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March 24, 1999
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Strengthening Bonds of Trust
Attention Readers!
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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
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Charles W ashington
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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
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