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Voting Rights under Threat
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October b , 2004
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call 5()3.288.(X)33 or email: ads@portlandobserver.com
THE PORTLAND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION CONGRATULATES
th e A frican A m erican A lliance for
H om eow nership on its
5th annual African A m e rica n
H o m e Buying Fair.
Saturday, October 16,
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Emanuel Hospital Atrium
5 0 1 N. Graham
FREE ADMISSION
Justice Department should intervene
bv
J udge G reg M athis
In the 1960s. the Justice
Department was called up to
help ensure that A frican-
A m ericans were afforded
their Constitutional right to
vote. From election monitors
to armed guards, the federal
government had to ensure
that American citizens were
afforded their G od-given
rights to exercise their vot
ing power. Unfortunately, 40 years later, the Justice
Department needs to, once again, intervene and en
sure that citizens' votes are not suppressed or other
wise compromised.
To begin with, the Vice President’s general coun
sel is leading a thinly veiled voter suppression m ove
ment entitled "The Ballot Integrity Project.” When
the current administration appears to be behind ef
forts to deny and frustrate the right to vote, we should
all be concerned and demand action. The problem,
however, is not just on the federal level. It exists, open
and notoriously, on the state level.
No one needs to restate the problems in the 2(MX)
Presidential election; there were almost too many to
mention. In Florida, black voters were IO times as
likely as white voters to have their ballots rejected. In
Michigan, a state representative was so bold as to go
on record as saying that the G O P needs to "suppress
the Detroit vote,” In acity with an 83 percent African-
American population, there is little doubt as to what
the representative meant by his statement.
I recently spoke to students at Prairie View A&M
University whose right to vote was threatened by the
county district attorney. Thankfully, these students
fought back and maintained their voting rights and
achieved the district attorney's resignation.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party in Kentucky is
so bold as to announce that they intend on placing
voter challengers (read: intimidators) at predomi
nantly African-American polling places.
This is real, this is now and this is happening
right here in A m erica. T he right wing know s that it
has much to lose w ithout the use o f these illegal
m easures.
Federal intervention does not guarantee that there
will be no problems come Nov. 2. However, Justice
Department oversight is a step in the right direction
of maintaining a fair and intimidation-free voting
environment.
Judge Greg Mathis is chairman of the Rainbow
PUSH-Excel Board and a national board m em berof the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
The Portland Development Commission has been working in Portland neigh
Adjusting to an Alienable City
in providing excellent customer service
and a friendly and experienced staff to
assist you with:
Racial climate is more o f the same
by
I
lA'
borhoods for over 40 years to build
strong communities. We pride ourselves
■ Purchase with renovation loans
f
■ Refinance with renovation loans
■ Home repair loans
V
i
■ Construction specialists on site to
assist you through the construction
process
R onald W hite
It is amazing that those o f us blacks that have
resided here for the last several decades have ad
justed to Portland’s alienable social policies. I have
noticed a steady but significant change in the racial
climate here.
E ver since the infam ous police opossum th ro w
ing incident about 25-years ago, som e o f our black
self-anointed leaders appear dum bfounded in their
response to atrocious police and civic behavior.
O ur reigning black city official then was C harles
Jordan. He made the heroic, bold and
unprecedented m ove o f firing the
police officers involved. He knew that
the people o f the com m unity w’ere
im portant. He also saw the im por
tance o f a healthy com m unity and an
ethical police force.
Evey one seemed to bask in the after-
math of what we saw as justice and
seemed quite intoxicated by it. Shortly
later the hatchet dropped. The mayor,
Francis
Ivancie demoted Mr. Jordan as if he was implying
that this Negro had no right to fire a police officer. And
we would later find that some outside arbitrator would
restore their jobs along with back pay.
I do n 't know how this affected everybody but I
was overcome by disbelief and grief, a grief that I
really never really got over. Mr. Jordan appeared to
fade away into the night and I didn't notice a lot of
people coming to his aid, which I thought was strange.
