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April 14. 2004
O pinion
rhe Portland Observer
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or
represent the views o f The Portland Observer
E DiI T O K
C » E 4
■I N - C H I E f , P U » L I S H E »
Charles H. Washington
T i v e D i » e c t o t
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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.
Shields for Northeast Portland
Missed opportunity for minority candidates
The following is a Portland
Observer editorial:
Two candidates are running
for election in the May Demo
cratic Primary to represent north
and northeast Portland in House
District 43.
O ur endorsem ent goes go
Chip Shields who has worked
in northeast Portland for the
past five years as executive
director of Better People, an
organization dedicated to job
training and living wage jobs
for form er inmates.
Shields has a record of work
ing with local residents, includ
ing African Americans, to make
■««er
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OD 0410
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**AII classes are free of charge!
,
AAHC African American Health Coalition, Inc.
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' V
Presents for your health,
v
Wellness Within REACH Activity Calendar
A e r o b ic ?
Mallory Ave. Christian Church
Pilates
M att Dishman
Hon, Wed, In , 6-7am, Pierce • S;30-6;20pm,
Granville • 6:30-7:30pm , Nickerson
Hon, 12:15-1 :l5pm , Jenkins
Humboldt Elementary
Stretchine/Body Sculpting
Tue, Thu, 6-7pm, Keller
(Class courtesy of Hitt Dishman)
Low Impact Aerobics
Daniel’s Memorial Church
Tue, Thu, 7-8am, Lois
Tue, 7:15-8:15pm, Granville
Walking Group
Peninsula Park
W ater Aerobics ( C o n t a c t A A H C )
Salvation Army
M att Dishman
Sat, 12:30pm, Woods
African Dance
M att Dishman
Tue. Thu. 9-1 Oam, Hasan
Sat, 1 0 -I I am, Addo
Yoga
W ild Oats Market
Body Conditioning
W ild Oats Market
Tue, Thu, 7:3O-8:3Opm, O’Rourke
our communities stronger and
improve the lives of people fac
ing poverty and discrimination.
He has a record of success
in sponsoring a ballot measure
to increase the minimum wage
and supported M ultnom ah
C ounty’s temporary income
tax to stop the drastic budget
cuts to our schools and social
services. He has won the en
dorsement of many local mi
nority leaders.
Still, we see this race as a
missed opportunity for north and
northeast Portland because
Shields and his opponent Tina
Kotek are so new to the district.
Both have resided in northeast
Portland for less than three
years.
Missing is the candidate who
has lived here for a significant
amount of time, working on be
half of the minority populations
that make House District 43 the
most diverse in the state. Where
was the recruitment of candi
dates by African-American lead
ers and the Democratic Party?
We like Shields and think
both candidates have the po
tential to do a great jo b of
representing m inority inter-4
ests, but they need season
ing to really get to know us.
■NMHMMHMMMMIMMHMHMMaHMMNMMMIMaMniMB
Fog of Deception and Secrecy
B y R ep . B ennie
G. T hompson
As a member of the Con
gressional Black Caucus, 1 lis
tened with great interest to the
testimony of National Security
Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice
before the 9/11 Commission.
Her testimony cast a fog of
deception over the search for
truth.
An obvious example of this
deception took place on Aug. 6,
2001. Dr. Rice testified that a
memo stating that Osama bin
Laden was “determined to at
tack within the United States”
was discounted by Bush Ad
ministration officials because it
was not a warning.
President Bush, Dr. Rice and
others in the Administration
knew that bin Laden posed a
threat to our homeland, but did
not act in the best interest of
national security. Clearly, the
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson
Bush Administration failed to
take serious the threat of terror
ism.
Dr. Rice testified that prior to
9/11, al-Qaeda cells inside the
United States were not cause
for the Administration to be con
cerned. Tragically, 3,000 lives
were lost before the Adminis
tration took the al-Qaeda threat -
seriously.
The families who lost loved
ones on 9/11 are now learning
what went wrong, how it went
wrong and how 9/11 could have
been prevented.
However, I fear that Dr.
