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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2003)
janiiary 3,2003 < 13 kHiiiïïTTW M inews T ssW ^ ^ n Z alhe.rrft tSr v-. Eric Brown Does the financial OMnti Munogpi lo Poland world have you 500 WE Multnomah Portland. OR 972$? ?>h/rTtZ> ****- V » little 503.238 6036 r r fi2 u ^ ,o. ’ « Sfrft**** <<Xt: % *4 ?kr -Jv c ü x - '•' \\ !>-'(*T *v> T ■A‘f ■Al r-Ar*<K. V Today you'll find a lot of companies that say they can help you create a financial plan. And you'll find even more that want to sell you mutual funds. But wouldn't it make sense to talk to someone with a proven track record of doing both? 7 jj(£ Stephanie C ho focuses on prescription drug, food stamp and welfare issues T hanks to queer A sian activist much a big deal for me. A lot of times organiza Stephanie C ho, underrepresented tions ask you to choose between being queer or voices in low-income and ethnic being a person of color, as if you can’t be both. minority communities are gaining But everything is connected.” skills to build their political power. C h o notes a subtle and socially acceptable T h e 26-year-old works for Oregon A ction, a form o f racism called cultural appropriation. statewide nonprofit that fights for econom ic jus “People identify as people of color— like being tice. Its strategy is to teach people the political 1/18 Cherokee or Asian.” skills they need for organizing and lobbying. But, C ho says, they only want to be involved C ho’s job is to show low-income Portlanders with the positive parts of that minority group, not how to build their leadership on prescription drug, the negative aspects. “People get Asian tattoos or food stamp and welfare issues. go on Native American vision She has a rich history in social quests but don’t understand justice organizing, having the context.” worked with the Asian Family C ho was disappointed with Center, Sexual Minority Youth the recent Creating Change Recreation Center and Flavors. conference’s anti-racism Her successes at Oregon theme. “All these things— Action include helping organ sexism, racism, hom o ize a well-attended candidates phobia— they are all tied forum last summer. She want together; they aren’t separated ed members of underserved out. It’s like, OK, now this year communities to grill the politi we will do anti-racism. By cal hopefuls about how they focusing on anti-racism, it would make prescription drugs becomes more for white peo more accessible. ple than for empowering peo “Most of the people who ple of color." by N a ta lie S h a p iro came were from Northeast And, she says, issues such Portland,” she says. “W e also as sexism weren’t addressed. provided transportation and picked up people “T h e workshop for Asian Americans was most from Alberta Simmons [Plaza] and Columbia ly guys, and they did all the talking.” • Villa— 300 people cam e!” Unfortunately, C ho says there was some Additionally, C h o does outreach to get eth backlash to empowering people o f color at the nic minorities involved in decision making. She conference. She gave a workshop and asked that only ethnic minorities answer a particular ques helped initiate a people of color committee for the Northwest Federation o f Com m unity tion. “I heard later that some people were offend Organizations, a regional group to which Oregon ed, saying, ‘W hy can’t J answer the question?’ ” A ction belongs. A nother example o f racism C ho and other queers o f color face in Portland is a lack o f pub She also makes sure ethnic minorities are lic places to socialize. “If I go to the E Room, involved in policy decisions and research. “We there are hardly any people o f color there— it’s say ‘health care for everybody,’ but that tends to not my community,” she says. imply white people; it leaves out people o f C h o used to frequent the Players Club. color.” Because there is a dearth of ethnic minorities attending policy-making meetings, “There were a lot of women of color there, but it got closed down due to the fights.” C ho says they often feel excluded. She says nightclubs frequented by people of Oregon A ction has had success in involving color are closed down more often than those fre people of color in the organization. T he Port quented by whites. “There are fights at the E Room land hoard has a 6 0-40 ratio o f nonwhite to and at Ringlers, but they don’t get shut down.” white members. C ho, who was adopted from Korea by a Statewide, Oregon A ction recently passed white couple in the United States, also is inter affirmative action policies, one stipulating that ested in transracial adoption issues. She says it will not endorse candidates or campaigns if many queers want to adopt children from for they are weak on race issues, even if they are eign countries to give them an opportunity for a strong on econom ic justice. Still, the nonprofit good life but are not able to deal with racial has its shortcomings, C h o admits, such as a lack issues that com e up. “Queer oppression is differ o f organizing for trans people. ent than racial oppression,” she warns. J H She is out to everybody at work. “T h e staff is gay, and the leaders [the people she organizes] For more information about OREGON ACTION don’t care. Sometimes they question if the word ‘queer’ is derogatory, but that’s all.” call 503-282-6588 or visit the Internet site www.oregonaction. org. For C ho, racism seems to be a bigger issue and something she experiences more in her N atalie S hapiro is a Portland free-lance writer. daily life than homophobia, which is “not as A P iece of THE A ction Stephanie Cho works to give the marginalized a powerful voice Waddell & Reed has been providing sound advice and solid investment products for more than 60 years. 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