Anthony, a former high school running back, likes to watch sports with his girlfriend
Four and a half years ago, Anthony Rogers moved to Portland to be with his mom. Today, they sell Street Roots together.
At their post at the farmers market near Portland State University, Sandra Hahn sets up a table with flowers, pictures and free honey sticks. Anthony does the sales pitch:
“I shout, ‘Extra! Extra! Read all about it. If you don’t read about it, you don’t know about it,’” Anthony said.
He’s learned from one of the best. In 2018, Sandra was honored as Street Roots Vendor of the Year. She is now on the board of directors at Street Roots, and she has mentored other vendors over her five-plus years with Street Roots. Anthony is now bringing his girlfriend into the Street Roots family. She’ll become a vendor as soon as she can attend an orientation.
“It’s the best paper in town, Street Roots,” he said.
Anthony grew up in Louisiana. “They’ve got delicious food in Louisiana,” he said. His favorite was boudin, a dish with rice and meat. “Really, whatever you want to put in it,” including pig stomach, he said.
In Louisiana “there ain’t nothing beautiful like Portland,” Anthony said. “Everything is brown. In the summertime, you take a shower, go outside, you feel like you’re sweating — again. It was hot, but it was home.”
Raised by his grandmother, Anthony spent a couple of years with his mom during his teenage years. But when Sandra moved to Germany, Anthony didn’t want to be that far from his grandmother, so he stayed behind.
He played running back for the football team in school, once running a kickoff return all the way back 100 yards for a touchdown.
“I was a fast runner,” he said, chuckling. At 4 feet 11 inches, Anthony has been nicknamed “Shorty” all his life, but that didn’t stop him from playing basketball, too.
He doesn’t play sports much today, but he’s a big fan of professional basketball and football. His favorite basketball team is the Los Angeles Lakers because they have LeBron James. “Wherever LeBron goes, that’s my team,” he said. “He’s another Michael Jordan.”
He has a football hero, too, in Tom Brady. Right now, his favorite team is Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Anthony and Sandra are living together for the moment while Anthony gets back into housing through Transition Projects. Until a couple weeks ago, he worked for a construction cleanup company called Green Clean, but that work shut down. So between Street Roots gigs, Anthony and Sandra watch movies and eat out when they can.
He watches sports with his girlfriend. She’s from Seattle, so she likes the Seahawks. Anthony pretends to like them, he joked.
He’s looking forward to the Street Roots indoor office space being fully open again, having coffee with other vendors and sharing stories with the staff. Right now, with COVID-19, only one vendor at a time can be in the office, and newspaper sales are conducted curbside.
“Streets Roots gives me the opportunity to branch out, meet people,” he said. “The people who work there are caring people.”
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly publication focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
© 2020 Street Roots. All rights reserved. | To request permission to reuse content, email editor@streetroots.org or call 503-228-5657, ext. 404.
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