September 2, 2015
Page 7
O PINION
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the
Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and
story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
Broken Bootstraps on Path to Making It Rich
The tragedy
of childhood
poverty
M. L INDA J ARAMILLO
“Making it big” in
this country means being
worth a lot of money. It
is not easy to get rich (in
money) if you do not have
wealthy parents or grand-
parents. It is doubtful that
someone who was born
and grew up in poverty can be-
come wealthy.
The assumption that a per-
son “came from poverty, but
worked hard and pulled them-
selves up by their bootstraps
and made it big” is an unlikely
reality in our current econom-
ic system. The problem is our
capitalistic culture regularly
measures our importance and
BY
success by how much money
we make rather than the moral
and ethical values by which we
live our lives.
A Pew Research Study
found that a child in the low-
est income range
has only a 4 per-
cent chance of
changing that to
the highest range
when he or she
becomes an adult.
There are more
than 16 million
children who live below the
federal poverty level now and
this number has grown by 23
percent since 2007.
Pulling ourselves up the by
the bootstraps is a myth, be-
cause bootstraps in this coun-
try are not only weak, they are
broken.
The National Center for
Children in Poverty at Colum-
bia University indicates that
22 percent of children in the
United States are part of fam-
ilies whose incomes are less
than $23,550 a year for a fam-
ily of four. Basic expenses like
housing, nutritious food, trans-
portation, and health care and
child care cost twice that much
annually.
Taking these basic needs
into consideration, this trans-
lates into the fact that 45 per-
cent of children live in low
income families. The most vul-
nerable are children under the
age of 6 years old; 48 percent
of children at this age are in
low-income families.
Sadly, we often blame the
situation on parents. We ac-
cuse them of either not work-
ing hard enough or not man-
aging their money well. The
truth is that many of these par-
ents are working in jobs, often
more than one that pay very
low wages and are part-time
RU XQVWDEOH ,W LV YHU\ GLI¿FXOW
to make ends meet under these
circumstances and impossible
to manage money you don’t
have. Bootstraps are broken
and the children we say we val-
ue are paying the price.
Research also proves that
poverty is the single great-
est threat to the well-being of
children. To turn the tide on
the tragedy of childhood pov-
erty, we must demand that ev-
ery child’s basic needs are met
regardless of their family’s in-
come.
Every child must have ac-
cess to early childhood educa-
tion programs and quality pub-
lic schools, no matter where
they are located. They must
have nourishing food and safe
shelter to thrive rather than just
survive.
We cannot just take care of
our own little neighborhood or
community. We must invest in
the future of ALL our children
if we are to claim that we are a
moral and just society. This is
a problem with our economic
system and not the fault of our
children.
,QWKHFXUUHQWÀXUU\RISROLW-
ical positioning by presidential
candidates, I want to hear them
describe how they will address
this national tragedy of child-
hood poverty that is growing
by leaps and bounds each year.
I don’t want to hear about how
hard work helps you get rich.
It’s not about pulling up your
bootstraps at all. It’s time for us
to commit to the well-being of
all families.
The Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo
is executive minister for Justice
and Witness Ministries in the
United Church of Christ.
Never One to Shrink Away from a Worthy Fight
Julian Bond
leaves a
lasting legacy
M ARC H. M ORIAL
Julian Bond lived
his life as a tireless
champion of the op-
pressed and maligned,
a battle-worn warrior
for civil rights, equal-
ity and social justice.
%RQG IRXJKW WKH JRRG ¿JKW
and at the still-youthful age of
75, he completed his course.
His longtime dedication to
equal rights for African-Amer-
icans—and for all—are to be
celebrated. But we must guard
against fossilizing his life and
legacy in tributes or textbooks.
Bond lived a life of action,
clear mission and steadfast
service. There could be no
worthier tribute to him than
to pick up the baton he has
passed and re-dedicate our-
selves to the struggle to make
the promises and opportuni-
ties of our democracy true for
all its citizens.
That struggle is an ongoing
one that neither begins nor
ends with one movement or
personality. Individually and
BY
collectively, we must take up
the baton to bring an end to
the deadly scourge of police
brutality, close persistent eco-
nomic inequality gaps and ad-
dress destructive disparities in
our nation’s education
system.
We must do it, be-
cause as Bond once
famously reminded us
DOO ³*RRG WKLQJV GRQ¶W
come to those who wait.
They come to those who
agitate.”
Bond was a student in a
philosophy class taught by
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at
Morehouse College in Atlanta.
It was there, during the height
of the civil rights movement in
the 1960s, that Bond began to
agitate in earnest, co-founding
the Student Nonviolent Coor-
dinating Committee along with
other Morehouse students,
including now-Congressman
John Lewis.
He served as the group’s
communications director for
¿YH \HDUV %RQG ZDV HOHFWHG
to the Georgia House of Rep-
resentatives in 1965, but was
not allowed to take his seat be-
cause his white colleagues ob-
jected to his opposition to the
Vietnam War. It took a year, a
protest march led by Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., and a Supreme
Court order, but the legislature
¿QDOO\DOORZHGKLPWRWDNHKLV
rightful seat in 1966. He spent
20 years in the Georgia Leg-
islature, serving in both the
House and the Senate.
In 1968, Bond became a na-
WLRQDO ¿JXUH DIWHU GHOLYHULQJ
D ¿HU\ VSHHFK DW WKH &KLFDJR
Democratic National Con-
vention. His performance was
so impressive; his name was
placed into the nominating pro-
cess for vice president—a po-
sition he could not qualify for
because he was too young.
Bond went on to serve as the
¿UVW SUHVLGHQW RI WKH 6RXWKHUQ
Poverty Law Center, remaining
on its board for the rest of his
life after his tenure came to an
end in 1979. Later, he would
also serve as chairman of the
NAACP.
No matter the capacity,
%RQG ZDV ¿UVW DQG IRUHPRVW
an activist for equal rights. In
addition to his political career
and his work as a civil rights
leader, Bond was an accom-
plished writer, he was a lec-
turer and a professor, a televi-
sion show host and he narrated
“Eyes on the Prize,” an iconic
documentary on the civil rights
movement.
Bond never stopped agitat-
ing because he fundamentally
believed that, “the humanity
of all Americans is diminished
when any group is denied rights
granted to others.” He never
limited his philosophy to any
community, region or national-
ity. He fought against segrega-
tion on our shores and apartheid
in South Africa. He devoted
himself to equal rights for all,
including, most recently, the
rights of the LGBT community.
Bond left a lasting legacy
for us to explore, celebrate
and continue. Whether it’s
challenges to voting rights or
inequity in education fund-
ing, many of the challenges
he faced yesterday continue to
plague our nation today.
+LV OLIHORQJ ¿JKW IRU HTXDO-
ity and justice must become
RXUOLIHORQJ¿JKWIRUWKHVDPH
We can all become a part of
his vision to create a more per-
fect union in our nation. Our
prayers and heartfelt sympa-
thy are with his family, along
with our promise to continue
-XOLDQ¶V¿JKW
Marc H. Morial is president
DQG FKLHI H[HFXWLYH RI¿FHU RI
the National Urban League.
The Law Offices of
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd, Portland, Oregon
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
Facsimile:
(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Email:
Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com