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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2018)
July 25, 2018 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 governor has made her a national political celeb- rity. “The contrast ... could not be sharper,” said Em- ory University political science professor Alan Abramowitz. “Kemp is running as an all-out Trump supporter and a ‘politically incorrect conservative.’ Abrams is not only the first African American candidate for Abrams is not only the first African American candi- date for governor in Geor- gia, but probably the most liberal Democratic candi- date for governor in history governor in Georgia, but probably the most liber- al Democratic candidate for governor in history.” Both national parties are running ads labeling the opposition as danger- ous. A Republican Gover- nors Association spot slams Abrams as the “most radical liberal ever to run for governor” -- the voiceover doesn’t even limit the claim to Georgia. The Democratic Governors Association labels Kemp irrational, using the same secretly recorded audio Kemp ex- ploited to defeat Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who lament- ed that the GOP contest came down to “who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck, and who could be the crazi- est.” For her part, the 44-year-old Abrams steered clear of heated partisan broadsides. After Kemp’s victory, she sent a Twitter fund- raising appeal that men- tioned her Republican ri- val only by his last name. “Service, faith & family guide our vision for GA: Police tionally. Kemp’s victory margin affirms Trump’s imprint and the Repub- lican base’s continued embrace of hardliners, sending another warn- ing to establishment crit- ics of the president. November’s vote will test this strategy with two candidates that could hardly be more different. Will a Deep South state — led by White, male governors since 1776 and not long removed from having Confederate in- signia on its flag — elect a self-declared progres- sive Nlack woman from Atlanta as its chief exec- utive? Or will an increasingly urban, diversifying state — now the eighth most populous and home to The Coca-Cola Company, Delta, Home Depot, UPS and the 1996 Summer Olympics — embrace a brash, chain saw-crank- ing Republican who pre- tended to intimidate his daughter’s boyfriend with a shotgun in a cam- paign ad. Read more at TheSkanner.com Gateway Discovery Park Opens Aug. 4 Gateway Discovery Park will celebrate its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 4 at 10520 NE Halsey St. This grand opening event includes a formal dedication, food carts, entertainment, and activities for all ages. Gateway Discovery Park is Portland’s newest urban park. The Aug. 4 event will be the celebration of our partnership with Prosper Portland, Harper’s Playground, and the Gateway Community to bring inclusive play and gathering areas to East Portland. Gateway Discovery Park includes “The Fifth Wind,” a piece of public art created by Horatio Hun-Yan Law and pictured here. The five emerging butterfly wings of the sculpture are symbolic reminder of our combined immigrant histories, both ancestral and contemporary. The unfolding bejeweled wings also represent the blossoming of Gateway as a welcoming and dynamic neighborhood that is enriched by the presence of diverse cultures and immigrants from around the world. Tubman cont’d from pg 1 doors in 2012. “Tubman represents the com- munity we used to work and reside in, which has drastically changed,” she told The Skanner. “It’s an opportunity to preserve what I believe in many instances has been lost.” To celebrate the school’s re- birth, Butler had organized a celebration in July for former students and faculty, intended to highlight the talents of Tubman’s alumnae and build a new commu- nity of partners. Due to structural reorganizing within PPS, however, the district canceled the event, pending a lat- er date. “It required more PPS support than was provided,” said Butler. “I was greatly disappointed and I feel not enough momentum was put behind it.” The new principal – who has extensive experience working with Title 1 programs and under- served communities — points to the new executive leadership within PPS, which she says has lit- tle to no historical ties to Tubman or the surrounding community. “They’re bringing people into the fold that have either never worked for PPS, or are not even from Portland,” Butler said. “It’s hard to really encourage people to be participants when they have no connection to the past.” And the past has not always been kind to Harriet Tubman Middle School. Its opening in 1982 represented a monumental win against insti- tutional racism within the school system. At that time, African Ameri- can students were being bused from their North and Northeast neighborhoods to attend some 32 predominantly White schools around the metropolitan