When We Fight, We Win

Newspaper article describing Convention Center protest

I don’t think there’s any question that this year’s Portland NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner was successful on many levels. We must count it as a measure of progress because 27 years ago, we marched around the Convention Center protesting the absence of Black Jobs on the Convention Center site, and other construction on Martin Luther … Read more

A Black Man Making Money

Dr. Steven Holt

A black man making money is such a novelty that I suppose the world can’t help but suspect something nefarious is going on. To some on the right and left, it is simply too outrageous. When a black man becomes successful regardless of the sector, he becomes an immediate target. Couple this narrative with the … Read more

Let’s Not Cut and Run

Joe Biden giving commencement address at Howard University

At the first sign of trouble, let’s not cut and run! I’m standing up for Joe Biden. I think it’s outrageous for anybody not to consider the amazing job that Joe Biden has been doing for the last several months. His schedule can only be described as grueling. What this senior citizen guy has demonstrated … Read more

Best Grandma Ever

Fannie Mae Young PoseyF

I regret I only have a few physical photos of my grandma born Fannie Mae Young Posey born on July 9th, 1898, but I have many beautiful pictures of her in my heart. She was the rock and true foundation of our family.  Although she passed many years ago, she had a profound influence on … Read more

Portland’s Black Professional Brain Drain

Dr. Rosco Shields

Today, I shed several tears about the departure of Sharon Seven Day Adventist church Pastor Rosco Shields. Not just because he was the Chair of our NAACP Religious Affairs committee but because I recognized an unmistakable pattern of black professional talent leaving Portland in what seems like droves. We have experienced, for some time, a defacto … Read more

Riding On Our Shoulders

Zahar riding on James Posey's shoulders

As a grandparent, I am acutely aware of what is riding on my shoulders. We need you to step up for the future of our kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. We need your help at the NAACP to foster a “Kids First” agenda focused on what Byron Allen has tried to tell us. Byron Allen talking … Read more