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^ortlanh (Dhserurr
October 20, 2010
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Election Rewards and Neglect
Will we be
rewarded for
our vote?
by
W illiam R eed
T he N o v em b er
elections will become
the most expensive in
A m erican h isto ry .
Estimated to cost $5
billion or more, the
2010 Midterms will be
the biggest test o f public opinion
since the 2008 White House
race. In the final stretch o f the
elections, President Obama and
the Democrats are leaning on
the black vote big time. Will we
be rewarded if we vote in big
numbers or just be part o f the
party’s base that continues be­
ing neglected and taken for
granted?
If you voted for Obama, he
needs you to vote now for a
Congress that will help him get
the legislation that he promised.
Over the past months,
O bam a has reached
out to African Ameri­
can voters to urge that
they participate in these
midterms like they did
in 2008. But shouldn’t
blacks be exercising
caution about simply
voting Democratic for
President Obama without mak­
ing any demands o f them?
After black voters fulfilled
their “dream ” o f seeing a black
person in the White House, there
seems little else in the process
for them. Black party partisans
have succumbed to em otional­
ism, symbolism, and are so ex­
cited to have a black president in
the White House that their only
idea about political activism is
about how to keep him there.
But fewer blacks are expected
to vote in the midterm elections
than did in 2008 because they
now feel President Obama does
nothing for them. The Obama
people are talking loud and say in ’
nothing when they claim a need
to finish the plan that black vot­
ers elected O bam a to put in
place. Nowhere along his trek
to the White House did Obama
ever promise to do anything for
blacks. While other groups tend
to agitate and vote for direct
benefits, blacks tend to vote only
to exercise that right.
What better time could there
be for blacks to exercise their
self-interest and start telling poli­
ticians: “no benefits, no votes”?
They ’d do better than before by
using the Hon. Elijah Muhammad
Rule for enlightened self-inter­
est: “Enter politics, not to be tion o f his remarks, Biden says,
subservient but to go for that "Those w h o ... didn’t get every­
which is in our self-interest be­ thing they wanted in this elec­
cause it is necessary for us to toral cycle, it’s time to just buck
become politically powerful in up here, understand that we can
order for us to change the reality make things better ... but not
o f our lives.”
yield the playing field to those
“President Obama neglects folks who are against everything
to explicitly address race-spe­ we stand for."
cific issues” says Black activist
Blacks may need to stop whin­
Dr. Ron D aniels. H e says, ing, but they definitely need to
“Blacks should mobilize for the move against what the Demo­
midterms but understand that crats “stand for.’’Blacks need to
simply voting Democratic and stop being political pawns. With
for President Obama without poverty rates at an all-time high,
making demands bankrupts our black unemployment numbers at
ballots.”
daunting levels, and no change
Vice President Joe Biden says on their education, employment
the party’s base should "stop or economics, it’s curious that
whining." This is more o f a your black support for Obama is vir­
results are your own damn fault; tually unchanged at 91 percent
get o ff your butt and go to work, since his inauguration.
a tuff-love approach that both
William Reed is the pub­
Biden and Obama have taken lisher o f Who’s Who in Black
toward blacks. In further defini­ America.
Shaping Our High Schools for the Future
Closure and
other changes
were not easy
to make
by
C arole S mith
L ast T u e sd a y
night the Portland
School Board made
major decisions that
will shape our high schools for
decades to come:
To establish seven com m u­
nity schools, guaranteeing ev­
ery student, no m atter w here
they live, equitable access to a
com m on core program includ­
ing rigorous college prepara­
tion, academ ic support, world
languages, technology, the arts
and career learning.
io build on Jefferson High
S chool’s strengths and loca­
Over the last two years as
tion to develop a pow erful fo­ we have discussed our high
cus school that offers students schools, Portlanders have shown
the opportunity to earn college their passion for their neighbor­
credits even as they com plete hood schools, their dedication to
highschool.
their students and a strong de­
To c lose B izT ech, Paul ing sire to deliver better results for
and Renaissance Arts acad­ all students across the district.
e m ie s, th e th re e sm all They have offered their sugges­
schools on the M arshall tions, their support and their con­
Campus, to strengthen our cerns throughout this effort.
high school system as a
The plan that em erged is
whole, as the remaining high stronger because o f the contri­
schools will have higher student b u tio n s from ou r stu d e n ts,
numbers and stronger programs. teachers, school staff, fam ilies
These were not easy recom ­ and friends in the com m unity.
mendations for me to make, nor I thank you for your engage­
for the board to decide. Portland ment in this effort.
Public Schools has not closed a
The work is not done. Plan­
high school in almost 30 years, ning moves quickly to implemen­
even as our high school enroll­ tation and I know we must be
ment dropped by more than 2,500 unrelenting in our attention to
students in the last decade alone carrying out many further as­
and our budgets were cut re­ pects o f the plan.
peatedly.
Six years ago, Marshall High
• IJnrtlaitb (Dhs truer
Established 1970
USPS 959-680 __ _____________________ _
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
Charles H. Washington
E ditor : M ich a el L eig h to n
D istribution M anager : M ark W ashington
C réatifs D irector : P a u l N e u fe ld t
School undertook a difficult tran­ schools, and for specific career
sition from comprehensive high interests at Benson High. We
school to small schools. Marshall will bring forward a resolution to
leaders and staff were able to make Harriet Tubman Leader­
create close knit school commu­ sh ip A ca d em y fo r Y o u n g
nities with clear identities where W om en a stand-alone focus
students and their families felt school for the first time.
they belonged and many stu­
W e w ill w o rk w ith the
dents realized their potential. Marshall community to establish
Every moment o f the impas­ new high school attendance
sioned testimony at last w eek’s b o u n d a rie s, and w ith the
board hearing from students, Jefferson community to finalize
families and community mem­ plans for the dual enrollment area.
bers was a tribute to their ef­ And we will confirm the mea­
forts. We owe our Marshall stu­ surements against which we will
dents and sta ff concentrated judge our success in this effort.
*
support to ensure a successful
One chapter in our H igh School
transition to new high schools.
System Design has closed. I
We will implement the core look forward to the next phase -
program at our com m unity and to greater success for our
schools, and we will work with high schools and students across
school leaders to provide needed the district.
flexibility in the face o f an uncer­
Carole Smith is the superin­
tain budget. We will develop tendent o f Portland Public
plans for career learning at all Schools.
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