Portland observer., July 29, 1998, Page 4, Image 4

JULY 29,1998
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S treet P ro je c t c o n v e n e d a “T rillio n
D o llar R o u n d ta b le ” in N e w Y o rk -
a m e e tin g o f c o rp o ra te , lab o r, an d
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tiv e ly a d v is e $ 2 trillio n in p en sio n
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R ev. J a c k s o n an d S a n d y W eill,
C h a irm a n a n d C E O o f T ra v e le rs,
c o -c h a ire d th e e v en t, d isc u ssio n
fo c u se d on
v e h i c l e s to
tra n s p o rt
It is g o o d th a t w e in v est in m a r­
k ets o v e rse a s to c re a te h ig h v o lu m e
c o n su m e rs fo r A m erican p ro d u cts,
b u t as Je su s a sk e d , “ H o w can y o u
see a sp lin te r in y o u r n e ig h b o r’s ey e,
b u t n o t see a lo g in y o u r o w n ? ”
U n ited B a n k o f P h ila d elp h ia
an d D r. E m m a C h a p p ell
P rio r to 1992 w h en U n ited B ank
o p e n e d , six b a n k s serv ed P h ila d e l­
p h ia. th ey c o lle c tiv e ly issu ed $ 8 0
p
e
r s p
b
i
/
The Medium Is The Message: Especially In Education
by
P r o f . M c K in l e y B t rt
T h e " M e d iu m is ( s t i l l ) th e
M e s s a g e ,” a n d n o n u m b e r o f a s ­
s a u l t s u p o n th e m e s s e n g e r c a n
c h a n g e a f u n d a m e n ta l t r u th . O t
c o u r s e , th e s t a tu s o f th e m e s s e n ­
g e r a lw a y s is to b e c o n s i d e r e d ,
a n d t h e r e a r e t h o s e w h o w o u ld
s h a p e th e ir o p in io n s a c c o r d ­
in g ly .
A n d in th e p a r t i c u l a r c a s e w e
h a v e t h e f o l lo w in g c o m m e n ts o f
D r. J o h n S il b e r , th e c h a n c e l l o r
o f B o s to n U n i v e r s i t y a n d c h a i r ­
m a n o f th e M a s s a c h u s e t t s B o a r d
o f E d u c a tio n : T h e s e o p in i o n s a re
n o le s s r e l e v a n t
(o r c ritic a l)
th a n t h o s e o f th e r e a d e r s - o r m y
ow n.
" T h e c o n tr o v e r s y s u r r o u n d in g
th e (te a c h e r) te s t h a s o b s c u r e d
th e r e a l s t o r y , w h ic h is t h a t s o
m a n y p r o s p e c t i v e p u b li c s c h o o l
te a c h e r s fa ile d a te s t th a t a
b r i g h t 1 0 th g r a d e r c o u l d p a s s
w ith o u t d if f ic u lty .
T h is is a
te llin g in d ic tm e n t o f h ig h e r
e d u c a t i o n in A m e r i c a . ”
D r. S il v e r a l s o m a d e th e f o l ­
lo w in g o b s e r v a t i o n s a f t e r c i t i n g
s o m e u n b e li e v a b le g a r b a g e . “ N o
r e s p o n s i b l e p e r s o n w o u ld s u b ­
j e c t a n y o n e ’s c h i l d r e n , m u c h
le s s
h is
ow n,
to
such
t e a c h e r s ...T h i s e x a m i n a ti o n w a s
n o t e x c e e d i n g l y d e m a n d i n g ."
M a n y r e a d e r s o f T h e P o r tla n d
O b s e r v e r , w o u ld n o d in a s s e n t
w ith th i s d i s g u s t e d c h a ir m a n o t
th e
M assa-
c h u s e t t s
B o a rd o f E d u ­
c a tio n .
ju s t
tw o
w eeks
ago a v e ry u p ­
set re tire d ,
A f r i c a n
A m e r i c a n p u b li c s c h o o l t e a c h e r
u n le a s e d a s c a t h i n g i n d i c tm e n t
o f d e s tru c tiv e an d ra c is t p ra c ­
ti c e s in N o r th e a s t e l e m e n t a r y
sc h o o ls .
