Page 2 • Portland Observer • February 2, 1989 EDITORIAL L e t t e r s to the E d it o r : y Dear Editor: My name is C hezarae Simien, I'm a student at Benson High School. I'm in a program called Close-Up Foun dation. I’m writing to get your support. This will be Benson High S chool’s seventh year of student participation in the Close-Up Foundation. Close- Up is a weeklong governm ent studies program for high school students. The entire program takes place in W ashington, D.C. It reflects the belief that a "close-up’’ look at our govern ment dem ocratic process through workshops, meetings with m embers of Congress, representatives of Cabinet departm ents as well as m em bers of the media. The cost for Chezarae is $933.00. To meet this cost, it is necessary to seek financial help for Chezarae. Con tributions are tax-deductible and your contribution is greatly appreciated by Chezarae. No contribution is to small. Please make your payable to Benson Close-Up Foundation, and mail it to: 546 N.E. 12th Ave., Portland, OR 97232, Benson High School. T hetax- deduction number is 23-7122882. Dear Editor: During the new 1989 legislative session, the Oregon legislature will consider a bill that will mandate health care benefits for infertility treatm ent to the extent that pregnancy and contraception are currently covered. “ Senate Bill 16" is sim ilar to bills already enacted in five states (i.e. Maryland, Texas, Hawaii, Arkansas and Massachusetts) and under con sideration in eight others. It would m ake available the treatm ent neces sary to overcom e fertility problem s experienced by an estim ated 34,000 couples in Oregon, restoring their basic right to have and raise a family. For years infertility has gone un recognized by society as a legitimate health problem. Infertility is a very painful and isolating condition. For most couples it is a very personal matter, so personal that som etim es fam ily and close friends are unaware of their problem. Infertility introduces profound and divisive stress into a marriage. Feelings of anger, help lessness, isolation, resentment, guilt, and intrusion into the couple’s private life by doctors and well-wishing family and friends may tear apart the love that bound the couple, though start ing a family should have been the expression of that love. For most, adoption can’t overcom e the pain of infertility; the expense (often over $10,000), intrusive screening by adoption agencies, and the lack of babies available for adoption make it the answer for only the lucky or privi leged few. that the cost of extending this cover age in Oregon would be approximately 40 cents per person per year state wide. Proposed "Senate Bill 16” will pro vide equity for the infertile in Oregon, who pay health insurance premiums but do not receive coverage for treat ment of their condition. The addi tional cost of providing this coverage is minimal in light of the anguish of those who must abandon their dreams of a fam ily sim ply because of treat ment costs. Presently many insurers refuse payment for infertility claiming that it is elective. Ironically, insurers often cover voluntary sterilization, abortion, and penile implants and do not regard them as elective. Resolve of Portland, Oregon the local chapter of a national support or ganization for the infertile, strongly supports the proposed legislation and asks you to address this bill in your newspaper. Approxim ately 34,000 couples in Oregon are affected with this problem and need to know that this legislation is under considera tion. It is absolutely critical that we mount an intensive letter writing and phone calling cam paign of our state Senators and Representatives. Please help us by printing this letter. Some of your readers could be affected, may have fam ily or friends w ho are, or, may sympathize with couples touched by infertility. W e urge them to dem on strate to the legislature the impact of the proposed bill by calling or writing their state Senator and Representa tive and asking them to vote "yes" on “ Senator Bill 16.” Anyone interested in finding out more about this bill or, would like information about support for infertility, please contact the Re solve of Portland, Oregon Legislative Com m ittee at 225-1229 (evenings), 279-8449 (days), or 661 -6435 (days until 2 p .m ). Every single letter and phone call will make a difference! Thank you for considering this issue, and for any support for the passage of this legislation your newspaper and readers may offer. Sincerely, The Resolve of Portland, Oregon Legislative Com m ittee for “Senate Bill 16” Though rarely discussed openly, infertility affects a large portion of our Oregon population.! Many young couples cannot afford to pursue treat ment and must forego bearing the children they desire because most insurers do not cover infertility treat ment. M orethan half ofthese couples could conceive with appropriate m edical therapy. M oreover, a 1988 government study acknowledges that infertility is most effectively treated in young adults, though the young are least able to afford the necessary treatm ent. In part reflecting this, data from states which require insurers cover infertility treatm ent suggests If you need more information please call. Thank you for your time and support. Sincerely, James N. Owens Teacher/C lose Up Coordinator Student/Chezarae Simien PORTLflMU'b^ERVER OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 Alfred L. Henderson /Publisher Leon Harris/General Manager Gary Ann Garnett Nyewusi Askari Business Manager News Editor Joyce Washington Mattie Ann Callier-Spears Sales/Marketing Director Religion Editor Ruby Reuben Marie Decuir Sates Representative Photographer Rose Marie Davis Sales Representative B. Gayle Jackson Comptroller Richard Medina Photo-Composition Lonnie Wells Circulation Manager PORTLAND OBSERVER is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc 525 N E Killingsworth St • Portland, Oregon 97211 P O Box 3137 • Portland. Oregon 97208 (503) 288-0033 (Office) Deadline« for all submitted material« Article«: Monday. 