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Œlje Jîortlanh (DbaerUcr
O pinion
July 16.2003
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Communication Breakdown at Kendra James Forum
Community
member left with
questions after
attending forum
I am prompted to share my feelings
about a subject in the minds o f the Afro-
American community, the Kendra James
affair. It is almost seems like a page out o f
a conspiracy novel. The stage is set with
the major political dignitaries and the po
lice department.
A com m unity forum was held to pro
vide the com m unity with an opportu
nity for their input into the shooting o f
K endra Jam es. I w atched the p ro ces
sion o f officers at Mt. O live church
present their facts, diagram s, statem ents
and testim onies follow ing the sh o o t
ing. We saw a videoed reenactm ent o f
the shooting, supposedly how officer
Scott M cC ollister hopped on one leg
trying to rem ove K endra from the ve
hicle until he thought that he w ould be
caught under the car. This reenactm ent
suggested that only as a last resort did
he fired his w eapon. This m eeting re
sem bled a court trail w ith the defense
show ing why their clien t should be
found innocent o f a w rongful death
charge and allow ed to continue p atro l
ling the streets o f the Black com m unity
and entrusted with safety o f the com
munity. I have issues w ith the failure o f
the City and the police departm ent to
realize the com m unication style o f the
Black com m unity. T he presentation o f
the material in a pragmatic manner, w ith
out em otions, frustrated those looking
for a sense o f sorrow and resolution
that this will not happen again.
How do we change the mindset o f the
Mayor and Police Chief Should Be Indicted
1 am sickened by the recent killing
Kendra James, which like the murder o f
Jose Mejia Poot, is yet another injustice in
a long list o f murders, civil abuses and
crimes by the Portland police. This is a
tragic result o f training officers to be trig
ger-happy and then unleashing them onto
Portland’s streets
1 disagree that Jam es’ death was caused
by “bad cops.” Officers demonstrate a
pattern o f blatant disregard for the lives
and right o f working people. W hen’s the
last time we heard about police “ acciden
tally” strangling fora Portland West Hills
resident; or pepper spraying o n e o f
Portland’s well-to-do? The fact is, the job
o f the men in blue is to bully and intimidate
the have-nots while protecting large prop
erty owners and big business. The real
corporate criminals like Enron executives
who stole retirement funds, and created an
energy crisis to boost utility costs. Bush
and crew, who slashed our social services
and Constitution in the cause o f war, get
away with their lawless behavior and laugh
all the way to the bank. Kendra Jam es’ life
was stolen, like so many before her, while
the perpetrators are freed by a grand jury
and the good ole boy system.
M ayor Katz and C hief Kroeker are not
held accountable for the police that led to
James shooting. How is this justice? The
officers involved, the chief and mayor
should all be indicted by a grand jury.
The only way we can begin to curb
police abuse o f power is to have public
oversight o f their actions, We, the tax
payers, should oversee police behavior
through an elected civilian review board,
independent o f City Hall and the police
department. The board should have the
authority to discipline and fire officers. I f
the public has no control over the police,
we should not fund them. Give theirbud-
geted allo tm en t to P ortland Public
Schools and let the police hold bake sales
and walk-a-thons.
Jennifer Laverdure, Radical Women
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prescription drug purchasing pool must
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I
police dept that allowed them to enter the
church fully armed? Is there no place that
the officers and the dept feel safe in out
community? The admit the possibility that
law enforcement officers are nice people,
however if they are all so nice why are
people o f color always the victims o f sus
picious circumstances?
Why did changing lanes and pulling a
“California stop” become suspicious be
havior? Does “driving while Black” ring
any bells? W hat was the pass history o f
the officer involved? What did drugs have
to do with it? (That information seemed to
be used only to color her character and
dirty her in the eyes o f the public.)
After working on combating racism and
bias in thejustice system in the public and
private sectors, including the Understand
ing Racism Foundationi, I am not willing to
say that the shooting was not a result o f
the officer making a race based decision
when he fired his weapon. 1 understand
that racism exist in all offices and institu
tions. Combating racism requires an un
derstanding ofhow White pnvi lege, power
and perceptions o f people o f color must be
understood.
Floyd R. C ruse
Northeast Portland
Share the Wealth
Bush should
address AIDS
pandemic during
African visit
President Bush should journey to
Africa for scores o f reasons; however his
mere presence will not be enough. The
President must be prepared to address the
Hl V/A1DS pandemic, re-development o f
the continent and the promotion o f peace.
