Page A4________________________________________ o r t l a t t ò ( í ) h s e r v e r ____________________________________*une l6,2004
O pinion
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or
represent the views of The Portland Observer
Economic Woes Not Getting Better
b v U.S.
R ep .
E lijah E.
C ummings
Trickle down
policies hurting
all Americans
I am encouraged by the news
that the nation’s payrolls made
moderate strides during the last
month. However, 1 am very con­
cerned that despite the jobs cre­
ated over the last few months, the
nation’s unemployment rate has
not shown a significant decline
since December 2003.
A ccording to the U.S. D epart­
ment o f Labor, each m onth since
D ecem ber 2003, the n atio n ’s un­
em ploym ent rate has been either
5.6 percent or 5.7 percent. In May,
8.2 million Americans found them­
selves out o f work. T hat is the
same num ber o f individuals who
were unem ployed for the month
o f April. M oreover, that num ber
does not reflect those w orkers
who have given up looking for
work.
The employment picture gets
worse if you are African-American.
In May, African American unem ­
ployment rose by .2 percent to 9.9
percent. Furthermore, the non-par­
tisan Congressional Budget Office
White Americans dropped by 47
percent.
What these numbers really tell
us is that the Bush Administration's
trickle down economic policies are
hurting all Am erica’s workers.
Although the economy is show ­
ers entering the marketplace each
month.
A dditionally, w hile business
productivity is up, worker wages
are down. That means that our
economy is creating a permanent
class of working poor. Increasingly,
? Since President Bush assumed office in January 2001, African
Americans have lost up to 88 percent o f their earning potential.
- U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings
recently reported that since Presi­
dent Bush assumed office in Janu­
ary 2001, African Americans have
lost up to 88 percent of theiream ing
potential. In comparison, wages for
ing faint signs of growth, job cre­
ation and worker investment is at a
virtual standstill, and the economy
is barely creating enough jobs to
keep pace with the number of work­
ployed population, are making
$ 18,800 or less and many are work­
ing at least two jobs to make ends
meet.
President Bush and his A d­
m inistration have made it clear
they are unw illing to ch an g e their
econom ic approach o f fiscal m is­
m anagem ent and deficit spend­
ing. In order for our econom ic
picture to change, we m ust have
new leadership in C ongress and a
new A dm inistration com m itted to
econom ic policies that uplift all
Am ericans.
workers are clocking more hours,
but bringing home less and less at
U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings,
the end o f the day. One May issue
of Business Week reported that 1 in D-Md. is chairman o f the Congres­
4 workers, or 25 percent o f the em ­ sional Black Caucus.
College Should Welcome NAACP
Fueling Hate Crimes Worldwide
Decision to block chapter is arbitrary and racist
Racial attacks
continue at home
and abroad
University who want to organize are not
Catholic University of America’s deci­ Nazis, they are not thugs, they are not
sion to ban students from organizing a skinheads and they are not terrorists.
T h e h y p o c risy ro o te d in the
NAACP college chapter on their Wash­
ington, D.C. campus is blatant discrimina­ university’s decision to ban this student
chapter and then to hide
tion in its most naked form.
behind such an indefen­
We believe that it is an
sible position is a biblical
em barrassment not only to
fig leaf that grows smaller
the good men and women
by the moment.
of the Catholic faith but to
The NAACP will con­
fair minded Americans ev­
sider legal steps to have
ery where who believe that
the University allow stu­
discrimination o f any type
dents to organize the col­
is wrong. This is not the
lege chapter. We are pre­
nature of democracy as we
pared
to bring litigation
know it, and this is not the
against
Catholic Univer­
nature o f the Catholicism
sity for violating what we
that others and I grew to
believe is the right o f all
know and respect.
Kweisi Mfume
studentsin America tofree
NAACP college chap­
ters are on four otherCatholic universities association and equal protection under
the law.
w ith no p ro b le m . T h ey in c lu d e
Kweisi Mfume is president o f the Na­
Georgetown University, Trinity College
(Washington, D.C.), St. John’s University tional Association fo r the Advancement
o f Colored People (NAA C P), the nation's
and Fordham University.
Our student chapters and our members oldest and largest civil rights organiza­
are of all races. The students at Catholic tion.
by K wf . isi M fume
by
J udge G reg M athis
appears to be most hostile to ethnic mi­
norities with a series o f attacks that have
prompted a hate crimes law.
Indeed, Russia appears to be the coun­
try with the most racial attacks in recent
The beatings and
killings of ethnic
minorities and dark-
skinned foreigners occur
so often it is rarely even
covered in the media... k
In our ideal world, people
would be treated equally
and without regard to skin
color.
In our current world,
however, people continue
to be treated unequally and
sometimes, killed - based
on skin color.
Throughout the world,
w hite suprem acists co n ­
tinue to attack people of color. For the
most part, the attacks occur in countries
that are majority Caucasian, with the
victims being members o f an ethnic mi­
nority group.
In the United States, racial attacks
continue in the form of violent killings, as
well as racially motivated police brutal­
ity. Similarly, in Australia, police brutal­
ize the darker Aborigine ethnic group,
who are the native inhabitants. Russia
years. The beatings and killings of ethnic
minorities and dark-skinned foreigners oc­
cur so often it is rarely even covered in the
media, according to a report by Detroit
Free Press foreign correspondent Mark
McDonald.
He reports that skinhead white suprema­
cist gangs, on a regular basis, are ran­
domly attacking Indians, Africans, and
darker-skinned Russians. There have been
so many attacks that a Russian website
has been set up to keep a log o f them.
The reasons for these attacks are many.
In addition to subscribing to a flawed
belief in white supremacy, racial attackers
are usually poor, ignorant, uneducated
and looking to blame their
problems on a minority
group. Combining these
factors with an environ­
ment o f extreme national­
ism and patriotism, con­
fused supremacists go on
the attack to relieve their
frustration with their own
situation.
W hat is occurring in
R u ssia and e lsew h e re
should be a lesson to
countries throughout the world. The
flawed ideology of white supremacy must
be confronted and defeated.
Our government and business leaders
must invest in uplifting its citizens out of
poverty and ignorance and must set a
patriotic tone of equality and justice for all.
Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the
Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board and a na­
tional board member o f the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference.
W ELLS
FARGO
Embrace the past while
looking towards the future.
The Next Stage*
Wells Fargo honors Juneteenth, a national day of African American freedom.
J U
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C i 004 Well, Fargo Bank. N A All rtqhti reserved Member FOC
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