Portland's 'Black Stars'

Are black men the most misunderstood figures in modern society?

Eight young black men traveled from Portland to Ghana searching for their ancestral roots.

They walked through the Door of No Return, touched the floors of slave dungeons, went to the river where slaves took a last bath — and visited a girls’ school where they were slightly intimidated by female students who could recite three-minute poems from memory.

“Everything is about education, discipline and respect,” one of the Portland guys commented. Watching the girls perform made him feel like he needed to up his game.

It’s a scene from the documentary, “The Black Stars,” a film that will be shown in high schools, colleges and youth detention facilities across Oregon next month as part of Black History Month.

The two-week expedition to Ghana last summer was a dream-come-true for Lakayana Drury, a former teacher who started Word is Bond in 2017.  The nonprofit organization mentors young black Portland males 15-20 years old.

The film had a sold-out world premiere at the Hollywood Theater two weeks ago. A festival of drumming, dancing and rapping preceded the film, along with singing of the Black National Anthem, speeches and storytelling.

“I have never seen so many black people in a space,” rejoiced Isaac Armstrong standing before an audience of 400 parents, guardians, students, businesspeople, artists, community activists/leaders and many people who didn’t fit any label.

Armstrong was raised in Ghana and worked in the oil and gas industry. He mentored young men in Word is Bond, meeting and talking with them every week.

He went along on the Ghana adventure, seeing it as a chance to “go back way into the past and find some good.”

Drury grew up in Madison, Wis., the son of a Sudanese father and Irish mother. His dad was not around much, and black teachers were scarce.

“When my mother enrolled me in Big Brothers Big Sisters she asked for a black mentor…,” he recalled. “She was told there is a waiting list for two years.”

Because of the “immense hole left by my father … I created Word is Bond for the young me. … My African identity was with me my entire life, and I couldn’t escape it.”

Initially, Word is Bond focused on building positive relationships between young black men and law enforcement. Drury held nine community listening sessions with the Portland Police Bureau's implicit bias training. He also served as co-chair of the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing, a citizen oversight group.

He wanted Word is Bond to expand beyond that singular focus and help black youths engage with the wider world —teaching everything from healthy masculinity to finding work and purpose in life.

Drury also set his sights on sending a group of Word is Bond youths to Ghana.

“Somebody threw me enough money, and I was going to take that chance,” he said.

He brought 21-year-old Twixx Williams along to work as director and help create “The Black Stars” film:

The official synopsis: “Black men are among the most misunderstood figures in modern society. This documentary sheds light on the experiences of young black men growing up in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the importance of returning to Africa as a means of reconciling the complex nuances of the African American experience. It is a journey of hope, leadership, and brotherhood that invites viewers to find out what it means to be a Black Star.”

The title is related to the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana and the country’s national soccer team, which is called the Black Stars.

In the film, Portland’s Black Stars are an amiable group of young men. They are referred to as “ambassadors” because as participants in Word is Bond, they are representing more than just themselves.

“Let’s be our brother’s keeper,” Drury tells them as they prepare to fly out of PDX at 5:02 a.m.

They have each prepared “mantras” summing up who they are and what they hope to achieve in life when they meet with various Ghanaian government officials and business leaders.

One Black Star’s mantra is that he’s a survivor.

“Survivor of what?” a Ghanaian official asks him.

“Shot eight times…,” he replied. “Grateful to be here and see another day.”

The shooting led to the death of one of his closest friends.

The film has its charms, especially when the guys interact with the locals. Among the things that surprised them was how developed Ghana is, how many people speak English and how educated they are.

The Black Stars didn’t mind inconveniences; a bathroom might be a sink and a hole in the floor. They were surprised at how kind and welcoming everyone was.

They had mixed opinions on fufu, a Ghanaian staple food, usually made from pounding cooked unripe plantain and cassava into a soft dough. Balls of fufu are often an accompaniment to soups and stews. (Fufu can be swallowed whole or chewed. If swallowed whole, it will take longer to digest and can give a feeling of fullness longer — a consideration if food isn’t plentiful.) Forks and spoons are not used when eating, diners eat with the fingers on their right hand; eating with the left is considered disrespectful.

“What is the point of going to Ghana if you want to eat cheeseburgers and pizza every day … eat some fufu,” one of the guys joked during a panel discussion following the film’s premiere.

It looked like a trip of a lifetime. How did it change them, they were asked.

Ahmed said it made him want to travel.

“The world is so large and vast. … Human beings have everything in common,” he said.

So are black men really the most misunderstood figures in modern society?

That question wasn’t asked by panel moderator S. Renee Mitchell. She did ask if the Black Stars felt physically different the moment they arrived in Ghana. She has visited the country herself and described her shoulders immediately relaxing upon arrival.

