MEDIA INVITED TO DENORVAL UNTHANK PARK REDEDICATION CEREMONY
Posted: June 13th, 2011 11:48 AM
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2011-06/1399/45330/Dr.Unthank.jpg (Dr. DeNorval Unthank)
June 13th, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mark Ross, Public Information Officer
503.823.5300; cell 503.823.6634
Media Invited to DeNorval Unthank Park Rededication Ceremony:
Performers, Community Leaders, Police to Attend
(Portland, OR) -
Portland Parks & Recreation proudly invites you to our ceremony to rededicate North Portland's Dr. DeNorval Unthank Park. This is a chance to both honor the late Dr. Unthank, and to educate today's youth about the contributions he made to the African-American community and Portland.
WHAT: Unthank Park Rededication Ceremony
WHERE: 510 N. Shaver St.
WHEN: Friday, June 17, 2011 5:00pm-8:00pm
Portland Parks and Recreation is reaching out to neighbors to join in a cultural and civil rights celebration to serve as a reminder of who Dr. Unthank was, and why the park was named after him. In addition, a collaborative partnership has been formed to provide positive options for neighborhood children to be active this summer. Beginning on June 22nd, Portland Parks & Recreation will provide summer activities from 3:00 -7:00 pm for youth within the community that will include games, arts and crafts activities, basketball as well as an evening free meal. A complete look at the Summer Free for All is here: http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=50362
In the meantime, please come on Friday evening, 6/17/11, and join Portland Parks & Recreation, the Portland Police Bureau and the City of Portland Youth Violence Prevention Office in honoring one of Portland's most important civil rights pioneers, and celebrating the revitalization of Unthank Park for our children and future generations. Kids will enjoy hands-on arts activities and much more!
Dr. T. Allen Bethel, Senior Pastor of Maranatha Church and Co-President of the Albina Ministerial Alliance, will give the invocation. The ceremony will also kick off summer activities that will be sponsored by Portland Parks & Recreation and Self Enhancement Inc. (headquartered in the park) throughout the coming months. The SEI organization is dedicated to guiding under-served youth to realize their full potential through sports, arts, and academic programs. SEI's drummers and dancers will perform at the ceremony. http://www.selfenhancement.org
The City of Portland named the Park after Dr. Unthank in 1969 to commemorate his role in bringing down racial barriers. The location was selected by a neighborhood committee working to increase the amount of open space and recreation areas in that area of North Portland due to the impacts that the construction of the I-5 freeway and the Memorial Coliseum had on the neighborhood.
During the 1990's the park served a neighborhood fraught with the challenges of urban decay that included drugs, gangs, prostitution, crime, low employment rates, and abandoned houses. DeNorval Unthank Park (like Portland as a whole) saw a resurgence of gang activity. Improvements recommended by Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) were made to open up sight lines through tree pruning, and by additional lights which were added in early 1990. Strong community involvement was also a key factor in fostering a safer atmosphere.
In a collaborative effort with Portland parks and SEI, Inc., a community center was built on the site; and in 1999, the city of Portland created the Mississippi Historic District Target Area to improve public safety, housing and business in the area. This was accomplished through loans and technical assistance to businesses. Since then commerce has thrived and housing prices have risen annually.
In 2010, Portland Parks & Recreation, once again working in partnership with the Portland Police Bureau, began to take steps to address the increased negative activities within and around the park. As a result, PP&R made improvements to the park such as pruning and tree canopy elevation to keep the park open. Additional lighting will be installed this summer.
Unthank Park is located in North Portland at N. Kerby and Shaver Streets. The Portland City Council voted in 1969 to rename the Kerby Street Park after Dr. Unthank.
His family is proud of the many years of medical care, human rights efforts and civil rights advocacy that the pioneering Dr. Unthank brought to Portland. He tackled racial issues at a time when few, minority or otherwise, would dare. Dr. Unthank was able to see the park renamed in his honor, and lauded its ability to act as a playground for neighborhood youth and a positive place for recreation programs. Today at the west end of Unthank Park is the site of SEI Self Enhancement, Inc. an advocacy program for youth and families.
The Life of DeNorval Unthank, MD
December 14, 1899- September 20, 1977
By Lesley Unthank, DeNorval's daughter and former longtime PP&R employee
Dr. DeNorval Unthank was a dedicated doctor and civil rights activist. He is considered to be a landmark figure in the early civil rights movement in Portland.
Unthank was born on December 14, 1899, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His mother died when he was nine, leaving eight children. Unthank's father, a chef, sent the five youngest children to his brother in Kansas City, Missouri. After completing high school at the age of 16, Unthank first attended the University of Michigan, and then transferred to the University of Kansas where he attained his undergrad degree. Unthank then earned his medical degree in 1926 from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He moved to Portland in 1929 with his wife Thelma Shipman and their infant son.
Unthank arrived in the Rose City just 3 years after the Oregon Constitution had stopped prohibiting African-Americans from living in the state. When he began his medical practice in Oregon, he was initially barred from practicing at local hospitals and excluded from the medical community. However, by the late 1940 and 50s, he was on the staff of Good Samaritan, Providence, St Vincent, and Emanuel hospitals. Dr. Unthank was Portland's only African-American medical doctor until the 1940's. To serve underrepresented populations, made himself available day and night for house calls, serving African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Gypsies (and many whites as well) during his years in Portland.
His family says there was a strong contingent of the Ku Klux Klan in Portland at the time. Even so, Unthank chose to move his family to the predominantly white neighborhood of Westmoreland in 1930. His family says that neighborhood representatives were less than thrilled, and even offered him $1500.00 to move out of the area. Unthank refused, and he and his family were the targets of broken windows, harassment, and threatening phone calls. They had to move several times before they were able to settle in SE Portland. In 1952, breaking unwritten color barrier east of NE 15th Ave, the Unthank family moved to the Irvington neighborhood. Dr. Unthank continued to build up his private practice and received recognition for his civil rights efforts. He served as a medical consultant for the State of Oregon workmen's compensation board from 1970-1976. Dr. Unthank died on September 20, 1977.
Dr. Unthank's achievements are numerous. He became the first black member of Portland's City Club in 1943, encouraging the club to publish a significant 1945 study called "The Negro in Portland," which opened the eyes of many citizens to ongoing discriminatory practices. Over the years he won several awards for his work against racial discrimination as well as for his public service work. In 1958, the Oregon Medical Society named him Doctor of the Year. For his role in bringing down racial barriers, in 1969 the City of Portland renamed Kerby Park as DeNorval Unthank Park in his honor. Unthank received recognition such as the B'nai B'rith Citizenship award, the distinguished Citizenship Award from the University of Oregon in 1971, and the Citizenship Award from Concordia College in 1975. Unthank was president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and cofounder of the Portland Urban League which was charted in 1945.
For more information, call 503.823.5300 or visit portlandparks.org.
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Mark Ross Public Information Officer
Portland Parks & Recreation
503.823.5300 (office); 503.823.6634 (cell)
Mark.ross@portlandoregon.gov
Healthy Parks, Healthy Portland
portlandparks.org
Nick Fish, Commissioner | Zari Santner, Director
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