04-28-2024  10:16 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

City Council Strikes Down Gonzalez’s ‘Inhumane’ Suggestion for Blanket Ban on Public Camping

Mayor Wheeler’s proposal for non-emergency ordinance will go to second reading.

A Conservative Quest to Limit Diversity Programs Gains Momentum in States

In support of DEI, Oregon and Washington have forged ahead with legislation to expand their emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in government and education.

Epiphanny Prince Hired by Liberty in Front Office Job Day After Retiring

A day after announcing her retirement, Epiphanny Prince has a new job working with the New York Liberty as director of player and community engagement. Prince will serve on the basketball operations and business staffs, bringing her 14 years of WNBA experience to the franchise. 

The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting. 

NEWS BRIEFS

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson Releases $3.96 Billion Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025

Investments will boost shelter and homeless services, tackle the fentanyl crisis, strengthen the safety net and support a...

New Funding Will Invest in Promising Oregon Technology and Science Startups

Today Business Oregon and its Oregon Innovation Council announced a million award to the Portland Seed Fund that will...

Unity in Prayer: Interfaith Vigil and Memorial Service Honoring Youth Affected by Violence

As part of the 2024 National Youth Violence Prevention Week, the Multnomah County Prevention and Health Promotion Community Adolescent...

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...

Oregon's Sports Bra, a pub for women's sports fans, plans national expansion as interest booms

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — On a recent weeknight at this bar in northeast Portland, fans downed pints and burgers as college women's lacrosse and beach volleyball matches played on big-screen TVs. Memorabilia autographed by female athletes covered the walls, with a painting of U.S. soccer legend Abby...

Oregon university pauses gifts and grants from Boeing in response to student and faculty demands

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — An Oregon university said Friday it is pausing seeking or accepting further gifts or grants from Boeing Co. after students and faculty demanded that the school sever ties with the aerospace company because of its weapons manufacturing divisions and its connections to...

The Bo Nix era begins in Denver, and the Broncos also drafted his top target at Oregon

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — For the first time in his 17 seasons as a coach, Sean Payton has a rookie quarterback to nurture. Payton's Denver Broncos took Bo Nix in the first round of the NFL draft. The coach then helped out both himself and Nix by moving up to draft his new QB's top...

Elliss, Jenkins, McCaffrey join Harrison and Alt in following their fathers into the NFL

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, Kris Jenkins, Jonah Ellis and Luke McCaffrey have turned the NFL draft into a family affair. The sons of former pro football stars, they've followed their fathers' formidable footsteps into the league. Elliss was...

OPINION

Op-Ed: Why MAGA Policies Are Detrimental to Black Communities

NNPA NEWSWIRE – MAGA proponents peddle baseless claims of widespread voter fraud to justify voter suppression tactics that disproportionately target Black voters. From restrictive voter ID laws to purging voter rolls to limiting early voting hours, these...

Loving and Embracing the Differences in Our Youngest Learners

Yet our responsibility to all parents and society at large means we must do more to share insights, especially with underserved and under-resourced communities. ...

Gallup Finds Black Generational Divide on Affirmative Action

Each spring, many aspiring students and their families begin receiving college acceptance letters and offers of financial aid packages. This year’s college decisions will add yet another consideration: the effects of a 2023 Supreme Court, 6-3 ruling that...

OP-ED: Embracing Black Men’s Voices: Rebuilding Trust and Unity in the Democratic Party

The decision of many Black men to disengage from the Democratic Party is rooted in a complex interplay of historical disenchantment, unmet promises, and a sense of disillusionment with the political establishment. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Obstacles remain as women seek more leadership roles in America's Black Church

No woman had ever preached the keynote sermon at the Joint National Baptist Convention, a gathering of four historically Black Baptist denominations representing millions of people. That changed in January when the Rev. Gina Stewart took the convention stage in Memphis, Tennessee, —...

Wild onion dinners mark the turn of the season in Indian Country

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) — As winter fades to spring and the bright purple blossoms of the redbud trees begin to bloom, Cherokee chef Bradley James Dry knows it’s time to forage for morels as well as a staple of Native American cuisine in Oklahoma: wild green onions. Wild onions are...

2012 Olympic champion Gabby Douglas competes for the first time in 8 years at the American Classic

KATY, Texas (AP) — Gabby Douglas is officially back. Whether the gymnastics star's return to the sport carries all the way to the Paris Olympics remains to be seen. Douglas, who became the first Black woman to win the Olympic all-around title when she triumphed in...

ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch creates subdued, lovely colors on 'Silent, Listening'

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch fully embraces the freedom that comes with improvisation on his solo album “Silent, Listening,” spontaneously composing and performing tunes that are often without melody, meter or form. Listening to them can be challenging and rewarding. The many-time...

Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....

Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots to headline the BET Experience concerts in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots will headline concerts to celebrate the return of the BET Experience in Los Angeles just days before the 2024 BET Awards. BET announced Monday the star-studded lineup of the concert series, which makes a return after a...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

College protesters want ‘amnesty.’ At stake: Tuition, legal charges, grades and graduation

Maryam Alwan figured the worst was over after New York City police in riot gear arrested her and other protesters...

Police officer hiring in US increases in 2023 after years of decline, survey shows

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the...

Wild onion dinners mark the turn of the season in Indian Country

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) — As winter fades to spring and the bright purple blossoms of the redbud trees begin to...

The Latest | Israeli drone strike kills 2 in Lebanon after Hezbollah fires at an Israeli convoy

An Israeli drone strike on a car in eastern Lebanon killed two people Friday, Lebanon’s state-run National News...

US postpones decision on aid to Israeli army battalion accused of abuses against Palestinians

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken has determined that an Israeli army battalion committed...

A Hindu festival in southwestern Pakistan brings a mountainous region to life

HINGLAJ, Pakistan (AP) — The ascent of steep mud volcanoes marks the start of Hindu pilgrims’ religious...

By The Skanner News | The Skanner News

CHICAGO (Special to the NNPA) – Five hundred African American trailblazers will descend upon classrooms in 107 cities and 34 states (including Puerto Rico) on Friday, Sept. 23 as part of the 2nd Annual Back to School with the HistoryMakers program.

The one-day program, which comes as students are getting settled in classrooms throughout the country, is designed to bring renewed attention to the needs of the nation's educational system and its students. This year's participants include: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States Valerie B. Jarrett, former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, entertainer and author Common, activist and talk show host the Rev. Al Sharpton, political commentator and talk show host Roland Martin, singer/actress Melba Moore, Broadway choreographer George Faison, poet Nikki Giovanni, actress Marla Gibbs, actress T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, poet/author Sonia Sanchez and author/filmmaker Antwone Fisher.

Notable African Americans will recount their own school experiences and the struggles they encountered on their paths to success. The theme of the day is "COMMIT," and the goal of the program is to put Black leaders in direct and sustained contact with young people in schools all across the nation, while encouraging youth to commit to excellence, to learning their history and to achieving beyond what they think is possible.

The HistoryMakers, the nation's largest African-American video oral history archive, consists of 2,000 videotaped personal histories of both well-known and unsung African Americans. Subjects include President Barack Obama, General Colin Powell, Marion Wright Edelman and the oldest living black cowboy, Alonzo Pettie, co-founder of Colorado's first Black rodeo.

The oldest person interviewed is Louisiana Hines out of Detroit, who is 113, and the youngest is Ayisha McMillan, a prima ballerina from North Carolina, aged 33. At last year's launch, 200 HistoryMakers spoke at 107 schools in 25 states and 50 cities. Participants included: former Ohio Congressman Louis Stokes, civil rights activist C. T. Vivian and broadcast journalist Carole Simpson. In Washington, D.C., Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined civil rights activists the Rev. Al Sharpton and Roger Wilkins at the Dorothy I. Height Community Charter School. In New York, CNN's Soledad O'Brien spoke with former Mayor of New York David Dinkins at the Harlem Children's Zone. Through the group's efforts more than 25,000 students were reached and many HistoryMakers adopted the schools they addressed.

 "Our HistoryMakers embody our commitment to education and are a wonderful example of true service—service that can literally change the course of the lives of thousands of young people," said The HistoryMakers Founder and Executive Director Julieanna Richardson. "This is just the beginning as we are making our digital collection of more than 8,000 hours of video testimony available, free of charge, to all participating schools."

Organizations that have joined forces with The HistoryMakers for the second annual Back-to-School event include The Faison Firehouse Respect Project, DC-CAP, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, the National Education Association, the Arnold Family Foundation, the Science, Engineering and Mathematics Link, Inc., the Fernbank Science Center, the Alabama Departments of Education and Archives and History and the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum. Additionally, Comcast, the Chicago Tribune and TheRoot.com have signed on as media partners, with Comcast contributing between $250,000 and $500,000 in public service announcement (PSA) support. Co-chairs of the event include Marty Nesbitt and his wife, Dr. Anita Blanchard.

For more information, visit www.thehistorymakers.com or The HistoryMakers digital archive at www.idvl.org/thehistorymakers/.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast