^iLUirthnib (Oiiam-vr Black History Month
Page A4
lanuaiy 30. 2008
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
PRESIDENTIAL PEBATES: Pueu^oRpRÌWTE?
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Suffering under the Conservative Agenda
1.6 percent per year under the health insurance has increased
current administration. In 2006, from 18.5 percent to 20.5 per­
African A m ericans’ median in­ cent. This is a much different
come was $ 3 2 .132, picture com pared to the 1990s
which was $2,603 when the num ber o f uninsured
lower than in 2000. A frican A m ericans decreased
A frican A m eri­ from 20.1 percent to 18.5 per­
cans' usual median cent.
The growth rate o f the num ­
w e e k ly e a rn in g s
have stagnated un­ ber o f em ployed African A m eri­
der President Bush. cans has been 4.2 times slower
In 2006, the usual median earn­ under the current administration.
ings o f African Americans em ­ Between 2000 and 2006, the
ployed full-time was $554 per num ber o f em ployed A frican
w eek— $136 dollars less than Americans grew on average by
just 0.7 percent each year, which
that o f white Americans.
Under Bush, the percent o f is markedly lower than the 2.8
A fric a n A m e ric a n s w ith o u t percent annual growth rate expe-
The state of
black America
D aniella G ibbs L egek
As people across the coun­
try celebrate the birthday of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the
Center for American Progress
took a look at the state o f black
America to see how African
Americans fared since conser­
vatives have been in charge of
the economy. The answer? Not
very well.
H ere's a look at the numbers.
African Americans' median in­
come declined by an average of
by
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The Portland Observer-Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member o f the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 18X5.
and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Ine. New York. NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers
rienced in the 1990s.
O ver the past six years, the
em ploym ent to population ratio
- the percentage of the civilian
population that is em ployed —
for African Americans declined
by an average o f -0.4 percent
each year after increasing by
0.8 percent on average between
1992 and 2000.
In 2007, the unemployment
level o f African Americans stood
at a distressing 8.3 percent while
w hite A m ericans hovered at
4.1 percent. This is a sharp con­
trast to the movement o f these
levels throughout the 1990s,
when African A mericans' un­
em ploym ent averaged an an­
nual decline o f -0.8 percent.
T h e in c re a se in A frican-
American hom eow nership has
been slow er under Bush than
the 1990s. During Bush. The
hom eow nership rate for Afri­
can Americans increased by an
average annual growth rate of
just 0.1, from 47.2 percent to
47.9 percent, whereas w hites'
hom eow nership rate increased
by an average annual growth
rate o f 0.3 percent.
M ore A frican A m erican s
were in poverty in 2(X)6 than in
2000, just after we saw a vast
im p ro v em en t the 1990s. In
2006, 24.2 percent o f African-
American individuals were in
poverty. Com pare this to 2(XX),
when 22.5 percent were below
the poverty line.
Daniella Gibbs Leger is the
vice president fo r com m unica­
tions at the Center fo r A m eri­
can Progress.
Intimidation Won’t
Stop Our Progress
me.
T his is a serious issue that, as
adults m ost o f us
can p ro c e ss an d
sh a k e o ff. O u r
young children are
by J udge G reg M athis
not so adept at sim ­
L y n c h in g , e v en as a
ply 'letting it g o .' In
threat, has long been used
D ecem ber 2(X)6, in
to in tim id a te A fric a n
Jena. L ouisiana, a
A m ericans. A t the height
o f A m erican apartheid, m obs fight broke out betw een six black
w ould g ather to beat and torture teens and a w hite teen ag er fo l­
blacks, en ding their act o f evil low ing an incident w here three
w hite students hung nooses from
by hanging th eir victim s.
S peaking up for basic rights, a tree at the local high school.
attem pting to vote, looking at a N ot possessing the skills to real­
w hite w om an in acertain w a y ... ize the students w ho hung the
all o f these actions and others nooses w ere w eak and ig r
could easily incite a lynch mob. rant, the six black students let
W hile the actual act o f lynching their rage festeruntil itexploded.
A s a people, w e cannot let
is now illegal, the threat is not.
A nd m any still play on the hor­ th e in tim id a tio n s to p o u r
rible im agery to invoke fear in progress. Sen. B arack O bam a
the hearts o f those o f us w ho certainly h a sn ’t.
Im m ediately upon launching
kicking dow n doors and blazing
new trails. But do not fear; the h is p r e s id e n tia l c a m p a ig n ,
tactic w ill not w ork. T he threat O bam a began receiving death
o f lynching did not stop blacks threats. T he threats cam e so
across the south front pressing often that he received secret-
for justice. N o m atter how m any service detail ea rlie r than any
v ic tim s th o se e a rly freedom presidential candidate in history.