R ice’s testim ony is just an
other example o f the “smoke
and m irrors” leadership that is
the Bush A dm inistration. I
hope and pray that the 9/11
Comm ission is able to break
through the inconsistencies put
forward by Dr. Rice and the
Bush Adm inistration. 1 hope
and pray that the 9/11 Com
mission is able break through
the fog of deception and se
crecy and to bring transpar
ency and truth to the Am eri
can people.
.
Congressman Bennie G. Th
ompson is from Mississippi.
M att Dishman
betters te the <3LAiter
Take Back
our Children
Weight Mgnt./Conditioning
U. of Portland Indoor Track
Sat. 9:30- 10:30am, Nickerson
Daniers Memorial Church. 1234 NE Killingsworth
(12th 4 Killingsworth)
Humboldt Elementary, 4915 N Gantenbem
Mallory Avenue Christian Church (Gym), 126 NE
Alberta
Matt Dishman, 77 NE Knott
Peninsula Park. 700 N Portland
Salvation Army. 5325 N Williams
U. of Portland Indoor Track, 500 N Willamette
Wild Oats Market. 3535 NE 15th
" ‘ Must be 21 or older to participate. Please contact AAHC before showing up to the first class and for
more information at 503-413-1850 or kdempsey@aahc-portland.org. Please receive approval from your
doctor before beginning exercise class.
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•*■«•»< »"«< ethnic A pproach«* to Community H ealth
A Program ol the African American Haalth Coalition, Inc
Sponsored by the Centers tor Disease Control end Prevention (CDC)
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Contact AAHC a t 5 0 3 -4 1 3 -1 8 5 0 or visit our web site at wwwaahc-portland.org
Our community was in turmoil
with senseless acts of gun violence
even before Kendra James and
James Jahad Perez’s lives were
taken.
1 hear the phrase, take back our
streets. Well take back and reclaim
our children. The streets are fine:
it’s the blood of our children upon
them that pollutes them.
What pollutes us is our mental
ity, caused by the oppression of
inequality, hopelessness and hap
piness. Stress and anger festers
within us like an open sore that has
no time to heal before it’s opened
again. For nearly two decades
there’s been one death after an
other. Now adding insult to injury
we are pained by police officers
killing our young black men and
women.
I have heard the cries of many
mothers. I have cried with them;
and one day I cried at the plight of
losing my own son. During the rally
and calls for justice, no one spoke
about our greatest asset and in
vestment - our children. No parent
should outlive their child, yet many
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are facing this devastation as they
try to cope with the ever-present
and resounding “why?”
Whether the gunfire comes from
a police officer or from one of our
own race, speak out! Life is sacred
and once taken cannot be given
back. The taking of life is irrevers
ible. Yet for the loved ones left
behind, the pain continues until we
ourselves have departed.
I say no more blood of our chil
dren. It is the responsibility of all of
us to stop the gang wars and to
pray for the removal of corruption
within the police department.
At this crucial time, let us give
Chief Foxworth a chance to do all
that is within his means to insure
justice.
Ju stice has alw ays com e at a
price and has been ev er so slow.
Yet we did not get this far w ith
out d ifficu lty , patience, and e n
durance. C hange m ust and will
com e, hopefully w ithout more
b lo o d sh e d .
1 will never forget the mother’s
words o f the first gang killing
when she said “It is my child
today, it’ll be yours tom orrow .”
Let us press on that this shall not
be. Save the children!
Thelm a Stone
African-American
Candidates
Regarding last week’s coverage
by the Portland Observer on the
city commissioner debate spon
sored by the African American
Chamber:
As you may know, there are
seven candidates running for the
Portland City Commissioner #1
position. Two of these candidates,
including myself, happen to be
African Americans. It is really dis
appointing, depressing and dis
heartening when the African Ameri
can Chamber sponsors a city com
missioner debate and snubs all the
black city commissioner candi
dates!
As a longtime community activ
ist, I'm really disappointed in the
chamber’s lack of support. If I were
a white city commissioner candi
date, I would seriously question
the credibility of that organization
in the black community!
White people don't have to kill
off black people if they can get a
"black organization” to do it for
them! Wake up brothas and smell
the racism!
J e rry Watson