killed Saturday in a drive-by shooting downtown that also injured six other people. Makayla Harris, 18, was outside in the 300 block of Southeast Third Avenue around 2 a.m. when gunfire from a passing vehicle was sprayed intro the street. Six other people were injured, according to police. No ar- rests have been made. Her death was one of two killings from four different shootings on a Saturday morning across the city, con- tinuing a string of gun violence and associated homicides that has seen rates soar in the past six months. According to relatives left mourning, Harris gradu- ated from Grant High School in northeast Portland last month and was the youngest in a family of six siblings. C ontinued on P age 4
