Page A4 (Elje |Jortlanb (Dbsertier O pinion Thc Portland Observer USPS 959-680 Established 1970 4 7 4 7 NE M a rtin L u th e r King, Jr. Blvd., Portland. OR 9 7 2 1 1 April 30. 2003 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer E d i t o i -i ‘/■ C h iif .P l iiis h ii Charles H. Washington E d it o C im m D i » e c Paul Neufeldt r o » O r n c i M a n a s »» Kathy Linder » Michael Leighton B I ST ! I I I TION ,V S U C H Mark Washington A s s o c iâ t » E d it o » Wynde Dyer P osthastes : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland. OR 9 7 2 0 8 P e rio d ic a l Postage paid In P o rtla n d , OR ■ Sub scriptio n s a re $ 6 0 .0 0 per year FA ^5 O 3-288A X I15 * EMAIL: news@DortlandQbsener.CQm subscriDtion@Dortlandobsener.com ads@portlandobsener.com 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 o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED,REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member o f 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. School Board Candidates Address Forum Pending election finds few minority candidates by J aym ee R. C utí T he P o rtland O bserver Closing the learning gap for children attending struggling schools was a major focus for Portland Public School Board candidates at a forum sponsored by the Portland League of Women Voters, South west Neighborhoods, Inc., Community and Parents for Public Schools and the Port land Schools Foundation. Twenty-three candidates will compete in a May 20 vote-by-mail election to fill four open seats o f the seven-m em ber board. While several o f the broached topics o f interest to local families, such as recent school closures and the bias o f standard ized testing, only three people o f color and two women could be seen on the panel. “ I have dedicated my personal life and career to the issue o f diversity,” said Dilafruz W illiams, an immigrant from In dia running in zone seven. “ Issues of social justice and diversity are at the heart o f what I teach. I know first hand what those issues are.” W illiams has a broad education back ground, holding multiple degrees, teaching grade school, preparing future teachers and principals as an education professor at Portland State University, and co-found ing Environmental Middle School. W illiams is running against Richard Garrett, an educator and former president of the Portland Association of Teachers, Jon Jacob, a parent and self-em ployed computer programmer and Richard Nichols, a Portland business owner. Martin Gonzalez, director of Portland’s A m erican Friends Service Com m ittee, earned the endorsem ent o f the Rainbow Coalition for his work as a peace worker and union organizer. Like many candidates in the election, he joined the race on day of the filing deadline. “ I didn’t see a candidate that had a chance to win that had anything different to offer,” said Gonzalez, a zone two candi date representing north, northeast and a ’> A W t W N '. 'A / \W / photo by J aymee R ev . J esse J ackson S r . Stay committed to open doors of opportunity S o licito r G eneral T heodore B. O lson is a proud “ m ovem ent conservative. ” He m ust have th o ught he had a w inner w hen the S uprem e C ourt agreed to hear the ch a lle n g e to the U n i v ersity o f M ic h ig a n ’s a ffirm a tiv e action p ro gram. A R epublican p artisan , O lson has been a lead er in the e ffo rt to roll back ou r civil rights laws and to repeal affirm ativ e action. W ith four votes locked up from the right w ing o f the court and S andra D ay O ’C o n n o r th e re for the taking, O lson m ust have thought that his tim e had come. But by the tim e O lson got to the courthouse on April F o o l's Day, things w ere very am iss. H un dreds o f buses brought in tens o f thousands o f student dem onstrators in one o f the largest dem onstrations ever before the Suprem e Court. Inside, the justices had been presented with a record num ber o f briefs by outside parties 102 filings in all. M ore than three-fourths supported affirm ative action, but even more im pressive than u w in R .C lti /T he P ortland O bserver Martin Gonzales (from left), Rion Lyle, David Wynde and Louie Sloan attend a forum to explain what they hope to do for area children should they be elected to the Portland School Board in a May 20 vote-by-mail election. The four candidates are running in Zone Two, an area that includes all of north and northeast Portland and a part o f southeast Portland. part o f southeast Portland. A 1998 endorsement by Rev. Jesse Jack- son described Gonzalez as a person “driven by a moral obligation to lift ourchildren up rather than locking them up.” G onzalez's opponents are Rion Lyle, a yoga instructor and by far the youngest candidate in the race, Louie Sloan, a teacher, John Sweeney, a land m anage ment consultant and David W ynde, re gional vice president for a m ajor bank. Jim Hanna, a zone one candidate of Arab descent, has a strong business and real estate background. On the topic of equal opportunity, Hanna said, “ We have a responsibility to help every child enrolled in our schools to be- come a responsible, independent, success- fill citizen. Personalized support will be provided to every student to develop per sonally, socially and academ ically to the highest level that her or his interests and abilities will allow .” Hanna runs against Jim Davis, a pub lisher, John Liljegren, a lawyer and charter schools