Search Results

By Derrick Johnson Editor’s note: NAACP President and Chief Executive Officer Derrick Johnson issued the following statement regarding Michael Cohen’s testimony last week before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. Donald Trump has been showing us his true colors for decades. Trump’s presidency and entire career has been an affront to civil rights so nothing in Michael Cohen’s testimony is surprising for a person that has historically racialized and stigmatized those around him. From his racist housing practices, to his villainization of the Central Park 5, to his birther accusations against President Obama, to creating safe havens for white supremacists – all of this maps out the actions and personality of a liar and a racist who is wholly uninterested in advancing the cause of civil rights. This testimony just further proves what we already knew: we have a sitting president, who is a co-conspirator to a potential crime of a foreign nation that meddled in our election, prompted voter suppression tactics and ultimately subverted our democratic process. Trump has proven in his words, in his deeds and in his policies that he’s not worthy of his position as the leader of the free world and Cohen’s testimony only cements this.

A playwright’s celebrated performance about Ferguson Dael Orlandersmith explores the social unrest in Ferguson, Mo. following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in ‘Until the Flood,’ her Pulitzer Prize finalist play. PHOTO BY CHRIS BENNION/COURTESY THE ARMORY Pulitzer Prize finalist and celebrated performer Dael Orlandersmith comes to Portland Center Stage at The Armory to perform her compassionate, timely play Until the Flood, exploring the social unrest in Ferguson, Mo., following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. Originally commissioned by Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Until the Flood is drawn from Orlandersmith’s extensive interviews with residents across the greater St. Louis area to create composite characters that reflect a wide range of perspectives and experiences of race in Missouri. Orlandersmith crafts a stunning theatrical experience that must be seen. Variety called Until the Flood “both eye-opening and quietly moving,” while the Chicago Tribune called it “palpably compassionate,” writing that it “achieves a great beauty by bringing us together rather than driving us apart. The Armory will host several free community events surrounding the play, including a screening of Whose Streets?, a documentary about the Ferguson uprising, and a series of moderated post-show discussions with community leaders that will explore the themes of the play through local perspectives. Preview performances of “Until the Flood’ begin Saturday, March 16 and continue through Thursday, March 22; opening night is Friday, March 22; and shows will run through April 21 in the Ellyn Bye Studio at The Armory. Regular tickets range from $25 to $57. Visit.pcs.org, call 503-445-3700 or stop by the box office at 128 N.W. 11th Ave.

I've lived through it myself By Gray Ndiaye Jussie Smollett, a popular actor and singer-songwriter, was recently arrested and charged with filing a false police report. Smollett alleged that he was attacked in late January by two white men who spewed racist and homophobic slurs as they assaulted him. A standout detail was his claim that the assailants said, “This is MAGA country.” Smollett has been very critical of the Trump administration and said he believed this was some sort of retaliation. Originally viewed as the victim, Smollett is now accused of orchestrating his own attack. This has created an uproar. Smollett’s attack was a major news story, and a plethora of public figures expressed support for him. The public isn’t only shocked but also outraged by the latest accusations — especially survivors of hate crimes. This situation hits close to home. Though I was never physically assaulted, I’ve been targeted for harassment due to my sexuality. It’s been a challenging journey navigating between two crucial factors of my identity; I am both black and gay. In the spring of 2015, a fake advertisement was posted on a college social app. The advertisement listed my college apartment number and was advertising for men to come over. It was written as if it were a woman. I was gone at the time, but men began coming to my apartment looking for sex. My classmate who lived in my complex saw the ad and let me know. It was embarrassing because other students had seen the ad. I contacted both campus security and the police. Nothing happened. I still have no closure on this incident. In the fall of 2015, I was leaving class with a friend. A car followed us while its passengers yelled homophobic slurs at me, chasing me into a corner. This was caught on tape by security cameras. I alerted campus security, and although they saw the clear visuals on the tape, nothing happened. Since it was a verbal bashing, they didn’t think it was a real threat (never mind my being chased by a car). It was a Christian university. Since then, I’ve always wondered what they would do if I were a straight, white male who was verbally bashed and chased with evidence on tape. Though both of these events left an impact, I’m lucky that it was no worse. Due to the current divisive state of our country, hate crimes have been on the rise across most categories. In particular, there’s been a spike in hate crimes regarding race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The Human Rights Campaign reported that in 2017, 29 transgender individuals were brutally killed. This is the highest ever recorded — though the 26 transgender individuals murdered last year comes close. In fact, hate crimes have been on the rise for three consecutive years, according to the FBI. . As a black man and a gay man — a member of two marginalized groups often targeted — this is a source of constant fear and anxiety. Unlike Smollett’s case, which was an extremely rare case of possible false reporting, rights groups estimate that far more real incidents go unreported. Hatred is still prevalent. Whether verbal or physical, these attacks are very real and can carry fatal outcomes. The Jussie Smollett episode shouldn’t distract us from this. One man may have lied, but the real story is how many lives are still threatened. Please don’t stop supporting victims of hate crimes or advocating for justice. Gray Ndiaye is a modern-day griot (musician and storyteller) who resides in Southern California. He’s on Twitter and Instagram at @graythegriot. Distributed by OtherWords.org.

