A p ril 14. 2010
*** jllortlanìi (Dbsemer
Delivering to the Masses
Obama’s urban agenda
J udge G reg M athis
M uch has been m ade about
the debate betw een tw o o f our
m ost respected black leaders:
T avis S m iley and the Rev. A1
S harpton. T he tw o m en, both
activists in their ow n w ay, d is
agree on w h eth er o r not P resi
dent O bam a should openly pursue an ‘urban
a g e n d a ’.
Sm iley thinks O bam a should be m ore ag g res
sive in pursuing a black agenda and thinks black
leaders are being too soft on him . S harpton
thinks pushing such a plan w ould put the P resi
dent in a vulnerable position and that black
leaders, not the President, should p ursue a plan
for urban im provem ent. Rev. S harpton is c o r
rect.
by
R esidents o f urban areas, m any o f w h o m are
A frican A m erican, suffer disproportionately from
m any issues m ainstream society m ay not: failing
schools, high d ro p o u t rates, lack o f access to
q u ality and affo rd ab le healthcare, poverty, high
u n em p lo y m en t rates and increasing in carcera
tion rates. W hile w e certain ly w ant those w ho
live in these co m m u n ities to receive increased
attention and g o v ern m en tal support, it is not
realistic.
A m e ric a is a c o u n try w ith a v a rie ty o f
p e o p le an d v a rie ty o f o b s ta c le s to o v e rc o m e .
It is n a iv e to th in k th e P re sid e n t w o u ld be a b le
to p u sh s u c h an a g e n d a th ro u g h C o n g re ss i f
it is e x p la in e d as so m e th in g th a t w o u ld p rim a
rily b e n e fit b la ck s. A s a p e o p le , w e re p re se n t
ju s t 12 p e rc e n t o f th e p o p u la tio n an d w e
d o n ’t h a v e th e v o te s in C o n g re ss to g et su ch
le g is la tio n th ro u g h . P u rsu in g a b la c k a g e n d a
w o u ld re n d e r th e P re sid e n t in e ffe c tiv e an d he
w o u ld n o t su c c e e d .
B ut le t’s be clear: resid en ts in urban areas are
Page 19
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May 1,2011
Martin
Cleaning
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b enefiting from the P resid e n t’s efforts. W hat
O bam a is doing w ith his em p lo y m en t and train
ing legislation and w hat he did w ith healthcare
and ed u catio n w ill u n d o u b ted ly affect A frican
A m ericans. W hile these agendas support the
entire nation, they w ill d isp ro p o rtio n ately b e n
efit urban residents.
M any o f o ur leaders are quick to dism iss the
P resid en t’s efforts as not being ‘b lack e n o u g h ’.
T h ey should open th eir eyes and realize that he
is deliv erin g to the m asses w hat he p rom ised
w hile also affectin g changes in o u r com m unity.
A nd h e ’s doing it w hile trying to w ork across
both political aisles.
A lth o u g h the urban agenda is n ’t obvious,
the urban benefits are clear. W e should applaud
and support the P resident as he w orks and
recognize that he is, in fact, President o f the
entire U nited States o f A m erica.
CARPET CLEANING
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A sm all d istan ce/trav el charge
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(Includes: I small Hallway)
Most Protestors were Peaceful
‘I was not a
violent
anarchist’
L eah G ibson -B lackfeather
I w as leav in g m y g rad u a te-lev e l
c la ss at P o rtla n d S ta te U n iv e rsity
on M arch 29 to m e e t m y b o y frien d
in th e S m ith M e m o ria l S tu d e n t
U n io n . I w as tire d fro m a fu ll d ay
o f w o rk an d m y first c la ss o f th e
te rm an d ju s t w a n te d to re la x ; I
p la n n e d to sta rt on so m e re a d in g
w h ile h a v in g a b ite to eat.
M y b o y frie n d c a lle d m e as I
w as w a lk in g d o w n th e s ta irs -- he
said , “ C o m e now ! T h e re a re co p s
e v e ry w h e re in th e P a rk B lo c k s .” I
q u ic k e n e d m y p ace.
F o u r h o u rs la te r, I w as b e in g
c a lle d a “ v io le n t a n a rc h is t” on all
o f th e lo c al n ew s b ro a d c a s ts
I am ex trem ely disap p o in ted that
th e m a jo rity o f lo cal m e d ia h av e
by
p o r tr a y e d th e p r o t e s t e r s th a t
n ig h t as a v io le n t g ro u p o f “ a n a r
c h is ts ,” ra th e r th an w h a t w e re a lly
w e re — a g ro u p m a d e up o f m o s tly
stu d e n ts an d c o n c e rn e d c o m m u
n ity m e m b e rs.
I w o rk fu ll-tim e at a la rg e n o n
p ro fit o rg a n iz atio n in P ortland. I ’m
a c o n c e rn e d c o m m u n ity m e m b e r
a n d a p e rs o n o f c o lo r. I h a v e re
c e n tly b e c o m e a w a re o f and o u t
ra g e d by th e e s c a la tio n o f v io
le n ce an d k illin g s c o m m itte d by
th e P o rtla n d p o lic e , s p e c ific a lly
th o se a ffe c tin g p e o p le o f c o lo r
an d th e ir fa m ilie s.
