Portland News and Events for May 5-28, 2016

NAACP Portland Branch Meets May 28

The NAACP Portland branch invites the community to its monthly general membership meeting from noon to 2 p.m. May 28 at the American Red Cross Oregon Chapter, 3131 N. Vancouver Avenue. The meeting is open to all current and prospective members of the NAACP. President Jo Ann Hardesty and executive leadership will provide updates about current and future initiatives. This is an opportunity to connect with Portland NAACP’s work in advancing racial justice in the community.

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. The vision of the NAACP is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination.

For more information about the NAACP Portland Branch, visit www.portlandnaacp1120.org, www.facebook.com/PDXNAACP or email pdxnaacp@gmail.com.

CAT to Present Renters Rights Workshops

The Community Alliance of Tenants will present a series of renters’ rights workshops at Multnomah County Library locations in May.

The workshops will seek to educate tenants on their rights and responsibilities at all stages of the renting process: searching for a home, filling out applications, paying deposits and fees, getting repairs made, moving out and more. All workshops are first come, first served.

• May 14, 2 p.m., Gresham LibraryFirst come, first served.
• May 22, 3 p.m., Belmont Meeting RoomFirst come, first served.
• June 9, 6 p.m., Renters Rights Workshop, Midland Library
• June 18, 2 p.m., Renters Rights Workshop, U.S. Bank Room - Central Library.

Media Artists Invited to Apply for RACC’s 2016 Fellowship Award

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is now accepting applications from media artists (including film, video and audio) for RACC’s annual artist fellowship award. Applications are now available through the RACC GrantsOnline system at http://racc.culturegrants.org.

Since 1999, the RACC fellowship award has honored and supported uniquely talented local artists who contribute to the community in very meaningful ways. This year RACC plans to award two fellowships, with each artist receiving a cash award of $20,000. RACC rotates the recognition among four disciplines every year – visual arts, media arts, literature, and performing arts. Past Media Arts Fellows have included Jim Blashfield (2001), Chel White (2004), Joanna Priestley (2007) and Lawrence Johnson (2012).

Guidelines and applications are available in RACC’s GrantsOnline system. To be considered, applicants must submit an Intent to Apply form no later than 5:00 pm, July 6, 2016.

A panel of community representatives with expertise in the media arts reflecting the disciplines of the applicants will select the two fellowship winners. An artist’s involvement in the community will play a significant role in evaluating each application. In addition, applicants must meet several strict criteria in order to be eligible for these highly competitive awards:

• The applicant must be a professional artist, as recognized by their peers, with a minimum of 10 years of experience in the media arts.
• The applicant must have been an Oregon resident for a minimum of 5 years and a current resident of Clackamas, Multnomah, or Washington Counties.
• The applicant must demonstrate sustained high artistic quality of artmaking.

Other RACC fellows are listed at racc.org/fellows, and they include: Mary Oslund, Obo Addy, Christine Bourdette, Terry Toedtemeier, Michele Glazer, Tomas Svoboda, Keith Scales, Judy Cooke, Michael Brophy, Craig Lesley, Thara Memory, Henk Pander, Kim Stafford, Robin Lane, Eric Stotik, Sallie Tisdale, Linda Austin, Anita Menon, David Eckard, and Ellen Lesperance.

For more information about the fellowship award and other RACC grants visit racc.org/grants.

Workforce Plan Open for 30-Day Public Comment

The Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council (SWWDC) is accepting public comment on its draft Strategic Workforce Plan for 2016-2020. Once finalized, the new plan will guide regional solutions for workforce development.

The plan is available for review at www.swwdc.org for 30 days beginning May 2.

Businesses, labor organizations, institutions of higher education, primary stakeholders and the general public are encouraged to provide comment on how SWWDC might better create the workforce solutions needed for our regional economy.

Comments should be made by emailing info@swwdc.org by 5 p.m. Pacific Time on May 31.

For more Portland and Seattle events, see the Community Calendar.