This content was published: January 17, 1997. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Portland Community College Observes Black History Month
Photos and Story by Mark Evertz
Portland Community will celebrate the achievements of African Americans with activities throughout the month of February at the Cascade, Sylvania and Rock Creek campuses. Films, gospel music, speakers, a health fair and a black business fair are some of the scheduled events. All activities are free and open to the public.
A highlight of the month will be a symposium on the history of African Americans in Portland and in Oregon on Friday, Feb. 14 at Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth. The three-part program begins with a dedication of a permanent display honoring the life and work of the late Rev. John Jackson at noon in the foyer of Jackson Hall. Jackson was a minister, social activist, political organizer and concerned citizen whose legacy to his Northeast community is commemorated in the naming of Jackson Hall on the Cascade Campus.
The dedication will be followed by a panel of five writers giving presentations from their original work on local African American history. Visiting professor is Rudy Pearson, professor of history at American River College in Sacramento, whose topic is African American history in Oregon. Following the panel discussion, at 3 p.m. Dian Jackson will share reminiscences of her late husband and will be joined by Ben Priestly and Ron Herndon. The day’s events conclude with a 5 p.m. reception held in Terrell Hall, Room 122.
Also in February, the Cascade Campus Black Student Union sponsors a presentation by Bobby Seale, co-founder and former chairman of the Black Panther’s during the late ’60s and ’70s. Seale will speak on Friday, Feb. 28 in the Cascade Hall Auditorium. A book signing follows his presentation.
Seale will shed light on the birth of the Black Panther movement and the impact it has had on American society. Seale, as the national coordinator, was key in initiating community-based programs such as breakfasts for school children, free busing for seniors, preventative medical health care, cooperative housing, free food programs and
voter registration drives. Organizers are requesting a canned food donation to help support the Oregon Food Bank.
For other events during Black History at PCC, please see the enclosed brochure. For further information, contact the Student Activities office at the Cascade Campus, 978-5781.