October IO, 2012_____________________________ ( © b s e W e t __________________________________________________________ Page 9
_ - -
___ __Ori mon
In Pursuit of Justice and Peace
W hy I Vote
M . L inda J a r a m il l o
As far back as I can
remember my mom and dad
were engaged in public life,
taking their civic resp o n
sibilities seriously at the local, state,
and national level.
It m ay com e as a surprise to learn
that for years my parents did not
belong to the sam e political party -
one w as D em ocrat and the other
R epublican. H ow ever, it did not get
in the w ay o f them learning all they
could about candidates and issues.
T hese discussions and debates
w ere com m on in household c o n v er
sations especially during the e le c
tion season. I can still hear m y
m other, w ho cam e from a co m m u
nity cloaked w ith injustice, calling
by
on people to step up and
step out. So, first, I give
credit to m y parents for the
significant role they played
as in v o lv e d c o m m u n ity
members.
A t the sam e tim e, our
family was active in the Roman Catho
lic C hurch. W e w ent to M ass every
Sunday and attended the required
c a te c h ism ed u ca tio n a l p ro g ram s
regularly. A s a child, I did not co n
nect the tw o, but I suspect that my
parents surely did.
W hile their civic w ork w as fo
cused on the com m on good, they
c o u ld n o t u n c o u p le th e m se lv e s
from a church that w as a significant
part o f com m unity life. T im e passed
and generations evolved; how ever,
those teachings rem ain im bedded
in the values that drive m y b elief
................. """ ........ ..
that people o f faith m ust be part o f
's o c ia l e n g a g e m e n t b e c a u se the
business o f ju stice and peace is
central to o u r core C hristian teach
ings.
C uriously, the question regularly
com es up about w hy political in
volvem ent is the c h u rc h ’s business
Social activism is part o f the jo y and
cost o f discipleship. It is from my
place in the pew s o f the local church
- in this b eloved U nited C hurch o f
C hrist that I discovered that the
church has som e business in all o f
this.
It is in the pew s that I hear the
scriptures read proclaim ing that G od
is a G od o f ju stice. It is in the pew s
that it becom es vividly clear to me
that w e are responsible to one an
other. It is in the pew s that I learned
to shout out w ith courage.
W hat is the c h u rc h ’s business in
all o f this - it m ay sound like a
rhetorical question - but it is one we
need to answ er.
M y faith has m oved me to w ork
tow ard the com m on good, w hich
drove m e to seek public office as a
m em ber o f a school district board o f
education. T he tw o com pelling is
sues w e faced w ere equal access for
all children and adequate funding
for schools, both o f w hich have
steadily deteriorated for decades.
W hen I w as serving as the ch air
o f the board, we w ere forced to close
school three w eeks early because o f
the funding crisis. It becam e clear to
m e at that tim e that o u r society w as
headed dow n a slippery slope, p ay
ing 10 tim es the am ount o f annual
funding per child for juvenile d eten
tion centers than we did for public
education. T ragically, this pattern
has w orsened over tim e.
As a person o f faith, I vote b e
cause I am convinced that Jesus
w alked am ong us to dem onstrate
w hat it m eans to love and care for
one another. A s a m em ber o f the
com m unity, I vote because I believe
in the co m m o n good that is only
achieved through an effective dem o
cratic process - one for w hich we
yearn.
M y faith and com m unity life are
as inter-connected for m e as they
w ere for m y m om and dad. I m iss
them every day and prom ise to do
m y best to m odel their values that
w eave my C hristian teachings w ith
civic responsibility.
M. Linda Jaramillo is executive
minister for Justice Ministries in
the United Church of Christ.
-niiww
Diversity in Colleges and Universities
Hopeful court will reaffirm our values
M
H. M o r ia l
adm issions process that factors
T he U nited States
race into the decision.
S uprem e C ourt this
W hen she applied to U T in
w eek w ill h ear argu
2008, A bigail Fisher was not a
m ents in a case that
top 10 percent student and was
once again challenges
turned down. Claim ing racial dis
the right o f colleges
crim ination, h er argum ent d i
and universities to co nsider race as rectly challenges the landm ark 2003,
a factor in ensuring that all students G ru tte rv . B ollinger Suprem e C ourt
receive the educational benefits o f case w hich ruled that “student body
diversity.
diversity is a com pelling state in ter
In F isher v. U niversity o f T exas est that can ju stify using race in
at A ustin, A bigail Fisher, a w hite university adm issions.”
