February 7, 2018 The Skanner Portland Page 3
News
cont’d from pg 1
honoring Black Excel-
lence, which is the pillar
of her high school’s Black
History celebration.
Every day during the
month of February, Jef-
ferson will recognize
an African American
student for their merits
– from good grades to
goodwill.
“We have staff mem-
The festival will expand
upon the production’s mes-
sage of truth, unity and hope
bers that we’ll be honor-
ing too, because they do
a lot for us and don’t al-
ways get recognized,” Dy-
amond told The Skanner.
Jefferson joins oth-
ers like Roosevelt High
School in hosting Black
History Month assem-
bles throughout the
month.
Alongside the library
exhibits – on display for
the duration of February
– the Black History Fes-
tival NW will span from
Troutdale to Beaverton,
combining arts, educa-
tion and advocacy at its
heart through a number
of
culturally-specific
events.
According to its di-
rector Shalanda Sims,
the festival grew out of
World Stage Theatre’s
production of “Who I
Am Celebrating Me,” a
long-running stage play
that celebrates Black cul-
ture.
Sims, who is also the
founder and artistic di-
rector of World Stage
Theatre, said the festival
will expand upon the
production’s message of
truth, unity and hope,
which “transcends per-
petual negative images
portrayed by mass media
and the criminal justice
system.”
“More
and
more
through social media,
African Americans and
people of color in gener-
al are seeking safe spac-
es to attach themselves
to, as well as organizing
Lawsuit
of World War I’s closure
to the current War on
Terrorism.
In addition to the 12th
annual performance of
“Who I Am Celebrating
Me” (Feb. 11 – 12), festi-
val highlights include a
month-long Black Histo-
ry Scavenger Hunt, gos-
pel service, book fair, and
a screening of the highly
anticipated Marvel mov-
ie “Black Panther.”
On Feb. 24, the Black
History Festival NW will
wrap a month of celebra-
tion with the Unity Gala
at Self Enhancement Inc.
With keynote speaker
Jemele Hill – journalist
and co-host of ESPN’s
Sports Center 6 – the gala
will exhibit works and
products of local Black
artists and vendors.
The festival, whose
sponsors include Ore-
gon Metro and the Re-
gional Arts and Culture
Council, is also aiming to
bridge economic, social
and generational gaps
through its program-
ming.
For Ricky Pettifort, ad-
visor at Jefferson’s Black
Student Union, the last
part is crucial.
“What Portland, in my
mind, has done is de-
stroyed the Black com-
munity,” said Pettifort.
“And by doing that, what
once connected us – the
elders and the youth –
that doesn’t exist any-
more.”
Read the rest of this story at
TheSkanner.com
Church Seeks Children for Easter Choir
The historic Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church in North Portland is once again gathering children who love to sing, from the
ages of four years to 14 from the community for the Easter Celebration taking place April 1. Four scheduled choir rehearsals will take
place March 10, 17, 24 and 31 at 3 p.m. at the church location of 3138 North Vancouver Avenue. Following each rehearsal session, lunch
will be provided for the children prepared by a host of local adult chaperones. Free Transportation services are also available upon
request for each rehearsal. For more information and or to sign your child up, please contact Raymond Burell at (503) 593- 5285/or at
raymondburell@hotmail.com, or contact the church office directly at (503) 282-9496.
Measure
cont’d from pg 1
about four-and-a half years in two
juvenile justice facilities in Ore-
gon — but White still has a felony
charge on his record. Though he
received job training and several
certifications while incarcerated
— including a forklift license and
a food handler’s license — White
told The Skanner that after he
was released, he struggled to find
work and housing.
He also feels he was more fortu-
nate than many in having family
and mentors to offer him shelter
and support while he re-entered
society.
Now White works at POIC +
Rosemary Anderson High School
mentoring youth in the school’s
community healing initiative. He
also works with the Anne E. Casey
Foundation to advocate for youth
and for criminal justice reform.
