A p ril 21, 1999
iflje |Jorihnih (ßbaeruer
Affirmative Action Works!
Representative Bowman
Announces Availability of
Scholarship
State Representative Jo Ann Bow-
man announced the availability o f a
scholarship for individuals entering
graduate study for the first time in the
Fall o f 1999. Four scholarships of
$2,500 each will be awarded to
women who are pursuing academic
studies in areas such as public policy,
political science, public administra­
tion, or related field.
Sprint C orporation, in co o rd i­
nation with the W om en’s Netw ork
o f the N ational Conference o f
State Legislatures, o f which Rep­
resentative Bowman is a member,
w ill provide the funds for the
scholarships.
The scholarships will be based
on a variety o f factors, including
scholastic achievem ents, w ritten
statem ents by the applicant, com ­
m unity and school involvem ent
and letters o f recom m endation.
A pplications are due by June 23rd
1999. To receive an application
in the m ail, contact Sprint Corp,
at 1-800-796-3464.
“The Sprint and NCSL Women ’ s
Network graduate scholarship pre­
sents an outstanding financial leg
up for someone beginning the long
haul o f graduate study. The $2,500
scholarships will help make a ca­
reer in public service a reality for
four deserving students,” said Rep­
resentative Bowman.
Bv B ernice P owell J ackson
Finally, an official government
body has gotten it. It is not an honor
to native Americans to name a foot­
ball team “the Redskins.” It is not an
honor to native Americans to use a
grinning, buck-toothed, bug-eyed
bright red-faced Chief Wahoo as a
mascot for the Cleveland Indians. It
is not an honor to native Americans
for Atlanta Braves fans to do the
tomahawk chop. It is not an honor-
it is stereotyping, it is trivializing
their religious rituals, it is modem-
day racism excused by misguided
fan loyalty and the greed o f profes­
sional baseball and football which
earn money from these racist images.
And finally, the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office got it.
In a recent ruling, a three-judge
panel ruled that the W ashington
Redskins football team has no right
to trademark their name because it is
disparaging to native Americans.
That ruling, which will be appealed,
cancels seven Redskin trademarks
under a 1946 law which bars regis­
tered trademarks that are disparag­
ing, scandalous or contemptuous. If
the ruling were to hold it would mean
that the Redskins football team would
no longer have exclusive rights to
use the name, including on the sports
paraphernalia which every year earns
millions of dollars for team owners.
In what must win the prize for the
most disingenuous remark o f the de­
cade, a Redskins spokesperson had
said previously o f the suit which pre­
cipitated the ruling, “the Redskins
believe its name honors native Ameri­
cans and has for the past 67 years."
How could anyone believe that the
name Redskins honors someone?
Would it have been considered an
honor to name it the Blackskins since
most o f the team has been African
American in the past decade or so? 1
don’t think so.
Or perhaps the prize should go to
another Redskins spokesperson, an
attorney who argued that the term is
not a slur and compared it to the use
o f the word “colored” in the name of
the National Association for the Ad­
vancement ofColored People. It was
a whole generation ago that we
stopped using “colored” for just that
reason and since that time most o f us
call ourselves “black" or “African
American.” And the NAACP, which
is a black organization, chose for
itself to use an archaic name since it
was so well-known. One would hope
that an attorney in Washington, D C.,
where African Americans make up
the majority o f the population, might
know those little important facts.
This same Redskins attorney is
quoted in the Washington Post as
saying that, “No one, when they hear
the word 'W ashington Redskins’
thinks it is in any way disparaging.”
Obviously he has never talked with
m any native Americans. Native
Americans like Charlene Teeters,
who began the "People, not mas-
cots" campaign against racist stereo­
types and team names when she was
a student at the University o f Illinois.
N ative A m ericans like V ernon
Bellecourt, Russell Mens, Juanita
Helphrey and Juan Reyna who have
led protests in Cleveland since 1992
and last year led to three o f them
being arrested. Native Americans like
Suzan Shown Hartjo, a D C. resi­
dent, who filed the suit against the
Redskins.
In fact, more and more Americans
are realizing that what was acceptable
in the 1930’s and 40’s, when the
Redskins name and the Indians name
and logo were chosen is not accept­
able now. In the past decade or so
more than 600 high school and col­
lege teams have changed their Indian-
themed names and logos and thou­
sands of others are under pressure to
do so. Indeed, similar suits to the
Redskins trademark one are being
planned for Atlanta and Cleveland.
