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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2016)
April 6, 2016 The Skanner Page 3 News subject of national and local media scrutiny months before it was scheduled to take place. Emails from the college’s faculty and staff Google Group sent last fall and obtained by The Skanner, reveal some faculty and staff were uncomfort- able with the concept for the event — with some initially thinking it “ cont’d from pg 1 feelings about race. “We’re really trying to improve the campus cli- mate. We’re trying to im- prove race relations on campus, race relations in this country,” Givens said. Harrison’s talk empha- sized the idea that White- ness is a cultural con- struct – one that didn’t even exist when the Unit- We’re really trying to im- prove the campus climate. We’re trying to improve race relations on campus, race re- lations in this country would be a “White histo- ry month” and some say- ing the planned events were intended to shame White people. “The name was very de- liberately chosen, not necessarily to be provoc- ative in the sense of cre- ating conflict, but when you read that name it im- mediately gets you think- ing in a way that Racism Awareness Month does not,” Proctor told The Skanner. “Studies about White- ness and White privilege have been going on for decades now,” Proctor added. “This is really a coordinated, cross-disci- plinary effort to examine the consequences of Whiteness and White privilege.” “There wasn’t an aspect of those three words that there wasn’t a lot of dis- cussion about,” said Luke Givens, coordinator of PCC’s multicultural cen- ter. “To call it something else, the only reason we would do that would be to make people feel com- fortable. That would be disingenuous,” Givens said. Givens said the events are meant to be ground- ed in history, rather than in people’s thoughts and Arrest ed States was founded, but was instead created in the early 19th century to divide lower classes against each other. Harrison traced the or- igin of the concept of Whiteness in the United States to 1705 and the in- troduction of the Virgin- ia Slave Code, which said all Black people entering the commonwealth would live as slaves. Harrison said under- standing the idea of Whiteness as a construct is critical because misun- derstanding history can have an impact on policy decisions. He said President Lyn- don Johnson’s rationale for continued escalation during the Vietnam War was that he didn’t want it to be the first time the U.S. ever lost a war — ap- parently unaware, Har- rison said, that the War of 1812 was a draw and the Revolutionary War could not have been won without French assis- tance. For a full schedule of events, visit https:// www.pcc.edu/about/di- versity/cascade/white- n e s s - h i s t o r y - m o n th / events.html. Read the rest of the story at TheSkanner.com Black Music Summit Amazon Echo team member Thomas Phillips and Panel facilitator David Harris listen to some of the comments of Sir Mix-A-Lot (center) during a panel discussion about Technology & Music at the second Black Music Summit April 2 at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. The purpose of the summit was to increase opportunities and strengthen networks for Black music in Seattle and the Central District. Protest cont’d from pg 1 fundraiser called Meet the Heat. “One of my big problems with this event is that it is for an elite class of people with the goal of schmoozing them, so that they be- come advocates for more polic- ing,” said Jo Ann Hardesty, presi- dent of the Portland NAACP and the organizer of the protest. The demonstrators were a small mixed gathering of police ac- countability activists, peace ad- vocates and retirees. Present were community media outlets including The Skanner News, KBOO and Street Roots. As the Meet the Heat event began, the parking lot filled with silver and slate colored late model BMWs, Mercedes Benzes and Corvettes. Meet the Heat was advertised as an exclusive VIP invitation-only event to demonstrate emergency vehicle maneuvers, weapons such as firearms and tasers and defensive tactics. Fliers adver- tised the event as a “unique, hands-on experience.” Meet the Heat was presented by the Portland Police Foundation and the Citizens Crime Commis- sion, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Portland Busi- ness Alliance. Kathryn Kendall from the Bud- dhist Peace Fellowship protested the event because she believed the event glorified violence and “ detailed a pattern of excessive force against people with mental illness. “The result was the agreement between the department of jus- tice and the city of Portland was that the police would learn to People paid $1,000 to come and play with violent toys as if police were a mov- ie, as if it was an action show and it’s not discounted the real life effects of policing. “People paid $1,000 to come and play with violent toys as if police were a movie, as if it was an action show and it’s not. It’s real lives. People are dying,” Kendall said. Kendall would rather see a fundraiser for restorative justice or more efforts to reach out to people with mental illness and those who are homeless. Former Black Panther and so- cial justice activist, Wiley G. Bar- net, said the Meet the Heat event runs counter to the recommenda- tions of the Department of Justice settlement. The 2014 settlement train and carry out disengage- ment practices, de-escalation practices, mediation practices,” he said. Barnett said the fundraiser merges corporate money with po- lice enforcement which will ulti- mately oppress the poor. At the demonstration, he carried a sign that read “Corporate Power + Po- lice Power = Fascism.” Former Portland Police Chief Mike Reese said the event was created to bring about more com- munity involvement. Read the full story at TheSkanner.com cont’d from pg 1 Latoya Harris, told the Mercury. “And every- body saw my daughter get perp-walked to the car. What stood out was the expression on my daughter’s face. The fear and the sad- ness. We still have to see these officers in our community.” “ PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Whiteness In the current case, spokesperson Pete Simpson told a reporter the girl lashed out physically as officers were trying to hand- cuff her. Simpson told The Oregonian, “For lack of a better term, she chose to have a tan- trum.” What stood out was the expression on my daughter’s face. The fear and the sadness. We still have to see these officers in our community The outcry after that incident forced Port- land Police officials to create a policy that they would only arrest children age 12 or older — like the child they arrested last week. Police say that now they only arrest chil- dren aged 12 years and older if they get “spe- cial permission” which can only come from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and a judge. Simpson told the newspaper that “mom was very much like her daughter,” as officers prepared to drive the daughter to the deten- tion center. Portland police and Portland public schools officials have arrested, shot or Tasered sev- eral children and teenagers over the past 15 years (see sidebar). The circumstances vary widely. Kids Arrested, Shot or Tasered by Portland Police MARCH 16, 2016: High school student is arrested after threatening to bring a gun to school, is charged with attempted assault and attempted unlawful use of a weapon. MARCH 1, 2016: Portland Parent Union creates Change.org petition on behalf of a Black female student charged by Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office with “offensive physical contact” after punching a blonde, affluent student who racially bullied her at Lake Oswego High School. SEPTEMBER 15, 2014: Unarmed Roosevelt High School student, Thai Gurule, is vi- ciously beaten, Tasered and arrested on cellphone video. A circuit court judge later finds him innocent of resisting arrest, chastises police bureau. MAY, 2013: Nine-year-old girl arrested over alleged fight at after-school program six days earlier. MAY 17, 2011: Student arrested after threatening to bring a gun to school. OCTOBER 4, 2004: Portland Police Taser an 11-year old student in a mental health crisis at Buckman Elementary School.
