I J or t la uh (li) b server
Page A4
April 18. 2007
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
view s o f The Portland Observer
Speaking Out on Imus’ Hate Speech
Scourge of the Airwaves
Saddened and Dismayed
Reinforcing Stereotypes
The announcement by CBS and MSNBC that they will no
longer carry Don Imus' show is a welcome first step in removing
this scourge from the airwaves.
Our protests against other enablers - the show 's sponsors and
guests — will continue.
The Imus controversy has had the unexpected but refreshing
effect of reigniting an American conversation about race and the
coarsening of our society.
We want to extend the conversation to
include the prevalence of bigotry, misogyny
and homophobia which cheapens our soci
e ty , d e n ig ra te s o u r p o p u la tio n , and
marginalizes our people. Whether it comes
from so-called shock jocks', rappers or the
non-famous, it has to end, and the NAACP
stands ready to assist in the dialogue and
the solutions.
I am saddened and dismayed by Dom Imus' words.
The comment was horrendous and the incident
reveals an insensitivity that drives shock waves and
horrors through us all.
It was wrong and I believe he should be very
sorrowful and he should bear the consequences that
have been given him.
No one can appreciate the hurt that words cause,
except those of us who have been on the other end
of it. As an African-American pastor of an historic
church, a businessman, husband, father, and grandfather I know what
it’s like. I notonly know what it’s like to be called out of my name, treated
differently because of the color of my skin, but also to be mistreated and
not really hear the words, but know the feeling you get when you’re on
the other end of someone else’s racial prejudice.
As people of faith it's in our DNA to love, forgive and to reconcile.
My prayer is that he and others of capacity will do something tangible,
not just apologize, but find a university or an organization and donate
some time and money to support reconciliation and forgiveness as a
staple of the American way of life.
As a father of two daughters, I am deeply troubled and personally
offended by the inflammatory and insensitive remarks made by radio
shock jock Don Imus toward the Rutgers University women’s bas
ketball team.
His racist and sexist comments do nothing more than reinforce
racial and gender stereotypes in this nation across public airwaves,
which are owned by us all.
What did these women do to deserve such disrespect? They made
it all the way to the NCAA basketball finals. They aspired to
excellence. These ladies showed courage and determination, giving
inspiration not only to African American girls
but to the world.
What kind of message are we sending to our
youth when we allow Mr. Imus to hurl his inane
vitriol at a group of outstanding Americans
trying to make a positive mark on their world?
The First Amendment gives us the right to
express our point of view but it doesn't give us
the right to use public-owned airwaves to com
municate it.
Julian Hand
NAACP Hoard Chairman
Cruel Assault on Dignity
Don Imus' use of the public airwaves to denigrate and ridicule
the young, talented and hard working African American women
of the Rutgers University team was a cruel assault on the dignity
of all African Americans and women.
The Links, Inc. believes that racism is
learned. Racism is reinforced when it is deliv
ered through media such as radio, television,
the Internet and motion pictures.
We must become a force of one and use all
of our collective energy to remove Mr. Imus
from the air permanently.
Dr. Gwendolyn B. Lee
National President o f The I.inks, Inc
Portland Village
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503-490-7362
J. W. Matt Hennessee
Senior Pastor, Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church
Leaders Stand U nited
It is unconscionable that in this day Don Imus would be
comfortable saying such hateful and hurtful phrases about
the women’s basketball players at Rutgers University.
The Rutgers players are talented young women who have
carried themselves in a manner that brings pride to their
university, their coaches and fellow students as well as the
African-American community. Their reaction to this situation has been
nothing short of dignified, a fact Mr. Imus would fail to prove otherwise.
It is essential that African-American political leaders stand united
and send a resounding message to Mr. Imus that his
comments were highly disrespectful and will not be toler
ated anywhere in this nation.
We call on the media to review the actions and words,
not only of Mr. Imus, but of all broadcasters in the coming
months to ensure they are fair and objective chroniclers of
today’s society, reflecting the broad diversity that is America.
Terry Riley, president o f the National Black Caucus o f Local
Elected Officials
b e t t e r K' lbe (Süditer
Don’t Blame Community
Your article (Public Schools Divided by Race, M arch 28 issue)
provides one more example of Portland Public Schools' leadership
blaming the Jefferson community for the school district's failure.
