S eptember 15, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age B8
A Challenge For The Next Generation
N ew & used books
on Business, M usic,
& African-Am erican
Studies
POWELL’S
CITY OF BOOKS
9 am - 11 pm M o n d ay th o u g h S aturday
9 am - 9 pm S undays
U se d books bo u g h t every day till 8:30 pm
O n the # 2 0 Bus line • O n e h o u r free parking
1005 W est B urnside S treet
228-4651
Discipline Habits For Young Children
Building strong discipline habits in young children is not an easy task.
To discipline children under the age o f ten, parents must first examine their
own parenting goals and values. Establishing effective discipline means
that parents consider their own needs as well as the developmental tasks of
their children The parenting series “Discipline That D oesn’t Hurt!” may
be helpful for parents interested in building a discipline plan that works in
your family. Directed by Dr. Linda Ladd, Home Economics agent with the
OSU Extension Service, this series is offered at Cedar Hills Recreation
Center (644-3855), Fulton Park Community Center (823-3180), Garden
Home Recreation Center (244-1101), Waverly C hildren’s Home (238-
8819), Tigard Library (639-4171, and PCC Cascade (244-6111, ext 5205).
Classes begin in September and October and run for six weeks. Call the
location nearest you for starting dates and cost. For a list of fall programs,
please call 681-7061.
Thousands gathered at the Lincoln memorial to celebrate the 30th Anniversary March On Washington. Queen of the silver screen, Halle
Berry (L) joined Queen of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks (R) at the Sony Hospitality Tent to share a brief bit of history. The 1993
march served to establish a new coalition of conscience for Jobs, Justice and Peace.
County Chair An­
nounces Major
Reorganization
Rosie Perez D oesn’t Let Racism Get in Her Way
“ I said 1 wanted to play Jessica
Lange roles, but 1 didn’t mean 1 wanted
to play white roles,” declared actress
Rosie Perez, who has learned how to
handle racism in her career and per­
sonal life.
“ I would love to play a Hispanic,”
Perez added in an interview to be
published this Sunday in PARADE
magazine. “I dream of starring with
Andy G anca. Unfortunately, all the
quality work caters to white actors. I
just want a chance at good parts.”
To date, the Puerto Rican actress
has won two roles initially intended
for white actresses-the girlfriend in
"W hite Men C an 't Jump" and a plane
crash survivor in the forthcoming
“Fearless.”
Perez said she learned to deal
with racism while still in high school
when she tried out forthe cheerleading
squad. “It was all white, and my friends
told me I w ouldn’t get it,” she re­
called, "but I thought to myself, ‘This
is what I want, and I’m not going to be
scared.’ I remembered what an old
black man had told me He owned a
big house and two barbershops, and
my sister asked him how he got all
that He said, ‘I don’t let racism get in
my way. ’ Every time I start to falter,
I think back to those words, and they
get me moving "
“ S ure, being the recipient o f
racism m akes me angry' and b it­
te r,” P erez added, “ but it’s really
im p o rtan t to overcom e the b itte r­
ness. I f you d o n ’t, you can begin to
Mutlnomah County Chair Beverly
Stein announced a major new initia­
tive to expand and develop family
support centers in neighborhoods
throughout Multnomah County.
Funds will be made available for this
initiative by reorganizing the M ult­
nomah Department of Social Services
and vacating the positions of the D e­
partment Director and his staff. In
addition, two divisions will be merged,
reducing the num bcrofdivisioins from
four to three. All of the divisioins will
report directly to the Chair.
Stein poposed that the 5300,000 pro­
jected to be saved through the reorga­
nization be used to fund Parent Child
Centers in each of the six County
service districts.
Actress Rosie Perez
reciprocate th a t attitude. O n the
oth er h and, I think it’s good to stay
angry, so you stay a w are o f the
problem o f racism . O nly then can
you do som ething to change it.”
P erez said the c h a ra c ter she
plays in “ F earless” w as supposed
to be an Italian, b u t P eter W eir, the
director, changed it for her. “ Peter
told m e th a t w hen 1 delivered the
first line, he knew I w as right for
the part. 1 asked him if it bothered
him th at 1 speak this w a y ,” she
said, referring to her accent "H e
said, ‘W h at w a y ? ' I ju s t hugged
him .”
Taking The Cross Out Of The Church
remove some of the restraints and
make church more accommodating
for those who are different.” Wrong!
W hen God says that it is green, it
is green; not magenta. When 1 hear
words spoken carelessly like these, I
immediately rebuke the works and its
author. I call upon the Holy Spirit for
comfort, strength and deliverance for
the speaker. Because it troubles me to
know that man is hurling him self and
herself aimlessly into a path of de­
struction. My pastor has oft-time said,
“The church is a hospital for the sick
and the afflicted.”
Now --that’s the truth!
So--ifyou remov e the cross, from
whence will the healing come? Not
from you and not from me Hcaling-
-only from the blood of Jesus that was
shed on the cross for you and for me.
Yes! We are truly living in the
last days Days when the child is no
longer innocent but wise and ruthless
as a serpent. Days when women love
women and marry each other Days
when men love men and marry each
other Days when drag-queens de­
fame the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
preach drag on national television
Days when truth no longer has a high
place on the steps o f morality Days
when the church allows all manner of
evil to be housed w ithin its walls
Days when the Holy Spirit is make to
weep because o f the violence,, the
crimes, the lies, the cheating, the
incest, the broken families...
No m atter how feverishly evil
w o rk s, G od A lm ig h ty is th e
v ic to r, already.
Ifyou need proof, go to the end of
the book (Holy Bible) and read Rev­
elations Hallelujah!
