Women s
PageAô
March 19. 2008
I I I S IX ) R Y
Celebrating Women’s History Month
Good and Bad Times for Black Women
Report delves into economic, societal ups and downs
ers,”
( A P ) — T h is is a triu m p h a n t tim e
o f this yea r's State o f B lack A m erica
fo r black w om en: Condoleezza Rice
report, issued by the N a tio n a l U r­
Julianne M alveaux, the president
in the g lo b a l d ip lo m a tic sp o tlig h t,
ban League. It features essays lo o k ­
o f Bennett C o lle g e fo r W o m e n in
M ic h e lle O bam a c a p tiv a tin g ca m ­
ing at the array o f challenges faced
G reensboro, N .C ., contends in the
paign cro w d s as a p o te n tia l firs t
by A fric a n -A m e ric a n w om en: eco­
re p o rt’ s op e n in g essay that the
lady, b illion aire O prah W in lre y play­
no m ic. social, p sych o lo g ica l and
im age o f black w om en in po p u la r
ing p o litic a l kin gm a ker.
medical.
c u ltu re has barely im p ro v e d in the
It ’ s also a traum at ic tim e: Rutgers
"T h e one th in g that is certain is
U n iv e rs ity basketball players d is ­
the need to hear and a m p lify the
W h ite men con tinu e to d o m i­
paraged by rad io host D o n Im us, a
voices o f black w o m en ,” lo n g tim e
nate on T V ’ s Sunday m o rn in g news
shows, she w rite s, w h ile "th e g y ­
year since the Im us in cide nt.
black w om an kidnapped and to r­
c iv il rig h ts a ctivist D o ro th y H e igh t
tured by w h ites in W est V irg in ia ,
w rite s in the fo re w o rd . " T o o often,
ratin g, u n d u la tin g im age o f A f r i ­
the ho m e -o w n in g dream s o f black
o u r needs, concerns, struggles, and
ca n -A m e rica n w o m en in rap m usic
wom en d is p ro p o rtio n a te ly dashed
triu m p h s are d im in ish e d and sub­
videos and, by extension, on cable
by foreclosures.
ordinated to w hat is believed to be
te le visio n is as prevalent as ever.”
That rem arkable m ix is the focus
the m ore pressing concerns o f o th ­
The report delves deeply in to
econom ics, noting that black wom en
Michelle Obama captivates campaign
crowds with her husband Barack and
children Malia (left) and Sasha .
are m ore lik e ly than w h ite o r H is ­
Members o f the Rutgers women's basketball team hold a news conference on campus in Piscataway.
N J ., to react to derogatory remarks directed at their team made on air by radio personality Don Imus.
as "th e backbone o f tht? bla ck fam -
panic w om en to be ru n n in g a house­
In an essay about the hom e loan
neurs. T he nu m be r o f businesses
ho ld and raising c h ild re n on th e ir
crisis, A nd rea H a rris, president o f
ow ned by them increased by 147
il y ” —
c o n s ta n tly s u rm o u n tin g
ow n. A cco rd in g to M alvea ux, black
the N o rth C a ro lin a In s titu te fo r
percent between 1997 and 2006,
obstacles. M a rc M o ria l ca lle d fo r
w o m en ho ld m ore jo b s n a tio n w id e
M in o rity E co n o m ic D e velo pm e nt,
com pared to an o ve ra ll business
expansion o f program s that w o u ld
than black men, yet — despite th e ir
suggests that black w om en have
g ro w th rate o f 24 percent, she wrote.
assist black w o m en in starting bu si­
bre a d w in n e r roles — earn less on
suffere d d is p ro p o rtio n a te ly . A s ­
average, $566 a week com pared to
$629 fo r black men.
e s s a y is ts ,
nesses, pro te ct m ore o f them fro m
sessing rece nt fe d e ra l data on
M e la n ie C a m pb ell o f the N a tion al
p re d a to ry le n d in g schemes, and
of
th e
subprim e loans, w h ic h are a m ain
C o a litio n on B la ck C iv ic P a rticip a ­
p ro vid e m ore o f them w ith a ffo rd ­
c u lp rit in the foreclosu re ep id em ic,
tio n , said in an in te rv ie w that d is ­
able, h ig h -q u a lity c h ild care.
H a rris says black w om en received
pa ritie s in health care and eco no m ­
“ W hen black wom en hurt, the
far m ore o f these loans in 2006 than
ies are the param ount issues fo r
A m erican fa m ily suffers," M o ria l
w h ite men.
black w om en as the e le ctio n ca m ­
wrote. "B u t by up liftin g black women,
paign unfolds.
especially those strugg ling hardest
“ It is easy to im a g in e the devas­
tatio n that is headed to w a rd A f r i ­
E x it p o llin g shows that black
to keep th e ir fa m ilie s together and
ca n -A m e ric a n w o m en and th e ir
w om en have becom e a la rge r force
theirdream son track, we lift upevery
c o m m u n itie s ," H a rris w rites.
w ith in the D e m o cra tic electorate
A m erican co m m u n ity.”
A n essay by D r. D o ris B row ne ,
com pared to 2004, and C a m pb ell
A year ago, the U rban League
a p u b lic health expert, details the
said th e ir expectations fo r p o lic y
focused its State o f B la ck A m e ric a
above-average rates o f cancer, d ia ­
changes also are risin g .
re p o rt on the d iffic u ltie s fa cin g
betes and heart disease am o ng
black w om en.
