-APRP Free Breakfast Program Aims to Nourish Students, Develop New Kind of CommunitySeptember 9, 2015
Story and photos by Pete Shaw
Jazz moves. Good jazz swings. Great jazz transcends.
Charles is transcending, and he is taking the crowd of children and adults in Columbia International Cup in New Columbia with him. I’ve seen him in Brian’s coffee shop here on North Newman Avenue, but I’ve never seen him sit down at the piano. Then again, the piano is new to the place, acquired only a few weeks ago.
Here, on this first day of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) free breakfast program of the 2015-2016 school year, it seems right to put some weird timing in your step. School started the day before, August 27, and while a rock standard 4/4 can get you going–with the right backbeat–nobody can cut a straight walk when faced with 9/4.
Xavier and Emmanuelle have gathered by the bookshelf not far from the piano. They are mesmerized by the sounds coming out of Charles via the keys. And why not? He sounds fantastic. A few of the songs I know by name, such as The Beatles’ “Lady Madonna,” although I am sure Paul McCartney never heard it like this. Charles is further swinging it, switching between rag and blues, changing pace and style. He soon segues into “Eleanor Rigby.” As with some other songs whose titles I do not know, the melody is clear, and all that surrounds it is different.
Charles takes a short break, turning to me, Xavier, and Emmanuelle. “I haven’t played in awhile,” he says and then gestures toward the piano. “When this is tuned, it’ll be good.”
The breakfast and education program is already undergoing a fine tune. It began in late April, serving healthy food to students–sometimes over 30 of them–from 7 to 8 AM. Fruit, oatmeal, eggs, juice, and other wholesome foods offer an alternative to the fat- and sugar-laden items that often land on the trays of students who get breakfast at school. The difference would be important for anyone, but is critical for students readying to concentrate for six hours at school.
Over the summer, when the program ran from 8 to 10 AM, Brian would occasionally break out the beignets. With little studying to be done, a couple of donuts are okay. To judge by the smiles on the kids’ faces, they are significantly better than okay.
During the last few days before kids headed back to school, the A-APRP offered free school supplies. Backpacks, notebooks, pens, pencils, glue, and crayons were just some of the items people had donated–items eagerly accepted by the 20 or so young folks who came to the Columbia International Cup to receive them..
The food portion of the breakfast program–while desirable and necessary–is part of something bigger. One eats food for physical necessity, to give the body what is necessary for creating the energy that sustains life. A meal involves that food, but it also involves rituals that can take many different forms. In the case of the A-APRP breakfast program, that ritual involves a community gathering.
The kids come in, some with their parents or guardians, and talk with each other. Those parents and guardians interact with the children as well as with each other. Some have gardens and discuss what they are growing and how they can grow them better. Others discuss school issues. The talk is hardly perfunctory. It is the talk of community, not passersby. You feel welcome. The food is also communal in nature. Much of it is donated by Vegans of Color, the Alberta Street Coop, and Food Not Bombs. As well there are many out of pocket donations.
Columbia International Cup was chosen for the program because New Columbia has the highest concentration of Black–or as the A-APRP says, African–people in Oregon. If you stand out on the street for any length of time, you will notice a highly concentrated police presence. In a country where police and vigilantes kill an African person every 28 hours, and in a city whose leaders refuse to take meaningful steps to address the problem of a police force that is racist at its core, that police presence sends a specific message that is rarely heard outside of communities of color.
“This community has a disproportionate amount of Africans and police,” says jamallah bourdon of the A-APRP. “We came in and saw the community had a need. We want to instill pride and collectively care–make sure kids feel wanted.”
At the counter where members of the A-APRP serve the food, Ahjamu Umi is teaching five kids some phrases in Akan, a language known by the 9 million Ashanti people–mostly in Ghana–who speak it as Twi. They learn “good morning,” (Maakyre) “how are you,” (Wo ho ti sen) and “I’m doing fine.” (Me ho ye). Very good phrases to know when settling down with friends, family, and community.
Portland’s schools, like most schools throughout the country, teach a curriculum–particularly in social studies–that promotes a white point of view, and one that is highly sanitized. The A-APRP’s breakfast and education offers an alternative, encouraging people to also view the world through African eyes and values.
