Opinion
Michelle Obama Speaks Her Mind
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
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The Skanner Newspaper, established
in October 1975, is a weekly publica-
tion, published each Wednesday by
M
ore than any other first
lady of the United States
of America, Michelle
Obama continues to stand above
those who would attempt to distort
her leadership. First Lady
Obama’s recent commencement
address at the Tuskegee University
in Alabama exemplified her
courage to speak truth to the world
without fear of repercussions.
Michelle Obama’s resilient opti-
mism is refreshing as well as
sobering. I am certain the class of
2015 at Tuskegee will always
remember the strong and poignant
words of wisdom that they were
given during their graduation cer-
emonies. But we all can learn from
her timely remarks.
We live today in an increased
atmosphere of racial polarization
in America since the election and
re-election of President Barack
Obama. We, therefore, should
welcome public utterances that
transcend the prevalent negativity
surrounding any attempt to
address the question of race in the
United States.
Michele Obama is perfectly
qualified and strategically posi-
tioned to use her leadership in a
constructive manner to advance
the interests of Black America and
all those who struggle and cry out
for freedom, justice and equality.
As a talented Harvard Law School
graduate, devoted mother, and
loyal spouse to the president, the
first lady has risen to become one
of the most admired persons in the
world.
NNPA
C OLUMNIST
Benjamin F.
Chavis Jr.
The first lady eloquently stated,
“But here’s the thing – our history
provides us with a better story, a
better blueprint for how we can
win. It teaches us that when we
pull ourselves out of those lowest
emotional depths, and we channel
throughout the world proves our
ability to overcome the hardships
of oppression and injustice. It was
also good to hear Michelle Obama
call for Black American unity and
“banding together.”
Our families and communities
across the nation are certainly in
critical need of greater unity and
collective resolve to stand up
together to provide leadership and
direction in particular for our
youth and young emerging lead-
ers. We cannot afford to permit the
evolution of an ahistorical genera-
tion of young people who have not
‘When we pull ourselves out of those
lowest emotional depths, and we
channel our frustrations into studying
and organizing and banding together
– then we can build ourselves and our
communities up’
Michelle Obama
our frustrations into studying and
organizing and banding together –
then we can build ourselves and
our communities up. We can take
on those deep-rooted problems,
and together – together – we can
overcome anything that stands in
our way.”
In other words, we should strive
to avoid complacency and the cyn-
icism of hopelessness. The history
and the centuries-old legacy of
African people in America and
been given the truth of our history
nor given the encouragement that
they need to excel and make their
mark on history today.
In fact, over the next weeks we
will witness numerous graduation
ceremonies in particular at other
Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs). The good
news is that thousands of Black
American college graduates from
HBCUs and from other institu-
tions of higher learning will be
pushing forward to demand
greater access to wealth-building
careers with the intent on giving
more back to the communities
from which they have emerged.
Like the first lady, I am optimistic
about the future to the extent to
which we continue to stand up to
injustice while at the same time
pressing forth to economically
empower our families and com-
munities.
Education and empowerment
are both goals that must be
attained and each generation has
to rise to the occasion with persist-
ence and focus. There will be
setbacks and sometimes disap-
pointments in everyone’s life. Yet,
the enduring lesson from Michelle
Obama’s magnificent address was
that when those life challenges
happen, do not let your problems
or critics define who you are. We
have to have faith in our own
capacity to rebound and to stand
for truth even when it might not be
the popular or politically expedi-
ent.
We are a resilient people. We
resist oppression. We are against
inequality and injustice. We stand
for liberation and freedom for our-
selves and for all people. The
more we stand together, the more
we make progress. We are grateful
that in our lifetime we are privi-
lege to witness how the first lady
epitomizes what it means to be a
freedom fighter with courage and
grace, but most of all, with a glow-
ing resilience that motivates and
inspires others to excel.
