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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2005)
Page A4 ¿lu rt la t t ò (ß b se rtte r____ _______________________ lujy »3.200s Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer O pinion Supreme Court and Civil Rights i w X F-PblAK M2>0?T hi ? k A1^ s \ • ' To OÜ«T Close l) S AU-Yi OiggKiSfiW'S Vi'aftTR.i;pAfA / KA ä M o Y.YH o 3* ú S, b§íj¿, . / lôpJÛRïS ARS HO/A\ WKYBS HIS 1 OVfbKBífe ÍH jtkßSfl) v ü>tTiêfAV i -, fóR. Hd/MH R fe /ffä LAVJ5 xzz / kÄRiXoM ? > w te o t/T A Job VcTH THS OS SÜVRBVie. ÄJOKT tg y, < W A* Ot&UNßr... Marc H. Morial, president and chief executive officer o f the N a tional Urban League, issued the fo l lowing statement regarding the res ignation o f Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: Throughout her tenure on the Court, Justice Sandra Day O ’Connor demonstrated independence in her decision-making that often led her to cast the all-important “swing vote’ in cases o f concern to us. On occasion, Justice O ’Connor sometimes saved the day by voting to uphold civil rights protections, as Marc H. Morial she did when casting the deciding vote upholding the University o f M ichigan’s Law School affirmative action program. We thank Justice O ’Connor for her service to the nation. The selection o f Justice O ’Connor’s successor will affect us all for the next generation and beyond. I urge President Bush to consult with senators of both parties as well as the leadership of the nation’s civil rights organizations to ensure the appointment of a qualified, distinguished and independent justice who will respect and uphold our civil rights laws. Troubling Inequalities Plague Many Americans Fighting for positive change by U.S. R ep . A i . G reks As we in Congress consider spending bills that will determine the course of this great nation over the upcoming fiscal year, 1 find the continuing inequalities that plague many Americans troubling: It is unacceptable that African Americans have a 10.6 percent un employment rate which is double the national average. It is unac ceptable that African Americans experience poverty rates that are almost twice the national average. It is unacceptable that only 49 per cent o f African Americans own homes compared to 69 percent na tionwide, and it is unacceptable that A frican A m eri cans are twice as likely to be denied a mortgage and two times more likely to become re c ip ie n ts of predatory loans. The mission of the Congres sional Black Caucus is to eliminate disparities facing the African Ameri can community; one of the most pressing of which is housing dis crimination. African Americans are two times more likely to be denied home loans ing discrimination that made through Congress to put an continue to fuel dis end to a practice that discriminates against people based on race, color, parities. Recently, I along sexual orientation and ethnicity, as with Representatives well as disability. Have no doubt that I, along with Barbara Lee, A lcee H a stin g s and R aul my colleagues in the CBC, will con Grijalva successfully tinue our fight to eradicate these offered my first piece glaring disparities and bring about o f legislation that will positive change. - Congressman At Green Neither I nor the Congressional provide an additional $7.7 million dollars to Black Caucus will rest until invidious and of those that are approved, nority counterparts to become re com bat housing discrim ination. disparities in all aspects of life are These funds will help educate con done away with, including, but not m ore than 29 percent receive cipients o f higher cost loans. These sobering statistics don't sumers on the trappings o f hous limited to, housing, employment, subprime loans. More recently, the CBC held a fully convey or represent the true ing discrimination and provide re education, and discrimination. AI Green represents the 9th Con hearing that uncovered data which magnitude of our housing crisis - sources to investigate such claims. This measure received strong gressional District in Texas and is confirmed that African American many in the minority community and Hispanic borrowers are several are faced with targeted practices, bipartisan support, which gives me a member o f the Congressional times more likely as their non-mi such as predatory lending and hous confidence that progress can be Black Caucus. The mission of the Congressional Black Caucus is to eliminate disparities facing the African American community; one o f the most pressing o f which is housing discrimination. Funding Solutions to Gun Violence by J udge G reg M athis One of the biggest divisions in the discussion about gun violence is the question of prevention ver sus prosecution. The law enforce ment approach to America’s gun epidemic is part of the solution, but fails to acknowledge that gun-re lated deaths, like automobile-related ones, could be prevented. At the end of the day, this is a public