“If I had the power to eradicate
[Measure 11], I would. It’s too
many young individuals, it’s too
many African Americans, it’s too
many Latinos — it’s too many peo-
ple of color that are being pun-
ished for crimes that are products
of circumstance,” said White, who
is African American.
Earlier this month, the Oregon
Council on Civil Rights published
a report in partnership with the
Oregon Justice Resource Center
— “Youth and Measure 11: Impacts
of Mandatory Minimums” – that
includes some damning statistics
on racial disparities in Oregon’s
“
I was very, very,
very illiterate
when it came to
law or my rights
juvenile justice system. It found:
• Black youth make up 15.5 per-
cent of Measure 11 indictments,
but only 1.8 percent of the gen-
eral population in Oregon;
• Black youth were nearly three
times as likely as White youth
to face a Measure 11 charge, and
nearly five times as likely to be
indicted;
• Black youth face conviction at
rates 12.5 times greater than
White youth for Measure 11
offenses, only slightly less than
their overall rate of referral;
• Latino and Native American
youth were also significantly
overrepresented relative to
White peers.
The report notes that while
Black youth indictments are more
likely, they are less likely to lead
to a Measure 11 conviction.
But an indictment can still re-
shape the course of a young life,
and the report connects the dots
between disproportionate rates
of incarceration and other prob-
lems hampering Oregon’s Black
communities, namely economic
mobility.
In Oregon, nearly 30 percent
of Black families live in poverty,
and the median income of a Black
family as of 2010 was $15,000 low-
er than White families.
“The economic disparity among
Oregonians of color is compound-
ed by the fact that the children in
these communities are all statisti-
cally more likely to have a parent
in prison,” the report said.
“For me I think the most sur-
prising thing is how much science
and research that has been done
over the past couple of decades
and how our criminal justice pol-
icies aren’t really connected to
that,” Bobbin Singh, the founding
executive director of the Oregon
Justice Resource Center, told The
Skanner.
Read more at TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
Hayes, fatally shot Merle Mikal Hatch
in 2013. In March, a Multnomah Coun-
ty grand jury declined to indict Hearst
in connection with Hayes’ death.
The tort claim letter, attached to the
press release, also notes the Hayes fam-
ily has not been successful in their at-
tempts to get more information about
what happened the morning Hayes
died.
“Our knowledge of the circumstanc-
es of the incident is somewhat limited,
largely due to the fact that the only non-
law enforcement officer to witness the
shooting, Quanice, is dead,” the letter
reads. “While the Grand Jury proceed-
ings in this case were recorded and
made public, the process was inher-
ently one-sided: the District Attorney’s
office presented evidence to the grand
jurors that the shooting officer could
not possibly have known, and present-
ed evidence designed to vilify Quanice
while painting the shooting officer in a
highly positive light, making it seem as
“
The only non-law
enforcement offi-
cer to witness the
shooting, Quanice,
is dead
if the officer had no choice but to shoot
Quanice. We disagree. Moreover, the
city has refused to provide us records
in its possession, despite repeated re-
quests. Therefore, we again request
you provide us all documentation in
the city’s possession that
describes or documents
this incident in any way.
This request includes any
911 recordings, police re-
ports, scene photographs,
CAD recordings, MOAT
text messages, data from
employee phones, dispatch
recordings, notes, internal
affairs investigations or
other similar investigations
from within the city or out-
side agency, documents in
your possession produced
by others including but not
limited to autopsy photographs -- rele-
vant to the incident, communications
with insurance providers, and any oth-
er documentation of any description
FACEBOOK PHOTO
“
small events to gather
and celebrate,” Sims told
The Skanner.
The festival’s theme
‘Standing at the Fore-
front of Change’ is an
extension of this year’s
national Black History
theme ‘African Ameri-
cans in Times of War’ – a
framework for Black sto-
ries from the centennial
PHOTO COURTESY OF VANCOUVER AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH
Festival
Quanice Hayes
related to this incident.”
A crowdfunding website to help with
the Hayes’ family’s legal fees, www.
crowdjustice.com/case/quanice, will go
live on Thursday at noon.