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December 29, 1999
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Opinion
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Articles do not
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Shawn Strahan
E arl Q ia r i H utchinson
There was m uch hand shaking, back slapping and headline
grabbing quips by advocates o f a King m em orial after the
N ational Capital Planning Com m ission unanim ously
approved the M artin Luther King, Jr. M emorial in
W ashington D.C. But buried underneath the euphoria
and behind the headlines. The small item that went
virtually unnoticed was the remark by the proj ec t c hairman
that it will cost m illions to build the memorial. A fter the
design o f the m em orial is officially approved they have
seven years to raise the cash to build the memorial.
T hen the question is: W ho should pay for the King
m em orial? T he obvious answ er is that those who
benefited the m ost from the epochal social changes by
King, who inspired and led the civil rights movement,
should pay. T hat m eans virtually everyone. Since
practically anyone who draws a breath on the planet has
reaped the rew ards o f that movement. T he civil rights
m ovem ent had a global sweep. It ignited or profoundly
influenced labor struggles, anti-colonial battles in Africa
and A sia, social gospel priests in Latin America, student
and pro-dem ocracy m ovem ents in Europe, the gay, and
w om en’s movem ent, the peace m ovem ents, and ushered
in anew age ofeconom ic and social justice for Americans
o f all colors. The civil rights m ovement also remolded and
dem ocratized much o f law, politics, and theology in
America.
T he broad reach o f K ing’s shadow even extended to
c o n se rv a tiv e s. M an y o f th em h av e sh a m e le ssly
m isrepresented his remarks about a colorblind society to
ham m er affirm ative action and social program s. W hite
Southern politicians who fought tooth and nail against
K ing when he was alive have rode the crest o f the w hite
backlash to the civil rights m ovem ent to reem erge as
m ajor players in national politics.
W hile they all owe an eternal debt to King and should
pay, and pay well, for a m em orial to him, no one has
benefited more from the gargantuan social changes than
blacks.
Here are two com pelling reasons why they should m ake
it their solemn m ission to bankroll the King memorial.
The first reason is the total rem ake ofB lack America. The
eternal m edia and public image o fB lack com m unities as
a vast wasteland o f violence and despair and in permanent
crisis and chaos is false, phony and self-serving. In the
three decades since the civil rights m ovem ent King
sm ashed the barriers o f legal segregation. This is how
Black Am erica has benefited and changed.
A ccording to a recent census bureau report released in
February 1999:
•Nearly nine out o f ten A frican-A m ericans aged 25-29 are
high school graduates, and fifteen percent have college
degrees. C ollege enrollm ent am ong blacks has soared forty
percent over w hat it was a decade ago.
•The black high school drop rate is only m arginally higher |
than that o f non-blacks.
• A frican-A m erican median income continues to grow , and
the drop in poverty rates for A frican-A m ericans accounts
for sixty percent o f the overall drop in poverty in America.
•T w en ty p e rc e n t o f A fric an -A m erica n s w o rk ed in
m anagem ent or other professions.
•The num ber ofB lack ow ned businesses leaped nearly fifty
percent, and their gross receipts rose 63 percent betw een
1987-1992.
•N early sixty percent o f A frican-A m erican children under
18 live in a m arried-couple family.
The second reason is money. M ore A frican-A m ericans
have m ore o f it than ever before in their lives. O prah
W infrey, M ichael Jordan, Bill Cosby, M ichael Jackson and
thousands o f athletes and entertainers bag staggering
m ega buck incom es and contracts. They alone have the
w ealth and incom e to bankroll dozens ofK in g m onum ents.
Y et they are only the m ost visible and conspicuous tip o f
the iceberg o f black wealth. N early h a lf o f all blacks now
earn incom es above $25,000. A nd there are thousands o f
business persons and professionals w ho earn incom es far
above that. A ccording to a feature in the Septem ber 1999
ed itio n o f E m erg e M agazine, there are at least ten
predom inantly black com m unities nationally w here the
average household income tops $50,000. Som e o f these
com m unities have average household incom es that far
exceed even that figure.