health issue, not a criminal one and, as with other public health crises, the federal governm ent should take a more prominent role in advocating for and funding gun violence prevention programs. According to the Centers for Œ1,c ^îortlanù ÛDbscruer Established 1970 USPS 9 59-680 _____________________________________ Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 5(),(XX) gun-related deaths in the U.S. each year. Roughly half of these victims are African-American. Black males be tween the ages of 15-24 have the highest firearm homicide rate of any demographic group. In addition, approximately 75,(XX) Americans Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 EDiroK-iN-CHiir, P u b l is h e d : Charles H. W ashington EDiroK:M ichael L e ig h to n R eporter : Katherine Blackmore D is t r ib u t io n M a n a g e r : M a rk W a sh in g to n C r e a t iv e D ir e c t o r : P a u l N e u fe ld t O e f ic e M a n a g e r : K a th y L in d e r Effective prevention programs can spare both the lives of the victim and the perpetrator. suffer gun- related inju rie s a n n u ally. Beyond these startling statis tics, very little is known about gun violence. If policymakers were aware of any patterns associated with gun deaths - for example, whether or not abused children are more likely to become violent of fenders or if it is more likely that a teenage boy will be shot between 4 day - perhaps they’d be able to develop and run effective preven tion programs. CDC has developed the National Violent Death Reporting System, a national, state-based system that monitors violent deaths. NVDRS helps identify potential risk fac- m ay have contributed to the incident and de scribes the offender and their rela tionship to the victim. Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board and a national board member o f the Southern Christian Leadership Subscriptions are $60.00 per year 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015 news (SDurtlandobserver. com subscnpiion@portlandobserver.com ads @portlandobserver, com classifieds@porilandobserver.com The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad © 1996 THE KIRTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED The Portland Observer-Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association. Serving Portland and Vancouver. _____________THE_____________ SPINACOLUMN An ongoing senes of questions and answers about America’s natural healing profession Dr. Billy R. Flowers Part 15. Back Pain: Why “oh, my aching back” has become such a popular phrase. Q: I always know when my back other component of what we call nature intended, we Chiroprac- the vertebrae are not moving the j tors not only relieve your back hurts. But I rarely know why. A: Statistics tell us 80% of all men, way nature intended. Other factors pain symptoms, we remove the women, and children will experi include muscle spasm and disc cause. Without drugs. Without ence back pain in their lives. Chi herniation. O f course, in addition to surgery. Without doubt. Call our ropractors can also tell you why. knowing you have back pain, chi office for an appointment today to There are, for example, several ropractors also know how to make find out how Chiropractic can help m echanical m alfunctions that itgoaw ay. By eliminatingthecom- your “aching back.” O r if you cause back pain. Among them ponents of the subluxation com have any questions about your are: Direct pinching on the nerve. plex and allowing the central ner health, just call us at the number This is the reason many people vous system to function the way below. give for their back pain, but in fact, “pinched nerves" only account for about 10% of it. Edema (swell 2124 N.E. Hancock Street, Portland, Oregon 97212 ing) This occurs from inflamma tion due to simple strain or sub Phone: (503) 287-5504 luxation. Fixation. This is yet an- Flowers' Chiropractic Office » Annual African- American Community Symposium í “ 'WIV/AIÛS Featuring Guest Speakers: Ron Herndon Hr. W ilbert Jordan Special Guest Appearance bq former Portland Trailblazer Greq S m ith Friday, J u ly 15 6 PM-9 PM Saturday, Ju ly 16 10AM - 4PM S e lf E n h a n ce m e n t, Inc. 3 9 2 0 N. K e rb y A v e D is c u s s io n s Ct W o rk s h o p s E n te rta in m e n t: S E l Youth P e rfo rm a n e rs O n s ite T esting : Free a n d C o n fid e n tia l Sat 1 2 - 3 .3 0 p m D e lic io u s F o o d Com e o n ! J o in u s ! R a ise a w a re n e s s ! H e lp e d u c a te th e A fric a n -A m e ric a n c o m m u n ity a b o u t H / V a n d A ID S . A t l a c tiv itie s T R E E ! For m ore info Christy H aufTSO ? 249-9721 e r t 2 5 9 S p o n s o rs : The L in k s , A b b o tt L a b o ra to rie s , B a s ic R ig h ts O re g o n , B ro th e r to B ro th e r, C a sca de AIDS P ro je c t, The D a rry l! C o rp o ra tio n /ln n e rg y Inc., DHS, G ilead, L o ve M akes a F a m ily, M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty H ealth Dept, O ur H ouse, SEl