5 p.m.; Ads Tuesday. 5 p.m The PORTLAND OBSERVER welcome« freelance submissions Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned it accompanied by a self-addressed envelope All created designed display ads become the sole property of this newspaper and can not be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad Subscriptions 120 00 per year in the Tri-County aree TIJI b PORTLAND OBSERVER — Oregon's oldest African-American Publication — is a member of The National Newspaper Association — Founded in 1885. The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc . New / O P IN IO N C ivil R ig h ts J o u rn a l To Be Equal Racism: Miami's Vice National Service Idea Picks Up Support by Beniam in F. Chavis. Jr. As millions of people in the United States and throughout the world cele brated the birthday of Dr. Martin Lu ther King, Jr., another case of police brutality and m isconduct in the city of Miami, Florida exposed the rampant, naked racism that continues to be all too prevalent in the nation where Dr. King’s life was sacrificed for the cause of racial justice. W hen Miami police officer W illiam Lozano shot and killed 23 year old Clem ent Lloyd, an African-Am erican who was driving his motorcycle through an African-Am erican section of Mi ami known as Overtown on January 16,1989 a full scale riot erupted. The next day another African-American, Allan Blanchard, 24, died from inju ries he received as he was thrown from Clem ent Lloyd’s m otorcycle af ter Lloyd had been shot in the temple by Lozano. There has been much national at tention that has focused on the riot that occurred in Miami. Yet, the causa tive factors of the riot have not been dealt with sufficiently. This recent riot in Miami was not the first racial con frontation in Miami resulting from police brutality. W e recall that back in 1982 a similar case of police brutality where a Miami police officer shot and killed an African-Am erican which caused a riot. Before that, in 1980 in the A fri can-American section of Miami, known as Liberty City, the unjust killing of an African-Am erican by the Miami police caused a racial riot that left 18 people dead and over one hundred million dollars in damage. Although Miami Mayor, Xavier Squarez, has promised an investiga tion into these recent police killings, it is clear that the m ayor’s priority has been to protect M iam i’s image as a city for tourism and business trade at the expense of justice for the African- American community. In an interview published in the New York Am ster dam News, Leo Casino, a political activist in Miami stated “ The cops actions shows the contempt M iam i’s 1,000-man police force has for the African-Am erican com m unity." Church leaders and civil rights lead ers in Miami have all voiced their grievances to the power structures of Miami, but to no avail. Racism is a deadly evil. The fact that police de partments across the United States maintain the proclivity to use unnec essary deadly force against African- Americans and other racial and eth nic persons is an indication of just how dangerous it is to live in a racist society. All citizens of this nation are en titled to be free from this type of per secution, yet, history teaches us that these kinds of atrocities are only prevented by the organized and mobilized will of the victimized com munity. We must not allow the Afri can-Am erican com m unity of M iami to stand alone in the face of this brutal ity. M iam i’s racist violence and vice must not go unchallenged. V antage P oint Still Far From The Dream by Ron Daniels As I traveled throughout the coun try last week speaking at Martin Lu ther King Day Celebrations from Bal tim ore to W ichita, Kansas, to O kla homa City, I was impressed with peoples willingness and eagerness to see the Martin Luther King Holiday as an occasion to take a hard look at the state of the “ Dream” nearly twenty- one years after King’s death. As Ronald Reagan rides off into the sunset he boasts of having achieved peace abroad, and pros perity at home. As was generally the case with Reagan, he was totally out of touch with huge segments of real ity. The reality of the Reagan years has been prosperity for some and misery for many. For far too many, Reaganism, conservatism, and neo racism has meant the dream deferred in the face of a persistent nightmare. In America today, the obscene reality is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting ooorer. There are now 3-6 million homeless in America; 38 million have no health insurance; according to an article in the Portland Oregonian, 30 million Americans are com pletely illiterate (cannot read or write at all), while another 30 million Am ericans are classified as functional illiterates (cannot read or write well enough to fill out a job application or take an aptitude test). Meanwhile the govern ment sp e n d s . 