By Suzie Kassouf After sitting in traffic for over an hour on my way back to Portland from my job substitute teaching in Hillsboro, I’m almost tempted to believe that the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) plan to invest $450 million in a 1.8 mile lane highway expansion sounds like a good idea. Luckily, I spent the day teaching students about the importance of research and data and how our notions of what is “common sense” are not always rooted in reality. Highway expansion, it turns out, is one of those instances. More lanes, it seems, should ease the flow of traffic. In reality, however, highway expansion has never improved traffic conditions - what we see every time, instead, is an influx of vehicles on the road, all stuck in the same mind-numbing, infuriating gridlock. With 40 percent of Portland’s carbon emissions flowing from transportation, fueling an increase that has been proven ineffective to remedy traffic woes in the midst of a full blow climate crisis seems like a monumentally bad idea. ODOT should be investing in ramping up public transportation and other green infrastructure - this is Portland, not L.A. Head over to nomorefreewayspdx.com before April 1 to leave a public comment and tell ODOT to oppose the Rose Quarter highway expansion and invest the money where it’s needed. Suzie Kassouf Southeast Portland

A free screening of the documentary ‘Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart’ at Reed College on Monday, March 11 will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Hansberry's landmark play ‘A Raisin in the Sun.’ Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play “A Raisin in the Sun” remains a beloved theatrical jewel, but the story of its author is not widely known. Reed College invites the community to learn more during a free open-to-the-public screening of the documentary “Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” by Tracy Heather Strain exploring the life and work of this passionate civil rights advocate and queer writer of color who played a significant role in the major cultural and political movements of our time. On camera interviews and rare archival material in the film create a nuanced portrait of an activist and artist whose words and ideas are as relevant today as they were when she first wrote them. The screening takes place Monday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Reed College Performing Arts Building.

PSU recommendation at odds with campus survey An archive photo from the Portland Observer shows students occupying Portland State University’s Campus Public Safety office following the 2019 campus officer-involved shooting death of Jason Washington. In a new commitment to innovation, PSU has announced that it will start patrolling campus unarmed by Sept. 1. PHOTO BY DANNY PETERSON A special board meeting at Portland State University has been scheduled for next Thursday, March 7 after consultants hired by the university released a report Friday recommending keeping armed officers at PSU even as it presented a new survey showing a slim majority on campus were opposed. The consulting firm Margolis Healy found that 52 percent of polled students, faculty and staff want the school’s campus safety officers to disarm. The accompanying 213 page report, which was commissioned by PSU, comes after campus public security officers responded to a disturbance last June 29 that resulted in the death of Jason Washington, a 45-year-old African-American Veteran, father, grandfather and postal worker, outside the Cheerful Tortoise bar, near the Southwest Portland campus. Witnesses said Washington was trying to break up a fight and a gun fell from his body before he tried to pick it up. He was shot multiple times by two responding PSU officers, marking the first officer-involved shooting at the school since campus police were armed in July 2015. The officers were cleared of all wrong-doing by a Grand Jury. Body-cam video captured from both officers during the incident that seemed to show Washington holding a gun. The weapon was later determined to be his friend’s, but Washington had a permit to carry a concealed handgun. Student-led protests and occupations of the Campus Public Safety building followed with the protesters over arcing demand for disarming campus officers. The consultants’ poll included 4,150 surveyed people, out of the roughly 27,670 people who work and learn at PSU. 37 percent of respondents wanted police to keep their weapons, while another 10 percent had no opinion. Though the slim majority of respondents said they’d like the officers to be without guns, the consultants said the trend for major American universities is to have armed police on duty. They recommended having a mix of armed and unarmed officers at PSU, constructing more lampposts near MAX transit stations, and creating a “mini police academy” that would include 80 hours of in-service training per year, including some bias and de-escalation training. The Portland State Board of Trustees special meeting on March 7 to discuss the consultant’s report will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom.

