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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2005)
ílíe')¡3artlattò (Ohseruer Page A4 September 21, 2005 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer O pinion Insular Whites Untouched by Racist Reality Why views on disaster differ J udge G reg M ai his Every so often, som ething in A m erica happens that reminds the general population that white and black A m ericans are reading different pages in very ditterent books. In the 1990s, the L A. Riots and the O.J. Sim pson “not guilty" verdict proved that this country s race problem d id n 't go aw ay post-integration, but was merely swept under the rug. In this decade, the Hurricane K atrina disaster or more appro priately it’s handling is our wake up call. A recent USA Today/ CNN Gallop Poll reveals the races are sharply divided on the subject of the victims them selves, the President’s handling o f the situ- by ation and the rea so n s th e g o v e rn ment was so slow to respond. A ccording to the poll. 6 in 10 blacks say that the g o v ernm ent responded slowly because the majority ot the vic tim s were poor and black, w hile nearly 9 in 10 w hites say race and class were not a factor. Even more m ind-boggling is the reality that 71 percent of blacks said the disaster response strengthened their belief that ra cial bias is still a problem in the U.S. Only 32-percent o f w hites underprivileged, so living in the Houston A strodom e w ere they w ere evacuated w as “w orking very w ell for them .” This state m e n t la c k s c o m p a s s io n and show s a lack o f understanding o f the pervasive problem s o f race and class in this country. Presi dent Bush is not his m other, but the apple doesn’t fall far from the " tree. W e can no longer accept that President Bush says that race did not play a role in the w ay the some things will alw ays be dif m assive flooding in New O rleans ferent for us, that w e will alw ays w as handled. N evertheless, the see things differently than whites. m ajority o f the suffering, d e W hite A m erica m ust understand spondent faces on television and how race and class divisions af in new spapers and m agazines be fect our com m unities. U ntil they longed to our brothers and sis ‘get it,’ the bias that thw arts our progress will continue. ters. Exasperating the differences in perception is the fact that many whites are removed from the reality o f race in this country. w hite A m ericans. A m erica’s historical reality is that blacks w ere once c o n sid ered chattel and w ere bought and sold as such. W hen w e w ere counted as hum an beings, w e w e re n ’t considered w hole, in stead we w ere thought to be only 3/5ths o f a person. T hroughout agreed. There is no doubt that the all this, m any w hites w ere able to reasons for this difference in per gain m oney, prestige and pow er, ception can be attributed to the often on the backs o f our people. Fast-forw ard to m odem tim es disparity in the historical and current realities o f black and and blacks continue to face d is crim ination. Racial bias in hiring, housing, education, lending prac tices and the courts have rein fo rced the idea that A frican- A m ericans are not fully valued in this country. E xasperating the differences in perception is the fact that many w hites are rem oved from the reality o f race in this country. If w hites choose to do so, they can go their entire lives and have lim ited contacts with blacks and other m inorities. They d o n ’t have to learn o u r history in school, they d o n ’t have to live am ongst us and they d o n ’t have to see us in the w orkplace. Blacks, on the o th e r hand, d o n ’t have that luxury. From very early on, we are assim i lated into an A merican cul ture that has oppressed us. T he President’s ow n m other, during an interview on N ational Public R adio’s M arketplace com m ented that m any o f the d is placed individuals w ere already Judge Greg Mathis is chair man o f the Rainbow PUSH-Ex- cel Board and a national board member o f the Southern Chris tian Leadership Conference. Lives Ignored Once Again America’s embarrassing disaster L iv e s, d re a m s an d hopes w ere sm ashed to less than nothing in both the storm and afterm ath o f H urricane K atrina. N o m a tte r h ow you look at it, we blew it. W e failed on our own soil. Federal Em ergency M a n a g e m e n t A g en cy leaders and oth er a g en by Ron W eber cies very slow ly rose to the occasion. W hy? A lthough sham eful. It is both e m b a rra ss som ething like this could have ing and a h u m iliatio n across the throw n o ff any nation, th e re ’s globe. W hile w e p reten d to be m uch d eeper problem here in the great sav io r and cham pion around the w orld, we forgot A m erica. T he poverty level o f m any o f o u r ow n at hom e once again. th o se a ffe c ted by K atrin a is W as it because the area w as so a g a in , w e h a v e n o t gone far en o u g h . T he fact th at ev ery c o n ti nent and co u n try on this e a rth saw o u r po o r c itiz e n s, m ostly black, left alone in a tim e o f n eed is b a d en o u g h . B ut to see the face o f K th ir d - w o r ld p o v e r ty h e re in th is c o u n try ex p o se d to the w hole w o rld is ju s t plain sick en in g . The d is a d v a n ta g e d in A m e ric a q u ite h o n e s tly had b e e n f o r g o tte n o n c e a g a in . M any c itiz e n s a cro ss the c o u n try h av e been so busy w o rry ing a b o u t terro rism , w ar, p o li tics and lif e ’s o th e r c a la m itie s Every continent and