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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 1999)
Page A4 March 24, 1999 fltlje |l(irtlanb (M re rw r i S I cvd 1 «Jag « s 1 (Tlii' ^Jorthxnb ffibserurr Strengthening Bonds of Trust Attention Readers! ____ 3 take a minute to send us your comment». W e re always try1n<togive you a batter paper and w e c a n t do tt without your help. T a i ua what you like and what need* Improvement... any »uggeattoneara welcomed and appreciated. W e take criticism weill Get your powerful pane out NOW and address your letter« to: Editor, Reader Reaponae. P .0. Box 3 1 3 7 . Portland. OR 97 208. B i H i g h B . P rice P resident N ational U rban L eagle p u b lic s a fe ty a n d c iv il lib erty can p ea ce fu lly co exist in A m erica’s black and H ispanic com munities. N ot only can they co-exist; they m ust co-exist if the social peace o f A m erican society is to be preserved. T hat is w hy in recent w eeks a national m ovem ent involving many b la c k an d H is p a n ic le a d e rs h ip o rg a n iz a tio n s, o th e r civ il rig h ts groups, and ordinary citizens has c o a le s c e d to s to p th e “ r a c ia l p ro filin g ,” lo w -g ra d e ab u se-an d unjustified violence-the law -abiding am ong A m erica’s people o f color too often endure from som e w hite police officers. T h e im m ed iate cau ses are the horrific police shooting deaths o f two African Americans and a W est African im m ig ra n t fro m G u in e a - in , re s p e c tiv e ly , R iv e rsid e , C A , in Pittsburgh, PA. and in N ew Y ork City- w hich have occurred since December. B ut it will not do to pretend these are “ isolated” incidents. In fact the issue o f police m isconduct has been sim m ering for years am ong Asian- A m ericans, A frican A m ericans and H ispanic A m ericans. It can no longer be ignored. That point was expressed in varying w ords, but w ith equally im pressive p a s s io n b y c iv il rig h ts le a d e rs representing the A frican-A m erican, Ulp ^ o rtla n h ©bsertier (USPS 959-680) Established in 1970 Larry L. Jackson, Sr. Charles W ashington E ditor Publisher G ary Ann Taylor Joy Ramos Business M anager Copy Editor Heather Fairchild M ark W ashington Graphic Designer Distribution M anager C ontributing Writers: Richard Luccetti Lee Periman 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015 Email: Pdxobservfa aoLcom Deadline fo r all submitted materials: A rticles .F riday, 5:00 p m Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views O f Ads: M onday, 12:00pm POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Periodicals postage p a id at Portland. Oregon. Subscriptions: $60.00 p e r ye a r The Portland O bserver w elcom es freelance submissions. M anuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned if accom panied by a se lf addressed envelope. All created design display ads becom e the sole property o f the new spaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage w ithout the w ritten consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the com position o f such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLANDOBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED,REPRODUCTIONS J e w is h , A s ia n a n d H is p a n ic com m unities o f A m erica, as w ell as p ro m in en t b u sin ess p erso n s and other influential figures at a news c o n fe re n c e the N a tio n a l U rb an League held recently in W ashington. O ur purp o se was to support the e ffe c tiv e p o lic in g o f b lack an d H ispanic n eig h b o rh o o d s and the protection o f its residents-and to condem n the pernicious idea som e seem to favor that it ’ s a fair trade i f we people o f color give up som e o f our civil liberties in order to produce the sharp declines in crim e A m erican society is enjoying. Instead, we urged President Clinton to b ec o m e d ire c tly in v o lv e d in resolving these issues and defusing this crisis. In his M arch 13 w eekly radio address the President responded to the w ords o f our partners and the voices rising from all parts o f the nation, and to an open letter the National Urban League had sent him proposing specific action. The President prom ised, am ong o th e r th in g s , th a t th e J u s tic e D e p a rtm e n t w ill v ig o r o u s ly in v e s tig a te an d p r o s e c u te law e n fo rc e m e n t o f f ic ia ls w h o a re suspected o f excessive use o f force or outright brutality. He said that Attorney General Janet Reno w ill hold hearings around the country to examine how proven crime- reduction m ethods w hich do not com prom ise civil liberties can be successfully im plem ented in other communities. A nd he added that the federal governm