SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
Portland and Seattle Volume XXXVIII No. 49
Church
Earns
Landmark
Status
72-year-old church
hosted Civil Rights icons,
including MLK
T
he Vancouver Avenue First Bap-
tist Church learned Tuesday the
church had been named to the Na-
tional Historic Registry.
Oregon Heritage Exchange — a blog
maintained by the Oregon State Parks
Department — reported Tuesday that
the church, which celebrated its 72nd
anniversary Sunday with a fundraiser
for its annual Drum Major Scholarship
Fund, had been added to the registry.
AP PHOTO/KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI
See CHURCH on page 3
NEW
SIGN
HONORS
SINGER
Ernestine Anderson’s daughter Shelley Young
(center) and two granddaughters Soia Haddix
(left) and Falana Young Wyatt stand under the
new street sign honoring the famous Seattle
songstress, along Jackson street.  Three signs
were placed between 23rd and 20th to honor
the late Grammy-nominated jazz singer.
Black Music Festival Rocks Mission Theatre
First-of-its-kind event brings together artists from diverse genres
By Arashi Young
Of The Skanner News
For schools in the poorest 25 percent of Illinois
districts, as measured by child poverty rates,
per-pupil funding stalled at around $13,500 in
2014, the most recent year for which full data are
available. Meanwhile, per-pupil funding climbed
to over $15,000 in the wealthiest 25 percent.
Poor Schools
Left Behind
AP explores the
economic divisions in
American education
page 10
Dr. Jasmine Gets Poetic
About Dog OCD
page 9
T
his Sunday, the Mc-
Menamins Mission
Theatre will host its
first Portland Black
Music Festival. The event
is a celebration of local
Black musicians and Afri-
can heritage — and Black
contributions to jazz, soul,
R & B and hip hop.
The festival features the
musical stylings of jazz
bassist Andre St. James,
emcee Mic Capes, singer/
songwriter Kimberly Mo-
nique, rapper Cool Nutz,
vocalist Saeeda Wright, ex-
perimental hip hop artist
Rasheed Jamal, global soul
musician Madgesdiq, spo-
ken word artist Rochell D.
Hart, drum master Tyrone
Hendrix and world fusion
artist Patrick Seraya.
The fest is organized by
musicians Farnell New-
ton, Tony Ozier and Dj
O.G.ONE. The trio believes
there is a lack of opportu-
nities for Black musicians
in the Portland music
scene and a lack of expo-
sure for local world-class
artists.
One such local artist is
Saeeda Wright, who toured
with Prince as part of the
New Power Generation,
and made appearances on
Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fal-
lon, The Arsenio Hall show
and Late Night With David
Letterman.
“We just really wanted to
showcase some really dope
artists that are out right
now. We wanted to mix it
up — we wanted a mixture
of new artists and artists
that have been performing
for awhile,” Ozier said.
Newton said the festival
is also meant to showcase
a diverse range of Black
music genres to show the
wealth of Black music con-
See MUSIC on page 3
The NAACP Black Legacy Project Seeks Submissions
Artists and historians can receive $300
stipends for community projects, which
are due Sept. 15
T
he Portland Chapter of the NAACP is looking for sub-
missions from local artists and historians for the 2016
NAACP Black Legacy Project History Symposium and
Art Exhibit.
This new event honors community members who promote
Black art, culture and history to break down racial stereo-
types and discrimination in Portland.
“The Black community in Portland has been pushed out,
ignored, overshadowed and so this is a way we thought we
could … bring their voices to the forefront,” said NAACP Pro-
gram Coordinator Melissa Lang.
The symposium will occur Nov. 12. Organizers hope to host
See NAACP on page 3
PHOTO COURTESY OF MELISSA LANG
The Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church was
named to the National Register of Historic Places
Tuesday.
News ...............................3,9,10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Mental Health Plan .........9
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classiieds ....................11
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
PHOTO COURTESY OF VANCOUVER AVENUE
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
25
CENTS
A 1924 image of the Culture Club, the group with the Oregon
Association of Colored Women’s Clubs hosted The Negro History
Week Tea and Art Exhibit which brought together Black art and
history. The NAACP Black Legacy Project is looking for submissions
for a new Black art and history symposium.