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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2015)
News Breakfast PdX Blood drive continued from page 1 ‘I was asked, why are you going to Portland? Because to me this is a trendsetting city. Portland represents progress’ –Benjamin Chavis me this is a trendsetting city,” Chavis said. “Portland repre- sents progress.” Chavis specifically cited immigration reform as part of the Black agenda nationwide, as well as prison reform. But one area was especially key in his analysis. “Education is the single most important thing that can lead to success in a person’s life,” Chavis said. Many college scholarships were awarded by sponsors at The Skanner News Martin Luther King Breakfast, includ- ing: Kaitlan Purkapile, Pacific NW Regional Council of Car- penters, attends Portland State University; Selam Wako, Portland Development Commission, attends the University of Oregon; Shaniece Curry, University of Oregon, attends University of Oregon; Dayja Curry, Oregon Lottery, attends the University of Oregon; Hanna Atenafu, Oregon Health and Science University, attends Oregon State; Christine Trinh, Providence Health Systems, attends Georgetown University; PHOTO COURTESY RED CROSS Also honored was the Oregon Historical Society for its project digitizing all The Skanner News print and digital photo archives. Kerry Tymchuck, director of the Society, accepted the award. Chavis’ speech touched on King’s legacy in the areas of voting rights, education, incarceration, entrepreneurship and spirituality. “I was asked, why are you going to Portland? Because to In honor of Black History Month, the American Red Cross encourages African American donors to give blood to help ensure a sufficient blood supply. Blood from a donor with a similar ethnic background as that of the patient is less likely to cause complications, particularly for those patients whose chronic conditions require repeated transfusions. Sickle cell disease is one such chronic condition affecting as many as 100,000 people in the united States. All blood types are currently needed to help maintain a diverse blood supply, especially types O negative, A negative and B negative. To learn more about donating blood and to schedule an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-REd CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Gabriel Gutierrez-Aragon, City of Portland, attends De La Salle North Catholic; Victoria Trinh, Family Care, attends De La Salle North Catholic; Ashleigh Miller-Hayes, Home Forward, attends Seattle Pacific University; Veronica Medhanie, Pacific Power & Light, attends Port- land State University; Cameron Retherford, Turner Construction, attends Texas Tech; Henry Sissac, Wells Fargo Bank, attends University of Iowa; Michelle Carr, Wells Fargo Bank, attends Kent State; Luis Sosa, The Skanner Foundation, attends De La Salle North Catholic; Marneet Lewis, The Skanner Foundation, attends Warner Pacific. NAACP continued from page 1 a Youth Council, and celebrating a century of service to this community. Initiatives which follow will come from aspirations of inspired members. TSN: What challenges are you facing? Hardesty: The spontaneous reactions of so many have been encouraging. I’m actual- ly humbled when folks respond to the board’s campaign– to immediately recruit 101 new members– with, “How can I help?” I see relief in people’s eyes, as if their hopes are finally going to get serious attention in an organized way. One challenge has been to get folks to understand that right from the beginning NAACP has been inclusive; membership is open to all races. We face big challenges externally. Racial injustice has a way of per- petuating itself in a community that thinks itself progressive and occupying a post- racial era. I’m hoping one result will be to make sustained civil rights advocacy attrac- tive to influencers who already have serious demands on their time. We’ll need folks who understand advocacy training, eco- you to return, now as the group’s headship is pretty major. What’s the significance of your return to the NAACP, particularly in the position you’re in now? I see relief in people’s eyes, as if their hopes are finally going to get serious attention in an organized way TSN: Last time you were involved with this organization more than a decade ago there was some major internal turmoil. For Hardesty: Frankly, I was embarrassed by some choices Chapter 1120B was making. Realizing the need for a powerful NAACP is as vital as it’s ever been, I re-connected two years ago. I began to understand that, not only was the group failing to wield influence as the U.S. Department of Justice sought help in the most significant Portland civil rights initiative in a generation. The chapter’s lack of organization and leader- authored Carlos’ autobiography with the Olympian titled ‘The John Carlos Story: The Sports Movement That Changed The World’. “John Carlos’ fist on that Olympic stand in 1968 sent a message to the entire world that Black people were done being second class citizens and weren’t just going to go nomic development, city planning processes and legislative policy. I’m com- mitted to leadership development. We’ll need those who’ve achieved success to help elevate those who’ve been on the downside of power. ship had a negative impact on initiatives sought by the Alaska-Oregon-Washington State Area Conference as well. I thought, “Not on my watch.” I’m unwilling to sit on the sidelines and allow this institution to die or be co-opted. When I served as first Vice President in the late ‘90s, we campaigned against Willamette Week, over a cartoon they published which we perceived as racist. Chapter 1120B called upon advertis- ers to pull ads until Willamette Week printed an apology in their paper. Within a week we won our demand. That is the power the NAACP has, when it operates as intended. I hope it’s significant that folks who’ve known this power will return to full participation. I want to be one among many. Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com Carlos continued from page 1 into the national spotlight; and the caught- on-camera chokehold of Eric Garner in New York City have sparked conversations across the country. Carlos will discuss these issues alongside fellow panelists, Aretha Basu and Marissa Jenae activists in the Black Lives Matter movement, Jesse Hagopian contributing author and editor of “More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing educator at Garfield High School and advisor of the school’s Black Student Union who made national headlines when he led pupils in protest of current standard- ized testing requirements; Gerald Hankerson, president of the Seattle-King County NAACP, and Dave Zirin who co- ‘We’ve seen in cities across the nation young people with their hands up are again revealing injustice in the American justice system’ Students from Garfield High School’s Black Student Union, whose work has included staging a walkout following the non-indictment in Garner’s death, will host the event. represent the United States and propogate the image of a free society,” says Hagopian, one of the night’s panelists, “similarly today we’ve seen in cities across the nation that young people with their hands up are again revealing the injustice in the American jus- tice system.” Hagopian calls Carlos a “lifelong pursuer of social justice” and says the lessons the 69-year-old will share will help galvanize a “new civil rights movement” in Seattle. Carlos will be on hand following the event to autograph copies of his autobiogra- phy ‘The John Carlos Story: The Sports Movement That Changed The World.’ For more information on the event, con- tact Jesse Hagopian by phone 206-962-1685 or email him at jesse@rethinkingschools.org. A page for the event of Facebook includes more details on the event. January 21, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3
