A p r il 14, 1999 Page A 3 ^Jortlanh (Observer Some Innocent People B y H ig h B. P rice P resident N ational U rban L eague To understand why the February shooting death o f A m adou Dtallo, an unarm ed W est A frican imm igrant, by four w hite New Y ork C ity police officers has generated an intense outcry across the country against police m isconduct, one need only have read two stories in the New York City newspapers. O ne w as that recently a w hite po lice officer had pulled over the chauf feur-driven city car carrying Rudy W ashington, the city ’s only black deputy mayor. A pparently, the of ficer was unaw are that W ashington was a top city official. When Washington asked why they had been stopped, the officer reportedly said, “Shut up. I don’t need a reason to stop you. 1 am a police officer.” W hen W ashington persisted, the officer responded, "I ask the ques tions. N ot you.” Later, when a higher-ranking po lice official happened by, recognized Washington, and told the officer who W ashington was, the officer replied that he had acted because Washington ’ s car “looked very suspicious.” The other story appeared in the April 4 Ul N ew Y ork Tim es. It re ported that m any w hites in upstate N ew Y ork express little concern that the N ew Y ork City police may be violating the civil liberties o f thou sands o f African A m ericans and H is panic Americans. “ Ify o u ’ve got police doing all this undercover stu ff to clean up the streets,” said one man, the ow ner o f a bakery, at a political rally in Troy, N.Y. for N ew Y ork C ity M ayor Rudolph W. G iuliani, “ som e inno cent people m ight get hurt by it. But over all, it’s going to do som e good.” Some innocent people might get hurt. Who, 1 wondered, are the "inno cent people' ’ that man was thinking of? Actually, ofcourse, I don’t wonder. I know whose rights he would surrender. This m an’s nam e isn ’t important. Its his attitude that’s dangerous. For that same willingness to con sider people who happen to be "col ored" guilty until proven innocent is at the heart o f the "racial profiling” which not only makes them targets for arbi trary stops by police on city streets and interstate highways, but has also con tributed to the deaths o f several civil ians under controversial circumstances. T h is is w h at the v o lu m in o u s te stim o n y o f b la c k s a n d H isp a n ics in N ew Y ork an d e lse w h e re has show n. This is why the dem onstrations in N ew Y ork C ity o v e r the police departm ent’s stop-and-frisk policy and last w eekend’s m arch against police m isconduct in W ashington have been necessary. A nd that is why the congress should approve the Traffic Stops Sta- tis tic s bill R e p re se n ta tiv e Jo h n Conyers (D. -M ich.) will propose next week. That legislation w ould enable federal officials to accurately assess the extent racial profiling plays in police traffic stops. Its passage w ould send a much- needed concrete signal that such prac tices will not be tolerated. The time for such signals— and con crete action— is at hand, as the racially and ethnically diverse coalition which has formed around the police-miscon duct issue has urgently declared. W e have pointed out that these violations are as w rong-headed in term s o f effective policing as they are w rong in term s o f civil liberties. The success in reducing crim e en joy ed by cities w hich have em braced the com m unity-policing approach— w hich strives to m ake citizens allies o f the police— show that is the m ost effective w ay to cut crime. In response, Attorney General Janet Reno has accelerated the pace o f her department’s enforcement activities and reached out to civil rights and law enforcement groups in a search for solutions. The President him self an nounced several new initiatives during a recent weekend radio address. But those initiatives m ust be much bolder in order to force the fundamen tal reform s in police policy and prac tices that treat people o f color as sec ond-class citizens and lead many o f them to view all police w ith distrust. The President should convene a one-day W hite House Summit this s p rin g to u n d e r s c o re th e administration’s determination to seek constructive solutions to the festering problem ofpolice brutality and abuse. President C linton needs to act as boldly on the police issue as h e ’s done in re-nom inating Bill Lann Lee to head the Justice D epartm ent’s Civil Rights Division. In fact, it w ould be a surprise if Lee did gain "perm anent” status. The Republican-controlled Senate Judi ciary C om m ittee has tw ice blocked Senatorial approval, and will almost