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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2002)
June 12,2002 ^îortlanh (fibseruer Page A4 ortlan b Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f <Elje|ilortlaui» (D bsvruer OOhaeruer C o n E D I T O K - I N - C H I E E , P U B 1. I S H E K lañó (Phsertier Charles H. Washington ___________ USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0 __________ B M u s in e s s Established 1970 anag e » D A sst , P u b l is h The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN W HOLE OR IN PART W ITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. » M a n a g e » Mark Washington »» C K E A T I V E Michael Leighton Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1 d it o is t k ib u t io n Gary Ann Taylor 4 7 4 7 NE M artin Lu ther King, Jr. Blvd., E Joy Ramos D I » E C T O » Paul Neufeldt 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 $60.00 per year 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 • FAX5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5 • EMAIL: news@oortlandobserver.com gubggrjgbflfl^POrtlandOt’geryercQm ad$@DQrtlan<X>bservçr,ççm The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. R on H erndon S peaks Education Comes First in Governor’s Race The Portland Observer is proud to publish a series o f interviews featuring community leader and activist Ron D. Herndon. Our correspondent Yugen Fardan Rashad re cently sat down with Herndon to talk about the election season and its impact fo r local residents. Yugen: Ron, the state is about to send a new governor to Salem. What list of concerns and recommendations would you put before the two candidates? H erndon: The candidates need to address issues that are most important to us. Specifi cally, what are you going to do about educa tion and I’m not talking about money. Some things can be done without money; like mak ing sure schools of education turn out gradu ates that know how to teach children to read, write and do math. What will you (the new governor) do to make sure we receive our fan- share o f excellent teachers and principals in the inner city? That’s a pretty simple request. It’s an issue of equity. Yugen: As you know, the highest concen tration of black people in Oregon resides in Portland, but the second highest percentage is in prisons across the state. 1 would think this should be a huge issue for the two candidates to consider? H erndon: Correct. How will you (the incom ing governor) address the disproportionate jail sentences that are sending a lot of folks from our community to prison for crimes that involve small amounts of drugs? They need treatment, not incarceration! How will you ensure that treatment will be available rather then continue in this merry-go-round? Y ugen: The issue o f drugs is under the microscope following the indictment of a very famous native and employee of the Portland Trailblazers. H erndon: The discussion about drugs such as pot, should happen before a celebrity is arrested. It’s easy to talk about drugs when a celebrity is involved. But if you’re serious about coming up with a solution, there should be a broader discussion about addiction in our community. The way it’s currently addressed is harm ful because incarcerating people doesn’t work. Look, what happens when your average person is caught with small amounts of pot or crack-cocaine? They’re sent down the river (jail) because they don’t have good lawyers. They will be gone for a very long time for what is essentially a disease. Addiction is a disease. Y ugen: What about the bread and butter issues? H ern d o n : The candidates need to address these issues. Economically, what are you (gov ernor candidate) going to do to stabilize the black community in P o rtla n d , at le a st what’s left of*it? Job developm ent? How R onH erndon are you going to make sure that we have access to capital? Not just for emergencies, but on a long-term basis, to sus tain economic development - and in a variety of ways. Housing, care for the elderly? Y ugen: Seems often this population rarely reaches the age where there retirement kicks in. H erndon; If the truth be told, the black community subsidizes the social security sys tem, and here’s why: Just look at the actuary tables and you will find most black men don’t live to be 65 years old. So we contribute to a system where we rarely see a return on the investment, period. Black women out live black men, but not white women, so they too, will subsidize the system for other people. Yugen: This situation certainly represents political value for the next governor to address. H erndon: These are gut level issues involv ing our families that are sometimes responsible for destroying them. See, the less money you have, the less likely you’ll be able to defend the rights of your family in this city, state, and the nation. Black people don’t have enough money or influence on institutions that have money. Nor do we have enough access to politicians in this state, to use them for advocacy to protect our rights. A democracy should work to protect every citizen and not based upon whom you know, or how you know him or her, but this is what’s going on under the heading of democracy. In fact, black people have done plenty to expand democracy in this nation. After slavery, w e’re the ones who said you gotta have public education. We brought pub lic education to the South. We said you need programs to address those who are disenfran chised. Yugen: We just elected a new county sher iff. Please talk about public safety and the need for open discussion between citizens and law enforcement. H erndon: On the issues of public safety, I learned som ething from form er county sheriff Lee Brown, (currently Mayor of Hous ton, Texas). If yo u ’re going to talk about law enforcem ent, Lee told me, once you figure out what you w ant, in a quiet m om ent, when it’s not a crisis, go to the person(s) in power and have a discussion about the changes you w ould like to see. Then that person has an opportunity, w ithout being under the gun or the publicity or folks taking sides, to say “yes or no” . family behind you Wow! Today changes a lot o f things. "I" becomes "we.""Ours"replaces "mine."And happily ever after becomes a goal, not a given. Nervous? No w ay You have a stro ng fam ily be h in d you. A m erica n Family M u tual Insurance. W h e n y o u 're b u ild in g a fu ture , tru s t means e v e ry th in g and 70 years in th e insurance bu si ness is experience th a t helps y o u b o th feel secure. W hen it comes to com m itm ent, ou r consistent A+ {Superior, ra tin g fro m th e respected insurance ra tin g a u th o rity A.M . Best speaks fo r itself. 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