H er a n g ry an d fa c tu a l r e ­
s p o n s e a p p e a r e d in t h e “ L e tt e r s
F ro m R e a d e r s ” s e c tio n a n d
c it e d , a m o n g o t h e r ‘c r i m e s , ’ th e
d u m p i n g in t o b la c k s c h o o l s o t
th e ty p e o f i n c o m p e t e n c e d e ­
s c r ib e d b y D r. S i l b e r .
O b v i­
o u s l y th e m ix w ith th e d e c e n t ly
p r e p a r e d in s tr u c t o r s w o u ld m a k e
it a lm o s t i m p o s s i b l e to a s s e s s
gro w th .
W e In v e s t O v e r s e a s, B ut N ot
at H o m e
W e h a v e a n u m b e r o f v e h ic le s to
tra n sp o rt c a p ita l to m a rk e ts o v e r­
seas (O P IC , IM F , E x p o rt/Im p o rt
B an k , e tc .), b u t in a d e q u a te v eh icles
to tra n s p o rt c a p ita l to u n d e rse rv e d
A m e ric a . W h e re th e re a re v e h icles
m illio n in lo an s p e r y e a r, b u t less
u n d e r se rv ed in P h ilad elp h ia.
A fter o v erco m in g tre m en d o u s o b ­
stacle, D r. C h ap p ell o p e n e d U n ited
B ank w ith $ 6 m illio n in 1992. T o ­
d ay , U n ited B ank o f P h ila d e lp h ia is
w o rth $ 1 2 0 m illio n -2 0 0 0 % g ro w th
in ju s t sev en y e a rs ’ T h e re is g ro w th
fo r in v e s tm e n t, A m e ric a n co rp o ra ­
tio n s a re e a g e r to b u ild tra d e re la ­
tio n sh ip s w h e re v e r th e y m ig h t be.
♦ P o lish A m e ric a n D e v e lo p m e n t
B a n k -T h e U .S . e s ta b lis h e d a fo r­
p o ten tial in th e in n er city.
T o u g h Q u e s tio n s A n sw ered
S k ep tics m ig h t ask , “ It is all w ell
a n d g o o d t h a t w e i n v e s t in
m u la fo r lo n g -te rm , c o n c e ss io n a ry
rate lo a n s to h e lp b u ild P o la n d an d
u n d e rse rv e d A m erica d u rin g stro n g
eco n o m ic tim es, b u t w h at h ap p en s
w h en th e ec o n o m y slo w s d o w n an d
in crease A m e ric a n b u sin e ss o p p o r­
tu n itie s th e re . It h as w o rk e d .
•C o c a -C o la a n d P ep si e a c h a n ­
n o u n c e d m a jo r in v e s tm e n ts in
U g a n d a d u rin g th e P re s id e n t’s trip
p re ssu re s to m eet fid u ciary re s p o n ­
sib ilities in c re a se ? ”
S an d y W eill an d Jim H ill, O r­
eg o n S ta te T re a s u re r an d P re s id e n t
o f th e N a tio n a l A s s o c ia tio n o f S tate
T re a su re rs o ffe re d d ire c t, c le a r a n ­
th ere.
•O n th e P re s id e n t’s re c e n t trip
to C h in a , G M , G E , a n d M o to ro la
tra v e le d w ith th e P re s id e n t lo o k in g
sw ers.
• T re a s u re r H ill said th a t, reg ard -
fo r n e w o p p o rtu n itie s in a n o p e n ­
in g m a rk e t.
( a n d o t h e r s ) to o k u p y e a r s a g o
b u t e v id e n t ly w e w e r e th e w r o n g
m e s s e n g e r s a n d , in d e e d , s o m e
w e r e a s s a u l t e d . B u t it j u s t m a y
b e th a t w e now h a v e a d d e d
s c h o o l m e e t i n g o f ir a te p a r e n t s .
