NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Portland and Seattle Volume XL No. 7
25
CENTS
News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Local Authors ..................7
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
PHOTO BY SEAN CARTER PHOTOGRAPHY
YOUTH FOOTBALL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ta-Nehisi Coates
The award-winning
author delved into his
new book ‘We Were Eight
Years in Power’ during
Wordstock
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
T
o kick off Portland’s annual liter-
ary festival Wordstock, acclaimed
author and journalist Ta-Nehisi
Coates shared with a sold-out au-
dience at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert
Hall his take on culture and politics –
and particularly how they pertain to
Black America — which he’s become
See COATES on page 3
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
Ta-Nehisi
Coates
Speaks on
the Reward
of Resistance
The West Seattle Bengals receive their medals after losing to the Renton Rangers in the Greater Seattle Youth Football & Cheer League 89ers Championship
game. In the three other division championship games, the Pac Hwy Chargers won 7 to 6 in a close one over the Renton Rangers in the Peewee division,
the Kent Cobras won in a hard-fought game against the Tulalip Jr. Hawks winning the GSYFC Juniors Championship and the Beach Boys won the 14 and
under championship over the Renton Rangers in the final game of the day.
Alexander Hired as OSU Diversity Chair
New vice president and diversity chair has background in counseling
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
AP PHOTO/TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI, FILE
G
In this Sept. 1 file photo, Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe addresses party supporters at a
rally in Gweru, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s army said
Wednesday it has Mugabe and his wife in custody
and is securing government offices and patrolling
the capital’s streets following a night of unrest that
included a military takeover.
World News
Briefs page 10
Kam Previews
New Movies Opening
This Week
page 6
rowing up in Trini-
dad, Charlene Alex-
ander never thought
there was anything
she couldn’t do.
“I grew up in a culture
where I was part of the
majority. I saw examples
of women, including my
mother, in leadership roles
in every area of society. I
never had this perspective
that I couldn’t do whatever
I wanted to do,” she said.
Only when she emigrat-
ed to the United States at
17 did Alexander start to
see and think about how
oppressive structures can
hold individuals back.
Alexander, the new vice
president and chief diver-
sity officer at Oregon State
University, moved to Cor-
vallis in July and started
her new job — a position
that is itself newly created
— July 1.
There’s no typical work
week, she said, but she’s
spent her first weeks at
OSU meeting with stake-
holders — including facul-
ty, students and members
of the administration -- and
listening.
“My work is to educate
students to advocate as
leaders. It’s their respon-
sibility in schools to see
the power that’s within
them, to make sure they
have all the resources they
need to be successful in
school. These are socially
constructed barriers for
a whole host of reasons,
obviously, given the whole
history of the country,” Al-
exander told The Skanner.
Alexander comes to
OSU from Indiana’s Ball
State University, where
she worked in a variety of
positions over the course
of 20 years. Most recently,
Alexander served as Ball
State’s associate provost
for diversity and the direc-
tor of its Office for Institu-
tional Diversity. There she
helped the school establish
its first diversity adviso-
ry committee and develop
its first diversity strategic
plan.
“Charlene was an out-
See ALEXANDER on page 3
Library Partners to Offer Open Enrollment Assistance
Oregonians can apply for health insurance
between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15
The Skanner News
I
n support of open enrollment
season for health insurance, the
Multnomah County Library has
partnered with the health depart-
ment to spread the word.
Open enrollment runs for 45 days,
from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15. County res-
idents can visit any branch of the
Multnomah County Library with
questions and resources.
In addition, the library is hosting
a series of public sessions across the
county to offer information on the
application and enrollment process.
Residents can call (503) 988-5841
to register for a session, or visit the
library’s website for dates and loca-
tions.
“We are here to connect people
with information and resources,”
Shawn Cunningham, director of
See INSURANCE on page 3
Open enrollment for health insurance runs for
45 days, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.