(Elje Çlortlanô (Observer
Page A6
January OI, 2003
Rally Targets Health Care Cuts
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by D avid P lechl /P orti . and O bserver
Miss Oregon USA Maya Moore is using her title to educate people about multiculturalism and
support those struggling with cultural identity.
Opening Doors and Minds
Miss Oregon USA finds strength in multiracial identity
by D avid Pi.ECHi.
T he P ortland O bserver
Maya Moore didu i think any­
thing o f listening to Marvin Gaye
records with her father and then
slipping out to watch Korean soap
operas with her grandpa. To this
recently crowned beauty queen,
homemade Kim-Chee and the sweet
sounds o f jazz went hand-in-hand.
“There were always different
cultural elements in our house,”
said the 2 1-year-old Moore, who
was named Miss Oregon USA on
Nov. 24.
Originally from Kaneohe, Hawaii,
Moore moved to Oregon in 1999 to
attend Lewis and Clark College. She
fell in love with the campus and the
scaled down student-to-teacher
ratio.
“The school had everything I
was looking for,” she said.
Moore’s father is African Ameri­
can and Cherokee. Her mother is
Korean and Caucasian.
Moore said her parents’ mar­
riage was never an issue in the
midst of Hawaii’s racial melting pot,
but it was when the family traveled
to the South.
“Some people looked at my par­
ents with skepticism,” she said.
“The idea of a multiracial couple in
the South is not as accepted.”
Moore saw the Miss Oregon USA
pageant as an opportunity to open
doors and minds. She hopes to use
the title to educate people about
multiculturalism and support those
nity tocontinue their rehabilita­
tion at home.
Bob Richards o f the Asso­
ciation of Alcoholism and Drug
Abuse Counselors of Oregon,
said health service providers
were blindsided by the cuts.
Thousands of concerned citi­
“Coming as they did without
zens from around the state will
a public hearing or any input
gatheron the Capitol steps at I
from professionals or consum­
p.rn. on W ednesday, Jan. 8 to
ers in these fields. By the time
protest the elim ination o f ad­
the news arrived at the treat­
dictions and mental health treat­
ment programs, it was an ac­
ment from the Oregon Health
complished fact. We never had
Plan.
a chance to make our case,”
Gov. John Kitzhaber, State
Richards said
Rep. Avel Gordly and former
Paul Potter, director of men­
Senate M ajority Leader Dick
tal health and addiction ser-
Springer are
------------
vices at Cascadia
so m e
of
B e h a v io ra l
sp eak ers
Healthcare, said
scheduled to
thecuts “will ac­
address the
tually increase
“ R ally for
O H P m e d ic a l
Recovery.”
c o s ts th ro u g h
The cuts,
more emergency
-C o rlis s McKeever, the president of the African American
scheduled to
room
visits and
É
Health Association
take effect
m o re s e rio u s
March l, will
m edical condi­
virtually wipeout state mental chair o f the African American tions related to chronic use.”
health and addictions treatment Cham ber o f Com m erce and
Eric Martin, Director of the
programs as we know them. m em beroftheG overnor’s Ra­ Addiction C ounselorC ertifi-
An estimated l l8,(MM)willlose cial and Ethnic Health Task cation Board of Oregon, said
access to treatm ent services, Force said the state has al­ he hopes the protest “will con­
forcing many to leave current ready made significant treat­ vince the E-board to recon­
treatment programs unless they ment cuts in the criminal justice sider and revise these cuts to
can personally pay the full cost. system and these additional cuts lessen the blow to the thou­
“This would be absolutely would devastate individuals sands o f Oregonians who will
devastating to the African coming back into the comtnu- be affected.”
Kitzhaber to join
Rep. Avel Gordly
and others on
Capitol steps
i
struggling with cultural identity.
In the next few months she plans
to visit as many elementary schools
as possible to talk to children about
diversity and her own experience
growing up multiracial.
