The Nigerian community in Oregon and Southwest Washington celebrates Nigeria's 53rd Independence Day on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Matt Dishman Community Center, 77  N. Knott, Portland.

One thousand children from the Portland-metro region will get new tennis shoes, socks and a backpack filled with school supplies at an event sponsored by Portland restaurateur Frank Taylor and the nonprofit Samaritans Feet.

Anyone who enjoys wearing leather will find unique fashions at a new boutique in Northwest Portland. Mai's boutique is stocked with brightly colored leatherwear imported from design shops in Italy, Turkey and Pakistan. 

The symposium, entitled "Breaking the Cycle-Closing the Gap; Saving Our Boys," will be held at Marshall High School from 10 am to 3 pm.

The Journey to Freedom Project, or JTF, is hosting its 4^th Teaching With Purpose Conference Oct. 11 and 12 at Roosevelt High School.

Kervencia Limage was a high school dropout with no legal right to live, work and study in the United States. But with help from Portland Public Schools staff, she earned her high school diploma and her green card.

A lot of people are afraid of clowns. Frankly, many Portlanders are afraid of Black people. Imagine if they saw a Black clown speaking Spanish.

The Affordable Care Act kicked in this week as state health exchanges across the country opened for business Oct. 1. Americans now have until Dec. 15 to sign up for a healthcare plan that starts Jan. 1, 2014.

Next June around 500 Black Publishers will arrive in Portland for the biggest event on their annual calendars: the 2014 NNPA National Convention.  It will be the first time that the convention has come to Portland.

Arsalan Iftikhar will speak about Muslim Identity and Islamophobia at 7pm, Monday, Sept. 30, in the Templeton Student Center at Lewis & Clark College.  The event is free and open to everyone.