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dr. King left us With a Charge
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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