PSU department was first in Northwest Portland State University faculty member emeritus and former longtime Black Studies Chair Darrell Millner lecturing in a PSU classroom in 1975. PHOTO COURTESY PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY 50 years ago, Portland State became the first college in the Pacific Northwest to offer a program in black studies following the greatest decade of change for African Americans since the Civil War Over the years, it went from being an experimental program that was criticized by some in the academic community who questioned its legitimacy as a discipline to a full-blown--and accepted--department. After a half-century, it remains unique to the region. “I think not only Portland State, but the whole Portland community should be proud of that,” PSU professor emeritus and former department chair Darrel Millner told the Portland Observer. While other universities in the Northwest offer courses in ethnic studies or African-American studies, PSU is the only one with a full degree-granting department with the word “black” in its name. “At the time of our founding, ‘black’ was a very powerful and political term,” said current department chair Shirley A. Jackson. “It was a way of throwing off the older ways of referencing people who had black skin.” An influential assortment of students and faculty pushed the idea of starting the program in 1968 and 1969 as part of a wave of other universities around the country doing the same. Millner, who joined the department in 1975, said the effort was a product of the often student-led movements that characterized the civil rights and anti-war efforts of that era. Portland State— which had just gained university status — approved the Black Studies program as an “experiment” on Aug. 22, 1969. Photo courtesy Portland State University Many believe that only black students take courses in the Black Studies Department at Portland State University, but department chair Shirley Jackson says the curriculum is really for everybody. “It was deemed experimental because it was so new — there was no guarantee that this would actually be something that would continue to exist,” Jackson said. Photo courtesy Portland State University Lenwood Davis (left), director of the Black Studies Center at Portland State University in the early 1970s, with Clarence Barry, the first student to earn a Black Studies certificate from PSU, in a picture from the 1972 Viking yearbook. Charlotte Rutherford, a former civil rights attorney with the NAACP Legal and Educational Fund who donated a vast collection of her family’s black memorabilia to the PSU Library, earned her certificate in the program in 1976. She said she took classes from the program — and continues to support it — through her desire to learn “about our history as black people both in Oregon and the in the history of the U.S.” “The public school system then and probably now does little to teach race history and the true story of how black people (and other people of color) have contributed to and been treated in this country,” she said. “I always knew there had to be more information than I had been given in school but I had no idea so much information had been suppressed.” Initially, the program focused on the African American experience, based on what was happening around the country at the time. The few years before its founding saw marches on Washington, D.C. and in the American South, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the assassinations of both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., the founding of the Black Panthers in 1966, numerous race-fueled riots in American cities, and the emergence of the Black Power movement. The program also had the mission of providing assistance and support to Portland’s black community. “At that time the majority of Portland black residents resided in an area known as Albina,” recalled Phil McLaurin, the center’s first director. “Black Studies offered courses to Albina-area residents at a PSU-funded facility known as Albina Presence, and was actively involved in all issues impacting the community residents.” The mission broadened in the ensuing years to include courses on the black experience in Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. It added travel opportunities, and next December will offer study in Santiago de Cuba and has plans to develop a study trip to New York City — probably the most diverse black population in the United States. The curriculum is multidisciplinary, covering history, sociology, cultural anthropology, literature, film and other fields. Although many believe that only black students take courses in Black Studies, Jackson said it’s really for everybody. “This is a degree that really helps students prepare for working with people in diverse communities, and not just the black community,” she said. “It’s about learning to deal with differences and becoming culturally aware.” Millner added that a complete view of America’s past must deal with the racial aspects of its history, making the field of black studies “an essential component to any educational experience.” Jackson, Millner, Portland civic leaders, the Oregon Historical Society, and others are planning a big birthday celebration for the Black Studies Department’s 50 year milestone in October. John Kirkland of Portland State University communications contributed to this article.

