August 25, 1999
IJortlanò ©bseruer
Page A3
E
i T O R V A 1—
EDITORIAL A RTICLES DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT OR REPRESENT THE VIEW S OF
|
Thoughts For
People, Not Statistics, Can Deliver A Fair And Accurate Census
M ost o f the people in those neighbor
Bv J. K enneth B ia c k w e ll NN PA
^ o rtla n h
Observer
N ext year, the federal governm ent
prom ises to fix the census "D o n ’t w orry,’ ’
Bv H erbert H arris
S elf I mage IN N P A )
H o w y o u s e e y o u r s e l f in y o u r
USPS 9 5 9 6 8 0
u b l is h e r
Charles Washington
E
d it o r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B
u s in e s s
M
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
A
A
d m in is t r a t iv e
s s is t a n t
Talunaka W ashington
D
ir e c t o r
of
A
d v e r t is in g
Tony Washington
opy
E
color. E xcuse m y skepticism , but I grew
r e p re s e n t. Y o u r s e l f im a g e is im p o r
ta n t b e c a u s e it is th e s ta r tin g p o in t o f
len g es im p ro v e s.
3 . C r itic iz in g o th e r p e o p le c o n
s ta n tly . W h y d o y o u c r itic iz e o th e r
y o u r lif e e x p e r ie n c e s . T h e im a g e
p e o p le c o n s ta n tly ? Is y o u r c r itic ism
ticed, w as as different as b lac k an d white.
y o u h o ld o f y o u r s e l f is lik e a g re a t
v a s e in to w h ic h a ll y o u r lif e e x p e r i
e n c e s a re p o u r e d a n d b le n d e d .I f y o u r
c o n s tr u c tiv e a n d m o tiv a te d b y tru e
c a r e , c o n c e r n a n d d e s ir e to h e lp ?
O r , is it b a s e d o n e n v y , je a l o u s y a n d
oversee the C ensus B ureau, 1 looked
s e l f im a g e is a s m a ll, lim ite d c o n
c e p t, b a s e d o n ig n o ra n c e , fe a r, d o u b t
th o u g h ts o f in f e r io r ity ? I f y o u r c r it i
governm ent prom ised to fix the census
c is m is n o t p o s itiv e , b a s e d o n lo v e ,
w ith “m o d em scientific m ethods.'"That
a n d in s e c u r ity , th e n a ll o f y o u r e x
p e r ie n c e s w ill b e f ilte r e d th ro u g h
re s p e c t, a n d a s in c e r e d e s ir e to h e lp
a n d im p r o v e a n o th e r p e r s o n , th e n it
w as in 1990. L ike today, there w a s a
political firestorm o ver w hether to use
th e s e n e g a tiv e e m o tio n s . O n th e
is n o t c o n s tr u c tiv e c r itic is m . It d o e s
“ statistical sam pling” to find the people
o th e r h a n d , i f it is b a s e d o n k n o w l
h a r m n o t o n ly to th e o th e r p e r s o n ,
the census missed. ‘ ‘Statistical sam pling’ ’
e d g e , lo v e , c o u r a g e , r e s p e c t, fa ith
b u t a ls o to y o u r o w n s e l f im a g e .
4. W aitin g fo r so m e o n e else to sol ve
is like polling - statisticians take a sm all
a n d c o n f id e n c e , y o u r life e x p e r i
ences
th ro u g h
y o u r p ro b lem s. W h e n y o u w a it for
population. T hey use the results to esti
t h e m .S e l f im a g e d e te r m in e s y o u r
c a p a c ity to g iv e , r e c e iv e a n d in te r
so m e o n e e lse to so lv e y o u r p ro b lem s,
m ate how many people are in each state,
y o u n e u tra liz e y o u r o w n p o ssib ilities
city, neighborhood, and block.People
a c t w ith th e lif e e x p e r ie n c e s a n d
fo r lea rn in g a n d g ro w in g th ro u g h the
w h o w anted to use sam pling insisted it
p o s s ib ilitie s w h ic h c o n f r o n t y o u . It
e x p erien c e . W h a t k e ep s y o u fro m ta k
w as the only w ay to fix the census in
is lik e a m a g n e t, a ttr a c tin g o r r e p e l
ing a c tio n w h e n a p ro b le m p re sen ts
places w here it has alw ays been broken:
lin g , lik e o r u n lik e q u a litie s in to
itself? Is it fear o f failure o r o f su c c ess
th at c o n tra d ic ts h o w y o u re ally feel
Places like Laurel H om es, public hous
a b o u t y o u rse lf? W h ic h e v e r it is the
T aylor H om es, the n ation’s largest p u b
w ill b e
filte re d
G
r a p h ic
D
D
is t r ib u t io n
M
anager
C
o n t r ib u t in g
W
r it e r
Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1
Indian lands throughout the W e s t and in
c h a lle n g e s, y o u s u b c o n sc io u sly a c
A sian neighborhoods throughout the
c irc u m s ta n c e s a n d situ a tio n o n so m e
o n e else, y o u a v o id tak in g re sp o n sib il
c e p t th e c o n s e q u e n c e s th a t w ill su re ly
country .N ot suiprisingly, the people w ho
re su lt fro m y o u r in a c tio n . Y o u d e
live in these areas o ften face barriers to
ity for w h a t y o u h a v e re a lly d o n e to
c e iv e y o u rse l f in to th in k in g th a t th ere
econom ic opportunity. Hie census m isses
y o u rself. I f y o u d o n o t ta k e resp o n si
borhoods than tnmosL Forexam ple, w hen
w e looked hard at the 1990 sam ple, w e
sib ility fo r p e rs o n a l g ro w th a n d d e
y o u w ill g o th ro u g h a g a in a n d again.
