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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2018)
JUNE 13, 2018 25 CENTS Portland and Seattle Volume XL No. 37 News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7 Opinion ...................................2 Dr. Jasmine ......................9 Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW PHOTO COURTESY OF METRO SOLIDARITY AT SEATAC Last week Metro Council voted unanimously to refer a bond to voters that could provide at least 1,000 units of affordable housing. Metro Refers Housing Bond to Ballot his fall voters in the greater Port- land area will decide on a housing bond that would provide $652.8 million of funding for affordable housing in the area. The Metro Council, which oversees land use and planning in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties, voted unanimously last week to refer its housing bond to the ballot. Voters will also decide on a measure which would amend the Oregon Con- stitution to allow the state to pair bond money with federal housing dollars, and Metro has released estimates for how many units would be built de- T AP PHOTO/JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER) See HOUSING on page 3 Uber driver Joshua Oh drives in Honolulu on June 6. A new government report says the number of independent workers hasn’t budged that much over the last decade – but experts say it contains notable limitations. How Big is the Gig Economy? page 9 Black Women Make History Nationwide page 8 Hundreds of people including Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle) showed up outside the Federal Detention Center in Seatac on Saturday June 9 to show their disapproval of the Trump Administration’s practice of arresting people seeking asylum and separating the children from their parents. Congresswoman Jayapal spoke to some of the 174 women being detained. Many of the women said that they weren’t given the opportunity to say goodbye to their children when they were taken from them. Greg Baker on Heading Blanchet House The Kansas City native has helped expanded social services organization The Skanner News hen Greg Baker took the position as executive di- rector of Port- land’s Blanchet House back in 2014, he was the only employee. In four years under his leadership, the social services nonprofit has grown to 10 full-time staff members and initiat- ed a number of programs that help vulnerable com- munity members get back on their feet. Today Baker — who is W also an Emmy Award-win- ning musician — is one of the few, if only, African American men heading a large nonprofit in Port- land. As a native of Kansas City, Mo. — where he found- ed the Minority Supplier Council and the president of the Negro Leagues Base- ball Museum — Baker first came to Oregon to serve as the city manager for Da- mascus, before locating to Portland to expand the ac- tivities of Blanchet House. Founded in 1952, the organization operates through donations and funding from the Catholic Church. It does not, howev- er, require any of its guests to be religiously affiliated. Through its efforts, Blan- chet House has become Oregon’s largest feeder of the poor, with up to 1,000 meals served per day through the help of over 5,000 volunteers. In addition, Blanchet also operates two transitional shelter programs for men struggling with addictions, unemployment and men- Portlanders Celebrate Juneteenth Upcoming events include parades and readings By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News une 19 marks the day — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation became effective — that Union soldiers read a gener- al order announcing the end of slav- ery in Texas. In Galveston, formerly enslaved people rejoiced and began celebrat- ing in the streets after hearing Union General Gordon Granger read aloud from General Order No. 3. One year later, freed Texans celebrated again and a new holiday – Juneteenth – was born. J During the Great Migration, writes Isabel Wilkerson in The Warmth of Other Suns, “The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, and other places they went.” Clara Peoples moved from Musk- ogee, Okla., to Portland in 1945 to work in the ship yards, and started asking around to find out if there was a local Juneteenth celebration — only to discover some of her coworkers had never heard of it. She decided to take on the job of starting a Portland celebration — one that continues to this day, though Peoples passed away See JUNETEENTH on page 3 tal health, as well as a 62- acre farm program in Car- leton, Ore., where men in recovery learn woodwork- ing skills. To date, Blanchet House has helped some 10,000 men transition back into society. The Skanner News sat down with Baker to discuss his social service work and why he feels Portland has a long road to hoe in finding solutions to its homeless crisis. (This interview has been edited for space and See BAKER on page 3 PHOTO BY JERRY FOSTER / THE SKANNER ARCHIVES The Skanner News Staff PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Voters will decide on measure that would provide $652.8 million worth of funding for affordable housing This year’s Juneteenth celebration takes place this Saturday at Legacy Emmanuel Field, and a variety of community groups have events planned throughout the area. Pictured here at the 2015 Portland celebration are Clara Peoples (center), Ora Green (second from left), Tameka Walker as Sojourner Truth, Skeeter Green as Beatrice Morrow Cannady, David Lichtenstein as Abraham Lincoln and Shalanda Sims as Harriet Tubman.