Dr. Alvin Poussaint remains positive that African Americans will improve their health. Through a combination of cultural ignorance, prejudice and misunderstanding, doctors continue to treat African Americans differently than their White counterparts.
Nevertheless, Poussaint says African Americans need to take some responsibility for their own health problems.
The renowned psychiatrist, author and television consultant, speaks in Portland for the 18th annual Saward Lecture. . ...

For several years after he finished college, Antjuan Tolbert worked without getting a paycheck. He provided local businesses and organizations marketing and design work, and they helped him in different ways – by spreading his name and work throughout the community.
"It's the natural law of compensation," he said.
On Saturday, along with business partners Mackenzie Doyle and Roy Shryne, Tolbert celebrated the grand opening of Empyrean Perspectives, a business specializing in web and graphic design.  ...

What's happening for me in my City this week? Read here a day-by-day diary of free community events to fill your week. For a full calendar please click on "Read the complete article" below.

City Commissioner Nick Fish was sworn into office June 13 in ceremonies held at Rosa Parks Elementary School. Fish was sworn in by John Kroger, who is running unopposed for the office of Oregon Attorney General. The Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Pipe and Drum Corps provided music. Speakers included former Gov. Barbara Roberts and Rosa Parks Principal Tamala Newsome.

A group of buffalo soldiers lead the annual Central Area Juneteenth Parade on June 14. The three-day event was held over the weekend of June 13 through 15 and included a parade, music and a variety of vendors.

Housing, treatment and support services have increased for veterans and their families, as well as other vulnerable households in King County.
That's the news from the 2007 Veterans and Human Services Levy Annual report released last week.
"The most important thing to know is how wonderful the voters are in King County," said Community Services Division Director Linda Peterson. "They passed this levy with a 58 percent approval rating."
At a time when the federal government has cut services to war veterans, including housing and mental health assistance, the new levy is providing more than $13 million to local vets as well as low-income families with children.
The levy focuses on several priority areas, including enhancing services for veterans and their families; ending homelessness through outreach, prevention, permanent supportive housing and employment; increasing access to behavioral health; and strengthening families at risk.  ...

This year's Rose Festival Queen Marshawna Williams, from Cleveland High School, waves from the Pacific Power float during the KeyBank Grand Floral Parade on Saturday morning. The parade included almost 100 floats and bands; the parade's theme was "Romancing the Rose."

A report released last week by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office reveals that African Americans are jailed, disciplined and held for longer periods of time than inmates of other races.
The report measured many aspects of the inmate population at the county, counting intakes from the county's many police precincts.
Christine Kirk, a spokesperson for the office, said specific practices by law enforcement personnel and decisions made by those officers are directly reflected in the makeup of the county inmate population. While some of the data indicate disparate treatment for minorities, Kirk said the jail is largely fed by a fair system that has its share of flaws.
"The system itself has ways to deal with acts of racism," Kirk says.
Acts of bias or prejudice, however, are much harder to detect, but they are practices affecting a person's criminal history, place in society, education and ways police treated them, she said.
In Portland, African Americans are 3.4 times more likely to be stopped by police than Whites. Those numbers are reflected in arrests. African Americans make up a county population of only 5.7 percent, but make up 21.3 percent of jail bookings, down from 21.8 from last year. ...

Nurse-to-patient ratios vary from hospital to hospital, and from unit to unit, McDowell says. In wards with more acute patients, such as the Trauma Recovery Acute Care Unit, more nurses are needed to care for fewer patients who, in turn, require more attention for their condition.
Union organizers say an ideal nurse to patient ratio on a medical/surgical floor is four patients for every one nurse; currently the Legacy Emanuel nurses have anywhere from five to six patients.

What's happening for me in my City this week? Read here a day-by-day diary of free community events to fill your week. For a full calendar please click on "Read the complete article" below...