consultant, Eamon Molloy, a former neighborhood association president, Dou glas M organ, director of PSU’s Executive Leadership Institute, Douglas M organ, a retired teacher and Ron Stull, a CEO and regional sales manager. Zone three candidates are John Ball, ch ief operating officer for M ultnomah County, James Laidler, a physician, John A s s a u lt o n D iv e r s ity by r io m m i the num ber was the who. The ju stices who bothered to scan the briefs surely w ere stunned. Dozens o f Fortune 500 com panies w eighed in on the side o f affirm ative ac tion. V irtually all o f the n atio n 's 3.900 universi ties— which seldom agree on anything— defended the M ichigan plan, including the alm a m aters o f every ju stice on the court. And most striking, 2 1 retired generals and ad mirals, including three form er m ilitary academ y superintendents, signed briefs urging the ju s tices to uphold race-conscious p olicies in university ad m is sions. Affirmative action was de fended by the most pow erful in stitutions in our country. Affirmative action, argued the b rief tor G eneral M otors, is “es sential to our n atio n ’s econom ic su ccess.” In a global m arket place, a skilled, multiracial corps ofexecutives isessential. “ W on der B read” d o esn 't work w ell if you are doing business where m ost o f the w orld’s people live. Therefore, argued the companies, it is vital that educational insti- ____________ tutions adm it and educate a d i verse student body. A ffirm ative action, argued the retired generals and adm irals, is vital to the n atio n 's security. “ A highly qualified, racially diverse o fficer corps, educated and trained to com m and our n atio n 's racially diverse enlisted ranks, is essential to the m ilitary 's ability to fulfill its principal m issio n ,” they wrote. The W hite H ouse m ight hope that no one w ould notice under the din o f war, but the ju stices did notice. The most striking exchanges in the oral argum ent cam e on the question o f the m ilitary academ ies. Judge Ruth Bader G insberg asked w hether the acad em ies’ program s were illegal. “The position o f the U nited S tate s,” Olson re sponded. “is that w e do not accept the proposi tion that black soldiers will only fight for black o fficers.' ’ That is surely true, but irrelevant to the gen erals’ argum ent that a diverse officer corps is ________________ vital to U.S. security. Thirty-five years after Dr. K in g ’s a s s a s s in a tio n , w e’ve com e a long way. En trenched patterns o f hous ing and em ploym ent dis crim ination still close doors and put lids on dream s. B ut in c r e a s in g ly , Am erica is not only becom ing m ore diverse, it is com m itted to opening the doors o f opportunity to all. N ow it is not a c o u ra w g eo u s band o f d e m o n stra to rs w h o are d e fe n d in g civ il rig h ts. N ow it is the F o rtu n e 5 0 0 , th e m ilita ry a c a d e m ie s, the n a tio n ’s u n iv e rsitie s N ow A frican A m erican s are jo in e d by w om en, by H isp an ics and by other m in o rities. T he vast m a jo rity o f A m eri cans b en e fit from d iv e rsity . America is not only becoming more diverse, it is committed to opening the doors o f opportunity to all. 1 Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is a long lime civil rights leader and founder and president o f the Rainhow/Push Coalition. Lekas, a business owner, Sam Oakland, an a professor, Bobbie Regan, a m arketing / com m unications consultant, and James West, an on-site apartm ent manager. Current board mem bers express con cerns about the upcoming school board, particularly because o f the trem endous turnover the board faces during a financial crisis that threatens to cut teaching posi tions throughout the district in the upcom ing school year. "It's going to be a very interesting elec-, tion," said Lolenzo Poe, an African Ameri-. can school board member half-way through.' his term. "Most organizations try to m ain f tain some historical memory. Ours will- only be tw o-and-a-half years old." betters to röhe (3cdit0r Non-Discrimination Policy Applauded The board of directors o f the United Way o f the Columbia-W i Barnette unanimously endorsed a new policy, to require its funded partners to have a comprehensive' non-discrimination policy in place to receive funding. . I am thrilled that United Way has decided to move, in this direction. During my time on the United Way. board. I strongly advocated for an inclusive policy that embraced all members o f our community. I ap plaud the Board o f United Way for their leadership, and vision and for doing the right thing. Multnomah County Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey • Bigoted Remarks BasicRightsOregon calls on Oregon'stwo Republican members of congress to condemn Sen. Rick Santorum’s, • R-Pa., tor his anti-gay remarks and cal I for his resignation from his leadership position within the GOP. H is comments reflect a level ofbigotry toward the gay and lesbian community that should not be deemed ' acceptable for any elected official, let alone one with a leadership position in his party. As the Republican, members o f the Oregon delegation. Sen. Gordon '. Smith and Congressman Greg Walden owe it to the people o f this state to stand up against this level o f bigotry and call for Santorum to step down from h is' position within the Senate leadership. Roey Thorpe, executive director o f Basic Rights Oregon • «