Umi stresses that the goal of the program is to “build relationships with children and adults in the community and strengthen those relationships so that continued revolutionary work can go on in the neighborhood with growing support. Our objective isn’t just to have a breakfast program, but to build a community liberated zone in the vision ofKwame Nkrumah. We are merely at the beginning stages of doing this right now.”
“Twi is important because we are African people,” says Umi. “We were Africans when we first arrived here 500 years ago, and we are still Africans today. The capitalist system works hard to disconnect us from Africa because a conscious African people–conscious to their connection to Africa–is a great threat to the continued exploitation of Africa, which is fundamental to maintenance of the capitalist system. Languages like Twi, Yoruba, Fulani, and Wolof were beaten out of us. So teaching Twi is a way of reinforcing that we are not Americans. We are Africans, and by reclaiming these languages in the context of revolutionary self-sufficiency–such as the free breakfast program–we teach independent thinking, which is a must for any people to be free.”
This does not mean the program is only open to African students. Like the Black Panther Party’s breakfast program, it is open to all people, and all people are encouraged to attend. Just as it should be intuitive that students should go to school with healthy food in their stomachs, it should also be intuitive that in a society with democratic institutions that students should learn to see the world around them from multiple points of view so they can challenge injustice and create and erect palliatives.
“African culture,” says Umi, “is humanistic, which means we accept everyone. But since we see America as being built and maintained on African exploitation, we believe it important that people understand our existence, struggle, and mechanisms to be free.”
“Students go to these institutions where people who are being paid to teach don’t look like you and are teaching white experiences,” bourdon says. “Our purpose here is to engage these students in a perspective that is African centered. That doesn’t mean it is limited to Africans. But we do have an awareness that these schools are not set up to encourage kids to study African values and that they teach kids to devalue African lives.”
On August 28th two white girls come to breakfast. Both have been there before, as have the adults who have come with them. Umi welcomes them, saying to the children, “So glad to see you again. You take whatever seat you want.” Comfortably, they do. They clearly feel a part of this community. Xavier later asks one of them, Erin, if she is ready for school. He offers to show her the free supplies.
Earlier in the week Habakkuk, Emmanuelle’s brother, was playing the piano. He already runs his fingers across the keyboard faster than I ever will. He is methodical in his playing, expecting perfection, but not riding himself too hard. Adrienne Cabouet, also with the A-APRP, listens, and soon Habakkuk invites her to play along. He teaches her what to play, and her engaging smile and joyous laughter prove how much benefit can be derived from approaching things with a light touch.
Later I hear Umi talking to a parent, saying he wants to pass on to these young people “the confidence that we have all we need” to change things. A week earlier, after the first of the school supplies had been handed out, I was talking with Umi on the sidewalk and he told me that these very small acts and events are what making change is all about.
He is right, of course. The stuff we read in textbooks is usually composed of big names and events. The American Revolution is four or five men and a few battles. The Civil War is Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. The Civil Rights Movement is Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington. Left out are numerous events and people who made all of it possible.
As conservative and byzantine as the governing institutions of this country are, change does occur. Not because of those institutions, but because of the relatively unknown people working together in spite of those institutions, forcing those with power to bend to their will. In the big scheme, these small acts–these alternatives to the status quo–may seem insignificant. But through small, willful acts of sharing and community such as the A-APRP’s breakfast and education program, an alternative way of living can ultimately coalesce.
The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party’s breakfast and education program is held from 7-8 AM on Monday and Friday at Columbia International Cup, located at 9022 North Newman Avenue.
Want to get involved? Find more information on how you can support the program at: http://www.aaprporegon.org/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Story and photos by Pete Shaw
Jazz moves. Good jazz swings. Great jazz transcends.
Charles is transcending, and he is taking the crowd of children and adults in Columbia International Cup in New Columbia with him. I’ve seen him in Brian’s coffee shop here on North Newman Avenue, but I’ve never seen him sit down at the piano. Then again, the piano is new to the place, acquired only a few weeks ago.
Here, on this first day of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) free breakfast program of the 2015-2016 school year, it seems right to put some weird timing in your step. School started the day before, August 27, and while a rock standard 4/4 can get you going–with the right backbeat–nobody can cut a straight walk when faced with 9/4.
