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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2020)
December 9, 2020 Page 9 ‘Safe Moms, Safe Babies’ COVID-19 Testing Expands C ontinued froM P age 3 of the solution, and keeping babies and moms from needy families safe is something we can all do.” Reducing a mother’s exposure to COVID-19 is NUHECDC’s strat- egy for keeping mothers healthy. Increased stress can weaken the im- mune system, making a mother more susceptible to getting sick. Also, having to make extra trips to the store to get diapers can be ex- pensive, time-consuming, exhausting, and can expose her to the novel coro- navirus. By making free diapers avail- able at the food pantry or emergency aid shelter where a mother already goes, mothers should experience less physical and financial distress. Private donations and a grant from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contri- bution Fund were used to purchase the diapers and baby supplies. Addi- tional donations are always needed and any other groups and individu- als who can help are urged to donate by accessing NUHECDC’s website at NUHECDC.org/donate and by a check through the mail. For more information, visit NUH- ECDC.org or call 503-477-7387. C ontinued froM P age 6 Emergency support vaccine education and delivery. The intent is to increase vaccination accessi- bility for the Black, African American and African immi- grant and refugee residents. “Portland Community College is proud to partner with Multnomah County and offer flu vaccines and COVID-19 testing, especial- ly as pandemic cases con- tinue to spike in Oregon,” said Brooke Loyd, PCC’s Preparedness manager. “Our collabora- tion will help to protect the most vulnerable Oregonians as we head into the winter months.” Flu shots are also available at doctor’s offices and clinics and retail pharmacies. Those without a regular doctor can call the Multnomah Coun- ty Primary Care Clinics at 503-988-5558 to enroll and become a patient to receive the flu vaccine and access to other services. 971-276-8674 Cut, trim, edge, power washing, hauling, leaf removal, cleanup, anything! FREE ESTIMATES FAIR PRICING h arris v ideo PINION & P hotograPhy Black Voters Saved Our Democracy 503-730-1156 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. Now Biden needs to return the favor by t raCey l. r ogers America owes its Black citizens so much. During a pandemic that has killed Black people at disproportion- ate rates, we still man- aged to save our democ- racy by getting out the vote in what may have been the most contentious presidential election in modern his- tory. Considering what we were up against — an administration that has put the lives of the American people in danger as COVID-19 spreads like wildfire — there was no choice but for Black people to show up at the polls in droves. Our lives depended on it. Even President-elect Joe Biden acknowledged in his victory speech that “the African-American com- munity stood up again for me.” Recent exit polls showed that 87 percent of Black voters backed the Biden-Harris ticket. The odds were stacked against us, including voter suppression the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. In Georgia, Black voters sometimes waited 10 or 11 hours to cast their ballots. But Black people proved resil- ient once more in our fight to pre- serve the Union — a Union that too often has failed to return the favor. O Joe Biden said he would have our backs in his administration. But giv- en his authorship of the controversial 1994 crime bill that led to a deeply racist mass incarceration crisis — and Biden’s hostility to defunding the police 26 years later — I will manage my expectations. Let’s not forget, too, that Black voters overwhelmingly backed former president Bill Clinton, who then went on to sign the 1994 crime bill into law, among other laws that deepened ra- cial disparities in this country. Still, 55 years after the Voting Rights Act was passed, Black peo- ple continue to cast ballots as a uni- fied front because there is always so much more at stake for us. Health inequities, racial inequality, eco- nomic wealth gaps, and a lack of representation in government keeps the Black community stuck in a vi- cious cycle of marginalization. And yet, even when history re- lentlessly reminds us that Black lives don’t matter, we continue to reclaim our legacy as the backbone of American democracy. Biden’s historic win in Georgia, for example, may well have marked a turning point. Stacey Abrams’ founding of Fair Fight, along with dedicated work by countless grass- roots volunteers, ensured many more Americans had a voice in our election. These extraordinary efforts are necessary in part because — in spite of a pandemic, recession, and ev- erything else — most white voters stuck with President Trump. In fact, if it wasn’t for non-white voters — from our Latinx brothers and sisters in Nevada to our Indige- nous siblings in Arizona — we may have seen different results. Accord- ing to the same exit polls, 57 per- cent of white voters cast a ballot for Donald Trump, making this a very tight race. Joe Biden may have won the presidency. But so too did white su- premacy, xenophobia, and corrup- tion. And as the violent pro-Trump protests that broke out in the capital recently show, we are indeed a na- tion divided. But there’s still plenty to find encouraging. In my home city of Philadelphia, I witnessed Black voters standing in long lines with lawn chairs and prepared lunches, dressed for inclement weather, just to participate in democracy. It was a proud moment. Time will tell if the Biden-Harris administration returns the favor by showing up for us. In such a closely divided country, they can’t afford not to. Tracey L. Rogers is an entrepre- neur and activist living in Philadel- phia. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org. Funeral and Memorial Coverage Capturing the Services For You, For Others Forever! $5.00 TEES CLUBS FAMILY REUNIONS SCHOOL CLUBS BUSINESSES SCREEN PRINTING 971-570-8214