Vision into Action (VIA) Coalition reborn!

Vision into Action (VIA) Coalition reborn!Join the VIA Coalition for a Summer Social in the Park

GOLDEN WEST PROJECT

(Tuesday, July 14, 2009)

>>click here for Flyers<<

5:00 to 8:00 PM

“Overlook Park“

1301 N. Fremont Street

Portland, OR 97227

(Off of Yellow Max line “Overlook” stop)

We recently celebrated our first year’s accomplishments City Hall, showcasing the amazing work of Vision into Action Grantees, Coalition partners, supportive community groups and individuals doing their part to implement the vision

Now, it is your chance to start a dialogue about VIA’s future direction and structure as we transition into a truly community-owned effort.

Families and children are most welcome. There will be a barbeque grill, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.  If possible, we ask that you bring an item to grill or a small dish to share, perhaps a family favorite.

>>click here for Flyers<<

Please confirm your attendance by contacting Cassie Cohen at (503) 823-9585 or cassie.cohen@ci.portland.or.us

Cassie Cohen

Landmark building to reopen as expanded community center

 www.TheSkanner.com

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Billy Webb Elks Lodge Ready for Business
Landmark building to reopen as expanded community center
The $2 million renovation of the Billy Webb Elks Lodge is complete, and festivities marking the achievement are Tuesday, June 23, from 3 – 7 p.m. at the lodge, 6 North Tillamook St. The public is invited to a walkthrough of the completed facility, and to enjoy a wine and cheese tasting catered by Pans Pots and Skillets, with valet parking and music. .
To read more click here 

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click on The Skanner BLOG page

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTIORICAL DISTRICT.COM

Paul Knauls Jr.’s Truth-In-Labeling Legislation

Paul Knauls Jr.’s Truth-In-Labeling Legislation

http://willbennett.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/portland-resident-paul-knauls-jr/

Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome & more…

Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome : Prof. James Smalls and more – Black History Month – Zimbio.

Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome : Prof. James Smalls and more

// Written by RBGStreetScholar on // Apr-24-08 9:18pm2008-04-24T21:18:46

From: rbg-street-scholar-multi-media-e-zine.blogspot.com

On Post Slavery Trauma Syndrome

Author/Educator/Activist

Professor James Small was born in 1945, on Arcadia plantation, located on the banks of the Waccamaw River.

This Lowland rice plantation is located where the Waccamaw, Peedee, and Black Rivers converge to meet the Atlantic Ocean, on the shores of historic Georgetown, South Carolina. Prof. Small was born to a family that traces their descent from enslaved Africans, to the Yoruba, Akan, and Ewe people of West Africa. Prof. Small’s heritage also stems from the Native American ancestors that inhabited these South Carolinian shores. Both his maternal great-grandmother and his paternal great-grandmother were members of the Chicora Nation, and made their home along the mighty Waccamaw River. Prof. Small graduated from the all Black Howard High School in Georgetown, South Carolina in 1964. He then served in the U.S. Navy for two years during the Vietnam era. Upon his release from military service, Prof. Small moved to New York City where he joined the organization of Afro-American Unity founded by the legendary Malcolm X. In 1967, Prof. Small became Imam (minister) of the Muslim Mosque Incorporated, also founded by Malcolm X. In 1975 Prof. Small traveled to the Holy City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to make his holy pilgrimage, the Hajjah. For eleven years Prof. Small served as principal bodyguard to the late Ella L. Collins, the sister of Malcolm X, the then President of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (O.A.A.U.) Between the years of 1966 and 1980, Prof. Small held membership in the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (S.N.C.C.), the N.A.A.C.P, Uhuru fighters and O.A.A.U. During this period Prof. Small had the opportunity to interact with such historical giants as Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Kwame Ture, H. Rap Brown of S.N.C.C, Eldridge Cleaver, Zaid Shakur, and Lumumba Shakur of the Black Panther Party (B.P.P.) in which he served as a liaison between the B.P.P. and the O.A.A.U. Prof. Small has been a member of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization (A.S.C.A.C.) for 14 years. He served as President of A.S.C.A.C. Eastern Region for two years, where he worked and studied with Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef A. A. Ben Jochannan, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. Asa Hilliard, Dr. Wade Nobles, Dr. Amos Wilson and Dr. Francis Cress Welsing, just to name a few. Prof. Small taught for fifteen years at the City University of New York, including 13 years at the City College of New York’s Black Studies Department and two years at New York City Technical College. Prof. Small has taught courses on Malcolm X, Traditional African Religion (Prof. Small is a priest in the Yoruba religion), Pan Africanism, Crime in the Urban Community, Urban Crisis and Issues, and African Folklore. Prof. Small has also appeared on a number of network talk shows and newsmagazines. These include the Phil Donahue Show, The Rolanda Watts Show, The Geraldo Rivera Show, Matt Lauer Nine Broadcast Plaza Show, The Charlie Rose Show, Tony Brown’s Journal, Like it Is with Gil Noble as well as numerous cable programs and local, national and international television and radio shows. Prof. Small has lectured at some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the world. Among the many colleges and universities where Prof. Small has lectured at are the University of Manchester, Manchester England. University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, V.I. University of the West Indies Porte-Spain, Trinidad; University of West Indies; Kingston Jamaica, Princeton University Princeton, N.J., Harvard University Boston, Mass., Yale University, New Haven, Conn., Columbia University and New York University of New York, N.Y. to mention a few. Prof. Small is currently conducting educational and cultural tours throughout Africa and the United States and he is also working on two books, one a collection of his lectures on Malcolm X and the other on the topic of “Post Slavery Trauma Syndrome.”

Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing by Joy DeGruy Leary, Ph.D.,

Foreword by Randall Robinson

“When African-Americans accept the deprecating accounts and images portrayed by the media, literature, music and the arts as a true mirror of themselves, we are actually allowing ourselves to be socialized by a racist society.

Evidence of racist socialization can be readily seen when African-American children limit their aspirations… It can be seen when we use the accumulation of material things as the measure of self-worth and success.

So, in spite of all our forbears who worked to survive and gain their freedom; in spite of the efforts of all those who fought for civil rights… we are continually being socialized by this society to undervalue ourselves, to undermine our own efforts and, ultimately, to hate ourselves. We are raising our children only to watch America tear them down.

Uptone Press-Hardcover, $24.95246 pages, illus.

Today, the legacy of slavery remains etched in our souls. Understanding the role our past plays in our present attitudes, outlooks, mindsets and circumstances is important if we are to free ourselves from the spiritual, mental and emotional shackles that bind us today, shackles that limit what we believe we can be, do and have. Understanding the Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome plays in our evolution may be the key that helps to set us on the path to well-being.

Excerpted from Chapter 5, Slavery’s Child

Dr. Leary

Dr. Leary holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications, a master’s degree in Social Work (MSW), a master’s degree in Psychology, and a PhD in Social Work Research. She is an Assistant Professor at Portland State University. With over twenty years of practical experience as a professional in the field of social work, she gives workshop attendees practical insight into various cultural and ethnic groups that form the basis of contemporary American society. Dr. Leary’s workshops also go far beyond the topic of cultural sensitivity; she provides specialized clinical work in areas of mental health and ecological resilience.

Book Review below by Kam Williams

You know an experience has been transformational when it repeatedly brings you to the brink of tears, and this is exactly what transpired while poring over the pages of Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing. For me, reading this sensitive exploration of the African-American psyche was the emotional equivalent of an all-day session on a shrink’s couch, as I felt many pangs of recognition as layer after layer of deep-seated traumas were diagnosed and discussed, not as personal neuroses, but as the plausible, predictable, and shared response of many blacks to the predicament of being raised in a racist society.

The author, Joy DeGruy Leary, Ph.D. is nothing short of brilliant in the way in which she approaches the subject, prodding you to place present-day behaviors in a proper historical context. Plus, Dr. Leary, a Professor of Social Work at Portland State University, draws on her 18 years of practical work in the field dedicated to mental health and cultural resilience. For it is her contention that the subjugation of African-Americans did not end with slavery and that freedom only meant the master’s whip was replaced by the illusion of equality and opportunity.

This was witnessed in the Jim Crow laws, lynchings, de facto segregation, grandfather clauses, poll taxes, restrictive covenants, redlining, gentrification and other assorted measures which arose to maintain the status quo. In reaction to the ongoing oppression, black people developed an identifiable set of survival skills, some of which were self-destructive.

And it is these harmful symptoms which Dr. Leary is interested in eliminating in order to put her people on the road to healing.

So, after initially expressing the notion that the dysfunction found in African-Americans is nothing to be ashamed of, she exhibits all the care and concern of a doting parent in discussing the introspective path to rebuilding one’s self-esteem. Easier said than done, this involves many steps, perhaps the most difficult being a long, hard look in the mirror to know oneself. For only after confronting and exorcising some societal demons, will one be well enough to interrelate with one’s community from a fresh perspective, as a tender person, fully-informed, considerate and uncompromisingly honest.

Required reading, or should I say therapy, for every African-American.

Related Link:

http://www.posttraumaticslavesyndrome.com

http://www.zimbio.com/portal/RBG Afrikan- Centered Cultural Development and Education/log/rss

The Asian Reporter – Film Section

The Asian Reporter – Film Section.

