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By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

Kenyahta Sikes, co-owner of PDX SuiteSpot, an event space in Chinatown, says Black United Fund of Oregon (BUF-OR), 2828 N.E. Alberta St., is a valuable resource for her and other African American business owners in Portland.

She noted the Concordia-based organization helped her host 40 other Black businesswomen for a workshop titled “Boss Talks: Entrepreneurship for the Black Woman.” Attendees learned about how to use digital marketing and social media as well as access capital, she said.

“I wondered how many other Black business women were struggling with the same things,” she said, adding that a challenge for many Black business women is finding the resources and funding they need to make their companies succeed. “Nine times out of 10, that’s the greatest struggle,” she said.

Sikes’ company can host photo shoots, music videos, house parties with live music, baby showers, exercise classes, birthday parties, small banquets, launch parties and meeting space. She adds that she plans on taking advantage of any business assistance she can find through BUF-OR. “Black United Fund has been influential in my business journey.”

That’s exactly the kind of words Emmanuel Williams, the foundation’s community-justice and equity coordinator, wants to hear. Black United Fund is designed to help folks like Sikes turn their dreams into reality, he said, to help African American entrepreneurs stake their place in the nation’s business landscape. “A lot of the problems we deal with are economic,” he said. “We’re engaging in acts to drive economics in our favor.”

Legacy of uplift

Founded in 1983, Black United Fund of Oregon works to increase post-secondary opportunities for young people, support BIPOC as well as female-led nonprofits through its leadership program as well as by providing them grants, and aims to foster “a broader understanding of ethnic and culturally diverse groups,” its mission statement reads.

Located in a one-story building, the nonprofit foundation plans to literally enlarge its presence in Concordia over the next few years, aiming to erect a multi-story structure by 2024 that will replace its current building and that will host not just BUF-OR but multiple other nonprofits as well.

The new building will be called the Building United Futures Complex. Anchored by Black United Fund, it will be a consortium of organizations, programs and businesses centered on “equipping, empowering, encouraging and engaging Black and other BIPOC communities to enhance their educational advancement, economic mobility and social liberation,” reads a statement from Adre, the realestate development company overseeing the project.

Dr. LM Alaiyo Foster, BUF-OR president and CEO, says the new building will be designed to be welcoming to all people, with open spaces and lots of windows, and may even feature showers where houseless folks can get off the streets for a moment and take care of their hygiene. “It will be a neighborhood hub and unapologetically Black,” she says.

Scholarship students

Among the foundation’s best-known programs is its Post-Secondary Options, coordinated by Saeeda Wright, which provides educational and financial assistance to young people. Wright has mentored Christine Bynum, a junior at Atlanta’s Spelman College, the nation’s oldest college for African American women. Bynum said she wants to inspire other African Americans because she is planning to become an orthodontist.

“As a future Black dentist, I know there are not that many Black dentists out there,” she said. “I want to be a role model to other students.”

Bynum is also studying Spanish and hopes to work with Spanish speakers as well as folks of any race who are unable to access dental care due to financial challenges. As someone who’s worn braces herself, she said it’s important for people to feel welcome and supported as they get their teeth fixed.

“You are trying to help them smile better, and they never forget their orthodontists.”

She credited Black United Fund for helping her to defray the considerable costs of her college education. “The financial support means that I am able to continue my time at Spellman,” she said. “I am able to reduce the amount of loans that I may need to take out for school.”

For more information on Black United Fund, visit BUFor.org.

For more information on PDX SuiteSpot, visit PDXSuiteSpot.com.

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

Residents of Concordia and other Portland neighborhoods may have a greater voice in their city government if a proposed city charter is approved by voters this November, the charter’s proponents say.

The proposed charter would change the city council’s makeup from its current one of four at-large members and the mayor to one made up of 12 members who will represent four districts, each with three council members representing it.

Furthermore, council members will no longer run city bureaus and voters will be able to use proportional ranked-choice voting to choose their council members. Proponents claim ranked-choice voting is more inclusive of underrepresented voters than the current simple majority system by which councilors are chosen.

The Concordia Neighborhood Association Board will host a discussion on the proposed Portland City Charter, at 7 pm Wednesday, Sept. 7, at McMenamins Kennedy School Community Room, 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.

Three Big Changes
The independent 20-member City Charter Review Commission has been at work for more than 18 months gathering citizen input on the proposed charter. The proposed charter contains three key changes that affect how Portlanders vote, how they are represented and the scope of their leaders’ formal responsibilities.

Proportional Ranked-Choice Voting
Under the proposed charter, voters can rank their choices for city council members instead of simply voting for one person for each seat. You can choose any number of candidates, from the one you most want on down to the one you may not support strongly but can accept.