ent will help fund efforts to m ake police forces m ore racially and ethnically diverse and better trained and educated. T h ese in itiativ es rep rese n t an e n c o u r a g in g s ta r t . S o m e a re co n tain ed in the A d m in istra tio n ’s $ 1 3 -b illio n 21“ C en tu ry P olicing In itiativ e he said he w ill so o n send to C ongress. We are encouraged by them , and by Mr. C linton’s stated determination to “ stren g th en the b o n d o f trust b etw een p o lice o ffic ers an d the com m unities they se rv e ... to build bonds o f understanding and trust betw een police and citizens.” However, forall the good dedicated police officers, often w orking with dedicated com m unity activists, have done to reduce crim e, m uch w ork on “ building trust” remains to be done at the state and local levels. That was dramatically underscored by the response o f Jim Pasco, the executive director o f the National F ra te rn a l O rd e r o f P o lice , to a N ew sday reporter’s inquiry about the controversy. “ I ’m n o t sure w e h av e to do a n y th in g w ith r e s p e c t to o u r relatio n s w ith m em bers o f these co m m u n ities," Mr. P asco is quoted as saying, “b u t it’s clea r w e have a p ro b le m w ith le a d e rs o f th e ir o rg a n iz a tio n s. A few an e cd o tes isn ’t a tren d it ’s an illu sio n .” T hat’s the kind o f com m ent many southern law officials m ade in the 1960s w hen c iv il rig h ts dem onstrations started up in their com m unities- to their later regret. The stories o f abusive encounters w ith police w hich have poured forth from ordinary citizens in recent weeks are not “ illusions," as m ore whites them selves are seeing and saying. Richard Cohen, a W ashington Post colum nist, wrote recently that “ When b la c k s or H is p a n ic s are disproportionately stopped, it defies logic to claim that it’s for any reason other than race or ethnicity. Cops who deny it are profiling in more ways than one. They think w e’re all dum b.” T he issue o f police m isconduct is not going to go aw ay, and its political ram ifications, in New Jersey, New Y ork C ity, Pittsburgh, Riverside, C alifornia and elsew here intensify w ith each passing day. “ Y ou grow up as a black person in the U nited States, y o u ’re used to unequal ju stice" Dr. Elsie Scott, a top official o f the N ational O rganization fo r B la c k L a w E n fo rc e m e n t Executives (NOBLE), told a New York tim es reporter recently. Dr. Scott, a form er N ew Y ork City deputy police com m issioner, knows th e re a lity o f p o lic in g an d the sentim ents o f A m erica’s citizens as w ell as anyone. H er point in saying that was the sam e as ours in writing our letter to the President: It was to w arn that A m erica must m ake that truism obsolete. A New Verse Of An Old Song: Blaming The Victim W HOLE O R IN PART W ITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland O bserver-O regon’s O ldest M ulticultural P ublication-is a m em ber o f the N ational N ew spaper A ssociation-F o u n d ed in 1885, and The N ational A dvertising R epresentative A m algam ated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The W est Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving B y B ernice P owell J ackson I f I ever heard a story w here the victim is blam ed, this is it. It ju st m akes you w ant to cry or curse or shake your head. It’s the story o f T abitha W alrond o f N ew Y ork City. Portland and Vancouver. S u b s c r ib e to T abitha was a poor, not w ell-edu cated, 19 year-old single, new m other 'U fo r tla n h ( © b s e r u e r w hose son was b o m in June, 1997. The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $60.00 Seven w eeks later little T yler Isaac per year. Please fill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to: W alrond died in his m other’s arms o f ubscriptions m alnutrition. T abitha, know ing that breast milk was better for her newborn The Portland Observer • PO Box 3137 • Portland,OR 97208 than infant formula, had chosen to breast feed little Tyler, nursing him Name: faithfully but not realizing that her breast m ilk supply was inadequate A d d re ss:. until it w as too late. T y ler’s death could have been pre City, State: vented had he received routine pedi atric check-ups, but although Tyler Zip-Code: _ was entitled to be covered by M edic aid, T abitha’s efforts to have him en T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver rolled w ere delayed or turned down. It was months after his death that T yler’s M edicaid cards and HM O m em ber ship arrived in the mail. Tyler’s death is a tragedy for his mother, who even now is haunted by her son’s memory. But, now Tabitha is going on trial, charged