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O pinion
Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or
represent the views of The Portland Observer
A Different View of Patriotism on Independance Day
Images often
doesn’t match
the real picture
Independence Day.
It has m ade m e think about
how the im age we see often
does not m atch up to the real
picture. Take President R onald
R eagan.
by B ernice P owei . i , J ackson
I really do sym pathize w ith
A s w e ap p ro ach In d e p e n ­ M rs. Reagan, w ho has lost a life
dence D ay, I'v e been rem em ­ partn er and has had to deal w ith
bering Frederick D o u g lass’ fa­ an illness w hich is devastating
m ous speech asking w hat the m illions o f A m erican fam ilies,
Fourth o f July could m ean to m ost o f w hom do not have the
Bernice Powell Jackson
slaves. D ouglass, an abolitionist w e a lth o r g o v e rn m e n ta l re ­
orato r and h im self a run-aw ay sources that she has had to help the R eagan fam ily m em bers and
slave, pointed out the irony o f a h er cope w ith this dreadful d is­ friends w ho have lost a h u s­
slaveholding nation celebrating ease. I really do sym pathize with band, father, brother and friend.
Apprenticeship Opportunities for
Painter I Decorator and
Traffic Control (Highway Striper) Painter
Union jobs starting at $ J 0/hour. Benefits when eligible.
Accepting applications for placement as jobs become available.
Most work opportunities will be in the summer months.
Earn while you learn. Weekly classes required.
Minimum Program Requirements:
Age:
17 or older for Painter/Deeorator,
18 or older for Traffic Control Painter
Education: Must have high school diploma or GED
Women and minorities encouraged to apply.
To request an information packet:
Phone 503-287-4856 or email to rtC@pattt.org.
But, for a w hole w eek, I found
it d ifficu lt to turn on the telev i­
sion o r read new spapers w hich
uncritically praised P resident
R eagan o v er and o v e r again. It
began to be a bit m uch for me.
Y es, he did stand at the Berlin
W all and gave a riveting speech.
Y es, he did force C om m unism
to change.
But had he done som ething to
tear dow n o u r ow n w all against
those w ho w ere dying w ith H IV /
A ID S o r force us to look at our
ow n fears and o u r ow n system
of denial and finger-pointing, we
m ight have saved m illions o f
A m erican lives. He d id n ’t face
dow n the racist regim es o f South
A frica and R hodesia and ask
them to tear dow n th eir w alls o f
apartheid that denied the right to
vote and basic hum an rights.
He illegally supported the dic­
tato rsh ip s in El S alv ad o r and
G uatem ala w hich w ere resp o n ­
sible for the deaths and d isa p ­
pearance o f thousands o f their
ow n citizens. For the poor and
A m e r ic a n s o f c o lo r , he
sc a p e g o a te d and ste re o ty p e d
single m others on public assis­
tan ce, c a llin g them “ w elfare
qu een s” and accused them o f
driving C adillacs w hile receiv­
ing food stam ps.
He tried to have ketchup d e ­
clared a vegetable in the school
lunch program fo rp o o rc h ild re n
in A m erica. H e refused to re ­
SPCMAlCQLUMN
by
Part 4: STRESS: How Chiropractic can
help ease life's day*to*day pressures.
Stress causes high blood
pressure, w hich in tu rn
is a m ajor cause o f strokes and
heart disease. It can lead to
asthma, a rth ritis , insom nia
and m igraines. It im pairs the
im m u n e
system
a nd
is
M o d e rn C h ir o p ra c tic
care can help de-stress
your body. By helping
your nervous system work more
sm oothly, C h iro p ra c tic helps
assure th a t a ll y o u r body
fu n c tio n s (in c lu d in g the ones
negatively affected by stress)
are working properly. W h a t’s
more, today'sChiropractors can
also help you w ith natural
relaxation techniques such as
yoga,
massage
and
visualization. For less stress, or
more answers to any questions
you m ight have about your
h e a lth , y o u 'll fin d th a t
C h ir o p ra c tic is o fte n the
answ er.
C a ll us fo r an
appointm ent today.
estim ated to cost the n a tio n
over $100 b illio n each year
in
lo s t
Flowers' Chiropractic Care
p r o d u c t iv it y ,
2124 N.E. Hancock Street
Portland, Oregon 97212
absenteeism and h ea lth care
costs. T h a t's p re tty serious.
Phone: (503) 287-5504
J udge G reg M athis
As the Bush adm inis­
tration continues to tell
the country that the eco­
nom ic good tim es are
back again, m illions o f
A m ericans, particularly
African-Americans, fail to
feel the im pact o f the eco­
nomic recovery. W e are
told that over I m illion people
have been hired since January,
yet unem ploym ent and econom ic
despair continues to plague A fri­
can-A m ericans d isp ro p o rtio n ­
ately.