Xavier and Emmanuelle have gathered by the bookshelf not far from the piano. They are mesmerized by the sounds coming out of Charles via the keys. And why not? He sounds fantastic. A few of the songs I know by name, such as The Beatles’ “Lady Madonna,” although I am sure Paul McCartney never heard it like this. Charles is further swinging it, switching between rag and blues, changing pace and style. He soon segues into “Eleanor Rigby.” As with some other songs whose titles I do not know, the melody is clear, and all that surrounds it is different.
Charles takes a short break, turning to me, Xavier, and Emmanuelle. “I haven’t played in awhile,” he says and then gestures toward the piano. “When this is tuned, it’ll be good.”
The breakfast and education program is already undergoing a fine tune. It began in late April, serving healthy food to students–sometimes over 30 of them–from 7 to 8 AM. Fruit, oatmeal, eggs, juice, and other wholesome foods offer an alternative to the fat- and sugar-laden items that often land on the trays of students who get breakfast at school. The difference would be important for anyone, but is critical for students readying to concentrate for six hours at school.
Over the summer, when the program ran from 8 to 10 AM, Brian would occasionally break out the beignets. With little studying to be done, a couple of donuts are okay. To judge by the smiles on the kids’ faces, they are significantly better than okay.
During the last few days before kids headed back to school, the A-APRP offered free school supplies. Backpacks, notebooks, pens, pencils, glue, and crayons were just some of the items people had donated–items eagerly accepted by the 20 or so young folks who came to the Columbia International Cup to receive them..
The food portion of the breakfast program–while desirable and necessary–is part of something bigger. One eats food for physical necessity, to give the body what is necessary for creating the energy that sustains life. A meal involves that food, but it also involves rituals that can take many different forms. In the case of the A-APRP breakfast program, that ritual involves a community gathering.
The kids come in, some with their parents or guardians, and talk with each other. Those parents and guardians interact with the children as well as with each other. Some have gardens and discuss what they are growing and how they can grow them better. Others discuss school issues. The talk is hardly perfunctory. It is the talk of community, not passersby. You feel welcome. The food is also communal in nature. Much of it is donated by Vegans of Color, the Alberta Street Coop, and Food Not Bombs. As well there are many out of pocket donations.
Columbia International Cup was chosen for the program because New Columbia has the highest concentration of Black–or as the A-APRP says, African–people in Oregon. If you stand out on the street for any length of time, you will notice a highly concentrated police presence. In a country where police and vigilantes kill an African person every 28 hours, and in a city whose leaders refuse to take meaningful steps to address the problem of a police force that is racist at its core, that police presence sends a specific message that is rarely heard outside of communities of color.
“This community has a disproportionate amount of Africans and police,” says jamallah bourdon of the A-APRP. “We came in and saw the community had a need. We want to instill pride and collectively care–make sure kids feel wanted.”
At the counter where members of the A-APRP serve the food, Ahjamu Umi is teaching five kids some phrases in Akan, a language known by the 9 million Ashanti people–mostly in Ghana–who speak it as Twi. They learn “good morning,” (Maakyre) “how are you,” (Wo ho ti sen) and “I’m doing fine.” (Me ho ye). Very good phrases to know when settling down with friends, family, and community.
Portland’s schools, like most schools throughout the country, teach a curriculum–particularly in social studies–that promotes a white point of view, and one that is highly sanitized. The A-APRP’s breakfast and education offers an alternative, encouraging people to also view the world through African eyes and values.
Umi stresses that the goal of the program is to “build relationships with children and adults in the community and strengthen those relationships so that continued revolutionary work can go on in the neighborhood with growing support. Our objective isn’t just to have a breakfast program, but to build a community liberated zone in the vision ofKwame Nkrumah. We are merely at the beginning stages of doing this right now.”
“Twi is important because we are African people,” says Umi. “We were Africans when we first arrived here 500 years ago, and we are still Africans today. The capitalist system works hard to disconnect us from Africa because a conscious African people–conscious to their connection to Africa–is a great threat to the continued exploitation of Africa, which is fundamental to maintenance of the capitalist system. Languages like Twi, Yoruba, Fulani, and Wolof were beaten out of us. So teaching Twi is a way of reinforcing that we are not Americans. We are Africans, and by reclaiming these languages in the context of revolutionary self-sufficiency–such as the free breakfast program–we teach independent thinking, which is a must for any people to be free.”
