Page A4
October 20,1999
Uortlanh (Dheerwr
TO
E D IT O R IA L A R T IC L E S DO N O T N E C E S S A R IL Y R E F L E C T O R R E P R E S E N T T H E V IE W S O F
Let them hear from you!
Bv M arian W right E delman _________________
S yndicated C olumnist
■jjíortlanh
(© b s e ru e r
USPS 959 680
Established 1970
S T A F F
P
u b l is h e r
Charles Washington
E
d it o r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
C
E
opy
d it o r
Joy Ramos
B
u s in e s s
M
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
C
o n t r ib u t in g
W
r it e r
Richard Luccetti
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther
Before Congress adjourns this fall, they must make an
important decision. The juvenile justice legislation that
passed the U.S. House o f Representatives kept the so-
called DMC - disproportionate minority confinement -
provision that would continue requiring states to develop
plans to address the fact that Black and other minority
children are much more likely to be in the juvenile justice
system and face confinement than W hite children.
However, the U.S. Senate version o f the bill substantially
changes this, and unless the conference committee can
agree to the House-passed version, it is likely that states
will no longer have to pay attention to this blatant form of
discrimination against our children.
In our country today, African American youth are seven
times more likely to be held in public detention facilities
than White youth, and the incarceration rate for Hispanic
youth nationwide is 60 percent greater than for White
youth. This is especially true when it comes to secure
confinement. African American youth aged - 10 to 17
make up only 15 percent o f the U.S. population, but they
account for 26 percent o f juvenile arrests, 30 percent of
delinquency referrals to juvenile court, 45 percent o f
juveniles detained in delinquency cases, 40 percent of
juveniles in secure corrections facilities, and 46 percent o f
juveniles transferred to adult criminal court after judicial
hearings. This is shameful.
Some people might say that the large discrepancy in
minority youth incarceration is because o f young people
in different racial groups committing different kinds o f
crimes. But federal and state research data have shown
this is simply not the case. Because o f the state-by-state
study the current law called for, several months ago the
U.S. Department o f Justice was able to issue a report,
disproportionate Minority Confinement: Lessons Learned
from Five States, that proved there was different treatment
o f youth depending on whether they were White or
minority. The report highlighted some o f the promising
interventions taken in five states to address and remedy
this disparity. There was also a study done in California
that showed minority youth were more likely to be
incarcerated than White youth for the same offenses.
Because o f the current law passed in 1992, which the
Senate version o f this legislation would change, 40 o f the
50 states have implemented or are developing intervention
plans to address disproportionate minority confinement.
It is important to continue this progress. A prerequisite o f
an effective juvenile justice system, or any justice system,
is to treat every offender as an individual and provide
needed services to all. All youth who come into contact
with the juvenile justice system should receive appropriate
and non-discriminatory responses.
This is not a new issue. In 1988, the U.S. Department o f
Justice’s Office o f Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention commissioned the University o f Wisconsin
and Portland State University to review the literature and
program models in this area. The universities’ report,
Minorities and the Juvenile Justice system, concluded
there was substantial evidence that race plays a direct and
indirect role in the outcome o f many juvenile justice
decisions.
Increasingly high rates of incarceration for minority youth
can lead to a devastating impact on minority communities.
In addition to the individual and family tragedies these
statistics represent, negative effects on m inority
communities include the removal o f large numbers o f
potential wage earners, disruption o f family relationships,
and a growing sense of isolation and alienation to the large
society.
Many groups nationwide have joined the Children’s
Defense Fund in asking Congress to keep this important
law intact.
W on’t you join us and make your voice count? Call your
Senators today at 202-224-3121 and insist that the Senate
conferees on the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act (JJPA) agree to adopt the House-passed
language which would save the current law.
fflortlauh (iPhaeruer
"D eadbeat dad", the
blackbelt of oxymorons
B y J oe K i . ock , S r .______ _____________ _____________________
S yndicated C olumnist
When 1 first encountered the word /oxymoron,’’ 1 thought it referred to a dull-
witted beast ofburden, which still makes a lot more sense to me than its real
meaning, which is “the combination o f incongruous or contradictory
terms.”
My favorites, if you don’t mind the digression, are (in alphabetical order)
bagpipe music, butthead, criminal justice, death benefit, good grief, guest
host, ill health, Kosher ham, legally drunk, military intelligence, Microsoft
works, non-stop flight, open secret, peace offensive, pretty ugly, sanitary
sewer, temporary tax, united nations, wholesome, and work party.
In my estimation, though, the most oxymoronic expression o f all is the so-
called ‘deadbeat D ad,’ so often in the news these days. No two words in
the English language are less congruous or more contradictory
than those. The ‘deadbeat’ part o f the expression is a consistent with ‘Dad’
as Ross Perot is with sex appeal. A Dad worthy o f the title may fall short
ofperfection in terms o f sensitivity, thoughtfulness, patience, and household
chores and, in some cases, gastric restraint. He may (and probably does)
tend to hog the TV remote, forget birthdays, neglect small shows o f
affection, terrorize boyfriends, blow his cool, show his anger and show his
wet towels where they drop on the bathroom floor.
But a Dad never forgets that when he became a father, he took on a solemn
obligation to provide for his young for as long as he is alive and they are
in need. Mom may share this burden and, due in some instances to the
aforementioned Deadbeat Dad Syndrome, a lot o f Moms do so nowadays,
but the primary responsibility is, was and ever shall be his.
