May 24, 2017 The Skanner Page 3
News
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“
five police chiefs, Sean
Whent was brought in
to implement tough re-
forms and regain the
public’s trust, while
working to change the
perception of OPD.
And perception is what
Nicks examines through
his storytelling. As a
young man, the director
was sent to federal pris-
After the decision came
down not to indict Officer
Darren Wilson, the tone of
the protests changed. The
focus shifted from this par-
ticular case, to the larger
systemic issues at play
ture of the role and per-
ception of law enforce-
ment today in a deeply
divided America.
Nicks – who won the
Best Director prize at
the Sundance Film Fes-
tival for his documen-
tary – spent two years
(2014 – 2016) submerged
in Oakland’s force, film-
ing officers in training,
on patrol, in front of the
press and behind closed
doors.
The documentary is the
second in a trilogy that
Oakland-native
Nicks
is working on about his
city, which carries one of
the highest crime rates in
the nation.
In the opening minutes
of the film, we see police
officers huddled togeth-
er like athletes in the
locker room: “Who are
we? OPD!” they chant in
unison. The scene rep-
resents vital teambuild-
ing after the department
was placed on federal
oversight in 2003 for
police misconduct and
civil rights abuses, and
was since teetering on
the verge of federal take-
over.
After cycling through
Williams
on for a year on drug
charges. But his benevo-
lent experience with one
particular cop at the time
of his arrest helped him
explore a more human
side of law enforcement
in his film.
“I want the African
American
communi-
ty to understand on a
deeper level what police
face on the day-to-day,
and I want the police to
understand on a deeper
level the narratives that
African Americans have
been carrying with them
for generations that lead
to them being distrustful
and angry and upset,”
Nicks told the Berkeley
Graduate School of Jour-
nalism, of which he is an
alum, shortly after his
win at Sundance.
“But as a value propo-
sition, we felt that there
was something damag-
ing happening in this
dialogue, around this
relationship between the
police and the communi-
ty, and we were hoping
that the film could help
reframe that discussion.”
Read the full story at
TheSkanner.com
Dr. George J. Brown
Retires
After nine years of leading Legacy Health, George J. Brown, M.D., FACP,
president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legacy Health since 2008, has
announced his retirement to the Legacy Health board of directors. Dr. Brown
will remain president and CEO through the transition, which is expected to
be complete by the end of 2017.
Dr. Brown came to Legacy Health in 2008 from MultiCare Health System
(MHS) in Tacoma, Wash., as the organization’s chief operating officer. Prior
to joining MHS in 1999, Dr. Brown had a lengthy and decorated career in the
military. He began his service in 1972 as First Lieutenant in the United States
Army and after rising through the ranks, Dr. Brown retired from active duty
service in February 1999 as Brigadier General in the U.S. Army. He received
his Doctor of Medicine degree from Boston University School of Medicine in
1973 and was a practicing gastroenterologist until 2006.
Pioneers
PHOTO COURTESY OF LEGACY HEALTH
with the new Trump ad-
ministration,” SIFF pro-
grammer Megan Leon-
ard told The Skanner.
Though “The Force” and
“Whose Streets?” over-
lap in subject matter, “I
think both films show a
different side of the is-
sue,” she added.
Together, the films give
us a more complete pic-
cont’d from pg 1
the state of Oregon.
The Oregon Black Pioneers are
the first organization to receive
the prestigious honor.
Former First Lady of Oregon
Mary Oberst, who nominated
the organization, wrote in her
recommendation letter: “Oregon
Black Pioneers is a group of trail-
blazers – illuminating corners of
Oregon history that have never
seen the light.”
George McMath is remembered
as Portland’s “father of preserva-
tion” for his countless efforts in
the preservation and restoration
of the city’s historic buildings.
During the 1960s and ‘70s, Mc-
Math drafted protection laws,
surveyed Portland’s architectur-
al landscape, worked on numer-
ous restoration projects, and sat
as the chairman for several orga-
nizations and committees.
In 1981, he was elected into the
American Institute of Architects’
College of Fellows for his leader-
ship in the field of architectural
preservation.