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The Case for Student Loan Forgiveness
B
y the time you read this
article, millions of college
students will have graduat-
ed and be looking for jobs, many
will be going on to grad school
and millions will suddenly be
faced with paying off college
loans or contemplating obtaining a
loan for graduate studies. Neither
option is attractive.
Even if students are fortunate
enough to have a job when they
graduate, if they are laden with
tens of thousands of dollars in
debt, it will be very difficult to
save money for their future, pay
living expenses and costs associat-
ed with the job they accept, and
make $300-$600 in monthly pay-
ments for college loans.
For those moving on to grad
school, unless they have a fellow-
ship or some other kind of grant,
they will have a tough decision to
make when the loan officer at their
school or the bank says, “No prob-
lem, here’s a $30,000 check to pay
for your degree.” I hate to think
what it costs for a medical degree
these days.
At more than $1 trillion, having
surpassed credit card debt, college
loan debt is an albatross around
the necks of students, some of
whom had no idea of what they
were getting into and some who
did know but refused to do any-
thing about it until now, when it’s
too late.
With the job market the way it is
and has been for Black people for
decades, some graduates will have
an overpriced college degree with-
out a commensurate job prospect.
Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner May 20, 2015
E CONOMIC
E MPOWERMENT
James
Clingman
They will be faced with the chal-
lenge of paying back their loans
while looking for a job that does
not exist. Or, they will have to
accept the prospect of joining the
ranks of the “underemployed.”
struggling just to pay the rent and
keep the lights on.
What can we do?
High on our agenda should be a
demand made, to Congress and
whoever is running for president,
for student loan debt forgiveness.
A strong, independent bloc of vot-
ers must go to candidates in both
parties and make this demand.
Keep in mind, however, as I have
said before, a demand without
power backing it up is just rheto-
ric. I think we have heard enough
and had enough of empty words
by some of our leaders to know
With the job market the way it is and
has been for Black people for
decades, some graduates will have
an overpriced college degree without
a commensurate job prospect
This is indeed a sad state of
affairs for our best and brightest,
the grandchildren of the baby
boomers. It is said that “millenni-
als,” as they are called, are the first
generation that will be worse off
than their parents. Most parents
want their children to do better
than they did, and most parents
participate in that aspiration by
putting a little money aside to help
their children get off to a reason-
able start in life. However, in
today’s economic climate, there is
very little of that kind of help
available from parents who are
that it will take more than just ask-
ing for what we want. We must be
willing to withhold our votes in
order to get what we want—and
that goes for both parties.
The banks and other financial
entities got their $780 billion
bailout. Where is ours? Why not
bail the students out, and why not
bail the homeowners out rather
than merely “adjusting” their
loans? The bankers were given
billions that they used to make
even more money from the tax-
payers (That be us, y’all) who paid
their bills. Contrary to what we
were told, lending was curtailed
rather than expanded, and hun-
dreds of thousands of folks are
still homeless because there was
no real bailout program for them.
The so-called American Recov-
ery and Reinvestment Act, as of
January 1, 2014, had paid out
$816.3 billion in tax benefits,
grants, contracts, loans; and enti-
tlements. Who got that money?
In my neck of the woods, the folks
who got the most were those who
worked on the roads and express-
ways; of those contractors and
workers, few if any were Black.
Georgia recently embarked on a
$1 billion-plus road improvement
project, and even with 3.2 million
Black folks in that state, the fourth
highest in the nation, Black con-
tractors and workers will not
benefit as much as they should.
Department of Transportation
inclusion rules are based on Dis-
advantaged Business Enterprise
(DBE) Programs, in which White
female businesses get a significant
share of the contracts, and “front”
companies rule the day.
So with all of the barriers facing
our 2015 graduates, and the bleak
outlook for improvement of their
lot, the least we could do is bail
them out of their student loans.
Politicians said the banks were
“too big to fail,” and I guess the
bankers were “too big to jail.”
They caught a huge break from
George W. Bush and Obama. It’s
time for a break for Black and
poor people now. Hey politicians,
forgive student loans.