This does not mean the program is only open to African students. Like the Black Panther Party’s breakfast program, it is open to all people, and all people are encouraged to attend. Just as it should be intuitive that students should go to school with healthy food in their stomachs, it should also be intuitive that in a society with democratic institutions that students should learn to see the world around them from multiple points of view so they can challenge injustice and create and erect palliatives.
“African culture,” says Umi, “is humanistic, which means we accept everyone. But since we see America as being built and maintained on African exploitation, we believe it important that people understand our existence, struggle, and mechanisms to be free.”
“Students go to these institutions where people who are being paid to teach don’t look like you and are teaching white experiences,” bourdon says. “Our purpose here is to engage these students in a perspective that is African centered. That doesn’t mean it is limited to Africans. But we do have an awareness that these schools are not set up to encourage kids to study African values and that they teach kids to devalue African lives.”
On August 28th two white girls come to breakfast. Both have been there before, as have the adults who have come with them. Umi welcomes them, saying to the children, “So glad to see you again. You take whatever seat you want.” Comfortably, they do. They clearly feel a part of this community. Xavier later asks one of them, Erin, if she is ready for school. He offers to show her the free supplies.
Earlier in the week Habakkuk, Emmanuelle’s brother, was playing the piano. He already runs his fingers across the keyboard faster than I ever will. He is methodical in his playing, expecting perfection, but not riding himself too hard. Adrienne Cabouet, also with the A-APRP, listens, and soon Habakkuk invites her to play along. He teaches her what to play, and her engaging smile and joyous laughter prove how much benefit can be derived from approaching things with a light touch.
Later I hear Umi talking to a parent, saying he wants to pass on to these young people “the confidence that we have all we need” to change things. A week earlier, after the first of the school supplies had been handed out, I was talking with Umi on the sidewalk and he told me that these very small acts and events are what making change is all about.
He is right, of course. The stuff we read in textbooks is usually composed of big names and events. The American Revolution is four or five men and a few battles. The Civil War is Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. The Civil Rights Movement is Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington. Left out are numerous events and people who made all of it possible.
As conservative and byzantine as the governing institutions of this country are, change does occur. Not because of those institutions, but because of the relatively unknown people working together in spite of those institutions, forcing those with power to bend to their will. In the big scheme, these small acts–these alternatives to the status quo–may seem insignificant. But through small, willful acts of sharing and community such as the A-APRP’s breakfast and education program, an alternative way of living can ultimately coalesce.
The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party’s breakfast and education program is held from 7-8 AM on Monday and Friday at Columbia International Cup, located at 9022 North Newman Avenue.
Want to get involved? Find more information on how you can support the program at: http://www.aaprporegon.org/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
passing out school supplies at the breakfast program on friday, august 21, 2015.
As it's important to acknowledge how much we stand on the shoulders of the ancestors, it's even more important to acknowledge this with action. In the tradition (and in honor) of the work the Panthers did with feeding school-age children for breakfast, the Oregon chapter of the A-APRP established a free breakfast program, with the intention of not only feeding children a healthy breakfast before they enter the classroom; but to also feed their minds and spirits with an African communal sensibility.
Through research it was discovered that the New Columbia neighborhood in Portland had the highest concentration of Africans (from the continent and the diaspora) in the state of Oregon. After this discovery we made arrangements with the Columbia International Cup coffee shop to hold the breakfasts on Mondays and Fridays (7-8 am), before the children go to school.
Just as adults are inundated with capitalist propaganda daily (particularly through advertising and other forms of media), young people are more vulnerable to being exposed to it during their developing years. Political education is a huge factor in our mission, and we aim to utilize this in our connection with the children.
While children of all ethnicities are invited to share breakfast with us, we definitely acknowledge that African children around the world enter schooling institutions which are not reflections of themselves. As they receive sustenance through eating pancakes, oatmeal, juice, smoothies, fruit, biscuits and gravy and other items on a rotating schedule; in these few months we have been bringing positive words of encouragement to them. During the summer months we will continue, and include presentations, interactive activities and more African-centered education to accompany the breakfasts.
