Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
¡Tin’
lune 6, 2007
il!C JJnrtlanh CObsem er
Page A4
$Iortkinb (Observer
E s ta b lis h e d 1 9 7 0
Send address changes to Portland
USPS 959-680
--------------------------------------------------
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
Observer, PO Box3137, Portland,
OR 9 7 2 0 8
Charles H. Washington
I L eig h to n
Disrmm rms M a n a u m : M ark W ashington
CKCATive Dim-cron: P aul N e u fe ld t
O i h u M a s a u k k : K athy L in d e r
H ip o r u k : Sarah Blount
RtpoRnn: Nicole Ronal Hooper
E d it u k - i n -C h i h . Pl nnsH m :
Subscriptions are $60.00 per year
E d i i o k : M ich a e
503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015
news@Dorilandobserver.com
subscriptions® Dortlandobserver.com
ads@Dortlandobserver.com
classifieds@Dortlandobser\er.com
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned if
accompanied by a self addressed envelope A ll created design display ads become the sole property o f the new spaper and cannot be used in
other publications or personal usage without the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased tte composition
ol such ad © 1996 THE K IR T L A N D OBSERVER A L L RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN W HOLE OR IN PART
W ITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED
The Portland Observer-Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publicaüon-is a member o f the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885.
and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc. New York, N Y . and The West Coast Black Publishers
Association. Serving Portland and Vancouver.
“My goal is to be a field surveyor ”
Sum m er classes start June 25'h.
Home Equity and a Wealth Gap
make your dreams come true.
Take the Next Step at Clark College.
ClarkCollege
The Nesf Step
COLUMN
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Americas natural healing profession
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
Part 8. CONSTIPATION:
The backing up of body’s sewage system.
: Nothing has ever really
helped my constipation.
What can Chiropractic possibly
do?
Q
: As a natural form o f healing.
there is m uch a Chiropractic
and the im proved lifestyle we rec­
om m end can do to rem ove the
im m ediate distress and long term
health hazards o f constipation.
But before we begin, you should
u n d e rsta n d th a t c o n s tip a tio n
takes tw o approaches. The first is
the tight, som etim es painful feel­
ing in the low er back area. The
second and more insidious type
is w hat we call '‘hidden constipa­
tion." T his is when we seem ingly
m ove our bow els regularly, but
A
never com pletely elim inate every­ even four bowel m ovem ents after
thing in our colon (large intestine). the first adjustm ents on his or her
This causes the colon to back up spine. A man with FBSS (failed
and spread toxic poisons through­ back surgical syndrom e) w ent
out the body. This can lead to ev- hom e and had 12 bow el m ove­
erything front sinusitis to allergies m ents that night. And he claim ed
h e w a s n ’t e v e n c o n s tip a te d !
to arthritis.
C hiropractic can help to alleviate W hatever questions you might
this problem by gently turning have about health and healing,
nerves back on in the colon and y o u ’ll find that C hiropractic is
small intestine. It is not uncom m on often the answer. Call us for an
for a patient to have tw o. three or appointm ent today.
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
2124 NE Hancock,
Portland Oregon 97212
Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 -5 5 0 4
Let’s have
equal access to
opportunity
by J udge
G reg M athis
M ore A frican -A m eri­
cans than ever before are
graduating from college,
settling intocorporate jobs
and, in many cases, run­
ning their own businesses.
W e, as a people, as a com m u­
n ity , s h o u ld c e le b r a te th e s e
achievem ents. But we shouldn't
get com fortable or grow too com ­
placent. The gap between the haves
and the have nots in this country
grows each year. That divide, while
visible in our own com m unity, is
most apparent when w ealth is com ­
pared along racial lines.
So, though we may earn more
money than previous generations,
blacks still h aven't am assed the
personal w ealth that w hites have.
Personal wealth, not annual salary,
sets the stage for future genera­
tions, securing their future and the
progress o f our people. And that
w e a lth
b e g in s
w ith
hom eow nership.
Calculating net worth can be
com plicated but, in short, you d e­
term ine the costs o f assets - such
as a hom e - and other investm ents
and subtract from that any debts
you owe. A ccording to recently
released census data, 75 percent of
work in our favor, doesn’t mean we
shouldn’t aspire to homeownership.
ch ild ’s college education, a busi­
ness venture or a com fortable re­
tirement.
For people o f color, the home
buying process can be intim idat­
ing, even when you have money.
A ccording to the C hicago R e­
porter, an independent m agazine
that focuses on race and poverty in
the Chicago area, even m iddle- and
upper-incom e blacks have a harder
tim e securing m ortgages. W hen
they do secure m ortgages, they
often com e with high-interest rates.
In fact, A frican A m erican house­
holds earning $90,000 a year or
m ore chose subprim e m ortgage
lenders 40 percent o f the time.
