rt lattò (ßbseruer Page A4 July 14. 2004 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of The Portland Observer O pinion Criminal Justice Changes Long Overdue Lawyers’ right to join equity fight Ji dce G reg M athis H ats o ff to A m erican B ar A ssociation P resi dent D ennis A rcher for his efforts in rally ing law yers to advocate change in our crim inal ju stice system . As the first A fri can A m erican to head the largest law yers’ asso cia tion in A m erica, A rcher has rightly sought to tackle one o f the m ost pressing issues for black by A m ericans. T he unfair crim inal ju stice sys tem and the high incarceration rate o f black m en have increasingly becom e the num ber o n e d e s tro y e rs o f black fam ilies. O ver one m illion A frican- A m erican m en are im prisoned and un available to support and help raise the children they have left b eh in d in the outside w orld. C o n s e q u e n tly , m o st o f o u r w om en are try in g to raise c h il d ren by th em selv es, m any in p o v e rty , try in g to teach m an h o o d to a y o u n g ste r g ro w in g up w ith o u t a fath er. M any o f o u r sisters are su c ceed in g in carry in g th e load alo n e, but c h ild ren need the fi n an cial su p p o rt and g u id an ce o f th eir fath ers. T h a t’s w hy ch an g es in the crim in al ju s tic e sy stem are so im p o rtan t to o u r fam ilies and o u r co m m u n ity . In d eed A frican - A m erican m en re p resen t n early 6 0 p ercen t o f A m e ric a ’s p riso n p o p u la tio n , but o n ly 5 p e rc e n t o f A m erican society. T he A m erican Bar A ssociation has now w eighed in on this issue with pro posals to overhaul m anda tory sentencing law s, com bat racial profiling and assist w ith societal re vict re c e iv e s little re h a b ilita tio n and is re tu rn e d to so ciety w ith little a b ility to b eco m e p ro d u c entry p rogram s for prisoners. T heir ti v e s o th e y c a n v i c t i m i z e efforts are not designed to free the a g a in ...u n til they a re re tu rn e d to guilty, but to provide balance and the re v o lv in g d o o r o f the p riso n fairness to a system that has been w a re h o u se . u n fair and u n b alan c ed to w ard s S o m eth in g m ust be d o n e an d I A frican-A m ericans for far too long. b eliev e th a t A m erican B ar A sso M a n d ato ry m in im u m s e n te n c c ia tio n , a m a jo rity w h ite o rg a n i ing law s h av e re d u c e d ju d g e s to z atio n c o m p rise d o f n early all o f c le rk s by ta k in g aw ay th e ir se n A m e ric a ’s law y ers, is in a un iq u e ten cin g d iscretio n , leading to long p o sitio n to in flu e n c e m a in stream p riso n se n te n c e s fo r n o n v io le n t A m e ric a o n th is issu e. S u b se p etty c rim in a ls and h ig h e r p riso n q u e n t to ap p ro v in g the p ro p o s c o sts fo r ta x p a y e rs w ho m ust foot als at th e ir o rg a n iz a tio n s c o n v e n the bill. O nce im p riso n ed , the con- tion in A u g u st, the g ro u p p lan s to u se th e ir c o n s id e ra b le in flu e n c e to lobby sta te an d fed eral le g isla to rs to e n a c t th e ir p ro p o s als in to law . W e can do o u r part by calling o u r legislators and voicing our support for the A m erican B ar A ssociations’ proposed changes to the crim inal ju stice system . Indeed, it w ould be crim inal for us not to rally around this cause. T he future o f o u r c o m m unity depends on it. Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board and a national hoard member o f the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Remember the Long March July marks anniversaries in freedom struggle b y M arc H. M o riai . A m erica has ju s t turned again to its m ost treasured m om ent o f sp iri tual refreshm ent - the celebration o f the Fourth o f July, literally the birth day o f the U nited States. T hat the D eclaration o f Inde pendence w as signed on that day in 1776 m akes the m onth the one m ost historically resonant for most A m ericans. But I’ve been rem inded that July is also a m onth full o f pow erful historical anniversaries o f A frican A m erican s’ long m arch to freedom as w ell. Forexample, this July 2 we marked the 40th anniversary o f the signing o f the 1964 C ivil Rights A ct, the m ost sw eeping civil rights leg isla tion enacted by C ongress since the R econstruction Era a century be fore. In the fam ous photographs o f President Lyndon Johnson sig n ing the A ct in the East R oom o f the W hite H ouse we scan the sm iling faces o f those present as the p resi dent distributes the signing pens to the senators and representatives w ho sh ep h erd ed the legislatio n through the C ongress, and to one oth er m an, an ou tsider to the frater- Letter to the Editor ocumentary Strikes a Chord T hese days, a lot o f hype surrounds m edia events like the m ovie Fahrenheit 9/11. It’s