v e lo p m e n t. T h e n a tu re o f c h a lle n g e s
found 783 neighborhoods w here the cen
sus m issed m ore than 10 percent o f the
is th a t i f th e y c o n tin u e u n re so lv e d ,
people. In m any, the census m issed 20,
th e y o n ly g e t w o rse .
3 0 ,4 0 percent o r m ore o f the pop u latio u
e ad lin es c o m in g o u t o f the
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nearby ProgressiveC om m unity C hurch.
Latino, A sian o r .American Indian. T hese
In B row nsville, Texas. A lm a R endon,
are the places needing the m ost attention
- the neighborhoods sam pling is sup
director o f the C am eron P ark C e n tro
Cultural, is know n and trusted in the
p osed to m ake w hole H ow ever, w hen
w e ex am in ed w hat w ould have hap
pened i f sam pling had b e e n used, w e
found that these neighborhoods w ould
have rem ained heavily undercounted.
la tin o com m unity. In G ulfport, M iss., it
w as Pastor A dam s o f the L ittle R ock
M issionary B aptist C hurch.In L aurel
H om es, the hum an inform ation n e tw o rk
c o n sisted o fm y "aunties” - m o re aunties
Sam pling generally added a tew people,
than m y m other and father had sisters. A t
but nev e r enough to fix the p ro b lem . Hie
any given tim e, they m ight b e o n the
stoop or at the w in d o w , from o n e e n d o f
average u n dercount in these neighbor
hoods before sam pling w as 37 percent.
A fter sam pling, it w as 34 percen t.lt turns
o u t "m o d e m scientific m eth o d s” m ostly
the neighborhood to the other. I f y o u got
into trouble o n one end, the n e w s w a s at
the other faster than you could run. K ids
adds p eople to neighborhoods w ith good
today have the Internet. B u t in m y n e ig h
census counts - o r to those w here the
b o rh o o d ,
cen su s m ista k e n ly c o u n ts too m any
people. In the 1990 sam ple, 75 percent o f
N e t U nfortunately, W ashington experts
often m istake low incom e fo r lo w IQ. In
the peopleadded through sam plingw ould
other circum stances, w om en like m y
have been added to neighborhoods w here
aunties inC incmnati and m en like T y ro n e
m ore than 90 percent o f the p eople w ere
already counted. .Alarmingly, alm ost 20
and L evi in C hicago w ould b e doctors,
law yers, and professionals, c o m m a n d
percent o f the people add ed w ere to
neighborhuxxlsthatw ercovercountedjM l
we
had
th e
H
erage are genuinely eligible. T his m eans
1 9 9 9 O r e g o n L e g is la tu r e
checking reported incom e inform ation
pointed tooneconclusion: I a w -
even m ore carefully, requiring a docu
ent (such as a voter care o r tax return)
m akers h a d tough decisions to m m ake
proving
O regon residency and m onitor
ab o u t w hich service to support w ith lim
ited tax dollars. O n e m em orable head
ing other eligibility c riteria
line said so m e law m akers w ere looking
elem ent o f the O regon H ealth Plan that
fo rO re g o n H e a lth P la n c u tso fu p to S 100
continues is the C hildren ’ s H ealth Insur
m illion.
ance P rogram for uninsured children in
This m eant that the landm ark
A nother
health plan, n o w in its sixth year, faced
fam ilies that earn som ew hat m ore than
careful scrutiny, tough questions and a
the federal p o verty level. P eople w ho
d em an d to b e m ore efficient than ever.