Where EAST meets the Northwest FIGHTING RACISM. Local Color, a documentary on African America’s unsettled social and legal status in Oregon, airs February 14 on Oregon Public Broadcasting Plus. (Photo courtesy of Oregon Public Broadcasting) From The Asian Reporter, V19, #6 (February 10, 2009), page 11 & 13. Suppressing local color Local Color Directed by Jon Tuttle Produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting, 1991 Airing February 14 on Oregon Public Broadcasting Plus By Ronault L.S. Catalani We should’ve been doing this 15 or 20 years ago,” says an aging icon of Oregon civil-rights history, Otto Rutherford, standing on camera in afternoon traffic noise near the southwest shore of Portland’s Broadway Bridge “… ‘cause all of those who really could contribute, they’re dead now. And I’m damn near dead, so when I’m gone I don’t know who you’re gonna do, who you’re going to talk to.” Mr. Rutherford was 80 in that opening scene of Local Color, a recently re-released documentary about Oregon race relations. The esteemed state elder, whether known or revered or not among Oregon’s current mainstream, goes on to say how much Oregon has changed for local black families, whether or not younger generations of African Americans understand and use their local history. Things now are not how they used to be, Mr. Rutherford explains, taking off his worn glasses. Wiping his tired eyes. It is precisely this missing perspective, it is in fact Mr. Rutherford’s missing story, as much as it is Oregon’s ugly race history, that constitutes our state’s awful human tragedy. Our tragedy. We are not told the awful truth. We cannot build historical perspective. Ironically, it has taken almost 20 years to free Jon Tuttle’s film Local Color from legal disputes over image copyrights — nearly two blind decades have passed before the documentary was cleared for public distribution. Mr. Tuttle passed away shortly after his film’s completion in 1991. Otto Rutherford perished on August 21, 2000. Healing history The truth, known or not, is not pretty. Oregon’s settlement history has been cruel to people of color. Indeed, as Mr. Tuttle and Mr. Rutherford together with several extraordinary local leaders who will one day stand as iconic elders of state history try to make plain in Local Color: Oregon’s institution foundations intended to keep public services and private property from nonwhite residents. Our state’s original Constitution barred free negroes and mulattos (mixed bloods). City ordinances allowed businesses to ban “Coloreds, Filipinos, and Orientals.” U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield recalls in the documentary how he and classmates at Salem’s Willamette University took Paul Robeson to dinner, but then had to drive the world-renowned professional athlete, Shakespearean actor, gospel singer, labor activist, and civil-rights lawyer an hour up the road to a Portland hotel. Mr. Robeson was black. The truth was: outside then-thriving N.W. Broadway’s African-American community, Portland theaters, skating rinks, and swimming pools were strictly segregated. The young Otto Rutherford “grew up on Chinese food, as far as restaurants were concerned,” adding that “Greeks down on Second Avenue … would cater (ice cream) to you.” It wasn’t until rookie state representative Mark O. Hatfield teamed with already seasoned civil-rights advocate Otto Rutherford during the 1953 Oregon State Legislature to make racial discrimination illegal in public accommodations. A community effort 17 previous legislative assemblies failed to pass. Local Color rolls out a tight, bitter, and well-documented urban history — from Broadway’s energetic African-American core’s sudden collapse during the Great Depression to the black community’s cynical reconstruction near North Portland’s wartime shipyards; then, that revived community’s sudden disappearance under Columbia River’s 1948 flood of the Vanport lowlands; to the 1950s funnelling of displaced African-American families into northeast Portland’s Albina District, at a time when now-hip Albina was deemed least desirable by Portland planners and real-estate and mortgage brokers. Director Jon Tuttle lets the story get told in the words of living history, by many local treasures who have now, by the time of Local Color’s DVD release, passed on. It would have meant so much to Mr. Otto Rutherford to have those of us following his stubbornly courageous generation to finally understand, in true historical perspective, what Mr. Rutherford solemnly asserts in Local Color’s closing moments: “That we have made progress … here in this little 2×4 town, we have made a great deal of progress. Yeah.” Said U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, at Otto Rutherford’s passing eight years ago: “He was gentle as a dove for peace, fierce as a warrior for justice.” Local Color airs on Oregon Public Broadcasting Plus on February 14 at 3:00am. The documentary is also available at the OPB online store. Visit <www.opb.org> and click “shop” to learn more.

From: OREGON 150

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- preserves, perpetuates, promotes and integrates African American heritage & culture in the pacific northwest -