area, as part of PPS’s integration practice implemented during the 1960s. The district’s desegregation plan backfired, however. Black attendance at White schools only upped enrollment, which further vindicated the majority-White school board’s decision to shutter schools in Black communities. But with fierce protest from groups such as the Black United Front, the school district eventu- ally agreed to open Harriet Tub- man Middle School at the Eliot Childhood Education Center. Twenty-five years later, it was converted into the Harriet Tub- man Young Women’s Leadership Academy, as part of restructur- ing Jefferson High School. Five years later, the academy dissolved when finances ran dry. The decision to reopen Tub- man coincides with the city’s “Right to Return” strategy, which aims to give housing preference in historically Black North and Northeast neighborhoods to fam- ilies who were displaced from the neighborhoods through gentrifi- cation. Likewise, the school district has reserved 50 seats at Tubman for children of displaced families. PPS told The Skanner that to date, fewer than 10 have applied, but it expects more as the school gets up and running. Tubman’s resurrection gained traction when PPS introduced a new policy last year which would redraw boundaries, convert sev- eral existing K-8 schools into K-5 schools, and open two new mid- dle schools — Tubman and Rose- way Heights. Yet what should be a joyous oc- casion to resurrect a symbol of educational equality is under- girded by concerns over poor air quality in the neighborhood. Read more at TheSkanner.com cont’d from pg 1 ment. Others were skeptical, saying he appears traumatized in the photo; after the family died reporters reviewing the Harts’ social media feeds revealed that Devonte was prodded by his parents to carry a “Free Hugs” sign to political events and concerts and evidently co- erced to hug strangers against his will. Subsequent reporting also revealed one conviction, and a trail of abuse and neglect investigations followed Devon- te’s adoptive mothers across several states. Shortly before the family disap- peared from their Washington home, neighbors had contacted authorities to say the children had told them they were being starved and abused. “It wasn’t Devonte’s story,” Greene said. Too often, she said, Black individ- uals are tokenized – invited to the ta- ble, but not truly heard. So she and her husband, co-pastors at Abundant Life Church, decided to gather feedback from the community and present it. The survey consisted of one question: “If you could have a representative in the police force that would work on your behalf to change the relationship between your community and the po- lice force, what would they be working on?” The responses were open-ended, but the Greenes grouped them into three categories: accountability, trans- parency and 21st-century policing. One-tenth of the 100 responses ad- dressed accountability. These respons- es included “ending White suprema- cy,” “corrupt cops” and creating better training within the police department around racial equity. Thirty-four percent of respondents’ answers were grouped under trans- parency with participants suggesting police educate the community about the issues at hand, meeting with resi- dents more often and finding ways to build bridges so the public has a better understanding of what it is to be a cop. Finally, 56 percent — more than half — of respondents’ answers were cat- egorized as a search for 21st century policing, or community policing. They included requests to get the police more infolved on the community lev- el, hire more officers who look like the communities they serve and encourag- ing relationship building — and ending profiling. The Greenes’ presentation closed with several recommendations: • Hire more officers that look like the communities they serve, including more officers of color in positions of authority; • Allow the community more oppor- tunities to participate in hiring and promoting procedures; • Provide cultural competence train- ing for officers (and let the communi- ty know that this training is offered); • Provide and publicize training in de-escalation and unconscious bias; PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY “ Affordable health care. Excellent public schools for every child. An econ- omy that works for all,” she wrote. She isn’t ex- pected to campaign pub- licly or grant media in- terviews until Thursday. Georgia’s version of the widening gulf between the two major parties in style and substance in the Trump era offers plenty of spillover effects na- PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION Georgia Nike Greene, pictured here, presented results from an April survey at the July 13 Community Peace Collaborative meeting. • Encourage more participation in the community when there is not a prob- lem; • Hold officers accountable when they commit crimes.
