Portland observer., October 06, 2021, Page 17, Image 17

October 6, 2021
Minority & Small Business Week
Page 17
R. Kelly Verdict Called Overdue
Black women
react to trial
conviction
(AP) — For years, decades
even, allegations swirled that
R&B superstar R. Kelly was
abusing young women and
girls, with seeming impunity.
They were mostly young
Black women. And Black girls.
And that, say accusers and
others who have called for
him to face accountability, is
part of what took the wheels
of the criminal justice system
so long to turn, finally leading
to his conviction last week in
his sex trafficking trial. That it
did at all, they say, is also due
to the efforts of Black women,
unwilling to be forgotten.
Speaking out against sexual
assault and violence is fraught
for anyone who attempts it.
Those who work in the field
say the hurdles facing Black
women and girls are raised
even higher by a society that
hypersexualizes them from a
young age, stereotyping them
R. Kelly arrives at court to face sex trafficking charges in this 2019 photo from AP. The R&B
superstar was found guilty last week by a jury in New York.
as promiscuous and judging
their physiques, and in a coun-
try with a history of racism and
sexism that has long denied
their autonomy over their own
bodies.
For years, girls suffering at
R. Kelly’s hands were treated
Demand Grows for Civil Engineers
Continued from Page 14 nicipalities like the City of
incorporates hands-on training
with the latest in technology at
the Sylvania campus.
“This is a new program
that was created using indus-
try input,” said Tara Nelson,
faculty chair of the program.
“The CCET program will of-
fer a blend of remote learning,
online and hybrid courses.
With the new infrastructure
bill passed nationally, and the
growing need to upgrade our
infrastructure, we expect that
the demand for technicians in
this field will increase in the
next several years.
Faculty will train qualified
workers for jobs in local mu-
Portland, City of McMinnville,
Washington County, as well as
private companies like KPFF
Consulting Engineers and Da-
vid Evans & Associates.
“To create this degree, we
focused on what local civil
engineering technicians told
us they do on-the-job on a
daily basis,” said Greg Ger-
stner, CCET instructor. “The
result is a more focused indus-
try-specific degree that will
create industry-ready employ-
ees. We’re excited to get start-
ed.”
For more information about
the Civil and Construction
Engineering Technology Pro-
gram, visit pcc.edu/ccet/.
Advertise with diversity
in
The Portland Observer
Call 503-288-0033
or email ads@portlandobserver.com
as more of a punchline than
a travesty, even during a trial
on child pornography charges
where a video, allegedly of him
abusing a girl, was shown. He
was acquitted in 2008.
Those who welcomed his
new conviction, which came
after several weeks of disturb-
ing testimony and now carries
the possibility that Kelly will
spend decades in prison, said
it’s a testament to the strength
and perseverance of Black
women, who have been the
driving force, especially in
recent years, of speaking out
against him and demanding at-
tention remain on him.
Tarana Burke, founder of the
Me Too movement against sex-
ual abuse, pointed to the #Mut-
eRKelly campaign, a protest
started by two Black women in
Atlanta in 2017 to put pressure
on radio stations to stop play-
ing his music and venues to
stop allowing him to perform.
And the most widespread
public condemnation followed
in the wake of the 2019 docu-
series “Surviving R. Kelly,”
executive produced by dream
hampton, a Black woman.
Asked about the guilty ver-
dict on “CBS This Morning,”
hampton said, “You know, I
want to believe that this means
that Black women survivors
will be heard, but I don’t want
it to be dependent on a piece of
media going viral or being suc-
cessful.” She said she thinks
about “all of the stories of ev-
eryday Black girls in neighbor-
hoods like the ones that I grew
up in Detroit who don’t have
a predator, who don’t have
an abuser that was famous or
rich.”