with recklessly causing Tyler’s death by failing to nourish him and his v o ice w as v ib ran t and “H e is strong and vibrant” adequately and by failing to get him strong,” Jackson said. “He shared A s N ation o f Islam officials held medical attention. If convicted, she could w ith m e that he had a virus attack a new s conference here to dispel receive 15 years in prison. m edia reports the N ation o f Islan and that his doctor could not very U rged on by T yler’s father, the leader M inister Louis Farrakhan w a w ell explain w hat it was; but that it Bronx District A ttorney has pros “ gravely ill,” the R everend Jesse L is not related to his recovering ecuted Tabitha, the second such case tate condition. Jackson, presid ent o f the Rainbow / in N ew Y ork in the past year. Last “He indicated that he had indeed PUSH Coalition, talked with the Mus spring another young, poor m other lost 20 pounds rather quickly and lim leader via telephone from W ash w ho had been breast-feeding her that it had indeed caused people ington, .D.C. daughter was accused o f hom icide in throughout the w orld som e con Ja c k so n , w ho is p re p a rin g fo r a the d eathofhersix w eek oldchild. She cern. But I am glad to say that thanks S o u th e rn C ru sad e th ro u g h o u t the hand taken her daughter to an outpa to G od he is now on the m end again. sta te o f M ississip p i, re le a se d the tient clinic, but had been turned away H e sounded very good and very fo llo w in g s ta te m e n t r e g a rd in g for lack o f M edicaid coverage or the strong. W e had prayer and w e will th e ir co n v e rsatio n : $25 fee. Her charges were later dropped talk again soon.” “ I tai ked with M inis ter F arrakhan when the District Attorney heard from lactation experts. Such experts point out that young, inexperienced m others, who see their babies every day, typically fail to rec ognize the weight loss o f their child until it is pointed out by a doctor. For this reason, the American Academy o f Pediatrics recommends that breast feeding newborns be checked after they have been hom e for 48 hours and typically newborns are scheduled for a check-up by a doctor at 2 weeks o f age Many assume that nursing comes naturally to mothers, but problems do sometimes occur. In recent years there have been several other cases across the nation where breast- feeding in fonts ha ve died or fallen ill from malnutrition. One child, the son o f a nurse and a minister, died in Colorado in 1995. A Cincinnati. OH baby had a leg amputated and a Norfolk, VA child suffered permanent brain damage. In none o f these cases did a t« M LM Anflelee Timas 9 ynrt ca »S the parents face criminal charges In none fTtye o f these cases were the parents poor. T he third layer o f tragedy in this case is that T abitha began her quest to get her unborn child enrolled in M edicaid w hen she was only four m onths pregnant. B ut N ew Y o rk ’s M edicaid com puter system kept re jecting the request, classifying the c h ild ’s e lig ib ility as “p en d in g .” Tabitha says that her casew orker told her that the b ab y ’s coverage w ould start after his Social Security card and birth certificate were issued. And even w hen the new m other brought her son to her ow n postpartum checkup and her d o ctor noticed that T yler seem ed underw eight, the HM O still did not treat him. Her doctors seemed to miss several other signs that she m ight h av ep ro b lem s in breast-feed- ing, including a troubled childbirth and prior breast reduction surgery. I f anyone should be prosecuted for the death o fT y ler Isaac W alrond, it is the health care system which denied a new born the health care to w hich he was legally and m orally entitled. To prosecute his m other is ju st plain wrong. It is truly a case o f the state b la m in ^ th e victim instead o f itself. S Jackson Speaks to Farrakhan Ok.yoM meAhTHAT Cl.htoh.X -thought I he is W»W. t Just think: Your son is b rig h t, h e a lth y a n d h e a d e d fo r college one day You love the direction your career has taken. You're doing a lot of the things you planned and even a few you didn't. Living life to the fullest is easy when you have family behind you. American Family Insurance. Call and talk to one o f our helpful friendly agents. You'll find out w h y we're consistently rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, the ’ insurance rating authority Then, go on. Dream. Plan. W hat you do next is up to you and we'll be here to help you. have family behind you. All Your Protection Under One Roof. Al ■ r ESBK . 4vm «MV »mmrir MSKtSS uturu HfUTM m IH ' lira trot II American Family Mutual Insurance Company and Subsidiaries. Madison. Wisconsin 53783-0001 wwwamtam.com A N