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——– Original Message ——–

Subject:	RE: WILL BENNETT = Re: [oaba-b] Re: [Fwd: Celebrating Oregon's Heritage?]]
Date:	Fri, 1 May 2009 09:45:46 -0700
From:	Melisa J. McDonald <melisa.mcdonald@oregon150.org>
To:	‘WILL BENNETT’ <GOLDEN-WEST-PROJECT@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM>, ‘Earl Blumenauer’ <earl@earlblumenauer.com>, ‘Sam Adams, Mayor’ <Samadams@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘Nick Fish, Comm.’ <Nick@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘Amanda Fritz, Comm.’ <amanda@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘Randy Leonard, Comm.’ <randy@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘Dan Saltzman, Comm.’ <dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘Dora Asana Perry’ <dora.perry@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘Nicholas T. Starin (Planning)’ <nstarin@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘”Stephanie D. Stephens (Planning)” s’ <stephanie.stephens@ci.portland.or.us>, ‘Sylvia E. Welch’ <swelch@pcc.edu>, ‘Preston Pulliams, Dr.’ <ppulliam@pcc.edu>, ‘Sheila Martin’ <sheilam@pdx.edu>, <rhiannad@pdx.edu>, ‘reardonm’ <reardonm@pdx.edu>, ‘Dr. Darrell Millner’ <millnerd@pdx.edu>, ‘Dalton Miller-Jones’ <millerjonesd@pdx.edu>, <lydiac@pdx.edu>, <kjb@pdx.edu>, ‘Kevin Kecskes’ <kecskesk@pdx.edu>, ‘Marvin A Kaiser’ <kaiserm@pdx.edu>, ‘Jan Swae’ <jswae@pdx.edu>, ‘Pauline Jivanjee’ <jivanjeep@pdx.edu>, ‘Janet Hammer, Ph.D.’ <hammerj@pdx.edu>, <hainesk@pdx.edu>, ‘Ginny Peckinpaugh’ <ginnyp@pdx.edu>, ‘Felicia Williams’ <fwilliam@pdx.edu>, <dallasr@pdx.edu>, ‘Black Cultural Affairs, PSU’ <bcab@pdx.edu>, ‘Katrine Barber’ <barberk@pdx.edu>, <angelb@pdx.edu>, ‘Carl Abbott, Dr.’ <abbottc@pdx.edu>, ‘Matthew Ross’ <matthewr@pdx.edu>, ‘Rachel Rustad’ <rustad@pdx.edu>, ‘Michael Grice’ <mcg@nothingbutquality.com>, ‘Ken Berry’ <kberry49@comcast.net>, ‘Michael Chappie Grice’ <mchappieg@yahoo.com>
CC:	‘derry jackson’ <derryjackson@comcast.net>, ‘Barbara O’Hare Walker’ <bpohare@comcast.net>, ‘William Mcclendon’ <wmcclend@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Toni Weil’ <tweil@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Thomas Trosko’ <ttrosko@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Carole Smith’ <superintendent@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘PPS Board of Education’ <schoolboard@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Rick La Greide’ <rlagreid@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Marta Repollet’ <repollet@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Rachel Draper’ <rdraper@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Robb Cowie’ <rcowie@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Paul Barkett’ <pbarket1@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Mike Sweeney’ <msweeney@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Marcia Arganbright’ <marganbr@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Jack Curry’ <jcurry@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Darryl Miles’ <dmiles1@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Christopher Snyder’ <csnyder1@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Colleen Loprinzi’ <cloprinz@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Carolyn M. Leonard’ <cleonard@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Cynthia V. Harris, Ed.D.’ <charris@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘Rachel Rustad’ <rustad@pdx.edu>, <roy@blackchamber.info>, <joe@projectcleanslate.com>
References:	<49E7C10F.8040008@GMAIL.COM> <011401c9bfb3$c9364cc0$5ba2e640$@mcdonald@oregon150.org> <49E9425F.4020509@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM>

Good morning all. I would like to thank you for helping to spread the word and encouraging your fellow Oregonians to share your passion, enthusiasm, and tenacity for cultural and ethnic diversity.  Creating a legacy of resources by raising awareness of existing opportunities is truly a rewarding endeavor. We love to use the “do it for Oregon’s birthday” line to give people that extra bit of encouragement. Again, THANK YOU!

Article from The Skanner: As Website Lacked Black History, Activists Stepped in to Fill the Gap

Warmest Regards,

mjm

www.oregon150.org

If you haven’t already – please sign up for our newsletter!

Melisa J. McDonald

503.445.7120 office

From: WILL BENNETT [mailto:GOLDEN-WEST-PROJECT@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM]
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 8:01 PM

To: Melisa J. McDonald; Earl Blumenauer; Sam Adams, Mayor; Nick Fish, Comm.; Amanda Fritz, Comm.; Randy Leonard, Comm.; Dan Saltzman, Comm.; Dora Asana Perry; Nicholas T. Starin (Planning); “Stephanie D. Stephens (Planning)” s; Sylvia E. Welch; Preston Pulliams, Dr.; Sheila Martin; mail=rhiannad@pdx.edu; reardonm; Dr. Darrell Millner; Dalton Miller-Jones; mail=lydiac@pdx.edu; mail=kjb@pdx.edu; Kevin Kecskes; Marvin A Kaiser; Jan Swae; Pauline Jivanjee; Janet Hammer, Ph.D.; mail=hainesk@pdx.edu; Ginny Peckinpaugh; Felicia Williams; mail=dallasr@pdx.edu; Black Cultural Affairs, PSU; Katrine Barber; mail=angelb@pdx.edu; Carl Abbott, Dr.; Matthew Ross; Rachel Rustad; Michael Grice; Ken Berry; Michael Chappie Grice

Cc: ‘derry jackson’; ‘Barbara O’Hare Walker’; William Mcclendon; Toni Weil; Thomas Trosko; Carole Smith; PPS Board of Education; Rick La Greide; Marta Repollet; Rachel Draper; Robb Cowie; Paul Barkett; Mike Sweeney; Marcia Arganbright; Jack Curry; Darryl Miles; Christopher Snyder; Colleen Loprinzi; Carolyn M. Leonard; Cynthia V. Harris, Ed.D.; Rachel Rustad

Subject: WILL BENNETT = Re: [oaba-b] Re: [Fwd: Celebrating Oregon's Heritage?]]

