OCTOBER 26, 2016
Portland and Seattle Volume XXXIX No. 4
25
CENTS
News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Health & Wellness ....... 8-9
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
BLM IN SCHOOLS
The PDC is mulling how to spend $32 million
allocated for development in N/NE Portland.
By Arashi Young
Of The Skanner News
T
he large community center next
to the New Song Church was filled
to capacity. Tables overflowed,
chairs in the back of the hall were
all occupied as well. More than 140
community members came to weigh in
on how to spend $32 million dollars in
PHOTO BY DEBORA CARTAGENA/CDC (PUB-
LIC DOMAIN)
See PDC on page 3
Garfield High School history teacher Jesse Hagopian moderates a panel of Black Student Union members representing a middle school and several high
schools during a Black Lives Matter Forum/Show/Rally at Washington Hall Oct. 19. Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate a historic day of solidarity,
after more than 2,000 educators in the Seattle School District wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts to schools all over the city last week.
Seattle Educators, Students Rally, Talk
More than 2,000 Seattle teachers wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts Oct. 19
By Susan Fried
Special to The Skanner
News
O
n Oct. 19, in a histor-
ic demonstration of
support for Black
students, some 2000
Seattle educators wore
Black Lives Matter T-shirts
in schools all over the city.
Small rallies were held
before school and during
lunch and many of the
teachers used the day as an
opportunity to talk about
race and social justice in
their classrooms.
Jesse Hagopian, a history
teacher at Garfield High
School and a leader in the
movement for racial equi-
ty in Seattle Public Schools,
talked about the day at a
rally, forum and show held
at Washington Hall on
Wednesday evening.
“This has been trans-
formative, today,” he said.
“This is the first time in
the country that an entire
district of educators has
Senior
Wellness
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Visits
Portland for Laptop Event
Read about Trump
and Clinton’s policy
prescriptions for
health care
page 8
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
Kam Reviews ‘Boo! A
Madea Halloween’ Movie
page 7
stood up and voiced that
Black Lives Matter.” Hago-
pian went on to say that he
viewed this as a beginning
of a movement he could see
spreading nationwide.
The rally at Washing-
ton Hall included a forum
where students repre-
senting several Black Stu-
dent Unions talked about
what could be done in the
schools to improve the
lives of students of col-
or. Several of the students
expressed a desire to be
Multnomah County, Comcast partner to
distribute 143 laptops to families in need
R
etired
Olympian
Jackie
Joyner-Kersee visited Portland
Monday to talk about closing
the city’s digital divide — and
for 143 Portland families, that divide
got smaller.
Self Enhancement, Inc. hosted an
event Monday afternoon to promote
Comcast’s Internet Essentials pro-
gram, which offers no-contract In-
ternet access to low-income families
— along with in-person, printed and
PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY
Draft of N/NE Plan
allocates money for
culturally relevant spaces,
multigenerational wealth
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
Development
Plan Focuses
on Prosperity
for Black
Residents
treated fairly by teachers
and staff and to have better
access to honors programs
offered at their schools.
The action taken by Seat-
tle educators was endorsed
by by the Seattle Education
Association, the Seattle
council PTSA board, the
Social Equality Educators,
and the Seattle NAACP. In
addition, over 200 schol-
ars from around the coun-
try issued their support in
a collective statement of
solidarity.
online training oppor-
tunities to familiarize
users with computers
— that culminated with
143 families going home Pictured here are Self Enhancement Inc. founder Tony Hopson
with free laptops. None (left), retired track and field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Multnomah
of the families had been County Commissioner Loretta Smith and Nicolas Jimenez, senior
notified they’d be leav- manager for Comcast’s Internet Essentials program.
ing with a laptop.
The Skanner.
“When you talk about
Internet Essentials customers —
the digital divide, you’re bridging
who
qualify if they have children
that gap and also giving young peo-
who
are
eligible for free or reduced
ple and families a level playing field
lunch
or
if they live in subsidized
— and that’s what we all want, is a lev-
el playing field,” Joyner-Kersee told
See KERSEE on page 3