T he leading 100 black corporations in the 1999 B lack
Enterprise m agazine annual business survey had sales o f
m ore than $4 billion. W hile stock and m utual fund
investm ents by blacks still drag behind that o f w hites, m ore
than 30 percent ofblacks have stock and bond investm ents.
A nd the num ber o f black stock investors continues to
climb.
K in g ’s old fraternity the A lpha Phi A lphas w ill spearhead
a national and international cam paign to raise funds for the
m em orial. W ith the m ountainous wealth, and incom e o f
m any blacks, it shouldn’t take 7 days, or even 7 m inutes, for
blacks to bankroll a memorial for the m an w ho did so much
for so many. A nd if it does take a second longer than that
to show King the m oney it will be the nation’s sham e and
disgrace and African-Americans special shame and disgrace.
Earl Ofari H utchinson is a nationally syndicated colum nist
and the director o f the National A 1 liance for Positive Action.
email:ehutchi344@aol.com
Have something important to say,
write it in a letter to the editor in
^ o r t l a n b (© bseriter
4 7 4 7 NE M artin Luther King,
Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1
503 -2 88 -0 0 33
Federal and community
efforts focus on teens
leaving foster care
B t(¿ A M O L t\X ÍR A Í
tURlilKEUKIt^DÜlteER'LR
A t age 12, D ebbie Thom pson o f Eastern O regon entered the state’s foster care
system. Six years later, she is planning to graduate from high school, attend
college and go on to m edical school.
By anyone’s account, she is a success story, a happy ending. N ot all teens
aging out o f foster care are as fortunate. N early 20,000 young adults - about
300 in O regon - prepare to leave foster care each year on their 18th birthday.
T oo m any o f these teens em erge w ith neither the m aturity nor the w isdom to
face life on their own. They not only lack perm anent or stable connections to
family or oth er caring adults, b ut m any also do not have the education o r skills
to prepare them for the w orld beyond the state’s custody and care.
Based on current statistics, one-fourth o f the nation’s foster children w ill
becom e hom eless. Others w ill be the victim s o f physical and sexual assault,
becom e pregnant, incarcerated, or end up on public assistance.
In response to such reports from the states. Congress recently approved
legislation to provide additional supports to young people aging out o f foster
care.
This new est version o f the Federal Foster Care Independence A ct o f 1999
doubles funding for the Independent Living Program from $70 m illion to $ 140
million.
A t the local level, county, com m unity and state child w elfare advocates are
working to find ways to support youth leaving foster care. T hrough independent
living program s, O regon’s foster care youth are learning life skills such as
budgeting; receiving educational services, including preparation for higher
education; and finding em ploym ent with the help o f jo b readiness, search and
placem ent program s.
In 2000, a new transitional program called Pow erhouse is scheduled to open
in M ultnom ah County. This is a collaborative effort am ong the C asey Fam ily
Program, O regon D epartm ent ofH um an Services, The Inn, H ousing Authority
o f Portland and the Sisters o f the Holy Name.
The program is expected to serve youth, ages 17-24, w ith com m unity support,
em ploym ent, education, and housing for those 18 and older. The goal o f the
program is simple: Incorporate what youth w ant and need to becom e productive
citizens.
As parents, it’s the same goal w e have for our own children. Children in foster
care have the same needs as other children - tim e to grow up, be supported,
take chances, and have opportunities to m ake m istakes and learn from
experience. M ost families d o n ’t expect children to be independent until at least
their mid-20s. W e can ’t expect m ore o f fosterchildren unless w e can give them
the tools they need to succeed.
The end o f foster care is not the end o f a com m unity’s caring for its children.
Y ou can help the youth in your com m unity by:
Becom ing a foster parent to teens.
A dvocating for this population in schools, com m unity m eetings and
places o f worship.
V olunteering to help connect teens w ith educational and em ploym ent
opportunities.
Providing on-the-job training and support.
A s advocates for children w e have all been handling parts o f the problem . It
is tim e to consolidate our efforts and energy so that w hen foster children reach
the age o f 18, it w ill signal the beginning o f a success story, the next happy
ending.
Fax 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5
e-mail pdxobserv@aol.com
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