luly 15. 2009
Page A4
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A Big Star with a Big Heart
and later as the world's most
One of the most interesting popular solo artist. But, while
things about Michael Jackson his iconic artistry and eccentric
is that even though he died at lifestyle are well known, 1 want
the young age of 50, so many to spend a few moments reflect­
of us seemed to have grown up ing on Michael's equally im­
listening to his music and try­ pressive record of service to
humanity.
ing to copy his dance moves.
Bom in 1958 in the steel-mill
I guess that is what happens
when you've been performing city of Gary, Ind., Michael's life
and making records since 196b and career paralleled genera­
at the age of 10 - first as the tions of social and economic
lead singer of the Jackson Five change. In 1967, just one year
by M ari
H. M okiai .
betters to the (3Lctitor
before the Jackson Five burst
on the scene as Motown's new­
est sensation, Richard Hatcher
was elected Mayor of Gary, be­
coming one of the First African
American mayors in the coun­
try.
Michael and his brothers first
captured the nation's attention
in 1968, the year o f M artin
Luther King's assassination.
Their jubilant music brought
people of different races to­
gether, some for the first time,
at a moment when the forces of
discord seemed intent on tear-
Michael Jackson’s service to humanity
ing us apart.
In songs like "We are the
World," and "Man in the Mir­
ror," M ichael spoke to the
hearts o f people and made
powerful statements about the
need for greater unity, compas­
sion and peace in the world.
Many of the proceeds of his
records and tours were donated
to charities devoted to African
relief, college scholarships and
H1V/AIDS. In 1992, he founded
the Heal the World Foundation
to relieve the suffering of chil­
dren around the w orld. His
"Dangerous World Tour" that
year gave him the opportunity,
in his own words, to "visit chil­
dren around the world, as well
as spread the message of glo­
bal love, in the hope that oth­
ers will be moved to do their
share to help heal the world."
In 2000, the Guinness Book of
World Records cited Michael
Jackson for holding the world
record for the "Most Charities
Supported by a Pop Star."
As we mourn his passing in
these uncertain times, we might
do well to remember the words
to one of M ichael Jackson's
m ost poignant songs: “I ’m
starting with the man in the mir­
ror. I'm asking him to change
his w ays. And no m essage
could have been any clearer -
if you wanna make the world a
better place take a look at your­
self then make a change."
Our prayers go out to the
Jackson family and Michael’s
children. We will all miss the
King of Pop.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer of
the National Urban League.
Chavez Support Counted
The Portland City Council last week approved the renaming
of 39th Avenue for Cesar E. Chavez unanimously. 1 would like
to thank the great support of African-American leaders and
the African-American community. Your support and empathy
for this cause made the difference in this decision that honors
all Portlanders, especially Latino descent ones.
I hope our communities continue to forge ropes of under­
standing and mutual support in the many years and decades
to come for a better and more inclusive Portland. Thanks for
your support and Yes We Did it/ Si Se Pudo!
Erick Flores
Southeast Portland
Leader Helped People
If Honduras’ overthrown president Zelaya was so bad, why
were all those people out in the streets demanding his return?
Zelaya abolished fees for primary education resulting in
400,000 more children attending school. One million children
received a meal during the school day. A program of childhood
immunizations was expanded. The Zelaya government brought
electricity to more homes in both urban and rural areas. In
January, Zelaya decreed a raise in the nation's minimum wage.
More than his association with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez,
and more than his pursuit of a constitutional convention that
might have allowed for him to run for president again at some
future time, the real reason for Zelaya's overthrow was his
change from the centuries-old policies favoring the rich elites
to policies that improved the lot of the poor.
Jamie Partridge
Northeast Portland
Forget Guns - I’ll take a Cell Phone
Ahmadinejad, energized by the avail. Hundreds of photos of
information fed to them through the protests have appeared on
the Internet. And the world has YouTube and thousands of
Established 1970
messages from protesters have
noticed.
USPS 959-680____________________________
made their way to the outside
T
he
police
and
the
by
D
onai
.
d
K
ali
.
4747 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd.. Portland. OR 97211
O nce in tro d u c e d into a g o v e rn m e n t's p a ra m ilita ry world through text messaging,
venue, the Internet doesn't thugs beat the protestors, shot Twitter and all the other tech­
E iutok - in -C hicf , Pi h iis h ik . Charles H. Washington
them, arrested them, but still nologies I know nothing about.
merely grow, it explodes.