Importance: High

Regarding her email message please let each of us contact her…please

The voice message she(ex.Dir.oregon150)lets me know there’s a need for cultural/ethnic diversity…

peace
will b.

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“Promote historical understanding”

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Melisa J. McDonald wrote:

Hi Mr. Bennett. I left a voice message at the number listed in the bottom of the email. It sounds like you have some great ideas for helping make the celebration and commemoration even better and I think there’s a wonderful opportunity for us to talk.

I’ll look forward to hearing from you at your convenience -

mjm

www.oregon150.org

If you haven’t already – please sign up for our newsletter!

Melisa J. McDonald

503.445.7120 office

503.367.1487 cell

P Before you print this email or attachments, please consider the environment. ü

From: WILL BENNETT [mailto:willbe1960@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 4:37 PM

To: Aili Schreiner; James Hamrick; Melisa McDonald; Oregon 150; Pennie Trumbull

Cc: derry jackson; Carole Smith; Rick La Greide; Marcia Arganbright; Barbara O’Hare Walker

Subject: RE: [oaba-b] Re: [Fwd: Celebrating Oregon's Heritage?]]

Importance: High

Oregon150 =
Please respond to this message…
peace
will b.

——– Original Message ——–

Subject:	RE: [oaba-b] Re: [Fwd: Celebrating Oregon's Heritage?]
Date:	Tue, 7 Apr 2009 14:56:58 -0700
From:	SMITH Susanne <Susanne.Smith@ode.state.or.us>
To:	‘derryjackson@comcast.net‘ <derryjackson@comcast.net>
CC:	‘cleonard@pps.k12.or.us‘ <cleonard@pps.k12.or.us>, ‘GOLDEN-WEST-PROJECT@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM‘ <GOLDEN-WEST-PROJECT@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM>
References:	<C6CB341AA8C9864D8EC69C75D20FD1CB0184CC20C2@ode-mail>

Mr.. Jackson –

Thank you for writing Superintendent Castillo regarding the OR 150 lesson plan project. I am responding on her behalf.

1. I’ve included a link with more details regarding the process: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=1671.

The Superintendent encouraged educators to submit lesson plans that went beyond the traditional Lewis & Clark type studies. You’ll notice if you click on the ODE ”topic examples” link that Vanport was one of the suggested topics we hoped would be submitted: http://www.ode.state.or.us/superintendent/priorities/oregon-150-curriculum-exampls.pdf.

1. The specific individuals or groups actually included in instruction is often dependent upon the interest and background of the classroom teacher.

I encourage you to explore the Oregon 150 website at: www.oregon150.org. I think you might find the Oregon Stories project of particular interest. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding the OR 150 lesson plan project.

Best regards,

Susanne

Susanne Smith
Communications Officer | Office of the Superintendent | Oregon Department of Education
P: 503.947.5637 | C: 503.730.7041 | E: susanne.smith@state.or.us | www.ode.state.or.us

Read The Superintendent’s Pipeline and the Weekly Update to stay informed.

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From: derry jackson [mailto:derryjackson@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 9:40 AM
To: CASTILLO Superintendent
Cc: GOLDEN-WEST-PROJECT@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM
Subject: FW: [oaba-b] Re: [Fwd: Celebrating Oregon's Heritage?]

Please refer to my comments below.

Derry Jackson

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From: owner-oaba-b@peak.org [mailto:owner-oaba-b@peak.org] On Behalf Of derry jackson
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:52 PM
To: ‘Carolyn Leonard’; ‘WILL BENNETT’
Cc: ‘OABA-B LISTSERV’
Subject: RE: [oaba-b] Re: [Fwd: Celebrating Oregon's Heritage?]

It is pathetic.  I would be surprised if you find a single reference to what Oregon did to or for black people, good, bad or indifferent.  Perhaps we should not be surprise.  It would appear from the curriculum presented, that blacks still have not arrived to Oregon.  A damn shame, that’s what you could tell whomever for me, a waste of my precious time.  The material is woefully incomplete.  Vanport, its flood, among others for example, should have a prominent place in the program.  Kaiser shipyards, hopefully, is mentioned somewhere.  But I have my doubts.

DJ

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From: owner-oaba-b@peak.org [mailto:owner-oaba-b@peak.org] On Behalf Of Carolyn Leonard
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 11:06 AM
To: WILL BENNETT
Cc: OABA-B LISTSERV
Subject: [oaba-b] Re: [Fwd: Celebrating Oregon's Heritage?]

Thanks for your comment.  I would like for others to take a look and respond.  This is 2009.  Does this piece give everyone a good sense of history?  Is it appropriate to consider that things are only discovered when Europeans are involved?  Is the language and format respectful and inclusive?  Think about it and let’s let Susan Castillo know what Oregonians from all different backgrounds and  perspectives think.  cml

Carolyn M. Leonard,
Compliance Officer
Portland Public Schools
telephone: 503-916-3183
fax: 503-916-3404

Confidentiality Notice: This email message may contain confidential and
privileged information.  If you have received this message by mistake,
please notify me immediately by replying to this message and do not review,
disclose, copy or distribute it.  Thank you.