certainly do so again. If it does, Lee, w h o ’s been acting A ssistant A ttor ney General for C ivil Rights since last year, can continue to occupy that post— w here he has served adm ira bly— on an “acting” basis for the rest o f C linton’s term. N onetheless, by push in g the Lee nom ination again, the P resident has substantively and sy m b o lically d e clared his in ten tio n to co n tin u e to press for racial and so cial ju stice. It’s that com bination w e need on the police-m isconduct issue in order to refute the glib and dangerous idea that it’s okay for the police to run roughshod over the rights o f “some innocent people.” P resident Clinton A ttends The Ron Brown P o rtra it Unveiling President C linton jo in ed C o m merce Secretary W illiam Daley, Mrs. Alma Brown and M ichael andTracey Brown, in the unveiling o f Form er Secretary o f C om m erce Ronald H B ro w n ’s p ortrait, in the H erbert H oover Building A uditorium at the D epartm ent o f Com m erce. New York artist Steven Polson cre ated the official portrait o f Ron Brown. The image is another histone addition to the department’s portrait and photo graph collection honoring its former Secretaries. The collection is on display in the hallway outside the office o f the Secretary. The portrait will be on dis- play for two months in the lobby o f the Departn lent ofCommerce and w i 11 then be hung in the Secretary’s corridor. Secretary Brown was the 30,h Sec retary o f Com m erce and the first African A m erican to serve in the post. He died on April 3, 1996 on a trade m ission to Croatia and Bosnia. In addition to Mrs. Brown, and Michael and Tracey Brown, members o f the Ron Brown family in attendance will include: Tami Brown, Michael’s wife; Morgan and Ryan Brown, Michael and T am i’s young sons; Dorothy Arrington, mother o f Alma Brown; and Gloria Carter, mother o f Ron Brown. “HB 3197” J efferson H igh S chool I mage C hangers P resents “Keep It Real” Thursday, April 22nd, 1999 7:00 p . m . Jefferson High School Auditorium 5210 N. Kerby $2.00 Donation “Keep It Real" is a dramatic musical play Written by Renee' Watson. For more information, please contact: Robert Thomas (503) 283-5749 A L C O H Photo Sharon Farmer White House Photo Office From left to right: Commerce Secretary William Daley, Alma Brown, widow of Ron Brown. President William J. Clinton. Michael Brown, son of Ron Brown, Morgan and Ryan Brown, twin sons of Michael Brown and Tami Brown (not pictured) Tracey Brown, daughter of Ron Brown. experience a quality o f life far below the norm , as evidence by rates o f infant m ortality, unem ploym ent and in carceratio n sig n ifican tly above state and national averages; and by life -e x p ec tan c y and high school graduation rates below state and na tional average. HB 3197 will further exacerbate those inequalities. Shortly after becom ing governor I signed Executive Order 96-38, b e cause I was convinced that achieving gender and ethnic equity was unfin ished business that must be completed. T h erefo re, today I reaffirm this adm inistration’s, and I believe this state’s, com mitm ent to the principle o f race, ethnic and gender equity .. G overnor John Kitzhaber made the following remarks regarding HB 3197 at press conference. I’m here today to express my strong opposition to HB 3197. This bill is framed as a measure to prevent discrimination in employment, education, contracting and minority business development. Make no mistake about it - it’s real purpose is to prevent state govern ment from m oving forward to ensure that all Oregonians have equal access to meaningful jobs, a college educa tion, and opportunities to contract or provide other business services. A lthough racial and ethnic m i norities have m ade som e progress over the last decade, they continue to O L A W A R E N E S and I will continue to im plem ent non discrimination and affirmative action policies where applicable. I firm ly believe that the principle o f equal opportunity, em bodied by affirmative action, is essential to guar antee all Oregonians equality in edu cation, em ploym ent, contracting and opportunity to provide business ser vices. The increasing diversity o f O reg o n 's population dem ands that we renew and extend these efforts. By doing so, we will m aintain our economic viability and provide a high quality o f life for all our citizens. Let us not forget that this diverse popula tion will carry the burden o fO reg o n ’s econom ic w ell being. M S O N A Time For Better Understanding Of Drinking Problems State and local professionals in alcohol prevention and treatm ent are asking O regonians to help