Volume LII • Number 04
‘City
of
Roses’
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • February 21, 2024
Committed to Cultural Diversity
The Restoration through Storytelling
Breathing Life into
the Community
through Social Action
Sorority Sisters pose with the Chris Poole-Jones Memorial statue in front of the Delta House. Photo courtesy of ECO Trust
A Land Stewardship Storytelling Series
of East Multnomah County is a series of
gatherings designed to elevate Black, In-
digenous, and people of color (BIPOC)
ancestral agricultural wisdom, restore and
preserve cultural traditions along with up-
lifting storytelling as a meaningful knowl-
edge system. This series focuses on show-
ing how the intersections of place based
storytelling and opportunities to restore
cultural and community traditions are in-
terwoven with and related to lands and wa-
ters stewardship.
This third gathering of the series will
take place at the June Key Delta Commu-
nity Center (JKDCC), located in the Albina
Neighborhood of North Portland February
22nd at 5pm. Come hear the women of
Portland Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority Incorporated tell the story
of how the legacy of their commitment to
public service, vision and strategic partner-
ship have provided a safe, nurturing envi-
ronment for Black communities of Port-
land. Learn how JKDCC, an innovative
community green building project, contin-
ues to breathe new life into the community
through sustainability and social action.
Black History on the Go
Retired Coach
Spreads Word on
Black History
By Beverly Corbell
After 39 years as an award-winning
high school coach, Dennis Carline could
have become a college coach, but he want-
ed to continue teaching younger, especially
underprivileged, kids.
Carline had one focus: Black history,
which he today teaches through his Afri-
can American Mobile Display that he takes
from school to school all over the state.
Carline could easily be retired, but he
has approached his latest endeavorwith
the same enthusiasm and compassion
that he showed in the classroom and gym
for decades.
For all his work, Carline, an alumnus of
Pacific University of Oregon, was recent-
ly honored with the school’s Outstanding
Achievement Award.
According to the school’s website,
Carline had a long career “coaching sports
and counseling kids at all levels of Port-
land-area school systems, focusing on
schools with underserved students.” He
coached and taught at Tubman and Glen-
haven elementary schools, and at four
area high schools, including Benson, Fort
Vancouver, Roosevelt and De La Salle
North Catholic.
“For Carline, working with kids in-
volved a lot more than sports,” the school’s
Continued on Page 11
Dennis Carline surrounded by the art of his mobile Black hisotry exhibit