Don’t give
in to fear
/ too have received threats,
suggesting I be lynched fo r my
outspoken political comments.
Thankfully, I don't let the
ignorance shake me.
fighters saw hanging from trees,
they m arched on. A nd so will
we.
A g o lf analyst recently sug­
gested the only w ay to defeat
g o lf e r e x tr a o r d in a ir e T ig e r
W oods w as to gang up on him in
an alley and lynch him . T o add
insult to injury, G olfw eek m aga­
zine then put a noose on the
co v er o f its Jan. 19 issue. The
analyst w as suspended and the
m agazine ed ito r w as fired. But
the co m m ent and im ages still
linger. In the last h a lf o f 2007,
M adonna C onstantine, a black
professor at C olum bia U niver­
sity found a noose hanging from
her office door. She told m edia
outlets that, upon seeing the
noose, tears im m ediately sprung
to her eyes.
C onstantine, w ho had been
outspoken on race and gender
issues felt it w as the w ork o f an
insecure person. I too have re­
ceived threats, suggesting I be
lynched for my outspoken politi­
cal com m ents. T hankfully, I
d o n 't let the ignorance shake
But O bam a has not let this
stop him . A nd nor should w e as
a people. M any o f us so fear for
O b a m a 's life that w e d o n 't w ant
him to run for president. Som e
say they w ill not vote for him
because they w ant to keep him
alive.
D o not give in to the fear.
H ad w e given in to fear, slavery
could possibly still be a part o f
our reality. O r Jim C row . O r a
m yriad o f other social sins that
w e collectively overcam e b e­
cause w e dared to hope. It is
th at h o p e , th a t fe a rle ssn e ss,
ch aracteristics A frican A m eri­
cans can naturally em body, that
corrected m any o f the w rongs
co m m itted against us. A nd it is
that sam e hope and fearless­
ness that will bring change, not
ju st in o u r personal lives, but the
lives o f everyone around us.
Judge Greg Mathis is na­
tional vice president o f Rain­
bow PUSH and a national
board member o f the South­
ern Christian Leadership Con­
feren ce.
Association. Serving Portland and Vancouver.
Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC
Zchon R. Jones, DC
333 NE Russell S t, #200, Portland, OR. 97212
(503) 284-7838
Tntly making a difference in the lives of
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If you or someone you know has been in an accident,
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Riiteli
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Riuscii St
1
i
Where are our
regulatory
watchdogs?
by J im H ightower
IV? are located on the
corner o f MLK and Russell
Street, on the second floor
above the coffee shop.
\\
Don’t Blame China - Blame Us
The “Made in China" has
become a warning label.
Look out - toxics in tooth­
paste. arsenic in shrimp, lead
in toys!
Politicians are pointing their fin­
gers at China's lackadaisical ap­
proach to product safety. But wait
a minute - where, oh where, are our
own regulatory watchdogs?
The big shock is not that Chi­
nese-made toysare laden with lead,
but that America' sConsumer Prod­
uct Safety Commission is a tooth­
less watchdog that employs exactly
one inspector to oversee the safety
of all toys sold in the United States.
Likewise, the Food and Drug
Administration has licensed 714
Chinese plants to manufacture the
key ingredients for a growing per­
centage of the antibiotics, painkill­
ers, and other drugs
we buy, but pro­
vides practically no
oversight of these
plants.
In 2007, for ex­
am ple, FDA in ­
spected only 13 of
them.
An even bigger shock is that our
consumer-protection laws are so
riddled with kxipholes that unsafe
products can legally come into our
country.
Take phthalate, achem ical ad­
ditive in plastics that is su s­
pected by scientists here and in
Europe of inhibiting testosterone
production in infant boys. Yet,
Mark Shapiro, author o f “Ex­
posed: The Toxic Chem istry of
Everyday Products," reports that
while the European Union has
banned the use o f phthalates in
products aimed at children under
three years of age, our govern­
ment has refused to act.
Thus, China has factories that
manufacture two lines of toys —
one without phthalates for ship­
ment to European countries, and
one with phthalates for export to
our children.
The problem is not with the Chi­
nese, but with our own corporate
chieftains who have moved their
manufacturing to China specifically
to get these kinds of low-cost short­
cuts in production while simulta­
neously demanding that Washing­
ton cut back on regulations that
protect us consumers.
We must put our own house in
order.
Jim Hightower is the author o f
"Thieves in High Places: They've
Stolen Our Country and it's Time
to take it Rack. "