reduce the state’s alcohol abuse problem s, par ticularly am ong young people. U n derage drinking often contributes to crim e, auto crashes, low er grades, drow nings and suicides. State alcohol prevention and treat m ent experts say increases aw are ness can help reduce incidents such as the m elee in Seaside at the start o f spring break. G ov. Jo h n k itz h a b e r h as p ro c la im e d A p ril as A lco h o l A w a re n ess M o n th in O re g o n . “ I a s k p a re n ts to jo in m e in m a k in g it a p rio rity to ta lk to k id s a b o u t the d an g e rs o f a lc o h o l,” say s B a r b a ra C im a g lio , d ire c to r o f the s ta te O ffic e o f A lc o h o l a b u se am o n g young peo p le, and w e m ust a lso k ee p re a c h in g o ut to a d u lts w ith a lco h o l p ro b le m s so th e y g et th e h elp th ey n e e d .” K itzh ab er and C im aglio have m ade reducing underage d rinking a priority. A special governor- ap p o in ted task group is p rep arin g recom m endations to reduce u n d er age drinking, such as im proved en forcem ent o f ex istin g law s on alco hol use and increasing the p rice o f alcoholic beverages. Kitzhaber is urging parents, teach ers, religious leaders and others who deal with young people to redouble their efforts to help get m essages to young people about the dangers and consequences o f alcohol use. V arious treatm ent providers and o rg an izatio n s plan special in fo r m ation and activities, such as alco hol screenings on A pril 8. F o llo w ing are several places w ith a c tiv i ties and inform ation: Bndgew ay, 3325 H arold St. NE. Salem, will do confidential alcohol screenings on April 8. W alk-ins are w elcom e from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and phone calls will be handled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 1-800-822-6722. The Oregon Prevention Coalition to Reduce U nderage D rinking, P ort land, has inform ation for youths and parents. Call (503) 279-9209. O regon Partnership, Portland, for inform ation and treatm ent referral. Call 1-800-923-HELP. N ational council on Alcoholism and Drug D ependence, inc., New York, has a variety o f information. Call (212) 206-6770. A lcohol is the m ost-abused drug am ong young people in O regon and the rest o f the nation. A lcohol use is tw ice as p o p u lar as m arijuana am ong co lleg e stu d en ts, and sev eral tim es m ore p o p u la r than co caine. F ollow ing are statistics se lected from several so u rces show ing how serious the alco h o l p ro b lem is am ong youths. A ccording to the 1998 Oregon Survey o f Student D rug Use, 43 per cent o f 1 l ,h graders drank alcohol in the previous 30 days. A m ong 8th graders, the numbers w as 26 percent. In 1996. more than 2,300, or about 40 percent, o f the m otor vehicle crash deaths for youths betw een 15 and 20 were alcohol-related. N early one-third o f the nation’s high school seniors has had five or more drinks o f alcohol in a row within the past tw o weeks. D rinking alcohol at an early age. especially before age 15, is a strong indicator o f future alcohol abuse problem s an d or addiction. The average age w hen 12-to 17- years-olds say they first try alcohol is 12.8. A 1996 survey o f college stu dents found that 33 percent o f all 19-and 20 -y ear-o ld s consum e at least four alcoholic beverages on an “average" night, and 20 percent have six or m ore drinks. A 1991 study found that "A " col lege student averaged 3.6 drinks per week, w hile “ D” o r “F” students av eraged 10.6 drinks per week. M ore than 60 percent o f male college athletic team m em bers and more than 40 percent o f female team m em bers report bridge drinking (the consum ption o f five or more drinks in a sitting) in the prior tw o weeks. O f young m ales w ho drowned. 40-50 percent had consum ed alcohol prior to drowning. In a study o f suicide by youths, drug and alcohol abuse was the most com m on characteristic o f those who attem pted suicide. Helping O ur Economy hen Oregon's economy valuable resources: our schools, was lagging in 1985, the our economy, and our environ W people o f Oregon voted to ment. Lottery dollars are start a state lottery, and use working everywhere to keep the profits for economic devel Oregon feeling like... Oregon. opment and job creation. As Oregon's needs shifted, the f e people voted to allow Lottery dollars to help fund schools. Last year, as attention focused OREGON LOTTERY on parks and salmon, Oregonians voted to use a portion o f Lottery funds for this cause. n the past 14 years, over I $2 billion has been returned to Oregon to support these T H www.oregonlottery.org