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Page A4
Women’s History
March 14. 2007
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
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M aki H. M orial
Back in N ovem ber, the National
Urban League extended invitations
o f anyone considering a presiden­
tial run to speak at our
annual conference this
July in St. Louis. Mo.
W e figured they'd have
no legitim ate excuse not
to com e if we started our
outreach tw o years be­
fore Election Day. Well,
we were wrong.
A fter tw o rounds o f
invitations, we've received tw o re­
jections - from form er New York
M ayor Rudolph Giuliani and former
M assachusetts Gov. M itt Rom ney.
As Sens. Hillary RodhamClinton
and Barack O bam a start their jo s­
tling for the black vote, Giuliani and
■Romney appear to have written us
o ff even through their party's sit­
ting leader - President G eorge W.
Bush — saw fit to include us on his
calendar - three tim es since he took
office in 2001.
Bush boycotted the N A A C P in
2004, but not us. His latest visit - in
2004 - featured a debate between
him and D em ocratic presidential
nom inee M assachusetts Sen. John
Kerry. In 2(X)6, then-Republican
National C om m ittee chairm an Ken
Mehlman and D em ocratic National
C om m ittee head Howard Dean ap­
peared.
It's so ironic that G iuliani, often
called “A m erica’s M ayor" would
turn dow n an invitation to speak in
front o f the nation’s largest organi­
zation devoted to urban issues. But
then again, he can n o t possibly
depend on us to pul I hi m through to
victory in the G O P prim aries. He
needs to do w hat every other red-
blooded political candidate seems
required to do - court
w h ite ev an g elicals, an
increasingly influential
and populous sector o f
the electorate. In 2(XMS,
they m ade up 24 percent
o f the electorate, up from
23 percent in 2004,accord-
ing to exit polls.
Our political leaders must
take everyone's opinions into
account if they want to lead
our nation effectively.
In the height o f the recent m id­ over. I realize that A frican A m eri­
term elections, the m edia surm ised cans tend to support D em ocrats
that the Republican Party w as los­ but does that mean Republicans
ing its grip over w hite evangelicals. like G iuliani and Rom ney should
T heir predictions, to a large extent, w rite us o ff so early in the cam ­
didn't quite live up to expectations: paign? T he D em ocratic presiden­
71 percent o f w hite evangelicals tial contenders must also realize
surveyed in exit polls supported that our support is not a given.
G iu lian i's courageous p erfo r­
the G O P, dow n from 78 percent in
2 0 0 4 .lt seem s that both parties are mance on 9/1 1 won him som e well-
bending over backw ards w ay too deserved worldwide’ acclaim and
much to appease this sector o f the m edia attention but he is sadly m is­
taken if he thinks he can ride those
electorate.
T he irony is that a higher per­ w ar-on-terrorism coattails all the
centage o f blacks co m p ared to way to the O val O ffice.
A ccording to a recent Pew C en­
w hites attend church at least once
a week or m ore - 37 percent versus ter poll, a m ajority o f A m ericans
25 percent, according to a 2004 (m ore than 60 percent) polled felt
that the nation was losing ground
on an assortm ent o f dom estic is­
sues: the budget deficit, the income
gap and health care. T hose were
follow ed by moral issues - with 55
percent expressing concern.
O bviously, the A m erican public
has other things on their minds
than w hether gays should be al­
low ed to marry or w hether A m eri­
cans should be perm itted to bum
theircountry's flag, w hich still rank
high but not as high as pocketbook
issues.
Interestingly enough, only 38
percent believe that we were losing
ground with regards to international
terrorism . Do you get a feeling of
déjà vu here? I do. Think back to
1992 when m averick presidential
contender H. Ross Perot centered
his entire cam paign around the fed­
eral deficit issue that resulted in
steering som e likely Republicans
into the Independent colum n on
Election Day.
That, much to President G eorge
Herbert W alker Bush’s peril, paved
the way for the victory o f B i 11 Cl i nton
w hose handlers coined the politi­
cal slogan - "It's the econom y, stu­
pid" - and ingrained it into the
A m erica's consciousness.
G iuliani risks repeating history
much like Bush if he ignores d o ­
mestic issues and fails to reach out
to the American electorate that cares
about them.
And let me also add that Clinton,
Obam a, M cCain and the rest are
hardly o ff the hook. W e haven't
heard from them, either. But at least,
they haven't w ritten us off.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na­
tional Urban League.
Sparking a Serious Conversation
Portland, OR 97205
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4747 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd.. Portland. OR 97211
Charles H. Washington
F.DiTOR.Michael L eig h to n
Panic R ela tio n s : M ark W ashing ton
C reative D irector : P aul N e u fe ld t
O fe ic e M anager : K athy L in d e r
R eporter : Sarah Blount
R eporter : Nicole Ronal Hooper
E dito r - in -C h ic i , P vkusher :
National O pinion Research C enter
poll. So, we're not talking about tw o
groups that have absolutely noth­
ing in com m on.