easy to dism iss that kind o f hoopla, but this m ovie clearly transcends the usual frenzy associated w ith blockbuster re leases. T he reason this m ovie w as so anticipated is because M oore steadfastly addresses the biggest threat to o ur nation. B u sh ’s re sponse to terrorism . W hile it may ap p ear that it’s ju st a B ush-bash for liberals, in reality Fahrenheit 9/11 is m ore broad based than that. M oore show s ordinary A m ericans doing extraordinary things in service to this nation o f ours. In response to B u sh 's raising m ore questions than answ ers, m ore feeling o f despair than leadership, we are presented an alternate, m ore hopeful view o f w hat is possible for o u r nation. D espite the m ess we find ourselves in dom estically, the lack o f adequate healthcare and a sluggish econom y, and internationally, Iraq and our recent laughable credibility, it isev en ts like Fahrenheit 9 /1 1 that rally all o f us to determ ine for ourselves w hat kind o f nation we are. T his m ovie’s success w ould not be possible w ithout so m any citizens of all stripes being fed up with B ush’s m isdirection on so m any fronts. T o dism iss M o o re’s m ovie as sim ple d iatribe is to dism iss the groundsw ell o f countless A m ericans across this land w ho dem and and w ill only accept a ju st and truly dem ocratic nation. Chris Gates, Southwest Portland ju l y V A N C O U V E R M U S IC F E S T IV A L J u ly 16-17, 2 0 0 4 3 -1 0 p m Downtown Vancouver Esther Short Park T " f= ? i j f = n n j« 5 i c : nity o f politicians present. T hat man w as the Rev. M artin L uther King Jr.-the ch ief sp o k es man o f the civil rights m ovem ent and the principal representative o f the people w hose struggle and sac rifice and indom itable w ill had brought that m om ent into being. Sixteen years earl ier, on July 26, 1948, President H arry S. T rum an had affixed his nam e to ano th er im portant docum ent o f freedom : Executive O rd er9981, w hich ended the longstanding official bigotry w ithin the m ilitary against A frican A m ericans that had persisted right until the end o f W orld W ar II. T rum an w as responding both to the m oral im perative o f history and the m om entous new determ ination that coursed through black A m erica in the po stw ar years. P ow ered by the decades-long black m igrations out o f the South to the urban N orth and W est, w hich had given them a m easure o f free- dom and opportunity, and by their co n trib u tions to the A m erican ef fort to “ m ake the w orld safe for d em o cracy ,” A frican A m ericans well understood they had once m ore proved their fitness fo rcitizen sh ip ; a n d th is tim e th e y w ould take th eir share o f it. So, in the im m ediate afterm ath o f the w ar w ould com e well ing up from o rd in ary black p e o p le in o rd in a ry black co m m unities in South C arolina, D ela w are. and K ansas the challen g es to official Marc H. school segregation at the local level that led to the S u prem e C o u rt’s decision in B row n v B oard o f Education. A nd a y ear after that landm ark decision cam e the first flashpoint o f the m odem civil rights m ove m ent, the M ontgom ery Bus B oy cott, w hose leaders drafted as its c h ief spokesm an a new ly-m inted m inister w ho had ju s t arrived in town: M artin L uther K ing Jr. B ut Ju ly ’s specific im portance to A frican-A m erican history goes back even farther, back at least to July 5 ,1 8 5 2 . F o r o n th a t d a y F re d e ric k D o u g la ss, w ho had been bom into slav ery and esc a p e d his bondage to becom e the m ost fam ous cru sader for the rights o f A frican A m ericans o f his tim e, spoke before the R o c h e ste r (N ew Moriai Y ork)L adies’ Anti-Sla very Society. D o u g lass’ speech, “W hat to the S lave is the F ourth o f July,” w as both a paean to the ideals set forth in the D eclaration and the C o n sti tution, and a scathing indictm ent o f w hite A m erica’s failure to extend them across the c o lo r line. S peak ing at a tim e w hen slavery itself seem ed a p e rm an en t fix tu re o f A m erican society, D ouglass th u n dered, "W h eth er w e turn to the declarations o f the past, or to the p ro f e s s io n s o f th e p re s e n t ... A m erica is false to the past, false to the present, and solem nly binds h erself to be false to the future.” O n e h u n d red a n d tw elv e Ju ly s w o u ld p ass b e fo re it c o u ld be said th at th o se w o rd s w ere no lo n g e r true. T hus, Ju ly ’s im portance to A fri can-A m erican history underscores the fullness o f the history o f A fri can A m ericans in and o f itself, and also how profoundly intertw ined it is w ith the forces and ideals w hich led to and flow ed from the actions o fth eC o n tin en tal C ongress on July 4,1776. Marc H. Moriai is president and chief executive officer o f the Na tional Urban League. __________ ,'i_________ , ■■■■■■■■■ ■■ ■ ■■ ■ ■■ ■ ■■ ■■ ■ I Shortchanged on Homeland Security Cities don’t have the tools necessary to keep us secure W ellington E. W f . bb It’s every m ayor’s w orst night mare: getting a call that their city has been hit by a terrorist attack. A fter talking to my form er colleagues at the annual meeting o f the U.S. C on ference o f M ayors, I’ve concluded what really keeps them up at night is knowing that they do not have the resources to prepare for or respond adequately to such an attack, espe cially one using biological, chem ical. or radiological weapons. It’s been tw o-and-a-half years since the attacks o f Sept. 11 and by alm ost just as long since anthrax breathing apparatus for only one- spores sent through the mail killed third. In addition, the study found five people and terrorized the nation. that three-quarters o f state public Since then, we have created a w hole health laboratories are overw helm ed new federal departm ent to handle by testing requests. hom eland security, yet we have not T o this, the Bush A dm inistra given our nation’s m ayors and local tion has proposed cutting the state governm ents the tools necessary to and local b io -p rep ared n ess p ro keep our hom eland se gram by 11 percent or cure. $105 m illion fo r next F irs t, th e r e ’s not year. A nd the A dm inis enough m oney to get tration has nearly elim i the jo b done and further nated the C O P S p ro cuts threaten the ability gram — w hich has put o f m ayors to hire and 114,000 m ore policeof- e q u ip th e n e c e ss a ry ficers on the street - by firefighters, police offic gutting its budget by Wellington E. Webb e rs , an d e m e rg e n c y another 80 percent. health personnel. A ccording to a E ven m ore frustrating to m ayors report done by the Council on F or is that the m oney sent by the fed eign Relations, fire departm ents na eral governm ent to local co m m u n i tionwide have only enough radios to ties is being disbursed inefficiently equip half o f those on a shift, and through state governm ents. A s the M ayor o f D enver for m ore than a d ecad e and form er head o f the U .S. C onference o f M ayors, I know that the federal governm ent can allocate m oney directly to cities since the D epart m ent o f H ousing and U rban D evel o pm ent already d o es so. If we can do it for affordable hom es, we can surely do it for h o m eland security. U nfortunately, the challenge o f keeping o u rcities ready to respond to a terrorist attack is one that m ay never go aw ay. B ut if the federal governm ent m akes sm art invest m ents and em pow ers m ayors w ith the funding to do w h a t's best to protect their neighborhoods, it is a challenge that w e can be prepared to m eet. Wellington E. Webb was mayor o f Denver, Colorado from 1991 to 2003. 11,1 sportiani» © bscrucr on Web J &* Xtew Ftfrarle* laute ■ J j 3 flswa. j f w l . porttentob«« «r» com fir http 4pm Cates Open 6pm Sequel 8pm Loverboy Ticket* available a t Festival f a te C W e n under 13 tre» wttn Md went 2pm 4pm 6pm 8pm Cates Open The Touchables 5 Guvs Named Moe The Suprêmes starring Mary Wilson Special Attractions: BBQ Pit, Car Show, Beer & Wine Carden S nôqiîalmie Ä VANCOUVER •’ FORD HYunon è VtifiARDt« tapp« J o U fi a V e lu m * X X X II. N um ber ?4 © je JJortlanò (f)h semer w w w .p o r tla n d o b s e rv e r. c o m As it quickly becomes more and more an electronic world, The Portland Observer endeavors to meet the needs o f our read ers and advertisers by going online. With the capability o f the Internet, the Portland Observer now reaches a broader audience, and thus sets your business in fron t o f a new generation. http, "w w w porttenetehnervee cemZ I index Snorts FOCUS Health Opinion Police/Vancouver Religion T . p S to tlw ■RE Adam* High Await« Wracking BaH The Portland School District has proclaimed that there will be a new Whitaker Middle School to replace (tie empty and former Adams High School at 5700 N F 39lh Ave Of course the new building vwH look very different and wi« bring new housing with It — something that makes nearby existing neighbors a little nervous Observodor General News <Djr|JnrtiandODbemwr reach more people with banner ads call 503 288 0033 Keeping a Close Eyo On Crlmg O vtp it* program cuts and budget shortfalls, returning Northeast P o k e Precinct Commander Bruce Prunk it positive the community he calls home will continue Io m ake strides Spraying Makes Progress in Mosquito Fight Take a sigh of relief Multnomah County health officials are reporting success m the fight to nd your backyard of mosquitoes uvHjrwn Bon«»» E L _ IT C M A H H ItllM B 1*10 $60-750 8840 From border to border from coast to coasi here are some of the top stones mehtng news across the Untied Stetea and from ©je Jiorthttth <0b«ruer eround the world reach more people with banner ads call 503.268 0033 di w .h o tju ly n ig h t 1 J