Hate crimes, discrimination in employment, housing and justice. Communities all over the world are struggling to find solutions to the problem of discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, or religion — and Portland is no different.
That's why this week, after four years without any governmental office whose mission is dealing with discrimination, Mayor Potter brought legislation to the city council that will create a new human relations commission, to handle discrimination claims, educate the public about the issues, advocate for equality and advise other agencies and organizations.
"I'm truly excited by the possibilities …," Mayor Potter said last week. "I think the time is right and the growing diversity of Portland demands it....

For the Weiss/Parker family, each New Year means another opportunity to continue a precious family tradition: giving blood at the Red Cross along with their relatives the Parkers. This year, on Jan. 5, Dr. T. Allen Bethel and Charles W. Hunter Sr., community activists and ministers came to the American Red Cross donor center in North Portland to learn how giving blood has become a 33-year tradition for this Oregon family.
Morris Weiss inaugurated the custom in 1976 by as a "Living New Year's Resolution to give the "Gift of Life."  During his lifetime he donated 22 gallons of blood.

Retired Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez talks with Powerful Reading tutor Kathryn Bryson at the 2008 Powerful School Kick Off Party Jan. 13 at the Mt. Baker Community Clubhouse.  Edgar Martinez and his wife Holli sponsored the event for the nationally recognized non-profit organization that works with several thousand students in seven elementary schools in southeast Seattle to improve achievement in reading writing and the arts.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Historic housing and lending discrimination against Black Americans has created a significant discrepancy in their overall wealth – a gap that may take reparations to close, according to research published by two Oregon State University faculty members.
Jonathan Kaplan, associate professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy, and Andrew Valls, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, published their study in the July issue of Public Affairs Quarterly. In the study, they argue for a shift from viewing reparations in the framework of slavery to emphasizing relatively recent housing discrimination practices which continue to put people of color at a disadvantage.
The average Black American has only about 15 percent as much wealth as the average White American, even though Black Americans earn about 60 percent as much as White Americans. And at every income level, White Americans have much more wealth than Blacks.

Coming this fall, as a way to keep better track of high-risk students, John Marshall Alternative School's six programs will end or be moved to other schools, the Seattle School Board announced Monday nearly 18 months after voting to close it.
The alternative school has been housed at John Marshall, near Green Lake, since the 1980s and is a last stop for vulnerable students at risk of dropping out of school and a re-entry stop for students returning to school from incarceration.
Students in the school's middle-and-high school "re-entry" programs will be moved to a more well-defined program at the Wilson-Pacific building located on North 90th Street....

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This year The Skanner talked to people who volunteer with children about how the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired them.
David Howard, a freshman at Grant High School.
Everline Young, recent graduate of Portland State University's teaching program.
Kimmy Kunkle, Portland Community College student.
Tammy Deardoff,  Project Manager with Intel Corp. . . . 

Washington State University Vancouver presents, "Celebrating the Legacy, 50 Years of the Montgomery Bus Boycott," a Rosa Parks monologue by Shandra L. Terry. This Free event will run from 2-3 p.m., Jan. 22 in the Administration Building, room 110 and is open to the public.
Terry's energetic and dynamic one-woman monologue and keynote deliveries center on diversity, women, personal development, motivation, change, leadership, American History, and "The Pursuit of Excellence."

The second annual "Drum Major" Ecumenical Service honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther…