04-20-2024  3:19 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Don’t Shoot Portland, University of Oregon Team Up for Black Narratives, Memory

The yearly Memory Work for Black Lives Plenary shows the power of preservation.

Grants Pass Anti-Camping Laws Head to Supreme Court

Grants Pass in southern Oregon has become the unlikely face of the nation’s homelessness crisis as its case over anti-camping laws goes to the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled for April 22. The case has broad implications for cities, including whether they can fine or jail people for camping in public. Since 2020, court orders have barred Grants Pass from enforcing its anti-camping laws. Now, the city is asking the justices to review lower court rulings it says has prevented it from addressing the city's homelessness crisis. Rights groups say people shouldn’t be punished for lacking housing.

Four Ballot Measures for Portland Voters to Consider

Proposals from the city, PPS, Metro and Urban Flood Safety & Water Quality District.

Washington Gun Store Sold Hundreds of High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines in 90 Minutes Without Ban

KGW-TV reports Wally Wentz, owner of Gator’s Custom Guns in Kelso, described Monday as “magazine day” at his store. Wentz is behind the court challenge to Washington’s high-capacity magazine ban, with the help of the Silent Majority Foundation in eastern Washington.

NEWS BRIEFS

Governor Kotek Announces Chief of Staff, New Office Leadership

Governor expands executive team and names new Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director ...

Governor Kotek Announces Investment in New CHIPS Child Care Fund

5 Million dollars from Oregon CHIPS Act to be allocated to new Child Care Fund ...

Bank Announces 14th Annual “I Got Bank” Contest for Youth in Celebration of National Financial Literacy Month

The nation’s largest Black-owned bank will choose ten winners and award each a $1,000 savings account ...

Literary Arts Transforms Historic Central Eastside Building Into New Headquarters

The new 14,000-square-foot literary center will serve as a community and cultural hub with a bookstore, café, classroom, and event...

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Announces New Partnership with the University of Oxford

Tony Bishop initiated the CBCF Alumni Scholarship to empower young Black scholars and dismantle financial barriers ...

The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Washington state opened some of the nation's first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. was on electronic home detention in Spokane, where he had been indicted on federal drug charges. He would soon be off to prison to serve the lion's share of a four-year...

Firefighters douse a blaze at a historic Oregon hotel famously featured in 'The Shining'

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters doused a late-night fire at Oregon's historic Timberline Lodge — featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film “The Shining” — before it caused significant damage. The fire Thursday night was confined to the roof and attic of the lodge,...

Two-time world champ J’den Cox retires at US Olympic wrestling trials; 44-year-old reaches finals

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — J’den Cox walked off the mat after dropping a 2-2 decision to Kollin Moore at the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials on Friday night, leaving his shoes behind to a standing ovation. The bronze medal winner at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 was beaten by...

University of Missouri plans 0 million renovation of Memorial Stadium

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri is planning a 0 million renovation of Memorial Stadium. The Memorial Stadium Improvements Project, expected to be completed by the 2026 season, will further enclose the north end of the stadium and add a variety of new premium...

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

The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Washington state opened some of the nation's first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. was on electronic home detention in Spokane, where he had been indicted on federal drug charges. He would soon be off to prison to serve the lion's share of a four-year...

Lawsuits under New York's new voting rights law reveal racial disenfranchisement even in blue states

FREEPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Weihua Yan had seen dramatic demographic changes since moving to Long Island's Nassau County. Its Asian American population alone had grown by 60% since the 2010 census. Why then, he wondered, did he not see anyone who looked like him on the county's local...

USC cancels graduation keynote by filmmaker amid controversy over decision to drop student's speech

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California further shook up its commencement plans Friday, announcing the cancelation of a keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu just days after making the controversial choice to disallow the student valedictorian from speaking. The...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27: April 21: Actor Elaine May is 92. Singer Iggy Pop is 77. Actor Patti LuPone is 75. Actor Tony Danza is 73. Actor James Morrison (“24”) is 70. Actor Andie MacDowell is 66. Singer Robert Smith of The Cure is 65. Guitarist Michael...

What to stream this weekend: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift reigns

Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as...

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom

WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff...

Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13...

Lawsuits under New York's new voting rights law reveal racial disenfranchisement even in blue states

FREEPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Weihua Yan had seen dramatic demographic changes since moving to Long Island's Nassau...

Seeking 'the right side of history,' Speaker Mike Johnson risks his job to deliver aid to Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring down a decision so consequential it could alter the course of history -- but also end...

