February II. 2009
sportiani» (D baerucr
Page A4
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Firsts among the
Politically Elite
Barack Obama
and now
Michael
Steele
elite.
It is am azing that given this
country’s history with African
A m ericans and voting rights,
two black men have ascended
to such pow erful political posi
tions. C ertainly, y o u 'v e
had blacks in high-pow
ered political roles but
by J udge G keg M athis
Form er M aryland Lt.
never this high and defi
Gov. M ichael Steele, a
nitely not within both the
Republican and D em o
black man, was recently
elected Chairm an of the R epub cratic parties.
lican N ational C om m ittee to
T here are still m any African
oversee the Republican P arty’s A m ericans who rem em ber an
agenda item s, rally m em bers America where their right to vote
around issues, and lead party was not secured by law and who
fundraising and cam paign ef risked injury, even death, to fight
forts across the country.
for that right.
W hile you or your friends
W h a t’s m o st fa sc in a tin g
about Steele’s leadership role at may never support Steele or any
the RNC is that the country will
You ’ve had blacks in high-
powered political roles but never
this high and definitely not within
both the Republican and
Democratic parties.
have an opportunity to witness of his party’s initiatives, rest
the distinct leadership styles of assured that the country will be
tw o African A m ericans who, watching him closely. His ap
along with their parties, are push pointm ent, along with President
O b am a's historic election, have
ing vastly different agendas.
F or generations, R epubli sw ung the door o f A m erican
cans have advocated for less politics wide open, making it
governm ent, tax breaks for the that much easier for blacks to
w ealthy and less protections w alk on through.
As politics diversify, so too
for society’s m ost vulnerable
m em bers. D em ocrats on the will the view points and agen
other hand, transform ed them das pushed by the parties that
selves into the party that w orks dom inate them.
Look at how far we have
to provide safety nets for the
poor and m arginalized.
come.
Regardless o f your feelings
Frederick Douglas once said
about Steele or the Republican “If there is no struggle, there is no
Party for that matter, his ap progress.” As a people, we have
pointm ent is a notable accom struggled and endured. While
plishm ent. T hought to be too true equality has not yet arrived,
conservative by liberals and we have made many gains.
d e e m e d n o t c o n s e r v a tiv e
Judge Greg Mathis is vice
enough by the religious right, president o f Rainbow PUSH
Steele stands w ith P resident and a board member o f the
O bam a as one o f few A frican Southern Christian Leadership
Americans among the politically Conference.
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Steering Through Rough Waters
By any measure, the upcom
ing year will be a challenging
one. H ow ever, as hopeful we
may feel as a people entering a
new era in A m erica politics,
that optim ism is tem pered by
the m agnitude o f the obstacles
before us. For m any o f us, the
story o f 2009 will in large part
be about how we w eather the
current econom ic crisis.
It’s no secret that many more
A m ericans are w ithout jo b s
now than at alm ost any tim e in
m e m o ry . M o re a n d m o re
people face the grim prospects
o f foreclosure and bankruptcy
every day, and many feel that
events have spiraled out of
their control. And that feeling
is not without cause - many o f
the econom ic forces in motion
now are indeed outside o f the
control of the average person,
and it is easy to feel as if you
have been cut adrift.
But there’s no need to feel
that way. C ertainly, tim es are
tough, but you d o n ’t have to
feel as if there are no options.
You d o n 't have to feel as if you
cannot exert some control over
y o u r fu tu re, even w hen re
sources are tight and choices
seem limited.
As my m other used to tell me
in North C aro lin a-an d still does,
truth be told - when one door
closes, another one opens.
It may seem paradoxical, but
Certainly, times are tough, but
you don’t have to feel as if there
are nO OptlOnS.
a tim e o f econom ic stress can be
a tim e o f opportunity. W hat
better tim e to retool your skill
set than when y o u ’re out o f
w ork? W hat better tim e to pre
pare for a change o f careers?
A nd let’s face it - the econom y
is not ju st in a slum p, the very
nature o f the goods and ser
vices we produce is changing.
T his change will only inten
sify as our culture continues on
its steep technological growth
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Bus lines: 44; 17; 4; 75
Saturday, February 21, 9:30 AM-12 noon
Floyd Light Middle School
10800 SE Washington Street
Bus line: 20
Tuesday, February 24, 6-8:30 PM
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Bus lines: 44; 45; 64
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I
curve, and as President O bam a
enacts his program o f w ide
spread in frastru ctu re in v e st
ment.
“Epic changes are ahead in
the business landscape,” Rob
M cG overn, C EO o f JobFox Inc.
(an online jo b search service),
told B usinessW eek m agazine
recently about the im pact o f
f
7688 SW Capital Highway
Salutes
Black History Month
Alberta Street Market
by A lgie C. G atewood
Plenty o f Parking available
Geneva & Paul Knauls, Owners
O b am a’s plans.
“It’s ju s tlik e 1991, w hen we
d id n ’t know the Internet was
com ing,” M cG overn w ent on to
say. “New jo b titles will em erge,
many o f w hich hav en ’t been
invented yet. Savvy profession
als will be prepared to take ad
vantage o f new opportunities.”
So the question is - will you
be prepared to take advantage
o f these new opportunities? If
so, how will you prepare your
self? A nd perhaps m ost im por
tantly, if y o u ’re feeling the eco
nom ic pinch - w hat are you
w aiting for?
W hen y o u ’re ready to m ake
th a t c h o ic e ,
th e re is no
b e tte r p la ce
to go than your local com m u
nity college cam pus.
Sim ply put, com m unity co l
leges are the m ost accessible,
m ost econom ical w ay to further
your education or acquire new
skills training. As the dem and
for tom orrow ’s skills increases,
com m unity colleges are where
industry will turn for highly-
trained workers.
So do it. M ake the choice.
Invest in your future. Steer your
ow n course through the rough
econom ic w aters . Take the time
to learn about the jo b s o f tom or
row, visit your local com m unity
college cam pus, talk to an ad
viser, and enroll.
You w on’ t Find more bang for
y o u r ed u catio n al b uck an y
w here else, and if your budget is
tight, financial aid is available.
T he story o f 2009 will indeed
be about how we w eather the
current economic crisis. But with
the right choices and the right
education, your tim e in the sun
can com e sooner.
Algie C. Gatewood is presi
dent o f Portland Community
College’s Cascade Campus.
Leveling the Field
Justice served
with Lilly
Ledbetter Act
The Lilly L edbetter Fair Pay
A ct was the very first piece o f
legislation signed into law by
P re s id e n t
B a ra c k
Obama.
T he bill w ill co m b at
w a g e d is c r im in a tio n
and h elps begin le v e l
ing the field o f co m p en
sation, reg a rd le ss o f the
¡race, ethnicity, religion or g en
d er o f w ho receiv es th e pay.
F or ev ery d o lla r m ade by a
C a u casian m ale in the U .S. to
day, it is estim a ted [by the
fed eral B ureau o f L ab o r S ta
tistics) th at an A frican A m eri
can m ale m akes 79 ce n ts for
eq u al w ork, an A frican A m eri
can w om an 77 ce n ts and a
w h ite w om an slig h tly m ore
th an 80 cen ts. T h at is b latan t
econom ic d iscrim in atio n in its
p lain est sense and cents.
T he act ad d resses the re c k
less S u p rem e C o u rt d ecisio n ,
n e a r ly tw o y e a r s a g o in
L ed b etter v. G o o d y ear T ire
and R u b b er Co. th at an in d i
vidual w ho is receiv in g less
pay for equal w ork d ue to his
or her race, ethnic background,
g en d er o r age, m ust file a la w
suit w ith in 180 d ay s o f his or
her first d isc rim in a to ry p ay
check in o rd er for the suit to be
c o n sid ered by the co u rts.
T h at ru lin g ig n o red the fact
th at in d iv id u als w ho are re
c e iv in g less pay o ften do not
rea lize th at they are b eing d is
crim in ate d ag a in st in the first
th ree m o n th s and o ften can
o nly co n firm such d isc rim in a
tion after m onths, years or even
d ecad es o f in v estig atio n .
The law reinstitutes
the o rig in al in ten t o f
C ongress in the 1964
Civil Rights Act, by m an
dating that an individual
may file a discrim ination
suit against an em ployer
(orform erem ployer) within 180
days o f the end o f his or her
em ploym ent, thereby restoring
the ability o f victim s of pay dis
crim ination to obtain effective
remedies.
A t the sig n in g cerem o n y
P resid en t O b am a said, "It's
bad for b u sin ess to pay so m e
b o d y less b ec au se o f th e ir
g en d e r o r th eir age o r th eir
race or th eir eth n icity , religion
o r d isa b ility : and th at ju stic e
isn 't ab o u t som e ab stra ct le
gal th e o ry , or fo o tn o te in a
caseb o o k . It'» ab o u t how o u r
law s affect the d aily liv es and
the d aily rea litie s o f people:
th e ir ab ility to m ake a liv in g
and care fo r th eir fam ilies and
ach iev e th e ir goals."
T h e N A A C P a p p la u d s
P resid en t O b am a for signing
th is bill.
Benjam in T. Jealous is
NAACP president and chief
executive officer.