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Martin Luther King Jr. Special Edition — Jan. 13, 1999
Teens’ Solution For Combating
Youth Violence May Be In Our
Own Backyard
B y S enator G ordon H. S mith
Today we celebrate the life o f a
m an whose passion for equality
has gone unm atched in the thirty
years since his death. Dr. M artin
L uther K ing Jr. w as a m an o f
integrity and honor w ho lived and
died in pursuit o f his dream . He
m ade trem endous strides to change
the consciousness o f A m ericans,
and his efforts will be forever re
m em bered and cherished. I think if
•Dr. King would have had an oppor
tunity to w rite his own epitaph, he
w ould have used the w ords he
once spoke...” the believer in non
violence has deep faith in the fu
ture.”
Just as Dr. K ing did, I firmly
believe the key to creating a peace
ful future for all A m ericans is in the
hands o f our younger generation.
U nfortunately, there is often more
focus on what kids are doing wrong,
instead o f the positive contribu
tions that they are m aking to their
fam ilies, their schools, their com
m unities and their ow n lives.
I m ake it a priority to listen to
w hat the young people in Oregon
have to say and I recently m et with
a group o f high school students in
Portland tohear their concerns about
youth violence and their ideas for
safer schools and neighborhoods. I
was impressed by their thoughtful
solutions and their determination to
create a safe haven within their own
communities. I was even m ore in
spired at how sensitive they were to
the economic and em otional needs
o f their classmates.
They pleaded for adults to be
com e more involved with kids, to
focus on spending tim e w ith them
rather than money, and reminded
m e that not all kids take guns to
school, join a gang or defy their
parents. The majority want and need
adults to be involved in their lives, to
serve as role models, offer advice
and give them a voice in decisions
that affect them. They also stressed
the importance o f having som e
where to go that w ould nurture
these wants and needs. I w as fortu
nate enough to visit such a place.
Following my conversation with
the students, I had the opportunity
to tour northeast Portland’s Self
Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) and was
im m ediately struck by how this
community center m eets so many
o f the needs identified by the stu
dents. SE I’s purpose is to help
inner-city youth realize their full
potential. They work with schools
and parents recognizing that - de
spite the attention given to violence
in schools - the m ajority o f youth
violence occurs outside the class
room. According to the National
Center for Injury Prevention and
Control (N CIPC), less than one
percent o f all homicides committed
by school-aged children actually
occur in school. This fact rein
forces even more the necessity o f
after-school programs that provide
safety, education entertainment, aid
and comfort to students. Everyone
who participates in SEI’sbasketball
camp or after-school program can
find the com panionship they may
be seeking, improve their academic,
athletic and artistic skills and estab
lish m entoring relationships with
adults.
Throughout the day, I talked with
students and adults about how I, as
their Senator, could h elp them
achieve personal and academic suc
cess. A m ong other suggestions,
they recommended placing more
counselors in schools, offering an
ger m anagement training before and
during middle school, providing peer
and adult m entoring, student m e
diation, more funding for arts pro
grams, and m aking after school
programs like SEI the norm , not the
exception.
I took those suggestions very
seriously and I am hoping to incor
porate them into legislation that 1 am
working on with Senator John Kerry
o f M assach u
setts.
Our plan to edu
c a te A m e ric a ’s
c h ild re n w o u ld
make available the
tools for change
so that every as
pect ofpublic edu
c a tio n
w o u ld
function better and
strengthen every
e le m e n t o f the
system.
I f w e do not
want to lose a gen
eration o f A m eri
c a n s, w e m u st
dem and nothing
less than com pre
hensive education
refo rm effo rt -
one that will im
prove not only the
lives o f our chil
dren while they are in class, but out
o f school as well.
I am hopeful that as we continue
to talk about treating one another
with respect, providing the best
opportunities for our youth, and find
ing our way to a community sym
bolized by peace and reconciliation,
we will be guided by the hearts and
minds o f young people. Our role, as
C ll
Solutions To Create A Nonviolent
World
'Listen with an open heart.
'Meditate on Peace.
•Contemplate the Quiet of Nature.
-Practice Non-Judgement.
•Take responsibility for my actions.
■Forgive myself and others
•Commit to serve the nature of Nonviolence.
When Martin Luther
King, Jr. said "I have a
dream," it was a challenge
to each of us to join in
making our communities
better for all people. That's
why you'll see Portland
General Electric involved in
many programs that help
education, healthy families,
arts & culture, the environ
ment and diversity.
A t PGE, we're more
than the power company,
we're also your neighbors.
community members, parents, and
government is to provide them the
tools for success and then let them,
in turn, teach us. As Dr. King so
wisely said, "It really boils down to
this: that all life is interrelated. W e are
all caught in an inescapable network
o f mutuality, tied into a single gar
ment o f destiny. W hatever affects
one directly, affects all indirectly."
Celeb
th e spirit
of the dream.
Brenda A ddy takes part
in the H om ow o African
Harvest Festival. PGE is
a ma/or sponsor o f
Portland General Electric
this com m unity event
C
o n n e c t in g
P
e o p l e
,
P
o w e r
a n d
P
o
s s i b i l i t i e s