E h iio k M ichael Leighton
Will it be enough to topple
We see it working its magic they came. The government has
D is tk ih u tio n M anaokk : Mark W ashington
in Iran right now. Ten years ago banned foreign journalists from the government or at least to
C k ia t iv i D ikf . ctok : Paul N eufeldt
the governm ent would have the streets. People with cam­ win new elections? Probably
stolen the election and immedi­ eras are arrested and abused. not. A police state still has for­
P ostmasttr : Send address changes to Portland Observer,
ately
put a lockdown on infor­ Still the photos and stories of midable weapons at its com ­
P0 Box3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR97 20 8
mation coming out of country. the government's brutality keep mand and the Iranian govern­
Some people would have pro­ streaming out to the rest of the
CALL 503-288-0033
FAX 503-288-0015
tested and gotten beaten up. but world.
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It's enough to make a ruling
hardly anyone would have no­
ticed and the world would have despot long for the days when
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Instead we now have great mimeograph machines in Mos­
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ment seems quite willing to use
numbers of people spilling into cow.
H IB IT E D The Portland O bserver-Oregon's Oldest M ulticultural Publication--is a member of the
National Newspaper Association- bounded in 1885. and The National Advertising Representative
The government has tried to them.
the streets to protest he fraudu­
Amalgamated Publishers. Inc, New York. NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers Association
But its aura of invincibility
lent e le c tio n o f M ahm oud stem the Interne, tide but to little
has been breached, its moral
authority fractured. It's become
obvious that it's just another
corrupt gang of thugs willing
to do whatever it takes to hang
3605 NE Mallory
on to power and damn the con­
sequences.
Pastor Kimberly K. Black and the GSS church family cordially invite
The situation gives lie to the
the City o f Roses to come and worship with us as we celebrate our
claim of the National Rifle As­
sociation and its fellow-travel­
ers that the first thing “the Com­
m unists” do when they take
over a country is to confiscate
the guns.
Special Guest, Friday at 7:00 pm
Not true. The first thing in­
Dr. Robert E. Houston Sr. - Frankfort, KY
surgents do when they gain
control is take over the radio
Banquet Celebration, Saturday at 6:00 pm
and television stations. Then
they close the new spapers.
At the Embassy Suites Portland Airport-
Guns are dangerous yes, but
79(X) NE 82nd Avenue
not nearly as dangerous as
Bishop AlexisThomas-Phoenix, AZ
ideas.
(See banquet ticket information below)
Republicans are upset with
President Obama for not mak-
C1?'‘lln rtla n b (Observer
Energized by
information
ing a m ore forceful protest
against what's going on in Iran,
but I'm not sure what they want
him to do. Make faces at Iran's
leaders? C all them nam es?
(W e've already used up our
quota for wars this decade.)
Maybe the president could
show them a picture of Dick
Cheney smiling. That's pretty
terrifying. Beyond that, inter­
posing the United States in what
is, after all, an internal matter
would do nothing bu, make the
Guns are dangerous yes, but
not nearly as dangerous as ideas.
Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church
25th Church Anniversary
• August 14-16, 2009
Late Night Musical 10:00 pm at the Embassy
Suites featuring Portland's Finest Gospel Artist
Wilder Ward Jrs., God in Charge, Grace &
Mercy, New Testament COGIC, St. Paul MBC
and from Seattle WA, Silent Praise Ministries
Sunday at 3:30 pm; Dr. A. Bernard Devers, 1
-S a n Antonio, TX
Banquet tickets $60.00
Ticket Locations; Christopher’sGourmentGrill, Earl’s Barber Shop, Elements of Artistry,
G eneva's Shear Perfection. MeRae’s, One Stop Records and Tondalayera Designer Salon.
For more information call 503-281-52(X) or visit www.greaterststephenmissionarybaptistchurch.com
protesters look like pawns of
the U. S. and weaken their posi­
tion.
Obama's playing it just about
right, turning up the heat gradu­
ally.
The Republicans have got­
ten a lot of mileage out of talk­
ing tough to our adversaries,
when they talk at all. Where has
it gotten us? Pariah status in
the very part of the world that
we now seek to influence.
W hat's happening in Iran
now is important largely be­
cause Iran is a hostile country
that is attempting to arm itself
with nuclear weapons. Ideally,
we'd like to get the rest of the
world— countries like China,
India, Japan—on our side in try­
ing to prevent it from doing so.
For that you need not blus­
ter but persuasion. And the
Internet.
Don Kaul is a national col­
umnist.
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