Recipients of the McMath
Award work to build partner-
ships between professional and
academic communities to further
the field of preservation; the Ore-
gon Black Pioneers have worked
tirelessly on such endeavors.
Since the all-volunteer nonprof-
it was founded in 1993 in Salem,
its researchers have been docu-
menting areas around the state
– historic sites, burials, build-
ings, and monuments – while
educating professionals and the
“
at the same time, it’s nice for your
work to be recognized and have
value and importance placed on
the story you have to tell.”
Among numerous educational
projects, the group developed a
resource booklet
and study guide
on Oregon’s Black
history and distrib-
uted the materials
throughout the Sa-
lem-Keizer school
district.
Moreover, their
work has been recognized by
historic and public affairs orga-
nizations across Oregon, includ-
ing American Legacy magazine,
which granted the organization
the Heritage Award in 2010; and
the Marion County Historical
Society which, in 2009, present-
ed them with the David Duniway
Award for Historic Preservation.
The Pioneers have also part-
nered with museums around the
state, such as the Linn County
Historical Museum, to highlight
the stories of Oregon’s Black Pi-
oneers. In addition, the group is
currently working with The End
of the Oregon Trail Museum to
add to the legacy of those Black
pioneers who crossed the trail.
Oregon Black Pioneers is
a group of trailblazers –
illuminating corners of
Oregon history that have
never seen the light
public alike on the contributions
of Black Oregonians to the state’s
history.
Furthermore, the Pioneers have
continued to share their research
and story gathering through lec-
tures and presentations, exhibi-
tions, publications and sponsored
conferences.
“It is a prestigious award to
come from your home state,”
board president Willie Richard-
son told The Skanner. “For us, it
was truly an honor in recogni-
tion of the work that we do, in try-
ing to make the Oregon African
American story more known and
more inclusive in Oregon story.”
“You’re not dependent upon
recognition when you are vested,
committed and passionate about
what you do,” she continued. “But
Read more at TheSkanner.com
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publicly unveiled June 3. Members of
the public are invited to participate in
a walk to view the art, which leaves at
noon from Dawson Park that day.
‘That was the spot’
One sign pays tribute to the Black
Power movement of the 1960s and
1970s. Another describes the history
of Jefferson High School. Some refer-
ence specific institutions, businesses
or people, where others describe how
broader concepts — like mentoring or
worship — played out in the lives of
Black Portlanders.
Talton Davis told the crowd the proj-
ect places a particular emphasis on
businesses in the area.
“We wanted to get into the economics
of things,” she said.
For most of the 20th Century, Wil-
liams Avenue was the heart of Port-
land’s Black business district.
“I need to mention the corner of Wil-
liams and Russell, because that was the
spot,” community member and busi-
ness owner Paul Knauls, often called
the “Mayor of Northeast Portland,” said
Saturday after community members
were invited to stand up and talk about
“
[Redlining] gave
me an opportunity
to see our people
could do whatever
we wanted to do
their memories of the street.
The street was known, in the 1960s
and ‘70s, for thriving nightlife — in-
cluding Knauls’ Cotton Club — and was
home to grocery stores, restaurants
and soda fountains, a majority of which
were Black-owned. Those who talked at
the event described a small-town en-
vironment where no one locked their
doors or bicycles and where everyone
felt looked after and cared for.
Gahlena Maxey Easterly told The
Skanner that redlining — overlapping
practices by banks, real estate associa-
tions and the city that limited African
Americans’ options for buying homes
or doing business outside the Albina
neighborhood — had the likely-unin-
tended effect of creating a close-knit
community where Black people of all
economic classes lived side by side.
“That gave me an opportunity to see
our people could do whatever we want-
ed to do,” Easterly told The Skanner.
Top-down and after the fact
The art project was funded by PBOT
and administered by the Regional Arts
and Culture Council, usomg a $100,000
grant from the $1.5 million-dollar Wil-
liams Safety Project — a street redesign
project that became a flashpoint for dis-
cussion about transportation and gen-
trification in the Albina neighborhood.
Read the full story at TheSkanner.com
PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY
SIFF
Signs like the one shown above will soon be
installed on North Williams Avenue. The public is
invited to an unveiling and walk departing from
Dawson Park at noon June 3.