The fact is, even with over I
million new jobs, still over I mil­
lion less people are working than
were working when Bush took
office. The unem ploym ent rate
for blacks is currently 10 per­
cent, nearly tw ice the rate of
whites. The unem ploym ent rate
for black teenagers is over 30
percent nationally and, in New
STD Clinic
f
Get tested.
W Get treated.
Stay healthy.
HIV Community Test Site
York City, half o f
all black men are
unemployed.
C le a rly
we
have not felt the
impact o f this so-
called surge in
hiring that is al­
legedly occurring
th ro u g h o u t the
country. Additionally, many o f
the newly em ployed are making
lower wages, all the while paying
higher prices for consum er goods
and services.
A ccording to a report by the
Economic Policy Institute, jobs
that once paid enough to sustain
a family now places that same
family in poverty. The EPI re­
ports that w ages today are 24
percent lower in value than they
were in 1979. Meaning that w ork­
ers have less buying pow er than
they did in past years.
W hile w ages have been stag­
nant, prices for food, gas, col­
lege tuition, and healthcare have
skyrocketed. C ertainly the in­
crease in the cost o f life’s essen­
tials is another reason we can ’t
feel the so-called econom ic re­
covery. Any real econom ic re­
covery will have to be accom pa­
nied by efforts to keep gas prices
down, increase wages, and get
healthcare costs under control.
Lastly, we must write our state
and federal elected officials and
dem and a m assive training and
em ploym ent program that will
address the disproportionate rate
o f unem ploym ent facing black
youths and black men. Until we
see real jobs paying real wages
we w on’t feel any real econom ic
recovery.
Judge Greg Mathis is chair­
man o f the Rainbow PUSH-Ex-
cel hoard and a national board
member o f the Southern Chris­
tian Leadership Conference.
4747 NE Martin Luther king, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
Charles H. Washington
EDiTomMichael Leighton
R e p o r t e r : Jaymee R. Cuti
D istribution M anager : M ark W ashington
C reative D irector : Paul N eufeldt
O eeice M anager : Kathy Linder
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50 3-3 8 8-3775
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Downtown Portland
Call for an appointment
Limited walk-ins
Sliding-scale fee
inability to pay
MulUiomah County i&ealth Department
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'r'" P o rtian i* (P becrnrr Call 503-288-0033 or email
Bernice Powell Jackson is
the executive minister fo r ju s ­
tice and witness ministries fo r
the United Church o f Christ.
USPS 959-680
No one turned away for
Advertise u ilh diversity in
the R epublican Party platform
in 1980.
T h e im a g e s w e h o ld as
A m e ric a n s o fte n ju s t d o n ’t
m a tc h up w ith the re a litie s.
O n th is In d e p e n d e n c e D ay,
p e rh a p s w e sh o u ld re a lly try
lo o k in g a ro u n d us. T h a t w o u ld
tru ly be p a trio tism .
11 Portlanb (0bscrucr Established 1 9 7 0
503-388-3700
G e t th e word out.
I
a w a re , w a s th e site o f the
m u rd e r o f th re e civ il rig h ts
w o rk e rs d u rin g the 196 4 F re e ­
dom S u m m e r. H e c h o se the
w o rd s “ s ta te s ’ rig h ts” in th at
M ississip p i sp e e c h w h ic h w as
the c o d e w o rd te rm u se d by
a rd e n t s e g re g a tio n is ts d u rin g
the c iv il rig h ts stru g g le .
He w as not m oved by the
plight o f po o r w orking A m eri­
cans w hen he refused to raise
the m inim um w age during the
Because of less buying power, wages and jobs
An ongoing series of questioni and answers about America's natural heaing profession
I have a very
stressful job.
H ow can
Chiropractic help
me?
/ really do sympathize with the
Reagan family members and friends
who have lost a husband, father,
brother and friend. But, fo r a whole
week, I found it difficult to turn on
the television or read newspapers
which uncritically praised President
Reagan over and over again.
Why We Don’t Feel the
Economic Recovery?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ THE_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1 hear a lot
about acres*
these days. Just
how serious is it?
fute his past opposition to the eight years o f his ad m in istra­
federal C ivil Right A ct o r to tion. He slashed the budget o f
C alifornia fair housing law s, in the federal equal E m ploym ent
w hich he accused blacks o f ju st O p p o rtu n ity C o m m issio n as
w anting to m ake trouble, w hile w om en w ere entering the w ork
having no intentions o f m oving force in u n p recedented n u m ­
into w hite neighborhoods.
bers.
H e b e g in his c a m p a ig n fo r
He did not hear the pleas o f
the p re sid e n c y in the to w n o f m illions o f A m erican w om en to
P h ila d e lp h ia , M iss., w hich A f­ ratify the Equal R ights A m en d ­
ric a n A m e ric a n s w e re w ell m ent w hen he erased that from
FAX 503-288-0015
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