May 7, 2014
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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