Local News
FBI
CIO Celebration
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“We can now work more efficiently and
effectively having all our agents in one cen-
tral location with many improvements,
including tighter security and upgraded
technology,” said Special Agent Gregory
Fowler. During the last decade, he said,
“We’ve learned who homegrown violent
extremists are, and the damage that they do
to our democra-
cy. We have
learned
that
strong
law
enforcement
partnerships are
the key to stop-
ping
such
attacks. And we
as an agency
have
learned
that keeping our employees secure is the
first step to keeping our communities safe.”
Just in case you’re thinking about trying
to break in. Forget it. This building has
100-feet setbacks on all sides and a blast
resistant concrete and laminated glass exte-
rior. It’s lit up by giant street lights and sur-
rounded by a tall, spiked metal fence. And
that’s just the security you’re allowed to
know about.
The inauguration ceremony was held Fri-
day, June 15, from 10- 11 a.m. Speakers at
the event were: Special Agent Fowler, who
heads the FBI in Portland; William Wyatt,
executive director of the Port of Portland;
Aneshka Dickson, commissioner at Port-
land Development Commission; George
Northcroft; Irwin A. Molasky; Ronald C,
Ruecker, assistant director in the FBI’s
Office of Law Enforcement Coordination;
and Michael D. Donnelly, deputy assistant
director
of
FBI Facilities
and Logistics
Services.
Speakers
praised the
FBI’s dedica-
tion and val-
ues of loyalty,
courage and
integrity.
“The people at the FBI here in Portland
have been absolutely fantastic to me,” said
Ruecker, who was an Oregon State Trooper
before he went to work for the agency in
Washington DC. “They are a fantastic group
of people. Nobody deserves this more than
the men and women of the Portland FBI.”
Power, Influence and Money
Irwin Molasky is now considered one of
the most influential people in Nevada. His
development company has built numerous
PHOTO BY JERRY FOSTER
Irwin Molasky is now
considered one of the most
influential people in Nevada
The Center for Intercultural Organizing held its annual gala party June 21
at Oaks Park. Attendees included Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish and
Oregon Commission on Black Affairs Commissioner Judge Kemp.
projects in the Las Vegas Valley, from hos-
pitals and schools to high-rises, shopping
malls, exclusive resorts, and government
buildings. A school is named for him and
his wife Susan. So far, so respectable.
But early in his career, Molasky created
Paradise Development in Las Vegas, Nev.,
ported the work of Groundwork Portland, a
group that works with neighborhoods with
concentrations of low-income individuals
and people of color to give them a voice in
developing and planning.
According to program director Cassie
Cohen, the community hub has been
involved in Groundwork’s efforts interact
with youth from King and DaVinci schools
to develop the Emerson Street Garden and
outdoor learning center. Also, their monthly
meetings at the store have given the group
more opportunities to reach out to commu-
nity members they might not otherwise
interact with.
“We’ve spent time there getting to know
folks,” says Cohen. “We’ve recruited a
board member or two from meeting at
Reflections.”
Her colleague and co-chair of Ground-
work, Chabre Vickers, adds that the store
might be contaminated.
Rep. Lew Frederick of House District 43
has had a number of events at the store,
most notably his monthly “Chat with Lew”
town halls.
He found out about Talking Drum back in
the 70s and started coming more regularly
when Reflections opened. Echoing others’
sentiments, he says it has provided a space
where it is easy to talk with his constituents.
Frederick has even brought political fig-
ures Gov. John Kitzhaber and gubernatorial
candidate Chris Dudley to the store, which
he says made an incredible impression on
both.
“For people not in the community, it helps
them to understand the community better,”
he says. “It’s different when you have to
deal with people face to face in their com-
fort zone.”
A number of people have expressed inter-
est in maintaining the space. Although she
acknowledges the store as a vital part of the
community, McMurtry says she doesn’t
want its next incarnation to be a giveaway.
If someone can take over the business and
make money, she would love to see that
happen.
Frederick has said he would take it over if
he had the money. Griffith expressed inter-
est but admitted he has concerns about run-
ning a business with his heart condition.
