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
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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
