Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Remembering the Power of Words: The Life of an Oregon Activist, Legislator, and Community Leader

Remembering the Power of Words: The Life of an Oregon Activist, Legislator, and Community Leader

Gordly, Avel Louise
Schecter, Patricia A.
Rose, Melody

Paperback

Series: Women and Politics in the Pacific Northwest

Biographies GeneralPolitical Biographies

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 0870716042
ISBN13: 9780870716041
Publisher: Oregon State University Press
Published: Mar 15 2011
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.61
Height: 0.50 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.90
Language: English
Remembering the Power of Words recounts the personal and professional journey of Avel Gordly, the first African-American woman elected to the Oregon State Senate.

The book is a brave and honest telling of Gordly's life. She shares the challenges and struggles she faced growing up black in Portland in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as her determination to attend college, the dedication to activism that took her from Portland to Africa, and her eventual decision to run for a seat in the state legislature.

That words have power is a constant undercurrent in Gordly's account and a truth she learned early in life. Growing up, finding my own voice, she writes, was tied up with denying my voice or having it forcefully rejected and in all of that the memory of my father is very strong. To this day--and I am today a very experienced public speaker--preparation to speak takes a great deal of energy. That this memoir has its origins as an oral history is fitting since Gordly has used her voice, out loud, to teach and inspire others for so many years.

Important as a biographical account of one significant Oregonian's story, the book also contributes broader narratives touching on Black history (and Oregon's place within it), and most particularly the politics associated with being an African American woman, according to series editor Melody Rose.

The inaugural volume in the Women and Politics in the Pacific Northwest Series (series editor, Melody Rose)

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