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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2015)
November 18, 2015 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 student leader. (A pro- file of Monroy will run in next week’s edition of The Skanner News.) We asked Hussen about her internship, the D.C. con- ference and her plans for the future. The Skanner News: Could you describe your work with the Boys and Girls Club? TSN: What did you en- joy about interning with the Boys and Girls Club? HH: What I enjoyed the most about interning at the Boys & Girls club was getting to interact with people who work at the club. During my time there I was inspired The only way to make a change is by getting involved with things that are happen- ing in our communities Hawi Hussen: I most- ly worked on the overall data that was submitted to the administration office of Boys and Girls Club. For example, some of the things I worked on were making report cards about each club by analyzing attendance, ac- tivities, camps, etc. TSN: What did you ul- timately learn from the student leader program? HH: Through working in a non-profit organiza- tion, I have learned the difference organizations such as Boys andGirls Club make in different communities. The Re- gence club is located in a low-income communi- ty and most of the kids that go there are from a low-income family. It has many educational and fun activities for the kids. One of the educational activities that resonat- ed with me was a math class that helps kids im- prove their math skills. This class was developed through partnership with Rosa Parks Elemen- tary School. Some of the children in the math class were below their grade level. This pro- gram helped kids devel- op their math skills, so March because I noticed the employees were really passionate about what they do. Their work eth- ic shows how much they care about the children who go to the Boys and Girls Club. TSN: Why do you think this work is important? HH: I have always dreamed of working in an organization that helps people not to profit from it but, for the sake of helping people who need it. Working at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club has given me perspectives on community involvement and how I can be a help- ful citizen to my commu- nity. While working at the Regence club, I saw many volunteers that helped with activities. Those people were giving their time to give back to their community and make the children’s day bright. Those volunteers were my motivation to give back to my community. As I establish my ground at Oregon State Universi- ty, I plan on joining clubs and volunteering in the community. Read the full interview at TheSkanner.com Presidential Medal of Freedom Earlier this week, President Obama an- nounced 17 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, including Oregonian civ- il rights activist Minoru Yasui (1916-1986). In 1939, Yasui became the first Japanese Ameri- can to graduate from the University of Oregon School of Law and the first Japanese American member of the Oregon Bar. He made national history by challenging the constitutionality of the military curfew imposed on Japanese American citizens in World War II.” To learn more about Yasui, visit The Oregon Encyclo- pedia at http://oregonencyclopedia.org/arti- cles/yasui_minoru_1916_1986_/#.VkzzznarR9N. KKK cont’d from pg 1 about it, because we don’t want to give them a platform,” Oregon City Police Department spokes- woman Sgt. Cynthia Gates told The Skanner. “I’d rather just make it quiet, make it go away, and not give them the attention they’re “ that is an area of town you have to walk/bike/bus through and can’t be in a car.” Rumors later spread to say that the Klan had headed away from the store, toward downtown. Portland Police Bureau spokes- No information was put through to the sergeants, dispatch, or me and I didn’t see anybody on social media Tweeting any photos that verified it hoping to get from this.” West Linn Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Dave Kempass mirrored Gates’ sentiments, “It doesn’t seem to be a real issue,” he said, adding that should more flyers appear, the bureau may re- consider. On Nov. 12 rumors circulated rapidly on social media sites that the KKK was holding a rally, in full regalia, outside of the Nike Factory Store located on North- east Martin Luther King Boule- vard in Portland. “KKK members are at the Nike Outlet Store on MLK,” Portland resident Israel Fin wrote on Face- book in a post that was shared close to 60 times. “Find a buddy to wait at your bus stop, walk you to your car, stay where you are at if person Sgt. Pete Simpson, say out- side of hearsay, no evidence of the Klan being in either part of town when we spoke to him the follow- ing day, adding that no photos of their activity had surfaced either. A reporter from The Skanner drove by the area at about 7 p.m. and did not see anything out of the ordinary, and an Oregon Pub- lic Broadcasting reporter’s calls to police and staff at the Nike store also turned up no leads. “No information was put through to the sergeants, dis- patch, or me and I didn’t see any- body on social media Tweeting any photos that verified it, which to me would amplify it,” he said. No recruitment flyers have been reported as appearing in Portland. Criminal justice historian J.D. Chandler has done extensive re- search on the Ku Klux Klan and other White hate groups in Ore- gon. Chandler says documentation of Klan activity can be hard to track given that they are a se- cret society, but estimates that at their peak popularity had around 35,000 members in the state in the 1920s. “Don’t fool yourself -- Portland may be a liberal city, but there is support right here for the KKK,” Chandler said, adding that the group enjoyed a lot of political power across the state with mem- bers in the police department and elected positions as well. Though he says he’s unsure of the validity of the group’s re- cent purported activity, he said groups with similar ideologies have always operated here. “It’s not just the KKK. [They’re] just the most visible and charis- matic manifestation of [White hate groups]. What’s really dan- gerous is other groups, that are considered mainstream, like the American Legion, have worked for exactly the same purposes.” Data released by the FBI shows the majority of the 66 reported hate crimes in Oregon in 2013 were race- or ethnicity-based. cont’d from pg 1 to $30 billion of that money on clothes, and more than $6 billion on tobacco and alcohol. Farrakhan says the buying power of Black America must be harnessed more productively in order to combat the many disparities in their communi- ties, and that a collective reframe from excessive spending this Christmas sea- son is a beginning of that. The Skanner spoke with some Port- landers who made the over 2,800 mile trek to D.C. last month to see if and how they will be implementing Farrakhan’s call for a Christmas boycott this year. Native Portlander John Slaughter tells The Skanner he is on board with the Minister’s call-to-action. “We need to show that our dollar means something. For me that’s part of the effort to make sure that we are try- ing to make a change,” Slaughter said. Adding that withdrawing spending isn’t enough, Slaughter said African Americans, especially in Portland, must do a better job at communicat- ing to each other about Black-owned businesses where they can spend their money. “ Peoples Revolutionary Party of Ore- gon, said after attending the first march in 1995, he was again impressed this year at Farrakhan’s work against capi- talism and continues the organization of Black people in Portland. Slaughter said African Americans, especially in Portland, must do a better job at communi- cating to each other about Black-owned busi- nesses “You don’t have to buy your kid 20 Christmas gifts. Buy them two. Don’t tell them it came from the anti-Christ, or a White guy who doesn’t work. Tell him it came from Mommy and Daddy. Tell them they’re not getting as many gifts this year because you are sacrific- ing for the greater good of our people,” Slaughter said. Ahjamu Umi, head of the All-African “I respect him because I respect orga- nization. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have twice organized over a mil- lion Africans to come together. Positive spirit and energy. No violence, and a desire for action. That’s what 60 years of organization gets you,” Umi said. The average American spent $704 on Christmas gifts last year, totaling more than $465 billion in spending. AP PHOTO/ANDREW A. NELLES “ they can do well in their classes. PHOTO COURTESY OF OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY Hussen On Nov. 29, 2013, shoppers browse through coats during Black Friday shopping at Macy’s in Chicago.
