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lanuary 30, 2008
Black History Month
Kennedy Sides with Obama Campaign
Says candidate
is made of ‘Grit
and Grace’
(AP) - Barack Obama re­
ceived giant endorsements in
his presidential campaign Mon­
day from two generations of
Kennedys and from an Afri­
can-American poet who fa­
mously labeled Bill Clinton as
the "first black president.”
Summoning memories of his
slain brother. Sen. Edward M.
K ennedy endorsed Barack
Obama for the White House
calling him someone of rare “grit
and grace,” declaring, "I feel
change is in the air.”
O bam a beam ed as first
Rhode Island Rep. Patrick
K ennedy, then C aro lin e
K ennedy, and finally the
country’s best known liberal.
t(H)k turns bestowing their praise.
Toni Morrison
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-lll. (left), with Sen. Ted
Kennedy, D-Mass., during a rally for Obama at American University on M onday in
Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)
Waters Endorses Hillary Clinton
Sen. Hillary Clinton Tues­
day won the backing of C ali­
fornia Rep. Maxine Waters,
an influential member of the
Congressional Black Caucus
whose support could help
blunt charges of racial polar­
ization against the Clinton
campaign in the South Caro­
lina primary.
In a statem ent. W aters
praised the former first lady's
readiness to tackle the nation's
economic woes.
“ At a tim e w hen the
economy continues to worsen
and so many of my constitu­
ents are losing their homes U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters
and their jobs, we need some­
one with the leadership and
experience who can step in on
day one to tackle the eco­
nomic challenges our country
is fa c in g ,” W aters said.
“Hillary understands the daily
challenges that people are fac­
ing and she will fight for them
every day she is in the White
House.”
Issues of race and gender
have come to the forefront of
the campaign, pitting Clinton,
who hopes to be the first fe­
male president, against Obama,
seeking to become the first
black to hold the job.
PA CT
Parents and
C h ildren Together
Kennedy’s endorsement was
delivered it at a pivotal time in
the race. A liberal lion in his fifth
decade in the Senate, the Mas­
sachusetts senator is in a posi­
tion to help Obama court voting
groups who so far have tilted
Clinton’s way. These include
Hispanics, rank-and-file union
workers and lower-incom e,
older voters.
K ennedy is expected to
campaign actively for Obama
beginning later this week, be­
g in n in g in A rizo n a, New
M ex ico and C a lifo rn ia .
Caroline Kennedy, the daugh­
ter of John Kennedy, who was
assassinated in 1963, will also
make campaign appearances,
officials said.
“1 know he’s ready to be
president on day one,” Kennedy
said. “From the beginning, he
opposed the war in Iraq. And let
no one deny that truth,” he said,
an apparent reference to former
president Bill Clinton’s state­
ment that Obama's early anti­
war stance was a "fairy tale.”
“With Barack Obama, we
will turn the page on the old
politics of misrepresentation and
distortion.
“With Barack Obama we will
close the book on the old politics
of race against race, gender
against gender, ethnic group
against ethnic group, and straight
against gay,” Kennedy said.
Author Toni Morrison, who
famously labeled Bill Clinton as
the "first black president” an­
nounced Monday that she is
backing Obama to be the sec­
ond.
Morrison, whose novels usu­
ally concentrate on the lives of
black women, said she admired
Hillary Clinton for years be­
cause of her knowledge and
mastery of politics, but then dis­
missed that experience in favor
of what she called Obama’s
vision, wisdom, integrity and au­
thenticity.
‘Z M a n ’ C op R em em b ered
Neighborhood
vigil, march to
honor officer
The Portland Police Bureau
and residents in the north and
northeast Portland community
are remembering a long-time
patrol officer known for his street
smarts, hard work and dedica­
tion to the job.
Mark “Z Man” Zylawy, 40,
died Sunday when he was hit by
a semi-truck on the shoulder of
1-5 in Vancouver after his car
broke down. He was on his way
to work from his home in
Ridgefield at the time.
Mayor Tom Potter ordered
flags on all city buildings to be
flown at half mast in his honor
pending his funeral, scheduled
Friday at I I a.m. at New Hope
Mark ‘Z M an' Zylawy
Church, 11731 S.E. Stevens Rd.