O n an upbeat note, fo rm e r La b o r
Condoleezza Rice achieves the
highest levels o f power in the
Bush administration.
A n o th e r
Secretary A le x is Herm an notes in
“ W e w ant to go beyond being
m any yo u n g black m en, in c lu d in g
tho ugh t about,” she said. " W e w ant
th e ir hig h rates o f c rim e and im p ris ­
onm ent. T h is ye a r's theme was w e l­
a c tio n ."
T h e p re s id e n t o f the U rb a n
com ed by b la ck w o m en w h o be­
her essay that black w om en are
League, a 98-year-old black em p ow ­
lie ve th e ir p a rtic u la r concerns o f ­
m aking huge strides as entrepre­
erm ent org an izatio n, hailed w om en
ten are o ve rlo o ke d .
Reflecting on Civil Rights and Remarkable Firsts
Focus on women draws support
A lp h a Kappa A lp h a 's in te rna­
M o n th .
m onth.
She noted ho w A K A w om en
"S ince 1908 when A lp h a Kappa
A lp h a was founded, its m em bers
tress Jada P in ke tt S m ith . U.S. Rep.
have recorded m any firs ts in th e ir
Sheila Jackson Lee; poet M a ya
100-year h isto ry in c lu d in g :
A n g e lo u and m any m ore.
A.
She issued the ca ll to m em bers-
have made an im p act d u rin g the
—Ellen Johnson S irleaf, president
M c K in z ie spoke w ith p ride in
urg e d the s o ro rity 's
-and e ve ryo n e —to p a rticip ate in
S uffrag ette m ovem ent, d u rin g the
o f L ib e ria and the firs t fem ale to
stating that A lp h a Kappa A lp h a is
2 0 0 .0 0 0 m em b ers to c e le b ra te
events praising w om en and to re­
c iv il rig h ts era and th ro u g h o u t his­
serve as head o f an A fr ic a nation.
ce le b ra tin g its C e n te n n ia l th is year.
w om en d u rin g the M a rch , w h ic h is
fle ct on th e ir greatness w h ile the
to ry ,"
sa id . " A lp h a
—P h y lic ia Rashad - the firs t A f ­
She said it is on the strength o f its
designated as W o m e n ’s H is to ry
spo tlig ht is focused on w om en this
Kappa A lp h a w om en have been in
ric a n -A m e ric a n w om an to w in a
illu s tr io u s "s is te rh o o d " tha t the
Best A ctress T o n y A w a rd fo r a
o rg a n iza tio n has no urished .
t io n a l
p r e s id e n t,
M c K in z ie
B a rb a ra
M c K in z ie
"A lp h a Kappa A lp h a m em bers
d ra m a tic leading role.
OPAL SCHOOL
of the Portland Children’s Museum
—D r. M ae Jem ison , the fir s t
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OPAL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL: Grades K-5
A d is tin c tiv e P ortland Public C harter School
o f the P ortland C hildren's M useum
An elem entary p u b lic school th a t supports q u a lity
academ ics by in tro d u c in g the arts and sciences
as languages o f c o m m u n ic a tio n and tools of the
im a g in a tio n . A pproaches th a t inspire inquiry,
creativity and th e w o n d e r o f learning.
• Transport o p tio n s include public transport,
car pools and self-transport.
All applications m ust
be delivered or post­
O re g o n R eport C ard R ating: E xceptional—h ighest
m arked by 5 pm on
M on, March 31, 2008
O ther rem arkable members o t her
set aside to re jo ice in o u r accom ­
Barbara A. McKinzie
gro up in clud e the la te C o re tta Scott
plishm e nts, I urge everyone to jo in
(he fo re fro n t o f e ffe c tin g change as
K in g ; Peggy Q u in ce , a m em ber o f
me in ce le b ra tin g the triu m p h s,
trailbla zers, cha m pions and h isto ry
the F lo rid a Suprem e C o u rt; v o c a l­
achievem ents and e xce lle nce o f
m akers."
ist and m usician A lic ia K eys: ac­
w o m e n ."
MULTNOMAH
COUNTY
Interested in a new career that pays?
w.multcojobs.org
Com e check o u t the
WOMEN
in Trades
Career Fair
A
Saturday, M ay 3
9 a.m . - 3 p.m.
NECA/IBEW Electrical Training Center
16021 NE Airport Way, Portland, OR 97230
w w w .tra d e s w o in e n .n e t
Free admission, child care, parking & shuttle
503.335 8200 x21
Many thanks to our ma/or sponsors
N E C A \W *
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in g h isto ry since the b e g in n in g o f
tim e ," she said. "D u rin g th is m onth
Pick one up at the
• Located at th e P ortland C hildren's M useum ,
across fro m O re g o n Z oo in W ashington Park
rating aw arded by the O regon Dept of Education.
w o m a n o fc o lo r to b e launched in to
space.
LOTTERY APPLICATIONS
Children's Museum,
call (5 0 3 )4 7 1 -9 9 0 2
or get one online at
w w w .p o rtla n d cm .o rg
• N o T uition — Grades K-5
have been in the fo re fro n t o f creat­
prnca
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