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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 2014)
December IO, 2014 ^Jortlanò CBbserUer Page 7 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. We should be outraged by the Unjust Deaths I weep with the parents who have lost sons and daughters BY THE R ev . M . L inda J aramillo L ik e th o u sands of others I was speech less, but not sur prised, by the grand jury decision to not charge O fficer Darren Wilson in the shooting and killing of Michael Brown. W atching this dreadful inci dent unfold prompts more haz ard than it does security in our lives. I can only imagine the fear felt by the young people who experience such violence all aro u n d them ev ery day. It brought to mind a quote by one of our founding fathers, Ben jamin Franklin, who reminded us that “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” For those of us who do not live in M issouri, we may feel as though Ferguson is miles away. But if we think that we are unaf fected, we need only wait a while because each of us will be in one way or the other. A similar trag edy is but one minute away in our own backyard. For example, I live just five minutes away from the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where police converged on 12-y ear-old Tamir Rice. Sur veillance video accounts show that shots rang out from a police weapon within two seconds of their arrival. In an instant, an other young African-American life was lost and his name added to the hundreds who are injured or killed every day. We are all affected by these tragedies. Like all parents I worry about my kids, but I do not have to live in extreme fear for their safety because of the color o f their skin. I am deeply saddened to hear the stories of parents who must coach their children daily on what to do if they are con fronted by a person with the power to end their life, or how to appear nonthreatening in order to stay safe. In this unjust reality, parents must think beyond pro viding for their fam ily’s basic needs like food, housing, and health care. Instead they struggle to provide basic safety and se curity. This is about life and death. I weep with the parents of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and others who have lost their sons and daughters in senseless acts that could have been avoided. We are all affected because when one child suffers, we all suffer. As Christians, we have just entered into the season of Ad vent, a time of prayerful antici pation of the coming of the Christ child. We observe this holy time by lighting candles of hope, love, joy, and peace as we remember that we are human beings in need of renewal. In this time of hopeful anticipation, listen to Jesus’ words in the Gospel of M atthew, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Our children are creative, they are truthful, they are joyful, they are hopeful, and they are resil ient. But we cannot allow them to endure such injustices. We must demand a change in the systemic conditions that harm their lives and their spirits. W hether we are directly af fected or not, we should be outraged by the violent loss of even one young life to whom the kingdom o f heaven and earth belong. The Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo is executive minister o f Justice and Witness Ministries in the United Church o f Christ. Words Standing together for justice quences. W hen the grand ju ry deci sion in the Eric G arner C ase in New Y ork was announced last w eek , th o u sa n d s o f N ew Y o rk e rs s p o n ta n e o u s ly by M arian poured onto the streets o f the W right city chanting, "I can't breathe, E delman I can't breathe," the dying D e m o c ra c y words o f G arner, an unarm ed cannot breathe, black m an killed by a Staten indeed will die, if those enjoined Island police officer using a to protect it and uphold the laws deadly chokehold that had been snuff it out — with no conse banned by the N ew Y ork City police departm ent. The evidence was clear, cap tured on a cell phone for all to see, except for the grand jury which refused to indict. The protestors spoke for all of us around the country. No men, women or children can breathe in America right now when black men and boys are routinely killed with impunity by police officers. All A m ericans w ant justice, and in the w ake o f the killings in Ferguson and C leveland and New York, we all need to de mand justice for all A m ericans by continuing to stand together in strategic nonviolent protest. A tto r n e y G e n e ra l E ric H older's action to open a civil r ig h ts in v e s tig a tio n in to G arner's case is a step in the right direction. The call by M ichael Brow n's parents, and now President Obama, to equip police officers across the coun try with cam eras is also a step in the right direction. R etrain ing the police will help a lot, but will not solve our deep sys tem ic racial problem s that we continue to ignore at our peril. In every town and every city we need sustained nonviolent action. We need to work to gether to fix our broken system of justice and to make America live up to her creed and respect for all under the law. Marian Wright Edelman is president o f the Children's De fense Fund. Immigration Action Step in the Right Direction Our nation needs to do better by K ayse J ama For m any years, the imm i grant and refu gee m ovem ent has worked tire lessly to ensure our families stay together. P resident O bam a’s recent executive action on im m igra tion will provide some adm inis tration relief from deportation starting in early 2015 for un docum ented im m igrants who have been living in the U nited States for at least five years, have no crim inal record, and who have a child w ho is a portance o f the relief that the P resident’s decision will pro U nited States citizen. vide for some, his actions fall In addition, the P resid en t’s short o f w hat is needed. T em action will expand the D eferred porary relief helps hard w ork A ction for C hildhood A rrivals ing fam ilies to stay together program , w hich has provided te m p o ra ry sta tu s fo r som e D R E A M ers. O ur ask has alw ays been simple: We want hum ane com prehensive imm igration reform that includes a pathw ay to c iti zenship for all 11.2 m illion as piring citizens. D espite our bro ken im m igration system , C on gress has chosen not to act, leaving m illions o f fam ilies in and legally work here, but there legal limbo. are many others left behind, W hile we recognize the im- and this is only a tem porary m easure that can be revoked. The m ajority o f u n d o cu m ented im m igrants will not benefit from the P resident’s D eferred A ction criteria set, in c lu d in g th e p a re n ts o f ...but there are many others left behind, and this is only a temporary measure that can be revoked. continue to be torn apart, and our border will continue to be militarized. O ur nation needs to do bet ter for these aspiring citizens, and we need to hold our law m akers accountable on what they do, and w hat they fail to do. We as a com m unity believe that we have shared fate, and we will continue to w ork to gether across cultural lines to dem and com prehensive im m i gration reform . Justice can be deferred, but not denied. Kayse Jama is executive di D REA M ers. The C enter for rector o f the Center fo r Inter- Intercultural Organizing knows cultural Organizing in north that this means fam ilies will Portland.