>>> WILL BENNETT <GOLDEN-WEST-PROJECT@AFRICAN-AMERICAN-HISTORICAL-DISTRICT.COM> 3/26/2009 10:20 AM >>>

All Y’all =

??? Celebrating Oregon’s Heritage ???

I have some obvious concerns about African-American involvement or maybe I’m missing something, if so let me know…

http://or150.orvsd.org/

peace

will b.

african-american-historical-district.com

For your calendar: Golden West History Display Advisory Committee – Monday, May 18, 1-3 pm

To: Golden West Historic Display Advisory Committee – Thanks for your patience with my efforts in scheduling our meeting! It looks like Monday, May 18th, 1 pm – 3 pm, at the Golden West Building, 707 NW Everett, works in people’s schedules. Please put this in your calendar. Please see attached Advisory Committee list. Bing Sheldon of SERA Architects is out of town that week but hopefully can attend the next meeting when scheduled. Dick Bogle emailed today that he is not able to participate in the committee due to other obligations. See attached updated advisory committee list.

At the meeting, the Advisory Committee will be asked to give input on the draft visual and sound elements of the Golden West display.  The City grant to CCC for this display is supposed to be fully spent by June 30th so our goal is to proceed quickly with the two committee meetings, install the display, and celebrate!

As a volunteer for this committee, we hope you’ll do the following:

• Attend two meetings to review the proposed content of the historic display;
• Help make the display ‘unveiling’ event a success;
• Help publicize the exhibit to schools, history groups, community groups, etc.

Background: As you know, the Golden West building is one of the oldest remaining landmarks of African American history in Portland.  Central City Concern purchased and renovated the building in 1989, and recently took full ownership.  For the past 19 years, the Golden West has served countless homeless and mentally ill people. In 2007 CCC undertook a number of renovations to the building.  We earmarked $4000 to restore the historic display that faces Everett Street sidewalks.  When the City of Portland Visions in Action grant program became known, CCC contacted Old Town History Project Director Dr. Jackie Peterson who helped us put together an application.  CCC was awarded $9250 from the City and $1000 from the Oregon Council on the Humanities. The combined funds, plus in-kind labor contributions primarily by CCC, will allow us to restore and improve the exhibit panels and to also add two new display windows on the Broadway side of the building and a sound component. The major goal is to convey the vibrancy of the African American neighborhood around the Golden West in the early part of the 20th century.

Let me know if you have any questions and we look forward to the first Advisory Committee meeting. FYI, I’m on vacation May 1 – 11, back on the office May 12th, so please contact me then if you have questions before the meeting

Golden West History Project

Advisory Committee

Name Role in the project Project-relevant background

Nicole Allen Advisory Committee Descendant of WD Allen and student of Darrell Millner

Billy Anfield Advisory Committee CCC Employment Access Center Employment Mentor; his relatives lived in the neighborhood of the Golden West

EV Armitage Advisory Committee & administrative project manager for the project CCC Executive Coordinator

Will Bennett Advisory Committee Community practitioner.  His ‘Golden West Project’ is one of the ‘partners and friends’ of the City of Portland Vision-Into-Action VIA program which awarded us a grant.

Ed Blackburn Advisory Committee & project director   Executive Director of CCC

Kathy Galbraith Advisory Committee & project historical consultant Director of the Bosco Milligan foundation for architectural preservation;  knowledgeable about African American history in Portland

Michael Chappie Grice Advisory Committee Helped create the original historic display at the Golden West in 1990.

Bill Hart Advisory Committee Principal with Carlton Hart Architects which did renovation work on the Golden West recently

Darrell Millner, PhD Advisory Committee Professor of history at PSU with specialty in African American history

Jackie Peterson Phd Advisory Committee & project historian and curator Historian specializing in America’s social and multiethnic history.  Curator for multiple exhibits.  Founder of the Old Town History Project

Bing Sheldon Advisory Committee & SERA is donating design services Principal with SERA Architects and board member of the Old Town History Project

Golden West History Project Advisory Committee

Name Role in the project Project-relevant background

Nicole Allen Advisory Committee Descendant of WD Allen and student of Darrell Millner

Billy Anfield Advisory Committee CCC Employment Access Center Employment Mentor; his relatives lived in the neighborhood of the Golden West

EV Armitage Advisory Committee & administrative project manager for the project CCC Executive Coordinator

Will Bennett Advisory Committee Community practitioner.  His ‘Golden West Project’ is one of the ‘partners and friends’ of the City of Portland Vision-Into-Action VIA program which awarded us a grant.

Ed Blackburn Advisory Committee & project director   Executive Director of CCC

Kathy Galbraith Advisory Committee & project historical consultant Director of the Bosco Milligan foundation for architectural preservation;  knowledgeable about African American history in Portland

Michael Chappie Grice Advisory Committee Helped create the original historic display at the Golden West in 1990.

