August 24, 2016 The Skanner Page 3
News
cont’d from pg 1
Imarisha
recently
moved to California to
teach writing and rhet-
oric at Stanford Univer-
sity. The Skanner News
spoke with Imarisha
about her work, her
plans for the future and
how she intends to stay
connected to communi-
ties in Oregon. This in-
terview has been edited
for space and clarity.
I deinitely really love and
value my work in Portland,
and regardless will stay con-
nected with the work that
I started there wherever I
happen to be
The Skanner News:
In your work, you write
in many genres — from
poetry to abolishing the
prison system to radical
science iction and the
racist history of Port-
land. Creatively, do you
feel pulled in many direc-
tions or is there a com-
mon theme at the core of
your work?
Walidah Imarisha: I
deinitely feel that there
is a common theme at
the core of my work and
I think that theme is re-
ally about visioning and
imagining diferent pos-
sibilities rooted in histo-
ries and current realities
of resistance.
I think that these box-
es we create around dif-
ferent kinds of writing
can be useful but oten
can keep us from un-
derstanding and seeing
that really, in my opin-
ion, genres are diferent
ways of knowing and ex-
ploring, they aren’t dif-
ferent content.
TSN: What do you plan
on bringing to the new
position at Stanford?
WI: Well, I am teaching
in the program of writ-
ing and rhetoric, so I’ll
be teaching courses for
incoming freshmen. The
great thing about this
program is each lecturer
gets to choose our theme.
Even though we have the
SOAR
hoping to continue con-
necting in Portland is
my work around pris-
ons and prison aboli-
tion. I have my new book
that’s out, “Angels with
Dirty Faces” — three
stories of crime, prison
and redemption — that
explores these issues
through people’s stories
and I will be doing work
with that as well.
TSN: Are you planning
on coming back to Port-
land?
WI: That’s the million
dollar question. I real-
ly haven’t thought past
this part of the move. I
think there are a lot of
questions, so I am sort
of staying open to what
happens.
I deinitely really love
and value my work in
Portland, and regardless
will stay connected with
the work that I started
there wherever I happen
to be.
TSN: You were recently
quoted in an Atlantic ar-
ticle about the racist his-
tory of Portland. Do you
see your work reaching
a broader understanding
among White Portland-
ers?
WI: I think that this is a
collective process.
Read the full interview at
TheSkanner.com
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has named Soo Pak as the Bureau’s
Arts, Culture, & Special Events Manager. The newly created position
within Recreation Services will oversee PP&R’s many citywide programs
including programs at Multnomah Arts Center, Community Music
Center, Summer Free For All, Urban Parks Programming, Laurelhurst
Dance Studio, and Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. Pak’s irst day
was Aug. 15.
Prior to moving to Portland, PAK served in high-ranking positions at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), a large-scale performing arts and
cinema center. She also worked at New York’s French Institute Alliance
Française in marketing and communications, served with the Museum
of Fine Arts in ilm programming in Boston, and at the Boston Center
for the Arts in theater management. Pak grew up in northern Virginia;
spent her young adulthood in New York and Boston; and moved to
Portland in 2014 .
Restaurants
cont’d from pg 1
gone out to support Black-owned
restaurants? The Skanner News
conducted an informal straw poll
to see if these restaurant own-
ers saw an increase in business
during last years’ event.
William Travis III — also known
as Dub, owner of Dub’s St. Johns
Soul Food eatery — said he felt a
huge outpouring of support from
customers, a number of whom
came back throughout the year.
“The Black Restaurant Business
Days weekend — that Saturday
happened to be the most phenom-
enal Saturday of the year,” Travis
said. The patronage he received
during that weekend helped him
prepare for the rest of the year.
Staf at Po’Shines Cafe De La
Soul in the Kenton neighborhood
and the Oregon Public House in
Woodlawn reported similar suc-
cesses.
