Black History Month is being celebrated by the Multnomah County Department of Human Services with two lunch-time presentations.
The public is invited to attend the programs, sponsored by the Department Employees of Color within the human services department.
Ruth Beale, a civil rights freedom rider in the 1960s, will be guest of honor at a potluck lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23. The lunch will be in the N/NE Aging and Disability Services Senior Center, 5329 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd.
At 82, Beale advocates for improved health care, housing and the criminal justice system.
Stories of African American experiences will be told through chanting and drumming by oral historian Nyewesi Askari during a program from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in the Lincoln Building Pine Conference Room, 421 S.W. Oak St. Askari is a village elder and cultural coordinator of LifeWorks Northwest.
For more information contact Flor Matias at 503-988-3691, ext. 29340, or Mary Jo Thomas at 503-988-3999, ext. 24048.
