WWW . THESKANNER . COM
J ULY 11, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O .28
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Mugshot
Class
Action
KICK FOR KIDS
Movement to shut
down websites grows
on national level
By Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO BY JERRY FOSTER
I
t’s one thing to get arrested and have
your mugshot plastered across the Inter-
net for all to see. But what if your book-
ing photo gets posted to the web by an
anonymous blogger along with a dose of
racist, sexist humiliation?
Many people in this situation turn to “rep-
utation restorer” websites, which charge
hundreds of dollars to “help” remove
mugshots from the web.
Yet news reports from the past year show
that, at least in some cases, the “reputation
restorers” are in cahoots with the mugshot
websites, creating what WIRED magazine
calls “one of the latest niche industries on
the web: the mug-shot racket.”
While state and county officials around
the nation have thrown up their hands and
called the mugshot website scam a free
speech issue, one online community is
working to build a movement persuading
states to change laws limiting how private
companies can profit from public docu-
ments.
Less than a month old, www.classactiona-
gainstmugshotwebsites.com is slowly grow-
ing a base of support aimed at changing
state laws on making a profit from public
documents, and boycotting mugshot web-
site advertisers until they drop their ads.
“We are going about this the legal way,”
says Diane, an anti-mugshot website organ-
izer from outside the Pacific Northwest who
declined to be fully identified for this story.
“When you look at how many mugshot
websites there are, and how many mugshots
are in each site, the average right now is
about $399 per mugshot to get it removed,”
Diane says. “When you think that most
mugshot websites are carrying 50,000
mugshots on each one, that’s quite a bit of
money.
“You’re looking at millions and millions
and millions of dollars,” she said.
NBA star Channing Frye this week presented $10,000 to the Children's Cancer Association from the Frye Family
Foundation’s annual kickball tournament, Kick for Kids, held at Lents Park in Southeast Portland. Frye spent time with
children, including a karaoke session, at the Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel before making the
official presentation to David Schaeffer, vice president for development at the Children's Cancer Association,
alongside patients at the hospital. Lailah Broadous, the tiniest child at the very front, entertained the crowd by
singing along with Frye while he crooned a Lady Gaga tune. The next Kick for Kids event is coming up July 21, again
benefitting the Children’s Cancer Association.
Black Suffragist’s Life Celebrated
All but forgotten Oregonian has captured the imagination of many
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
P
ortlanders are invited to
Lone Fir Cemetery at 1
p.m., July 21, to celebrate
the life and achievements of
African American Suffragist
Hattie Redmond. The event will
feature Barbara Roberts, the for-
mer Oregon Governor now
Metro Councilor, as the keynote
speaker, former State Sen. Avel
Gordly dedicating Redmond’s
new grave marker, and historian
Kimberly Jensen. Actors in peri-
See MUGSHOTS on page 3
INDEX
News ...................2,3,9
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E ......................6,7
Food..........................8
Bids/Classifieds ...10,11
od costume will re-enact events
in the suffrage struggle.
Redmond’s record as an
activist, rediscovered this year
by the Century of Action com-
mittee, shows that Black women
were at the forefront of Oregon
women’s battle for the right to
vote. But with no living family
known,
Redmond’s
life
remained mysterious.
Vancouver-based genealogist
Connie Lenzen wanted to know
more. So she dug up dozens of
historical records – not just in
Portland, but in Missouri and
nationally, searching for clues
that would shed light on the
sources of Redmond’s strength
and passion for politics.
“With Hattie, I tried to put
myself into her head,” Lenzen
told The Skanner News. “She
had to have motivation, and she
had to have a support system.
So I broadened the search right
away to find out, ‘Who were her
people?’”
Looking at voter registration
cards from 1908 on, as well as
city directories, U.S. Census
records, death certificates, draft
records, emancipation lists and
newspaper articles, Lenzen
found information about Red-
mond’s parents, brother, sisters
and husband.
What she discovered was a
family who emerged from slav-
ery to become prominent citi-
zens in Portland’s African
American community. Their
story is filled with uplift and
determination, song, poetry,
travel, and a work ethic second
to none. But the family also bat-
tled through a house fire, sick-
See HATTIE on page 3
Kids Pack Conscious Rap Book Camp
Organizer Karanja Crews pulls together mind and body for youth
By Bruce Poinsette
Of The Skanner News
D
espite sweltering temperatures,
dozens of kids packed into the N.
Williams Salvation Army gym Sat-
urday to engage with literature, health and
wellness. In many ways, the scene resem-
bled the typical summer camp, with kids
shooting baskets and parents and volunteers
mingling by the bleachers. However, as
soon as music started playing, it was clear
that this camp would be using a different
motivating tool, conscious hip-hop.
“The purpose is to engage the community
young people with socially conscious hip-
hop that is promoting health, fitness and
education,” says Journey to Freedom (JTF)
CEO Karanja Crews. “We’re infusing liter-
acy with consciousness.”
This summer, JTF is bringing hip-hop to
the gym and the classroom with its Con-
scious Rap Boot and Book Camp. JTF is
partnering with The Salvation Army, Educa-
tional Recreational Adventures, The Mult-
nomah County Library and The Community
Cycling Center to put on the camp.
The Bye and Bye, Dwell Realty and Motus
See CAMP on page 3