School Board Member Dilafruz Williams suggests that it is the
community's fault that Jefferson is less diverse than the surrounding
neighborhood, when it is a documented fact that school district policies
have increased racial segregation.
A 2006 audit by the City of Portland and Multnomah County found
that the PPS Transfer Policy has increased segregation of local schools,
even while the surrounding neighborhoods have become less segre
gated. The audit also found that the transfer policy has weakened lower
income and minority schools.
Charter school director Stephanie Hinkle commented in the article on
the top-down approach to education at Jefferson. However. Hinkle
seems unaware that the top-down reforms (reorganizing Jefferson
again into separate academies, narrowly focused curriculum, 6-12 grade
configuration, and single-gender programs) are being imposed by the
school district and are not supported by Jefferson neighborhood
families or by educational research.
PPS says that the goal of the Jefferson Redesign was to increase
enrollment and student learning at Jefferson and that a Community-
[NEW S E A S O N S
M A R K E T
N O W D E L IV E R IN G
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to r e n o w d e liv e r s
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
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you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
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Mare H. Morial
National Urban League President
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But the following facts dispute that conclusion:
• PPS and the Portland Schools Foundation applied for a grant from
the Gates Foundation in September 2005 to divide Jefferson into
separate schools, months before the Jefferson Design Team made any
recommendations.
• The Jefferson Design Team never recommended dividing Jefferson
into four separate schools - the superintendent did.
• Jefferson was returned to one high school in 2006 at the insistence
of the Design Team, yet PPS continues to operate it as separate schools,
and plans to add two more - schools that are not recognized by the
Oregon Department of Education.
• Hundreds of parents, students, teachers and community members
spoke out at public hearings and in writing to oppose splitting Jefferson
into separate schools and to suggest better ways to strengthen
Jefferson.
• Research does not support the claim that dividing high schools into
small separate schools increases student achievement, but research
does indicate that such reorganizations can actually be detrimental to
student learning.
• Research strongly supports the need for reforms to have community
buy-in and support in order to be successful.
• Small learning communities can be created without dividing into
small separate schools, and Jefferson already had small learning
communities in place for 9th and I Oth graders before the latest reorga
nization.
• Jefferson was making above average increases in test scores in
recent years prior to the School District proposal to reorganize it into
four separate schools.
• Curriculum offerings for students in the small high school programs
at Jefferson. Roosevelt, Madison, and Marshall are extremely limited
compared to course offerings at other PPS high schools in wealthier,
whiter neighborhoods.
• Students are often assigned to the small high school programs based
on space not student interest.
• The small high schools at Roosevelt have become segregated by
race.
• One of the district's proposed "Jefferson academies" will not even
be located in the Jefferson cluster, since PPS moved the Boise Eliot
attendance area, where Harriet Tubman school is located out of the
Jefferson attendance area and into the Grant cluster.
• The School District put Jefferson on notice that it may close
Jefferson in a few years if enrollment doesn't increase and then adopted
a plan to divide Jefferson into small separate schools that were
overwhelmingly undesired by Jefferson community families.
• Small, narrowly focused high schools are susceptible toclosure-one
of the four small schools at Marshall was closed one year after opening
due to PPS budget cuts.
• PPS has many more requests to transfer out of small high schools
with a narrow curriculum ftKiis. and into high schools with comprehen
sive course offerings.
• According to PPS demographic data from 2005, there are more high
school students living in the Jefferson community than any other high
school neighborhood, but a huge percentage of those students trans
fer to high schools in other neighborhoods with more curriculum
offerings.
• Approximately 2/3 of black students and 3/4 of white students in the
Jefferson neighborhood transfer to other high schools.
• Jefferson neighborhood families want the same thing for their
children that families in other PPS neighborhoods want for their
children.
• The School District is forcing top-down "reforms" at Jefferson that
are making the school less attractive to students of all racial and
economic backgrounds.
I won’t be voting for Dilafruz Williams or any of the other school
board members who are up for re-election in May.
Nicole Breedlove
Jefferson Neighorhood Parent