Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2012)
September 19, 2012____________________________£<t‘ ^ Or t lit«Ù (DbscrUCr________________________ Page 7 Holding on at the ‘Center of Hope’ Being bom into poverty by M arian W right E delman Every 29 seconds, a c h ild is b o m into poverty in A m erica. T he birth rate into poverty translates to 124 children e v ery hour. Children like 10-year- old Tyler, five-year-old K eiris, and four-year-old Jerim iah, w ho live w ith th e ir m o th e r, C h r is tin a W y a tt, 2 4 , in M iddletow n, O hio. In the sum m er o f 2011 the fam ily m oved into the C enter o f H ope for W om en and C hildren, a hom eless shelter, after their apart m ent w as robbed and they w ere evicted. T h eir only incom e at that point w as a Social S ecurity disability check for T yler, w ho has D ow n syndrom e. “ I had to, really,” C hristina said about m oving into the shelter. “ W e d id n ’t have anyw here to g o.” W hen Pulitzer Prize-w inning reporter Julia C ass m et the fam ily there w hile on assig n m e n t fo r the C h ild re n ’s D efen se F und, C h ristin a’s voice broke as she describ ed her determ ination to “get it back tog eth er” and build a life for her children different from her ow n. “I d o n ’t w ant them to experience even a little bit o f w hat I did. I w ant to give them the childhood I never had,” she said. C h ristin a ’s ow n childhood in the C in cin nati area included a m other w ho d id n ’t seem to w ant her, a fath er w ho d id n 't take good care o f her, and occasional stays in foster hom es. “I sort o f took care o f m y self from about 12,” C h ristin a said. She w ent to school and m ade m oney babysitting. B ut w hen she was 14, the fath er o f tw o girls she babysat for raped her. “ I w as really scared ,” she said. “ I d id n ’t tell anyone. T h en I got sick and found out I w as p reg n an t.” She co n tin u ed to go to school for a w hile but quit because she w as “harassed by other kids at the school w ho really d id n ’t u n d er stand m y situ atio n .” W hen she found out the baby had D ow n syndrom e she considered giving him up for adoption but “ som ething told me to keep him . He was a gift from G od.” A s she spoke, T y ler bounded into the fa m ily ’s spartan room at the shelter, sm iled broadly and clow ned around, d em onstrating his a b ility to d o th e M ic h a e l J a c k so n m oonw alk. He goes to a regular school but is taken out for speech and physical therapy. ■ “T y ler is actually a very intelligent young m an,” C h ristin a said. “ He has trouble sp eak ing clearly but he gets his point across.” She said that his teachers and “ev erybody he m eets” love him . “H e ’s got that jo y ,” she said. “ H e ’s very sp ecial.” She had to fight to keep him . A fter he was b om , they both lived in a special foster hom e for teenage m others and their babies, w here C h ristin a noticed a pattern. Florida. “ A fter a couple m onths, the girls lost T h en C h ristin a got sick, lost h er jo b , and custody o f their ch ild ren .” O ut o f fear o f fell behind in the rent. D uring the sam e tough losing T y ler to strangers, she asked her tim es the apartm ent w as robbed. C hristina m other to take tem porary custody o f him . At also lost the M edicaid and food stam ps she 17, the fo ster care system set C hristina up in and the ch ild ren had been receiving. an apartm ent, paid her expenses, and gave T he system in M iddletow n now involves her allow ance, but at 18 she was “em an ci a telephone interview rath er than a personal p ated ” from foster care and on h er ow n. one, but C h ristin a said she d id n ’t get the She got custody o f T y ler back. Soon after, notice about the phone appointm ent, and in she m oved in w ith the m an w ho is K eiris and any case, she had no phone. Finally, they gqt Jerim ia h ’s father, but “ he w a sn ’t a good evicted. T h a t’s w hen she asked h er m other to p e rso n .” drive h er and the ch ild ren to the C en ter o f C hristina paused and declared in a strong H ope w ith a back p ack o f th eir clothes and a voice, “ E v ery th in g I ’ve b een th ro u g h I book bag filled w ith a few toys. learned from . I w ould n ev er put up w ith C hristina also brought along som e hopes anything like that again. I know I’m m ore than o f h er ow n: She deeply w ants to get h er G E D so m eb o d y ’s punching bag .” and then go to co lleg e— not a vocational/ For m ost o f her ch ild re n ’s lives C hristina technical school or online school but a real has supported the fam ily w ith food stam ps college. She c a n ’t explain w hy, but she w ants and m inim um w age jo b s - M cD o n ald ’s, Sub to be a law yer. She also has a passion for w ay, a factory that produced products for writing. Procter and G am ble, w aitressing at the c o u n “ I feel like I can do b etter than a m inim um try club - and w ith cash assistance (T em p o w age jo b . I ’d be a lot h ap p ier if I w ere in rary A ssistance for N eedy F am ilies) betw een school and m oving