M inorities made up 20 percent of
voters on Election D a y in 2 (X )6 -10
percent African A m erican, 8 p er­
cent Latino and 2 percent Asian,
according to exit polls. By the end
o f this century, there will be no
m ajority ethnic group. So, our po­
litical leaders m ust take everyone's
opinions into account if they w ant
to lead our nation effectively.
The days o f w hite men govern­
ing a m ostly w hite population are
Appeasing white evangelicals
South Park
episode on race
a good thing
by
J anice
L. M athis
Last w eek, I did som e­
thing I had never done be­
fore - 1 w atched South Park.
If an irreverent parody can
spark a serious conversa­
tion about race relations in
A m erica, it’s a good thing.
Even if it show s Rev. Jesse Jack-
son in a dem eaning light.
J a c k s o n a c c e p te d f o rm e r
S einfield acto r and c o m ed ia n ’s
M ichael R ich a rd 's apology and
challenged him to m ake
am ends to the com m unity
he offended. U nlike the
c a r to o n
v e rs io n
of
events, there was no kiss­
ing involved.
L ik e
F re d e r ic k
D o u g la s s an d M a rtin
Luther King, black men
w ho dare to challenge racist as­
sum ptions about black A m ericans
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National Newspaper Association -Pounded in 1885. and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated
Publishers, Inc. New York. N Y . and The West Coast Black Publishers Association
P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer,
earn derision during their lifetimes.
And also like D ouglass and King,
Jesse Jackson is likely to be revered
by history long after South Park is
forgotten. We tend to accept their
ideals, but not their right to e x p itss
them.
DuBois had it alm ost right - the
problem o f the 20th century in
A m erica was the problem o f the
color line. And now it is the problem
o f the 21st century as well.
At som e po in t A m erica should
h a v e a s e r io u s c o n v e r s a tio n
ab o u t race in o rd er to find re ­
d e m p tio n an d re c o n c ilia tio n ?
D esp ite his u n fo rtu n a te n am e,
T o k en is rig h t, to o m any w hites
d o n 't u n d erstan d how racial slurs
affect the so ciety .
Fortunately for the children in
the South Park episode, and per­
haps for the children o f America, by
the end o f the show there w as co m ­
mon ground on w hich could find a
shared understanding o f their d if­
ferences.
Janice L. Mathis is vice presi­
dent o f Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rain­
bow PUSH Coalition
Wrecking Kids’ Lives
Curfew sweeps, preconceived notions
conform . Fine their parents, if you
B oles
A re y o u k id d in g ? C u r f e w can find their parents.
A nything to keep the ju v en ile
sw eep s?
Surely you will have som eone ju stice establishm ent busy. A ny­
at N ortheast Precinct to keep an thing other than providing better
eye on those idiot cops and D eputy educations and better jobs for the
D. A. Jim H ayden, w hom I know to kids.
A nything at all. Send in an army
be quite sloppy, civil rights-w ise,
o
f
casew
orkers, but d o n ’t do an y ­
and to have a lot o f preconceived
thing
to
send
the kids dow n a co n ­
notions about the people in north­
structive
road.
east Portland.
W reck the kids' lives by giving
N ever w as a Brooks Brothers
them
a taste o f handcuffs, but don't
shir, put to w orse use than on that
guy. N ever w ere the class sym bols give them any kind o f positive ex ­
worn m ore as elem ents o f arm or, perience.
Spend the public's dollars on
than when Jim H ayden suits up to
do battle against crim e in the streets. cops and curfew sw eeps, flashy
W atch him w reck the lives o f a m edia exposure, casew orkers and
lot o f ram bunctious kids this sum ­ ju v en ile justice.
W ho cares w hat h appens to
mer, as they get busted for doing
nothing m ore than w alking dow n those kids later?
the quiet streets o f theirow n neigh­
E verybody know s they are all
dead-enders and it w on’t be good,
b o rh o o d s.
The casew orker establishm ent and they are doom ed anyw ay. It's
mus, be short o f clients, is all that's all a foregone conclusion.
really going on. T hrow out a net
M aybe the Iraq W ar will last
and sw eep 'em up w here they live. long enough so they can all enlist.
Catch those kids for chew ing T hose kids are all good cannon
gum after dark. Jail those kids for fodder, anyw ay.
too-long shirt-tails.
J. E. Boles is from northeast
Bus, 'em for hair-dos that don't Portland.
PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8
by J.E,
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