To date, AIDS is the single greatest global
threat to human security; far more deadly
than terrorism. AIDS has already taken the
lives o f more than 25 million people glo
bally, three-quarters o f these people in
sub-Saharan Africa. The Hl V/AIDS crisis
is the most urgent issue facing the African
continent, and the international com mu
nity more broadly, and this should be the
top foreign policy priority in the United
States.
Secondly, the United States must be
inclined to invest in A frica’s develop
ment. Despite its unparalleled prosperity,
the U.S. government fails to understand
either its obligation or self-interest in in
creasing development assistance to the
poorest countries in the world, from which
Rev. Jesse Jackson,
President and Founder
o f the Rainbow
Coalition
much o f the U.S. wealth originated.
While important progress has been
made toward ending some o f Africa’s most
deadly conflicts, insecurity continues to
affect millions o f people, disrupting eco
nomic growth and threatening regional
stability. For each o f A frica’s ongoing
wars, a peace process already exists; what
is often lacking is the international sup
port to ensure its success. A sustained
financial and diplomatic commitment from
the U.S. to conflict resolution in Africa is
crucial to regional and international secu
rity. The h istoric role that the U. S. play ed i n
destabi lizing many o f the African countries
currently at war gives the U.S. a unique
responsibility to engage with African ef
forts to achieve peace and stability.
In closing, one would think that Bush
would seek to meet with the Congres
sional Black Caucus and African Ameri
can scholars before his departure, for the
purpose o f enlightenment and clarity.
M M M M M N H N N M H M N M M M M N aiM N M N M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M
MWMMMMWWMMMMS
Bush Deserves Rap on
Affirmative Action
NAACP executive director Julian Bond
urged states that have abandoned affir
mative action policies for higher educa
tion to “com e back into the Union” Sun
day while criticizing President Bush and
his brother. Gov. Jeb Bush, for challeng
ing race-conscious admissions.
Speaking at the 94th annual conven
tion o f the National Association for the
Advancement o f Colored People, Bond
praised the recent U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that upheld the use o f race as a
factor in university admissions policies.
The Bush administration filed one o f the
b rie fs
o p p o sin g
th e
p o lic y .
The court, however, ruled against the
use o f a point-based system for enroll
ment decisions, which was used at the
University o f Michigan.
“The court struck down the points
but upheld the principle,” Bond said. “Since
the opponents kept telling us that this was
all about principle, I’d say we won!”
Bond said the decision “gave legal
sanction to what we knew to be morally,
socially, and ed ucationally co rrect.”
But he said he knows affirmative action
policies will be continue to be challenged.
“The average KKK member may be
stupid, but the well-financed forces o f the
rad ic al rig h t are n o t,” B ond said .
He also vowed the civil rights group
would be w atching states, including
Florida, that no longer use affirmative ac
tion policies to monitor their commitment
to achieving diversity.
Bond criticized the Florida governor
for his One Florida program, under which
state universities can no longer consider
race or gender in admissions decisions.
High school students are instead guaran
teed admission if they are in the top 20
p e rc e n t o f th e ir g ra d u a tin g cla ss.
“First Governor Jeb Bush became the
only governor to carry out a pre-emptive
strike on affirmative action,” Bond said.
“And then President George Bush carried
out a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, the only
President in our nation's history to attack
a country which did not threaten or attack
us first. Both strikes were unnecessary
and unwise.”
Speaking at the 94th annual conven
tion o f the National Association for the
Advancement o f Colored People, Bond
praised the recent U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that upheld the use o f race as a
factor in university admissions policies.
The Bush administration filed one o f the
b rie fs
o p p o sin g
th e
p o lic y .
The court, however, ruled against the
use o f a point-based system for enroll
ment decisions, which was used at the
University o f Michigan.
“The court struck down the points
but upheld the principle,” Bond said. “Since
the opponents kept telling us that this was
all about principle. I’d say we won!”
Bond said the decision “gave legal
sanction to what we knew to be morally,
socially, and educationally co rrect.”
But he said he k now s a ffirm a tiv e
actio n p o lic ie s w ill be c o n tin u e to be
ch a lle n g ed .
“The average KKK member may be
stupid, but the well-financed forces o f the
radical right are not,” Bond said.
He also vowed the civil rights group
w ould be w atching states, including
Florida, that no longer use affirmative ac
tion policies to monitor theircommitment
to achieving diversity.