Page 7 Portland Observer February 16, 1989
A New Handicap: Black and Disable in
America
The scant amount of available in­
formation on disabled Blacks pres­
ents a shocking portrait. It is a shad­
owy picture of individuals least able to
help themselves who have become
almost invisible to the federal govern­
ment. The scandal is even more
appalling considering that this popu­
lation hardly registers in the reams of
data on the handicapped gathered by
the Reagan Administration.
A letter sent to me by a Black
woman in Alabama is an example of
the problems Black disabled people
face. She wrote that she does not
have enough money to effectively
attend to the needs of her 15-year-old
underweight son, who has a serious
nutritionally deficiency. Her son’s
doctor said he needs a special kind of
milk; but it costs $55 to $60, which is
more than her food stamp allotment
will cover. She cannot afford health
insurance for her son, and she is un­
able to work because she suffers
from a debilitating lung disease, and
she has no one else to take care of
her son.
I have directed my Select Educa­
tion Subcommittee staff to investi­
gate this sad and troubling case. It
may be that this woman could be
helped through the provision of better
information regarding program availa­
bility. However, cases like hers may
be indicative of a broader problem
which needs to be addressed legisla­
tively. Dr. Sylvia Walker, director of
Howard University’s Center for Handi­
capped Children and Youth in Wash­
ington, D C., has stated that Black
teenaged mothers and poor Black
women generally who have no knowl­
edge of, or access to, prenatal health
care, often give birth to underweight
babies, who later develop a physical
or mental handicap, such as mental
retardation, or cerebral palsy caused
by insufficient oxygen.
The problem of the lack of prenatal
care for Black women is just one
aspect of the crisis of the Black dis­
abled, a crisis which must be ad­
dressed through a national policy. In
order to set the parameters for such
a policy, we first need up-to-date
statistics on the numbers of disabled
Blacks in America. The current avail­
able data is derived from two-year-
old census information, which indi­
cates that there are 2,175,000 Blacks
in the U.S. between the ages of 16
and 64 who are disabled. They repre­
sent 18% of all working-age persons
with disabilities, although Blacks are
only 11.5% of the general population.
We still don’t have an exact count of
the number of disabled Black children
in this country.
Dr. Frank Bowe, an expert on the
Black disabled who was concerned
about the lack of data about this group,
compiled one of the few recent re­
ports on its problems. His study re­
veals that of all working-age Black
people, 14.1% have one or more
disabilities as compared to 8.4% of
working age whites with disabilities.
More than half of working-age Black
disabled are women, just as there are
more Black women in the labor force
overall than Black men.
Dr. Bowe’s statistical compilation
allows us to comprehend the profile
DISPENSER
PAK
BOX OF
130 TISSUES
Select Education will explore several
legislative initiatives. Meanwhile .Black
disabled people can play a critical
role in helping shape federal policy
the area of data gathering regarding
Blacks with disabilities. It is my inten­
tion to conduct a series of oversight
hearings to ensure that these duties
are met.
Time-honoured Black institutions
such as the Black church must be­
come strong advocates for disabled
Blacks, and provide support programs
which would assist them in their
struggle to achieve success and rec­
ognition in the societal mainstream.
Federal programs which only endorse
the right of disabled people to have
equal access to those things that the
non-disabled majority enjoy are sim­
ply not good enough. And an Admini­
stration that merely gives lip-service
rather than real service to Black dis­
abled people, just as it gives superfi­
cial attention to minority rights gener­
ally, is abdicating its responsibility to
lead the public away from prejudiced
attitudes towards those among us
who are disabled.
I am in strong agreement with New
York Governor Mario Cuomo, who
has said, “ Persistent attitudinal bi­
ases about the capabilities of per­
sons who are disabled or otherwise
disadvantaged serve as barriers to
productivity and independence. Those
often unconscious biases serve as
self-fulfilling prophecies and under­
mine our efforts to permit the majority
of persons with disabilities to become
productive, independent, contribut­
ing members of society.”
0
89
29
POCKET PAK
HUGGIES DIAPERS
• M E D IU M - 9 6 count • LARGE
6 4 count
$1(189
I W
EACH
DEPEND ADULT
UNDERGARMENTS
99
L
PKG. OF
~ 30
KIENOW'S
THE FRIENDLIEST STORES IN TOWN
WE RESERVE
SINCE 1908
HOURS
THE RIGHT
TO UNIT
QUANTITIES
WEEKDAYS
8 am to 9 pm
SUNDAYS
9 30 om Io 7 p.n
Specials Good February 15 - 18, 1989
I________________________________________
PO R TLAN D OBSERVER
“ The Eyes and Ears o f the C o m m u n ity”
288-0033
AUTOMOTIVE BUYS
Senator McCoy
Introduces Legislation
To Change Medicaid
System
Sale Prices Good, Thursday, February
16 through Wednesday, February 22
unless otherwise noted.
6 steps to make your brakes like new again!
WE LL REBUILD
USEABLE CALIPERS
FOR $12.50 EA.
1. INSPECT CALIPERS
SALEM-State Senator Bill McCoy
introduced legislation today urging
Congress to change the Medicaid
system so that the developmentally
disabled are no longer discriminated
against.