T h u s, I jo in e d th e g ro u p o f p ro
te ste rs as th e y w e n t th ro u g h the
P S U c a m p u s an d w e re c o n tin u
a lly b lo c k e d by m a sse s o f p o lic e
o ffic e rs an d rio t c o p s— ev en w hen
w e w e re ju s t w a lk in g o n th e s id e
w a lk s th ro u g h th e P ark b lo c k s.
A fte r fo u r h o u rs o f sta n d in g
an d ru n n in g in th e rain w h ile b e
in g c h a se d , p u sh e d , an d h a ssle d
by p o lic e on h o rs e b a c k , m o to r
c y c le s , b ik e s, an d in c a rs, I h ad
had e n o u g h . 1 d id no t p a rtic ip a te
in an y v io le n c e o f a n y k in d ; I had
b a re ly e v en ra ise d m y v o ic e to
c h a n t. I w as sim p ly th e re , a q u ie t
p re s e n c e s ta n d in g w ith frie n d s
an d fe llo w s tu d e n ts in so lid a rity .
I w as pushed and harassed by
cops; I ran from one p olice o fficer
w ho w as bum p in g into p eople p u r
p o sefu lly w ith his m otorcycle. I
d u c k e d as a c o p on h o rse b a c k
pushed his h o rs e ’s face at m e w hile
it w as biting at m y head. W hen
an o th er police o fficer shoved m e
into the crow d as I w as trying to take B u r e a u ’s p ro b le m s , b u t c o u ld
a p icture o f a cop p u n ch in g a stu d e fin ite ly help. M o re in v o lv em en t
dent, I d id n ’t push back.
an d o v e rs ig h t o f th e In d e p e n d e n t
I n e v e r o n c e saw o r p a rtic i P o lice R ev iew D iv isio n is a n o th e r
p a te d in an y a c t o f v io le n c e o r g o o d s u g g e s tio n . T h e p o in t is
v a n d a lis m — b e sid e s the h a ra s s th e re a re s o lu tio n s th a t still hav e
m e n t th a t w e r e c e i v e d fro m no t y e t b een u tiliz e d .
P o r tla n d ’s fin e st. I d id w itn e ss a
T h is issu e n o t o n ly a ffe c ts the
m in o rity o f p ro te sto rs w h o p u sh ed c ity ’s ho m eless o r A frica n -A m e ri
o v e r g a rb a g e c a n s an d n e w s p a can c o m m u n ity — it a ffe c ts all o f
p e r ra c k s; h o w e v e r, m o st o f the P o rtla n d ’s c itiz e n s. I am N a tiv e
c ro w d w as p e a c e fu l an d n o n v io A m e ric an and hav e b een in v o lv e d
len t an d e v e n a sk e d th e m o re “ e x in re se a rc h d o n e by th e N o rth
p re s s iv e ” p ro te s to rs n o t to d a m w e s t A re a F o u n d a tio n w h ic h
ag e a n y th in g .
fo u n d th a t a p p ro x im a te ly 42 p e r
O u r d em an d s w ere very sim ple: c e n t o f N a tiv e p e o p le in P o rtla n d
M ake the p olice acco u n tab le for h a v e s u f f e r e d v io le n c e at th e
their actions and require that p olice h a n d s o f p o lic e . Ju st re c e n tly , a
be review ed by the com m unity, not N a tiv e w o m an w as b ru ta lly beaten
by o th er officers. T he p resen t sy s b y p o lic e an d c a m e to m y o rg a n i
tem is obviously not w orking. W hen z a tio n fo r help.
y o u r citizens are being attack ed by
T h ere is a p ro b lem and it d o e s n ’t
officers in the streets, th e re ’s a p ro b ju s t a ffe c t o n e g ro u p o r ra c e o f
lem. W hen peaceful students and p e o p le: it is a ffe c tin g u s all.
c o m m u n ity m e m b e rs are b e in g
I f y o u a re a c o n c e rn e d c itiz e n ,
p h y sically harassed for raising their p le a se fin d a w ay to e x p re ss y o u r
v o ic e s in r e s o u n d in g p r o te s t c o n c e rn an d sta n d in s o lid a rity
against police b ru tality and are only w ith u s— w e can a c h ie v e so m u ch
m et w ith m ore brutality, there is a m o re w h en w e w o rk to g e th e r. I f
problem .
y o u a re n o t a c o n c e rn e d c itiz e n ,
T h e re h as b e en th e s u g g e stio n y o u sh o u ld be. A n d i f y o u a re a
th a t P o rtla n d c o p s sh o u ld be from m e m b e r o f th e m e d ia , p le a se tell
P o rtla n d — th e c ity , n o t th e s u b th em th e tru th . It is y o u r jo b .
u rb s. T h is p ro b a b ly w ill n o t a lle
Leah Gibson-Blackfeather is
v ia te all o f th e P o rtla n d P o lice from Portland.
To Place Your Classified Advertisement
Contact:
Phone: 503-288-0033
Fax: 503-288-0015
e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway' Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services)-. $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
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Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
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Heavily Soiled Area:
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UPHOLSTERY
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Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
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Chair or Recliner:
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Z/z 4 »
Throw Pillows (With
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