I felt a grim uncertainty about the future for blacks in
Portland.
Well in the next 25-years, we would realize atro
cious behavior by both the onslaught o f white and
black gang activity and police. With the black leader
ship response to these issues leaving much to be
desired in the way o f justice.
Given the all this historical evidence about dispar
ate treatment o f blacks in Portland, why can ’t we be
more proactive about these issues? Why haven't
people like Al Sharpton, Johnny Cochran or other
national black leaders been called to witness this
injustice and get Oregon on the map?
Mr. Jordan appeared to fade away
into the night and I didn't notice a lot o f
people coming to his aid, which I
thought was strange. I felt a grim
uncertainty about the future fo r blacks
in Portland.
Letter to the Editor
JIM FRANCESCONI
Yes on Medical Marijuana
“I w ill fig h t for m ore d iv e r sity on P o rtla n d ’s
p olice force to b e tte r reflect th e com m u n ity
it s e r v e s .”
— Jim F ran cescon i
Jim Francesconi has a proven record of honoring and protecting
all Portlanders. He has earned his reputation as a leader who
speaks his mind, stands up for those without a voice, and gets
the job done.
Jim Francesconi is passionate about equal rights. As mayor,
Jim will continue to work for good schools, a stronger economy,
safe and affordable housing, and justice for every community.
On November 2nd, Vote
JIM FRANCESCONI
FOR MAYOR.
To read J im ’ s 100- day plan to move P ortland forward , please visit :
www.JimFrancesconiForMayor.com
“I met Jim when we were having problems
with drugs, alcohol, gangs and shootings
in my NE Portland neighborhood. We
couldn’t get the police to come out half
the time. Jim provided us with the tools
to take back our neighborhood.”
— M aggie Gibson
1724 NE GLISAN STREET I PORTLAND, OR 97232 I PH: 503-233-4987 I www.jimfrancesconiformayor.com
I
It is obvious that blacks here need some kind of
galvanization given their lower per-capita income and
low rates for home ownership. And not to mention
proposals by the Aryan Nations to rid the Northwest
of blacks and the government waging gentrification
war on our communities.
It appears that any pro-active response is stymied
by our incessant psychosis.
If we don’t get off o f our high horses and acknowl
edge that we should heal ourselves psychologically,
we may find ourselves here in Oregon in a spinout of
poverty and self-denigration.
Thank you for the story "Pain
Relief with Legal Pot" in last week’s
issue. I w asachiefpetitionerforthe
Oregon Medical M arijuana Act
passed in 1998. It is successful with
over 10,000 registered patients, and
more than 1,400 Oregon doctors
have signed applications.
Unfortunately, the original act
forces patients to grow medical mari
juana or find someone who will
grow it for them without taking any
reimbursement -even for itemized
expenses. Your article’s descrip
tion o f the expensive materials,
gardening skill, and plain old luck
necessary for a regular supply of
medicine makes it obvious why dis
pensaries are needed. Without dis
pensaries, many patients are w ith
out medicine.
Measure 33. an amendment to
the OM M A, provides improved
access to medicine through regu
lated dispensaries that will sell
medical marijuana only toqualified
patients. The dispensaries would
act like pharmacies for medical mari
juana. This would allow patients
who need medicine immediately or
patients who are too sick to grow
safe access to the medicine they
need.
M easure 33 is not legalization,
because one m ust be qualified by
an attending physician and it will
rem ain a felony to sell to any non-
registered person. I encourage
everyone to support patient ac
cess to necessary m edicine in
cluding medical marijuana. Please
vote Yes on 33.
Kick Bayer, M l)
Southwest Portland
Tax Keeps Our Promise
In 2003, we as Multnomah County residents passed a three-
year temporary tax measure to support basic school and human
services. Our most vulnerable citizens are watching and waiting
to see if we keep our commitment. As adults, we all need to
remember that children look to us as their role models. Therefore,
we are keeping our promise by voting ’ no’ on Measure 26-64.
Stand For Children Team
Au kiis tana Lutheran Church