The introduction of the breakfast program is part of a multi-tiered plan, to encourage a sustainable community network, to the point where the community is self-sufficient. The coffee shop is a central location where community members could gather to share ideas, skills and resources... eventually getting to a point where they are self-sufficient. We aim for a time when all communities who have been historically (and at the present time) displaced, are able to be self-sufficient; where those who are trained are able to give proper, safe medical care; when incidences of assaults are low, because the people in the community are in connection with one another, and they do not have to consistently contact outside forces such as the police (hoping that the call will not result in brutality or death). We want to be sure that the community is in control of where they live, collectively.
We want to be sure that the legacy of our ancestors' work remains.
Forward!
Through research it was discovered that the New Columbia neighborhood in Portland had the highest concentration of Africans (from the continent and the diaspora) in the state of Oregon. After this discovery we made arrangements with the Columbia International Cup coffee shop to hold the breakfasts on Mondays and Fridays (7-8 am), before the children go to school.
Just as adults are inundated with capitalist propaganda daily (particularly through advertising and other forms of media), young people are more vulnerable to being exposed to it during their developing years. Political education is a huge factor in our mission, and we aim to utilize this in our connection with the children.
While children of all ethnicities are invited to share breakfast with us, we definitely acknowledge that African children around the world enter schooling institutions which are not reflections of themselves. As they receive sustenance through eating pancakes, oatmeal, juice, smoothies, fruit, biscuits and gravy and other items on a rotating schedule; in these few months we have been bringing positive words of encouragement to them. During the summer months we will continue, and include presentations, interactive activities and more African-centered education to accompany the breakfasts.
The introduction of the breakfast program is part of a multi-tiered plan, to encourage a sustainable community network, to the point where the community is self-sufficient. The coffee shop is a central location where community members could gather to share ideas, skills and resources... eventually getting to a point where they are self-sufficient. We aim for a time when all communities who have been historically (and at the present time) displaced, are able to be self-sufficient; where those who are trained are able to give proper, safe medical care; when incidences of assaults are low, because the people in the community are in connection with one another, and they do not have to consistently contact outside forces such as the police (hoping that the call will not result in brutality or death). We want to be sure that the community is in control of where they live, collectively.
We want to be sure that the legacy of our ancestors' work remains.
Forward!
A-APRP Sponsored free breakfast program in portland!
Starting on Monday, April 27th, 2015, in the spirit of the Black Panther Party, Convention People's Party, Democratic Party of Guinea, African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau, and other ancestors and elders, we will be providing free breakfast to African (Black) children in the New Columbia area of North Portland. The program will take place every Monday and Friday from 7:00am to 8:00am. The menu will be pancakes/waffles, eggs, fruit, juice, and water. The only requirement to participate is children must be registered. You can register your child by sending us a message with your child's name, age, and any food allergies. You can send a message by clicking on the contact us button above (above right). We are not turning away any children, so if your child is not of African descent, but needs breakfast, and you understand that our program is specific to addressing African liberation and forward progress, then your child is welcome.
While the children eat we will be reading to them and talking to them about the positive elements of our culture as African people and our desires to build a better world. Our intent is to provide a safe, positive, and supportive atmosphere to prepare our children to handle living in this backward society while teaching them that we can build something better. The program will take place at the Columbia International Cup Coffee Shop at 9022 N. Newman Ave. If you want your child to participate and/or you want to support, you can contact us via this website. You can also make contributions to assist us with the program by clicking on the button below.
Update! The breakfast program is well underway! We are feeding 30+ children each session. We can definitely use your help! Thank you!
While the children eat we will be reading to them and talking to them about the positive elements of our culture as African people and our desires to build a better world. Our intent is to provide a safe, positive, and supportive atmosphere to prepare our children to handle living in this backward society while teaching them that we can build something better. The program will take place at the Columbia International Cup Coffee Shop at 9022 N. Newman Ave. If you want your child to participate and/or you want to support, you can contact us via this website. You can also make contributions to assist us with the program by clicking on the button below.
Update! The breakfast program is well underway! We are feeding 30+ children each session. We can definitely use your help! Thank you!