Portland observer., March 14, 2012, Page 8, Image 8

March 14, 2012
Page 8
Vote to Educate, Employ and Empower
State o f B lack A m erica report
on the cam pus o f H ow ard U ni­
versity. A host o f civil rights,
political, business, youth and re ­
ligious leaders jo in e d together
for an open-dialogue about
som e o f the m ost pressing
i s s u e s f a c in g
b la c k
A m erica. In this election
by M arc H. M orial
year, no issue is m ore im ­
T he N ational U rban
p ortant than g alvanizing
L eague took its fight
v o te r p a rtic ip a tio n an d
for jobs, education, vot­
ing rights and em pow erm ent to turning back the current assault
Capitol Hill in W ashington, D.C., on voting rights that threatens to
disenfranchise as m any as five
last w eek.
In m eetings with O bam a A d­ m illion A m ericans this year.
A s C o n g ress w restles o v e r
m inistration officials and leaders
from both parties in C ongress, m easures to create jo b s and grow
we dem anded im m ediate action the econom y, a m ulti-state e f­
on the persistent jo b s crisis, and fort is underw ay to exclude those
w e offered o u r ow n eight-point A m ericans m ost profoundly af­
p lan to ed u ca te , em p lo y and fected by the political process.
L ast year, m ore than h a lf a
em p o w er the 13 m illion A m eri­
century after the passage o f the
cans w ho rem ain out o f w ork.
T he highlight o f our three-day V oting R ights A ct o f 1965, 34
occupation o f the n a tio n ’s cap i­ states attem pted to p ass leg isla ­
tal w as the release o f our annual tion that w ould im pose u n rea­
A powerful
weapon in the
arsenal of
democracy
so n ab le voting restrictio n s or hav e m ade clear, m illio n s o f
absurd penalties lim iting the reg ­ A m ericans are fed up w ith g ro w ­
istration process. D espite the ing incom e inequality.
efforts o f civil rig h ts g ro u p s and
O u r ow n 2012 State o f B lack
others, these bills have becom e A m erica “E quality Ind ex ” finds
law in 14 states, w ith bills in 26 the eco n o m ic status o f A frican-
states still pending.
A m erican s relative to w hites is
T his co o rd in ated attack on the only 56.3 percent. F o r H isp an ­
? In a moment that cries out for greater
civic participation, some are intent on
silencing our voices and taking away the
most powerful weapon in the arsenal of
democracy - the right to vote.
rights o f citizen s to particip ate in
th eir g o v e rn m e n t co m e s at a
p articu la rly p e rilo u s tim e fo r
co m m u n ities o f color.
T he A frican-A m erican u n em ­
p lo y m en t rate is h o v erin g above
13 p ercent. L atin o u n em p lo y ­
m ent stands at n early 11 p e r­
cent. A nd as v ario u s “O ccu p y ”
m o v em en ts across the country
ics, the eco n o m ic eq u ality Index
is 60 p ercent. In a m om ent that
cries out fo r g reater civic p ar­
ticipation, som e are intent on
silen cin g o u r voices and taking
aw ay the m ost pow erful w eapon
in the arsenal o f d em o cracy -
the right to vote.
Fortunately, this issue is catch­
ing fire in W ashington and through­
out the nation. C itizens across the
country are joining the U.S. D e­
partm ent o f Justice, civil rights
groups and the C ongressional
Black Caucus in challenging these
blatant attacks on voting rights.
O u r 2 0 1 2 S ta te o f B la c k
A m erica rep o rt also c o n tain s
essays from national ex p erts on
w ays to im prove urban e d u ca­
tion, support sm all businesses,
and prom ote b etter nutrition, e s­
pecially am ong urban youth.
A lthough the State o f B lack
A m erica is not y et w h at we
w ant it to be, it is m y hope that
this y e a r’s report w ill inspire all
A m ericans to O ccu p y the V ote
to E ducate, E m ploy and E m ­
pow er.
T o find out how you can get a
copy o f the 2012 State o f B lack
A m e r ic a ,
lo g
on
to
iam em p o w e red .c o m .
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer of
the National Urban League.
