Page A 4
JJnrtlanb (Obscrucr
lune 3 0 , 2 0 0 4
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
E i > itor - in -C hiee , P ublisher :
50 3-3 8 8-3775
428 SW Stark St.. &h Floor
Downtown Portland
Call for an appointment
Limited walk-ins
Sliding-scale fee
inability to pay
MulUiomah County i&ealth Department
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should
be clearly labeled and w ill be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope A ll created
design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot be used in other
publications or personal usage wilhout the written consent o f the general manager, unless the
client has purchased rhe composition o f such ad. O 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER A LL
RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN W HOLE OR IN PART W ITH O U T PERM1S
SION IS PROHIBITED
The Portland Observer-Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publication—to a member o f the Na*
tional Newspaper Association- Founded in 1885. and The Nalional Advertising Represema-
tive Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York. NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers
Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver
P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer
P0Box3137, Portland, 0R97208
Periodical Postage paid In Portland, OR
Subscriptions are $60.00 per year
503-288-0033
'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
ads(f' port kiiulobseivcr.com
I