No End to New Police Massive Chief Named Protests to Build Trust Black leader says Chuck Lovell streets is where rises to the top of change will be won command Established in 1970 See story, page 2 See Local News, page 3 PO QR code ‘City of www.portlandobserver.com Volume XLVIV • Number 14 Roses’ Wednesday • June 10, 2020 Committed to Cultural Diversity Honoring the Class of 2020 Congratulations Reflecting on a school year cut short Seniors! The Jefferson High School se- are also included and will in- The Port- nior class created all of the Class spire you. land Observer is of 2020 content for this special This special coverage was co- proud to dedicate graduation edition of the Portland ordinated by Jefferson students this special issue Observer. attending a Senior Inquiry class, a to all of our high Inside you will find reflections dual-credit class designed through school seniors, from the students on a school year a partnership between the Jeffer- and especial- cut short by the cornonavirus pan- son High School Middle College ly the Jefferson demic and how they are respond- for Advanced Studies and Port- High School ing to another tragedy, the police land State University. Class of 2020, custody death of George Floyd in All seniors at Jefferson take the the school histor- Minneapolis. class and earn 15 college cred- ically grounded Publisher Mark See the letters of support and its upon completion. Jefferson to the heart of Washington congratulations to the graduates teachers and Portland State pro- Portland’s Afri- from their teachers, administra- fessors help direct them on a path can American community. tors and adult mentors, like those of individualized learning by en- We are proud to give a voice to these from Self Enhancement, Inc. The gaging in community advocacy, honored students during a difficult time, students also include photos to action projects, art installations, sharing their dreams for the future and showcase their school experience, writing and other types of aca- providing them a proper sendoff after a list their favorite music, and share demic exploration. senior year cut short by the coronavirus their special art projects. At its core, the Senior Inquiry pandemic and the public health crisis that Valedictorian speeches by model stimulates critical thinking closed all schools since Spring Break. five of Jefferson’s achieving stu- and self-reflection while focus- “Your lives were disrupted, but you dents, not able to be delivered at ing on the importance of building have not been forgotten,” said Portland a formal graduation ceremony strong relationships with class- Senior Tarisha Spencer is draped by messages of unity Observer Publisher Mark Washington. because of the social distancing mates, instructors, high school and equality in the halls of Jefferson High School in a “Congratulations seniors and best wish- requirements of the pandemic, staff and community members. photo taken earlier this year. es to your future!” Page 2 June 10, 2020 No End to Massive Protests Black leader says streets is where change will be won A historic leader of Portland’s African American community joined thousands of protesters in northeast Portland Monday night to demand police accountability and an end to racism and police brutality against African Ameri- cans. Kent Ford, 77, a life-long mem- ber of Portland’s black communi- ty and the founding member of the Portland chapter of the Black Pan- ther Party going back to the civil rights era of the 1960s, appealed to Portlanders to keep demanding change. He said continued street pro- Thousands of peaceful Portland protesters lay down for nine minutes of silence June 1 on the Burnside Bridge with their hands behind tests are the best option to put on their backs to memorialize the time a Minnesota police officer’s knee pinned George Floyd’s neck to the ground, a black man who died the pressure to reform police de- May 25 under police restraint. (AP photo) partments across the country, in- cluding Portland. He also voiced his astonishment at how the movement to end police brutali- ty against African Americans has now drawn so many white and di- verse supporters from outside the black community. Change was “not going to come from D.C.” he said. “It’s not go- ing to come from the Capitol. It’s going to come from down here on the streets.” Ford’s call out came as sever- al thousand people marched from Revolution Hall, the former Wash- ington High School in southeast Portland, to Northeast 15th and Alberta in the heart of Portland’s African American community. It was the 11th straight night of massive protests in Portland, sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died under police restraint in Min- Portland Trail Blazer Damian Lillard (left) joins more than 10,000 people for a peaceful protest against police brutality and racism on neapolis. Friday night, walking from Revolution Hall, the former Washington High School in southeast Portland, to downtown. Massive protests in More than 100 people have the city have taken place for 11 straight nights, sparked by the police Memorial Day police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis been arrested in Portland since and other officer-involved deaths of black Americans. (AP photo) the protests began. Police say they have struggled to balance allow- ing thousands of peaceful protests Protesters demonstrate to march and confronting much on June 2 in and around smaller crowds that seem focused Pioneer Courthouse Square, on clashing with officers at any downtown. (AP photo) cost. June 10, 2020 Page 3 INSIDE L OCA L N EWS LETTERS OF SUPPORT page 4-5 STUDENT GRAD PHOTOS page 6-8 New Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell attends a news conference Monday announcing his appoint- ment to the top of command. He replaces Chief Jami Resch who suddenly stepped aside stating that Lovell was the better person to build community trust as police chief because of his strong ties with the black community. (AP photo) STUDENT REFLECTIONS page 9-23 STUDENT POETRY pages 10-14 Rising to the Top earned praise for building bridges saying he was the better person Lovell named in the black community during his to build community trust as chief pages 15 tenure at the school, was suddenly because of his record of success TOP TUNES police chief to named Portland’s new police chief building ties with the black com- on Monday. munity. build trust Chuck Lovell, an 18-year-vet- The promotion was endorsed by VALEDICTORIANS pages 16 BY MICHAEL LEIGHTON eran of the Police Bureau, replaces Mayor Ted Wheeler and followed PORTLAND OBSERVER EDITOR Chief Jami Resch who announced 11 days of massive protests in the A black Portland police lieu- at a news conference that she was city calling for police reforms to tenant and former resource offi- stopping aside from the top com- CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 cer at Jefferson High School who mand position in favor of Lovell, STUDENT ART pages 21 SHOUT OUTS pages 21 CLASSIFIED/BIDS pages 22 SCHOLARSHIPS pages 24 Established 1970 USPS 959 680 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. PO QR code All created design display ads become the sole property of the A group of young marchers in Portland move toward the Burnside Bridge on Saturday to protest newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or per- PUBLISHER: Mark Washington, Sr. sonal usage without the written consent of the general man- racism and police violence against African Americans after the death of George Floyd, a black man ager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such EDITOR: Michael Leighton who died in police custody in Minneapolis. (AP photo) ad. © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART Office Mngr/Clasfds: Lucinda Baldwin WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland SALES DIRECTOR: Leonard Latin Observer--Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a After Protests, Mayor Re-Assigns Officers member of the National Newspaper Association--Founded CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Paul Neufeldt in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amal- Following massive marches to Wheeler announced Thursday gamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast OFFICE ASST/SALES: Shawntell Washington Armed police Black Publishers Association protest racism by police and of- he was removing police resource ficer involved deaths of African officers from the city’s public CALL 503-288-0033 • FAX 503-288-0015• [email protected] pulled from [email protected]• [email protected] Americans in Portland and across CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 the country, Portland Mayor Ted Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 Portland schools Page 4 June 10, 2020 Letters of support for Grads Teachers and Staff Look Back SEI will always support you On behalf of Self Enhancement, Inc., we want to wish all of our se- niors the absolute best as you move into this next phase of life. Some of you are preparing to further your education by going to You college close by or far away. Others are jumping into the workforce right away, with hopes to pursue passions they’d always dreamt of. Regardless of what you decide to do in this next phase of life, we want Made our seniors to always remember that SEI will always have your back. We will always be there to sup- port you, help you, and cheer you My Year on.