As Russia edges toward a possible offensive on Kharkiv, some residents flee. Others refuse to leave

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — A 79-year-old woman makes the sign of the cross and, gripping her cane, leaves her home...

Panama Papers trial's public portion comes to an unexpectedly speedy end

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The public portion of a trial of more than two-dozen associates accused of helping some of...

Stacy M. Brown (NNPA News Wire Contributor)

Sponsorships and donations have been pouring into the new Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which is set to open on Sept. 24 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Most recently, the popular 1990s R&B group En Vogue donated their performance-worn dresses to the museum.

“Our dresses from the ‘Never Gonna Get It/My Lovin’ video and the ‘Giving Him Something He Can Feel’ video will be debuting in the Smithsonian African American History museum on September 24,” group member Terry Ellis said. “So, we’re really super excited about that.”

NBA Icon Michael Jordan also announced this month that he was providing a $5 million gift to the museum along with his game-worn 1996 NBA Finals jersey.

The museum will reportedly place the famous jersey in a wing called “Michael Jordan Hall,” that will feature stories of 17 historic athletes.

In a news release, Jordan noted athletes like Jesse Owens whose “talent, commitment and perseverance broke racial barriers and laid the groundwork for the successful careers of so many African-Americans in athletics and beyond.”

Also, in a statement, museum director Lonnie G. Bunch III said Jordan’s contribution will enable museum “visitors to explore how sports were used to break barriers as a way to gain full participation in American society.”

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African-Americans, according to the museum’s website. To date, the museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts.

Nearly 100,000 individuals have become charter members of the museum and, when it opens, it will be the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

Museum officials noted the four pillars upon which the NMAAHC stands: It provides an opportunity for those who are interested in African-American culture to explore and revel in this history through interactive exhibitions; It helps all Americans see how their stories, their histories, and their cultures are shaped and informed by global influences; It explores what it means to be an American and share how American values like resiliency, optimism, and spirituality are reflected in African-American history and culture; and it serves as a place of collaboration that reaches beyond Washington, D.C., to engage new audiences and to collaborate with the myriad of museums and educational institutions that have explored and preserved this important history well before this museum was created.

Earlier this year, The Hartford, a popular financial services company, announced its founding sponsorship of the museum. The company made a $1 million contribution over five years to support the design and construction of the building.

“The Hartford has been a part of American history for more than 200 years, growing, thriving and changing along with our nation,” said Susan Johnson, head of diversity and inclusion at The Hartford. “We are proud to be a founding sponsor of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and celebrate the important contributions of African Americans to the American Dream.”

On Feb. 22, 2012, the Smithsonian broke ground on the NMAAHC at a five-acre site on Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th streets in Northwest Washington, D.C.

The 400,000-square-foot building has five levels above ground and four below. It will have exhibition galleries, an education center, a theater, café and store as well as staff offices.

Pinnacle donors – those who have contributed $20 million or more – include the Lilly Endowment Inc., Robert Frederick Smith, and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation.

Capstone donors – those who have contributed at least $10 million – include the Atlantic Philanthropies, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Rhimes Family Foundation and David M. Rubenstein.

Cornerstone donors – those who have contributed at least $5 million – include 3M, American Express, The Boeing Company, Ford Foundation, GE, Robert L. Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, The Rockefeller Foundation, Target, United Health Group, and Walmart.

Keystone Donors – those who have contributed at least $2 million – include 21st Century Fox and News Corp, Bank of America, The Walt Disney Company, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kovler Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, The Moore Charitable Foundation/Louis Moore Bacon, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Northrop Grumman, Prudential, Smithsonian Channel, Earl W. and Amanda Stafford, Patty Stonesifer and Michael Kinsley, Time Warner Foundation, Toyota, United Technologies Corporation, Walton Family Foundation, Anthony and Beatrice Welters and the Vincent Wilkinson Foundation.

Verizon, Xerox, Wells Fargo, Google, Tyler Perry, New York Life, MetLife Foundation, Fed Ex, Ford Motor Company Fund, General Motors and a host of others have donated at least $1 million, making them “milestone donors.”

“After more than a decade of hard work and dedication on the part of so many, we will open the doors of the museum and let visitors see that it is a place for all people,” Bunch said in an earlier statement.

Bunch continued: “We have created exhibitions and programs designed to unite and capture the attention of millions of people worldwide. It will be a place for healing and reconciliation, a place where everyone can explore the story of America through the lens of the African American experience.”

The National Museum of African American History and Culture officially opens to the public following the dedication ceremony on Saturday, September 24, 2016. The museum keeps its doors open for extended hours Sunday, September 25, from 10 am to 10pm.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast