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Page A4
lanuaiy 21, 2009
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O pinion
Glorious Day, Glorious Result
America’s first
black president
In memory of
Joyce Washington
We miss you mom
The follow ing is an editorial
o f the Portland O bserver:
B arack O b am a’s in a u g u ra­
tion as the 4 4th p resid en t o f the
U nited S tates w as a g lo rio u s
day fo r all A m ericans.
By b eco m in g the first A fri­
can A m erican president, O bam a
fulfills the prom ise in our D ecla­
ratio n o f In d ep en d en ce w hich
states that all m en are created
pressed A m erica w ith his o ra ­ the ideal that children anyw here
eq u al.
can asp ire to b eco m e p resid en t
D em o cracy m ade this h is­ tory sk ills and in tellect.
H e earn ed sup p o rt from all th em selv es.
to ric day p o ssib le.
P resid en t O b am a fu lfills the
By a clear m ajority, people o f d e m o g ra p h ic s , re g a rd le s s o f
d
ream
o f o u r g reat civil rig h ts
all b ack g ro u n d s rejected the ra ­ race and id eo lo g y , but e s p e ­
hero.
Dr.
M a rtin L u th erK in g Jr.,
cial b iases o f the past and v oted cially from the m any d ru m m a­
w
ho
lo
o
k
ed fo r that day w hen a
jo
rs
fo
re
q
u
ality
and
civil
rights.
for a p erso n w ho had p ro v ed
p
erso
n
is
A m erica is ju d g e d on
T
h
is
d
o
e
s
n
’t
m
ean
racial
d
i­
his q u a lific a tio n s for the h ig h ­
th
eir
c
h
a
racter
an d not the co lo r
visions
have
ended.
W
e
know
est o ffice in the land an d as our
o
f
th
e
ir
skin.
the
hu
rtfu
l
hate
o
f
p
reju
d
ices
co m m an d e r in chief.
A m erica ju d g e d ch aracter.
A s a co m m u n ity o rg an izer, still cau se great harm and m ust
O b a m a ’s in au g u ratio n as the
c o n s titu tio n a l law p ro fe s s o r be co n fro n te d to d ay an d to ­
first A frican A m erican P re si­
and U.S. Senator, Barack O bam a morrow.
But the inauguration o f a p e r­ d en t is a g ran d resu lt o f the long
ran a cam p aig n that reach ed out
to the A m erican people. H e im ­ son o f co lo r is a fu lfillm en t o f fig h t fo r eq u ality and ju stice .
Enduring Power of a Dream
Happy 70th
Birthday
Barack Obama brings new chapter
Kathrine
Curry
by R alph B. E verett
T oday w e begin a
new chapter in the story
o f A m erica and in the
prom ise it holds for all
people.
T w o h u n d red an d
thirty-three years after
our
c o u n try
w as
founded on bedrock principles o f
human equality, an African Ameri­
P roverbs 31
Love from your
children, grandchi Idren
and great grandkids
‘E1't ^Jorthntb (lf)bscrucr Established 1970
USPS 959-680 ___ _____________________________
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.. Portland. OR 97211
C harles H. W ashington
E d it o r . M i c h a e l L e ig h to n
D is t r ib u t io n M a n a g e r : M a r k W a s h in g to n
C r e a t iv e D ir e c t o r : P a u l N e u f e l d t
E d it o r -I n -C h ie f , P u blis h e r :
can now occupies the
highest elected office
in the land. Behind that
sim ple fact are many
tales about the arc of
o u r h isto ry an d the
_.
p e o p le w h o h a v e
helped bend it tow ard
this moment.
President Barack O bam a has
already begun to set a new direc-
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tion to address the enorm ous
burdens that have been placed
on his shoulders.
But for the rest o f us, espe­
cially those w ho never thought
they w ould live to see this day, it
is a tim e to pause and reflect on
the w onders o f our dem ocracy
and the enduring pow er o f the
d ream th a t has been ca rrie d
through the ages from the found­
ing fathers to Dr. King and into
the present day.
It isa tim e to teach our children
about the new possibilities that
are now theirs to behold.
And while the vision o f a more
perfect union now seem s closer
to our grasp, our new President
has noted that there is a long road
ahead o f us.
At the sam e tim e, he has spo­
ken eloquently about a new spirit
o f service and responsibility in
w hich each A m erican is called
upon to look after not only our­
selves, but each other.
W e w holeheartedly endorse
that m essage and pledge to carry
it forw ard in every aspect o f our
work.
R alph B. E verett is president
o f the Joint C enter fo r Political
a n d E conom ic Studies.
composition o f such ad © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRO­
DUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED The Portland
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Enormous Positive Change
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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 rite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to re n o w d e liv e rs
g ro c e rie s rig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
R ea C arey
A m e ric a
m a d e h is to ry
today with the
sw earing-in o f
Barack O bam a
as its 44th presi­
dent.
It is our hope
this truly m arks
the daw n o f a new political era of
engagement in the lifeof thiscoun-
try.
In his speech, the president
spoke o f our nation’s need to
reaffirm its enduring spirit and
“carry forw ard that precious gift,
that noble idea ... (theJ prom ise
that all are equal, all are free, and
all deserve a chance to pursue
their full m easure o f happiness.’’
O ur country has m ade signifi­
cant strides in advancing this
by
‘n o b le id e a ' to w ard fu ll-
fledged reality, but w e’re not
there yet. T oo many people
continue to face discrim ina­
tion and hardship.
As President O bam a as­
sum es the role o f A m erica's
forem ost leader, we call upon
him to fulfill the prom ise o f a
nation w here lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people
are recognized and valued as part
o f this country's strength, spirit
and solution.
T he fact that the official W hite
H ouse W eb site was updated just
this afternoon with a list o f com ­
m itm ents to L G B T rights is al­
re a d y
en o rm o u s
p o s itiv e
ch a n g e.”\
R ea Carey is executive direc­
tor o f the N ational G ay a n d L es­
bian Task Force.
President Obama’s Leadership
by S en . J eee M erki . ey
As I traveled to the Capitol
today, 1 could feel agrow ing sense
o fex citem entalloverthiscity. At
one point, Mary and I w ent passed
a city bus full o f people chanting
‘O bam a’ and the streets got pro­
gressively more crow ded and fes­
tive as we neared the National
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m
you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
“ Everything I do is collaborative. It's ju s t my way. I'm really very
interested in how the o th e r m usicians perceive the song.”
Cassandra W ilson
KMHD radio is a collaborative effort;
without the generous support from our
listeners we wouldn’t be on the air! Show
us that Jazz & Blues music is important to
you and your community!
Mail to KMHD/MHCC726000 SE Stark, Gresham. OR 97030
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I
I
Mall.
T here w as a trem endous feel­
ing o f purpose and a readiness to
em bark on a new chapter in our
nation’s history.
President O bam a really cap ­
tured the difficult place we are in
as a country - faced with two
w ars and a broken econom y.
He observed, how ever, that
A m erica has faced difficult chal­
lenges before. And as we have
w orked to g eth er to overcom e
those challenges, we will work
together to overcom e what lies
before us.
P resident O bam a ap p ro p ri­
ately gave a serious speech - not
one full o f applause lines but one
that really outlined the problem s
we face and prepared the nation
for the difficult choices we will
have to m ake to get back on track.
I know 1 jo in all Am ericans in
pledging to work with President
O bam a to take the necessary steps
to restore peace and prosperity,
and ensure that we are all able to
fulfill our G od-given potential.
J e ff M erkley o f P ortland is the
new ly elected U.S. Senator fro m
Oregon.
I