^ ^ o r t l a n h (ßhseruer Page A4 December 14. 2005 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer O pinion Deeply Rooted Racial Injustice: sations. A frican A m ericans were The recent Hurricane Katrina stunned and perplexed by white crisis has generated a national debate over whether racism America's general apathy and played a part in the human trag­ denial about the racial implica­ edy we have witnessed in dev­ tions of the Katrina catastro­ phe. On a nationally televised astated New Orleans. Two weeks after the trag­ edy, 60 percent of African Americans surveyed in a na­ tional poll expressed theirbelief that the federal government's delay in helping the victims in New Orleans was "because the victims were black." By con­ fundraiser for the hurricane’s trast. only 12 percent of white victims, rap artist Kanye West Americans agreed. In response, the Bush admin­ sparked a new controversy by denouncing “the way America istration unleashed its black is set up to help the poor, the apologists to deny any racial black people, the less well off as intent of its policies and actions. slow as possible.” Secretary of State Condoleezza Black Americans were es- Rice insisted. “Nobody, espe­ pecially infuriated with the de- cially the President, would have scriptions of poor black evacu- left people unattended." Black ees as "refugees” by officials conservative ideologue John and the media. Black Con- McWhorter ridiculed the accu­ by I) r . M anning M arable gressw om an Diane W atson protested vigorously, “ ‘Refugee’ calls up to mind people that come here from different lands and have to be taken care o f.. .These are American citizens!" Black suffering and white power Am erica.’ W est’s provocative query ought to be explored seriously. T he U .S. go v ern m en t and A m e ric a ’s e n tire p o litic a l economy were constructed on a racial foundation. Blacks were African Americans were stunned and perplexed by white America s general apathy and denial about the racial implications o f the Katrina catastrophe. But the racial stigmatization of the New Orleans outcasts forced many African Ameri- cans to ponder whether their government and white institu- tions had become incapable of expressing true compassion for the suffering of their people. Prominent Princeton Professor Cornel West pondered whether "black suffering” is required for the p reserv atio n o f w hite excluded by race from civic par- ticipation and voting for several hundred years. They were seg- regated into residential ghettoes, denied credit and capital by banks and relegated to the worst jobs tor generations. O ver tim e, popular cultural and social attitudes about black subordination and white supe- riority were aggressively rem ­ forced by the weight of dis­ crim inatory law and public- policy. Psychologically, is the specter o f black suffering and death in some m anner reaf­ firming the traditional racial hierarchy, the p ractices o f b la c k e x c lu s io n and marginalization? Even before K atrina’s ra­ cial debate had receded from the media, the question of ra­ cial insensitivity was posed again by form er Reagan Edu­ c a tio n S e c re ta ry W illia m B ennett’s rem arks in a na­ tional radio broadcast. In early O ctober 2005, Bennett a n ­ nounced to his radio audience: “ 1 do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crim e, you could - if that were your sole purpose - you could abort every black baby in this county, and your crim e rate would go dow n.” “New York Times” colum­ nist Bob Herbert interpreted Bennett’s remarks as the cen­ tral aspect of the Republican Party’s bigotry, racially divisive tactics and outright anti-black policies. “That som eone w ho’s been a stalw art o f that outfit might muse publicly about the po­ tential benefits o f exterm inat­ ing blacks is not surprising to me at a ll. B ill B e n n e tt’ s twisted fantasies are a m alig­ nant outgrow th of our polar­ ized past,” Herbert said. Bennett’s repugnant state­ ments, com bined with most white Americans’ blind refusal to recognize a racial tragedy In New Orleans, illustrate how deeply rooted racial injustice remains in America. M anning M arable is p ro ­ fesso r o f public affairs and history and director o f the C e n te r f o r C o n tem p o ra ry Black H istory at Colum bia University. Shocking New Gang Laws Proposed by Congress Advances criminalization of our youth by J udge G reg M athis Most of us have watched our communities deteriorate under the weight of gang crimes and we’ve watched in horror as our young men and women con­ tinue to be sucked in by the supposed allure of the streets. As laws aimed at curbing gang crimes were enacted, we were further shocked to see that law enforcement officials were setting up a justice system that feeds off imprisoning our young people. The Gang Deterrence and C om m unity Protection Act (H .R . 1279) c o n tin u e the governm ent's trend of tough laws and long sentences. This proposed legislation will not only fail to deter gang activity, but young people prosecuted under it will be exposed to hardened criminals while in prison. They’ll be returned to the streets angry and full of resentment. The House of Representa­ Are you o r^ someone you know pregnant tives passed H.R. 1279 this spring; the Senate is currently considering the bill. If passed, gang activity would be consid­ ered a federal crime and juve­ niles accused of gang activity could be transferred to adult courts; if convicted they could serve their sentences in adult prisons. Gang crimes resulting in a death will be eligible for the death penalty. The bill provides no exception for mentally chal­ lenged young people and im­ poses strict mandatory sentenc­ ing laws. H ealthy B irth Initiative can help. Healthy Birth Initiative (HB1) is a program for African American women and their families living in N /N E Portland. HBI offers: • transportation to medical and social service appointments • Home Visits • Incentives • Health education classes (free childcare and transportation when attending any HBI group or class) • Information and referrals to community services F or m ore in fo rm a tio n contact: Health Department Subscribe! Healthy Birth Initiative 5329 NE Martin Luther Kingjr. 