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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2016)
JULY 13, 2016 Portland and Seattle Volume XXXVIII No. 41 25 CENTS News ........................... 3,8,9,10 A & E .....................................6-7 Opinion ...................................2 Call for Special Prosecuter ..8 Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW THE SKANNER FILE PHOTO 1,000 MARCH Lead test results released this week showed Jefferson High School had the most pervasive high levels of lead in drinking water in Portland Public Schools. High Lead Levels at Jefferson By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News L ead testing results released this week from 24 Portland Public Schools showed high lead levels in all — and a pervasive problem at North Portland’s Jefferson High School. Oregon Public Broadcasting report- ed that nearly 200 fixtures at Jefferson had lead levels above the federal limit (15 parts per billion), or close to two- thirds of the 335 water sources. Most of the fixtures tested were shower heads or spigots, but 26 were drinking foun- tains. Full test results are posted on the school district’s website at http://www. pps.net/Page/5378. PHOTO COURTESY BUFFALO SOL- DIERS NATIONAL MUSEUM See LEAD on page 3 The Buffalo Soldier Museum will hold a 150th anniversary celebration this month to remember the creation of the first Black peacetime army. PHOTO BY ARASHI YOUNG County expands the age limit on lead testing at free clinics Last Thursday’s protest by Don’t Shoot Portland – a reaction to the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile -- drew more than 1,000 demonstrators. A conservative blogger named Michael Strickland drew a gun on the crowd and was arrested shortly after at the otherwise-peaceful event. 1,000 Rally in Portland After Police Shootings Mostly-peaceful event interrupted as conservative blogger draws gun By Arashi Young of The Skanner News D emonstrators met at Pioneer Courthouse Square last Thursday and surrounded a group of speakers who ral- lied the crowd into action following two police shoot- ings in Minnesota and Lou- isiana. Don’t Shoot Portland’s rally, “This Can’t Be Jus- tice,” drew more than 1,000 people by the end of the night. One advocate was Joe “Bean” Keller, the father of Deontae J. Keller, who was fatally shot on February 28, 1996 by PPB Officer Ter- ry Kruger. Keller expressed frustra- tion towards officers who are fearful and quick to use deadly force. “I think if you are in fear for your life and you have to pull your gun, you need to quit your [expletive] job,” Keller said. The demonstration was prompted by two back- to-back shootings — both caught on camera — that shocked the nation. On July 5, Alton Sterling was killed by two White Baton Rouge Police Department officers. Sterling had been wrestled to the ground by Officers Howie Lake and Blane Sal- amoni and shot multiple times at point-black range. Bystander video of the en- counter quickly went vi- ral, sparking protests and candlelight vigils. The very next day, on July 6, Philando Castile was fatally shot by Officer Jeronimo Yanez after be- ing pulled over in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reyn- olds, was in car as was her 4-year old daughter. Reynolds live-streamed Historian calls this a milestone page 10 Kam Interviews President Obama’s Half-Brother page 7 By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News S elf Enhancement, Inc. an- nounced earlier this summer it is closing SEI Academy — the only charter middle school in the city — and will begin phasing out services this year. The nonprofit provides culturally specific support for African Amer- ican students in schools through- out the city, and opened the middle school 10 years ago following the closure of other middle schools in the Portland Public Schools system. Tony Hopson said SEI made the de- cision in response to the school dis- trict’s recent announcement that it would reopen some middle schools, including Harriet Tubman and Ock- ley Green in North and Northeast Portland in 2017. “The charter school, which has See SEI on page 3 See RALLY on page 3 PHOTO COURTESY OF SEI Buffalo Soldiers Celebrate 150th SEI to Close Middle School CEO Tony Hopson says school’s closure will Anniversary enable organization to focus on its mission video of the police en- counter after Castile had been shot, recording both his last moments and her arrest. By the following morning, graphic video had been watched more than one million times. These two public deaths were called 21st centu- ry lynchings by NAACP President Cornell William Brooks. Protests erupted in cities around the nation, including St. Paul, Chica- go, Sacramento, Atlanta, Memphis, New York City, Washington D.C., Denver, Tony Hopson said the impending closure of SEI Academy will enable the organization to get back to its core mission of supporting Black students throughout the school system.
