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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2014)
May 7, 2014 ^Inrtlanò (Observer Page Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Providing the Basics for All Children The seed experiment by M arian W right E delman A perennial fa v o rite sc ien c e project from pre school on up is the “ seed e x p e ri m e n t.” A child plants identical seeds in two pots. She places the first pot inside a dark cupboard and leaves it there, and she puts the second one in a sunny spot and waters it every day. She waits to see what will happen. It’s very easy for even the youngest children to figure out that their seed lings need the basics— sunlight and water— if they are going to survive and thrive. The same is true for children and “the basics” during children’s ear liest years can have long lasting effects. Arloc Sherman, senior researcher at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and one of the contribu- tors to the new Harvard Education Press book “Improving the Odds for America’s Children,” says some times we forget to say how impor tant the day-to-day basic assistance of food, clothing and shelter is for children’s futures. He pointed to a 2012 study on the long term effects of what began as the food stamps program. Research ers went back to the earliest days of the program when it was rolled out county by county to identify chil dren who had access to food stamps in early childhood and whose moth ers had access during their preg nancies. They tracked their progress from the 1960s and 1970s into adulthood, comparing them to similar children who didn’t have access to food stamps. The results showed the power of nutrition: the children who had access to food stamps were less likely to have stunted growth, be obese, or have heart disease as adults— and the positive effects weren’t just health-related. One of the largest differences was that chil dren in families with food stamps were 18 percent more likely to gradu ate from high school. This echoes other studies on the positive effects of federal nutrition programs that found needy chil dren who received food assistance before age five were in better health as adults and girls, more likely to complete more schooling, earn more money, and not rely on safety net programs as adults. Putting food on children’s plates helps build healthy minds and bod ies today and helps set children up for better futures later. And the ben efits don’t end there. Better gradu ation rates mean better jobs with higher salaries with cascading ben efits to the community, the national economy, and the next generation. The case for providing the ba sics for all children in America is hard to refute. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.2 million children were lifted out of poverty by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, in 2012. Yet right now we are fast ap too late to find out how you can proaching a critical time for hungry help— or how children you know children: summer vacation. School- can participate. based federal nutrition programs The USDA, which adm inisters have proved to be a lifeline for needy the sum m er feeding program, says children. In fiscal year 2012 more there are many ways individuals than 21 million children received and o rg an izatio n s can get in free or reduced-price lunch through volved: “You can serve the meals, the National School Lunch Program prom ote the program , provide and nearly 11 million children re transportation, volunteer at sum ceived free and reduced price break mer food sites, or even go out and fast. find sponsors.” Hunger doesn’t end on the last The USDA’s “Summer Meals day o f school— yet only 11 p er Toolkit” provides information on cent of the num ber o f children sponsors, sites, links to state agen who relied on those lunches dur cies, andmuchmore, or call 1-866-3- ing the school year received meals HUNGR Y or 1 -877-8-HAMBRE. If through the Sum m er Food Ser there are not enough summer feed vice Program . Even though the ing sites in your community, ask program is 100 percent federally why not. Help make sure children in funded and can create desperately your community are getting the needed jobs for cafeteria w orkers basics and that there are no hungry and o th ers-d u rin g the sum m er children in your community this m onths, m any states and com m u summer. nities have created needless bu Many plants blossom and thrive reaucratic hurdles to establishing all summer long. Children should be sum m er feeding sites resulting in able to do the same. not nearly enough sites to serve Marian Wright Edelman is presi all eligible children. But it’s not dent o f the Children's Defense Fund. A 'Sterling' Example of Our Confusion Let our money do the talking by R on B usby S r . Let me get my dis claimer out of the way first. The U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. is a business organiza tion. Our sole pur pose is to improve the lives of black people by actively w orking to change the market environment. We advocate for improvements in capi tal access, increased opportunity and the transfer of the skills neces sary to successfully, and profitably compete in America's economy. Despite this clarity of purpose, we are often called upon to weigh in on issues that typically are ad dressed by civil rights or social ju s tice organizations. For certain, we are black in America, so we do have opinions about continued evidence of inequality, racism, bigotry, dis crimination and hatred being di rected against black people. But, as I said, we are a business organiza tion, so our perspective is always going to be a business perspective. Donald Sterling is a business man who owns, among other inter ests, a National Basketball Asso ciation franchise. He said some in sulting remarks that prove his dis dain for black people, presumably is not to diminish the obvious - that including the men whose athletic Sterling's perspective is unaccept ability make his franchise valuable. able, is deserving of any fine, penalty, And through his twisted thinking, compensatory payment and public he has hijacked all of black America's shaming available under law. But c o m m u n ic a tio n s c h an n e ls. Congress makes the laws that limit Facebook, Twitter, radio, and news our ability to have equitable access in paper are all on fire with commen the marketplace and the courts inter tary about Sterling and what must pret and uphold those laws, even in be done to make him pay. the face of glaring inequity. Doesn't Excuse me, but there’s real life that make you mad, too? going on here! Black America, even So, if we're going to be mad about after the furor over Sterling's tele something... okay, okay, Donald Ster phonic rant has dissipated, will still ling is as good a place as any to start. suffer from gross inequality. The But his despicable record in denying $2.5 million fine levied by the NBA housing opportunities to black fami for his "transgression" is a pittance lies has had more direct impact on for someone whose fortune is re black folks than anything he may ported to be over a billion dollars. have said to his "side piece" in a His franchise, the Los Angeles Clip recorded phone conversation. So, pers, will still receive millions of maybe Sterling is a pretty good place dollars in television royalty pay to start showing just how angry we ments, even if he is not allowed to are today. attend games or go to his office. In the meantime, if we truly want to And all the while, black busi demonstrate our displeasure, let's go nesses are still not able to qualify for cold turkey! Turn off the NBA play a loan guaranteed by the full faith offs. Don't buy another jersey. Don't and credit of the United States gov watch NFL games this fall. Stop buy ernment! Black businesses are still ing that profanity-laced, misogynis failing to net their federally m an tic crap that is being foisted upon us dated share of contracts awarded as cultural expression. by that same government. As a re If it's our money that is financing sult, black unemployment figures - the exploitation of black talent, we as reported by the same federal can do something about that. If the government—are still spiraling sky empires built on exploitation can no ward, with no apparent ceiling. longerrely on our complicity (in ticket Talk about misplaced anger! This sales, athletic attire, and viewers/con sumers, etc.) they will quickly lose their value. If we truly want to demonstrate our displeasure, let our money do our talking. Do something different - sup port black-owned businesses. Here at the USBC, we've grown fond of pointing out that if each of America's black-ow ned businesses earned enough money to hire just one new employee, we'd wipe out black unem ployment overnight! So, we have a real opportunity here to prove that we really have taught our dollars some sense. Rac ism, bigotry, discrimination and per sonal animus seem to be - after all these years - beyond our control. Unfortunately for us, those behav iors are also apparently beyond the control of federal laws designed to stamp them out. Our money, however, is entirely within our control. If you don't like racism, don't fi nance it. If you don't appreciate being discriminated against, don't finance it. If you don’t like stupidity, don't finance it either! After all, money talks and you-know-what walks. You can take that to the bank! (A black-owned bank, please!) Ron Busby Sr. is president o f U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. THE LAW OFFICES OF Patrick John Sweeney, P C . Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd, Portland, Oregon Portland: (503) 244-2080 Hillsoboro: (503)244-2081 Facsimile: (503) 244-2084 Email: Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com
