Local News
Guns
Services for Richard Dance III
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an everyday occurrence in some communi-
ties, he said.
Check the figures: the people getting shot
are predominantly young Black and Latino
men.
George said he has been a gun owner and
a hunter all his life but the massacre of chil-
dren in Newtown had changed his ideas. He
said he now supports background checks,
and other measures designed to increase
gun safety.
African Americans or other people of
color were barely visible at the rally,
ground checks. Seattle Mayor, Greg Nick-
els, Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Vil-
laraigosa, and San Francisco Mayor, Gavin
Newsome, are among the West Coast may-
ors who support gun control.
Gun violence has been identified as a
major health risk for African American boys
and young men. In Chicago last year, for
example, The Chicago Reporter, found that
last year, 243 people under 25 were killed,
predominantly in shootings, an 11 percent
increase over 2011 and a 26 percent jump
from 2010. The majority were African
African Americans or other people of color were
barely visible at the rally, although nationally
African American mayors have been at the
forefront of efforts to curb violence.
although nationally African American may-
ors have been at the forefront of efforts to
curb violence. Many prominent African
American mayors support Mayors Against
Illegal Guns, the group founded by New
York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Ron Del-
lums of Oakland; Shirley Franklin of
Atlanta, Ray Nagin of New Orleans, Sheila
Dixon of Baltimore, Cory Booker of
Newark, N.J., Mark Mallory of Cincinnati:
Michael Nutter of Philadelphia and Larry P.
Langford of Birmingham, Ala., are outspo-
ken advocates for measures such as back-
American males.
“The masculine culture around guns has
contributed to “a belief [among teens] that a
lot of other boys are carrying guns, which
can be a self-fulfilling prophecy—or not,”
Harold Pollack, co-director of the Universi-
ty of Chicago’s Crime Lab, told the Chica-
go Reporter.
The result? Most of the youth charged
with felony gun crimes are black boys: 80
percent of the defendants were Black, even
though many of them had not used the guns
to harm a person.
S
ervices for Richard
Alexander Dance
III, are Monday,
Feb. 18, from Il a.m.-2
p.m. at the Finley-Sunset
Hills Mortuary and Sunset
Hills Memorial Park, 6801
Southwest Sunset High-
way.
Dance was born to
Yvette and Richard on
May 9, 1984, on Mother’s
Day. The day he was born
everybody commented on
how beautiful baby Ricky
was. He grew up and con-
tinued to be a beautiful
and a plentiful source of
joy for his family and
friends.
At the tender age of fif-
teen Ricky accepted the
lord Jesus Christ as his
savior at the Upper Room
Home Church on June 13,
1999. Ricky was God
fearing young man.
On Friday, Feb. 8, 2013
at 9:45 p.m. his family
released him to go home with God.
Ricky leaves his parents and three
brothers behind and a tremendous
amount of family and friends.
Ricky will live forever in our minds
and hearts due to his non judgmental
eyes, infectious generous smile, com-
passionate soul, and a brave heart full
of confidence.
Richard, well known by his rapper
persona “Rick Deez” enjoyed produc-
ing music, entertaining, family out-
ings, friends, and was very popular
amongst the ladies. The viewing is
going to be a private affair, but the
funeral service is open to all friends
and loved ones of Ricky, please come
and pay respects and your fondest
memories of Ricky.
Fear no more, or have no more
sorrow for we look to Psalms 23: 1-6
for understanding, peace and
strength to continue on.
Action
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erful experience for youth,” Purcell says.
“It’s really exciting. And because it is Black
History month we’re going to honor our
elected officials, past and present, and also
give a special shout out to our Black Veter-
ans.”
As well as its usual agenda of looking out
for seniors, low-income families and youth,
the Urban League of Portland has three spe-
cific priorities for the session: requiring cul-
tural competence training for healthcare
workers; eliminating police profiling; lift-
ing restrictions on natural hair care
providers.
Cultural Competence for Healthcare
providers: Health disparities in disease pat-
terns, treatment and outcomes affect
African Americans, Native Americans,
Latinos and other minorities. Black Ameri-
cans, for example, experience higher death
rates from a wide range of illnesses, includ-
ing many cancers, diabetes and heart dis-
ease. And some illnesses are more prevalent
in certain communities.
“Research has shown that an increase in
cultural competence does help” says Midge
Purcell, “We feel every health provider who
comes into contact with patients of color,
really needs to understand how best to treat
that patient.”
Natural Hair Care: Braiding hair is a long-
standing tradition in Black communities
and does not involve cutting or chemical
use. But if you braid hair in Oregon without
a cosmetology license, you’re breaking the
of economic opportunity that needs to be
brought out of the shadows.”
Police profiling: Evidence collected on
profiling shows that people of color are
more likely to be stopped and searched by
police, whether on foot or in a vehicle. The
league wants a statewide bill that requires
Last year individual legislators didn’t get graded.
This year they will be graded on how their votes
impact communities of color
law. The league wants to pass a law that
would offer a license similar to a food han-
dler’s license.
“Current laws are way too restrictive,”
Purcell says. “In fact, you have to have a
full cosmetology license in order to pursue
natural hair care, which is ironic because
it’s not a discipline that is widely taught. We
feel it is very important to support our com-
munity members. And we feel it is an area
all law enforcement agencies to collect data
on profiling by race, sexual orientation,
housing status, age and immigration status.
“The bill calls for the elimination of pro-
filing,” Purcell says. “If you look at the
practices in some states, such as Arizona,
where laws almost require police to profile,
we want to make sure that doesn’t happen
here.”
Other Issues that Impact People of Color
youth center: a missing plate over an elec-
trical switch. An investigation into asbestos
and mold problems in the building has not
yet concluded.
The league released a statement saying,
“A series of events to include the on-going
reduction of governmental funding and the
economic times have placed the organiza-
tion in the position to need to make this dif-
ficult decision.
“Board Member Cliff Madison stated, ‘It
is with great sadness that this wonderful
Besides those three priorities, Purcell says
the league will support the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families program,
which helps low-income seniors and fami-
lies. It will support Gov. Kitzhaber’s efforts
to cut prison costs, push for changes to state
law that would allow cities to require devel-
opers to include affordable housing in new
developments, and make it illegal to dis-
criminate against Section 8 applicants.
Finally, Purcell said, the league will be
looking for bills that create jobs.
“Unemployment in the African American
community is more than double the rate of
the general population” she says. “We’ll be
looking very, very closely and working to
support and inform people about jobs and
economic development. It’s such a crucial
issue for our community”
As the session progresses the league will
be monitoring the impact of each new law
on communities of color, Purcell says, and
the results will be published in an updated
Racial Equity Report Card. Last year indi-
vidual legislators didn’t get graded. This
year they will be graded on how their votes
impact communities of color.
PAL
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The Beaverton youth center, located in a
well-maintained building owned by the City
of Beaverton, will remain open, “for the
time being.”
The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration found one violation at the
program may have to close. It has made a
great impact in the lives of many kids in our
community and has taken down many of the
walls between Cops, Kids and Community.
It will be missed.’”
February 13, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 3