Bill Hart Advisory Committee Principal with Carlton Hart Architects which did renovation work on the Golden West recently

Darrell Millner, PhD Advisory Committee Professor of history at PSU with specialty in African American history

Jackie Peterson, Phd Advisory Committee & project historian and curator Historian specializing in America’s social and multiethnic history.  Curator for multiple exhibits.  Founder of the Old Town History Project

Bing Sheldon Advisory Committee & SERA is donating design services Principal with SERA Architects and board member of the Old Town History Project

http://african-american-historical-district.com/

Department of Education Website Lacked Black History

As Website Lacked Black History, Activists Stepped in to Fill the Gap

By Brian Stimson of The Skanner

To celebrate the 150^th Anniversary of Oregon’s statehood, the Oregon Department of Education wanted educators to share their knowledge of the state’s varied history.

With the help of the Oregon Virtual School District, a website was set up to compile lesson plans from around the state.

According to Susanne Smith, a communications officer with the ODE, the website serves as a grassroots effort to get teachers to share effective lesson plans with other teachers. There are a wide variety of lesson plans on the site, from the geography of Oregon to the predictable tales of Lewis and Clark.

What local history activists Will Bennett and Derry Jackson didn’t find several weeks ago, was much information on the African American community in Oregon. Bennett has been organizing support for the preservation of the Golden West Hotel for the last several years and has made it his personal mission to advance the knowledge of African American history to everyday people (read The Skanner’s bio of Bennett at http://www.theskanner.com/index.php?action=artd&artid=8595).

“I’m thrilled by the response,” he said. “When I first sent out an email (about the lack of African American history lesson plans), I was fishing.”

Jackson, a longtime educator and member of the Oregon Association for Black Affairs, says there are two reasons for the lack of African American history on the site.

“One, they weren’t aware,” he says. “And two, they didn’t have the materials or lesson plans available to be uploaded.”

Felicia Williams, a graduate student and teacher of a Capstone course at Portland State University, decided to submit several lesson plans to the OR150 project. The lesson plans cover the 1969 race riots and the way various media outlets handled the coverage; Portland’s restrictive housing covenants; and thinking critically about race in Oregon.

“They don’t really have anything to address racism in Oregon history,” she said.

But most of the onus for the website falls on the backs of the educators themselves.

“We had no funding for this,” says Smith. “We really wanted it to be by the people, for the people.”

Here’s how the site works: any educator in the state is welcome to submit a lesson plan; Smith ensures the plan fits the technical format for the site and the plan is uploaded to http://or150.orvsd.org. Smith says she’s posted every submission she’s received.

Once the lesson plans are posted, they’re available to any teacher who wishes to use them as part of their classroom curriculum.

Smith says Williams was one of the only educators outside the K through 12 system to submit a plan. Smith says she’s tried hard to get the word out to teachers that this site is available.

“This is a drop in the bucket,” she said. “This just isn’t a high priority for teachers. There are a lot of things our teachers are grappling with and it isn’t necessarily representational of what’s actually being taught.”

Williams’ interest in local Black history stemmed from a meeting with The Skanner publisher Bernie Foster, who told her the story of the renaming of Union Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

She developed an interest in conducting oral history interviews. Many projects have community members, amateur historians and high school students conducting oral interviews. Williams said more trained historians need to enter higher education so they know the detailed history of the time and know the right questions to ask.

Jackson says there need to be a greater understanding of local Black history.

“We have one of the foremost experts on the topic right here in Portland,” said Derry, referring to Dr. Darrel Milner, the director of the Black Studies Department at PSU. “A lot of local talents are dismissed or overlooked.”

As for the grassroots nature of the project, Jackson said the best subjects for history are walking among us.

“The best experts are people who lived the Black experience in Oregon,” he said. “A lot are legitimate experts. It depends on how you frame the subject.”

Jackson expects the OR150 project to receive a lot more attention from Black educators and others interested in furthering the knowledge base of Black Oregon history. Once that is finished, the pressure will be on the teachers to use these sometimes-controversial materials in their classes.

“We mature and grow enough (as a society) to deal with the ugly things in our past,” he said. “We have to get comfortable with it, and the leadership needs to get comfortable with it.”

african-american-historical-district.com

Oral Interview: W.D. ALLEN JR.

African American Music Collection: the interviews

Oral/Writen Interview: W.D. ALLEN JR.

But that oral/written history was something he had done for what I believe was the University of Chicago, who was interviewing prominent Black Musicians on their stories.
That would be my Uncle &quot;Dunc&quot;, who wrote that. We actually have the original letter he wrote of the one you attached, which describs the history of the family. We also have a photograph of WD Sr.’s parents, Charles and Sarah (my Great-great grandparents) and their 9 children (including WD Allen, Sr.).
Yah that’s my Uncle Dunc, we have more things from him than we want! Haha. Aside from being a famed concert pianist, he was an avid fan of the typewriter. I remember receiving many letters when I was younger. But that oral/written history was something he had done for what I believe was the University of Chicago, who was interviewing prominent Black Musicians on their stories.If you want any information regarding WD Jr., we have more than enough, including a playbill which stated: &quot;Starring Paul Robeson and Accompanied by William Duncan Allen Jr.&quot; But both Uncle Dunc and his younger sister Constance (&quot;Nellie&quot; as she was called) were classically trained concert pianists, who very much involved with the Black Experience. I have a letter addressed to both WD Jr. and Nellie (as well as her husband Hughe) from Ralph Bunche, where he describes his then recent experience at the March from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights.