country on this earth saw our poor citizens, mostly black, left alone in a time of need. p re d o m in an tly b la c k ? As m uch as I hate to say so, th is an sw er m ay be tru e r th a n w h a t w e w ant to adm it. A m e ric a ’s racism has reared its ugly head. Y es, w e have m ade im p ro v em en ts. B ut, once th a t w e d id n o t re a liz e how dow n and o u t so m any o f our o w n peo p le w ere and still are. In th e 1 8 0 0 s , F r e d e r ic k D o u g lass bro u g h t atte n tio n to the plight o f S o uthern black s to h u g e a u d ie n c e s o f d istu rb e d N o r th e r n e r s a n d th ro u g h o u t E u r o p e . T h e y to o “ s o r t o f k n e w ” that th in g s w e re n ’t too g o o d in the S outh. B ut th e ir daily lives kept them in the dark. D o u g lass had to put it in fro n t o f them . A lth o u g h G o d p ro m ise d n o t to flo o d th e w h o le e a rth a g a in , he n e v e r sa id he w o u ld n ’t p u t p a rt o f it u n d e r w a te r. It is as th o u g h he h a s d o n e w h a t he d id to b rin g th e p ro b le m o f r a c is m a n d p o v e r ty to th e s u rfa c e o n c e a g a in . L e t’s a ll h o p e th a t w e tak e a c lo s e r lo o k at th e p ro b le m s o f r a c is m a n d p o v e r ty th is tim e . In s te a d o f try in g to save th e w o rld , o u r le a d e rs sh o u ld be lo o k in g a w h o le lo t c lo s e r to h o m e . A w e ll-k n o w n ch an t afte r the 9 -1 1 tr a g e d y w a s “ N e v e r A g a in .” W hen I see the kind o f tre a tm e n t that A m e ric a ’s poor and m in o rity p o p u la tio n s still re c e iv e , the th o u g h t “ N ev er in the F irst P la c e ,” co m es to m ind. Ron W eber is a freq u en t speaker on African American history and a regular contribu tor to the Portland Observer. Disgust and Dismay y Y The federal governm ent’s response to the crisis facing hundreds o f thousands of American citizen’s in the G ulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama fills this reader with disgust and dismay. The result of 20 plus years of attempts by the conservative movement within the Republican Party have contributed to a complete and utter breakdown of how our govern ment can respond to the most basic needs of its citizens after a catastrophic event. Food, water, clothing and shelter were woefully inadequate and far too late in arriving. We have also uncovered the under-belly of shame and neglect in our racist and classist society. The time to address these fundamental failures has come. The ability to investigate and correct these problems ca not lay in the hands o f those who contributed to their creation. It is time that we, as a united America; rich and poor, black and white and all of the diversity in between demand that we find a solution which will help us to rebuild not only the States of the Gulf Coast - but also the foundations of our system of government. The Rev. Dennis J. Parker Southwest Portland Sham and a Shame Guard Recruitment Wrong With rage, I read that the National Guard is tasked with recruiting the homeless and hungry from the G ulf Coast. So, poor people in New Orleans, a place Rev. Jesse Jackson so aptly said has been made from “the bottom of the slave ship,” and have been shafted since birth to fund corporate military government inequalities, are shafted 1 T - ki B K The Joys Of Your Heart Live In Your Home At American Family Insurance, we know that home is the place where you spend the best moments of your life. For this reason, regardless of whether you are an owner or a tenant, we have a great variety of policies that could offer you the protection you need. Call one of our local agents today or visit www.amfam.com to become more informed about coverage options that exist to protect the joys of your heart...home. again to wage battle against Iraq. The illegal U.S. war was funded instead of their city’s levees and now the displaced residents are being invited to offer themselves up to next round of cannon fodder. Aaron Neville is right when he achingly sings, “They want to wash us away.” We cannot allow these ignorant monsters, who continue to savage the G ulf and its inhabitants, to have their sins washed away This time, our flood of righteous anger must engulf and sink them forever in their own criminal indifference to humanity. How can it be considered a fair pro cess when Supreme Court nominee John Roberts refuses to answer over 100 questions? This is a position for the highest justice in the land. In my mind, we should refuse to acknowledge John Roberts as a candidate of the court. This is a sham and a shame. Trouble is he will probably be con firmed because that is what this country has been reduced to - a sham. Colin Jury Beaverton Claudia King Northeast Portland I,,e Çortlanb (Observer Established 1970 USPS 959-680 ------------------------------------------------ 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 Charles H. Washington EoiToit M ichael L eighton R eporter : Katherine Blackmore D istribution M anages .' M ark W ashington C reative D irector : Paul N eufeldt O ffice M anager : K athy Linder E ditor - in - c h ie f . P ublisher : Send address changes to Portland Observer, P 0 Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Subscriptions a n $60.00 por year 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015 news @Dortlandobserver. com subscription® Dorilandobserver.com ads@portlandobserver.com classifieds@portlandobserver.cam 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. 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