55 of each tax dollar on the military, but only .02 on educa tion. Homeless shelters are forced to turn people away, soup kitchens and hunger programs are being swamped, and beggars abound on the streets of Am erica’s m ajor urban centers. African-Am ericans continue to suffer the most. To be sure the Black upper class and middle class has grown dramatically, but so has the urban and rural “ghetto class.” C on sider the following facts as provided by the W ashington, D C. based cen ter on Budget and Policy Priorities: In 1987 33% of African-Am ericans still lived in poverty (an increase of 700,000 over 1986). The typical African-American family has an income that is only 56.1% of the am ount earned by the typical white fam ily. (18,098 for Blacks and „3 2 ,2 7 4 for whites). This is the lowest ratio of Black to white income since 1967. 1 of 2 Black children is born in pov erty, 1 of 3 Black senior citizens lives in poverty, and 1 of 3 Black women (ages 18-55) live in poverty. One of the most startling facts is the growing gap between the upper and middleclass in the Black com m u nity and the Black poor. W hile some Black people are living better than ever before, the Black poor are catch ing more hell than ever before. The num ber of African-Am ericans with incomes that are 50% below the poverty line (4,528.00 for a family of 3 in 1987) increased by 69% since 1978. W hile the average income for the top 1/5 of African-Am ericans actually in creased by 3,000.00 a year between 1978 and 1987, the income for the bottom 1/5 fell by 24% between 1978 and 1988 from $5,022.00 in 1978 to 3,837.00 in 1988. Even in the African- Am erican com m unity the rich are getting richer while the poor are get ting poorer. Can you imagine living on an income of $3,837.00? The grinding poverty which affects millions of African-Americans is breed ing crime and violence in our com m u nities. Am erica’s jails are overflowing with African-American, third world and poor people. Reaganism has meant increased affluenced for the few who are very rich and more prisons and prisoners for the most disperately impoverished in our society. The sketching of this nightmare, more than tw o decades after King’s death, is not intended to merely de pict gloom and doom, but to force us to face reality. Until the least of us is free and prosperous than none of us can safely be free and prosperous. As Dr. King warned us, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice every where. Those of us who have, had better make plans to use our human and material resources to elevate the have nots among us. We must organ ize to help ourselves and organize to force Am erica to deliver on the prom ise of the Am erican Dream for all of hercitizens. O lherw isethe nightmare which now afflects the so called “under class” is destined todeservedly over whelm ed us all! PORTLAND OBSERVER Vsrk. “ The Eyes and Ears of the C o m m u n ity" 288-0033 ;j>* t < fry John E. Jacob Som etim es it takes a while for good ideas to gain ground. An ex ample is the concept of a National Youth Service Corps, which would enlist young people for a period of com m unity service. During the last session of Con gress, no less than nine bills were in troduced to establish som e form of youth service program. George Bush called for more volunteer activity during his campaign for the presidency, and endorsed a form of a national youth service program. The Democratic Leadership Coun cil proposed a citizen corps to serve in schools, hospitals, day care pro grams, and other com m unity institu tions, including the military, upon com pletion of service, participants would get lum p-sum paym ents to be ap plied to jobtraining, higher education, or down paym ent on a house. In recent years, about 60 state and local youth service program s have been launched, providing service opportunities for som e 60,000 young people. And public opinion polls show in creasing support for the idea. Not surprising, since a youth service corps would be a creative way to tackle at least three big problem s at once. First, it would help to alleviate the terrible shortage of necessary public services. Understaffed hospitals need vol unteers to help tend the sick. Schools need volunteers to tutor children and for after-school program s that deal with the problem of latch-key kids. Police, fire, transportation, and other local services could use extra help. Volunteers are needed to help pro tect the environm ent, as they are doing in California, which has a youth conservation corps. And the military, facing a future shortage of recruits, would also bene fit as youngsters could choose to serve in the armed forces instead of in a com m unity program. That's the way some other countries o p e ra te - Germany's national service plan centers on the military, with civilian service options as an alternative. A second problem a National Youth Service Corps could help solve is the decline of community spirit in this age of greed. Too many young people don't understand they are part of a wider society and have responsibili ties to their communities. A service corps would enhance the tried-and- true values of service to others and participation in civic life. A third area where the concept would be important is in providing op portunities for young people w ho are poor, minority, and who lack educa tion and skills. National service should include training and education components. Such a structured program with meaningful work assignm ents would help disadvantaged young people. Volunteers would get a sm all sti pend, with a G.I.