Click on docs below

But that oral/written history was something he had done for what I believe was the University of Chicago, who was interviewing prominent Black Musicians on their stories.
That would be my Uncle &quot;Dunc&quot;, who wrote that. We actually have the original letter he wrote of the one you attached, which describs the history of the family. We also have a photograph of WD Sr.’s parents, Charles and Sarah (my Great-great grandparents) and their 9 children (including WD Allen, Sr.).
Yah that’s my Uncle Dunc, we have more things from him than we want! Haha. Aside from being a famed concert pianist, he was an avid fan of the typewriter. I remember receiving many letters when I was younger. But that oral/written history was something he had done for what I believe was the University of Chicago, who was interviewing prominent Black Musicians on their stories.If you want any information regarding WD Jr., we have more than enough, including a playbill which stated: &quot;Starring Paul Robeson and Accompanied by William Duncan Allen Jr.&quot; But both Uncle Dunc and his younger sister Constance (&quot;Nellie&quot; as she was called) were classically trained concert pianists, who very much involved with the Black Experience. I have a letter addressed to both WD Jr. and Nellie (as well as her husband Hughe) from Ralph Bunche, where he describes his then recent experience at the March from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights.

http://african-american-historical-district.com/

School program looks at Oregon’s racial history

May 19, 2008

PORTLAND — Portland Public Schools will be Oregon’s first district to use a textbook to explore the state’s racial history. And some of it isn’t too pretty.

“This is not your traditional Oregon history kids may have learned in social studies class in fourth grade,” said Marcia Arganbright, district director of curriculum and instruction.

“Beyond the Oregon Trail: Oregon’s Untold History” is one of four books recommended for eighth-graders.

She said the district didn’t seek a curriculum dealing with racism but found that “Beyond the Oregon Trail” met the goals of seeing history in a different way.

Some of the state’s racial history has been glossed over, and likely will provoke strong feelings and discussion.

For example: After slavery was declared illegal by the provisional government of what is now Oregon in 1844, residents passed the “Lash Law” requiring African Americans to be whipped if they refused to leave. Whipping was changed to forced labor six months later, although there is only one record of a person leaving because of it.

The law was changed in 1862 to charge African Americans, Chinese, Hawaiians and multiracial people an annual tax of $5 to live in the state, about $770 in today’s money.

“We had to create a safe space to talk about this so everyone leaves with their dignity intact,” said Shauna Adams, co-author, consultant and trainer on cultural competence.

“We wanted to make sure it wasn’t blaming language, but we have to be willing to look at the ways we can participate in bias, even unknowingly. That’s something young people can understand if we offer it up to them in ways they can hear it.”

The concept was created by Oregon Uniting, a community group that worked to initiate dialogue about race in Oregon. The group received a grant to create a curriculum to help students better understand Oregon’s racial past.

Co-author Keisha Edwards said they had a specific mission in mind.

“A lot of multicultural curriculum has dealt with celebrating differences,” said Edwards, a consultant and curriculum developer for the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory.

Instead, the class will visit where it hurt”"the racism, sexism, classism, homophobia.

In 2004, Oregon Uniting merged with another organization to form Uniting to Understand Racism to promote understanding of racism through education and conversation.

Sheila Griffie, executive director of Uniting to Understand Racism, said the new curriculum sprang from the organization’s dialogues on racism with community groups and corporations.

“The school curriculum is a history that gives young people a more full picture of what Oregon is about. … It’s not just Lewis and Clark.”

Over 188 years, federal and Oregon governments passed more than 30 racial discriminatory laws.

Many dozed for years in the statute books, forgotten and unused.

There were three exclusion laws banning blacks from the state that passed before statehood in 1859.

In 1849 it was ruled illegal for blacks to settle in the new Oregon Territory at all, a law that remained until 1854.

Oregon became the first state admitted to the union with an exclusion law in its constitution. It was removed in 1926.

“Whites and half-breed Indians” could claim land under the 1850 Donation Land Act. Blacks could not.

In 1866 the state rejected the 14th Amendment granting citizenship to blacks, and extended the marriage ban to anybody a quarter or more Chinese or Hawaiian or half or more Indian. That was state law until 1951.

In 1883 an attempt to amend the state constitution to remove the ban on black voting failed, and it didn’t pass until 1927. Oregon voters got around to ratifying the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which did the same thing, in 1959.

Joyce Harris of the Maryland-based National Association for Multicultural Education said the adoption of material such as “Beyond the Oregon Trail” would help debunk the idea that truth and history come from only one source.

“If we think of truth as being the sum of multiple perspectives, then we get a more accurate picture of history and a more accurate, equitable and just picture of today,” Harris said.

Current Comments:

Black, brown, yellow good. White bad. Well, that’s multiculturalism for ‘ya.

Anonymous () – May 20th, 6:52 AM