In times like these, we need an
anchor named JESUS CHRIST. Man
may make frail attempts to remove
the cross from the church in an effort
to appease and satisfy the desires of
the world; but, G od’s Word shall
stand forever.
“Those false prophets speak about
matters of the world, and the world
listens to them because they belong to
the world." [I John 4:5 GNB|
To my sisters and brothers in
Christ, don’t be astounded or amazed
by the behavior of the world. You
c a n ’t expect a cat to act like a horse or
a dog to act like a snake, therefore,
you can ’t expect the world to act like
nothing else but the world And who
is the ruler of the world? Satan
Why, sine 1980, has the federal
prison population tripled? Why are
there more Blacks today receiving
their “education” in U. S. prisons than
in college? Why do we see four times
as many Blacks languishing in U S.
jails than in South African prisons? A
major culprit, Mandatory Sentencing
Laws!
Mandatory sentencing laws pro­
hibit a judge from considering any
circumstances other than the type of
drug and its weight, or the presence of
a firearm, when imposing a sentence.
For example, the Omnibus Anti-Drug
Abuse Act o f 1988 requires a m anda­
tory minimum sentence o f five years
for a first time offender’s possession
o f more than five gram s o f crack
cocain c-th c equivalent o f approxi­
mately 5 packets o f artificial sweet­
ener For possession o f 100 times the
amount of powder cocaine, the m ini­
mum sentence is probation. This dis­
crepancy is sentencing is intolerable
and constitutionally suspect. It is ra­
cially motivated “effect” that must be
ended. USA Today recently ran a
scries of articles that showed African
American males were beging arrest­
ed an incarcerated at four times the
rate o f W hites for essentially the
That's why................
I shall cherish
the old rugged cross.
The emblem o f suffering and
shame.
I will cling
to the old rugged
cross;
And exchange it
someday
for a crown.
BANQUET
Date: September 18, 1993
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Place: Highland United Church o f Christ Dining Hall
4635 N.E. 9th
Portland, OR 97211
Donation: $15.00
4
* i *
same crime. The difference being
W hites normally buy and use more
expensive and purer powder cocaine,
while Blacks generally buy and use
the cheaper and less pure crack co­
caine.
A virtual Pandora’s box of evils
has been unleashed onto society. They
hav e manifest themselves in the demo­
lition o f judicial discretion. M itigat­
ing factors are often dismissed and
judges are forced to impose draconian
sentences This forces a blind adher­
ence to sentencing which results in
low-level participants receiv ing moire
time than top-level “kingpins” . There
is racial disparity whereby Blacks
and Hispanics arc charged with and
receive sentences at or above the
mandatory minimum more often than
Whites arrested on the same charges
Because of this, prisons become over­
crowded, which results in violent
crim inals, many of whom are not
subject 0 mandatory penalties, being
released early.
Civil liberties have been eroded
by gutting safe-guards against unrea­
sonable searches and seizures; the
weakening of the presumption of in­
nocence through preventative deten­
tion; the stepping up of dispropor­
A ttire : Sem i-Formal
1 • < A t 4
• * / »
tionate punishm ent through unw ar­
ranted civil forfeiture o f assets; ex­
pansion o f the use of entrapment,
abusive treatment o f public housing
tenants; police brutality; and growing
federalization of law enforcement.
Last November we voted for an
urban stim ulus package which prom ­
ised hope for our cities and our people
and a solution to an acute problem
Instead of creating jobs and ways to
reconstruct lives, the adm inistration
has created new criteria to execute
people. Instead of instilling new life
and hope into the neighborhoods of
Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago and
Washington, the administration plans
to install 100,000 more police offic­
ers onto our streets.
T he use o f drugs is a societal
problem . A problem w e need to
fight by w aging “ w a r” through
education, prevention, counseling,
treatm en t on dem and and cure, as
w ell a s punishm ent. Even w hen
there is punishm ent, there should
not be double tim e for the sam e
crim e! S o far, the cum ulative ef­
fect o f the policies p u rsued in the
nam e o f a “ w a r on d ru g s” has, in
fact, tu rn ed out to be a w a r against
file B lack, the B row n and the poor.
CH2A/FIRST SOURCE HIRING
Now Accepting Applications from
licensed journeyman in the following trades:
Asbestos Workers
Asphalt Raker
Carpenters
Cement Mason/FInishers
Heavy Equipment Operators
Landscapers
Pipelayers
Plumbers
Truckdrlvers
287-1041
2752 N. Williams Portland, OR 97227
I
I
4
“Red and White Spectacular”
Life Or Death: Mandatory Sentencing Laws
C e le b ra te D iversity
Continued from page 7
them immediately. He was appalled!
He sat in wonder. “How could these
people come to me thinking that I
would condone their sinful actions?”
This only proved that Satan also
attends worship services regularly.
However--evil is a strong persuader.
Evil h asa strong rap It 's cunning and
relentless. If you don’t know Christ,
then, you become an easy target.
Standards!
As I grew, I can recall the words
o f my parents, “D on’t ever loweryour
standards to accommodate someone
else’s desires.”
The lowering of one’s standards
has always been an act of accommo­
dation. An attempt to make some­
thing fit Right now, we have a myriad
of square pegs that have been forced
into round and oblong holes And this
was blindly done with no regard of
how it would impact the innocent or
the young
M ankind had truly gone to his
and her extremes
More and more, each day, you
can hear and you can see where
churches have literally taken the cross
out o f the church The parishioners
foolishly believe that God really ap­
plauds their efforts by saying, “When
Christ walked this earth. He did ev­
erything He could to help m ankind
All that we are doing is trying to
Samuel Johnson Memorial Scholarship Committee
Presents
i