-Bill type of benefit for those who com plete their service, enabling them to go on to college or technical training programs. And a broadly based program that enlists young people for volunteer service would help them to m ature and foster social responsibility and racial and class integration. So the concept has a lot going for it. It would counter the yuppie m ental ity of greed while providing real op portunities for disadvantaged young sters to make a fresh start in their lives. And it would provide the people- power necessary to build a strong base of com m unity-centered social services, while releasing the enormous energies and idealism of our young in service of the broader community. This is an idea whose lim e has come. Along The Color Line Unequal Medical Care bv Dr. M anning M arable To be Black, Hispanic, poor or un employed in Am erica means, in part, an unequal access to basic resources. The poor and jobless don’t have decent housing or quality education. Our social policies are designed to perpetuate econom ic inequality by preserving differences in the health, education and physical w elfare of classes and racial groupings within the social order. Part of the reason for this is simply racism. For exam ple, researchers at Harvard University recently found that a significantly higher proportion of whites who are treated at M assachu setts hospitals with heart problems undergo coronary bypass operations and cardiac catheterizations than do Blacks suffering from identical health problems. Sim ilarly, Blacks are less likely than whites to be given kidney transplants, even when they have the same incomes and insurance cover age. Researchers disagree as to the reasons for differences between the races in patient care and treatment. But they are convinced that “ the dif ferences were not merely a function of dim inished physician contact and low erdisease recognition for blacks,” because the differences occured even among individuals hospitalized for severe hear problems. Another recent study on medical care illustrates that despite advances in the facilities and treatm ent of many African-Am ericans in terms of health, that there are significant differences in the frequency of access to medical facilities between Blacks and whites. For instance, in 1986, 37 percent of all Blacks surveyed had not visited a doctor in more than a year. The aver age num ber of visits to a doctor by whites is 4 4 per year, vs. only 3.4 per year for African-Am ericans. Nearly five in six whites surveyed received regular blood pressure checks, while about one in three Blacks surveyed had not had annual blood pressure checks. Because we don't have a com pre hensive, national health care policy, A the United States fails to support concept of a medical “ safety net’’ for millions of nonwhites, the poor and lower income people. In the void of a national health insurance system, the demands of the marketplace dictate the medical treatm ent for millions of people even outside of the poverty level. Doctors tend to go into subfields of medicine in which their financial compensation will be high, and the risks from being sued are reasonably low. Rural areas have a difficult tim e attracting dentists and physicians, because medical professionals don’t earn enough money to pay off their loans or live in a com fortable lifestyle. In some instances, the increase of certain medical procedures reflects the desire for increased profits. Back in 1975, for example, the rate of Caesarean section operations among live births was 10.4 percent. Ten years later, the percentage of Caesareans rose 22.7 percent. Today, it is 24.4 percent, nearly one out of four births. Medical doctors note that there is no medical reason why the number of Caesarians should have jumped so dram atically in so short a time. But Caesarians are more cost effective, hospitals state. They avoid the long hours of waiting involved in many vaginal births, and the inconvenience of night deliveries. More to the point, vaginal births now cost about $2,900; Caesarean births cost anywhere from about $5,000 to $7,000. This eco nomic fact alone raises the question of whether the medical interests of women and children are being served when the market is the basis for health decisions. The Department of Black Studies at Ohio State University is planning a national conference on "The Health Issues Crisis and the Black C om m u nity," to be held on May 5 and 6,1989. A central part of the agenda for Black political empowerment must be to promote greater awareness of health care issues, and strategies to reduce the medical inequality by race and class. s