January 4, 2017 The Skanner Page 3
News
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of films that speaks to the
complexity of the Black
experience in America,”
festival curator David F.
Walker told The Skanner.
“We have always worked
to include films from the
past and the present, to
make sure people under-
stand the rich history of
African American cine-
ma.”
“
and his band during a
live show at the Rotter-
dam Music Hall; “Soul on
Ice,” a new documentary
that chronicles the vir-
tually unknown contri-
butions of Black athletes
in ice hockey; “Maya An-
gelou: And Still I Rise,”
an intimate rendering
of the prolific life of the
storyteller and activist;
‘We...worked to include films
from the past and the pres-
ent, to make sure people un-
derstand the rich history of
African American cinema’
Walker, a comic book
writer, filmmaker, jour-
nalist and educator, will
be presenting “Black Im-
ages Matter,” an infor-
mative and entertaining
free lecture that explores
how the perception of
Blacks in America has
been shaped by images in
mass media.
As 2017 breaches new
political territory, Walk-
er commented on the im-
mediacy of having an au-
dience for Black issues.
“The Trump presiden-
cy and the current polit-
Pam Grier in Jack Hill’s 1973
classic, COFFY
ical climate have merely
reinforced the need for
Black people to assert
their humanity in a na-
tion that has historically
dehumanized us,” Walk-
er said.
Among the line-up is
“Sign o’ the Times,” a 1987
concert film directed by
Prince that brings to life
the fervor of the artist
Board
the digital restoration of
Spencer Williams’ 1941
masterpiece “The Blood
of Jesus,” a tale of an
atheist who accidentally
shoots his Baptist wife;
“The New Black,” which
tells the story of gay mar-
riage, homophobia and
civil rights in the African
American community;
and the Samuel L. Jack-
son-narrated “I Am Not
Your Negro.” Director
Raoul Peck’s new docu-
mentary envisions the
book that writer James
Baldwin never finished,
about the lives and suc-
cessive assassinations of
three of his close friends
— Malcom X, Medgar
Evers, and Martin Lu-
ther King Jr.
Yet perhaps the most
anticipated event of the
fest is a Q&A with 1970s
Blaxploitation star, Pam
Grier. Grier herself will
be in attendance on Feb.
11 to present a 35mm
screening of Jack Hill’s
1973 classic “Coffy,” the
story of an unassuming
nurse who moonlights as
a one-woman avenger by
night.
Tickets for the festival
will go on sale Jan. 6. Hol-
lywood Theatre mem-
bers will receive exclu-
sive pre-sale ticket access
to the Pam Grier event
beginning on Jan. 4.
The 2017 Portland
Black Film Festival is
made possible through
the support of the Fred
W. Fields Fund of the Or-
egon Community Foun-
dation.
Wheeler Announces
Bureau Assignments
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced temporary bureau
assignments Tuesday. Under Portland’s commission form of
government, the mayor has the responsibility of assigning bureaus
to commissioners to manage. Wheeler will manage the Portland
Police Bureau; Portland Housing Bureau; Bureau of Planning and
Sustainability; Office of Equity and Human Rights; Portland Bureau
of Emergency Management; City Budget Office; City Attorney;
Government Relations; Office of Management & Finance; Portland
Development Commission; Liaison Responsibilities; Travel Portland;
Regional Emergency Management Group (REMG); Home Forward; A
Home for Everyone (with Commissioner Eudaly); Local Public Safety
Coordinating Council; Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission and
Portland Community Media. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly will run the
Office of Neighborhood Involvement; Bureau of Development Services
and A Home for Everyone (with Mayor Wheeler). Commissioner Nick
Fish will run the Bureau of Environmental Services; Portland Water
Bureau; Regional Arts & Culture Council; Rose Festival Foundation
and the Portland Utility Review Board. Commissioner Amanda Fritz
was assigned Portland Parks & Recreation; Bureau of Emergency
Communications; League of Cities (with Mayor Wheeler); Metro Policy
Advisory Committee (MPAC); Portland Parks Foundation and Urban
Forestry Commission. Commissioner Dan Saltzman was assigned
Portland Fire & Rescue; Portland Bureau of Transportation; Fire &
Police Disability & Retirement; Liaison Responsibilities; Portland
Children’s Levy; Multnomah Youth Commission; Portland Streetcar,
Inc.; Portland Mall Management, Inc.; Portland Aerial Tram Board and
Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT).
