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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2017)
September 20, 2017 The Skanner Page 3 News era of institutional pro- filing and racism. The result is the time- ly “Hands Up: 7 Play- wrights, 7 Testaments,” which premiered at the National Black Theater in New York in 2014 and in- cludes the works of play- wrights Nathan James, Idris Goodwin, Nambi Kelley, NSangou Njik- am, Dennis Allen II, Na- “ This show does not hold back than Yungerberg and Eric Holmes. The show, which is free to the public, made its Rose City debut last year and reached thousands of Portlanders through word-of-mouth perfor- mances held in theatres, community centers, col- leges and even a special engagement for the Port- land Police Bureau. Red Door Project co-founder and CEO Kev- in Jones, is returning to his role as director of “Hands Up,” whose part- ners include the NAACP, the YWCA, Wieden and Kennedy, and Portland State University. Jones said he wanted to bring the production to Portland, not because its themes or experiences are necessarily specific to the city, but because the work is relevant to any Black person. “As an African Ameri- can man born and raised in this country, police profiling is something that’s been on my radar since I was 15-years old,” Jones, an award-winning actor, told The Skanner. “I don’t see it any different in Portland. As a matter of fact in some cases I see it much worse here with the Black population versus the White popu- Sessions lation.” What makes “Hands Up” uniquely relevant is that each performance is followed by an open dis- cussion with audience members. “This show does not hold back. I would say most people — especially Caucasian people in this country — are not used to the level of raw truth and anger that is expressed in the show,” said Jones. “By the end, everyone, not just White people but Black people as well, are pretty riled up. So we give people an op- portunity to de-escalate and then we ask them to stay out of their head and share what they feel.” According to the direc- tor, live theater — and the conversations it ig- nites — can often have more impact than typi- cal trainings in diversi- ty, equity and inclusion, because of its sheer cre- ative expression and provocation. “We have found that there’s a lot of learning that happens,” contin- ued Jones, “and what looks like a lot of healing and understanding that comes about from the talkback.” “Hands Up” will be pre- sented Sept. 22-24 at the Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy, in Portland. While the perfor- mance is free and open to the public, donations are accepted at the door and theater-goers are en- couraged to reserve tick- ets in advance. Actors in the play are: La’Tevin Alexander, Alonzo Chadwick, Sekai Edwards, Joseph Gibson, Jasper Howard, Jonathan Thompson and Ashley Williams. For more information, visit http://reddoorproject. org/hands-up. Portland Parks & Rec Hosts Salmon Celebration, Sunday Parkways Sept. 24 The Crystal Springs Partnership, Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) and the Portland Bureau of Environmental Servicespresent the 4th Annual Salmon Celebration at Westmoreland Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 24 at Recreation’s Westmoreland Park, SE McLoughlin and Bybee Boulevards. This free, public celebration will highlight the significant restoration work at Crystal Springs Creek which has brought wild salmon back to the heart of the city. The event, which is free and open to all, includes a Native American blessing, a salmon bake demonstration (with samples), storytelling, fun and interactive intercultural activities and opportunities to learn about the watershed and get involved. For more information, visit http://www.crystalspringspdx.org/ salmon-celebration.html. The 4th Annual Salmon Celebration coincides with the final 2017 Portland Sunday Parkways presented by Kaiser Permanente. Sunday Parkways is a series of five free community events opening Portland’s streets – for people to walk, bike, and roll and discover active transportation. For more information, visit www.PortlandSundayParkways.org. Tillman PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION cont’d from pg 1 cont’d from pg 1 County to know their complaints will be heard, they’ll be ad- dressed, and we will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination in our workplace,” the chair stated. Kafoury said the county will hire an outside employment consultant to review and make recommendations to improve its hiring and retention practices regarding people in protected classes, which include race, eth- nicity, gender identity, disability and more. The consultant will also evaluate the effectiveness of the county’s current process for addressing complaints. The hearing and subsequent Workforce Equity Strategy stemmed from Tillman’s call for a re-evaluation and investigation into her recent firing – as well as a broader look into the pattern of racism and disparate treatment of leaders of color at Multnomah County. Tillman was asked to step down from her role as director of the Public Health Division, a position she held in the health department since January 2015. In a Sept. 7 letter addressed to Kafoury and obtained by The Skanner, Tillman outlines how she took an approved Family and Medical Leave in April — to care “ We will not tol- erate bigotry or discrimination in our work- place for her mother who has recur- rent stage four lung cancer — but communicated with her depart- ment about returning to her job in early July. On Aug. 18, six weeks into her return to the county, Tillman claims she was asked by health department director Joanne Full- er to “gracefully” exit from the county. According to Tillman, Fuller had explained that her role as public health director “was not working out” and that “no long- term option existed for me in the county.” As the first public health direc- tor at Multnomah County who is not White, Tillman stated in her letter, “This treatment smacks of institutional racism and dispa- rate treatment. It contradicts how other senior leaders who are not Black are treated, and conflicts with county and health depart- ment values of workforce equity and life-work balance.” Tillman calls the county’s actions “incon- gruous” with her track record; and the change in leadership “un- predictable,” “disrespectful” and “non-transparent.” In April, County Commissioner Loretta Smith filed a tort claim notice against the county after Kafoury opened an investigation of alleged misuse of county re- sources and bullying of employ- ees. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com cont’d from pg 1 conditions on spending approved by Congress The Chicago lawsuit blocked late last week was in response to the adminis- tration’s decision to attach immigra- tion restrictions to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. Sessions told the law enforcement officers in Portland that city officials in “these sanctuary jurisdictions feign outrage when they lose federal funds as a direct result of actions designed to nullify plain federal law.” And he accused Portland and other cities of suing the administration “so that they can keep receiving taxpay- er-funded grants while continuing to impede federal immigration enforce- ment.” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who did not attend the speech, wrote a let- ter to the Sessions saying that the city celebrates diversity and that “our local laws support these values and we are better for it.” “It is for these reasons that I strongly oppose the Trump administration’s ef- forts to coerce local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigra- “ I strongly oppose the Trump admin- istration’s efforts to coerce local law en- forcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws tion laws,” wrote Wheeler, a Democrat. Sessions highlighted the case of Ser- gio Martinez, a man accused of assault- ing two women in July after his release from a Portland jail. Martinez has a lengthy arrest record, and has been de- ported more than a dozen times. U.S. Immigration and Customs En- forcement said it asked the Multnomah County Sheriff ’s Office to prevent Martinez’ release so the agency could take him into custody. But Sheriff Mike Reese said last month that the case would have ended differently if the federal agency had sent a criminal detention warrant signed by a judge. “Instead,” he said, “they processed a civil detainer, which they know cannot A group protests U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions Tuesday, Sept. be legally used in Oregon.” 19, 2017, as he arrives in Portland, Ore., to discuss sanctuary city Oregon three decades policies with city and regional law enforcement officials. cies, he was not scheduled to meet with ago became America’s first sanctuary state with a law that prohib- any of them. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, also a Dem- its law enforcement from detaining people who are in the U.S. illegally but ocrat, said she requested a meeting with Sessions but got no response. have not broken other laws. Though Sessions asked Portland’s Read the full story at TheSkanner.com leaders to change their sanctuary poli- BETH NAKAMURA/THE OREGONIAN VIA AP Hands