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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM O CTOBER 3, 2012 P ORTLAND , O REGON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 40 25 CENTS For The Skanner news alerts Text "NEWS" to 503-715-0890 or scan this QR code C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW Feds Fund New DA U N IT Y The prosecutor will work in Albina/ Killingsworth corridor Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News PHOTO COURTESY KYMBERLY JEKA M ultnomah County District Attor- ney’s Office has landed a $600,000 grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the Department of Justice. The three-year grant includes $45,000 a year to support Eleven:45, the church-led youth violence prevention initiative. It also will fund a Deputy District Attorney who will work in the Albina and Killingsworth corridor to work with the street crimes unit. Deputy District Attorney Jim Hayden announced the grant at the Gang Violence Task Force meeting on Friday. Hayden, who is based at the Northeast police precinct, says the grant will help Eleven:45, reach out to gang-affected youth and families. “It is exciting, because we have some momentum going here and the more that we can do now, the better,” said Hayden. Eleven:45 and the District Attorney’s office are working together on an initiative that connects gang-affected youth with pas- tors. As a condition of probation, first-time offenders who have committed minor offenses will be asked to contact a mentor through the Eleven:45 program. The initiative started with pastors taking youth to lunch, to offer them support and help connect them to resources in the com- munity, including mentoring. The grant also will help with administrative costs and organizing volunteers. The Office of Youth Violence Prevention has allocated a separate grant of $4,500 to the volunteer group Connected, said Tom Peavey, policy manager for the office. The funds are intended to help Connected con- tinue its work. Connected puts a caring adult presence into parks and streets where vio- lence has a been a problem. Since it was started by former youth violence prevention director John Canda, Connected has been walking in Holladay Park every Friday at Inspired by the City Repair project, artist Kymberly Jeka wanted to create a community mural on her street, at the intersection of North Haight and Emerson. After months of bringing the idea around the city for approval, neighbors got together last weekend and painted the striking geometric design of interlocking triangles. “The design represents Unity and Community,” Jeka says. “It represents diverse neighbors coming together and working as one.” Black GLBT Report: First of Its Kind Oct. 11 forum looks at disparities in income, housing, violence Submitted by the Urban League of Portland A new report provides the first comprehensive glimpse into the lives and concerns of black Oregoni- ans who are also lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ). Until now, almost no data about this population existed. The report – which relies on a survey of 200 people, two com- munity focus groups, plus information from other studies – See GRANT on page 3 INDEX News .2,3,6,7,12,13,16 Opinion ..................4,5 A & E .........................8 Books.........................9 Food...................10,11 Bids/Classifieds ...14,15 shows that discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual iden- tity, compounded by racial inequity, creates far greater social and economic disparities for black LGBTQ people. The Parent’s and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Portland Black Chapter teamed up with the Urban League of Portland to produce the study. “This is a groundbreaking document that shows black gay and transgender folks are among the most vulnerable peo- ple in our society,” said Khalil Edwards, the coordinator for Portland PFLAG’s black chap- ter. “The issues we face must be addressed, and this report will help us address them.” Some of the highlights of the report: Black LGBTQ Oregonians have disproportionally high rates for poverty and unemploy- ment: 43.7 percent have an annual income of $20,000 or less, and 18 percent are unem- ployed. One third reported discrimination in being hired or on the job. These rates are high- er than those among white peo- ple of any orientation and straight people of color. Black LGBTQ people of color fare worse in health when com- pared to heterosexuals and white LGBT people, with almost 11 percent of black LGBT Oregonians reporting being diagnosed with HIV. Black LGBTQ Oregonians often face homophobia, with 70 percent of respondents reporting it as a problem within the black community. See FORUM on page 3 Maya Angelou Visits Portland Oct. 30 The poet author and national treasure speaks to The Skanner News By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News D r. Maya Angelou is scheduled to speak in Portland, Oct. 30, at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall. Born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1928, she has traveled wide- ly and earned renown as an author, poet, dancer, actor, producer and civil rights activist. She has counted among her friends many of the most influential people of the 20th Century and beyond, including with Malcolm X, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and James Baldwin. It was Baldwin who encouraged her to write her autobiography. The first volume, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” was published in 1970 to enor- mous acclaim. That work, and her 30 subsequent biographies, poetry and novels, have inspired readers the world over. Dr. Angelou’s awards and honors include three Grammys, a Pulitzer, 30 honorary degrees – including one from Portland State University— the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000 and the Lincoln Medal in 2008. At the request of President Bill Clinton she composed and recited a poem for his 1993 inauguration, “On the Pulse of The Morn- See ANGELOU on page 3