A com m unity march and
prayer vigil to commemorate
Zylaw y’s life and his many
contributions as a public ser­
vant and friend has also been
scheduled for Thursday, Jan.
31 at 5 p.m. starting at the
Maple M allory Com m unity
Center on the corner o f North­
east Garfield and Failing Street
and concluding at the North­
east Precinct.
For more information about
the local observance, contact
Officer Marci Jackson at 503-
793-91X5, Lt. Harry Jackson at
503-793-3892 or Rev. Renee
Ward at 503-548-7537.
Zylawy was a 17-year-vet­
eran of the Police Bureau,
spending most of that time in
inner north and northeast Port­
land where he often worked
drug trafficking and gang vio­
lence enforcement.
He was known for having a
repertoire with local residents
and insight into problem areas.
"Officer Zylawy was not only
a great officer, but a great friend
to many in the communities he
served with compassion and
concern,” said Potter.
He is survived by his wife and
four children.
Fighting Perceptions and ADHD
OHSU advocates for minority families
J udy K endall
and A nn B eckett
by
Is raising a child with
ADHD stressing you out?
Mothers:
Parents and C h ild re n T o ge th e r (PA CT) is a research study
comparing two approaches to helping families with children
with ADHD. Eligible families receive either an ADHD family
advocate or education materials.
You m ay be e lig ib le if you have a child with ADHD and live in
the Portland area.
There is no cost to participóte in this study. You will receive a gift
card o f at least $50 every six months.
For more information:
call 503 418-3603
or email pact@ohsu.edu
OREGON
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HEALTH
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OHSU .
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UNIVERSITY
Four years ago Ann Beckett
and I talked with 53 African
American families in Portland
who had children with Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD). We were interested
in gaining an understanding of
the day-to-day experiences with
ADHD, the emotional stress it
placed on families and was
needed from health providers
for support. We also asked about
the experiences our African-
American families had w ith the
healthcare system, including is­
sues related to racism and dis­
crimination.
We learned that many Afri­
can-American families felt that
others perceived their families
negatively, and that teachers
were quick to label African-
American children as trouble­
makers rather than as a child
with a medical disability.
One mother expressed her
frustration with people having
the false impression that a black
boy with ADHD is "just a bad
black kid.”
Parents talked about the need
for others to understand that
ADHD is a genetic and biologi­
cal medical condition with symp­
toms manifested by behavioral
and learning problems.
Many mothers told us that
they felt isolated, as if no one
understood the difficulty of
parenting a child with this par-
ticulardisability. Often, they felt
stigmatized and criticized be­
cause of their child’s difficul­
ties. Meetings with teachers
often went badly, asking for help
was often difficult.
African-American mothers
and fathers often felt as if
they were “getting* the run
aro u n d ” and believed that
there were more resources
“out there” for their children
than what they were being
offered. They asked for more
services, more information,
more skills to negotiate with
the school and how to set up
Individualized Educational
Programs, which allowed their
child to have specific accom ­
modation plans. Homework
and coping with teachers who
did not understand ADHD
were listed as being the most
stressful aspect of their daily
life.
We came away from that
study compelled to seek more
funding to see if we could pro­
vide this kind of service to sup­
port families with what they
needed. They told us it would be
helpful to have a skilled health
professional come totheirhome
over an extended period of time
to them find resources, to offer
support, to teach parenting skills
specific to ADHD symptoms,
to provide information about
medications, and to be an advo­
cate for their child with the
schools.
We are pleased to announce
that this past year we received
a grant from the National Insti­
tutes of Health to offer the kinds
of services families requested.
The purpose of this study is to
evaluate whether or not an in-
home family nurse advocate
could provide the skills, infor­
mation and school advocacy re­
quested.
We are looking for African-
American families who have a
child or adolescent with ADHD
who might want to take part in
this study.
There is no cost to participate
in the study, and every six
months, gift cards redeemable
at local stores will be sent to all
participants.
For more information, please
see the advertisement on this
page, or cal 150.3-418-3603 ore-
mail PACT@ohsu.edu.
Judy K endall and Ann
Beckett, R.N.s and Ph.D.s, are
professors in the School o f
Nursing at Oregon Health Sci­
ences University.