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Black History Month
lanuary 31, 2007
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Smith, Dungy and Obama:
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O ff ic e M anager : K athy L in d e r
R eporter : Sarah Blount
Breaking barriers at the top of their fields
by M arc H .
M orial
For the firs t tim e in history, not
one but tw o blacks - the Chicago
Bears’ Lovie Smith and the India­
napolis C olts’ T ony Dungy - are
leading their teams to football's pre­
m ier contest - the Super Bowl.
And another black man - Illin o is
Sen. Barack Obama - took the first
step toward throw ing his hat in the
ring in the ultimate political contest
- the battle fo r the nation's highest
office.
What a delightful coincidence
that these historic developments
w ould occur in the month that
celebrates the birthday o f Dr.
M artin Luther K ing Jr.
Obama’ s hardly the first A fr i­
can American to vie forthe presi­
dency: He stands upon the broad
shoulders o f the Rev. Jesse Jack-
son, Shirley Chisholm , the Rev. A l
Sharpton, Carol Moseley Braun
and others.
N ot since Jackson in 1988 has a
black been considered a serious
contender fo r the Oval O ffice . But,
unlike his predecessors, Obama
probably stands the best chance o f
becoming the firs t A frica n A m e ri­
can to w in his party's presidential
nomination in 2008 or beyond.
In a recent Z ogby p o ll, the I l l i ­
nois Democrat led the fie ld in New
H a m p s h ire , a h is to ric te s tin g
ground fo r presidential candidates,
w ith 23 percent o f voters favoring
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him compared to 19 percent for Sen.
H illa ry Rodham C lin to n and John
Edwards. Up until 1992, the candi­
date w ho won the prim ary usually
made his way to the W hite House.
B ill C linton and George W. Bush
have defied that trend in recent
elections.
That Smith beat out his mentor
Dungy by a few hours to be the first
black coach to guide his team into
N a tio n al Footbal League's
populating the coaching ranks. In
1989, A rt Shell became the first
A frican-A m erican head coach in
the N F L 's modern era.
In his ow n way. Dungy, a form er
Pittsburgh Steeler w ho got his
coaching start in 1981, played his
own role in d ive rsifyin g the profes­
sion by recruiting Smith to be line­
backer coach fo r the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers in 1996.
The institution o f the so-called
They give our children
hope that the American
Dream is possible for all
members of society to attain.
crow n-jewel game makes up fo r the
fact that his Bears handily defeated
my beloved New Orleans Saints to
get there. I'll forgive L o vie this year
because it is tru ly a great day in
history when tw o black coaches
meet at the pinnacle event o f pro­
fessional football. I cannot make
promises fo r next year, though. I f
Lovie robs my Saints o f their Super
B ow l dreams next year, I'll have to
take it personally.
R oughly 66 percent o f National
Football League players are A fr i­
can Americans but blacks have long
faced form idable obstacles to their
"Rooney Rule'' broke down barri­
ers in the N F L ’s 'old-boy' network
by requiring teams to consider at
least one m in o rity candidate in their
h irin g processes. By the start o f
this year's season, there was a
record seven black head coaches.
"F or years and years, the coach­
ing decisions and many other deci­
sions in professional football really
fo llo w e d the old way o f doing
things," D arrell M illn e r, professor
o f black studies at Portland State
U n iv e rs ity , to ld the O regonian
newspaper recently. "These tw o
black coaches today are reflection
that that is changing. T h e ir suc­
cess gives an additional impetus o f
the continuation o f that kind o f
change."
In a recent television interview .
Bears fan Obama made a great point
about these tw o men that speaks
less to the color o f their skin and
more to the content o f their charac­
ter, to invoke Dr. King. "What makes
it even better is that they're both
men o f h u m ility. They're both men
o f God. They never trash talk.
They're not yellers o r screamers
on the sidelines. They're a couple
o f class individuals," he said.
In a Letter to the Editor to his
local paper, Hal Nelson, execu­
tive director o f secondary educa­
tion fo r the Sarasota C ounty
School District, wondered i f d i­
vine intervention played some
role in bringing tw o black coaches
together in the Super Bowl to "illu m i­
nate the potential o f the American
experience" and underscore the im ­
portance o f three keyqualitiesexhib-
ited by Dungy and Smith - compe­
tence, character and tenacity.
Sm ith, Dungy and Obama are
positive role models fo r future gen­
erations to aspire to. They give our
children hope that the American
Dream is possible for all members o f
society to attain.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na­
tional Urban League.
Demand More Education Spending
1 -866-450-4940 toii-fne
503-335-6613 locally
Reform starts with financial commitment
by J udge
Contain the Rain
w w w .C le a n R iv e rR e w a rd ^ ro m
For storm water discount registration,
inform ation and class schedules
or call the Clean River Rewards
hotline 502-823-1371
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C ity of P ortland
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I • •
Sam Adams, Commissioner Dean Marriott, Director
Call 503-823-7740 with disability accommodation requests.
G reg M atiiis
5 years ago, President
Bush signed into law the
NoC'hild Left Behind law.
This piece o f legislation
was intended to im prove
the public school system
by increasing the penal­
ties fo r schools that d id n 't meet
academic standards.