The guys seemed perplexed by the question. If it was meant to elicit remarks on how being surrounded by white people in Portland made them feel tense, the guys didn’t pick up on it. They were in a good mood and enjoyed reliving moments of their trip.

“AC is a blessing…,” said Roc. “Appreciate what you have.”

“Ghana has religion … and Portland has coffee and sneakers,” said another.

More than other African countries, Ghana has embraced its slave heritage. There has been some unexpected pushback. (See “Ghana cashes in on slave heritage tourism”)

A couple of years ago, James Sweet, a University of Wisconsin scholar of Africa, questioned whether the tours of some of the sites were designed for African-Americans, even though less than one percent of African slaves who came through Ghana were sent to North America. Most went to Brazil and the Caribbean.

Sweet also objected to tour guides who falsely claimed that ancestors of today’s Ghanaians “unknowingly” sold their “servants” into slavery. There was no mention of the slaves intentionally acquired through tribal warfare to be sold.

Sweet was eventually forced to apologize. Too bad because he was highlighting how little many Americans know about history.

The world is one vast historical site. Slavery was not invented by white early Americans nor was it unique to them. Slavers and the enslaved have come in all races. What is uniquely American is the self-flagellation. It distorts history.

Drury’s own light skin could get him into trouble in some tribal communities on the continent of Africa. (A reminder from history: The darker-skinned Hutus exacted revenge on the lighter-skinned Tutsis in the genocide that occurred in Rwanda.)

Many of us don’t have to go back that far into our own ancestry to find hard times and misery.

On behalf of his Irish mother, has Drury explored the history of the Magdalene Laundries? If he thinks black men are misunderstood, he might be interested in how Irish Catholics treated girls and women. (Personally my ancestry is Scots-Irish, English, German, Somali, Nigerian. Yet I had never heard of the Magdalene Laundries until Joni Mitchell recorded a song of that title).

Perhaps Drury has these discussions off-camera with his Word is Bond ambassadors. Perhaps he doesn’t want to air dirty black laundry where white people can see it.

Last year three young black males were gunned down by three black shooters on a Saturday afternoon near a North Portland community center — and not a word from Drury or other activists, who have been breaking up the criminal justice system to go easier on black offenders.

Word is Bond could offer an antidote to the news media’s glorification of criminal behavior in the black community. Our own local newspaper, The Oregonian, insists on acting as if dark-skinned people can’t help themselves.  Gun violence is excused when the finger on the trigger is black. Why? History.

Several months ago, The Oregonian reached back to revisit 1975 when four blacks were killed by police in five months. The story led with the case of a 17-year-old black guy preparing to rob a cab driver and pointing a gun at a police officer, who shot him in return.

“Black leaders didn’t receive the justice they sought, but historians say their work shaped the city we live in today," Oregonian editor Therese Bottomly wrote, in explaining why the paper was retelling these stories now.

History can become a cudgel.

While we have a group of young black Portland men going to Ghana looking for their ancestral roots, another group of black Portlanders this week claimed their roots in North Portland.

The nonprofit Albina Vision Trust wants to purchase Portland Public Schools headquarters and the 10.5 acres of land it sits on. In exchange, the Albina Vision Trust would help the school district find new headquarters in downtown Portland.

This is proposed as a way to make amends for the urban renewal destruction of what was once the predominantly black Albina neighborhood. It’s a cause shared by The 1803 Fund, which wants to repair damages done to black Portlanders in the past.

The 1803 Fund was created by Rukaiyah Adams, the former investment chief of Meyer Memorial Trust and a founding board member of the Albina Vision Trust. Phil Knight, the billionaire co-founder of Nike, has given $400 million to The 1803 Fund.

Rarely considered when rehashing America’s racial history is that a counterpoint to race hatred is race sympathy. There is much sympathy toward blacks in America. Knight’s donation was not surprising, just as it’s not surprising that someone threw money at Drury so he could make the Ghana trip.

The Albina Vision Trust’s presentation before the Portland school board was well-orchestrated and — literally and figuratively — tugged at heart strings. It included a clip of original music by Esperanza Spaulding and even worked in the memory of George Floyd. (He never lived in Albina.)

Winta Yohannes, executive director of Albina Vision Trust, introduced Sharon Gary-Smith to offer a “grounding.”

Smith said her appearance was the second time in 20 years that she had entered the school district headquarters “because it is sitting on my parents’ land.”

She recalled the thriving community she grew up in as one of four black daughters, and how her brothers looked out for them.

Now Albina Vision Trust wants to turn the headquarters’ asphalt and cinder block into a community, Gary-Smith said.

She urged the board to return “hallowed ground so it can grow again.”

Yohannes was more direct.

“You are squatters,” she told the board. “You are sitting on what should be 1,000 units of housing.”

The board seemed inclined to go along with it and will revisit the matter on Feb. 6.

Don’t be surprised if somebody mentions Black History Month.