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When we stand for children, we don’t stand alone
IAN W
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C„ T i E iih
delman
M arias
hich
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ThispastJune I,hundredsofthou-
sands o f Americans stood for ch il­
dren at the Lincoln Memorial as an
American commun ity to comm it our­
selves to putting our children first, to
building a just America that leaves
no child behind, and to ensuring all
our children healthy and safe pas­
sage to adulthood.
The important thing is that we
stood together: Red, White, Brown,
Black and Yellow ; young and old;
rich, middle-class, and poor; female
and male; physically and mentally
challenged; Jews, Gentiles, C h ris­
tians, and Moslems; Republicans,
Democrats, Independents, liberals,
moderates, and conservatives—each
by
b ^
an inextricahl,
of » h - e _ _ _
..............
an inextricable part o f the amazing
Some o f our children have access
sacred mosaic o f G od’s universe and
to the best health care in the world,
o f Am erica’s democracy. We came
and some o f us live in fear every day
from every state and from over 3,700
that our children will get sick and be
sponsoring organizations, represent­
unable to see a doctor because we
ing tens of millions o f Americans.
have no health insurance.
We came by trains, planes, buses,
Some o f our children are tracked
and cars. Some o f us walked, and
to Princeton and Yale, and some of
some came by wheelchair. Some
our children are tracked for prison
came with family, and some had no
and ja il—for about the same cost but
family. No one was excluded.
with vastly different dividends, for
Some of us who came are working
them and for America.
so hard at two or three jobs to make
What Stand fo r Children Day re­
ends meet that we spend little or no
vealed is that while we are not all the
time with our children. And some o f
same and do not agree on everything,
us are so desperate for one decent job
we do agree on one crucial thing: that
and child care that we do not enjoy
no one in America should harm chil­
the time we do have with our chil­
dren and that every one o f us can do
dren.
more to ensure that our chi Idren grow
7
up safe, healthy, and educated, in
nurturing families and caring com­
munities.
Children depend on many adults-
-their families first and foremost, but
also their neighbors, teacher, and
religious and community leaders-to
guide their way and support them on
their journey to success and adult­
hood. That s why we stood for our
children and families on June I .
That day helped us realize that
together we can give our children
back their childhoods, safety, and
hope, and improve m illions ofyoung
lives right now. It helped us see that
we a nation need to do more o f what
we know works for all our children,
like every other wealthy, industrial­
Supervising what they watch j
M arias W right E dh
“ 'T V » « * ’ «»
I
Olmos. “That’s why I was never out
When dozens o f movie stars and
there doing all o f the violence on the
1 V actors came to Washington,
program. There was a reason my
D C ., last June 1 to Stand For C h il­
character turned out that way. That’s
dren they let all o f Am erica know
a personal choice, and I could have
that there is a way to fight the vio­
been a lot richer and a lot better
lent, sexually explicit programming
known throughout the world if I
that invades our homes: Turn offthe
would have accepted many o f those
irresponsible programs and support
other roles.
the sensible ones.
“The fundamental thing we must
A ctor Edward James O lm os,
all remember," Olm os continues, “ is
whose movie “ Stand and D eliver"
that all o f us have a choice, and we
praised the academic accom plish­
have a responsibility to make the
ments o f a group o f mostly black
right choice.”
and Latino students written o ff by
Actress Lyn n W hitfield, who
the public school system, was one
starred in ‘The Josephine Baker Sto­
o f the many big-name Hollywood
ry ’ and is scheduled to direct and star
stars to make that point. "W e con­
in The Angela D avis Story,’ agrees.
tinue to produce things that the mass
“ I here's the old adage. You have to
audience wants to see,” Olm os says.
stand for something, oryou’ll fall for
The reason you didn’t see ‘Stand
anything,” ’ Whitfield says. “What
and Deliver, Part 2 ’ is because not
you choose to see, what you put your
enough people went to see ‘ Stand
money behind, and the letters you
and Deliver Part I .’ I don’t blame it
write to the networks all support the
on the movie industry as much as I
work we do in Hollywood. Respon­
blame it on people who go to see
sibility lies with all o f us. I have to be
violent movies I ik e ‘Terminator Part
responsible and stand behind the roles
16’ or ‘ Halloween, Part 5.’”
that I choose.
