APRIL 5, 2017
Portland and Seattle Volume XXXIX No. 27
25
CENTS
News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Trump Undoing Obama ... 10
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
PHOTO COURTESY OF PCRI/ATOMIC SKY
WE WANT IN
Design, Beatrice Morrow Apartments. The
affordable housing project will include mixed-units,
from studios to 3-bedrooms, priced at area median
incomes. Construction is slotted for May, 2017.
Beatrice
Morrow
Apartments
D
isplaced victims of gentrification
could be returning to their old
Northeast neighborhood, if a new
affordable housing project proves
successful.
Called Beatrice Morrow, the building
is slotted for the site of the former Grant
Warehouse, on NE Martin Luther King
Jr Blvd, between Cook and Ivy Streets.
Its name honors the Portland attor-
ney and civil rights activist Beatrice
Morrow Cannady, who ran for the state
legislature in 1932 — becoming the first
African American in state history to do
See HOUSING on page 3
People gathered for a Mini-Block Party on the corner of 23rd and Union April 1 to rally for inclusion in the future of the Central District and to enjoy
performances by local musicians and hip hop artists like Yirim Seck, Jamel Moxey, and Poesia.
Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs Celebrates
Since 1977, the OABA has been working to support Blacks in politics
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
I
n 1970s Oregon, the out-
look for Black residents
was far from progres-
sive.
With a pattern of eco-
nomic and political dis-
crimination, a dwindling
Black population, and rep-
resentation in office almost
non-existent, Calvin O. L.
Henry couldn’t pervade
a sense of powerlessness
and frustration among
young African Americans.
It’s the reason Henry, a
resident of Corvallis, es-
tablished the Oregon As-
sembly for Black Affairs.
Since 1977, the statewide
organization has been
working to improve the po-
litical, educational, social,
legal, and economic status
of Blacks in Oregon
On April 9, the OABA cel-
ebrates its 40th anniversa-
ry in Salem.
In a statement to com-
memorate the OABA’s ac-
complishments,
Henry
wrote on the conditions
that were ripe for change:
“In many ways, we were
afraid to speak up for each
other, or do business with
each other. Our commu-
nity often left the young
Black children to fend for
themselves in school set-
tings. The percentage of
Blacks in the Oregon pris-
on population was, and
still is, greater than the
percentage of Blacks in Or-
egon. Businesses in the Or-
egon Black community had
decreased.”
For four decades, the
OABA has been striving
to lessen the disconnects
among Black Oregonians,
Bunny Advice
the Green Rush
from Dr. Jasmine Diversifying
Advocacy group works to create a place for
The Veterinarian talks
about Easter bunnies
page 9
Kam Reviews
'The Zookeeper's
Wife'
page 7
cannabis entrepreneurs of color
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
J
esce Horton struggled in math
classes growing up. While a stu-
dent at Florida State University,
though, he discovered a surpris-
ing study aide: marijuana, which
helped him earn a bachelor’s degree
in engineering.
After graduating, he worked as
an energy consultant in a variety
of U.S. cities and in Germany. When
he moved to Portland in 2013, he be-
came acquainted with two people
who used marijuana to treat medical
conditions: one had cancer, and one
had chronic knee pain. He started
growing medical marijuana at home,
and at the same time, found himself
losing interest in his day job.
Horton went on to found a dispen-
sary, Panacea, on Sandy Boulevard,
and the Minority Cannabis Business
Association — which provides tech-
nical assistance for racial minorities
trying to break into the legal mari-
juana industry.
The organization also advocates
See CANNABIS on page 3
while promoting political
engagement in their com-
munities.
The organization has
been at the helm of lead-
ership conferences and
internship programs, has
granted numerous awards,
and continues to host the
annual Oregon Black Po-
litical Convention, which
endorses candidates run-
ning for offices during the
Oregon primaries.
While the OABA has al-
ways maintained it non-
See OABA on page 3
SONYA YRUEL/DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE (CC BY-NC 4.0)
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
New project gives
priority to displaced
N/NE Portland residents
The legalization movement and the legal
cannabis industry has largely been dominated
by White faces and voices. A Portland-based
advocacy group is working to change that –
while also redressing the harm done by the War
on Drugs.
