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McClaurin
Helping Out
charms.
TSN: Did you start out wanting to be an
anthropologist?
IM: I started out on the creative side as a
poet and a writer, because my first love was
literature. Then I did a stint as an academic
administrator, before going back to study
anthropology. So I like to think of myself as
a born-again anthropologist.
Eric Wolf, who has now passed away,
used to say anthropology was the most
humanist of the sciences and the most sci-
entific of the
humanities.
TSN: As a
Black woman
were you enter-
ing a field that
was
mostly
White and male
dominated?
IM:
Well
since the 1800s and starting with Caroline
Bond Day, we actually do have a history of
African Americans being involved in
anthropology. W.E.B. Dubois, for example,
worked under the label of sociology, but in
effect what he was doing was urban anthro-
pology.
plex” societies, while anthropologists
would study, quote, “non-complex” soci-
eties, i.e. the primitive. So what you had
were people from industrialized, complex
societies going into non-industrialized soci-
eties and trying to understand them. So it
was always the study of “the other.”
What we’re saying is that everyone is cul-
turally grounded. And even if you’re
studying someone else, you bring with you
your cultural baggage. You see the world
through your own cultural lens. So if that
lens is one where you believe primitive peo-
ple are, “less
than,” then
that’s going to
shape the way
you interpret
the data. Even
the questions
you choose to
ask are still
shaped by the
culture you
come from. So this notion of objectivity is
what we really challenge.
Even if you’re studying
someone else, you bring with
you your cultural baggage
TSN: What is important about the per-
spective African Americans bring to the
field of anthropology?
IM: Anthropology as a discipline was an
offshoot of sociology and the split was this:
Sociologists would study, in quotes –“com-
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
continued from page 1
Eight students from the Mental Health and Human Service Club at Mt.
Hood Community College (MHCC) volunteered on a Habitat for Humanity
Portland/Metro East project in the cold wind and rain on Saturday, Nov.
17, at the corner of Southeast 106th and Stark Street. The Mental Health
and Human Service Club is comprised of students pursuing careers
helping others in a variety of human service settings. Membership is
open to all MHCC students. The club often works on service projects in
the local community and around the college campus. Front row, left to
right: MaryJane Doran, Denise Perez, Vanessa Houghton and Ashley
Bright. Back row, left to right: Adam Caba, Allen Burchell, Jason Head
and Tamara Young.
TSN: Do anthropology and sociology
divide along those lines now?
IM: Anthropologists now study complex,
industrialized societies. There has been a
borrowing on both sides. So during the 20th
century we saw the rise of urban anthropol-
ogy. And one of the most noted women
anthropologists that most people know, of
course, is Zora Neale Hurston. She was one
of Franz Boas’ students, who is known as
the father of American anthropology.
TSN: She’s well known as an author, but
not so much as an anthropologist.
IM: Zora was a Black woman from
Eatonville, Fla., which was considered one
of the first independent Black towns in the
United States. And she was the first Black
woman to graduate from Barnard College.
Boas trained Margaret Mead. He trained
Ruth Benedict. He trained Alfred Kroeber,
and he trained Edward Sapir— all anthro-
pologists who went on to make a name for
themselves. And he trained Zora Neale
Hurston at the same time.
She collected folklore, and while she is
most noted as a novelist, she actually
trained as an anthropologist. She’s known
as a novelist, which is why I am so drawn to
her, but she has both a humanities perspec-
tive and a social scientist perspective.
The literary people have adopted her, but
I’ve been trying to rescue her back and re-
enshrine her in the canon of anthropology.
Q. Are people still dying of AIDS?
Michael: Every hour, every day. In 2011,
1.7 million people worldwide died from
AIDS-related complications. People in Ore-
gon still die from AIDS, especially those
who haven’t gotten any treatment because
they never got tested. That doesn’t have to
Kim: Yes, but those of us in public health
will need our partners like primary care
doctors and insurance companies to accom-
plish this. The good news is this has already
started in some emergency rooms where
people are being asked if they want to get
tested.
deal with what I find out?
Kim: Answers are just a phone call away.
We have a confidential network you can call
to ask about testing, a diagnosis, how to get
medical care, health insurance, talk to part-
ner or feel that you are not alone. We have a
whole system and it does not depend on
whether you have income or insurance.
We’re here.
Q. And the magic number is?
Michael: 800-777-2437 or 800-499-6940
en español or www.oregonaidshotline.com.
