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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2013)
Local News Joseph Happy Birthday, Stevie continued from page 2 Chief Joseph decided the entire community would flee across the Canadian border to join Chief Sitting Bull in a place where the government was not trying to wipe out whole indigenous communities. The tribe, some 700 strong, raced across the Bitterroot Mountains, toward the Mid- west and the northern border, eluding Howard for more than a thousand miles. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce never made it. Just 40 miles from the Canadian border – starving and exhausted — they were overtaken and defeated by another general, and ulti- --Chief Joseph mately exiled to Oklahoma. What Chief Joseph said then is one of the most One of the most respected and admired famous quotes in American history: “From indigenous leaders in U.S. history, Joseph where the sun now stands, I will fight no led the Nez Perce in Wallowa County, just more forever.” In the classroom surrounded by elemen- as white settlers began to push the Native tary schoolers, Mrs. Britton was asked the Americans completely out of the territory. In 1877, the federal government decreed same thing multiple times by every class: the Nez Perce were to be removed to a What was your great-great grandfather like? And every time, Galati answered gently reservation in Idaho. Gen. Oliver Howard – who Howard University was named after – for her: “Mrs. Britton didn’t get to meet her was given the job of subjugating the tribe grandfather because she wasn’t born yet.” As each class gathered around her, stu- and promptly threatened an attack. In response, three young warriors killed four dents reached out to touch Mrs. Britton; many offered hugs. A few asked for auto- white settlers. To avoid a major bloodletting against the graphs. “This is the most incredible experience,” women, children and elders of the tribe, just think it is so important for her to see this school and for the children.” Galati visibly teared up several times as he led the students in questions and cau- tioned them that “Mrs. Britton is not going to tell many stories about Chief Joseph because they are very sad.” Still, what most kids wanted to know was – what was the Chief Joseph really like? PHOTO BY BERNIE FOSTER ‘From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever’ Portlanders turned out to Quartet restaurant, Friday May 10, to celebrate Stevie Wonder’s 63rd birthday. The event was organized by restaurateur Frank Taylor a longtime friend of the singer songwriter. Among the guests were musicians, philanthropists, bankers, business owners, community advocates and music lovers of all ages. More photos on TheSkanner.com Galati said. “I wonder if these kids really understand what this means. I wonder if they’ll remember this day. This is a once in a lifetime experience. “I am never going to forget it.” “Even those who might be willing to forgo some degree of privacy to enhance national security should be concerned about a corporate America that will have an unre- stricted continuous video record of millions,” Chertoff said in a column. “What is to prevent a corporation from targeting a particular individual, using face recognition technology to assemble all uploaded videos in which he appears, and effectively constructing a surveillance record that can be used to analyze his life?” Most cameras on Portland streets are attached to private businesses. The online camera sales company, video - surveillance.com, is trying to track the location of street cameras and publishing the information to its online community cam map: videosurveillance.com/communi- tycam/ According to the map, downtown Portland is home to more than 400 surveil- lance cameras, with many more installed across the city. The Lloyd center area alone has more than 100 cameras, watching stores , ATMs and streets. Company representative Chad Gingrich said in an email that people can use the map to plan safer, monitored walking routes, or after a crime, to see if a camera captured the events. So could surveillance video be used to clear the innocent as well as to hold wrong- doers accountable? That was Vicki Jackson’s hope, during her desperate search for video of a theft. Why? Jackson’s learning disabled 15-year-old son was charged with stealing a cell phone, a crime she says he did not commit. But a prove his innocence. Jackson went from door to door looking for video of the bus stop in from of North Portland Library on Killingsworth Street. Several cameras were pointed at the street, including cameras on The Skanner News building, but none had a clear view of the crime scene. Now, Jackson is discussing the case with an attorney. But without any witnesses or video, she knows it won’t be easy to clear her son. It’s not the first time that surveil- lance video has been missing at a crucial moment. When 14-year-old Yashanee Vaughn disappeared after eating at Taco Bell, police checked the restaurant’s surveillance camera –only to find it hadn’t been working for many months. And just last week, Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X, died after being savagely beaten at a bar in Mexico City. Two bartenders were arrested and others are under investigation. But video of the inci- dent was missing. food, fellowship, large cohort activity and smaller caucuses. Different age groups were able to discuss their identities and priorities amongst themselves before gathering with the larger group to build an action plan. The groups were separated into the Baby Boomers, Generation X and the Millenni- als. They were given a set of questions, such as what events defined their generation, how other generations think of them and what they wanted to pass down to the younger generations. When the larger group came back togeth- er, they discussed what each age group passed on to the other. Boomers discussed their access to education and trying to pro- vide their children with everything they didn’t have growing up. Generation X con- templated the effect of the drug war and specifically, how drugs were shipped into Black communities at such high rates. They noted that they were the only group where the female to male ratio was disproportion- ate. The Millennials discussed being products of the “Information Age” and how that’s been both positive and negative. One member of the Millennial group noted that as each generation described Cameras continued from page 1 to the report, studies from the United King- dom, where 4.2 million cameras are installed to monitor a population under 63 million, show cameras have neither reduced crime –not increased the rate of solving crimes. Then there is the impact on your personal freedom. “Knowing that they are being watched, innocent residents may alter their lawful behavior,” the report says. “The effect is to ‘chill’ innocuous speech, limit whom we are willing to associate with in our neighbor- hoods, and homogenize our citizenry.” No surprise either that the ACLU investi- gation found that Blacks are twice as likely as Whites to be watched. “The disproportionate monitoring of peo- ple of color actually exacerbates the conditions that facilitate anger and resent- ment of law enforcement,” it says. “In a society where many African Americans already feel profiled, installing surveillance cameras in their communities to constantly monitor their behavior only serves to heighten their sense of powerlessness and to foster mistrust of government officials.” Former Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff also has criticized the growth of video surveillance. Most cameras on Portland streets are attached to private businesses court-appointed public defender advised him to take a plea deal. And the teen agreed to plead no contest. “He just wanted to come home,” she says. “He didn’t understand. I can’t believe they arrested someone who did not commit the crime. He had nothing to do with it. I have no justice.” The clothes her son was wearing that day – a bright yellow hoodie — did not match the suspect’s description, she says. If she could find video of the bus stop, she could Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com PAALF continued from page 3 classism, sexism, and homophobia. “Collectively, Portland has absolutely fantastic and outstanding African America citizens who are all, in their own right, doing a lot of great work,” says Vickers. “Often times, we do them in our own silos but coming together and connecting is the key. You can’t connect if there are inherent barriers simply based on generation, gender and different things like that. “The Movement is at stake and we cannot allow for interpersonal issues to continue to create a barrier to our greatness.” The intergenerational forum included itself, they got progressively more negative, pointing out that the first statement from the Boomers was that they were Black and proud. However, a Boomer contended that the Millenials are the most educated gener- ation, are as talented as anyone and most of their self-assessments are based on the per- ceptions of others who don’t acknowledge these things. Vickers says the event was about the gems shared between the groups. She recalls the words of Maya Angelou. “When you get, give. When you learn, teach. That, in a few simple words, says it all.” May 15, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 3
