Black leadership is on the rise - from the White House to corporate giants like Xerox Corp. In progressive Oregon, however, blacks currently hold no elected positions in the city, county or regional governments within the metropolitan area where most of their community resides. These political disparities are more than matched by economic, social, health and education disparities that have left black Oregonians impoverished.

“How We Survive”, a look into how communities and everyday people around the U.S. are responding to the economic crisis. This week we focus on people who are resisting foreclosures and answer the question––are rescue programs actually working?

Making Contact:

Jay Thiemeyer explores the heat wave through the eyes of the elderly, homeless, and alternatively housed communities in Portland. 

Seven months after the inauguration of the first Black president, a statewide report on the condition of African Americans in Oregon reveals that black Oregonians remain at or near the bottom of every meaningful social and economic measure. African Americans in Oregon have significantly higher infant mortality rates, are more likely to live in poverty, have higher levels of unemployment, are half as likely to own their own homes and are far more likely to die of diseases such as diabetes than their white counterparts.

Host Paul Van Dyck interviews Terry Dorn, author of The Cross and the Psychiatrist. They discuss his life and his self help book for people with mental illness.