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nity involvement and how he’s built the
O.G. One brand.
Ecclesia Athletic Association
The meat of the book, originally released
in 2010, deals with Jackson’s time with the
Ecclesia Athletic Association. EAA moved
from Watts to Clackamas to help kids see a
different scene and train for the Cascade
Run-Offs, says Jackson.
Things began souring when local news
media raised suspicion that the group was a
cult.
This took a tragic turn in 1988 when the
8-year-old daughter of the EAA’s founder
Making good impressions and building
relationships would become a theme for
Jackson.
Proactive Community Involvement
Although music was a part of Jackson’s
life when he was in Watts, Jackson didn’t
really get in focus on his craft until 1992.
Instead, he put his time into the Portland
community.
One of the first issues he tackled was the
proliferation of gangs.
Jackson was a gang member from the
ages of 10 to 15. He chose to leave after his
pastor Eldridge Broussard of Watts Chris-
tian Center stepped in to fill the
needs the gang was serving, such
as protection, support, refuge and
financial gain.
“Those are excuses,” he says.
“‘I’m in this gang because I get
this. I get that unconditional
love.’ When I talk to people I’d
ask, ‘Why does a child feel all
this but they don’t feel that from
regular citizens in their neighbor-
hood?’”
People try to complicate the problem, he
says. It’s about being proactive and elimi-
nating the politics and red tape.
“I’m supposed to be the positive person
but I can only help you between 9:00 and
5:00?” says Jackson. “We don’t have a gang
problem. We have a community problem.
Just for the fact that any of the kids in our
community feel that’s an option.
“If we can change people’s mindsets, val-
ues, and actually hold each other
accountable for making a difference, our
communities will change instantly but peo-
ple think it’s politics, money or the next
man’s problem.
The word passed around and he built a
good rapport with both students and their
parents. His reputation grew in the process.
He attributes a large portion
of his success to the
relationships he’s built over
the years
Eldridge Broussard Jr., was killed. An
autopsy revealed she was beaten to death.
A national media frenzy, which included a
TIME magazine story and an infamous
appearance by Broussard on Oprah, ensued
and eventually four people were convicted
in the death.
After Broussard died in 1991, the EAA
broke up and many were left to find their
way.
At the time, Jackson was in his mid-20s.
Since all their money had been tied up in
the group, he and his future wife were living
from home to home and eventually on the
street.
Jackson worked odd jobs and ingratiated
himself with fellow employees. One
McDonald’s colleague allowed him to pur-
chase their car, which he and his wife would
sleep in for a period of time. Another fellow
employee gave them a chance to live in her
apartment when the opportunity presented
itself.
Building the O.G.One Brand
Jackson got the name O.G. One from a
program established by inmates at Oregon
State Penitentiary called “Original Gang-
O.G.One
way.” Each member was assigned a number
and he got the numeral one because of his
leadership in the community and his
involvement in bringing young men to the
penitentiary for intervention. Although the
program didn’t take off, he decided to keep
the name.
When Jackson got his first real DJ gig, it
was a concert featuring Naughty by Nature
and Run-DMC at the Roseland Theatre. His
career soared from that moment.
“The program director, he asked me ‘Why
is your name on the radio more than the DJs
that work here and you don’t work for us?’”
says Jackson. “I said, ‘That’s a question
you’ve got to answer.’”
He attributes a large portion of his success
to the relationships he’s built over the years.
One example is when Jackson helped put
together a mix for a young lady on the Ben-
son High School dance team. He found out
the girl’s father was related to a producer for
BET. The father made a call without Jack-
son knowing, and the next thing Jackson
knew, he was on the celebrated show, “Rap
City: Tha Basement hosted by Tigga.”
Now the O.G. One brand includes his role
as the official DJ of the Portland Trailblaz-
ers, a headphone deal with Sol Republic, a
growing partnership with Nike (they devel-
King
Key
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who we’ve made King to be (and rightfully
so). She wanted to examine who would he
be like as a human, and how can we see him
as a man who puts his pants on the same
way, who was this really ordinary man who
did extraordinary things — and that is real-
ly the crux of the play.
It’s not the ‘I Have a Dream’ King; it’s a
more radical King, it’s “warts and all,” basi-
cally, and not this Christ-like figure which
we have made him to be.
We have to remember that night in histo-
ry, that night before his assassination, and
everything leading up to it — he had dis-
sention in his own movement, and not just
the FBI and everything like that. Also he
was suffering from depression, because of
all the mounting pressures, being away
from his family so much. So we are seeing
King there.