Commitment to accountability is what’s needed By Lakayana Drury Our city made national news with the explosive release of text messages between a police lieutenant and leader from Patriot Prayer, an alt-right group with white supremacist sympathies. Was this an egregious breach of protocol or just a misinterpretation of standard conduct? It depends on who you ask. I spoke with a police officer who said there weren't enough facts to determine the situation. I spoke with community members who sent me articles showing that this was just standard police procedure. I spoke with others who were alarmed but not at all shocked. What concerns me most was how quickly and confidently people were willing to extend the benefit of the doubt to police. Who is afforded the benefit of the doubt in our country? At face value it would seem that everyone should be afforded the benefit of the doubt. But when we take a closer look we see that the benefit of the doubt is closely tied to privilege and dominant culture. In light of the text incident, I was alarmed by the number of people who were willing to give the Portland Police Bureau the benefit of the doubt. Considering the history of Portland as a safe-haven for white supremacists, the fact that the police bureau is under a Department of Justice settlement for excessive use of force, and its troubled history of race relations, why are Portland police given the benefit of the doubt that this was just another gross misunderstanding? The fact is that black people and young black men in particular are never given the benefit of the doubt in our country. Trayvon Martin was not given the benefit of the doubt when he was walking home with a bag of skittles and ice tea, minding his own business. Tamir Rice was never given the benefit of the doubt when he was shot and killed by the police in a park in Cleveland, Ohio before it was later discovered that the suspicious object he was holding was a toy gun. Quanice Hayes was not given the benefit of the doubt as he crouched down on all fours here in Portland. Jermaine Massey was not given the benefit of the doubt when he was speaking on the phone with his mom in a Portland hotel lobby. Black people are never afforded the benefit of the doubt; not at Starbucks, not when we are holding our personal belongings, not when we are in school. So why are we so willing to be lenient with the police and willing to consider the situation and facts when that same right is not afforded to black people and people of color? From jokes about shooting black people, to use of force when other options are available, the Portland Police Bureau is continually given the benefit of the doubt. In the larger scale of society, white people and white men in particular and white culture as a whole are also always given the benefit of the doubt. Whether it be clothing that masquerades with racist imagery or politicians that make racially charged comments or white people who commit crimes, the benefit of the doubt is always extended to them immediately and insulates them from criticism. On the other hand, black people are almost always presumed guilty or in the wrong. For whites, the benefit of the doubt is a matter of a slap on the wrist or jail time, for blacks, it can often be life or death. I challenge us as a community to replace that benefit of the doubt with the commitment of accountability. The benefit of the doubt is an unearned privilege that must be rejected and further damages the relationships within the community. Accountability holds us responsible and unites communities. The commitment of accountability means that instead of asking, “In this situation, was the officer overly friendly with a leader of an alt-right group?” to instead asking, “How does PPB hold its officers accountable and reform policies to stand against white supremacy?” Accountability isn’t just about disciplining the individuals who committed the act as much as it is about changing the policies, systems and culture that gives those individuals the power to act in the first place. The benefit of the doubt protects individuals whereas the commitment of responsibility challenges institutions and systems and holds individuals responsible for their actions. I am less concerned with the individual officer in this incident and more concerned with how PPB plans to change policies and institutional culture so that it firmly stands against white supremacy. I am less concerned with the officers on the street and more concerned with the policies that shape how they respond to calls and what behaviors are tolerated. The benefit of the doubt focuses on intent and commitment to accountability centers on the impact. The impact of the “text incident” is that it fuels the narrative that PPB is not to be trusted in communities of color and that they are colluding with or at the least sympathetic to alt-right organizations. Many in the city are working to improve relationships between the police and the community including myself, and events like this make our work that much more challenging and lead us to question how invested police are to this process. The Portland Police Bureau must take the commitment