“My parents never bought into
the stereotypes,” she said. “W ith­
out our differences, we wouldn’t be
a strong community.”
Moore has received a Lewis &
Clark College Student Academic
grant to study how students with
sch o larsh ip tow ard graduate
school, where she intends to pur­
sue a masters degree, then a Ph. D.
in intercultural communications.
Columbia, Stanford, Colorado
State, and New York University
top her list of choices. Wherever
she ends up, she hopes it’s some­
where busy.
“I thrive off of stress,” said
Moore, who is always scouting
her next adventure. “New York
would definitely be something
different.”
Eventually, she would like to
‘C My parents never
become a college professor, and
one day, the college president of
bought into the
a major university.
stereotypes. Without
Presently though, ‘her maj­
our differences, We
esty’ is most concerned with fin­
ishing her work at Lewis and Clark
wouldn’t be a strong
and staying on top of a hectic
community.
schedule as Miss Oregon USA.
In March, she'll represent the
-M a y a Moore, Miss Oregon USA
state of Oregon at the national
pageant in San Antonio Texas.
multiracial identities are affected The contest will be aired live,
by the challenges they face at six March 24, on CBS.
different Oregon campuses.
The winner then has a chance
“People with multiracial back­ to go on and compete for the Miss
grounds are faced with different Universe title.
identity issues than people of only
In preparation for the event,
one ancestry,” Moore said.
Moore is sharpening her mind
She feels many .young people and keeping her body fit. She
are confused about their place and runs often and practices yoga
identity in a ‘black or white’ society regularly.
that often expects one to choose
“I just have to maintain my
one race over another.
balance, my focus and my inner
As part of her Miss Oregon USA peace,” she said. “Because it's
prize package, Moore won a $ 10,000 going to get really com petitive.”
American com m unity and to
communitiesevery where,” said
Corliss M cKeever, the presi­
dent of the African American
Health Association. “ We are
making huge strides to improve
the health of African Am eri­
cans and this would set us back
tremendously because people
in recovery will likely end up
back where they were before
they got help. Some will be
homeless or dysfunctional and
some will commit crimes in the
community to pay for their ad­
dictions, we simply can’t loose
these services.”
JoAnne Bow man, the vice
This would he absolutely
devastating to the African
American community and to
communities everywhere.
African American Family Wins
Smoking Verdict Appeal
(A P ) — T h e O re g o n S u ­
p rem e C o u rt h as let stan d an
$80 m illion verdict ag ain st cig a­
rette-m ak e r P h ilip M orris. But
co m p an y o ffic ia ls say th ey w ill
ap p eal, all th e w ay to the U .S.
S uprem e C ourt.
T he C h ristm as E ve d ec isio n
n o t to rev iew the case w as a
v icto ry fo r the fam ily o f Je sse
D. W illiam s, a P o rtlan d ja n ito r
w ho d ied from lung can cer.
P h ilip M o rris o ffic ia ls say
The power to
quit smoking
is within
your reach.
th ey m ig h t ask the O re g o n S u ­
p rem e C o u rt to rec o n sid er. But
they w ill ev e n tu a lly p etitio n the
U .S . S u p re m e C o u rt to o v e r­
turn or su b sta n tia lly red u c e the
a w a rd .
“W e c o n tin u e to b e lie v e that
th e W illia m s-B ra n c h v e rd ic t
sh o u ld be set asid e on a n u m b er
o f legal g ro u n d s, in c lu d in g the
e x c e ssiv e n e ss o f th e p u n itiv e
d a m a g e s aw a rd , an d w e are
h o p efu l th a t the U .S. S u p rem e
C o u rt w ill ag ree to h ea r the
case and sen d it b ac k to O r­
eg o n fo r a new tria l,” w rote
W illiam S. O h lem ey e r, a P h ilip
M o rris v ice p re sid e n t an d a s­
so c iate g en e ral c o u n se l, in a
n ew s release.
