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A UGUST 22, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 34
25
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Fluoride
in the
Water?
CHURCH VS STREET
Portland divides but
not along the usual
left-right faultlines
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO BY HELEN SILVIS
U
nless we see a high-speed u-turn,
Portland City Council will vote
Sept. 12, to add fluoride to our water
supply. Three city commissioners – Randy
Leonard, Nick Fish and Mayor Sam Adams
— already have declared their support for
the idea, along with commission candidate
Mary Nolan.
The council will listen to public comment
Sept. 6, and there will be plenty of it. Feel-
ing runs strong on both sides of the debate.
Those in favor say fluoridation is a low-
A group of 25 Black men got together for a networking brunch that aimed to bridge the gap between church and
street. Pastors, concerned men and gang members all sat down together to discuss spirituality, struggle and how
to work together for the benefit of youth. The no-holds barred discussion was sponsored by The Aristotle Project
and supported by Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church.
Tough Discussion for Change
Pastors, concerned men, gang members build network of care
Plenty of opposition is expected
cost, safe way to improve Oregon’s dental
health, considered the fifth worst in the
nation. More than 200 million people in the
USA, as well as 60 other countries, already
have fluoridated water with no ill effects,
they say.
“There is not a single study showing that
low levels of fluoridation cause any nega-
tive health effects,” says Kylie Menagh
Johnson, spokesperson for the Everybody
Deserves Healthy Teeth Coalition. “And it
will lower tooth decay by at least 25 percent
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
A group of 25 men came
together Aug. 4, at Vancouver
Avenue First Baptist Church,
to bridge the gulf between
church and street. Convened
by Royal Harris of The Aris-
totle Project, who works with
gang-affiliated men, the net-
working brunch included
church leaders, youth workers
and men who grew up in street
gangs.
The conversation looked at
the reasons for mistrust
between church and street
leaders, as well as ways to col-
laborate and support one
another. Everyone agreed on
the value and importance of
religion. Almost all the men
professed a strong belief in,
and reliance on, Christianity.
Some of the men had known
each other for decades; others
were meeting for the first time.
Men who once were enemies
from rival gangs declared their
friendship and commitment to
helping young men stay alive
and out of prison.
“I was at my cousin’s funer-
al last week,” said Elder Elmer
Yarborough, a youth worker.
“He was murdered. I’m tired
of going through it. I’m tired
of young people dying.”
Everyone in the room
seemed to understand that
feeling. Many had lost friends
or relatives to violence. Mar-
cus Miller and Deandre Clark
were just two mentioned by
name. Others had been shot,
stabbed or incarcerated as per-
petrators. So each man
brought an insider’s perspec-
tive to the discussion on how
to work across the divide
between church and street.
Black men have a crucial
role in raising children and
guiding young men, Harris
said. “The reality is that the
two most influential groups of
Black men in Portland are pas-
tors and gang members. We
have a situation where, as
men, we are caught up in those
labels.
“The streets helped raise us,
See STREET on page 3
See WATER on page 8
INDEX
News ...........2,3,8,9,12
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E .........................6
Back to School ......7-9
Food........................10
Bids/Classifieds ........11
Hip-Hop Crackdown: Part 1 of 3
Old battles between community and the City re-emerging
Bruce Poinsette
Of The Skanner News
This is part one of a three part series on
the crackdown on hip-hop in Portland. Part
two will focus on the costs of security while
part three will examine how the crackdown
affects the growth of the industry, as well as
how it factors into gentrification.
I
f you happen to be at a downtown Port-
land club on a Saturday night, you’ll
probably hear Drake, Rick Ross, or even
E-40 pumping out of the sound system.
However, if you want some local rap music,
you’ll have to see the artists in concert.
That is becoming more of a challenge as
local venues increase the cost of putting on
hip-hop shows or move away from the
genre altogether. The hip-hop scene in Port-
land has been in a state of flux due to chang-
ing dress codes, security expenses and an
ongoing rocky relationship with the City.
“You can’t be anybody and throw a show
in this city anymore,” says Randal Wyatt of
Speaker Minds.
The group recently performed their last
show at Mt. Tabor Theater, one of the ven-
See HIP-HOP on page 3