to accountability seriously and focus not only on explaining the context of the messages and disciplining those involved but more importantly make a clear statement on where it stands in regards to white supremacy. They should not shy away from the incident nor deflect blame but step boldly into the situation and firmly clarify where they stand. The community should not have to doubt whether its police force stands against white supremacy and to have any doubt should alarm us all. PPB must focus on policy reform, transparency and work culture to change the current power dynamics. At every opportunity they should reject the benefit of the doubt argument which weakness trust and does not address institutional racism and bias. White community members must also reject the benefit of the doubt plea and not hand it out whenever controversy arises. The police must realize the racial roots of this benefit and realize that this benefit is not extended to their black neighbors. The benefit of the doubt argument is tone deaf and privileged. White people must be allies to communities of color as we work to dismantle systems of oppression and demand the commitment of accountability from our institutions and leaders. We in the black community do not want the benefit of the doubt either. We want to benefit from life: To work, play, sit, talk and live like everyone else. That benefit starts with a commitment to accountability. Lakayana Drury teaches social studies at Rosemary Anderson High School and is a community activist on efforts to build more positive relationships between young black men and law enforcement.

Oregon’s Wyden and Blumenauer are on board By Justin Strekal U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has introduced legislation in the Senate, S. 420 — The Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act— to permit states to establish their own marijuana regulatory policies free from federal interference. In addition to removing marijuana from the United States Controlled Substances Act, this legislation also removes enforcement power from the US Drug Enforcement Administration in matters concerning marijuana possession, production, and sales — thus permitting state governments to regulate these activities as they see fit. Senate Bill 420 is another sign that the growing public support for ending our failed war on cannabis consumers nationwide is continuing to translate into political support amongst federal officials. If we are truly going to move our nation towards sensible marijuana policies, the removal of marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act is paramount. Annually, 650,000 Americans are arrested for nothing more than the possession of small amounts of marijuana and now is the time for Congress to once and for all end put an end to the national embarrassment that is cannabis prohibition. With marijuana legalization being supported by a supermajority of Americans while Congress’ approval rating hovers around 20 percent, ending our country’s disastrous prohibition against marijuana would not just be good policy, but good politics. Upon introduction, Sen. Wyden said, “The federal prohibition of marijuana is wrong, plain and simple. Too many lives have been wasted, and too many economic opportunities have been missed. It’s time Congress make the changes Oregonians and Americans across the country are demanding.” U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, the Portland Democrat who will carry the House companion legislation, said “Oregon has been and continues to be a leader in commonsense marijuana policies and the federal government must catch up. The American people have elected the most pro-cannabis Congress in American history and significant pieces of legislation are being introduced. The House is doing its work and with the help of Senator Wyden’s leadership in the Senate, we will break through.” Thirty-three states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico have enacted legislation specific to the physician-authorized use of cannabis. Moreover, an estimated 73 million Americans now reside in the 10 states where anyone over the age of 21 may possess cannabis legally. An additional 15 states have passed laws specific to the possession of cannabidiol (CBD) oil for therapeutic purposes. Sixty-eight percent of registered voters “support the legalization of marijuana,” according to 2018 national polling data compiled by the Center for American Progress. The percentage is the highest level of support for legalization ever reported in a nationwide, scientific poll. Majorities of Democrats (77 percent), Independents (62 percent), and Republicans (57 percent) back legalization. The results of a 2017 nationwide Gallup poll similarly found majority support among all three groups. For far too long, our Congress has been intransigent regarding marijuana prohibition. Now is the time for lawmakers to come together and hash out a way forward to end the failed and cruel policy of criminalization. Add your voice to the growing chorus demanding reform; send a message to your lawmakers in support of S 420! Justin Strekal is the political director for NORML.

