September 03, 2003
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The Portland Observer
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» - i s -C h i e f . P c » l ie h
C hurles H. W ashington
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Kathy Linder
M ich a el Leighton
fí i s r 1 1 1 i m i s M e n
M ark W ashington
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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.
Struggle Against Disparities Continue
We must push for
Am erica’s full
potential and true
greatness
M arking the 4(7hA nniversary o f
the historic M arch on W ashing­
ton. U.S. Rep. E lijah E. Cum m ings,
D-M d., ch a ir o f the C ongressional
B lack Caucus, relea sed the f o l ­
low ing statem ent:
A s M a rtin L u th e r K in g Jr.
d ream ed , w e h av e m ade g reat
progress as a nation since that hot
sum m er day in 1963 when hundreds
o f thousands o f people gathered
on the national m all, here in W ash­
ington, to dem and justice and equal­
ity for all.
In 1963, w e w ere a very different
country. At that tim e, there w ere
only five A frican A m erican m em ­
bers o fth e U nited States C ongress.
T oday, there are 39 A frican A m eri­
can m en and w om en w ho are mem -
bersofC ongress. In the early 1960s,
ju s t4 p e rc e n to f A frican Am ericans
earned a college degree. Today,
four tim es as m any A frican A m eri­
cans have earned a college degree
and that num ber continues to rise.
Lastly, in 1963, qne-third o f all A f­
rican A m erican w om en w orked in
other people’s homes for low wages.
Today, a substantial num ber o f A f­
rican American women work as law­
yers. professors, doctors, managers
and other professional workers.
Indeed, w e have m ade trem en­
dous gains - gains not only for
African Americans, but forall Ameri­
cans. By ex panding opportunity
access forall o f its citizens, America
has becom e a m odel o f dem ocracy
for the rest o f the w orld.
A m erica’s progress, w hile posi­
tive, m ust not render its citizenry
content w ith the w ay things are
today. W e m ust continue to push
this country until it realizes its full
potential and true greatness We
w ill n ever be able to pursue h appi­
ness if inequality denies us the
enjoym ent o fth e liberty we fought
so hard for.
To those w ho ask, ‘W hen will
you be satisfied?’ 1 respond by
T h an k y o u ag ain fo r h elp in g
to sp read th e w o rd ab o u t W rite
A ro u n d P o rtlan d . W e lo o k fo r­
w ard to c o n tin u in g o u r re la tio n ­
ship w ith T h e Portland O b serv er
an d the co m m u n itie s it serv es.
Liza Halley
WRAP Executive Director
COMMUNITY HEALTH FORUM
SEPT. 4 th , 2003, Thurs., 6:00 -8:00 pm
KEY BANK COMMUNITY ROOM
5330 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Racism And The Impact
On Your Health
Presented By C orliss M cK eever
A F R IC A N A M E R IC A N H EAL TH C O A LITIO N
• Beverages, vegetable and fruits served
• Registration available for I'1 “Wellness Within Reach Walk"
• African American Health Coalition, Sat. Sept. 6lh, 8:00 am.
• Obi Hill o f Reflections Mirror Image Bookstore will display books
available on health and wellness. 503-288-9003
Sponsored by the African American Chamber of Commerce, Health and
Awareness Committee, 503-244-5794.
Walk The Path O f Health
U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings
into an all-inclusive society. W e
m ust not rest and w e m ust not be
satisfied until the day com es w hen
‘ju stic e rolls dow n like w aters and
righteousness like a m ighty stream.
How Our War Leaders Dodged the Arm y
C O V E R A G E SERVES US W E L L
B ecause W rite A round Portland sh o p s, c o m m u n ity p o em s, c a rd ­
is a sm all nonprofit organization, m a k in g an d b o o k b in d in g ev en ts.
we rely on new spapers like The P a rtic ip a n ts at th e recen t b lo ck
Portland O bserver to assist us in p arty at D aw so n Park a lso e n ­
creating a com fortable environm ent jo y e d v is itin g o v e r 2 0 b o o th s
for expression.
fro m local a g e n c ie s and artisa n s
O v er 200 p eo p le hav e p a rtic i­ a n d e n jo y e d liv e m usic by the
pated in on e h o u r w ritin g w o rk ­ D ro n ey T o n es.
saying as long as o u r ch ild ren 's
education is determ ined by the af­
fluence o f their neighborhood, I
w ill never be satisfied. A s long as
there exist disparities in the inci­
dence rates and treatm ent o f life
threatening diseases, I will never
be sa tisfie d . W e m u st not be
tem pted to indulge in the ’ tranquil-
izing drug o f gradualism ’ so long as
people, the w orld over, continue to
suffer the inhum anity o f poverty
and hunger.
W e m ust continue to advocate
for the rapid evolution o f our nation
D onald K adi .
W ord has reached us that Presi­
den t-select Bush has becom e a
military action figure. Yes folks. I’m
not joking. G eorge Bush asG .I. Joe.
W h o 'd a thunk it?
I suppose the doll is m eant to
com m em orate the 52 com bat m is­
sions T exas A ir N ational G uards­
man Bush flew in the Vietnam W ar,
o r w ould have flow n had his outfit
been sent to V ietnam (and had he
not gone A .W .O .L. from his unit
a b o u t tw o -th ird s o f th e w a y
through his enlistm ent).