To win a seat in one of the four districts, candidates must reach a threshold of one vote more than 25% of all votes cast. Votes are then counted in rounds until all three seats representing a district are filled. Under a process called “Single Transferable Vote,” votes can be transferred in two ways to ensure voters are getting more use of their ballots.

First, if a candidate has surplus votes that put their total over the threshold, the surplus votes are transferred to whomever those voters marked as their next choice. The transferred votes are then added to the corresponding candidates.

Second, if no other candidate meets the threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes get transferred to whomever those voters marked as their next choice. This process repeats until the three winners have enough votes to win a seat, giving voters more say in who their preferences are.

The theory behind this system is that such voting will give underrepresented constituencies a better shot at being represented than they are under the current system. Instead of just one representative, for example, getting in because they won a mere 51 percent of the voters, proponents said, you can have three representatives winning office with varying percentages of the overall vote.

Becca Uherbelau, a city charter commission member, said proportional ranked-choice voting would open up the city’s government to a greater range of voices.

“It actually results in better representation for folks who haven’t seen their interests represented,” she said. “Voters hate choosing between the lesser of two evils, and this way the voter has a better experience.”

Multi-member districts
Currently the at-large members of city council each represents the entire city of Portland, but under the proposed charter, the city would be divided into four districts with three council members representing each district. Charter proponents say this will allow voters to be able to more easily work with their council members to advocate for specific concerns. One such advocate is Concordia resident and political activist Mont Chris Hubbard, who testified before the charter commission.

“I think that city council will better represent the opinions of Portlanders when we have 12 of them elected with proportional representation,” Hubbard said.

Responsibilities Shift
Currently the mayor and city council members directly administer various departments, but under the new charter, the mayor would appoint a city administrator who in turn would then appoint administrators of such city departments as the police or the housing bureau.

Charter proponents contend this would free up the city’s political leadership to focus on their most important job, which is addressing constituent concerns, not managing bureaus. The current arrangement can lead to a “politicization of service delivery,” Uherbelau said, and replacing it means constituents can voice a concern to a council member, who can then take that concern to the mayor and/or city administrator who would then direct the bureau in charge of a service to address a concern. “You have a straighter line to both answer and solution,” she said.

Learn more about the proposed Portland city charter here.

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

Members of American Legion Post 134 have served in Vietnam, Iraq, Bosnia and Korea, among other places, and shared their experiences of military life and views on patriotism with CNews recently.

Post Commander Barry M. Larrain is a retired Army colonel who served in Vietnam, Okinawa, Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq. Among his duties, he worked as a Vietnamese linguist from 1968–69 and as senior military advisor to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad from 2009–10.

Larrain noted being a veteran has strengthened his commitment to the nation and its principles, and given him experiences that make him realize the impact his service made. For example, he said, he was deployed to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Dec. 1995, just after warring parties in the former Yugoslavia had signed the Dayton Peace Accords.

“My unit was one of the first to arrive in the city, which was badly damaged following years of war between Serbia and Bosnia,” he said. “I was with a few other soldiers moving through the city when a half dozen people saw us and started yelling, ‘USA, USA, USA.’ It was uplifting! During the war 10,000 Sarajevo residents were killed by artillery and mortar rounds, or sniper fire. These people were much more than grateful for our presence.”

With July 4 approaching, he added that it’s a holiday he wishes included reflection, not just celebration.

“I think July 4 should be a time for introspection, taking into account the complex history of the country, our successes and our failures, and a visceral appreciation for ‘There but for fortune, go I.’”

Peenesh Shah, a member of the Post’s executive committee, was an army sergeant who served in Iraq, and is now an assistant attorney general for the Oregon Dept. of Justice.

An aid station and evacuation medic in Baghdad, he had to respond to calls to evacuate casualties and also worked in a hospital emergency room. He said veterans are a diverse lot and he wished people would get to know more of them. Common misconceptions of veterans, he said, are “that we’re all the same, that we all share the same political views, that we’re all damaged in some way.” He noted that his own experience of military life was both uplifting and challenging and even contained moments of humor.

“One time a drill sergeant told me I was so bad at calling cadence that I needed to get a bowl of rhythm next time I was at the cafeteria,” he said.

Post Adjutant Patrick Bardel was a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps, from 1979–85 and served in various locations stateside. Serving has given him a sense of duty fulfilled, he said. “I am proud to have been involved in the defense of our country,” Bardel said. “The Cold War was a risky period of our history, and as we are seeing in Ukraine, there are some leaders that only respect power.”