M H M R H M M H M N H M aK M M N N M H N M N H H N M M M N M M M N M
Bullying or Shaming Others is Never Cool
hom ophobic com m ent during the
S uper B ow l about m en w ho m ay
have found appealing an ad fea­
tu r in g s o c c e r p la y e r D a v id
B eckham in his underw ear. A nd
nearly 18 m onths ago, Dr. L aura
by B entley de B ardelaben
S ch lessin g er found h e rself in a
k erfuffle w hen she w ent into a
C on serv ativ e m e­
racist rant shouting the” N-
d ia
host
R u sh
w o rd ” 11 tim es w ithin five
L im baugh has m ade
m inutes to an A frican -A m eri­
n a tio n a l n e w s fo r
can fem ale caller.
p rovocative an d m i­
F ortunately each o ffen d er
sogynistic com m ents
did apologize, but not before
he
m ade
about
G eorgetow n U niversity law stu­ su fferin g som e form o f push
d en t S andra Fluke. M s. Fluke b ack from the general public
recently spoke before m em bers that they are well com pensated
o f the H ouse o f R epresentatives to serve. T o date, R ush has lost
about w hy she believ ed insur­ dozens o f program sponsors and
an ce c o v erag e for c o n tra c e p ­ counting. R oland is on indefinite
tion w as essential for w o m e n ’s s u s p e n s io n fro m a n y C N N
o verall healthcare. A bout one broadcast. A nd Dr. L aura, c it­
m onth ago, C N N ’s R oland M ar­ ing the violation o f h er “First
tin tw eeted an incendiary and A m endm ent R ights,” lost sp o n ­
You can never
undo the
damage
Jlortlanb (Dhsertter
Established 1970
USPS 959-680 __________________________________
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
Washington
EDiroR.Michael Leighton
D istribution M anager : Mark Washington
C reative D irector : Paul Neufeldt
sors as w ell and d ecid ed to end
h er show after h er co n tract e x ­
pired.
A p a rt fro m th e h o rro rs o f
chattel slavery w hen b ullying
w as legal, at w hat stage did we
decide th at b u lly in g o r sham ing
o th er hum an bein g s is p erm is­
sible? A s citizen s o f a 21st
cen tu ry society, have w e not yet
learn ed this cru cial lesson?
A s an o rd a in e d m in iste r, I
am v a stly a w a re th a t “ be k in d ”
is still a m essag e tau g h t in m any
h o m e s, sc h o o ls an d re lig io u s
b u ild in g s a c ro ss th e g lo b e. As
a c h ild I h e a rd sim ila r sa y in g s
fro m m y fa m ily , m y e le m e n ­
tary a n d S u n d a y sc h o o l te a c h ­
e rs w h o u n d e rs to o d th e ir ro le
in sh a p in g b e h a v io r a ro u n d
p u b lic d isc o u rse . F o r e x a m p le ,
“ If y o u d o n ’t h a v e a n y th in g
n ice to say , d o n ’t say a n y th in g
at a ll.” O r, “ D o u n to o th e rs as A n d th e c o st o f su c h b e h a v io r
y o u w o u ld w a n t th em to do can h u rt th e w o u n d e d p e rso n
u n to y o u .”
fo r y e a rs.
N o w I am c e rta in ly n o t a
A s a d u lts w e c a n le a rn sk ills
p erso n w h o w o u ld be d e scrib e d to g e t th ro u g h th e se d a rk , sick
b y o th e rs as p ru d ish . H o w ­ m o m e n ts. O u r c h ild re n , on the
e v e r, a lth o u g h I h a v e m ad e m y o th e r h a n d , a re n o t so w ell
fa ir sh are o f m ista k e s in re la t­ e q u ip p e d . T h e r e fo r e , le t us
ing to o th e rs , I m u st re a liz e step u p as a d u lts an d le a d e rs to
th a t I am so le ly re s p o n sib le fo r c o u n te r h a te m e s sa g e s th a t u n ­
m y a c tio n s— p o sitiv e o r n e g a ­ d e r m in e o t h e r s , n o m a tte r
tiv e , as are the in d iv id u a ls c ited w h ere th e m e ssa g e s o rig in a te
a b o v e . I b e lie v e th e y a lso an d to w h o m th ey are lau n ch ed .
k n o w th is to be fact.
T o g eth er w e m ust d em an d
A s a p e rso n w h o h a s sp e n t better from ourselves, o u r fam i­
c o u n tle s s h o u rs as a d iv e rs ity lies, and o u r lead ers no m atter
tra in e r, I u n d e rs ta n d th a t o n ce o u r race, g ender, sexual o rien ta ­
an a c tio n h as h a rm e d a n o th e r’s tion o r political affiliation. R e­
h e a rt an d so u l, y o u c a n n e v e r m em ber, each first step tow ard
u n d o th e d a m a g e. T h e b o tto m the change w e seek begins w ith
lin e is b u lly in g o r sh a m in g o th ­ ourselves.
e rs is n e v e r co o l! It is p e r­
Bentley de Bardelaben
v e rs e ly c ru e l. It is d e trim e n ta l serves in Justice Ministries for
to th e sp irits o f b o th p a rtie s. the United Church o f Christ.
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