Olmos, who spent years as a po­
“ You have to be responsible in
lice captain on the television drama
communicating that you have buying
Miami V ice,” says he had made a
power. Y o u have to say, I buy Pam­
decision not to accept violent roles
pers, I buy M acDonald’s and I buy
in films. “ I have complete artistic
Revlon, so this is what I want to see
control o f all the characters I play,
on television.’ I have tried to exer­
and even my character in ‘ Miami
cise my responsibility by choosing
V ic e ’ had a moral center,” say
for m yself roles that teach and in-
I
spire.
Both Whitfield and Olmos have!
the right idea. A ll o f us adults must
take more personal responsibility,
for influencing the content o f the
entertainment our children see and
by contacting network and program
sponsors. In addition, we mus, mon­
itor the amount o f time our children |
spend in front o f the T V .
A cco rd in g to M arilyn Kern-1
Foxworth, a professor at Texas
A & M University, by thetimeachild |
reaches 18, he or she has been ex­
posed to about 356,000 television I
commercials and public service an-1
M IW IB V
ized nation.
We stood together because we
know that government is only part o f
the answer and because we know we
are the answer-individuals, families,
community and religious leaders, and
citizens who hold ourselves person­
ally accountable and who hold our
leaders publicly accountable with our
voices and votes. A s active citizens,
we can make our leaders help rather
than hinder our children, and make it
easier rather than harder for families
to raise healthy, safe, educated, and
moral children
We stood together because we
realize that children require a seam­
less web o f family, community, em­
ployer, and government support.
Ever thought about tutoring
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.
_ _
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Those interested in the O A S IS
Intergenerational Tutoring program
have four opportunities to learn more
about it.
The tutoring program serves this
purpose as well as helping out the
school children with reading and
language development.
On August 29th, Thursday, 10:30
AM - Noon, or September 4th,
Wednesday, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM,
September I Oth, Tuesday, 1:30 PM
- 3:00 PM, September 12th, Thurs­
day, 10:30 AM - Noon, coffee ses­
sions w ill be held to explain the
program and outline the training in­
volved.
The coffee sessions w ill be held
more time praying together, reading
together, and sharing together. Let’s
take a lesson from the words o f the
folks in Hollywood and exercise our I
responsibility to encourage moref
sensible programming.
Happy Birthday
POWELL'S
CITY OF BOOKS
M/u/tuy
9 AM - 11 PM Monday through Saturday
9 AM - 9 PM Sundays
Used books bought every day till 8:30 PM
On the #20 Bus Line • One hour free parking
1005 West Burnside Street
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228-4651
Cull 503-288-0033
Prices Effective 8 /7 through 8/13/96 at your nearby Safeway
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YjM FOOD & DRUG
Rib Eye Steak
• Valu Pack of 4
or more steaks
• Smaller packages, 3.17-lb
•SAVE UP TO 1.42 LB
10-Pound Bag
Oregon Potatoes
• New Crop
• First 2, additional
at regular price
• SAVE AT SAFEWAY
Oregon Fryer
Leg Quarters
• Valu Pack
• Oregon Fryer Grill Packs, 87<-lb
•SAVE UP TO 1.30 EACH
in the O A S IS center on the tenth
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call Ms. M ichelitch a, 241-3059
Tuesday through Thursday between
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
New & used books on
Business, Music, &
African-American Studies
nouncements.
By the end o f the day, the average
American is exposed to more than
2,000 T V messages. And, accord­
ing to a recent N ielsen study, a black
child looks at more T V than any
other child. On average, the study
found that a black household watch­
es about 72 hours o f T V per week 49
percent more than all other house-1
holds.
We need to spend more time with |
our children away from the T V set.
Parents and children need to spend I
A ll children need strong family
and social values; private charity and
public justice; good home training,
good school training, good jo b train­
ing, and good moral training; and
parents and leaders who struggle to
practice what they preach. So many
o f our children are morally confused
because so many adults talk right and
do wrong in our private, profession­
al, and public lives.
Now that we have returned our
communities, we must keep standing
forchildren every day until all Am er­
ica stands with us. Take at least one
step for just one child and you will
make a di fference. And from now on,
remember: You do not stand alone.
We stand together.
Salewa, W e * k fs h % n g Guide I
In Your Oregonian FOODday in the
Portland Metro Area ...And Save
More Shopping At Safeway!
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S m J S E X ™ S A. o M'WQrg
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