M a r tin L u th e r K in g jR . and R o sa P a r k s
Page A4
2 0 0 6
s /> e e t a i
lanuary II. 2006
e d i í i o n ____
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Taking Stock in How We Treat C hildren
America’s ideals
for justice fall
by
M arian W right E delman
At the beginning of a new
year, many of us choose to take
stock of where we are in our
lives and compare it to where
we hope to be. Some of us
might count numbers on a scale
or in a savings account. If our
nation took stock by measuring
how we treat our children, what would
we find?
W e’d learn that a child is abused or
neglected every 35 seconds—906,000
a year— and dies from abuse or ne
glect every 6 hours in America. The
number of children abused and ne
glected each year would fill the city of
Detroit.
A child is bom into poverty every 36
seconds in America; 12.9 million chil
dren are poor and 5.6 million of them
live in extreme poverty. The numbe:
ofpoor children equals the population
of the state of Ohio or the nation of tal care, enough to fill the city of
Zimbabwe. The number of extremely Bridgeport, Conn. Every 19 minutes a
poor children exceeds the population baby dies in the fust year of life; the
of Maryland or the nation of Libya.
U.S. ranks first among 30 industrial
A baby is born with ized countries in health technology yet
out health insurance ranks 25,h in infant mortality. And
every 42 seconds.
More than 9 million chil
dren are uninsured; 85
percent of them have
at least one working
parent. Their number
exceeds the popula
tions of New Jersey or the nation of
Haiti.
A child is killed by a firearm about
every 3 hours— almost 8 a day; 96,000
children have died from firearms in
America since 1979. They would fill
Boston’s Fenway Park nearly 3 times. every 22 hours a baby’s mother dies in
Every 75 seconds a baby is born to childbirth.
a teen mother. The 432,(XK) babies
Millions of American children start
born to teen mothers each year amount school not ready to learn and millions
to more than the population of the city more lack safe, affordable, quality
of Atlanta or the nation of Luxem childcare and early childhood educa
bourg. Every 4 minutes a baby is born tion when their parents work. A ma
to a mother who had late or no prena jority of all American fourth graders
God has blessed the United
States o f America with great
wealth and power. Why do we
choose to let children be the
poorest age group in our nation.
Alito Would Jeopardize Civil Rights
Dislikes legal remedies for discrimination
slavish allegiance to
J ulian B ond
a narrow and ex
If Judge Samuel
trem ely restrictive
A. A lito is c o n
firmed by the Sen
view of our Constitu
ate for a seat on the
tion has prevailed.
As a judge on the
U .S.
Suprem e
3rd Circuit Court of
Court the civil rights
Appeals, Alito hasdis-
and civil liberties of
all Americans will be in imme agreed with and dism issed
diate jeopardy.
widely agreed upon remedies
The NAACP opposes the for racial discrimination, equal
by
In his 15 years on the
federal bench, Judge Alito has
almost never ruled for black
plaintiff's in employment
discrimination cases.
confirmation of Alito because
of his past indifference to the
impact race and racism has
on American society. Wher
ever and whenever the rights
of racial minorities have con
flicted with his radical conser
vative views. Judge Alito’s
opportunity protections in the
workplace, the universally ac
cepted principle of one-person,
one-vote, and valued protections
long established in our criminal
justice system.
In his 15 years on the federal
bench, Judge Alito has almost
never ruled for black plaintiffs
in employment discrimination
cases. He has never written a
majority decision for the Third
Circuit in favor of an African
American plaintiff on the mer
its of a claim of race discrimi
nation.
If Samuel Alito's views had
prevailed, I would never have
beer elected to public office in
Georgia in 1965, nor would
thousands of other minority
candidates have had a chance
to offer to serve their commu
nities. He has disagreement
with a series of court rulings in
the 1960s that enabled more
African Americans to become
successful candidates.
All or any of these voting
cases, so basic to the very
foundations of our democracy,
is reason alone to reject his
nomination to the high court.”
Alito's record taken whole
or piecemeal, argues forcibly
for his rejection.
Julian Bond is chairman
o f the N A A C P N a tio n a l
Board o f Directors.
H ealthy Birth Initiative can help.
H ealthy B irth Initiative (H B I) is a pro g ram for
African A m erican w om en and their families living
in N /N E P ortland.
