Page A4
November 15, 2006
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Electing a President who isn’t White and Male
I'm encouraged
by the progress
M \ k < 11. M o m \i
The 2006 midterm
elections have set the
stage for some his
torie d ev elo p m en ts
for women and mi
norities in the political
arena.
With the Democratic Party's
takeover o f the U.S. House of
R e p re s e n ta tiv e s . R e p .N a n c y
Pelosi stands to become the fust
fem ale S p e a k e r, w h ile Rep.
Charles Rangel is poised to take
over the helm o f the powerful
Ways and Means Com m ittee -
the first African American to have
the job. And in Massachusetts,
Deval Patrick, a former official
with the Civil Rights Com m is
sion under President Clinton, won
his bid to become the second
African A merican governor in
U.S. history after form er V ir
ginia Gov. Doug W ilder, who
served in the 1990s.
By the same token. Tennessee
Rep. Harold Ford Jr., who ran a
remarkable campaign, lost in his
by
bill to become the first African
American senator from the South
since Reconstruction. O hio Sec
retary of State Kenneth Blackwell.
M a ry la n d
Lt. G ov.
Michael Steele and former
Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn
Swan were all defeated in
their respective races for
governor. And in M ichi
gan. voters gave affirm a
tive-action foes a victory
by baring use o f preferences by
state colleges and universities as
well as governmental agencies.
But the recent electoral out
comes still beg the question - if
the nation is willing to have an
African American lead one of
Capitol Hill's most influential com
mittees, a black female Secretary
o f State and a female Speaker of
the House, is it ready to elect a
female and/or African American
to be president?
According to a recent G allup
survey, the answ er is a resound
ing yes: 58 percent said they
believed the U. S. was ready to
elect a black president and 61
percent - a female president. But
are voters ready to put their vote
where their mouth is?
With over 9,(MX) public office fringe to the m ainstream within
holders nationw ide, blacks have the D enuxratic Party.
made major progress on the po
"W hite folks were indignant
litical front since the civil rights that he was running." said Eric
movement of the 1960s.
Easter, who worked on both o f
In 1967. Edward Brixrke of Jackson's cam paigns, in a 2003
M assachusetts becam e the first Village Voice story.
"And then black folks got in
popularly elected African A m eri
can to serve in the U.S. Senate. dignant that they were indignant.
In 1969. the Congressional Black
It won't be too long before a
person o f color or woman does
serve our nation's highest office
- or at least that is my dream.
C aucus w as form ed w ith 13
T here was this very strong
members. In 1972, New York visceral reaction to his presence
Rep. Shirley Chisholm , the first in the race, over w hether this
black woman elected to the U.S. was the right time and right place
H ouse, sh ow ed that a black for an African A m erican to be.
woman could throw her hat into and that galvanized his base."
By 1 9 8 8 . he m o re th a n
the presidential ring "in spite of
hopeless odds" to dem onstrate dou b led his 1984 results, w in
her "sheer will and refusal to ning 11 prim aries before losing
accept the status quo."
to M assachusetts G ov. M ichael
By 1984. Rev. Jesse Jackson D ukakis. In 1996. Alan K eyes
galvanized the black community ran for the G O P nod but had
and liberal dem ocratic base in b etter success in 2000, taking
bringing his candidacy from the 14 percent o f votes in the Iow a
cau cu ses and 21 percent in the
U tah prim ary. Som e new s o r
ganizations even declared him
the w inner o f the presidential
debates.
In 2004, the Rev. Al Sharpton
and form er Sen. Carol M oseley
Braun, the first black wom an
elected to the Senate, vied for the
D em ocratic nomination, collect
ing few delegates.
Not since 1988 has a minority
candidate seen Jackson's suc
cess. Now, tw o decades later,
Illinois Sen. Barack O bam a may
be just the candidate to make
history.
L argely unknow n in 2004,
O bam a em erged from a very
crow ded field to win a U.S. Sen
ate primary, paving the way for
keynote speaking opportunity at
his party's national convention.
A D ecem ber 2005 article in
The New Republic argued that
O bam a w ould have his best
chance o f w inning the W hite
House in 2008, with no incum
bent president or vice president
in the race.
But does an African American
like O bam a or Keyes or even
Secretary o f State Condoleezza
Rice have a realistic chance of
taking the W hite House in 2008
or 2 1 12 or even 2 1 16?
A study that appeared in the
latest Q u arterly Journal o f E co
nom ics conclu d ed that the U.S.
electo rate is still hesitant about
voting blacks into congressional
office. It found that w hites o f
both m ajor parties are less likely
to vote for th eir p arties' c a n d i
dates w hen they are black and
th at R ep u b lic a n s are 25-per-
cent m ore likely to cro ss party
lines in senatorial elections when
the G O P can d id ate is black.
W hite D em ocrats w ere 38-per-
cen t-less likely to vote for black
co n g ressio n al can d id ates from
th e ir ow n party.
Can A m ericans really look be
yond race and gender when it
com es to choosing their national
leaders? That rem ains to be seen.
Still, we can be encouraged by
the progress. It won't be too long
before a person o f color or woman
does serve our nation's highest
office - or at least that is my
dream .
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer o f the
National Urban League.
New Day Dawning Change In Leadership, Not Values
Victory gives
black caucus
more power
Judiciary; U.S. Rep. Charles
Rangel, D-New York, as chair
o f W ays and M eans; U.S. Rep.