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Manuscripts and photographs should he clearly labeled and w ill be returned i f accompanied by a self addressed envelope A ll 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 o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad © 11% THE PORTLAND OBSERVER A LE RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN W HOLE OR IN PART W ITH O U T PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED The Portland Observer-Oregon's Oldest Multicultural P uhlication-is a member o f the National Newspaper Association -Founded in I 885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York. N Y . and The West Coast Black Publishers Association. Serving Portland and Vancouver. Republican supporters of the bill say it will deter crime by removing gang members from the street. But study after study has shown that this type of leg­ islation not only fails to reduce crime, but it also contributes to the criminalization of youth. Research shows that youths transferred to the adult criminal justice system are more likely to re-offend, committing more se­ rious crimes once released. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that, while being held in adult prisons, these young people are five times more likely to be raped and 50 percent more 1 ikely to be assaulted with a weapon, than if they were in a juvenile facility. According to the Department of J ustice, young people housed in adult jails are almost eight times more likely tocommit sui­ cide than those in juvenile facili­ ties. Those who make it back to the streets are mentally and emotionally wounded, resulting in a more violent criminal. Of course, these tough sen­ tencing laws disproportionately affect youth of color. More than 70 percent of juveniles admitted to state prisons in this country increasingly violent crime. Write your U.S. Senators, asking them to vote against this bill. Tell them that gang and crime intervention; counseling and job training centers are needed to keep urban streets safe. Let them know that our We want to keep our streets safe, not create a never-ending cycle of increasingly violent crime. were minorities. Ourcommunities will have to deal with the Hood of young people, psychologically dam­ aged. unskilled and unemploy­ able, being released from prison. As such, we have to fight the passage of H.R. 1279. We want to keep our streets safe, not create a never-ending cycle of community will no longer toler­ ate legislation that seeks to tar­ get and destroy our chi ldren and our people. Judge Greg Mathis is chair­ man o f the Rainbow PUSH- Excel Board and a national board member o f the South­ ern Christian Leadership Con­ fe re n c e . Support Tobacco Prevention Goal is reducing smoking, deaths by D r . M ei . K ohn Many of us are proud to live in a state that is often on the cutting edge — whether it's open beaches, independent liv­ ing for seniors or recycling pro­ grams. Yet when it comes to education. From 1996 to 2003, the share of adults who smoke dropped from 24 percent to 21 percent. And many of those who con­ tinued to smoke did so less, lead­ ing to a 40 percent drop in per- capita tobacco consumption — almost twice that seen nation­ ally. In 2003, the Legislature cut We are in danger o f being left in the dust — or, perhaps more accurately, in a haze o f secondhand smoke. preventing tobacco use, we are in danger of being left in the dust — or, perhaps more accurately, in a haze of secondhand smoke. According to newly released data from the Campaign forTo- bacco Free Kids, Oregon ranks 35th nationally in fundingto keep kids from smoking and helping people to quit tobacco. O nly a few y ears ago, Oregon’s tobacco prevention and education program was a national model of effectiveness. In 1996, Oregon voters approved a 30-cent increase in cigarette taxes, designating 10 percent of that for tobacco prevention and I funding for O regon’s preven­ tion program to less than half the 1996 v o te r - a p p r o v e d amount. Currently, the pro­ gram is funded at less than one-sixth of the minimum level recom mended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. W e’ve fallen behind in an­ other way, as well. In 2001, the Legislature passed a law ban­ ning smoking in many indoor workplaces. This was a step forward, but the law has large loopholes: It exempts bars, bowl­ ing alleys, bingo parlors and res­ taurants with a bar included. That means people working there are unprotected from sec­ ondhand smoke. The law also forbids citizens from working for stronger local laws. Since then, the tobacco-pre­ vention m ovem ent, both na­ tionally and internationally, has m oved ahead — but Oregon has not kept pace. For ex­ ample, in Novem ber W ash­ ington became the 10th state to m ak e all w o rk p la c e s sm okefree. In protecting all workers, it joins states such as C alifornia, New York, Dela­ ware and M assachusetts and co u n tries such as U ganda, New Zealand and Ireland. Regaining our leadership in tobacco prevention and edu­ cation is well within our reach. Adequate funding for com m u­ nity and school program s and strong laws lim iting smoking in all workplaces can jumpstart our efforts and lead to further dram atic declines in smoking. The evidence is clear — we can reduce smoking and the death and disease that follow. W e’ve already shown we know what to do and how to do it. The only question rem aining is whether we have the will. Dr. Mel Kohn is state epi­ d e m io lo g is t in the p u b lic health program s o f the O r­ egon Department o f Human Services.