September 16, 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.
Literacy Volunteering in your Community
Reading changes lives!
B ENTLEY DE B ARDELABEN
My grandmother used to say, “Be-
ing blessed by God is wonderful, but
being a blessing to others because
God blessed you is more important.”
While I was not raised in a house-
hold where attending Sunday morn-
ing worship was highly valued, it
was still important to my parents that
they raise children who understood that service to
those less fortunate was a an essential part of being a
good, responsible, and educated person. Because of
this, I began tutoring students in reading and math
skills when I was 12 years old. It was something I
enjoyed and had the temperament to do.
Approximately 30 million adults in the United
States can’t read. They can’t understand their own
SUHVFULSWLRQERWWOH¿JXUHRXWDEXVVFKHGXOHRUHYHQ
order off a menu – actions which many of us take
for granted. The consequences of this silent epidem-
ic are profound. There is a 66 percent chance that a
BY
SHUVRQZKRFDQQRWUHDGDWDSUR¿FLHQWOHYHOE\WKH
4th grade will end up on welfare or in jail. Approxi-
mately 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with
the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
Understanding the importance of this issue, he
United Church of Christ began developing an all-
church initiative to bring awareness to the challenge
of multigenerational low literacy levels. The pro-
gram was appropriately called “Reading Changes
Lives.”
This robust campaign launched in the fall of 2014
ZLWKDQ³DOOFKXUFKUHDG´RIWKHERRN³+RW'RJVDQG
+DPEXUJHUV 8QORFNLQJ /LIH¶V 3RWHQWLDO E\ ,QVSLU-
ing Literacy at Any Age,” written by Rob Shindler.
The next step on the journey occurred on March 4.
It was a day of dialog on social media where people
shared how they were addressing illiteracy in their
communities.
Finally the campaign culminated on June 29 with
a daylong training for adult literacy tutors and a
school supply drive during the UCC General Syn-
od in Cleveland, Ohio. All together UCC members
stuffed 1,000 backpacks with school supplies that
will be given to local elementary school students
DQGGRQDWHGHQRXJKDGGLWLRQDOVXSSOLHVWR¿OODQRWK-
er 1,500 backpacks.
'XULQJ WKH WUDLQLQJ 5RE 6KLQGOHU VKDUHG WKH LQ-
spirational story of his son who had been labeled
severely disabled, an experience that ultimately led
him to identify his call as a tutor. “You can teach
someone to read in less than 2 and ½ days,” Shindler
said. “All it takes is one hour a week for 52 weeks.”
Recently, I began tutoring adult students who
ZDQWWRWDNHWKH*('WHVW)RUWXQDWHO\WKHUHDUHVWDII
and teachers’ guides onsite to assist when I’m unsure
about the subject material. I’m learning much from
my students, as I hope they are learning from me.
Those values instilled and embodied in my child-
hood household continue to shape me in adulthood.
You can learn more about literacy volunteering in
your community by visiting literacydirectory.org. I
hope you too will join this campaign to help change
lives through reading.
The Rev. Bentley de Bardelaben is executive for
administration and communications for Justice and
Witness Ministries in the United Church of Christ.
5RXWLQH7UDI¿F6WRSV6KRXOGQ¶W5LS)DPLOLHV$SDUW
Scapegoating
immigrants
isn’t the
answer
C ECILIA V ELASCO
About three years
ago, my dad was driv-
ing the truck he uses
for his landscaping
business in Phoenix,
Ariz. when he was
pulled over. Two pa-
trol cars cornered him f for mak-
k
ing a wide right turn.
Yes, you read that right:
0XOWLSOH SROLFH RI¿FHUV ZHQW
out of their way to stop my
dad for supposedly making a
right turn too wide.
7KH WUDI¿F FRSV JULOOHG P\
dad and his coworker about
their immigration status. They
let my dad, a Mexican immi-
grant and U.S. citizen, go on
his way without even issuing
a warning. Then they arrested
his coworker, who happened
to be an undocumented immi-
grant.
What seemed like a normal
drive to work turned into a
nightmare.
7UDI¿FVWRSVWKDWRIWHQEHJLQ
ZLWKWKLVNLQGRIUDFLDOSUR¿O-
ing, along with parking tickets
BY
and other minor offenses have
led to two-thirds of the record
2 million deportations during
the Obama administration.
These daily expulsions have
instilled a culture of pain and
fear among all our nation’s
immigrant communi-
ties.
tie
When some of
those
communities
th
urged
their local gov-
ur
ernments
to do some-
er
thing
about it, about
th
300
30 cities responded
by becoming some-
thing
hi called
ll a “sanctuary city.”
Maybe you’ve heard a lot
about these places lately but
don’t know what a sanctuary
city is.
It’s a term for localities
ZKHUH SROLFH RI¿FHUV GRQ¶W
have the added responsibility
of acting as federal immigra-
tion authorities. As a result,
people won’t be deported
without a compelling reason,
more families will remain
XQLWHGDQGSROLFHRI¿FHUVZLOO
get to focus on the already
tough job of policing real
criminals instead of racially
SUR¿OLQJGULYHUV
Sanctuary cities serve ev-
eryone’s interest.
They boost public safety
and foster trust between local
law enforcement and immi-
grant communities. Undocu-
mented immigrants can work,
go to school, and live their
lives without constant fear of
deportation. They’re no longer
afraid to report crimes or as-
sist in a police investigation.
This restores a bit of the hu-
man dignity that immigrants
are too often robbed of.
Studies have shown that
sanctuary cities are actually
safer than other places. But
one tragic incident has ignited
a debate in Congress and the
2016 presidential race.
Earlier this summer, Kath-
ryn Steinle was shot and killed
in San Francisco. Juan Fran-
cisco Lopez-Sanchez, the al-
leged shooter and an undocu-
mented immigrant, had a long
criminal record, including
drug charges and several de-
SRUWDWLRQV +H¶G MXVW EHHQ UH-
leased after serving time for
re-entry into the country, an
act that’s considered a felony.
Presidential candidates and
politicians are taking advan-
tage of this incident to justify
their extremist anti-immigrant
views. But studies show that
native-born Americans com-
mit crime at a higher rate than
LPPLJUDQWVDQGDUH¿YHWLPHV
more likely to be serving time
in prison.
There’s no reason to pre-
sume that undocumented
immigrants are a menace to
society. Yet before starting
LWV $XJXVW UHFHVV WKH +RXVH
passed a bill that would deny
federal law enforcement fund-
ing for sanctuary cities. This
measure would reverse years
of progress by immigrant
rights organizations, local
governments, and local police
associations.
Steinle’s death was a terrible
tragedy. But scapegoating un-
documented immigrants won’t
make San Francisco or the rest
of the country any safer.
What became of my dad’s
co-worker? Following that
WUDI¿F VWRS DUUHVW KH ZDV GH-
tained by local authorities
for a couple of days and then
handed over to immigration
RI¿FHUV+HVSHQWWZRPRQWKV
in an immigration detention
center.
A compassionate judge
granted his release because his
eldest son was on the brink of
becoming a U.S. citizen, and
the man obtained a temporary
ZRUN SHUPLW +DSS\ HQGLQJV
to stories like these would be-
come rarer if anti-immigration
+RXVH ODZPDNHUV JHW WKHLU
way.
Cecilia Velasco is a Fel-
low at the Institute for Policy
Studies. Distributed by Other-
Words.org.
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