TSN: And this is King at the Lorraine
Motel, in Memphis, in 1968, the night
before his assassination. Have you ever
been to the Lorraine Motel?
RH: Yes I have!
TSN: Talk about that a little. Why is that
moment in time so important? Because I
have a feeling that a lot of people agree that,
actually, the fate of the whole planet was
changed. I think it is fair to say that.
RH: Absolutely.
You know there was so much leading up
to his night before – he was receiving death
threats already, and they were putting on the
radio, that night before, where he was stay-
ing. Also on that night before, he and some
friends were all planning to go to a soul
food dinner. Just before the bullet was fired,
as he stood with friends on the motel bal-
cony, the last thing King said was about that
planned dinner: “Make sure they play Pre-
cious Lord Take My Hand.” The last words
he said in public.
Assassination aside, when I found that
out, it changed a lot of things for me. And
his legacy – I mean he could have died in
his sleep. His autopsy showed he had the
heart of a 60 year old. And at that time,
being 60-years-old is like being 90 in our
times. You know?
If he’d died in his sleep, he would have
been revered. But the fact that he was assas-
sinated changed our whole course of history
and the legacy of what he could have con-
tinued to do. He would have only been
80-something years old now.
TSN: You are an incredibly thoughtful
actor. How has this current part changed
you?
RH: First, at the outset – I gained 20
pounds to play the role. Right? Back in
April. And that was just the physical.
But it changed me in terms of really
knowing who this man was. Not just, oh it’s
Martin Luther King Day, or smiling when I
see Martin Luther King Boulevard. It
changed me when I really delved deep into
fit from the “race to the bottom.”
Instead, the report says states should
increase efforts to graduate more students,
help dropouts get GEDs, hold down
tuition costs and improve the education
system from pre-school through high
school.
who this man was, and it made me see — he
could do all of these things and achieve all
of that at 39? And then I looked at myself
and said, I’m 39 right now.
And then you flash forward to all the
things that are happening today, with the
Voting Rights Act overturned, and the
things that are happening in North Carolina,
and Trayvon Martin – all of these things –
you can’t escape him, I can’t escape him
now.
I don’t think I have ever been in a rehears-
al process for a show or a Shakespeare play
or musical where I actually broke down. It
wasn’t until this show, and I will leave you
with this in terms of how it’s changed me:
It’s opened me up even more to the possi-
bilities, to the possibilities of the human
condition.
There’s a section in the show where
Camae, the maid who is played brilliantly
by Natalie Paul, she asks him: You’re not
afraid? And he says, basically: I’ve known
fear my whole life. I’ve seen it in pulpits
even in my own church. Fear doesn’t both-
oped exclusive O.G. One shoes), being part
of the Brand Jordan family, Official Foot-
ball team DJ for the Portland State Vikings,
and a show schedule that would be exhaust-
ing for some just to look at.
What’s Next?
In 2011, Jackson decided to go back to
school for personal reasons and as part of an
effort to reach a broader audience.
He got his GED in 2012 and now he’s
pursuing a degree in general studies. His
classes include everything from psychology
to mass communication to writing.
Ultimately, the goal is to expand the O.G.
One brand so he can support the communi-
ty without necessarily being attached to one
organization. He wants to avoid the ironi-
cally territorial landscape that can arise in
community work.
“When you’re attached to one organiza-
tion people will become possessive,” says
Jackson. “Unfortunately, it’s kind of like
how gangs act.”
“The Man Behind the Music” is now
available on e-book. There will be a release
party at Quartet on Sep. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8
p.m. For more information about Jackson,
go to his official site.
“We know what’s preventing higher
educational attainment and what’s needed
to improve it,” said Sheketoff. “We just
need to make those policies a priority and
stop the wasteful tax subsidies that plainly
don’t work and rob the state of valuable
resources.”
er me because I know if I’m still awake and
still afraid, I’m still alive. I’m paraphrasing
but you get the gist. He was afraid of many
things—everything else but fear itself. That
didn’t bother him. But there were a lot of
things that he was afraid of.
We were in the middle of that one speech
and I just lost it. It was strange because it
wasn’t Rodney losing it — it was a spiritu-
al thing happening. And I just sunk to the
floor. The same thing happened to our
actress several days later—she had this
moment as well.
I think this show, and under Rose Rior-
dan’s direction, I think people are going to
be touched in a whole other way that they
cannot fathom. I really do.
You will stop thinking that you’re watch-
ing a play. And that’s her goal.
“The Mountaintop” opens for previews
Saturday, Aug. 31, and runs through Oct.
27. For ticket information go to
www.pcs.org/mountaintop, or call the box
office at 503-445-3700
August 28, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 3