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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
Page 12 August 29, 2018 MCS Still in Business O PINION Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $50.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $50.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area and Hallway Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $30.00 Heavily Soiled Area: $10.00 each area (Requiring Pre-Spray) Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning Regular Area Rugs $25.00 Minimum Wool Oriental Rugs $40.00 Minimum UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $70.00 Loveseat: $50.00 Sectional: $110 - $140 Chair or Recliner: $25.00 - $50.00 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 Fearing a Return to Second Class Rights Gravely concerned about Supreme Court y olanda P arker Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavana- ugh has a histo- ry of interpret- ing the law in a way that serves the interests of the powerful over equality and justice. Having grown up in the segre- gated South, I’m acutely aware of what’s at stake. I’m gravely con- cerned for what Kavanaugh’s in- fluence could mean for communi- ties of color, women, the LGBTQ community, and others who’ve fought to advance civil rights in our country. For me, this is personal. I grew up as an Air Force brat. We were stationed in the South in the 1950s, when racial discrimina- tion was deeply pervasive. Children weren’t protected from discrimina- tion — not even the daughter, like me, of an Air Force officer who spent a career serving his country. Despite being in a military fami- ly, I still had to attend segregated schools outside the Air Force base. When we were stationed in Bi- loxi, Miss., girls in my junior high school weren’t allowed to take sci- by ence classes — only home econom- ics. My parents had to get special permission for me to take science. And each weekend there were civil rights demonstrations, where bigot- ed counter-protesters would some- times leave adults and my class- mates bloodied and bruised. Through relentless struggle, the decades-long civil rights move- ment earned African Americans and other marginalized communi- the legal right to marry. But we’ve all seen and felt the toxic backlash to that progress since Donald Trump was elected. The president has dehuman- ized immigrants and other Latino communities by calling them rap- ists and animals. And last August, after the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, he claimed there were “very fine people” on both sides. I hung my Biloxi Junior High School diploma alongside my oth- er diplomas to remind me of what we’ve all overcome — and how much we have to lose. And every day, when I see it, I’m instantly transported back to that frighten- ingly dangerous time. If we allow yet another far-right extremist to our nation’s highest court, I fear another backlash is on the horizon — a return to a time Today, we are perilously close to reviving an openly racist, hostile, and xenophobic world for people like me and many others. ties stronger voting rights, de-seg- regated schools and cultural es- tablishments, equal employment, fairer housing, and more. Protests gave way to judicial cases, giving us landmark de- cisions like Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade that legalized protections for our per- sonal freedoms. More recent cases like 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges advanced civil rights to LGBTQ communities. It’s thanks to those hard-earned wins that systemic racial segrega- tion has been outlawed, access to safe, legal abortion has been legal- ized, and same-sex couples have Not only is he normalizing racial hostility and small-mindedness, he’s re-institutionalizing it by add- ing far-right extremists to his ad- ministration and to our courts. And now that Trump has nominated yet another ideologue to the Supreme Court, those rights we fought so hard for are seriously endangered. My experience as a young woman in Mississippi gives me intimate firsthand knowledge of what’s at risk if that fuel is added to an already growing fire. Today, we are perilously close to reviving an openly racist, hostile, and xe- nophobic world for people like me and many others. when our rights were considered secondary, if at all. I know I’m not the only one who can’t let that happen. The Supreme Court is the final judicial arbiter of fairness in our system. Personally, I’ll be giving every ounce of energy and grit I have to fight Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to that court. And I hope other Americans who be- lieve in equality and justice for all will take it personally, too. Yolanda “Cookie” Parker was the founder and president of KMS Software and is a board member of People For the American Way. Distributed by OtherWords.org.