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
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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