Members of the Parkrose girls basketball team faced racist taunts during a recent game at St. Helens. (KPTV photo) Editor’s note: The following was submitted by the Portland NAACP. Recently the NAACP Local branch 1120 received a complaint bringing attention to a recent game between JV and the varsity girls basketball teams from Parkrose High School and St. Helens High School. The complainant alleged that student attendees of St. Helens High School began screaming racial slurs (the n-word) during the game than later trailed the young female students from Parkrose to their bus while continuing to shout racist comments while imitating the sounds of monkeys. The NAACP Portland branch issued a statement calling for swift action from the St. Helens school district to address the appalling and heinous actions displayed by the St. Helens students. NAACP President E.D. Mondainé and St. Helens School District Superintendent Scot Stockwell met and discussed the best and most immediate courses of action necessary in moving forward and bridging the gap between communities. Attached is a joint statement from St. Helens superintendent Stockwell and Portland NAACP president Mondainé. The St. Helens School District has remained relatively silent about the recent events with the Parkrose girls’ basketball team because we believed publicly debating the details of this incident would do more damage than good. It does not matter who, where, or how many, what matters is it happened and we should be furious that it took place at all. Nothing can justify discrimination. The vast majority of our community, like most all communities, is repulsed by racism. We are rightfully disturbed by the entire situation as well as the picture painted of our community. Even so, we are taking ownership and action to address discrimination, racism, and ignorance. It is naive to believe this is only an issue in St. Helens. The problem of discrimination and racism is bigger than the girls basketball game with St. Helens and Parkrose. The focus shifted to a larger stage. The St. Helens School District is taking multiple steps to develop and instill cultural competence across our system from student forums and lessons to professional development and community outreach. We know we cannot do the work alone and are grateful for our emerging partnership with E.D. Mondainé and the NAACP. We understand that it is a long process to make a significant lasting change that can’t be fixed by a single feel-good assembly. We look forward to creating a stronger School District where all people, regardless of who they are or where they come from, feel welcomed and our differences celebrated. In collaboration with the NAACP, we hope to not only prevent a similar situation in St. Helens but prevent it from being repeated anywhere in the state of Oregon. Over the next 18 months, we will work with the NAACP and convene a team of action minded activists. The group’s task will be to bridge the differences between urban and rural communities. One area of focus will be on the opportunity presented through school activities. The overall goal will be to develop a pilot program leveraging relationships by bringing together rural and urban communities to form better understandings of each other. It is through this work that we will celebrate our differences, highlight our similarities and begin to undo racism at its core. Scot Stockwell, St. Helens School District E.D. Mondainé, Portland NAACP

Louise Marie Burton Louise Marie Burton A celebration of life service for Louise Marie Burton will be held Monday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. at Maranatha Church, 4222 N.E. 12th Ave. She was born on May 20, 1937 in Austin, Texas to Frankie B. Slider and Tom L. Slider Jr. and died Feb. 9, 2019 in Portland. She and her brothers James T. Slider and Ralph B. Slider and sister Tommie M. Slider were raised in a home filled with love for God and family. The Slider family eventually moved to Vancouver and then Portland/ Louise was not only beautiful with a great personality, but very smart in school. After her primary grades in Austin, she graduated from Lieser Elementary School and Fort Vancouver High school in Vancouver. It was in high school that she was smitten by a young man named Donald Richard Malone. They were married in 1952 and had one child, Michelle Marie in 1953. At an early age she subscribed to her family tradition of helping others and giving back to the community. She enrolled in a nursing program in 1954-1958 at St. Vincent Hospital and worked as nurse at St. Vincent, Wilcox Memorial and Holladay Park hospitals. She also worked in the hospitality industry at the prestigious Benson Hotel. Later she became ready to open her heart again by meeting Buford Leon Burton better known as “Jack.” They were married in 1957 and little Kimberly Renee was born in 1959. Louise developed the love of being an outstanding cook from her mother. She