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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2015)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM J ANUARY 21, 2015 P ORTLAND AND S EATTLE V OLUME XXXVII, N O . 16 For The Skanner website scan this QR code CENTS Pacific NW The Skanner News presents our new regional edition, featuring more news and local information. C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW 2015 King Breakfast 25 KING IN SEATTLE The Skanner News event draws 1,000 to Convention Center By Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News See BREAKFAST on page 3 INDEX News............1,3,6,7,11 Opinion .....................2 Calendars ..............4,5 A & E ......................8,9 Bids/Classifieds ........10 PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED N early 1,000 people packed the Ore- gon Convention Center’s Bud Clark Hall for The Skanner News 29th Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast event on Monday, Jan. 19. The International Business Times put The Skanner News King Breakfast on its short list as “Best events to celebrate birthday and life of Martin Luther King Jr around the US.” Keynote speaker, the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, CEO and President of the national Newspaper Publishers Association, used the event to announce an NNPA trade initiative with Cuba with The Skanner News’ Bernie Foster at its head. Also at the breakfast event, The Skanner News introduced its new online business directory, online at http://www.theskan- nerdirectory.com. The newspaper’s civil rights award, the Drum Major for Justice, was given to the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Peace and Justice Reform, represented at the event by Dr. Leroy Haines. Haines collected the award from the podi- um, where seated guests included Chavis; Portland Mayor Charlie Hales; Portland Police Chief Larry O’Dea; Pacific NW Regional Council of Carpenters Bob Susee; University of Oregon, Robin Holmes PhD; Roland Iparraguire of the Oregon Lottery; Portland Development Commission Execu- tive Director Patrick Quinton; Portland Community College, Cascade Campus President Karin Edwards; US Sen. Ron Wyden; Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown; The Skanner News Executive Edi- tor Bobbie Dore Foster; and Pastor Deborah Brown of St. Phillip the Deacon Episcopal Church. “We’re not here to celebrate,” Foster says. “We’re here to make sure that Dr. King’s work is carried on.” Thousands of people participated in the 33rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Jan. 19 at Garfield High School. The theme of this year’s event was “Fight for Your Rights in 2015.” Keynote speaker was Ferguson, Mo., resident Jelani Brown, who helped organize the protests in St. Louis after the killing of Mike Brown. The march went from Garfield High School to the Federal Court House. JoAnn Hardesty Heads NAACP Longtime activist, former lawmaker speaks on her vision for group By Donovan M. Smith Special to The Skanner News A seasoned community activist, JoAnn Hard- esty’s latest distinction sees her at the helm of the NAACP as the newly appointed president of the civil rights organization’s Portland chapter. Hardesty boasts a long resume that includes heavily steeped in social justice. A short list of dis- tinctions including serving on the boards of Portland Commu- nity Media; US Action and Coalition for a Livable Future and was also elected to the Ore- gon legislature serving as a state representative from 1995 to 2001. She hosts her own radio show on KBOO (90.7 FM) ‘Voices from the Edge’ which covers political matters ranging from government, race and environ- ment every Thursday at 8 a.m. Hardesty took the time to answer some questions about her plans in her latest post as the historic NAACP Portland chap- ter celebrates its 101st year in operation. The Skanner News: The Portland branch of the NAACP owns the distinction as being the oldest continuously chartered branch west of the Mississippi, and has a storied history in the city. Though recent years have been a bit quiet, the group’s work has continued in a number of civil rights issues in the city. What is your plan of direction for the NAACP as the new Port- land president? Hardesty: I’m a results-ori- ented kind of gal. The NAACP’s mission is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of all persons, and to eliminate racial hatred and discrimination. My goal for this, our 101st year, is to rebuild and revitalize Chapter 1120B so we are prepared to carry out this mission. My lead- ership team and I—at the outset— committed to building our membership base, becoming more collaborative, developing See NAACP on page 3 From Black Power to Black Lives Matter John Carlos to address youths at Garfield High School this Thursday By The Skanner News O lympic bronze medalist John Carlos, who famously raised his hand next to fellow African American and gold medalist Tommie Smith to form the “Black power” symbol at the 1968 games in Mexico, will be on a panel at Garfield High School discussing the connections of resist- ance movements past and present. The event will be held Thurs., Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Quincy Jones Auditorium at Garfield High School, 400 23rd Avenue, Seattle. The moment of protest against institution- al racism in the athlete’s native United States of America was captured by the Asso- ciated Press and went on to become arguably the most iconic photo in sports his- tory. Organizers of the event titled ‘From Black Power to Black Lives Matter’ say the message of that moment still ring true, espe- cially in the wake of recent deaths of Black men that have come by the hand of law enforcement. Cases like the police shooting death of 18- year-old Mike Brown Jr. that launched the small St. Louis, Mo. suburb of Ferguson See CARLOS on page 3