student w ho w as denied adm ission
T he N ational U rban L eague is
to the U niversity in 2008, argues am ong 70 organizations and indi
th at her race w as the only reason viduals to file Suprem e C ourt A m
she w as not adm itted.
icus B riefs in support o f diversity in
W hen race-based college adm is the U niversity o f T exas case, m ore
sions w ere outlaw ed 16 years ago in than a dozen M em bers o f C ongress;
T exas, the state passed a law g ran t the fo rm er C hairm an o f the Joint
ing adm ission to the state ’s c o l C hiefs o f Staff, G eneral C olin L.
leges to all students in the top 10 Pow ell; and the N A A C P Legal D e
percent o f their graduating class. fense Fund, A m erica’s prem ier legal
Since then race-based adm issions organization fighting for racial ju s
have been reinstated and the re tice.
m aining slots now go to students
T he case w ill be closely w atched
w ho m ust qualify through a regular by those o f us in the civil rights
by
arc
'riH flortlauf» (PhsrrUrr
Established 1970
USPS 959-680 ________________________________
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
co m m u n ity w ho understand that
cen tu ries o f o p p ressio n and d e
cad es o f exclusion that still linger
today require rem edies that only
affirm ative action can bring.
It should be rem em bered that
until 1950, A frican A m ericans were
barred from attending the U niver
sity o f Texas Law School. In its 1950
Suprem e C ourt victory, Sw eatt v.
Painter, the N A A C P Legal D efense
Fund m ade it possible for H em an
M a rio n S w e a tt to b e th e law
sch o o l’s first black student.
In its Fisher v. U niversity o f Texas
A m icus Brief, the N A A C P Legal
D efense Fund states that “From 1997
through 2004, U T did not consider
race in adm issions. T he im pact was
d e v a sta tin g .”
D espite the fact that 13 percent o f
T ex as high school graduates w ere
A frican A m erican, “at no point b e
tw een 1997 and 2004 did A frican
A m erican students com prise m ore
than 4.5 percent o f the entering year
class, N early four out o f every five
U T undergraduate classes had zero
o r one A frican A m erican students.”
Som e progress has been m ade in
recent years, but the num bers are
still low and the U niversity o f T exas
adm its that it can and m ust do b et
ter. D ebo A degbile, the defense
fu n d ’s acting president and direc
tor-counsel said, “ In G rutter the
Suprem e C ourt recognized the sig
nificant educational benefits o f d i
versity - not ju s t for students o f
color, but for all students. A diverse
college experience better prepares
s tu d e n ts to p a r tic ip a te in o u r
N atio n ’s civic life.”
T he balance o f the co u rt has
shifted right since G rutter. But w e
are hopeful that the Suprem e C ourt
w ill reaffirm the n a tio n ’s highest
values by continuing its support o f
diversity in o ur colleges and univer
sities.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na
tional Urban League.
Your Care
Our First
Priority
Dr. Marcelitte
Failla
Chiropractic
Physician
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submis
sions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly
labeled and w ill be returned i f accompanied by a self
addressed envelope. A ll created design display ads
become the sole property o f the newspaper and can
Charles H. Washington
EDiroR.Michael L eighton
A ssistant to P ublisher , P ublic R elations : M ark W ashington
C reative D irector : P aul N e u feld 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 ubuc R elations : Tony Washington
S taff W riter /P hotographer : Mindy Cooper
E ditor - in -C hief , P ublisher :
not be used in other publications or personal usage with
out the written consent o f the general manager, unless
the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. ©
2008 T H E P O R T L A N D O B S E R V E R . A L L R IG H T S
R E S E R V E D , R E P R O D U C T IO N IN W H O L E O R IN
PA R T W IT H O U T P E R M IS S IO N IS P R O H IB IT E D
The Portland O b server-O regon 's Oldest M ulticultural
1716 N.E. 42nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97213
(Between Broadway and Sandy Blvd.)
P u b lic a tio n -is a member o f the N ational Newspaper
A ssociation-Founded in 1885, and The N ational A d
vertising R epresentative A m alg am ated Publishers,
Inc, N ew York, N Y . and The West Coast Black Publish
ers Association
P ostmaster ; Send address changes to Portland Observer,
PO Box3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR9 7 2 0 8
C A LL 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3
We are located at
F A X 503-2 8 8 -0 0 1 5
nens@ponlandobsener.com
ads@ponlandobsener.com
subscription@ponlandobserver.com
• Automobile accident injuries
• Chronic headache and joint pain
• Workers Compensation injuries
Call for an appointment!
(503)228-6140