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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1997)
’W **»» f*» " I t e - A ^w ^f.-i OC T. S, 1997 M ìnorìt 117 Minorities face economic roadblocks O D iVI E N Courtesy Janitorial Service, Inc. Selected cts Some say underclass is worsening, others argue progress in removing legal, political and economic roadblocks to the advancement of blacks and other minorities. o into any U.S. big city '■ to d a y and y o u ’ll find many black people living in squalor — illustrating that more than 130 years after the abolition o f slavery, the United States still has a distinct underclass. That's the bad news, and some experts say it’s worsening. The good news is that the United States, a nation founded on the prin ciple o f equality but until the last half o f this century largely segregated, is arguably making progress in remov ing legal, political and economic road blocks to the advancement o f blacks and other minorities. Since the Supreme Court outlawed separate black and w hite public schools in its 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision — a landmark ruling that spurred the civil rights revolution o f the 1960s and ’70s — the country has banned every form o f overt discrimination. Statistics on income show that millions ofblacks are now ensconced in the middle class. Between 1987 and 1992, the num ber o f black-owned businesses increased by 46 percent, rising from 424,000 to more than 620,000. Thousands o f blacks have been elected to political office, and retired Gen. Colin Powell, the first African- American to lead the armed forces, is considered a potential president. President Bill Clinton celebrated these gains when he marked the 40th anniversary o f the integration o f Cen tral High School in his home town o f Little Rock, Arkansas, on Thursday. Nine black students were protected by federal troops when they broke color lines there in September 1957. “W e’ve come a long way . particu larly in this part o f the country. But we still have much to do to create the kind o f society where racial injustice is eliminated,” former Mississippi Gov. William W inter said. Even a cursory look at the state o f U.S. race relations shows that the situation is multi-faceted and highly complex, incapable o f easy measure ment. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the country is increasingly multi-racial, with a fast-growing popu lation o f Hispanic and Asian-Ameri cans. Still, the divide that most per plexes the country remains the one between whites and blacks, who con- I Page C3 ï l | c ÎJortüntô flib sm iirr stitute 13 percentoftheU .S . popula tion o f265 million. “While there has been formal de segregation, it has not put down roots deeply enough to create a truly inte grated society. In fact, most whites and blacks live in de facto segrega tion,” said David Shipler, author o f a new book called “A Country o f Strangers — Blacks and Whites in America.” Shipler, a former New York Times reporter who spent the last six years examining race relations, said condi tions for blacks have clearly improved since the civil rights revolution o f the ’50s and '60s, but it’s “hard to say” whether things have progressed or slipped backward over the last de cade. “A lot o f African-Americans have managed to move out o f poverty and into at least a modicum o f comfort. But at the same time, people have been left behind in inner city neigh borhoods that are worse now than they were when I was covering urban affairsinthe 1960sand ’70s,” he said. The poverty rate for blacks is still nearly three times as high as it is for whites, and only about half as many blacks as whites are likely to earn a college degree. The continued divide between blacks and whites was brought into sharp focus by the reaction o f the two communities to the 19950. J. Simpson trial. Blacks generally applauded the mostly black ju ry ’s not-guilty ver dict, while most whites believed Simpson, a black former football star accused o f killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman, had gotten away with murder. Another gap exists on the issue o f affirmative action, a system ofprefer- ences in higher education admissions, hiring and government contracting for blacks, women and other minori ties historically victimized by discrimi nation. Launched in the the 1970s, the program has sparked a powerful po litical backlash. In California, a state that often sets national trends, citi zens voted last year to abolish most forms o f affirmative action. Clinton, a son o f the South inter ested in race relations throughout his political life, hopes to leave behind a more unified country when he leaves office in January 2001. Minority Contractor O f The Year n October 9, 1997 full-time basis. Upon entry into this there will be a for field. CJSI began building a staff of mal presentation trained and skilled personnel knowl o f this award to edgeable in maintenance techniques. Courtesy Janitorial CJSI employs both full and part- Services, Inc. at the 1997 Minority time employees. The staff is highly E n te rp rise D e v e lo p m e n t W eek trained by professional maintenance Awards Luncheon ILie award will be assignment. accepted by the President. Eloyd N. CJSI is committed to the total jani Booker Sr. torial service market. This commit Courtesy Janitorial Service, Inc. ment is emphasized by an array of (CJSI) provides a full range of main product lines that covers the entire tenance services to governm ent, field o f maintenance services. The commercial, industrial and residen services include floor care, window tial customers. 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