APRIL 26, 2017
Portland and Seattle Volume XXXIX No. 30
25
CENTS
News ...............................3,9,10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Wake of Vanport .............9
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
PHOTO COURTESY OF MULTNOMAH CO.
BIG BLUES BLOWOUT
Commissioner Loretta Smith at a launch for
Multnomah County’s ‘Flip the Script’ program in
February.
Smith Files
Claim Against
Multnomah
County
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
C
ommissioner Loretta Smith  filed
a tort claim notice  Tuesday, call-
ing for a cease and desist of Mult-
nomah County’s investigation into
complaints against Smith, made by two
of her former employees.
The tort claim, obtained by The Skan-
ner, explains how Commissioner Smith
intends to pursue all available avenues
of action against the county, Chair Deb-
orah Kafoury, and any other county
official participating in the current ef-
forts against Smith, if the investigation
does not come to an immediate end.
FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA
See SMITH on page 3
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, the president and CEO of the
NNPA, said that the “NNPA continues to represent
the resilient, trustworthy tradition of the Black
Press that is indispensable to Black America.” Photo
taken at 2016 Black Press Week in Washington, D.C.
The Black
Press
200 U.S. newspapers
serve as a voice for the
Black community page 10
Kam Interviews
Ludacris
page 7
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
Commissioner calls
investigation into staff
complaints ‘politically
and racially motivated’
Seattle singer Josephine Howell sings with Jackson Mississippi Blues guitarist, singer and producer Dexter Allen at the Big Blues Blowout April 22 at Café
con Leche. In addition to Mr. Allen the event featured 2017 Grammy Winner Bobby Rush, Chicago Southern Soul/Blues artist Nellie “Tiger” Travis and local
Pacific Northwest Blues/Soul Diva Lady A.
BPI, Family Care Partner on Doula Program
Two-year project will pair expectant Black mothers with doulas
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
K
imberly Porter grew
up in the Midwest
and had never heard
of a doula until she
moved to Oregon.
But as a mental health
therapist working in ear-
ly childhood development
and the program manager
for the Black Parent Ini-
tiative, and after accompa-
nying expecting mothers
on doctor visits, Porter
began to see the potential
benefits of doula care, es-
pecially for marginalized
populations.
The international dou-
la training and certifying
organization DONA Inter-
national describes doulas
as “like travel guides in a
foreign country.” They pro-
vide continuous physical
and emotional support for
women throughout preg-
nancy, birth and some-
times in the early stages of
caring for a baby.
Conventional medicine
has traditionally focused
solely on the physical as-
pects of prenatal develop-
ment and delivery, but a
growing body of research
supports the idea that
when new mothers have
support from coaches who
are neither hospital staff
nor part of the woman’s
social network – and in-
surers, hospitals and pol-
icymakers have come to
take the doula role more
seriously as a result.
In 2012 the Oregon Leg-
islature passed House Bill
3311, which required the
Oregon Health Authority
to use doulas to improve
birth outcomes for women
who experience dispro-
portionately greater out-
comes. After its passage,
Family Care — a coordinat-
ed care organization that
serves Oregon Health Plan
patients in the Portland
metropolitan area — be-
gan investigating ways to
improve birth outcomes
for Black women, who are
disproportionately repre-
sented on Oregon’s Med-
icaid plan. In 2014, BPI
President and CEO Charles
McGee told The Skanner
Porter approached him
about “getting into the dou-
la business” to better sup-
port Black families.
Now FamilyCare and BPI
have entered into a new
partnership to improve
birth outcomes among
Black families in the Port-
See DOULAS on page 3
PSU Welcomes New Dean of School of Education
Marvin Lynn talks about how diminishing racial
and education disparities can start with teachers
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
P
ortland State University’s Grad-
uate School of Education has re-
cently named its new dean, Dr.
Marvin Lynn, an internation-
ally recognized expert on race and
education. Lynn served as associate
dean for teacher education at the
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire,
and as associate professor at the Uni-
versity of Illinois at Chicago and the
University of Maryland at College
Park.
With over 50 programs, PSU’s Grad-
uate School of Education prepares
and trains more educators than any
other institution in the state. Nine-
ty-five percent of its graduates work
in a position related to their degree
in the first year after graduating,
with Portland Public Schools being
See PSU DEAN on page 3
Dr. Marvin Lynn