believe they m ay be eligible m ay call toll-
W e ’re u s e d to the sc ru tin y : W h en
free (800) 359-9517 (o r T T Y 800 621 -
p olicym akers w ere creating the health
5260) for an application. H ow ever, it is
plan, they held 2 6 0 public hearings and
im portant to understand this: F o r w ork
m eetings, focused o n prevention and the
ing p eople w h o se earnings put them
w o rld ’s first m edical priority list, and
under the federal poverty level, health
w ere seeking the w isest w ays to use
M edical dollars. A s a result o fth e recent
coverage is available - b u t it Is not free
leg islativedebate.som eO regoniansm ay
These people p a y p rem iu m s on a sliding
Subscriptions are
be con fu sed about the status o fth e health
$60.00 per year
plan. D oes it still exist? W ere m em bers
dollar, w hat O reg o n taxpayers contrib
cut from the health p lan ? W ere services
ute.
elim inated? T h e short answ ers are yes,
w orked for years and lost her health
D E A D L IN E S
FOR ALL SUBMITTED MATERIALS:
ARTICLES:
Friday by 5 p . m .
O n e O regon w om an, w h o hail
no, a n d not yet. T hese are m ajor points
insurance in a divorce, becam e a health
resulting from ju st-com pleted legislative
plan m em b er after being hit b y a drunk
action: T h e O re g o n H ealth Plan contin
driver. “W ith o u t it,” I w ould not be alive
ues m u ch as it h as o perated since 1994.
and m y children w ould not h ave a parent
to care for th em ." T h e health o f the
L egislators c u r n o o ne from health plan
w o u ld elim inate several services, actual
overall plan is a result o f O regonians'
support for increasing access to health
cuts w ill require federal approval w hich,
care, illustrated in part b y the v oter deci
i f it com es, w ill take m o n th s o r longer.
sion to use state tobacco taxes to help pay
freelance submissions Manuscripts and
T he lim it o n the am ount o f liquid assets
th ata h o u seh o ld c an h a v ea n d stillq u a lify
decisions, the headline should b e that
photographs should be clearly labeled
for the health plan w as reduced from
O regon iscontinuing its bold experim ent
and will be returned i f accompanied by
$5,000 to $2,000. L iquid assets m ean
in delivering basic h ealth care to people
ready cash such as checking a n d saving
w h o n eed it m o s t H ersh C raw ford is
accounts, but not a house, car o r retire
state M edicaid director in the O regon
eligibility. A lthough legislative action
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design display ads become the sole
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sonal usage without the written consent
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for i t N o w law m akers have m ad e their
H ie thinking w as that
D epartm ent o f H um an R esources, that
som eone w h o has m ore than $2,000 can
afford to p a y forhealthcare. W e w illb e e f
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m ent accounts.
ent has purchased the composition o f
1996 T H E P O R T L A N D
RE
IN
W H O L E O R IN P A R T W I T H O U T
P E R M IS S IO N IS P R O H IB IT E D .
The Portland Observer-Oregon's
Oldest Multicultural Publication-ts a
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sociation-Founded in 1885. and The
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York, N Y . and The West Coast Black
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» A-..'--' ■'>*" **'*'**• ••****<
•A— *
A u n tie -
ing the sam e respect as the experts at the
these num bers add u p to this: sam pling
C ensus B ureau.S om e people w a n t you
to believe the census is only a bout p oli
alone has n o hope o f c orrecting large
tics, a fight betw een D em ocrats a n d R e
undercounts co m m o n to A frican-A m eri
publicans. B u i there is a m ore im portant
can, Latino, A m erican Indian and A sian
neighborhoods. A nyone w h o relies on
fight the battle to m ake W ashington e x
perts show a little respect forourneighbor-
statistical adjustm ent to m ake their neigh-
hood experts. M y aunties at the w indow ,
boffioodwhotewiUbed1.sapp0ir1ted.When
W ashington experts fail (that is to say,
m o st often), turn to local experts. I f you
T yrone and L evi in C hicago, R everend
A dam s
in
M is s is s ip p i,
C h ie f
Apesanahkw at in M enom inee — these
w ant to find out how m an y p eople live in
are the true experts on undercounted com
a neighborhood, ask som eone w h o lives
munities. R espect them. L isten to them .
o r w orks there.F or the last year, m y
H ire them . G ive them the funding and
colleagues o n the C ensus M onitoring
support to count people, to b uild a plat
B oard a n d I h ave d o n e ju st th a t W e
form forpeople to speak u p a n d speak out
visited the M enom inee Indian R eserva
in C hicago, L atino colonias in T exas,
and break d o w n the b arners to opportu
n ity . Politicians and statisticians can use
“m o d e m science” to m ak e th eir best
farm s throughout the M ississippi D elta,
guess from W ashington. B u t d o n 't use it
a n d o th e r neig h b o rh o o d s across the
as an excuse not to hire m y neighbors to
country. E very place w e w e n t w e found
count m y neighborhood.
local experts w ho knew the area better
than anvone from W ashington evercould.