Frank Taylor, owner of the
downtown ine dining establish-
ment Portland Prime and the
newly-opened Southern break-
fast restaurant, Sweet Jam in Bea-
verton, said a few people ate at
his restaurant last year because
of the Facebook event. Taylor
expects to see more people year
ater year as the event grows and
becomes established.
“We saw a few people, but I
think it is something that as the
years go on and people become
more aware of it, I think we will
see more of a big turnout,” Taylor
said.
Not every Black-owned restau-
rant felt a bump in business that
weekend. Norma’s Kitchen, fea-
turing Creole and Cajun cuisine,
had a fairly average weekend
during the event last year.
“They absolutely did not attend,”
said Bruce Broussard of Nor-
ma’s Kitchen. He said the Jantzen
Beach eatery located on Hayden
Island is sometimes diicult to
reach, but said that shouldn’t stop
people.
“
owner of Spice of Africa had an
even harder time receiving sup-
port from the community be-
cause she has no permanent lo-
cation. The Kenyon cuisine chef
caters, teaches cooking classes,
holds pop up dinners and vends
during street fairs.
“[On Aug. 28], I am going to be
at the Hawthorne Street Fair and
people can come ind my booth
there,” Machua said.
Machua recently received a
kiva.org loan to operate out of her
‘The Black Restaurant Business Days
weekend -- that Saturday happened to
be the most phenomenal Saturday of
the year’
—Owner of Dub’s St. Johns
Food cart owners reported less
success from the event than brick
and mortar restaurants. James
Dixon, of Dixon’s Rib Pit, was in
the process of establishing his
food cart during last years’ event.
Currently, he is moving his busi-
ness across the river to Vancou-
ver.
Similarly, A Wing and a Prayer
food cart owner Ronda Chiles
reported an average weekend.
Yelp reviews praise her cart on
NE Prescott and 60th Avenue as
a “hidden gem” of Portland, es-
pecially noting her sweet potato
pound cake.
Wambui Machua, the chef and
own commercial kitchen, cook-
ing classroom and café. Machua’s
business was the irst loan given
by the non-proit Oregon’s Kitch-
en Table Lending Team whose
goal is to support emerging small
businesses and empower commu-
nities.
Many of the restaurateurs and
staf The Skanner News spoke
with said they are unaware of the
Support Black Restaurant Days
event. Po’Shines staf said many
people came in to eat, but they
had no idea why there was extra
enthusiasm that Saturday.
Read more at TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
ry, SOAR programs will help students
learn to become better students – how
to organize their days and materials so
they can succeed regardless of the set-
ting.
“
Soo Pak Joins Portland
Parks & Recreation
ing to the National Home Education Re-
search Institute, Black children make
up about 10 percent of children being
home schooled, versus 16 percent of
children in public schools. Where
American students, especially boys,
or disproportionate discipline – both
of which ultimately contribute to high
incarceration rates for African Ameri-
cans.
While graduation rates for lo-
cal African American students
are up, Oregon has the third
lowest graduation rates for
Black students in the country,
and the state incarcerates Afri-
can Americans at a rate that’s 46
percent higher than nationwide.
SOAR classes start Sept. 11.   For more
information, visit the School of Afri-
can Roots Facebook page @Facebook.
com/SOARPDX, call (707) 456-SOAR or
email soar@beamvillage.org
Where White families tend to cite religious rea-
sons for choosing to home school, Black families
generally point to factors related to racism
Last year the Atlantic reported an
increase in the number of Black fam-
ilies who choose to home school their
children, with more than 220,000 Black
children being home schooled. Accord-
White families tend to cite religious
reasons for choosing to home school,
Black families generally point to fac-
tors related to racism, including a cul-
ture of low expectations for African
PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY
“
same learning objectives
across the program, we
get to each tailor the lens
through which we teach
that material.
I am getting to bring
my focus around move-
ments for social justice
as well as explorations
of racial justice to this
course.
One of the other areas
of my work that I will
be focusing on here and
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION
Imarisha
Ahjamu Umi addresses the crowd at the School of
African Roots open house Aug. 20.