It occurs to m e that the R epubli­
can Party has a great opportunity
here to prom ote som e o f its other
conservative heroes w ith a w hole
line o f action dolls. I'm thinking o f
a line called the "W hat Did Y ou Do
In the W ar, D addy?” dolls.
Like, for exam ple: The Ronald
Reagan "R eady For M y C lose-up,
Mr. D eM ille” doll, w ith the h e a d o f
the G ipper on the body o f an A cad­
em y A w ard statuette to sym bolize
his W orld W ar II service: m aking
training film s for the arm y w hile
living at hom e w ith his w ife, Jane
W yman.
The D aniel Q uayle "P raise the
Lord and Pass the C arbon P aper”
doll, depicting a soldier operatinga
mimeograph machine. Quay le’sjob
in the public inform ation d epart­
m ent o fth e Indiana National G uard
w here he spent the V ietnam W ar,
courtesy o f influential relatives.
T he Dick C heney “ I’d Like to
by
H elp But I’m G oing to be on V aca­
tion that D ecade" doll, show ing the
vice-president w ith a tennis racket,
re m in d in g u s th at he say s he
avoided service in Vietnam because
he had “o th er priorities.”
The G eorge W ill "I Fought For
Y ou Like A T iger A m ong the H os­
tile B rits” doll, representing the
prissy conservative colum nist in a
scholar’s gow n redolent o f Ox ford,
w here he spent the V ietnam War.
T heT om DeLay A ffirmative Ac-
I Mr. Wolfowitz’
world-view, in
common with those
o f so many o f his
colleagues, has not
been contaminated
by military service.
tion doll, show ing a white man on the
ground with a black m an ’s foot rest­
ing on his neck, m eant to represent
the House Majority Leader, who
claim s he tried to enlist during the
Vietnam W ar but that all the billets
had been taken up by minorities.
The W olfow itz o f A rabia doll,
show ing the deputy defense secre­
tary in h is flo w in g ro b es and
headscarf. W hen squeezed it w ould
say “ W eapons o f M ass D estruc­
tion. W atch o ut!" Mr. W olfow itz’
w orld-view , in com m on w ith those
o f so m any o f his colleagues, has
not been contam inated by m ilitary
service.
A n d then th e r e ’s the S axby
C ham bliss doll, featuring a m an in
running shorts dum ping another
man out o fa w heelchair. C ham bliss
is the G eorgia senator w ho w on
office by labeling his opponent.
M ax C leland, soft on national secu­
rity. C leland lost both legs and an
arm in V ietnam , w hile C ham bliss
got a deferm ent due to bad knees.
T hey m iraculously healed them ­
selves as soon as the w ar w as over,
how ever, and he is now a jogger.
I hesitate to suggest a Rush
L im baugh doll. R ush got a m edical
deferm ent from V ietnam because o f
anal cysts and, w o rth y as he is, I’m
not sure how w e could depict that
in good taste.
A nd then, for a change o f pace,
you could have a doll show ing a
gaunt figure in a bleak cell. T hat, o f
c o u r s e , w o u ld b e S e n . Jo h n
M cC ain, a rare R epublican w ho did
serve in V ietnam — as a real naval
aviator. He w as shot dow n and
spent years as a PO W , often suffer­
ing torture.
T his w ould be the “ W ar Isn’t A s
M uch Fun A s P oliticians M ake it
Seem, Kids” doll. I'm n o t sure there’s
a m arket for that but you can never
tell.
D o n a ld K aul recently retired as
W ashington colum nist fo r the ’ 'Des
M oines Register. "
If It’s New or Informative,
A frican A m erican
H ea lth C oalition , Inc.
You Probably Saw It In
1st Annual
(Observer
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September 6,2003
Join ut for the 1st Annual Wellness Within
REACH Walk Sat. September 6, 7003!
Walk the 1.5 or 4-mile course.
When
The walk begins at 9:00 a.m.
Other event activities begin at 8:00 a.m.
For more ¡nlormatton
Tor mare information about participation or to
volunteer contact
the African American Health Coalition, Inc. at
S03-413-1850, wbaamer@aahc-portland.org or
mield@aah(-portland.org
1 Year $60.00
2 Years $ 100 00
MakecheckpayabletothePortlandObserverNewsorpayby VisaorMasterCaid.
Renewal $60 (X)
< )nlinesubsenptkxisarealsria\ailabk'atsubsaiptionsaiiwrtlandobsa\er.cuni.
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Where
A d d re ss______________________________________________________________________________________ ’
Start and finish at Dawson Park, located at
N. Vancouver and Stanton in Portland, OR.
C ity ______________________________________ S ta t e __________________
Why
Com pany Name
P h o n e ____________________________________
The purpose of the walk is to celebrate our
community's health and sustain ongoing free
physical activity classes for African Americans
in the Portland metro area.
Entry
Z ip C o d e _______________
Fax ______________________________________________
G ift subscriptions are also available for h a lf price w ith your renew al.
Name
Entry fee is S i 5 per person.
A d d re ss______________________________________________________________________________________
C ity _____________________________ __ ______ State______________
Zip Code _ _ _ _ _ _ _
P h o n e____________________________________ F a x ______________________________________________
îl!r ÿ o rtla ith (Observer
Racial A Fthnte Approaches to Community HooltE
PO. Box 3137 Portland, OR 97208; 503.288.0033 or Fax 503.288.0015; portlandobserver.com
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