Opinion
Portland Black Pride 2012: A Family Event
T
hey say it doesn’t get much
hotter than July, well this
June is burning up because
Portland Black Pride is bringing
the heat. That is why the theme
for Portland Black Pride 2012 is
FIRE! With nearly ten events
spanning from June 6 to June 10,
Portland Black Pride 2012 is guar-
anteed to be a year to remember.
Portland Black Pride strives to
showcase and celebrate the cultur-
al and social contributions of
Black/African American Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Queer (LGBTQ) people in Port-
land and across the country. It is
important that we provide space in
our Portland community for
LGBTQ Black/African Americans
and allies to come together to
socialize, network, learn, and con-
tinue to build a more vibrant
community.
In 2011 it seemed like Portland
Black Pride was on the risk of not
happening. PFLAG Portland
B LACK P RIDE
Khalil Edwards
Black Chapter members, an organ-
ization that provides support,
education, and advocacy to the
LGBT Black/African American
community along with family and
friends of LGBT Black/African
Americans, knew that the tradition
of Portland Black Pride was a nec-
essary tradition that needed to
continue. In 2011 PFLAG Port-
land Black Chapter partnered with
Portland Black Pride to bring the
celebration back with a bang.
Hosting over ten events over the
course of a week the 2011 Port-
land Black Pride celebration was
one of the most successful years
ever!
“Most favorite [event] was the
Pride Parade. Great energy, I felt
the love and acceptance. Black,
and proud, and out.”
During the Pride Parade we
marched down the street en masse
with our vibrant Portland Black
Pride t-shirts that read, “Gay and
Black is Beautiful.” The t-shirts
were such a hit that they even
made it on to the evening news.
This year we have another full
slate of events happening all week
long and will again march in the
Wednesday, June 6 with a show
and Hip Hop Party leading up to
our official kick-off party and
open-mic showcase the following
Thursday evening at the same
location. This year we are adding
a Hip Hop/RnB Concert and Party
featuring performances from top
local artists. While it is important
Portland Black Pride
portlandblackpride@gmail.com
PFLAG Portland Black Chapter
www.pflagpdx.org
huge Pride Parade on June 17,
joining PFLAG Portland and
PFLAG Portland Black Chapter,
this year’s chosen Grand Mar-
shall!
Portland Black Pride will kick
things off at the Local Lounge on
for Black Pride to create spaces to
socialize it is also vital that we
create spaces and formats where
we can come together to dialogue,
share ideas, learn, and discuss the
issues relevant to our community.
This year Portland Black Pride
will host the first Portland Black
Pride Summit including work-
shops and a roundtable discussion
of topics such as faith in the Black
community, and the intersections
of multiple identities.
Last year we ended our celebra-
tion with our Families of Color
Day Out picnic in the park. Par-
ents, children, friends, and family
from many diverse communities,
sexual orientations, gender identi-
ties, and racial backgrounds came
together to dance, play cards,
gather resources, enjoy food and
enjoy each other. The energy at
the park that day was so special
that we decided to host the event
again this year, on June 10, to
enjoy good music, good food, fun
games, and family and friends!
Check out our full schedule of
events on Facebook: Portland
Black Pride
Read the rest online at
www.theskanner.com
Stopping the Violence: Street Culture vs. Church
T
he Rev. Marvin Winans’
remark, “I refuse to be
afraid of us,” in the wake of
the robbery attack on him by four
young Black men at a neighbor-
hood gas station on Linwood and
Davison, carries a moral truth.
It is a statement deeply rooted in
the belief that we cannot throw our
children away or become prison-
ers in our own communities,
afraid to go out because young
B LACK L OYALTY
Bankole Thompson
Black
males have become tigers in the
hood, on the prowl for their next
victims.
I refuse to accept the notion that
there is nothing else we can do,
and that the solution is to dump
Detroit and move out as quickly as
you can. While such reasoning is
politically expedient and the com-
mon sense thing to do in a state of
fear, it is not the answer to the
growing socioeconomic ills facing
our community. It is not the
answer to halt
the violence in
our town.
To conclude
that the best
way to deal
with the escalating violence in
Detroit is to move out of the city is
a defeatist attitude grounded in a
weak notion that, in fact, we can
no longer be problem solvers.
Therefore, we should run away
from the problem.
What happened to our resilient
spirit?
Read the rest online at
www.theskanner.com
We honor the many
accomplishments of African
Americans.
It is our primary goal as a
labor union to better the
lives of all people working
in the building trades
through advocacy, civil
demonstration, and the
long-held belief that work-
ers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work.
A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strength-
ens families, but also allows our communities to become
stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens'
needs.
Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people
working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this
small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the
American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regard-
less of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious
beliefs.
The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Representing more than 5.000 construction workers in Oregon State.
Do you want to know more about becoming a
Union carpenter?
June 6, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 5