shared many special family recipes with her daughters and grandchildren. It was one of the many ways she shared her love during family breakfasts, Sunday dinners, picnics, birthday parties, barbecues or just entertaining friends. She later entered a social work program from 1973 to 1975 at Portland Community College. The experience from both her nursing and social work careers combined to help her with positions in the Women In Transition Project, Albina Action Center, Beech Street Project, Urban League of Portland and Albina Ministerial Alliance. She was a dedicated community servant changing lives for more than 30 years. No matter life’s challenges she was guided by her faith, love of family and believing in God’s plan for her life. Being the eternal optimist, she eventually met the love her life Clyde A. DuBoise at a chance meeting at Grant High School attending one of Michelle’s school activities. They were both at life’s crossroads and realized their journey was destined. Families blended had a wonderful life together filled with the love and joy of cooking and traveling together. They were happily engaged together in a 35 year relationship until he preceded her in death. They can now dance together again. Louise was an amazing daughter, sister, wife, aunt, cousin, niece and extraordinary mother and grandmother and friend. She loved her children and grandchildren dearly. Her zest for life and love was infectious. She leaves to cherish her memory, brother Ralph Slider and sister-in-law Anna Slider of Portland; daughters Michelle Harper of Portland, Kimberly Edwards and son-in-law Jessie Edwards of Portland, grandchildren Jayvin Harper and Kimberly Davis of Portland, great-grandchildren, September and Ernest Spinks Jr. of Portland, and host of cousins, nieces, friends, and a beloved community.

Retired cop addresses racial divide in new book By Michael Leighton Retired Portland police officer Larry Anderson (right) addresses the racial divide in ‘Unlikely Brotherhood” a story about two men who collided in bigotry and hatred. But years later, an improbable friendship binds them together. A retired black cop and a white criminal defense attorney, both from Portland, recount how their combustible relationship was transformed into a lasting friendship in ‘Unlikely Brotherhood,’ a new book that addresses the cultural divide between white and black America. The book is the story of Larry Anderson, a former police officer for the Portland Police Bureau and Wendell Birkland, a Portland lawyer and former Multnomah County prosecutor, and is written with Ken Koopman of Portland, his third book. Coming from extreme opposite backgrounds, defined by their skin color and economic upbringings, the story tells how two men collided in bigotry and hatred in their first encounter. But years later, an improbable friendship binds them together. Hearts are changed as the men of faith declare their intent to love one another as brothers, and move past deadly and racially-charged incidents that impacted their lives on the streets of Portland. Anderson told the Portland Observer the book resonates with today’s issues of race and the growing social divisions that define America. He hopes the book inspires others on how to build authentic and loving relationships no matter the color of their skin. The differences are stark. In “Unlikely Brotherhood” Anderson’s recounts the first time he heard the n-word. He was a young child visiting the home a white neighbor friend and the boy’s white grandfather yelled out wanting to know who brought the n----- to the house. From a completely opposite upbringing, Birkland writes how he never met a black person growing up and had a carefree childhood of delights, like riding ponies on his grandfather’s farm, Alpenrose Dairy. The book shows how these two men from different worlds came to a deep friendship over a 25 year history of being involved in the so-called racial reconciliation movement in Portland, forming regular weekly meet-ups with others to forge friendships across chasms that divide people by race. Drawing on his religious beliefs, Anderson points a way forward. He says he doesn’t look for reconciliation between races when there has never been conciliation. He said because there’s only one human race and God doesn’t identify man as black or white, there can only be reconciliation to God. “As long as I see myself as a black man and you see yourself as a white man, by the very nature of our definition we’re meant to oppose each other,” he writes. “We’ve got to get men of God talking about first needing to reconcile to our Creator; then you go about figuring out how to love your neighbor.” Anderson said the key to forging brotherhood between the races is getting to know each other with authentic relationships. Unlikely Brotherhood is now available in paperback, hardback and eBook from the most popular online book retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.