It’s the little things.

I’m happy to see that Legacy Health systems have stepped up to repair the damage on the corner of NE Willams and Stanton. A few months back, some likely intoxicated fool drove a vehicle into the fence and signage on this corner and destroyed everything. And within the last month, a black man (not the first) was killed 50 feet from the corner. Across the street, there is an open drug market right next to Immaculate Heart catholic church. They are exchanging everything from Pampers to stolen chain saws for drugs. I’ve lived down the street for nearly 40 years and know it is a menacing corner where outright lawlessness abides. I attribute this situation to our local politicians who have devalued police scrutiny on corners like this and thrown our entire criminal justice system into chaos. Moreover, as was the black man recently killed, for months now, it has been a source of various criminal activity adjacent to and inside historic Dawson Park. I see no end in sight. 

However, it’s very heartening to see the Emannuel hospital (Legacy Health) take responsibility for restoring some sense of order and decency to this corner. It is the little things that are going to make a difference in our community. We all know that Legacy historically has done some bad stuff to the black community but we need to give a shout-out to Legacy Health Systems for today attempting to repair the breach with a little thing. 

 Daye, Rustie A :LSO Facility Services <RDAYE@LHS.ORG>

The “Walking Dead”

I know I am not the only one who is confused and frustrated by the precipitous decline in the quality of life for us living in Portland.  And I have always been perplexed by the lack of empirical analysis from academia as to why things have gone south and how we change this miserable situation. Well, this explanation by Don Dupay is the best I have seen so far addressing the issue of homelessness. Just yesterday it was heartbreaking driving north on NE 33^rd toward Marine  Dr. I felt like I was entering a real-life episode of the “Walking Dead”. Don’s explanation makes sense to me or am I missing something?

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40dondupay%2Fwhat-should-be-addressed-first-homelessness-in-portland-29912a513929%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2tRM6PNrwgX-JF3WdCFpqVLw-ukO_2IgoJlwcpQkq7rbB12fFABVdRVag&h=AT3AkSwnf8rPXJQlWh10L9Ceu_xdvtE8hVUO7NkPVhFbFd7c7un2GoncajLTJ8c5AjHlDfRMm6vU4i8il2sa3DyqwXlRbSqz9B5GEzqi9X18n54EbQKjEUxvMHpEsxzjBy2mY_L3ybUxY7Rrb6XD&__tn__=H-R&c[0]=AT2aDnvvcalf3gx8m5HfYt8nTdeu2fbIlOkcfj0gnFmfpsRecxnJkLKOFypC8LAziyX8-_x7PH5QeWzhDEBSe6zTR_WQbBOLO2yF1AHxutn7jP-WtWK9ys8NQDRhb4IMU8rp

He really made it happen

Without airing a lot of dirty laundry, the Oregonian headlines only tells part of the story.

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Not to diminish anyone’s efforts, and while all these politicians are taking credit, when in fact this one tall brother (Canaan Chatman) working inside of Andersen Construction brought this project across the finish line. Without Canaan, Allen Temple could have been struggling in the wilderness for at least another 7 years.

Thank you Canaan, I’m going to tell the truth.

“Fire”, “Fire”, “Fire”.

Dr. Joy DeGruy

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending a symposium sponsored by the Black Parent Initiative (BPI). The star presenter and almost Portland native, was Dr. Joy DeGruy author of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. All I can say is if you were not there, she brought “FIre”. I spend a lot of time trying to reconcile why black people are so bad off in a society that espouses so many noble creeds for justice and equity. But we all know the hypocrisy is breathtaking. This weekend, Dr. Joy put the picture in focus and told the story like you would not believe. Also not surprising, she brought real solutions. Check it out because among other things, it is a remedy to help improve  black mental health and a way forward.

             Giants 

Deeply Saddened

I am deeply saddened by recent news of the death of Harry Alford, founder of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. I was equally saddened by the death of his wife Kay just a few months earlier. I wish I could convey to the black community the magnitude of this loss and its adverse impact on the black business community. Harry and Kay were giants and visionaries in the area of black business development. I did not always agree with their political alignment, but overall, you could not argue with their fearless advocacy for black businesses.

Harry was in Portland a few years back exploring the development of a Black Chamber. Many years ago, I attempted to stand up a chapter in Portland but found it too overwhelming.  I could not finalize the action due to the founding of the National Association of Minority Contractors local chapter during that same period. Tinkering with the development of a black business chamber has persisted ever since the days of the National Business League formation in the early seventies. In Portland, unscrupulous black people liked this concept and have tried to exploit it over the decades.  In recent days we have had some precarious attempts to put together a black chamber chapter. Unfortunately, it is proposed by unscrupulous individuals destined to fail. You can tell the economic viability and health of a black community by the prominence or the lack thereof of a thriving Black Business Chamber. So, what’s Black Portland’s Economic health status?

RIP Harry and Kay

Georgia On My Mind.

I am beginning to love the of state of Georgia. All my life I’ve thought of the South as a foreign country hostile to black people. My folk is originally from Mississippi and I never heard anything good from them about that state or the surrounding states. But in the last year or so I began to change my opinion specifically about Georgia. If you think about it, Georgia saved our beacon in the last election. And it had to be a bunch of rednecks who saw how ridiculously crazy Trump was and couldn’t stand it anymore. Fast forward to today’s Ahmaud Arbery verdicts and again, a mostly white jury rescues the country from racist insanity. Southern white people in Georgia are Heroes, re-establishing some sense of justice. They get my applause and application. Thank God for decent, fair-minded white people, especially those in the South. The discernment is not universal, less we forget Rittenhouse and Wisconsin.

Pastor Hennessee Steps Up

I am so glad one of our acknowledged community leaders is stepping up to support common-sense measures to improve the safety and liveability of Portland. Thanks, Rev. Hennessee.  Those who consider themselves leaders and are now slilent are contributing to the problem. We must immediately knock down those insane ideas of defunding the police and give Ted Wheeler the ability to show a backbone. He needs to and stop trying to act like he is mending the fence after letting all horses out the gate. Again, try to heal the damage JoAnn Hardesty has caused and make sure there is broad-based community oversight.

Portland is now a spooky, dirty and unsafe city on Halloween 2021

I’m not a Halloween guy but since it’s Halloween I want to tell you why I’m scared.  Look around Portland you can see how bad things have gotten and this is enough to make anybody scared. It’s spooky that the City is in such a mess. I can’t help but think about what Daryl Turner said, something like “this town has turned into a cesspool”. I have to agree with him. I just wanted everybody to know it doesn’t have to be this way. I hold all these public elected officials responsible at all levels.

I just returned from Indianapolis, my home town and never in my life would I have predicted I would say that Naptown is a cleaner, better ran city than Stumptown. It is truly a tale of two cities and Indy wins hands down.

I don’t want to criticize without trying to do something about it. That’s why I support the Coalition Black Men with their graffiti abatement program and have joined People for Portland’s effort to hold elected officials accountable for their lack of leadership.

The big thing is, I am going to work hard to get JoAnn Hardesty removed from office. I will work just as hard to get her out as I did to help her get elected. She is a problem and not a solution. I made a big mistake supporting her.

Portland is sick: