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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner June 21, 2017 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2016 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2017 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds SAVE THE DATE The Skanner Foundation MLK Breakfast January 15 2018 NEW LOCATION! Opinion Civil Rights Groups Ask for Broad Access to Affordable Lending A s the Senate Banking Committee turns its attention to reform the nation’s secondary mortgage market, civil rights leaders recently spoke in a strong and united voice. For these national organizations, the housing finance system must embrace—not aban- don—its obligation to provide broad access and affordabili- ty in mortgage lending. In a June 6 letter to Com- mittee Chairman and Rank- ing Member, Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), were advised that any emerging legislation for the secondary housing finance market must set in place guidelines to protect against unlawful discrimina- tion. A second and equally im- portant requirement is for all credit-worthy borrowers have access to the mortgage credit they deserve. Signing the letter was a broad coalition of activists: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Fair Housing Alli- ance, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist Together they wrote, “Any reform of the secondary mortgage market must en- sure access and affordabili- ty to mortgage credit for all creditworthy potential home- buyers in all regions of the nation…Diminishing the role “ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-spon- sored enterprises also known as GSEs, followed that market trend, hoping to capture prof- its for their investors. This led to them facing loss- es that resulted in their being placed into conservatorship by the federal government. Like many other private firms, the GSEs received a financial bailout from the U.S. Treasury Department to avoid a complete market meltdown. Eventually and as authorized by Congress in Today’s public policy housing debate is also an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and craft new policies and importance that the sec- ondary housing finance sys- tems plays in achieving this goal will continue to deepen the racial wealth gap that al- ready exists in America to- day.” The current public poli- cy debate on the secondary mortgage market has its roots in the foreclosure crisis that began in 2007. Lax federal regulation and excessive risk-taking by Wall Street firms led to a housing boom where investors chased prof- its on unsustainable mort- gage loans. the Troubled Asset Relief Pro- gram, or TARP, a $187 billion taxpayer investment saved the GSEs out of the total of $698 billion in rescue funds. Even today, the GSEs remain under conservatorship. But with the housing mar- ket stabilized, multiple calls have urged legislative reform of Fannie and Freddie, de- spite some reforms already enacted. For communities of color, the next decade is projected to demographically change to majority minority. According to the Joint Center for Hous- ing Studies at Harvard Uni- versity, seven out of every 10 new households formed will be families of color. In addi- tion, the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is tied to sev- eral statutory mandates that include requirements for the GSEs to share responsibility in reaching affordable hous- ing goals, as well as access to credit that is free from dis- crimination. In a broad sense, today’s public policy housing debate is also an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and craft new policies that will avoid their recurrence. “The nation’s housing fi- nance system has never worked for people of color,” noted Lisa Rice, Executive Vice President of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “The system was originally and purposefully designed to exclude these consum- ers. That construct infused barriers to equal access into the system and those barriers have never been unwound.” “As a result, people of color face grave difficulties when trying to access credit,” added Rice. “This means that the Af- fordable Housing Goals must be strengthened and the re- sources and resolve to achieve them must be set in place.” Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com Our Children Deserve High Quality Teachers I am a native Washingtonian. I still live on the same street that my parents brought me home to 50 plus years ago. I am a product of D.C. public schools. I began my education prior to integration. I was taught by, in my opinion, the best-prepared teachers in the city. I remember that most of my teachers had masters’ or doctorate degrees and they taught in the field in which they earned their degree. They were highly qualified, dedicated, and allowed no child to be left behind. The principal knew every stu- dent by name. She knew our strengths and weaknesses. She made sure that her teach- ers addressed the individual challenges of each student. I left public school well pre- pared to face the world. Through the years, I have witnessed many changes in both education and commu- nity. I have watched my neigh- borhood demographic change from middle-class Black fami- lies, to a neighborhood where drug use, unemployment, and the lack of marketable skills has resulted in random acts of violence. Today, my neigh- borhood is nearly unrecog- nizable due to gentrification. However, my immediate con- cern is not growing property taxes or well-intentioned, but ill-informed redevelopment projects. My immediate con- Dr. Elizabeth Primas Progam Manager, NNPA cern is for the children in my neighborhood, right now; the children struggling to suc- ceed in a rapidly changing en- vironment and an ineffective education system; children “ ous causes for this phenom- enon, the fact remains that, ill-prepared teachers under- mine student achievement. According to an article by Emma Garcia published by the Economic Policy Insti- tute, about eight in 10 poor Black students attend high poverty schools. Garcia found that 81 percent of poor, Black children attend high pover- ty schools compared to 53.5 percent of their poor White peers. It is also noted that at- sional credentials; and out-of- field teachers. Reporting this data provides states with the comparative data necessary to examine the root causes of inequities. Title II of ESSA provides program grants to states and districts that can be used for teacher preparation, recruit- ment, support, and contin- ued learning. ESSA changes the distribution formula for funds by requiring that any increase in funding is prior- itized to states with high rates of students living in poverty. ESSA has ended the re- quirement of states to set up teacher evaluation sys- tems based significantly on students’ test scores. Growing evidence suggests that using student test scores to deter- mine teacher effectiveness is misguided and does not im- prove instructional practices. ESSA includes a Teacher and School Leader Innovation Program that will provide grants to districts that want to try out performance pay and other teacher quality im- provement measures. At some point, we must stop treating our children like widgets. They won’t all fit into a round hole; some of them are square pegs. We owe our children the best education possible. They are our future. It’s critical that parents engage with educational leaders and demand equal access to high quality teachers who are taught by teachers, who do not relate to their per- sonal struggles and lack the skill set to respond to their individualized needs. The “Every Student Suc- ceeds Act” (ESSA) addressed many of my concerns in ed- ucation. The NNPA contin- ues to echo the message that giving parents a voice in how the school system operates is vital to closing the achieve- ment gap. It’s critical that par- ents engage with educational leaders and demand equal ac- cess to high quality teachers. Unfortunately, high-poverty schools are disproportionally staffed by unprepared, substi- tute, and out-of-field teachers. Although, there are numer- tending a high-poverty school lowers math and reading achievement for students in all racial and ethnic groups. These discrepancies in access to adequate education expand into discrepancies in econom- ic prospects and social mobil- ity. ESSA requires states and districts to ensure that low-in- come students and students of color are not dispropor- tionally taught by ineffective, inexperienced, and out-of- field teachers. ESSA requires state and school district report cards to include the percentage of inexperienced teachers, principals, and oth- er school leaders; teachers with emergency or provi-