At the age of 12, when most kids are outside playing, James Thomason was hanging out at a funeral home. Thomason's mother, Irene, worked as a cosmetologist at Temple & Sons Funeral Home in Oklahoma City, Okla.
 "She kinda drug me around the funeral home while she was working and I always wanted to know what went on in the back. She said, 'OK, I'm going to let you find out,' Now here 38 years later, I know what goes on in the back," Thomason said laughing.
Today Thomason is the first African American president in the 106-year history of the Washington State Funeral Directors Association. In August, he was elected president at the association's 106th annual convention held at the Campbell's Resort at Lake Chelan in Chelan, WA.
"I think it's mostly an honor for the African American community. I don't try to make it a big deal for or about myself," Thomason said. "The association is 106-years old, so I think that's worth mentioning… it's such a great honor to serve as president."
Currently, Thomason is the funeral director and embalmer with Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood, WA .....

Back in the 1950s, when African American Harold G. Booker applied to graduate school in chemistry at the University of Washington, the Office of Minority Affairs didn't exist.
Nor was there a Multicultural Alumni Partnership, and "certainly no vice president for Minority Affairs and Diversity," Booker recalled. 
A 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Booker spoke Oct. 27 at the 13th annual Multicultural Alumni Partnership's Bridging the Gap Breakfast. The breakfast was organized to recognize outstanding achievements of ....

What's happening for us in Portland this week?
Click Community Calendar to find out ...

More than 300 prospective buyers attended the 2007 African American Home Buying Fair on Sat. Oct. 27, and over 52 vendors, and 65 individuals participated in the on-going workshops. Cheryl Roberts, executive director of the African American Alliance for Homeownership said the event was successful in educating prospective buyers about the resources available in the community. Roberts expressed her gratitude for all the sponsors who made the fair possible.

Banquet/Production cooksARAMARK/Giacometti Partners Ltd. at the Oregon Convention Center is hiring…

More than 300 prospective buyers attended the 2007 African American Home Buying Fair on Sat. Oct. 27, and over 52 vendors, and 65 individuals participated in the on-going workshops. Cheryl Roberts, executive director of the African American Alliance for Homeownership said the event was successful in educating prospective buyers about the resources available in the community. Roberts expressed her gratitude for all the sponsors who made the fair possible.

During his lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked to bring people from all walks of life together to address important community issues.
Working alongside individuals of all ages, races and backgrounds, Dr. King encouraged Americans to come together to strengthen communities, alleviate poverty and acknowledge dignity and respect for all human beings. Service, he realized, was the great equalizer.
On the weekend of Jan. 15, as we celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, Hands On Greater Portland will provide a variety of service activities ....

 The Federal Communications Commission today announced further details of its previously announced Seattle, Washington field hearing regarding media ownership

Town Hall Seattle, Great Hall, 1119 Eighth Avenue (at Seneca Street), Seattle, WA 98101
 http://www.townhallseattle.org/greatHall.cfm
The purpose of the hearing is to fully involve the public in the process of the 2006 Quadrennial Broadcast Media Ownership Review that the Commission is currently conducting.  This hearing is the sixth and final media ownership hearing the Commission intends to hold across the country.  Previous FCC public hearings in the current review of media ownership issues were held in Los Angeles, CA, on October 3, 2006; Nashville, TN, on December 11, 2006; and Harrisburg, PA, on February 23, 2007; Tampa Bay, FL, on April 30, 2007; and Chicago, IL, on September 20, 2007.

The hearing is open to the public, and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.  The hearing format will enable members of the public to participate via "open microphone." 

A group of Oregon State University students and staff joined community members outside Reser Stadium just before a game against Washington on Saturday night to protest concerns about racism on campus.
Davis said she and others felt compelled to speak out after a "Black Out Reser" event to show school spirit at a previous football game included some students wearing black face paint and Afro wigs ....

 With a two- to three-minute ceremony Friday, Attorney General Michael Mukasey formally brought an end to the Gonzales era at the Justice Department.
The retired federal judge took the oath as the nation's 81st attorney general -- and the Bush administration's third. He replaces Alberto Gonzales, who resigned in September after a months-long scandal that exposed White House political meddling at the fiercely independent Justice Department.
Mukasey, 66, now inherits a department struggling to restore its credibility with more than a dozen vacant leadership jobs and little time to make many changes before another president takes office.
At the closed-door ceremony Friday, Mukasey was joined by family members and a handful of Justice Department staff members who applauded when he took the oath, said agency spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.
Afterward, Mukasey headed immediately into meetings with senior Justice Department officials, including a briefing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Mukasey "got right to work," Roehrkasse said.
As a federal district judge in Manhattan, Mukasey oversaw