Q. Kim, you’ve been working with newly
diagnosed people for more than 20 years.
What gives you hope?
Kim: We’re at a moment of change -
through early testing. Also, I’m hopeful see-
ing how much this community cares. On
Thursday, Nov. 29, the board of county
commissioners unanimously proclaimed
Dec. 1 to be World AIDS Day in Multnom-
ah County. I’m hopeful because we’re in
this together, and we’re in it to win.
HIV
continued from page 1
Some people presume they don’t need an
HIV test because their doctor has never sug-
gested it. And some people have other
pressing life issues that are a higher priority
than seeking HIV testing at a special HIV
test clinic.
Michael: Stigma plays a major role here,
and the more we can fight that
stigma, the easier it will be for
people to get tested.
Q. Ok, I’m asking. How can I
get tested?
Michael: It’s easier than ever.
You can ask your doctor, come
into county clinic or Cascade
AIDS Project testing centers for
an anonymous confidential test.
Call the Oregon HIV/STD Hot-
line at 800-777-2437 or go to the Cascade
AIDS Project’s website <http://www.orego-
naidshotline.com/> to find testing sites. You
can take a test in your own home. Tests sim-
ilar to home pregnancy tests are now
available in drug stores and online.
We’re at a moment of change -
through early testing
Q. Who are we talking about
here? Who is being newly
infected?
Kim: We are seeing more
infections in younger adults
under age 25. African Americans and Lati-
nos are more likely to get HIV in Oregon
than non-Hispanic Whites. Men who have
sex with men still make up a large portion
of new infections. But almost anyone can
get HIV— it only takes one sexual
encounter or one time sharing syringes.
happen.
Q. Last week, the U.S. Preventive Servic-
es Task Force, a group of doctors and
scientists, recommended routine screening
for all Americans 15 to 64, including preg-
nant women because early detection is so
important. Is that even possible?
Q. Testing seems really scary. How do I
Tensions
Julie, the friend’s mother, who didn’t want
to give her last name because of tensions in
the community following the incident, says
Buckley was playing video games with her
son until his girlfriend picked him up.
The police statement says officers were
called to the Rock Creek apartments at
11:49 p.m.
Police say four men unlawfully entered
the 20-year-old victim’s apartment through
an unlocked sliding glass door while he was
home alone. Three of the men were known
to the victim. Deputies were told the intrud-
ers assaulted the victim rendering him
unconscious. When the victim regained
consciousness, he said the four men were
stealing property from his residence.”
According to Buckley’s girlfriend, she
picked him up around 10:30, and they went
to play laser tag. She says that because the
venue was closing earlier than they had
planned, the two instead decided to rent a
Redbox movie from the Albertsons off of
Cornelius Pass at 11:30. She says the store’s
surveillance camera captured her and Buck-
ley as they left. However, she claims she
hasn’t been able to get access to the footage
because police haven’t returned her calls.
She also says she didn’t see Mitchell or
Armitage that night.
Family and friends have also raised ques-
tions about racial bias in the media coverage
of the case.
Buckley, Mitchell and Armitage, all
Black, were arrested the morning following
the incident. Trotter, who is white, wasn’t
initially identified but turned himself in
Nov. 29.
Although initial reports said the police
had little information on Trotter, Buckley’s
mother said police gave her a photo, a name
and description of his car when they ques-
tioned her other sons. She wonders why her
son and the other men had their mug shots
splashed across the news stories while the
white suspect wasn’t pictured or identified
until he turned himself in.
According to the Washington County
Sheriff’s office, all four suspects are being
held on charges of 1st degree robbery, 1st
degree burglary, unlawful use of a weapon
and 3rd degree assault. In addition, Trotter
is also being charged with 2nd degree rob-
bery. The bond for each man is $250,000.
Julie says there was overflow of support-
ers in the courtroom for the men’s initial
hearing and wonders why that received lit-
tle attention in reports.
“There are a very large amount of angry
people that are upset about this whole
thing,” she says.
Two of the men had previously been in
the news for their accomplishments in
sports. Mitchell, a senior at Century High
School, was recently named first team All-
Pacific Conference in football as a receiver.
He was also starting for the school’s basket-
ball team. Buckley, a Liberty High
graduate, placed second in the state 5A high
jump competition.
Trial dates for the men are set for Jan. 17
and 23.
December 5, 2012
The Portland Skanner Page 3