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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2011)
opinion dr. King left us With a Charge “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future now” B ernie F oSter Founder/Publisher B oBBie D ore F oSter executive editor t eD B ankS advertising Manager J erry F oSter account executive l iSa l oVing news editor h elen S ilViS Multimedia editor D aViD k iDD graphic Designer m oniCa J. F oSter Seattle office Coordinator J ulie k eeFe S uSan F rieD Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 the Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub - lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of the Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2011 the Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. knowing what’s important Can Change your life! Subscribe to The Skanner – don’t miss an issue! Please sign me up for: q 1 year $74 q 2 year $140 q New Subscription q Renewal ________________________ name _________________ address _________________ City _________________ State ______ ZiP ________ Phone Mail with check or money order to: The Skanner P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 I n an often expressed dream for a better America, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called upon Americans to honor “all God’s children” and their rights to equal- ity and justice. His powerful voice and leadership would be wel- comed in the turbulent world around us. Forty-three-years after the March on Washington, Dr. King’s dream of equality for all remains unrealized – the impact of racism persists and children of color still live with the consequences of the racial divide embedded in American society. Our leaders face mounting fiscal challenges, yet we urge the nation not to aban- don children in need. As the strug- gling economy brings fear and despair to families and communi- ties, America must marshal its resources to assure that our chil- dren have opportunities to thrive. There is an intersection between Dr. King’s dream and efforts by government, non-profit advocates and communities working to improve the quality of life for vul- nerable children. Recent census data soundly demonstrates the challenges we face, as a nation, in assuring that future generations can succeed. The poverty rate for children in the U.S. is at 20.7 percent, with 35.7 percent of African-American chil- dren living in poverty, 33.1 per- cent of Hispanic children, 17.7 percent of white children and 14 percent of Asian-American chil- dren. Even more disturbing is that those numbers are rapidly increas- ing. The census also found that 1.4 million children fell into poverty for the first time in 2009. Efforts to revive the economy will grow even more difficult in the future if the nation doesn’t a meriCa h ealing Gail Christopher DN address child poverty. The Center for American Progress says that in 2007, even before the recession, the economy took a $500 billion hit from child poverty because of increased costs for health care and reduced, if it becomes a national priority. Since 1994, England has cut its child poverty rate by more than 50 percent by establishing public policies such as these: pro- viding tax incentives to single par- ents for finding jobs, improving public benefits for parents, increasing the minimum wage, allowing parents of young chil- dren to request flexible work hours and implementing a comprehen- Dr. King Left us With a Charge: To Honor All Gods Children. What will you do for the cause? criminal justice, and decreases in productivity. In fact, economists estimate that child poverty result- ed in a 4 percent decrease in the U.S. gross domestic product. But the statistics don’t tell the entire story. There is an emotional sive preschool program. The Center for American Progress says that if $90 billion a year for 10 years is used to fund policies addressing child poverty, the United States can reduce child poverty by 41 percent. The poverty rate for Black children in the U.S. is 35.7 percent toll on Americans when we recog- nize that our nation is failing our children. We cannot relegate mil- lions of children to a future with- out opportunities, a destiny of poverty and social exclusion. That is not the American Dream, and it is an anathema to Dr. King’s dream for our nation. We must embark on new ways to overcome current child and family poverty statistics and the trajecto- ries they portend. Clearly a shift in federal budget priorities is need- ed. England has proven that child poverty can be dramatically Furthermore, the nation must also address the legacy of the mythology of racism that fueled the nation’s early economic engines, jumpstarting the United States’ meteoric rise to its position as a world power. Racism played a critical role in the development of this country. Its hallmark was systematic dehumanization codi- fied into law for centuries. Related inhumane, destructive and exclu- sionary practices left indelible impressions in the minds and hearts of people. These impres- sions or beliefs became feelings and memories (both conscious and unconscious) that have been passed down through generations. Related behaviors are encoded in the patterns of families, communi- ties, ordinances and organizations. The legacy of our racialized past remains embedded in today’s soci- etal structures, continuing to nega- tively impact children of color. Persistent residential racial segre- gation and seemingly intractable disparities in life expectancies, disease burdens, poverty levels, incarceration rates and unemploy- ment levels are symptoms of ves- tiges of centuries of structural bias in our society, made possible by the mythology of racism. Dehumanization and denigration or privilege and separation defined the lives of millions of families and their children in America, for most of our existence as a country. Resilience, courage and success against engrained odds are often the untold story for many families of color. It’s time for America to change. A true monument to Dr. King would be the birth of a vigorous movement within communities across this nation to heal the divides that we have all inherited through the absurd belief systems of racial hierarchy and privilege based on physical characteristics. This healing work requires hon- esty and courageous self-examina- tion but it builds trust and alliances that yield creative solutions to seemingly insolvable problems. Let us honor Dr. King by realizing his dream for a healed America. Let’s do it for our children. Dr. Christopher is Vice President of Program Strategies for the w. K. Kellogg Foundation, which has launched a $75 million, five year “america healing” ini› › How to Solve the NCAA’s Ethics Issue, Part 2 I previously suggested the NCAA should focus less on increasing penalties and more on inspiring players to voluntarily do the right thing. But occasional, intangible word plays are not enough. I suspect those teenagers most at risk of breaking the NCAA’s rules need a steady diet of something a little more tangible. Even politicians nowadays realize the prime incentive to motivate voting behavior is a single word – “jobs”. I would be very interested to see what would happen is a major school had the imagination, insight, and courage to institution- alize pro influencers and use jobs as an incentive for infraction-free behavior. Here’s how you start: Offer a required course for student athletes that’s taught by executives from the vast number of business- es scoring big profits thanks to the popularity of college sports. Internships, counseling sessions and specialized resume-building should not be on the sidelines but in the starting line-up of what these players learn. And if university presidents are serious about keeping players infraction free, they could require or “strongly suggest” that sports Page 4 The Portland Skanner october 19, 2011 t he S Chool oF l aw Roger M. Groves vendors participate in such pro- will have greater access to these career resources. And it’s not like incentives are a foreign concept in America. We use them all the time to encourage behaviors. Corporate tax credits and individual home Demand action from businesses that profit off collegiate sports grams. I am confident businesses that gain sizable revenues from the players and the sports programs will gladly infuse resources to keep those valuable university mortgage deductions are just a few used to inspire people to buy homes or businesses to invest in new plants, equipment or research and development. What’s more, our government offers tax breaks Offer a required course for student athletes that’s taught by executives contracts. Many of these business- people really want to help—they just need a more structured and accessible opportunity. Incentives could be put in place whereby infraction-free players for educators and grants to stu- dents that do not have to be repaid—it’s all done because we as a society believe an overall good will come from the nudge. Where would the money come from to institutionalize aggressive pro mentors? Start with the athlet- ic programs themselves. A majori- ty of schools from the six major conferences have increased their athletic budgets by double-digit percentages from fiscal years 2010 to 2012. In part, the increase is a trickle down from new rich TV conference contracts. Even Michigan, which nowadays wins football games only slightly more often than it loses, increased its athletic budget from $84.6 million to $109.8 million. That is a 29.8 percent rise in two years. On col- lege campuses, these athletic budgets pay for a lot of adminis- trative people, but not the people of greatest potential influence over those high-impact touchdown makers who are too often a high risk for infractions. A tiny piece of the TV money major colleges bring in annually would be enough to start programs that help athletes find strong men- tors, develop career aspirations and understand that booster hand- outs are far from their best option. roger M. groves is Professor of law at the Florida Coastal School of law