I f a student was struggling, he/
she could receive free tutoring and,
i f the school continued to fa ll short
o f expectations, students are a l­
lowed to transfer schools. Schools
that repeatedly fail were subject to
harsh penalties, including closing.
Though controversial, the law
was an attempt to provide Am erica’ s
publ ie school children w ith a qual ity
education. There was one huge flaw
with the bill, however. Expectations
fo r schools went up, but federal
spending on public education didn’ t
increase sufficiently.
W ith o u t adequate fu n d in g ,
schools c o u ld n 't im plem ent the
strategies need to im prove their
schools. They were doomed to fail
and, in turn, so are our c h il­
dren. The No C h ild Left
Behind A c t is up fo r re­
newal. W ith the Democrats
e xertingtheirrecently won
power in the Congress, now
is the tim e fo r progressive
thinkers to fig h t fo r an in ­
crease in education spending.
School systems have, fo r years,
routinely used standardized tests
to gauge student progress. But,
w ith the passage o f No C h ild Left
Behind, these tests went from be-
i ng an assessment to, in many cases,
being the deciding factor in whether
or not a student w ill move on to the
next level.
For students in under-funded,
i.e. poor, school districts, passing
these tests is next to impossible.
The odds are stacked against them.
M any o f those affected by this
biased system are black.
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., has
proposed a plan that calls fo r states
to w ork to develop consistent aca­
demic requirements for students: this
w ould ensure students, regardless
o f where they live, would leave school
equally prepared fo r college or the
workforce. Kennedy has also called
for an expansion o f social programs
fo r poor children; social workers
w ill be in every school that has a
large population o f students liv in g
below the poverty line. When stu­
dents liv in g in urban areas are able
toe m o tio n a lly and psychologically
‘deal w ith ’ the violence and pov­
erty that may surround them, they
leant better.
I f federal and local governments
w e re to a d e q u a te ly fu n d the
nation's publ ic schools, the schools
co u ld im plem ent the program s
needed to ensure student success.
Instead, the country has poured its
money into the crim inal injustice
system and defense spending, leav­
ing our children, our future, vulner­
able and unprepared fo r an increas­
ing com petitive society. The public
education system needs to be re­
formed. Real reform starts w ith a
financial comm itment from the fed­
eral government.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
State of the Union Brush Off
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by R alph B. E verett
Me, are a regular pharmacy Ì
V \Ne fill p r e s c rip tio n s — in c lu d in g a n tib io tic s ,
h ig h b lo o d p re s s u re m e d ic a tio n s ,
a n ti-d e p re s s a n ts , b irth c o n tro l, a n d m o re .
| r W e h a v e k n o w le d g e a b le , frie n d ly p h a r m a c is ts
w h o h a v e th e tim e to s h a re in fo rm a tio n .
O u r p ric e s a re c o m p e titiv e . W e a c c e p t m o s t
in s u ra n c e p la n s a n d a re a d d in g o th e r s as
re q u e s te d .
I t W e s p e c ia liz e in c u s t o m c o m p o u n d in g .
M e e t y o u r P h a rm a c is t.
M o lln d a B u tle r
Y O U R L O C A L L Y O W N E D , N E IG H B O R H O O D P H A R M A C Y A T A R B O R L O D G E
N IN T E R S T A T E A V E N U E & P O R T L A N D B L V D • 5 0 3 .4 6 7 4 8 4 8
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t . c o m • M O N -F R I 9 a m - 7 p m • S A T 9 a m - 6 p m • S U N 1 0 a m - 4 p m
clear that the Congress w ill have to
demonstrate both leadership and in ­
novation to ensure that issues o f
economic security, hope, and oppor­
tunity are addressed in a substantive
way.
I was dismayed that the President
made no mention o f New Orleans or
the broader issue o f poverty in the
United States. We recall his pledge,
made in Jackson Square a few days
after Hurricane Katrina came ashore,
to "do what it takes" to help citizens
rebuild their comm unities and their
lives.
The President's State o f the Union
address was an opportunity to get a
glimpse o f his domestic priorities fo r
his final tw o years in office.
I applaud his call fo r a bipartisan
approach to issues o f pressing im ­
portance to people o f color, particu­
la rly health care, education, and re­
tirem ent security. But I ’ m concerned
that the war in Iraq has di minished his
adm inistration's a b ility to address
these issues.
W erem em berhisprom iseof "bold
For so many Americans, particu­ a ctio n " to address the persistent
la rly people o f color, security is about poverty that exists in the region and
having a jo b to support your fam ily, has its roots in racial discrim ination.
liv in g in a safe com m unity, having Given the absence o f this subject in
access to q u a lity education and health the State o f the Union address, A fr i­
care, looking forward to a decent life can Americans and other G u lf Coast
in retirement, and being able to cast residents who have suffered so much
one's vote w ithout intim idation and can be excused fo r w ondering i f their
have it count.
federal governm ent has forgotten
To be sure, the war in Iraq is a about them.
Ralph B. Everett is president and
matter o f deep concern fo r us all, and
we must do everything we can to chief executive officer o f the Joint
support our troops and ensure that Center fo r Political and Economic
they come home safely. But the o b v i­ Studies, a group dedicated to improv­
ous constraint o f the domestic agenda ing the socioeconomic status of black
that the President put forth makes it Americans and other minorities.