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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2016)
April 27, 2016 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 them about the air, how they’re feeling, what they’re doing.” Alomran said she and Martin don’t intend to ask “hard questions,” but instead want to get a sense of neighbors’ per- ceptions and reactions to the revelations about contamination due to emission from glass man- ufacturers in the area. We want to ask them about the air, how they’re feeling, what they’re doing Ideally they would like to film interviews and also get footage of resi- dents going about their everyday lives, including time spent with children if they consent to having their children filmed. They plan to wrap the project in about two weeks and said it would be ideal if people inter- ested in participating Holler — the former in close-in Southeast Portland and the latter in North Port- land had been emitting known carcinogenic chemicals. Environmen- tal advocates say inves- tigators were aware of contamination from the factories since at least 2009, though both man- ufacturers changed their practices this year. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) welcomes volunteers to take part in the Powell Butte Eco-Blitz, a scientific survey of the wildlife found in PP&R’s 612-acre Powell Butte Nature Park. The event will take place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 21 at Powell Butte Nature Park, 16160 SE Powell Blvd. Volunteers will survey amphibians, butterflies and birds and help contribute to the scientific knowledge of Portland’s ecological diversity. No experience is necessary. The event is free and open to all ages. Volunteers should arrive at least 15 minutes before their chosen time slot. To register, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/powell-butte-eco-blitz-tickets-20899280310. For more information, contact Emily Lytle, Portland Parks & Recreation, (971) 352-2044 emily.lytle@portlandoregon.gov. cont’d from pg 1 PFLAG Portland Black Chapter will host a screening of the film from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday at First AME Zion Church in North Portland. This free screening will be followed by a discussion panel featuring the Rev. Cedric A. Harmon, the executive direc- tor of Many Voices, a Washington, D.C.- based nonprofit focusing on the Black church and LGBTQ justice. Khalil Edwards, the PFLAG Portland Black Chapter coordinator, said the film screening is needed to bring about discussion and outreach between faith leaders and the queer community. “We know that the relationship that the Black, lesbian and gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community have with our faith community is one that comes with different challenges,” Edwards said. Edwards noted many of these chal- lenges came to light when PFLAG Black Chapter partnered with the Urban League of Portland to research the “Lift Every Voice” report in 2012. The report focused on the experiences of Black Prince Powell Butte Eco-Blitz queer residents in Oregon. Many focus groups were held to re- search the report. These groups spent a lot of time talking about questions of faith, and participants said queer peo- ple did not feel fully accepted in their faith communities. People felt pushed “ music ministry, but are unable to be true to themselves. They describe being bullied by family members for not conforming to strict gender roles, being kicked out of their homes and having frequent thoughts of suicide. that welcome LGBTQ people. Pastor Steven Sawyer was part of The Vision Church, and will be on the discussion panel at the film screening. Sawyer told The Skanner News that the Black church will often accept queer believers — as long as they hide their sexual orientations. “One of the biggest things we strug- gle with, especially with the African American church in general, is ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Sawyer said. “It’s that notion that this can be a loving place for you, but if you just don’t tell us any- thing.” Edwards said this attitude has been changing through faith outreach. He said there are a number of fully-af- firming churches in the area such as Ainsworth United Church of Christ, First AME Zion and St. Philip the Dea- con Episcopal. He said these church- es have gone through an intentional process to become welcoming to the LGBTQ community. ‘Holler’ shows a number of LGBTQ youth who are alienated from both their families and their family churches out, ignored and they had to endure slurs, Edwards said. This prompted PFLAG to start their faith outreach program to work with religious communities to be more ac- cepting of LGBTQ parishioners. “Holler” shows a number of LGBTQ youth who are alienated from both their families and their family church- es. All the youth featured in the movie describe themselves as being Chris- tians, but they struggle with finding a safe place to practice and be affirmed. Many hide in plain sight as part of the Hannah, a lesbian portrayed in the film, said that she pretended to be straight to please her mother and to have a safe place to sleep at night -- but she couldn’t keep up with the façade. “Two years ago, I was engaged. I was not in love with this dude at all,” she said. “It was horrible. I actually felt like I was a prostitute.” The documentary also highlighted an affirming faith community, The Vision Church, in Atlanta. This church, head- ed by Bishop O.C. Allen III, is part of a national fellowship of Black churches generously, but quietly, to a variety of causes – some high-profile, others less so. The Rev. Al Sharpton told the New York Daily News Thursday that in 2012, gracious,” Newell said. Laura Niemi, the program manager for the city’s community gardens pro- gram, was not able to say whether the Boise Neighborhood Association had Read the full story at TheSkanner.com cont’d from pg 1 Newell said. Karis Stoudamire-Phillips, who serves as treasurer and finance chair for the neighborhood association, said the grant was made before she got involved in the early 2000s — but confirmed that when she started han- dling the organization’s finances, there were still funds in its account she was told were from a grant from Prince and that were specifically earmarked for neighborhood greening projects. Stoudamire-Phillips created a grant ap- plication process for small projects in that category. According to Newell, someone who served the neighborhood association’s board at the time helped secure the funds, though she wasn’t sure of the ex- act details regarding who made contact with the Minneapolis-based recording artist. The story North Portland neighbors have shared is similar to others that have surfaced in the last few days por- traying Prince as someone who gave “ After the neighborhood association received the gift, they sent Prince a thank-you letter, and later they sent a progress report Prince approached him to offer finan- cial assistance to the family of Trayvon Martin after the unarmed teen was killed by neighborhood watch volun- teer George Zimmerman. Insider Lou- isville reported that in 2001 he gave $12,000 to help Louisville’s African American-specific Free Public Library. Newell said after the neighborhood association received the gift, they sent Prince a thank-you letter, and later they sent a progress report detailing how funds had been disbursed. “I don’t remember what his exact re- sponse was, but I remember that it was approached the city about water ac- cess at the Fargo garden, due to the fact that paper records from may have been lost or recycled. The department did briefly investigate opening a garden at North Fargo and Borthwick in 2010, but the project didn’t go anywhere. Newell said the occasion of Prince’s passing made her realize there are probably few people left in North and Northeast Portland who remember the artist’s generosity toward a struggling community. “I just think we ought to, as a commu- nity, honor a man who was so generous ©SCOTT PENNER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CC-BY-SA-3.0 / GFDL “ could get in touch with either of them by Mon- day to schedule inter- views. Those who wish to participate should email s o m m e r m @ u o re g o n . edu) or nalomran@uore- gon.edu to schedule an interview. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Bull- seye Glass Factory and Uroboros Glass Factory PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION Air Prince playing at Coachella April 23, 2008. with his money,” Newell said. “Hearing the news, I realize this was not an isolat- ed incident. In fact, this was the kind of man he was. His music was a gift from God and he gave back to the world.”