T h e c o m m u n i t y is tr y i n g to g e t
o n to p o f th i s t h i n g ; p a y in g c lo s e
a t t e n t i o n to t h o s e s c a r y h e a d ­
lin e s re g a rd in g
te a c h e r te s te r an d
w e ig h t fr o m th e to p . A re th e to p
p e o p le g e t t i n g w o r r i e d o r ‘ e m ­
b a rra sse d ? ’
It is v e r y r e a s s u r i n g to fin d
th a t p a r e n t s a r e g e t t i n g s h a r p e r
a ll th e tim e . W E h o p e it is n o t
to o la te . F o r in s t a n c e , in t h a t
‘ D r. S i l b e r ’ O r e g o n i a n a r t i c l e
o f J u l y 12, ‘ D is m a l R e s u lt s O n
T e a c h e r T e st U n d e rsc o re R e­
f o r m N e e d , ” h e is q u o t e d ,
s ta n d a rd s. A p a r­
e
n t o b se rv e d , “ C an
P rofessor
y
o u b e lie v e th a t
M t K IM FY
th
e t e a c h e r ’s u n io n
K l RT
is f i n a l l y m a k in g
n o is e s a b o u t ‘ p r o ­
fe s s io n a l s ta n d a r d s ’ a n d w h a t
‘th e y ’
can
do
to
im p r o v e
th in g s ? ”
It w a s v e r y r e w a r d i n g to h e a r
a n u m b e r o f q u o t e s fr o m tw o o f
m y r e c e n t s e r i e s in th e P o r t la n d
O b s e r v e r : “ W e b s t e r ’ s F ir s t D ic ­
tio n a r y F e a tu r e d E u ro b o n ic s :
E b o n i c s f o r W h it e F o l k s ” &
“ F a m ily M a t te r s : T h e W a y It
W a s .” T h e s e r i e s “ S u p p e r T a b le
I n p u t ” a l s o w a s m e n t io n e d .
It s e e m s t h a t h u n d r e d s o f c o p ­
“ ...T h i s is a t e l l i n g in d i c t m e n t
of
‘h ig h e r
e d u c a t i o n ’ in
ie s o f m y “ b e s t ” a r t i c l e s w e r e
m a i le d l o c a l l y a n d n a t i o n a l l y
v e rs ity . W e a re n o t fo o le d .
- C o n tin u e d n e x t w e e k .
B y H ig h B. P rice
P resident
N ational U rban L eague
H ow long does it take for an ethnic
group in A m erica to clim b out o t pov­
erty? A nd how can w e know w hen sig­
nificant progress is being m ade? WTiat
will the rate o f progress be for A frican
Americans?
The answ ertothatoldA m erican ques­
tion is being fashioned right before our
eyes these days through die stories o f
striving and success A frican A m ericans
haveposted in the three decades since the
civil rights trium phs o f the 1960s.
T he answ er is also being crafted by
the nation’s -a n d Black A m erica's—re­
sponse to the problems w hich continue to
beset poor black neighborhoods, fam i­
lies, and individuals.
less o f ex tern al p re s su re an d flu c ­
tu a tio n s in th e m a rk e t rates o f re ­
tu rn o n th e re s p o n sib ilitie s to earn
m ark et rates o f re tu rn o n th e s ta te ’s
m o n e y th at th ey in v est is n e v er
co m p ro m ised .