March
cont’d from pg 1
although everyone sort of says
that with an understanding that
everyone is upset about the elec-
tion,” said Constance Van Flan-
dern, one of the state adminis-
trators coordinating organizing
efforts in Oregon. She said she is
aware of at least 800 people in Or-
egon who are planning to travel to
Washington, D.C. for the march.
“It’s a lot. Airlines booked up
fast. We’ve been doing every-
“
PHOTO COURTESY OF STATE OF OREGON
Film
ing to put together solidarity
demonstrations. Each state has a
team of volunteer administrators
coordinating local efforts and dis-
tributing information about trav-
el to the nation’s capital.
Portland’s march, which will
take place at Tom McCall Water-
front Park on the afternoon of
Jan.21, was organized by Dara
Glass, who told The Skanner she
resides in eastern Oregon. She
and her
friends
are “dots
of blue in
a sea of
red,” she
said.
“The important thing is to make
a showing worldwide because
that’s what it’s turning out to be,”
Glass told The Skanner. “We have
125 marches going on worldwide.
It’s important to bring attention
back to women’s rights and em-
power women and let people
know that we’re still here and
we’re not going to stand down and
that women’s rights are human
rights. We need to bring it back
to the forefront because it got lost
somewhere along the way.”
Organizers in Seattle are fund-
raising for the event, to obtain
permits (though permits aren’t
required for free speech demon-
strations) as well as portable toi-
‘It’s important to bring atten-
tion back to women’s rights and
empower women and let people
know that we’re still here’
thing that we can to find spaces in
churches and public buildings,”
Van Flandern told The Skanner.
Van Flandern has also been in
contact with organizers in Port-
land and Eugene who will host
solidarity marches in those cities,
but also with women in smaller,
more conservative Oregon towns
who want to demonstrate in sup-
port of women’s rights.
Once the national march —
which was initially called the
Million Woman March, and then
changed after concerns the name
appropriated the name of an ear-
lier Civil Rights demonstration
– was announced, concerned cit-
izens in other states began work-
lets and audio-visual materials to
make sure speeches and presen-
tations are visible.
Funds for the Seattle demon-
stration go to a social justice non-
profit called Media Island, which
has acted as its fiscal sponsor.
“The response we’ve gotten
from people has been incredi-
bly varied but the one thing has
been this strong, almost guttural
desire to do something to help,”
said Joy Gerhard, a spokesperson
for the Seattle march. “For about
a week after the election, I just
sat around thinking, What do I
do now? I needed to channel that
desire into something, taking ac-
tion.”
For more information about the
national march, visit: www.wom-
ensmarch.com.
For more information about the
Oregon group traveling to D.C., vis-
it: www.facebook.com/WMWOre-
gon.
For more information about
the Portland demonstration, vis-
it: www.facebook.com/Womens-
MarchPDX.
For
more
information
about the Seattle demonstra-
tion, visit: www.facebook.com/
events/905054526294975
or
w w w. e v e n t b r i t e . c o m /e / w o m -
x n s - m a rc h- o n- s e a t t l e - t i c k-
ets-30595393646.
cont’d from pg 1
prove to be the strength of the board.
Hailing from the typically male-domi-
nated technology sector, Pederson said
entering politics marked a transition
into working alongside empowered
women.
“I think it’s fantastic that Oregon is
really leading the way in progressive
government that has women in lead-
ership positions, and is especially sup-
portive of people of color in office,” she
said.
Looking towards a new year, the
board is united in its efforts to make
mental health care a top priority. Ac-
cording to Commissioner Sharon Mei-
eran, an emergency physician, address-
ing the widely cast net of mental health
“
cellent services, but our system isn’t
working for those who need it the most,
those who are most vulnerable,” said
‘I think it’s fantastic that Oregon is really lead-
ing the way in progressive government that
has women in leadership positions, and is es-
pecially supportive of people of color in office’
issues means fixing holes in homeless-
ness, addiction and the criminal justice
system.
“We have great people providing ex-
Commissioner Meieran, who noted
that working with all women presents
a new opportunity for her. “We need to
look at the system holistically and see
where we can create a meaningful im-
pact.”
But moving beyond the board’s indi-
vidual members, Commissioner Peder-
son is relying on their collective values
to serve the people best.
“We are progressive and we know
Multnomah County can be a positive
solution to tackle the big problems that
we have, like homelessness, affordable
housing, and better access to mental
health services,” said Pederson. “I think
those things reflect what all the people
of Multnomah County want, regardless
of ethnicity and gender.”