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“challenging People to shape
a Better future now”
The pledge states that homosexuality is a
choice and equates it with bigamy or
polygamy. Signers also promise to ban
pornography.
Santorum’s spokesperson told CNN in an
email, “Senator Santorum was pleased to sign
the Iowa Family Leader’s pledge because he is
committed to standing up for traditional mar-
riage. The bigger question here is why aren’t
more Republicans having the courage to stand
up for the institution of marriage and signing
this pledge.
“With that said, Senator Santorum believed
it was the right thing for the Iowa Family
Leader to remove the language from the pre-
amble to the pledge about slavery.”
Pawlenty said he agrees with the principles
behind, but not the way the 14-point pledge is
cast. Earlier in the day, the former Minnesota
B eRnIe f OsTeR
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hopes to have a voice in shaping Iowa’s 2012
leadoff caucuses. Its top officials were part of
a successful campaign last fall to remove three
Iowa Supreme Court justices who ruled to
legalize gay marriage in the state.
Pawlenty advocated for a constitutional
amendment in Minnesota to define marriage as
between a man and a woman. But as governor,
he didn’t have a role in advancing any such
legislation to the ballot. Minnesota voters will
decide the question in November 2012.
Romney’s spokesperson Andrea Saul told
The Associated Press on Tuesday that Romney
``strongly supports traditional marriage,’’ but
that the oath circulated last week by The
Family Leader ``contained references and pro-
visions that were undignified and inappropri-
ate for a presidential campaign.’’
peaked and blacks are overrepresented in state
and local government jobs that are being elim-
inated due to massive budget shortfalls.
Maya Wiley, director of the Center for Social
Inclusion, says the anti-discrimination laws
passed in the 1960s took decades to translate
into an increase in black economic security —
and that was before the recession.
“History is going to say that the black middle
class was decimated” over the past few years,
Wiley says. “But we’re not done writing histo-
ry.”
Goldring was born and raised in Baltimore,
and her mother was single for much of
Goldring’s childhood. At 16, she dropped out
of school and went to work cleaning hotel
rooms.
“That’s when I first met white people. Some
of them would stay a month at the hotel. They
would have all their children with them,” she
remembers. “I thought, one day I’d like to
hang out at a hotel.”
She didn’t know any middle-class people in
her all-black neighborhood. “Where we lived,
everyone struggled. We just struggled a little
harder,” she says. “If the lights stayed on for a
whole year, if we didn’t get put out, I thought
we were doing really, really well.”
At 21, pregnant with her second child,
Goldring decided to get her GED. Then she
went to community college, got a degree in
secretarial work, and began a career.
She met her husband in 1983. He had a
steady job as a heating and air-conditioning
installer, and owned a brick two-bedroom
home in Morgan Park, a leafy, integrated
neighborhood.
With two incomes, money was not a prob-
lem. He liked to travel. She had never been out
of Maryland.
“I thought, ‘Is this how rich people live?’”
Goldring remembers. “From where I was to
where I ended up, it was way different.”
Her husband had been married before. As a
condition of the divorce, his daughter’s name
was added to the deed of the house. After
Goldring’s husband died in 2007, Goldring
took out a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, with a
6.5 percent interest rate, to purchase the house
outright.
reversed
M OnIca J. f OsTeR
Seattle office Coordinator
continued from page 1
tears.
Economists say the Great Recession lasted
from 2007 to 2009. In 2004, the median net
worth of white households was $134,280,
compared with $13,450 for black households,
according to an analysis of Federal Reserve
data by the Economic Policy Institute. By
2009, the median net worth for white house-
holds had fallen 24 percent to $97,860; the
median black net worth had fallen 83 percent
to $2,170, according to the EPI.
Algernon Austin, director of the EPI’s
Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy,
described the wealth gap this way: “In 2009,
for every dollar of wealth the average white
household had, black households only had two
cents.”
Since the end of the recession, the overall
unemployment rate has fallen from 9.4 to 9.1
percent, while the black unemployment rate
has risen from 14.7 to 16.2 percent, according
to the Department of Labor.
“I would say the recession is not over for
black folks,” Austin says. He believes more
black people than ever before could fall out of
the middle class, because the unemployment
rate for college-educated blacks recently
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governor released a new radio ad and a web
video in which he and his wife Mary discuss
their personal faith, anti-abortion views and
opposition to gay marriage.
“Rather than sign onto the words chosen by
others, I prefer to choose my own words, espe-
cially seeking to show compassion to those
who are in broken families through no fault of
their own,” Pawlenty said in written statement
in which he insists he would “vigorously
oppose” any efforts to allow same-sex mar-
riage.
The move is risky for Pawlenty, who is
banking heavily on Iowa and its social conser-
vatives to help carry his presidential campaign
forward. But signing the pledge could alienate
voters who don’t agree with its far-reaching
nature.
The Family Leader was formed last year and
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Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
d
a
r
S eattle J uly 2011
seating for all events at 7 p.m. followed by trivia
and pre-movie activities. Pre-movie seating for all
movies is $5.00. movie show at dusk Bring your
own chairs and blankets. magnuson Park. For
more info go to
www.movieatmagnuson.comFriday
If you have an event you want to share
with the community, email it two weeks
in advance to The Skanner at
info@theskanner.com
Thursday July 14
BeAuTy AND THe BouNTy: AN AmeriCAN ArT iN THe
Age oF eXPLorATioN! Seattle Art museum’s Patti
Junker talks about Beauty and the Bounty at the
Seattle Public Library from 12:10 p.m. to 12:55
p.m. The program is free and open to the public.
Central Library location, 1000 Fourth Ave,
microsoft Auditorium, level 1
ouTDoor moVieS AT mAgNuSoN PArk. The
Princess Bride is the opening night film. open
Page 2 The Seattle Skanner July 13, 2011
friday July 15
HAPPy BirTHDAy NorTHgATe CommuNiTy CeNTer
AND LiBrAry! Join us for our Birthday party. we
will have live music, cake, kids inflatables and
much more. Free for all. 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave. Ne
For more info call 206-386-4283.
friday – sunday July 15 -17
BiTe oF SeATTLe! Don’t miss our 30th birthday kick-
off celebration. Play some trivia, show us your
dance moves and eat lots of good food. Friday
and Saturday hours are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday
hours are 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Free admission Seattle
Center.
saturday July 16
DeCePTioN PASS STATe PArk PLAyS HoST To THe
AmeriCAN rooTS muSiC SerieS! A moment in
Time: An African-American cappella gospel
quartet from the Seattle Area. 7 p.m. The music
series is free to the public. you will need to pay
for parking. Deception Pass State Park, 41020
State route 20, oak Harbor.
Thursday July 21
PuBLiC gArDeN PArTy To CeLeBrATe New
gArDeN wALk AT SHerAToN SeATTLe HoTeL: The
festive garden party will feature live
entertainment, the dedication of the garden
walk and much more. Noon – 1 p.m. adjacent to
the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, 7th Ave. and union St.
sunday July 24
3rD ANNuAL Pike PLACe mArkeT FruiT FeSTiVAL!
make a special fun-filled day at Pike Place
market. Nosh as you stroll and enjoy a sit down
meal, and shop for among other things fresh,
locally grown fruits and veggies all day long.