HBI offers:
someone
you know
pregnant
• Transportation to m edical a n d social
service a p p o in tm e n ts
• H o m e Visits
• Incentives
• H ealth ed u catio n classes (free childcare and
tra n sp o rta tio n w hen a tte n d in g any H BI
gro u p or class)
• Inform ation and referrals to co m m u n ity services
For more inform ation contact:
«Ht
■■■L
COUNTY
.«Kf
tflH
Health Department
Hc.ilthy Birth Initiative
5329 NF. Marrin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-988-3387 *22242
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I
can’t read or do math at grade level
including more than 5 in 6 Black and
Latinochildren. Our educationally ill-
prepared 4 th graders exceed the popu
lation of Houston, Texas or the state
of Nebraska. A child drops out of
a
school in America every 9 seconds of
the school day. The almost half million
children who dropped out of school in
the 2003-2004 school year would out
number all of the children in the state
of New Mexico.
More than 6 million children are
home alone on a regular basis without
adult supervision after school when
they are at greatest risk of getting into
trouble. Children in need of after
school programs equal the population
of Washington State.
And if we were counting, we’d see
that millions of poor children are hun
gry, at risk of hunger, living in worst
case housing, or homeless in America.
Almost 7 in 10 poor children live in
working families.
What do these numbers tell us about
whom we are and hope to be? God
has blessed the United States of
America with great wealth and power.
Why do we choose to let children be
the poorest age group in our nation and
choose to let millions of children suffer
preventable sickness, neglect, abuse,
mis-education and violence?
Why do we continue to mock God’s
call for justice for the poor and our
professed ideals of freedom and jus
tice for all?
Marian Wright Edelman is presi
dent and founder o f the Children’s
Defense Fund.
Rosa Parks Tribute
Her internal
flame spread
by
M ichael H udson
Many people are not
aware that the most impor
tant candle used in the Jew
ish holiday celebration of
Chanukah is the one used
to light the eight other
candles of the menorah.
This candle is the Shamash.
To me, Rosa Parks was the Shamash for the
civil rights movement.
In December 1995, when Parks refused to
give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery,
Ala., she ignited the heart and soul of America
to react to the injustice of segre
gation.
This year as a Jew, as in every
Chanukah season. I lit candles
each night of the celebration.
The first night, I lit one candle,
two candles the second, three
candles the third until Jan. 1 when
1 lit a total of eight candles. The
first night one burning candle gives
off a slight amount of heat and
light while tin the final night eight
candles bums a fire that is bright
and warm.
As the Shamash for the civil
rights movement. Parks played a
major part in reducing racial op
pression in America. I sometimes think of what
was going through her mind as she made her
decision to keep her seat. Just as the single
candle makes a difference, Parks as an indi
vidual made a difference.
Mother Theresa once spoke about why she
took a stance to help the poor in India. She said.
"What we do is nothing but one drop in the
ocean. But if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be
one drop less.”
The Talmud, the Jewish sacred text of oral
law and tradition, states “Save one life and
you save the world.” In the same manner of
thought, Rosa Parks inspires me to strive to
make ethical decisions even in situations
where 1 am acting as an individual. Our one
drop in the ocean can inspire others to act in
a positive manner.
Parks was frequently asked why she made
her fateful decision in 1955. She never boasted
about the importance of her actions. However,
when speaking to others, she spoke of the
importance of leading an ethical life. She once
was quoted as saying, “Each person must live
their life as a model for others.”
Even in the midst of despair, one can be
inspired tn do good deeds. Although she feared
capture by the Nazi’s, Anne Frank wrote in her
diary, "How wonderful it is that nobody need
wait a single moment before starting to improve
the world.”
Rosa Parks, faced with the oppression of life
in the South, chose her moment in time to
As a single candle can
be used to ignite a
Chanukah menorah, Rosa
Parks ignited the heart
and soul o f America to
react to the injustice of
segregation.
improve the world.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia told the
Cable News Network, "By sitting down, she
was standing up for all Americans.”
I will always remember Parks as a woman of
courage, who whose action inspired a move
ment that changed the world. May we be
inspired to share her determination and realize
the power of one person’s actions to make a
difference.
Michael Hudson works in labor relations
from Los Angeles. His “Black and Jew ish”
w ebpage
can
be
rea ch ed
at
ww w .angelfire.com /ca/dorseydon.
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