♦M r. W eill a d d e d , “ A s w e d e ­
v e lo p th is v e h ic le , it w ill b e c o m e
m o r e c l e a r t h a t i n v e s t i n g in
u n d e rs e rv e d A m e ric a can be
c o u te rc y c lic a l.” B ecau se in n e rc it-
ies an d rural a reas
h a v e n o t b een a d ­
e q u a te ly d e v e l ­
o p e d re la tiv e to
th e ir
b u y in g
p o w e r, th e ir p o ­
te n tia l fo r g ro w th
is m u c h g re a te r
th an a fflu e n t but
I w as draw n to consider this very
broad question w hen the federal N a­
tional Center for Health Statistics re-
leased its annual studyofbirths in America
earlier this month. Its m ost surprising
finding: The birth rate for unm am ed
black w om en, one o f the flashpoints in
the debate over race in America, has
reached its lowest point in 40 years
A ccording to the federal survey, en­
com passing 3.9 million births in 1996,
the last year for w hich figures are avail­
able, the birth rate for unmarried black
women was 74.4births per 1,000women.
A m e r i c a .”
A c r o s s t h e b o a r d , h is s t a t e ­
m e n t w a s d e s c r ib e d as a ty p ic a l
b l a t a n t e v a s i o n o f th e is s u e . A ll
a u d ie n c e s c it e d th e s t a n d a r d s f o r
la n g u a g e s k i l l s 1 d e s c r i b e d f o r
e le m e n ta r y s c h o o ls b e fo re
W o r ld W a r II. T h i s is w h e r e o u r
p r o b le m b e g i n s , n o t in th e u n i ­
,
in birth. Few er babies w ere bom in 1996
than in any year since 1987. But black
teen girls, until recently, the group with
the highest level o f births, show ed the
Health and H um an Services, said refer­
ring to the decline in the black teen birth
rate, “W hat is significant is that these
declines are in every state. I give a lot o f
most dram atic birth-rate decline.
Teen births am ong African A m eri­
cans fell by 2 , percent betw een 1991 and
1996, to just over 9 percent o f all black
credit to the A frican-A m erican com m u­
nity, w hich has put out a clear, consistent
m essage from the churches, from the
schools, and all sorts o f civic organiza­
tions, a drum beat to young w om en and
1996, their first significant drop since
1991.
(F or all teens, the overall 1996 birth
rate was 54.7 for every 1,000 young
w om en ages 15 to 19, dow n from the
1991 rate o f 62.1)
erty.
Put positively, the m essage has urged
them to follow three sim ple steps to give
them selves—a id their future children—a
chance to avoid a life o f poverty:
First, finish high school.
Second, get m arried before having
clines have been really big.”
T he figures took m uch o f the health
clined for all age groups ofblack w om en,
federal researchers found; and it comes
amidasignificant overalldown ward trend
teenage girls, H ispanic-American teens
are now m ost likely to give birth, al­
though theirratesalso fell, from nearly 11
percent in 1995 to ju st over 10 percent in
unwed teen-age m others grow up in pov­
Times. “A nd it’s not ju st for teenagers.
For all black w om en under 30, the de­
com m unity by surprise.
But dem ographers and health experts
said that the good new s probably results
from a com bination o f several different
things: the precaution, including both
increased use o f contraceptives and ab­
stention from sex, the A ID S epidem ic is
causing som e m en and w om en to take;
the impact ofsex education, either within
o r outside ofschools; and efforts by som e
organization to encourage abstention or
the use o f contraceptives.
Dr. D onnaL. Shalala, the Secretary o f
That is a remarkable drop from the peak
birth rate reached just nine years ago o f
90.7 per 1,000 unm arried black women.
The out-of-wedlock bi rth rate has de­
to young people in m ore intense fashion
over the past decade has been to alert
them to a v itally important fact o f life:
Nearly 80 percent o f children bom to
“T here’s been no letup, and it’s not
been slo w in g d o w n ,” S tephanie J.
Ventura, the federal dem ographer w ho
w rote the report, told the N ew Y ork
their first child.
A nd third, hold o ff having that child
until they’re over 20 years old them ­
selves, and equipped to provide for their
family.
T he federal statistics indicate that ed r
children are getting the message.
It’snot being Pollyannish to celebrate
th at-ev en as w e recognize the need to
continue to w ork to reduce the still unac­
ceptably high out-of-w edlock birth rate.