McCoy is introducing his bill the
same day U.S. Senator John Chafee,
R-Rhode Island, introduces federal
legislation calling for a broader defini­
tion of Title XIX (Medicaid) fiscal
responsibility in the treatment of
developmentally disabled Americans.
Oregon U.S. Senator Mark Hat­
field and 35 other Senators co-spon­
sored the Chafee bill.
McCoy said Medicaid only recog­
nizes treatment provided to institu­
tionalized developmentally disabled
patients, not those treated in smaller
community programs.
“ Life in the community is much
better for our disabled than life in an
institution. What’s more, it costs a lot
more to run an institution than a
community based program. We should
provide humane plus cost effective
services at the state and local level,”
McCoy said.
OieHord
2 . INSTALL NEW
BRAKE PADS
4 . INSTALL NEW
OIL SEALS
5. REPACK WHEEL
BEARINGS
3. TURN ANO TRUE
ROTORS
x
re %
43024
IMPORT
SIZES
Not at Wenatchee Sears
Semi-metallic material
and additional parts extra
Time for a TUNE-UP?
Get the DieHard advantages:
Electronic ignition tune-up
Up to 575 cold crank-
ing amps of power
Provides up to 110
minutes reserve capacity for ad­
ditional power when you need it
most!
4-cyl.
POWER:
RESERVE:
SIZES:
Available to fit 95% of all
im ported and domestic cars, light
trucks and vans.
Nationwide warranty
means we ll service you at any
one of over 700 auto centers—
coast to coast!
Reg. $49.99
$5 O F F
RoadHandler
Gas Shock
ea. Reg $16 99
54.99
64.99
Most 6-cyl. reg. $59.99
Most 8-cyl. reg. $69.99
Warranted for as long as you own your car
For most
com pact cars.
80000R
T h e M u z z ie r c h a lle n g
C heck the M uzzier price,
and our warranty— then try
to find a better deal
Warranted lor as long as you own
your car Limited lifetime warranty,
see store for details
I ODD
IM D
RoadHandler
Light Truck
u
Gas Shock
Aeg ^99
’ 489
Most cars
MacPherson
gas struts
or cartridges
II"
Seer» Roebuch and C o
B
YOUR
C H O IC E
Gas charged for quick
response and greater
ride control All - weather
fluid.
Satisfaction guaranteed
or your money bach
4499
B
SERVICE:
o u n n i / o no other outlet sells or stocks more
O flu b lV O SHOCKS AND STRUTS THAN SEARS!
B B
6 . ROAD TEST YOUR
VEHICLE
FRONT
DISC
BRAKE JOB
Reg $6999
with trade-in
Social Security
Increase Reduces
Some Food Stamp
Benefits
SALEM -A January cost-of-living
increase for Social Security will reduce
the February food stamp benefits of
some Oregonians. The Food Stamp
Program requires that income be
considered in establishing the amount
of food stamps a person may receive.
The reductions affect monthly food
stamp benefits starting in February.
Food stamps are federally funded
by the U.S. Department of Agricul­
ture, and administered by the Oregon
Adult and Family Services Division.
Each month the Food Stamp Pro­
gram helps approximately 90,000
Oregon households with the purchase
of food items. These 90,000 house­
holds encompass 205,000 individu­
als. The four percent cost-o-living
increase from Social Security will affed
fewer than 27,000 households. This
decrease in food stamp benefits wil
affect households receiving Socia
Security benefits, Supplemental
Security Income, Railroad benefits,
of a typical working-age Black adult
as 42-years-old, unmarried, unem­
ployed, having only a tenth grade
education, with an income in 1980 of
only $3,000 a year
According to the report, there are
more disabled Blacks than whites
because Blacks are more likely than
whites to perform physically demand­
ing work that may lead to on-the-job
injury and disability. This in turn is due
to the fact that masses of Blacks are
locked out of the necessary educa­
tion and technical training for less
physically strenous white collar and
service sector jobs.
Specifically, in the areas of educa­
tion and job training there needs to be
a more concerted effort to reach the
Black disabled in America. In order to
address these manifold problems, it
is necessary to remind the federal
government of its responsibilities in
relative to their needs by informing
Congress about the daily barriers they
face in attempting to secure employ­
ment, training, rehabilitation and
education. They should be aware of a
measure currently pending before
Congress, the Americans with Dis­
abilities Act, which, if passed, would
extend civil rights protections to dis­
abled Americans by prohibiting dis­
crimination of the basis of disability.
Its enforcement procedures include
administrative remedies, a private right
of action in Federal court, monetary
damages, injunctive relief, attorney’s
fees, and cutoffs of Federal funds. I
am a senior sponsor of the bill in the
U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1989, the Subcommittee on
— Ì
KLEENEX
FACIAL TISSUE
Limited lifetime warranty see store for details
Alignment recommended, extra
C lackam as
11800 S E 82nd Ave
652-2280
V ancouver Mall
4911 N E Thurston W ay
256-8333
Dual welded exhaust systems excluded Pipes clamps hangers extra
W ashington S quare
9800 S W W ashington Blvd
620-1510
money 5
a n d a whole lot mote
and Veteran's benefits
- r v fÿ *
W i