forw ard to som ething jo b s. better. T hat is the only answ er, in my eyes, for C hristina m o v e d to M iddletow n, w here us to have any kind o f life.” her m other lives, tw o years ago. She got an C h ristin a is still d eterm in ed to give her apartm ent and a jo b at a gas station and m ade children a b etter ch ild h o o d than she had, and a deal w ith h er fo rm er stepfather, a reco v er though h er ow n ch ild h o o d gave h er few road ing alcoholic: he could live in the apartm ent m aps, she w ants to find a w ay to keep m oving in exchange for helping out a little bit fin an forw ard. I truly hope she succeeds. cially and babysitting the children w hile she Marian Wright 'Edelman is president o f w orked. But that ended w hen he m oved to the Children's Defense Fund. Praying for a ‘Just Peace,’ a Ceasefire C an you im agine? Justice and W itness M inistries has long used the them e, “ Im agine, A nother W orld Is P ossible.” by M ichael N euroth It re m in d s us o f th e ty p e o f O n Friday, Sept. 21, people o f w o rld w e are w o rk in g for: a w o rld faith from around the w orld will take in w h ic h sy ste m ic in ju s tic e , ra c a m om ent from their daily lives and ism , se x ism , p o v e rty , an d e n v i offer up prayers for peace. ro n m e n ta l d e g ra d a tio n are th in g s “ International D ay o f P eace” and o f th e p ast. “ International D ay o f P rayer for It envisions a w orld in w hich P eace” are m arked by the U nited e v ery o n e has q u ality e d u catio n , N ations and by the W orld C ouncil housing, and health care. Security o f C hurches respectively each year. w ould be defined not by m axim um In the U .S., the U nited C hurch o f security prisons or pentagon b ud C hrist is partn erin g w ith the W orld gets, but by the strength o f o u r C ouncil o f C hurches to encourage com m unity. It points us to im agine individuals and congregations to G o d ’s Shalom , a ‘Just P eace,’ a pray for peace under the them e ‘ ‘Pray Ceasefire. ing for C easefire.” In to d a y ’s w orld, hope fo r a A nother w orld is possible JJartlanb (Dbseruer Established 1970 Charles H. Washington EDiroR.M ichael L e ig h to n A ssistant to P ublisher , P ublic R elations : M a rk W a s h in g to n C reative D irector : P a u l N e u fe ld t A ssistant to P ubusher , O ffice M anager /C lassifieds : Lucinda Baldwin A ssistant P ubusher : Leonard Latin A dvertising M anager , P ublic R elations : Tony Washington S taff W riter /P hotographer : Mindy Cooper E d it o r - i n - C h ie f , P u b l is h e r : ceasefire seem s audacious, even and fantastical vehicles such as a lence, is a hope and a vision w orth im possible. W ith our troops now pickle car, a hot dog car, and a cheese w orking for, dream ing for, and pray en g ag ed in A fghanistan for over a block car (driven by m ice). T here is ing for. decade, the drum beat to w ar w ith also a page that is full o f arm y v e Im possible? M aybe. But, if our Iran ever-increasing, civil war in Syria hicles and tanks. children see a w orld w ithout w ar raging, and gun violence shaking A lthough he usually w ants to and find tanks h ard er to im agine o u r c o n scio u sn ess from A urora, skip this page, recently m y so n ’s than cars m ade out o f cheese, m aybe C olo., to N ew Y ork C ity, a ceasefire gaze focused on these m ilitary v e it’s tim e for us to stretch o u r im agi is hard to im agine. hicles w ith a quizzical look. “ W hat nations. “ U nless you change and U n fo rtu n a te ly , as a d u lts o u r is this?” he asked, as he pointed to becom e like c h ild re n ...” (M atthew im agination is often tim es lim ited by the tip o f a tank cannon. 18:3) o ur ow n experience, o u r ow n cy n i M y heart sank as I tried to explain T his Sept. 21, jo in thousands o f cism. in sim ple term s com plex concepts as people around the w orld in stretch As a parent, I often w ish I still had violence and the m ilitary. I could tell ing o ur collective im agination. O f the im agination o f m y young son. that for him , a car m ade out o f cheese fer a p ray er for peace, a p ray er for O ne o f m y s o n 's favorite books is is easier to im agine than a tank d e ceasefire in o u r hom es, o u r co m m u R ichard S c a rry ’s “ B usytow n” . As signed to hurt others. I w ish that I nities, and o u r w orld. m any parents know , the w orld o f could say the sam e. Michael Neuroth is policy advo R ichard Scarry is truly “another It takes im agination, but im ag in cate fo r international issues fo r the w o rld .” It is full o f talking anim als ing “ceasefire,” a w orld w ithout vio United Church o f Christ. ----------------- USPS 959-680 --------------------- 47 47 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORT LAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers Association CALL 503-288-0033 ne^S Qpyrtlandybsçryçr com FAX 503-288-0015 ads@portlandobserver.com subscription @portlandobserver, com PosnMsra: Send address changes to Portland Observer, P0Box3137, Portland, OR97208