(69.8 percentofblack children w ere bom
out-of-w edlock in 1996, com pared to
nearly 22 percentfomon-Hispanic whites,
and nearly 41 percent for Hispanics.)
W ecan takeheart from DonnaShalala’s
point that teen-age pregnancy is most often
a consequence o f a girl’s feeling o f hope­
lessness about the future. If adolescents-
girLsandboys-thinktheyhaveatuture,she
pointed out, they put o ff having babies.
W e must reach m ore o f our teens w i th
that m essage—that is. convince them they
have a fu tu re-fo r it will m ean that our
young people and thechildren they even­
tually bring into the world will have a
young men that they should not becom e
parents until they are truly ready to sup­
port achild; that havingchildren too early
w ill limit their options.”
T hat’s one o f the significant points to
consider about this positive surprise: the
im portance o f sending out a clear, con­
sistent m essage.
The m essage that has been ‘ ‘beam ed”
much easier shot at the American D ream .
National Night Out: A bright idea in
creating safer neighborhoods.
C O A L IT IO N
th an $3 m illio n o f th at m o n e y w en t
to m in o ritie s-in a c ity w h e re A frican
A m erican s an d L atinos rep resen t h a lf
o f th e p o p u latio n . T h e re w a s a d e s­
p erate n eed fo r a b an k to se rv e th e
a n d so m e q u o te s a re a p p e a rin g
o n th e N E T . T h is a c a u s e th a t I
t h e p r o b l e m s in a n e f f e c t i v e
m a n n e r ; “ b lo w th e s c h o o l u p ? ”
I m a d e th e r o u n d s o f a c o u p le
o f c o ff e e s h o p s an d a tte n d e d a
To Be Equal
A Clear, Consistent Message
/M /M 8 0 IP P U $ H
c ap ital to u n ­
d e r serv ed ur-
b an a n d ru ral
A m e ric a n
c o m m u n itie s
to e x p a n d th e
m a rk e tp la c e an d c re a te eco n o m ic
e
PGE shares your concern for safe,
livable neighborhoods. That's why
sa tu ra te d su b u rb a n areas.
L in k w ith W h ite H o u se C o n ­
we sponsor National Night Out,
fe r e n c e
D u rin g a s a te llite link w ith the
W h ite H o u se C o n fe re n c e on C o m ­
m u n ity E m p o w e rm e n t b o th H U D
S e c re ta ry A n d rew C u o m o an d the
V ice P resid en t G o re ex p ressed their
a g re e m e n t w ith th e ro u n d ta b le ’s
m issio n an d th e A d m in is tra tio n 's
d e sire to b e a p a rtn e r in th e pro-
On August 4, PGE invites you to
cess.
R ev. Ja ck so n to ld th e c o m m u ­
nity e m p o w e rm e n t c o n fe re n c e that
h e th o u g h t th e cu lm in a tio n o f the
place. For information, call 823-4519
America's night out against crime.
show your support by turning on
your porch light— a proven crime
fighter. Join or organize a National
Night Out block party or flashlight
walk in your neighborhood. You'll
help make your community a safer
in Portland, 588-6499 in Salem, or
your local police departm ent or
sheriff's office.
ro u n d ta b le ’s w o rk w o u ld e v e n tu ­
ally b e th e e n g in e th a t w ill d riv e
c o m m u n ity e m p o w e rm e n t zo nes.
P lan to M o v e F o r w a r d -M e e t­
Z^>
in g to b e set fo r O c to b e r
O v e r th e c u rs e o f th e n ex t few
m o n th s, th e R a in b o w /P u sh C o a li­
tio n w ill lead a g ro u p o f ex p e rts
fro m th e C lin to n A d m in istra tio n ,
A F L - C I O , m a jo r c o r p o r a tio n s ,
state tre a su re rs, an d fund m an ag e rs
to d e sig n th e v e h ic le to tra n sp o rt
c ap ital to u n d e rse rv e d A m erica.
Portland (¡onorai Electric
P O S S IB IL IT IE S
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