An atto rn e y fo r Je sse W ill­
ia m s ’ fam ily said he d o u b ts the
U .S. S u p rem e C o u rt w ill take
th e case.
“ I t’s a h ig h ly c h a rg e d p o liti­
cal issu e, an d I th in k th e U .S.
S u p rem e C o u rt w o u ld n ot go
o u t o f its w ay to use a to b acco
case to m ak e law w h en they
had o th e r a lte rn a tiv e s ,” said
C h a rles T au m an , a P o rtlan d a t­
to rn ey .
E ven if the v erd ic t su rv iv es
th e U .S. S u p rem e C o u rt, the
fig h t w ill co n tin u e.
U n d er O reg o n law . 6 0 p e r­
cent o f p u n itiv e d am ag e aw ard s
goes to the state crim e v ictim s
assista n c e fund.
T he n ex t ro u n d o f litig atio n ,
by b oth th e to b a c c o in d u stry
and a tto rn ey s fo r the e state o f
Jesse W illia m s, w ill attem p t to
b lo ck th e sta te from g ettin g its
c u t.
A M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty ju ry in
M arch 1999 aw ard ed the W ill­
iam s fam ily $ 8 2 1 ,4 8 5 in c o m ­
p en sato ry d a m a g e s an d $79.5
m illio n in p u n itiv e d am ag es. At
the tim e, the $80.3 m illion aw ard
w as the la rg e st in an in d iv id u al
sm o k e r case.
T he ju d g e red u c ed the p u n i­
tive d am ag e aw ard to $32 m il­
lion. say in g it w as ex c essiv ely
large u n d er th e U .S. C o n s titu ­
tion. But in Ju n e 2 002, the O r­
egon C o u rt o f A p p eals resto red
th e v e rd ic t, w h ic h c u rre n tly
ra n k s as th e s e c o n d - la r g e s t
p u n itiv e d am ag e aw ard ag ain st
P h ilip M o rris in O reg o n .
In M a rc h 2 0 0 2 , a n o t h e r
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ju ry o r ­
d ered P h ilip M o rris to pay $ 150
m illio n to th e fam ily o f a S alem
w om an and sm o k e r w ho died
o f can cer. T h e ju d g e red u ced
th e aw ard to $ 1 0 0 m illio n . It is
on ap p eal to the O reg o n C o u rt
o f A ppeals.
Dialogue on Race
We know how hard it is to quit
smoking and we know what
works. Let us give you a helping
hand. Call us today.
/füHS
Oregon Department
of Human Services
O regon Tobacco Prevention & Education Program
www.healthoregon.org/tobacco
1-877-2NO-FUME (Spanish) TTY: 1-877-777-6534
Kwanzaa is the time to reflect on what is important to you.
Please pick up your gift Kwanzaa bookmark from the African American Health Coalition,
local merchants, or the Urban League of Portland.
Black Student Union and school
leaders to meet Jan. 20
Franklin High School’s Black
Student Union will have a discus­
sion about race along with stu­
dents, staff, adm inistrators and
school board members during a
“Dialogues for Change" meeting
Monday, Jan. 20 at Portland State
University.
Oregon Uniting will facilitate the
discussion. The non-profit group
has a goal on advancing racial ju s­
tice through honest dialogue and
public education.
Participants at the meeting will
be asked to follow a program care­
fully developed by Oregon Unit­
ing:
School officials said the d ia ­
logue will take place in an atm o-
sphere ot confidentiality and will
not be open to the general public
or the press.
"The discussion process is dia­
logue, not debate," officials said.
“Unlike debate, dialogue is not
about opposing each other and
seeking to persuade another o f the
correctness of ones own position.
Dialogue invites discovery. It in­
volves two or more sides working
together towards a common under­
standing o f the values and life ex­
periences that inform another's
world view."
Oregon Uniting facilitators are
ski lied dialogue leaders. They look
like and understand the values and
needs o f diverse communities.