The title ofD ad incorrectly claimed by a number o f mere sperm donors, who
think it, is a descriptive term that automatically accrues to the male
participant in a miracle o f creation.
Sorry, guys, but fertilization is within the skill package o f all animal life and
demands minimal talent. Notable exceptions include the daunting challenges
facing male porcupines, hippopotami and humming birds. (Who says
Mother Nature doesn’t have a sense o f humor?)
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B everly S tein
DearNE Community Leader,
As you are probably aware, I recently
c a n c e lle d M u ltn o m ah C ou n ty
contracts with the Urban League o f
Portland due to significant financial
management problems at the League
that I believed compromised the
se rv ic e s b e in g p ro v id e d . T his
decision was difficult for me, but as
Chair, I am accountable for the public
dollars that fund services in the
community. I am convinced this action
was necessary to protect the services
to people in Northeast Portland.
Understandably, many leaders in
Northeast Portland are interested in
working to restore the League to
financial health. Earlier, I met with
leaders from Save Our Urban League
(SOUL) to hear their ideas for doing
so.
The County administers a contracting
p ro cess that d eterm in es w hich
community providers are funded to
p ro v id e se rv ic e s in sp e c ific
geographic areas. Our responsibility
to the community (and our obligation
under State statute) is to make sure
this contracting process is handled
fairly and impartially. To ensure this
we conduct a Request for Proposal
(R F P ) p ro c e ss th a t re q u ire s
com m unity providers to subm it
detailed plans describing how they
w ill d e liv e r se rv ic e s and the
associated costs. An impartial panel
sc o re s and e v a lu a te s the b est
proposal for each service. The best
p ro p o sals earn C ounty service
contracts.
The service contracts for Northeast
Portland are put out to bid on a regular
by
basis. Over the next eight months, the
County will be evaluating proposals
from a variety o f providers for how
they would offer services in the area.
These RFP processes would have
happened whether the situation with
the Urban League came up or not.
In the short term, until all the former
Urban League contracts are rebid,
the County continues to work with
th e U rban L eague and o th e r
com m unity providers to transfer
services in Northeast Portland. We
are hiring some League and other
com m unity providers to transfer
services in Northeast Portland. We
are hiring some League employees as
temporary County employees and
other community non-profits are
doing the same.
As you may know, the county has a
request for proposal (RFP) currently
available to combine our family
se rv ic e s (F a m ily C e n te rs and
Community Action program s) in
geographic areas o f M ultnom ah
County. I believe this will improve
our flexibility and coordination of
services to families in NE and other
parts o f the county. A panel is now
being recruited to review the R FP’s.
the panel must consist o f people with
noconflictofinterest. The Community
& Family Services Department wants
community volunteers to serve on
the panel. If you are interested you
may call my office to volunteer or for
more information.
I can n o t guaran tee that U rban
League, or any other provider in
particular, is going to earn future
contracts. It w ouldn’t be a fair
contracting process if I could. What
L iberation C ollective ------
After attending a peaceful protest in
support o f political prisoner Mumia
Abu Jamal, locally and nationally
known activist Craig Rosebraugh was
brutally beaten and arrested for
arguing his right to remain in a public
park. Immediately after Rosebraugh
was charged with failure to disperse
and released he w as rushed to
Emanuel Hospital and diagnosed with
a compound fracture o f his arm in
need o f surgical attention.
Over400people attended the peaceful
demonstration to protest the death
penalty given to the framed and
wrongly accused journalist Mumia
Abu Jamal who ’ s execution date was
set on Wednesday for December 2nd.
Four other activists were also arrested
while leaving the demonstration and
given similar petty charges.
“The Portland Police practice a tactic
to prevent large demonstrations like
these from happening. They wait unti 1
the demonstration is coming to an
end and folks start heading home in
small groups where they pick us off
and throw bogus charges at us. This
k eep s us a fra id to a tte n d
demonstrations for fear o f arrest. We
are fed up with our friends and family
being frightened and beaten into
complacency! We are sick and tired
o f our bones being broken for
practicing our freedoms o f speech
and assembly! The police are sending
us a clear message; if you have an
opinion you feel compelled to speak
out on, you’d better keep it to yourself
or you’ll face arrest and brutality!
This is a direct assault on our
co n stitutional rights! T his is a
personal assault on our freedom! And
folks ain’t having it!” said Lesliejames
Pickering o f Portland's Liberation
Collective.
Rosebraugh is in the process o f filing
a lawsuit against the Portland Police
D epartm ent for police brutality.
Demonstrations in support ofM umia
Abu Jamal are ongoing nation-wide.
F o r m ore in fo rm a tio n c o n ta c t
Liberation Collective @ (503) 525-
4975.
(Thia is not the opinion of The
Portland Observer newspaper.)
I can guarantee is that the money the
County puts into Northeast Portland
will continue to be invested in critical
services for that community. The
Request for Proposal processes will
determine what agencies are best
suited to provide these services.
I support the efforts o f Northeast
community leaders and groups like
SOUL to restore the Urban League’s
financial credibility and standing in
the com m unity. The sooner the
League is brought back to health as
a true community organization, the
sooner the League will be competing
for and perhaps earning service
contracts with the County.
I appreciate the communication that
has occurred so far to keep me aware
o f the community’s concerns and
planned activities. I would like to
keep this line o f communication open.
If you have responses or feedback
for me, please feel free to call my office
at248-33O8.
Sincerely
Beverly Stein
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