Page A7
February 7, 2007
Black, Latino Youth Look to Future
Finds optimism
despite discrimination
(A P ) — D ecad es a fte r the civil rights
m o v e m e n t's g reatest victo ries, black
and L atin o youth often see a w o rld rife
w ith d iscrim in atio n , a new survey says.
A nd y et they rem ain o p tim istic about
th eirch an ces for affecting social change.
R esearch ers at the U n iv ersity o f C h i­
cago, w ho w ere releasin g the study say
their fin d in g s also show that these youth
are co m p lex w hen it co m es to such
issues as sex e d u catio n and h ip -h o p
m usic.
It found, for instance, that w h ile 58
percen t o f black y o u th say they listen to
rap m usic ev ery day . the m ajority o f
them also think its videos are too violent
an d often portray black w om en in an
o ffensive w ay.
T he survey, w hich researchers call
the Black Y outh Project, d etails the
resp onses o f nearly 1,600 black. L atino
an d w hite participants, ages 15 to 25,
from several M idw estern cities.
T h e ir resp o n ses d o n ’t alw ays paint a
rosy picture about m in o ritie s' view o f
the country.
M ore than h a lf o f A frican-A m erican
an d L atino resp ondents said they b e­
lieve go v ern m en t o fficials care very
little about them , w hile 44 percent o f
w hite youth said the sam e. Just over
h a lf o f black youth also w ere the m ost
likely to feel th eir edu catio n w as, on
average, poorer than that o f w hite youth.
A bout a third o f w hites agreed w ith that
statem ent. A nd 61 percent o f A frican-
A m erican s w ho w ere su rv ey ed said
they feel held back by discrim ination.
W hile they see m any social problem s
in the w orld, the survey indicated teens
and young adults are optim istic about
their chances o f chan g in g things for the
b etter.
A large m ajority o f youth in the su r­
vey believe, for instance, that they can
m ake a d ifference by participating in
politics — w ith 79 percent black and
w hite youth and 77 percent o f L atino
youth saying they feel that w ay.
T h e y 're also using th eir spending
po w er through “bu y co tts” — buying
products because they like a c o m p a n y ’s
social o r political values. A q u a rte r o f
black youth said th e y ’d p articipated in a
buycott in the last 12 m onths, w hile 23
percent o f w hite youth and 20 percent o f
H ispanic youth said the sam e.
A bout a third o f black and H ispanic
youth th ought drugs, v iolence, gangs
and crim e w ere problem s in their n eig h ­
b orhoods, co m p ared w ith 10 percent o f
w hite youth;
59 percent o f w hite yo u th report re­
ceiving care from a private doctor, w hile
4 0 p ercent o f A frican -A m erican youth
and 39 percent o f H ispanic youth say
the sam e;
81 percent o f w hite youth, 79 percent
o f H ispanic youth and 76 percent o f
black youth disag ree w ith the g o v e rn ­
m ent funding ab stinence-only ed u ca­
tion;
76 p e rc e n t o f A fric a n -A m e ric a n
youth, 74 percent o f H ispanics and 68
percent o f w hites think co n d o m s should
be provided at high schools.
her own childhood overw helm her. She
struggles to reconcile being forced as a
young girl to leave Cuba at the dawn o f
Fidel Castro's rule with her own respon­
sibilities as a m other facing the uncertain
future for her own children. Poignant
and thought-provoking, this m oving ac­
count o f tw o intertw ined family dram as
exam ines the lengths parents must go in
order to keep their children safe.
T ickets are $17 to $20 and can be
purchased online at m ilagro.org or by
calling 503-236-7253.
Young Sonia is distressed
to learn from her parents that
she is about to be sent from
Cuba to the United States as
part o f Operation Pedro Pan.
Pictured (clockwise from top)
Robert Projansky, Courtney
Davis and Kimberly Howard.
Portland State U niversity
and the G uatem alan C onsu­
late will host a free lecture and
com m unity forum on im m i­
gration issues on M onday,
Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Native
Am erican Student and C om ­
munity Center, 71 OS. W. Jack-
son.
The forum and lecture is an
opportunity for PSU and the
com m unity to meet G uatem a­
lan leaders and learn about the
im m igrant experience from
their perspective. The event is
part o f a three day visit by the
G uatemalan Consulate.
ARE YOU EASILY DISTRACTED,
IMPULSIVE, OR FIDGETY?
Cultural, Politic Forces Collide in ‘Sonia Flew’
The local Hispanic M iracle Theatre
G roup presents the play “Sonia Flew’’
through Feb. 27 at M ilagro Theatre, 525
S.E. Stark St., with projected subtitles
in Spanish during Sunday m atinees on
Feb. 11 and Feb. 18.
Set betw een post-revolutionary Cuba
and p o st-9 /11 A m erica, "Sonia Flew"
telescopes the large cultural and political
forces o f an historical m om ent to show
their im pact on the intim ate lives of
ordinary men and women.
Sonia is a C uban-A m erican woman
sm uggled as a child out of Cuba and into
the U nited States as part o f Operation
Pedro Pan. Now a successful public
defender, she lives w ith her Jew ish
husband and their tw o children in M in­
neapolis.
W hen Sonia learns o f her son’s deci­
sion to leave college, enlist in the military
and fight against terror in A fghanistan in
the w eeks follow ing 9/11. m em ories of
Immigrant
Issues
Addressed
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Price Increases for Basic Foodstuffs
(AP) -- Some 75,000 unionists,
farmers and leftists marched in
Mexico City to protest price in­
creases in basic foodstuffs like tor­
tillas, adirect challenge totheirnew
president's market-oriented eco­
nomic policies blamed by some for
w idening the gulf between rich and
poor.
Since taking office Dec. 1 after a
disputed election. President Felipe
Calderon has drawn his greatest
criticism for failing to control the
largest price spike in tortillas in
decades. Tortillas are a staple of
poor M exicans’ diet.
The national uproar has put him
in an uncomfortable position be­ A man holds ears o f corn during a demonstration in Mexico City
tw een th e p o o r and som e against the rising price of corn, the staple food o f low income
agribusiness industries hoping to Mexicans.
profit from the surge in interna­ ethanol industry.
return to direct price controls en­
tional com prices, driven mostly by
A free-market advocate. Calder­ forced by many former Mexican
the sudden explosion of the U.S. on has said he does not want to presidents.
The G ram m y nom inated Latin rock and dance band
Los A m igos Invisibles will perform in Portland at the
Aladdin Theater, 3017 S.E. M ilw aukie Ave. on Sunday,
Feb. 11. D oors open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins
at 8 p.m.
Los A m igos Invisibles has becom e proud music
am bassadors for their native Venezuela. The group is
hailed as one o f the most exciting live bands in the Latin Members of the Latin rock and dance band
alternative genre.
Los Amigos Invisibles.
ano
Help us evaluate a program designed to
reduce the rates of adolescent pregnancy
Fill out two surveys and try a
new computer software program.
You must have sole or joint custody
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