Capuia has suggested renting the store out
as an office space for aspiring entrepreneurs
trying to get their businesses off the ground.
According to Vickers, there have been some
impromptu meetings at Reflections with
concerned community members to brain-
storm what the best options will be.
Everyone acknowledges that having a
community space for African-Americans is
a priority, wherever that may be.
Above all, they express gratitude to
McMurtry and the others who started the
business 17 years ago for providing them
with a meeting place that will be missed by
many in the community.
“I just want to say thank you to the com-
munity at large,” says McMurtry. “They’ve
always shown their appreciation. They’ve
been great customers.”
See FBI on page 11
Gloria
continued from page 1
Boothe has to get his points out in bits and
pieces because Griffith constantly prods
him with jokes and the insults that someone
would only accept from a true friend.
“We piss each other off and have a good
time,” says Griffith. “We come in here and
solve all the world’s problems.”
Griffith’s company Dagri helped install
the countertop for Reflections and painted
the original green floors when the store
opened in 1995.
It’s not long before he’s trading barbs with
Reflections owner Gloria McMurtry.
After relocating to the Talking Drum
Bookstore to get away from Griffith, who
McMurtry affectionately calls a “loud-
mouth,” she describes the history of the
business she “fell into by chance.”
She moved to Northeast Portland from
Detroit by way of Jackson, Miss., about 20
years ago.
McMurtry collaborated with Eddie
Bryant, O.B. Hill and Joe McHenry, who
ended up bowing out early, to start Reflec-
tions and take over the bookstore. She says
she has run the business singlehandedly for
the last eight or nine years.
Although the demographics have changed
drastically over her time here, she says the
store has never ceased serving an integral
part in the community.
“As a Black book store, we have books
you wouldn’t find at Barnes & Noble or
Powell’s,” says McMurtry. “The communi-
ty uses it to communicate, as well as have
meetings.”
The store has been forced to close at the
end of June because the business is no
longer able to support itself. A combination
of gentrification and exhaustion on the part
of McMurtry, have led her to decide it’s
time to leave.
Individuals and groups that have utilized
the bookstore vary and represent different
pieces of the community.
Daniel Capuia, who lives a few blocks
away, briefly operated reading sessions for
children at the store. After that fell through,
he still made a point to bring his son, who is
now six, to the coffee shop every Saturday
morning.
“I wanted to let him see a place where
there was a whole bunch of black folks,”
Kathy Kendrix, left, and Gloria
McMurtry
says Capuia. “He used to ask me ‘Why am
I Black?’ At Reflections our people can be
loud and you don’t have to constantly justi-
fy your policies.”
Ahjamu Umi of Occupy Northeast “The
Black Working Group,” says the group got
its start at Reflections in December of last
‘Every city has a Reflections. Unlike the Bay Area,
Reflections is one of the only ones here. It’s
going to leave a void in the community
because there aren’t that many places where
African-Americans can meet. There are a lot of
places we can go but people don’t feel as
comfortable.’
—Ahjamu Umi
year. They meet at the store every Saturday
afternoon to plan actions around foreclosure
resistance and stopping police brutality.
Although their work against foreclosures
lends them people’s homes to operate out
of, Umi, who is originally from San Fran-
cisco, says Reflections provides a safe
space where people can express themselves.
“Every city has a Reflections,” says Umi.
“Unlike the Bay Area, Reflections is one of
the only ones here. It’s going to leave a void
in the community because there aren’t that
many places where African-Americans can
meet. There are a lot of places we can go but
people don’t feel as comfortable.”
Reflections/Talking Drum has also sup-
has yielded a space for people living outside
of the community to come back to and stay
involved.
Although she grew up in Northeast Port-
land, when she moved back to Oregon after
college, she settled in Tualatin.
Vickers heard about Reflections “haphaz-
ard” but says McMurtry made her feel at
home.
“I always made a point to come to Reflec-
tions,” she says. “The atmosphere puts the
community at ease. You always see some-
one you know.”
Vickers says the space helped bring the
community to take a serious look at brown-
fields, a term Groundwork uses for land that
June 27, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 3