Alcee Hastings. D-Fla., as chair
o f In te llig e n c e ; U .S. Rep.
Bennie Thompson. D-Miss., as
by U.S. R ep . M elvin L. W atts chair o f Homeland Security;
and U.S. Rep. Juanita Millender
T he Amen-
McDonald. D-Calif., as chair
I can
p e o p le
o
f House Administration.
j h av e sp o k e n
Additionally. U.S. Rep. James
‘ an d A fric a n
Clyburn, D-S.C., the current
| Americans, in
Democratic Caucus Chair, is
I p a rtic u la r. A
positioned to become the M a
have
o v e r-
i w
i
| w helm ingly voted for new lead jority Whip, the third highest
ership in Congress and around ranking position in the U.S.
the country. We will now have House. Mr. Clyburn would be
a Congress that works for all the second African American
member to ever hold this im
Americans.
In the new Congress begin- portant position.
"O verall, the m em bers o f
ning in January, the Black Cau-
\ cus have three new members. the C ongressional Black C a u
: I congratulate and w elcom e cus will continue to be lead
"• U .S. R e p re s e n ta tiv e s -e le c t ers in m aking A m erica w ork
I Yvette Clarke o f New York. for all A m ericans and will
Keith Ellison of Minnesota and help enact legislation that will
H ank Jo h n so n o f G eo rg ia. close the d isp arities gap b e
These new representatives will tw een the rich and poor in
all be powerful forces to help our country.
We look forward to w ork
us m ove fo rw ard w ith our
ing with D emocrats, Republi
agenda.
In addition, we expect the cans and Independents to ad
new com m ittee leadership in vance our agenda."
Congressman Melvin L.
I Congress to include several of
our members: U.S. Rep. John Watt. D-N.C., is chair o f the
Conyers. D-M ich., as chair of Congressional black Caucus.
1
J
i
j
Respecting
differences at
Clark College
E ditor's note: R. Wayne
Branch, a local African Ameri
can leader, was terminated as
president o f Clark College in
Vancouver after a 'no confi
dence’ vote by faculty amid criti
cism o f liis commitment to shared
governance.
by R hona S en H oss
C lark C< 11.1 r:< a B< > akdoe T ri sites
We know that people may be
asking that question follow ing
the change in presidential leader
ship at the college. We want our
students and the com m unity to
know that Clark College remains
committed to the mission and
vision o f our institution - includ
ing a respect for differences.
That com m itm ent is more than
just words.
n i i m X - K T i S X ’ m*
portunt thui ii was established as
lives, used to drive planning and
decision-m aking at the college.
As Trustees, we are com m it-
Clark College Board Chair
Rhona Sen Hoss
Former Clark College President
R. Wayne Branch
We are developing strategies to
increase the number o f students o f
color and international students
,
.
.
.
.
T
who attend our institution. In
addition, we have adopted an
institutional goal to lead and
prOUlOte diversity initiatives ill
hiring and training.
ted to realizing, in day to day
-C la rk College Board Chair Rhona Sen Hoss
term s, w hat it m eans to truly
respect differences.
Respect for differences means
that our students, faculty and
staff reflect the rich diversity of
our com m unity. Respect for dif
ferences m eans that everyone
feels valued for who they are.
Respect for differences means
NEW S E A S O N S
O r d e r y o u r T h a n k s g iv in g
t u r k e y a n d s id e d is h e s .
T H R E E E A S Y W AYS!
M A R K E T
IT ’S N O V E M B E R 15™ _
1. C a ll o u r T u r k e y H o tlin e a t
5 0 3 .4 7 3 .8 6 9 5
D(r you kruntr lafarv Lf our
T U R K E Y is?
2. O r d e r o n lin e a t
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a rk e t.c o m
3. C o m e in to o n e o f o u r s t o r e s
H ir
Rhona Sen Hoss is chair o f the
Clark College Board o f Trustees.
|Jnrtknti> (fbh&ahwv Established 1970
USPS 959-680
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
E ditor - in -C hiee :
M
fostering a w elcom ing, acces
sible and inclusive learning envi
ronm ent for everyone. Respect
for differences means w orking
proactively to em brace differ
ences and to understand and re
spect the many w ays that we are
both sim ilar and unique.
As part o f our com m itm ent to
those values, we will conduct a
diversity audit o f the col lege early
in 2007. We w ant to hear honest
feedback from our students, our
faculty and our staff on the ways
in which Clark C ollege truly re
flects a respect for differences -
- and w ays in which we are not
yet living our vision.
The data front this c o lle g e
w ide survey will help us create a
diversity plan for Clark College.
W e are developing strategies to
increase the num ber o f students
o f color and international stu
dents who attend our institution.
In addition, we have adopted an
institutional goal to lead and pro
mote diversity initiatives in hiring
and training.
W orking in partnership with
our D irector for Equity and Di
versity and ourC ollege Pluralism
Com m ittee, our college leader
ship team is com m itted to every
step o f this journey, just as we
are com m itted to providing the
best education and the best expe
rience possible for our students,
enhancing their opportunities for
success, valuing their individual
aspirations and helping each stu
dent fulfill th eir ow n special
dream s.
Pi ri . is iie r : Charles H. Washington
E d it o r : M ichael
P hrlu R i i . a tio n s :
Mark W ashington
C reative D irecto r :
O f f ic e M anager :
R eporter :
Leighton
Paul N eufeldt
Kathy Linder
Sarah Blount
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