He noted veterans bring to civilian life various characteristics that are useful to society. “There are many skills we learned in the military that translate well into the civilian world—leadership, organization, honesty—that aren’t recognized by employers who have no contact with vets.”

Bardel said serving in the military has given him a sense that the flag stands for more than one type of politics. “Our country’s government will always be a work in progress,” he said. “If the arc of justice and liberty keeps improving, with everyone’s help we can make this country better every generation. Recognizing and improving problems is a feature of democracy and not a problem.”

Robin Eckstein, E-4, Army, served from 1999–2007 here in the United States, as well as in Germany. She did a tour in Iraq in 2003 as a truck driver delivering supplies around Baghdad. She is now Post 134’s finance officer and said she’s working hard to revive the American Legion locally. “I bring fresh perspectives and want the Legion to change and start meeting the needs and wants of new generations of veterans that no longer just want a bar to sit at,” she said.

The military was a mixed bag of experiences for her, she said, noting she liked the camaraderie but disliked “the sexual harassment and old-boys-club attitude of it.”

Life in a war zone brought the cost of citizenship home to her in a particularly difficult way, she added.

“I saw my friend in the hospital after he had been blown up in a roadside bomb,” she said. “He said it wasn’t worth it. Almost losing his life and he said it wasn’t worth it. I think about that to this day knowing he has to live with disabilities for the rest of his life.”

Eckstein said the American Legion should continue to expand its historic mission to assist veterans like her and those with whom she’s served. “The American Legion has done a lot of important lobbying in Congress for rights and benefits for veterans and that work is extremely important.”

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

Robin Eckstein, who served in Iraq, summed up why it’s important for her and other military veterans to have a space where they can bond. “You can’t watch ‘Generation Kill’ on HBO and all of sudden know what it’s like to deploy.”

As our nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day, CNews spoke to Eckstein, along with three other veterans, about their lives as well as their meeting space, American Legion Frederick and John Ravin Post 134, 2104 NE Alberta St.

Founded in 1947, the Post has a storied history in Concordia and has even drawn attention from the national press at times for its outreach work, including serving as a warming shelter in the past for the homeless during winter. Since its founding it’s seen everything from potlucks and neighborhood dances to raucous punk rock shows and LGBTQ trivia nights.

Current Post Commander Barry M. Larrain said Post 134 welcomes all veterans of any political affiliation whatsoever. Eckstein said she is a lesbian who has encouraged other LGBTQ veterans to join the American Legion, and Peenesh Shah, a state assistant attorney general and Post member, noted his parents are from India.

“If we live in a community that is diverse, it should be the case that our Post is diverse,” Eckstein said. “The military is a microcosm of the nation. There are people of all different backgrounds, genders, sexualities, races and nationalities.”

Construction costs

The Legion members said they’re currently seeking around $25,000 in donations to complete renovating the Post’s Quonset style building and want to encourage younger veterans to join. To that end, the Post—named for two brothers who died while serving in the navy in World War II—is highlighting its building renovation efforts and asking the public to consider funding the construction work. The Post has already installed a new furnace, completed some work on its walls and floors and is looking to upgrade its overall appearance.

But even more important to the Post’s future than its space are the people whom its leaders want to occupy it. Larrain, a retired Army colonel, noted 76 percent of the Post’s 130 members are older than 60, and the Legion wants to expand its membership. The nation’s interest in its military waxes and wanes depending on the news cycle, he and the other leaders mused, but veterans never forget other veterans. Larrain wants the younger generation of veterans to know the American Legion is there for them.

“We have to have a voice,” he said. “We have to have something that represents all veterans, to represent our interests.”

Eckstein, the Post’s finance officer, said the Legion has helped her find other veterans who, like her, have experienced PTSD related to their service, as well as given her a chance to do what all veterans have done, namely serve their communities. On that note, the Post’s Adjutant, Patrick Bardel, a Marine veteran, said the organization gives purpose to his life.

“Our Post 134 is my primary volunteering focus,” he said. “I’m retired, but I never planned to, or will, stop working. The Post is an outlet of my energy to have a place for veterans to get together and put our collective energies out into the community.”

Shah, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, is a member of the Post’s executive committee and wants the Post to become more integrated into the life of Concordia and the surrounding neighborhoods. He said, for example, the Post can facilitate meetings between school children and American Legion members so they can learn about veterans. He also noted he enjoys the camaraderie the Post provides him. “It’s given me a chance to connect with other veterans of different generations,” he said.

To learn how to donate to American Legion Post 134, visit post134.com and click on “Donate.” To learn more about becoming a member, contact the adjutant at patrickb@portlandrainbarrels. com

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.