In
W is c o n s in , it w a s
C h ie f
J. Kenneth Blackwell is Ohio's only
African-Americanstatewideelectedoffice-
holder. He was thefirst African-American
electedtostatewideexecutiveofficeinOhio
as state treasurer in 1994. Blackwell cur
rently serves as Ohio secretary o f state
tion in W isconsin, R obert T ay lo rH o m es
ApesanahkwaL InC hicago, it w asT yrone
G altney a n d L evi N aw ls, R obert T aylor
residents w h o w o ik w ith n eighborhood
up o ur m onitoring to ensure that people
scale, averaging $ 11 a m onth p e r house
hold. T his m o n ey reduces, dollar for
land and Vancouver
a larger percent o f p eople in these neigh
cen c y . Y o u e lim in a te v irtu a lly all p o s
B i H ersh C rawford
Fax 5 03 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5
A L L R IG H T S
along the M exican border, in A m erican
is n o n e e d fo r c h a n g e o r im p ro v e m e n t
a n d d e v e lo p a fa lse se n se o f c o m p la
w h o apply for O regon H ealth Plan cov
S E R V E D . R E P R O D U C T IO N
M ississippi D elta, in L atino colonias
it. T hat w h ic h y o u cannot g ro w through,
5 03 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3
C
ing in Cincinnati, and C h ica g o ’s R obert
hoo d s - about 60 percent - w ere B la c k
lads, and R everend H erbert M artin o fth e
Letter To the Editor
King, Jr. Blvd.
such ad
(less than one percent) sam ple o f the U . S .
th in g is a lrig h t, a c tiv e ly ig n o rin g y o u r
lem s. W h e n y o u are c o n fro n te d w ith a
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther
OBSERVER
hard at the results from the last tim e the
1. P u ttin g the b la m e o n so m e o n e
else. B y p u ttin g th e b la m e fo ry o u ro w n
2. R u n n in g a w a y fro m y o u r p ro b
Richard Luccetti
So. w hen 1 w as appointed to a panel to
is also hard in the vast farm land o f the
b ility fo r y o u r c o n d itio n , y o u can n o t
c h a n g e it. N o r, c a n y o u g ro w th ro u g h
Mark Washington
governm ent prom ised, and w hat it prac
in ac tio n a n d u ltim a te ly failure
5. P re te n d in g th a t e v e ry th in g is
O K . W h e n y o u p re te n d th a t e v e ry
k e y s o r sig n a ls to lo o k for:
Heather Fairchild
up in a neighborhood w here w hat the
lic housing com m unity. C ounting people
sis o f y o u r s e l f im a g e , th ere a re certain
e s ig n e r
o f sm oking to the inferiority o f people o f
re su lt is th e sam e.. .p ro crastin atio n ,
In d o in g y o u r o w n p e rso n a l a n a ly
Jov Ramos
left out o f previous counts - a dispropor
claim s about everything from the safety
y o u r lif e e x p e r ie n c e .
d it o r
face it. It is o n ly w h e n y o u face y o u r
p roblem s/challenges and co n sid er them
science" has, in the p a s t m ade false
Five Signals Of A Poor Self Image
C
em scientific m ethods” will find the people
the praises ofstatistical sam pling. "M o d
A s y o u r faith a n d c o n fid e n c e g row ,
y o u r a b ility to h a n d le g re a te r c h al
y o u a re , w h a t y o u a re , a n d w h a t y o u
P
fo u r things: F le e it, fight it, fo rg et it, o r
stro n g e r in fa ith a n d s e lf co n fid e n ce .
in y o u r o w n c o n s c io u s n e s s o f w h o
STAFF
say politicians and statisticians singing
p ro jects to b e c o m p le te d , th at y o u g ro w
o u t o f life . S e l f im a g e is y o u r o w n
c o n c e p tio n o f y o u rs e lf. It is th e m e n
ta l a n d e m o tio n a l p ic tu r e y o u h o ld
Established 1970
p ro b le m o r c h allen g e , h o w d o y o u
re sp o n d ? G e n e ra lly , y o u c a n d o o n e o f
tionate num ber o f w hom w ere m inority
children and fam ilies.W orry. "M o d e m
o w n e y e s d e te r m in e s w h a t y o u g e t
(The Fortiani» © bseruer
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