œi’1 Jlortlanò © b sm ier Page A4 October 5. 2005 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer O pinion Diversity at its Best I w as d riv in g h o m e fro m w o rk w h en a m o st u n iq u e situ atio n h ap p en ed . I had ap p ro a ch ed th e in tersectio n o f N o rth east M artin L u th er K ing B o u lev ard an d L o m b ard w hen m y ey e cau g h t a su b u rb an b lo c k in g traffic. Inside the tru ck w as an A sian m an try in g to m o v e the v eh icle by h im self. S u d d en ly , th ree y o u n g H isp an ic m en a p p e ared an d tried to push the su b u rb an o u t o f th e street. T h e v eh icle w as on an in clin e and b arely m o v ed . T h e n an A frican A m erican m an sto p p ed to help. W h en I sto p p ed , he to ld m e to g o around! I rep lied , “N o, I am h ere to h e lp !” I ’m sure he w as p u zzled that m e, a sm all p etite C a u ca sia n w o m an w earin g je a n s an d flip flo p san d als w as g o in g to m ak e an y d iffe ren ce w ith th is cu rren t situation. A s a cu ltu rally d iv e rse g ro u p w ith n o lim ita tio n s o r rese r­ v atio n s w e w o rk ed d ilig en tly to m o v e th is m a ssiv e tru ck from h arm s w ay. N ow th at is w hat I call d iv ersity ! W e w ere an o d d b u n ch , w o rk in g to g eth er. N ot m any th in g s w ere said, b e­ ca u se w e w ere all there on a m issio n , w ith the sam e p u rp o se to h elp a fellow p erso n in need. I left the scen e in aw e k n o w in g that so m eh o w , the w o rld is ch a n g in g and it w as satisfy in g to m e to k n o w that w e can co u n t on those aro u n d us to help us not b ased o n co lo r, sex, o r creed , b ut on th e b asic h um an need that w e all need each o th e r an d w e are all here to h elp each other. T h is ex p e rien c e left m e feeling ca lm and p eacefu l and w as d efin itely the g ran d fin ale to a p erfec t day! Brenda Richards North Portland Making Poverty A Priority M arian W right E dei . man O ne o f the unexpected side effects of Hurricane Katrina is that the storm opened up a n a tio n a l c o n v e r s a tio n on poverty. K atrin a ripped the blinders o f denial o ff on the chronic, quiet, invisible tsu­ nam i o f poverty that afflicts 37 million Americans, including 13 mil­ lion children. People were forced to see what poverty looked like on the clear pictures on their television screens: fam ilies w ho d id n 't have enough m oney to own a car or have a credit card or enough cash to pay fo r a n o th e r w ay o u t o f th e by h u r ric a n e ’s p ath , f a m ilie s le ft s tra n d e d w ith o u t food, water, or shel­ ter w hen the storm came. T he pictures of Hurricane Katrina’s poor victim s w ere hard to ignore. They put a vivid and desperate face on w hat is really a constant, daily crisis for m illions o f people in our rich nation. All over the country, poor fam ilies and ch il­ dren are being left behind as the benefits o f a stead ily g row ing econom y fail to trickle down. Bush can change misguided, unjust policies The day after H urricane K atrina hit, the U.S. Census Bureau released the latest data on A m erican pov­ erty show ing that in 2004, poverty increased in our rich country for the fourth year in a row. The num ber of A m erican children living in pov­ erty has grow n by 12.8 percent over the last four years, and is now over 13 m illion. T his m eans 1.5 m illion m ore children w ere poor in 2004 than in 2000. As these num bers were being released, w as our governm ent re­ sponding by announcing a federal em ergency m anagem ent plan to deal with child and fam ily poverty? Join us for the Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Awards Luncheon Just the opposite: T he Bush A d­ m inistration and C ongress were proposing additional tax cuts for the w ealthiest and budget cuts in program s that serve low -incom e children and fam ilies. T he persis­ tent and grow ing high level o f chi Id poverty reflects conscious, m is­ guided and unjust choices. How can the Bush A dm inistration and C ongressg iv een o rm o u stax breaks to the w ealthiest A m ericans w ho have benefited m ost from the eco ­ nom ic recovery w hile seeking to underm ine the guarantees and cut the budgets for M edicaid, food stam ps, and other program s that assist poor children w ho continue to be left behind? M ore than 7 out o f every 10 poor children in 2004 had at least one em ployed parent. W orking hard and playing by the rules is not hit, President Bush said, “W ithin the G u lf region are som e o f the most beautiful and h isto ric places in A m erica. As all o f us saw on televi­ sion, there is also som e deep, per­ sistent poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history o f racial discrim ination, w hich cut o ff generations from the opportunity o f A m erica. W e have a duty to confront this poverty w ith bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy o f inequality.” President Bush is still correct to say that poverty is w rong and un­ worthy o f A m erica’s promise. Now is his opportunity to translate that assertion into action. en o u g h to lift fam ilies o u t o f poverty. Even if a parent w ith one child w orks full tim e at the federal m inim um w age, w hich h asn ’t been raised since 1997, the fam ily still lives in poverty. Poverty affects all kinds o f fam ilies and child poverty has risen significantly am ong all racial groups. Extrem e child pov­ erty, defined as living with an an ­ nual income below $7,610 for a fam ­ ily o f three, increased by a terrible 20 percent betw een 2000 and 2004 and now affects alm ost 5.6 million children. F ar less w ealthy industrialized countries have com m itted to end child poverty, w hile the United States is sliding backw ards. We can do better. W e must dem and that our leaders do better. In an address to the nation from N ew O rleans 17 day s after the storm Marian Wright Edelman is chief executive officer and founder o f the Children's Defense Fund. We have a plan for college. Featuring Guest Speaker Martin Luther King III We will celebrate and recognize outstanding small minority- owned businesses in Oregon and Southwest Washington at the awards luncheon. Saving for college may not be easy, but it helps if you have a plan. 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