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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1999)
Page A 4 <El?e ^lortlanò ©baeruer September 22, 1999 I h H T I C 1 Ï S D O NOT N EC ESSAR ILY REFLECT OB R EPR ESEN T THE VIEW S OF m iT O R I A I Responsible Fatherhood ®1|C •jfartlanit (©bseruer Ensuring African American Fathers Count Bi C o n g r essw o m en J il ia C Established 1 9 7 0 STAFF C harles W ashington The horror o f unexplained acts o f public violence is back. Isn ’t it about time we started looking for the cause instead o f treating the symptoms? I am an international authority on energy conservation. I’ve pub lished a couple o f textbooks on the subject with M cG raw -H ill, doz ens o f articles, and several com puter program s. A key part o f the equation o f conserving energy, in building A C /heating system s, is being able to do so w hile m ain d it o r L arrv J. Jackson, Sr. C E opy d it o r Jov Ramos B M u s in e s s anager G ary Ann Taylor A A d m in is t r a t iv e s s is t a n t ir e c t o r of A d v e r t is in g B i R ic h ard M . C ooper Tony W ashington G r a p h ic D e s ig n e r H eath er Fairchild D is t r ib u t io n M anager M ark W ashington C W o n t r ib u t in g every available resource to inspire men to be committed, loving, and responsible fathers. The responsible Fatherhood Act o f 1999 does the following: Raising awareness about the im portance o f responsible fatherhood by authorizing a public aw areness cam paign, designed by states and com m unities, to help change atti tudes, particularly am ong young m en, about responsibilities that go w ith fathering a child; are more likely to fail or drop out o f school, engage in early sexual ac tivity, develop drug and alcohol problems, and experience perpe trate violence. We have known for a long time that a child’s success is greatly influenced by his upbring ing relationship. Our children need everyone o f us to com m it to re building the institution o f father hood. Black children deserve a good and constructive relationship with their fathers. W e m ust use taining proper air quality. If you d o n ’t do it right, you save lots o f energy, but ruin the air we breathe. I also served on a psychologists lic e n sin g b o ard in T exas, a p pointed by G overnor Bush. I pre sented a technical paper to the Board mem bers (also published in Engineered System s m agazine, o f which I am on the Board o f A dvi sors) discussing the psychological side affects o f bad indoor air qual ity. The causes are simple enough: oxygen deprivation and carbon quires the complete volume o f air to be changed out with 100% fresh air every fifteen minutes. Many build ing operators close off the outside air vents to save energy, thus con stantly recirculating the existing air and never introducing any fresh air to the space. It’s a thirty second task, to close the outside air vent; and it can reduce the utility bills by 250% or more, depending on the season or location. T hat’s a LOT o f money, especially for schools struggling to educate more students, and to pro dioxide poisoning. T heir sym p toms can be drastic, how ever: confusion, poor concentration, all the way to psychosis. No one thought m uch o f my paper at the tim e, w hich was a few years ago. A fter a spate o f random violence in schools in the past year, and now the Texas church m assa cre, perhaps it’s tim e to look into the m atter m ore closely. A few facts and figures on the issue may bring my point home. A typical school classroom re Family Reunions T alu n ak a W ashington D can children. 70 percent o f black children are born to single m oth ers, and at least 80 percent o f all black children can now expect to spend a significant part o f their childhood years living apart from their fathers. “ For too long, legis lators, and policym akers have ig nored the father/child relationship. The future o f African American children depends on society’s abil ity to reconnect fathers with their children. According to recent re search, children with absent fathers Creating a block grant program expanding responsible fatherhood prom otion program s at the state and local government, civic, chari table, non-profit, and faith-based organizations; and Changing existing federal law to encourage a stronger connection be tween fathers and their children through increased child support to families and more available train ing through the Welfare-to-Work program for low-income fathers. Random Acts of Violence Explained? u b l is h e r E arson Nearly 25 million children, more than one out o f three, live absent their biological father, and 17 m il lion kids live without a father o f any kind. About 40 percent o f the children living in fatherless house holds have not seen their fathers in at least a year, and 50 percent o f children who do not live with their father have never stepped foot in their father’s home. The situation is even worse for A frican Ameri USPS 959-680 P Æ h rÿ n rtla n ô (Bheerucr r it e r R ichard Luccetti 4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 97211 503-288-0033 Fax 503-288-0015 e-mail pdxobserv9aol.com P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year “It’s so nice to see, all the folks you love together. Simply talkin’ ’ bout, all the things that ’ s been going down. It’s been a long, long time, since w e’ve had the chance to get together. Nobody knows, the next time we see each other, may be years and years from now.’’ (The O ’Jays, 1975, Family Reunion). It seems like the older I get, the more fttnerals that I attend. I am often introduced to new extended family members at wakes or I bump into relatives from my childhood at sparely occurring occasions ending with sentiments like. "Our family really needs to plan a family reunion." The statement are certainly sincere when they cone lude with, “Yeah, I ’ 11 give you a c all... stay in touch, let’s make it happen.” These family get- togethers just never seem to happen. W e’ve all become too busy. Much to my surprise, Sunday, Aug. 21 marked my in-laws’ first planned family reunion. The idea was spawned by two cousins at a wedding reception and several weeks later came to fruition. What a bless ing indeed! But believe me, there were many issues to be addressed, some o f which reminded me o f my own family and likely yours too. What follows are some brief thoughts on the planning of this important event. First, and foremost one needs a historical perspective regarding the realities for many families in America and in the Diaspora. Our family struc ture was often ravaged by systemic oppression which altered many of our kinship patterns. The mere fact that Black families exist and thrive today is a testament to their strength, tenacity, and survival skills. Daniel P. Moynihan erroneously disavows this idea in his so-called report on dysfunctional Negro families during the 1960’s. Families coming together for a spiritual Karamu (fast) makes prac tical sense. Nations are built on strong families. For a successful first event, learn to plan on a small inexpensive scale. Remember the goal is to have an enjoyable gathering. Over time, your event can develop. Secondly, old arguments, power struggles, and some dislike among kinfolk will likely occur during the planning phase. These difficulties often run deep, wide and long. Prayer, time and deaths may improve things. Draft your overall plan with the “doers” o f the family and assign mutually agreed upon tacks with time lines. Pay homage when possible to the wishes o f the elders o f the family. Select a location/site that increases the likelihood o f attendance. Cook- outs held in free public parks may be favored over rented banquet halls. Families can simply B.T.O.F. (Bring Their Own Food) or work out other inexpensive arrangements. Certain colors schemes worn for that day by all family members add warm touches and makes for great photographs. Hold off on the print ing of costly family T-shirts with logos unless you can get a great price. Not all family members will buy them, even if they previously had said that they would. My in-laws wore black and white casual. Outdoor attire. Space will not permit addressing all o f the details, but there are many good books and websites on the sub ject that can help. One point must be m ade.. .my strong recommendation is not to serve alcohol on that day. We all have that “loved/hated” rela tive that can’t handle the brew. Trust me, you know the rest o f that story. ^Jortlanh (©bserrier FOR ALL SUBMITTED MATERIALS: ARTICLES: S u b s c r ib e ! F ill o u t , C l ip o u t & s e n d t o : Friday by 5 p . m . T he P or tlan d O bserver A t t n : S u b s c r ip t io n s • PO B o x 3 1 3 7 ADS: • P o r tla n o , O R 9 7 2 0 8 S u b s c r ip t io n s a r e $ 6 0 . 0 0 a Y ear is b rig h t, hea 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 M onday by noon A ddress : and w ill be returned i f accompanied by a self addressed envelope A ll created have family behind y o u American Family Mutual Insurance Call and talk to one o f our helpful, friendly agents, jfou’ll find out w hy we're consistently rated A+ (Superior) by A M. N am e : freelance submissions Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled braced. It was truly powerful. At the end o f the day when I heard statem ents like, “ le t’s get together" they sounded rem ark ably different from the past. This time, family members had hugged, cried, laughed, danced, and com m uned with one another all day long. There was ju st so much love present. This event was so joyful! Stay strong, fam ilies. Just think: Your son D E A D L IN E S The Portland Observer welcomes W hen possible, have “out-of- tow n” family members stay with local relatives. However, inexpen sive hotels should also be booked well in advance. The culminating event for my in law s’ family reunion was an i m promptu hand holding ceremony of about 75 people in a circle. The eldest family member spoke, blessed all o f the attendees and then everyone em vide higher teacher salaries - all on limited, sometimes even on reduc ing, budgets. B usinesses are no different. They have increasing profit pres sures, and save just as much money by reducing or elim inating fresh air intake to air conditioning sys tem s. Either way, the result is the same: poor air quality translates into psychological symptoms; the w orse the quality and the more prolonged the exposure, the worse the hum an consequences. C ity / S t a t e / Z ip : / Best the insurance rating authority Then, go o n Dream Plan What you do next is up to you and w e ll be here to help you design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot T e l e p h o n e #: be used in other publications or per sonal usage without the written consent o f the general manager, unless the c li ent has purchased the composition o f such ad © 1996 T H E P O R T L A N D OBSERVER ALL R IG H T S S E R V E D , R E P R O D U C T IO N u have family behind you. 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 . 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