But, ju st because the system
A real legacy for the new Congress
M artha B urk
Som e m em bers o f C on­
gress are already looking
ahead to 2008 and hoping to
by
Ptiarmacif ,
•• •
y&f/ b)e are a renter pharmacy /
W e fill p r e s c r ip tio n s — in c lu d in g a n tib io tic s ,
h ig h b lo o d p r e s s u r e 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 tr o l, a n d m o re .
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 r m a tio n .
^ O u r p r ic 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 r a n c e p la n s a n d a re a d d in g o th e r s a s
r e q u e s te d .
✓
1 Just because the system may not
dream o f hom e ow nership, the
dream of wealth, a reality for people
with low- and m oderate-incom es
and challenged credit histories.
It’s been said tim e and again:
econom ic equality has becom e one
o f the key civil rights issues of this
decade. G overnm ent has its role to
play. W e, too, should w ork for our
piece o f the pie. By taking advan­
tage o f the resources available to
us, w e can close that w ealth gap
and open the door to so many m ore
opportunities.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leader­
ship Conference.
Time to Grant Women Equal Rights
l E A R K E T
✓
may not w ork in our favor, doesn’t
m ean w e s h o u ld n ’t a s p ire to
hom eow nership. A fter all, those
that cam e before us dream t big
d re a m s an d fo u g h t c o u n tle s s
battles, risking their freedom and
their lives, so we could all enjoy
e q u a l a c c e s s to o p p o r tu n ity .
A round the country, organizations
like W ashington M utual and Magic
Jo h n so n 's D evelopm ent C orpora­
tion, the U.S. D epartm ent o f H ous­
ing and Urban D evelopm ent and
Bank o f A m erica w ork to m ake the
■H B H M H M M iM M i
[NEW SEASO NS
AT A R B O R L O D G E /
white households own their homes,
w hile less than 50 percent o f black
households own theirs. T his fig­
ure alone can explain w hy the
w ealth gap betw een blacks
and w hites is so vast.
Home equity, the differ­
ence betw een the m arket
price o f a piece o f real estate
and the ow ner's m ortgage,
is the leading source o f
w ealth for m ost Am ericans.
The equity a person has in their
hom e can be leveraged to pay for a
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 eet yo u r P h a rm a cist.
" M elin da Butler.
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
boost stock with the m ajor­
ity o f voters - w om en.
T hese C ongress m em ­
bers are going beyond non­
b in d in g re so lu tio n s and
bills that won't get past the
president's veto pen. T hey are talk­
ing about passing the Equal Rights
A mendm ent.
The ERA states "Equality o f
rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged by the U nited
States or by any State on account
o f sex." R ecently renam ed the
W om en's E quality A m endm ent
and introduced M arch 27 by its
c h ie f s p o n s o r. R ep . C a ro ly n
M aloney, D-N.Y. to a standing-
room -only new s conference, the
ERA would grant equal constitu­
tional rights to w om en - som e­
thing we have yet to achieve. A
sim ple concept that had the b less­
ing o f both political parties until
the Republicans struck it from their
platform in 1980, with the D em o­
crats follow ing in 2004.
The ERA was first introduced in
Congress in 1923, hut w as not
passed and sent to the states for
ratification until 1972. U nlike the
27th A mendm ent, ratified after 200
years, the Equal Rights A m end­
ment was passed with a ti me 1 i m it of
only seven years for approval by
the states.
In that b rief tim e, it w as ratified
by 35 states, but was stopped three
states short by m illions o f corpo­
ra te d o lla r s b a c k in g P h y llis
Schlafly's anti-woman storm troop­
ers. They feared unisex toilets more
than they valued freedom from dis­
crimination.
Much has changed since C on­
gress first passed the ERA. Women
have become the majority of both
the population and o f the electorate.
Most are now in the work force full
time, including nearly threequarters
of mothers with children between 6
and 18. W omen head one third of all
households, and a whopping 61
percent of single parent families.
W hile much has changed, little
progress has been made. On aver­
age, w omen still make only 76cents
to a man's dollar, w orking full-time
and year-round. They hold 98 per­
cent o f the low paying "women's"
jo b s and few er than 15 percent o f
the board seats in m ajor corpora­
tions. T hree-quarters o f the elderly
in poverty are w om en. And in ev ­
ery state except M ontana, w omen
still pay higher rates than sim ilarly
situated men for health, annuity,
disability, and auto insurance.
C ongress, only 16 percent fe­
male. has stifled the ERA year after
year, even though it has been rein­
troduced in every session since
tim e ran out on ratification.
But now with renew ed energy
and front-page co v erag e, Rep.
John Conyers, D-N.Y., chairman of
the House Judiciary Com m ittee,
prom ises fast-track hearings and
reporting the am endm ent to the
floor for a vote.
Martha Burk is a political psy­
chologist who heads the Center
fo r Advancement o f Public Policy
in Washington, D.C.