As we enter a new millennium
wouldn’t it be wonderful and inspired
leadership on the part o f professional
sports teams to put an end the use of
Indian and logos. It would be one
important way for the sports industry
to show that they do get it - they get
the vision o f a m ultiracial and
multicultural society which does not
profit by the demeaning or stereo­
typing o f a whole group of people. It
would make them pro-active instead
o f reactionary. It would be a way to
really honor native Americans.
Providence Child Center Seeking
Donations i— -=sz----------------= =
The Montessori School at Provi­
dence Child Center will hold its
huge annual “Great Down Under”
Rummage Sale Friday and Satur­
day, June 4th and 5*. The annual
fund raiser happens in the parking
garage under the Providence Child
Center Building at 830 NE 47*
Avenue in Portland. C urrently,
thousand o f items are sought in an
effort to fill the one-acre garage
with desirable goods.
Items o f all kinds im aginable
are needed - from ch ild ren ’s toys,
bikes, clothes, furniture and baby
accessories to electronic equip­
ment in w orking order, kitchen
items, linens, jew elry, collectibles,
lamps and furnishings, sporting
equipm ent, garden accessories,
tools and hardw are. Everything
The challenge o f Oregon, and the
rest o f this nation, is how do we
embrace and include and allow indi­
viduals to live to their lull potential
recognizing the brilliance o f our di­
versity That’s what these battles
You get better ways to improve the
use o f the light.
“Mend it.. Don’t end it.”
These battles are the same. It’s
about trying to maintain power over
structures; it’s about maintaining
p re fe re n c e s fo r -----
those who have al­
ways enjoyed pref­
erences for those
who have always
e n jo y e d p r e f e r ­
ences. This state
. .
and th is n a tio n
have shown a pre f-
erence for major­
ity over minority.
Ithasshow napref-
I
grams have mciuaeo wnne men ana
women, people with disabilities, and
poor and working class people.
Attacks against affirm ative ac­
tion are part o f a systematic at­
tempt to roll back progress in end­
ing discrimination and to curtail a
broad social commitment to justice
and equality. A ttacking affirm a­
tive action is self-destructive.
Some say affirmative action is
purely an issue o f race. It’s not just
about race; it’s about all America.
It’s about women. It’s about girls
having access to mentoring pro­
grams. It’s about job training for
d is p la c e d
h o m e m a k e rs,
and
w om en
who want to go
back or into the
work force.
W om en
come in every
color
and
ethnicity. Not
everyone knows
a minority, but
everyone knows
a woman. That
m eans every
household in
A m erica has
benefited as a
result of affirma­
tive action.
We need to
be able to rec­
ognize
that
s o m e tim e s
good, fair pro­
grams are not
a p p lied
or
im p le m e n te d
well, but you
d o n ’t throw
5736 NE
them out. You
have a red light
and som eone
runs it. Do you
get rid o f the red
light? No, you
enforce the law.
erence for male
over female. It has
shown a preference
for English over bi­
lingual, or even in­
’
dividuals with an
accent. It’s always
had a preference
physically
abled over physi-
cally disabled.
Martin
King Jr. said the ul-
J
,
timate measures of
a people is not where
we stand in a mo­
ment ofcomfort and
convenience, but where we stand in a
time o f challenge and controversy.
Rep. Avel Gordly
and struggles are over.
Affirmative action works!
M cM enam ins K ennedy School
AUTO HOME BUSINESS HEALTH U FE
RHONDA SMITH
5700 N.E. MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD
PORTLAND, OREGON 97211
PHONE: OFF. 503-281-5030
FAX 503-282-6001
RES. 503-259-9907
Mill Plain
Extension
Final Phase
Gets
Underway
www.m cm enam ins.com
SAFEWAY
FOOD & DRUG
Look For Your
Safeway Weekly
Shopping Guide
In Your O regonian FO O D day
in the Portland M etro Area
.. .and save m ore by shopping
at Safeway
Construction on the urban segment o f the
five-lane Mill Plain Extension began Monday,
April 19. The Mill Plain Extension runs from
Columbia Street west over the Burlington North-
em -Santa Fe railroad yard to Fourth Plain Bou­
levard. Construction will require 15* Street to
be closed from Daniel to Lincoln and Esther.
Grant, Harney, and Markle streets will be closed
at 15* Street. Daniels will be closed at 15*
Street in about 30 days.
Residents are asked to look for changes in
the traffic pattern in the construction area and
follow the detour signs. Construction o f this
segment will take about nine months. W ork will
continue on the bridge segment o f the project
until sum m er o f 2000.
Mill Plain extension is a $34 million capital
improvement to the city’s transportation system.
For more information, call Karen Ciocia at
735-8875.
33rd • Portland, Oregon • (503) 249-3983
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