WWW . THESKANNER . COM
S EPTEMBER 26 , 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 39
25
CENTS
MBE 2012
Minority Business
Enterprise Special
Edition Inside
C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Foreclosure
prevention, home
repairs and more
Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
S
eniors facing home foreclosure can
keep relying on the Minority Home-
owners Assistance Collaborative
(MHAC) for another year for free assistance
in keeping their homes.
The Portland Housing Bureau has again
handed out grant funding for the program,
which includes Portland Community Rein-
vestment Initiatives, Inc. (PCRI), the
African American Alliance for Homeown-
ership (AAAH), Hacienda CDC and NAYA
Youth and Family Center.
“Some of the challenges that our elders of
color are facing are in not having access or
knowing what programs are out there – but
also the challenge of budget shortfalls that
are out there,” said Shalonda Menefee of
PCRI, pictured at left.
This past year an array of housing support
organizations faced defunding through City
of Portland budget cuts. However Commis-
sioner Nick Fish, who oversees housing,
found ways to keep most funding for the
“housing safety net” a term coined by hous-
ing advocates seeking to unify their
nonprofit groups and programs into a con-
tinuum of services from shelters to home
ownership.
Housing advocates say the MHAC has
served over 200 clients living in the City of
Portland over the past two years.
The service specifically helps connect sen-
iors to organizations that offer free services
to help seniors stay in their homes, includ-
ing: free home repair, free foreclosure
prevention services, and free one-on-one
counseling.
The Free Homeownership Retention Pro-
gram is for seniors ages 55 or older who live
in the City of Portland, own their own home
and need supportive services or referrals to
prevent foreclosure to maintain homeown-
ership.
If you are a senior homeowner over the
WORLD
PREMIER
The performing arts nonprofit White
Bird launches its gala 15th
anniversary season with the biggest
public dance event ever attempted
in Pioneer Courthouse Square, on
Sunday, Sept. 30, at 2 and 4 p.m.
Some 150 Portlanders from all walks
of life will perform the West Coast
premiere of a line dance ‘infused
with contemporary movement that
incorporates the rhythms of country,
techno, cumbia, waltzes, and R&B.’
The performance is choreographed
by Montreal’s Sylvain Emard. Here,
JaVonda Dillon rehearses for the big
event, which the dancers have been
working on since July. Find more info
at www.whitebird.org.
Emanuel Reconciliation Project
Medical Center seeks to right historic wrong on 100th anniversary
Lisa Loving
Of the Skanner News
A
s part of the ongoing
commemoration of its
100th year in operation,
Legacy Emanuel Medical Cen-
ter has launched a reconciliation
project aimed at rebuilding its
ties to the inner Northeast
African American community,
scattered through urban renewal
development decades ago.
The project was kicked off
Friday morning at a Black lead-
ership breakfast event where
See HOUSING on page 3
INDEX
News ..............2,3,9,10
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E ...................6,7,8
Bids/Classifieds ...10,11
PHOTO BY CAROLYN CAMPBELL
Housing
Help for
Seniors
local consultant and business-
woman
Jeana
Woolley
presented the fruits of a year-
long research effort she
conducted on the history of
the Emanuel Hospital expansion
in the 1960s and 1970s.
The results, along with addi-
tional research done about the
history of the Eliot neighbor-
hood, will be turned into a
permanent exhibit to be
unveiled at the Emanuel Med-
ical Center 100th Anniversary
Party and Community Celebra-
tion, Saturday, Oct. 6, from 1-4
p.m. at the facility’s Atrium.
“As we start our next century
of service, Legacy Emanuel
would like to strengthen our
relationship with the local com-
munity, its leaders, institutions
and organizations,” Dr. Lori
Morgan, Chief Administrative
Officer of Legacy Emanuel,
said in its invitation to the event
sent to local leaders. “It’s our
desire to build a stronger,
healthier and more collaborative
alliance moving forward.”
Woolley’s detailed historical
research was complimented by
the testimony and participation
of a panel of displaced former
residents, now quite elderly,
who were also invited to the
breakfast and repeatedly hon-
ored.
The discussion about “next
steps” after Woolley’s presenta-
tion was quite frank, with
several community leaders tak-
ing Emanuel to task for not
offering some substantive remu-
neration or “restitution” to the
survivors of displaced families.
Dr. George Brown, Legacy
See EMANUEL on page 3
Carolyn Leonard Reflects on Career
Longtime administrator considers a bid for school board in 2013
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
E
ducator Carolyn Leonard retired from
Portland Public Schools this year. But
she’s showing no signs of stopping
work.
An internationally recognized scholar in
multicultural education and civil rights, she
has too many awards and accomplishments
to name. Leonard’s philosophy?
“Everyone has a responsibility to make
things better.”
She certainly does her part. Nationally,
she has served on the Executive Committee
of the National Council for Black Studies.
Closer to home, she has been chair of both
the Metropolitan Human Rights Commis-
sion and the Oregon Commission for Black
Affairs, as well as president of the library’s
Black Resource Center, based at the North
Portland branch.
She’s also made history, as chair of the
committee that fought successfully to
rename Union Avenue as Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard.
Leonard’s commitment to public educa-
tion has deep roots.
See LEONARD on page 3