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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2015)
Opinion Blacks Need to Join Economic Discussion --“Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor J ERRY F OSTER Advertising Manager C HRISTEN M C C URDY News Editor P ATRICIA I RVIN Graphic Designer A RASHI Y OUNG D ONOVAN M. S MITH Reporters 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 O ne’s worldview or social perspective is informed by a matrix of different socioeconomic and political cir- cumstances. A polling of Black America about the current “recov- ery” of the economy of the United States would produce a dramati- cally different set of responses from the polling results of White America. That is because the vast economic inequality between Blacks and Whites in the U.S. today appears to be escalat- ing. According the latest reports from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the steady overall pace of the recovery of the econo- my continues to grow and expand. Yet while there was a .7 percent decline in the economy for the first quarter of 2015, the forecast for the remainder of 2015 looks very favorable and prof- itable, especially for those who are already wealthy. I have always believed that Black Americans should become much more aware of the economic trends that are affecting the U.S. economy as a whole. Too often we get left out of the national discus- sion concerning the economy because we do not consistently articulate the overall daily nation- al economic interests of 45 mil- lion Black Americans. While it is important to continue to cite the fact that the current annual Black American spending in the U.S. economy totals more than $1.2 trillion, how do we real- NNPA C OLUMNIST Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. ly leverage that fact to help empower Black American fami- lies and communities to get out of poverty? Economic productivity is not just about how much a per- son or a group spends. Economic productivity is also about how to the point that it is now being called the “racial wealth gap.” The state of Black America’s economy has to be a priority issue that is addressed in every munici- pality and in every state where Black Americans are concentrat- ed. This also needs to be addressed as well at the federal level not once a year but every day of every month in each of the four quarters that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is determined and debated. The GDP, as defined by the U.S. Department of Com- merce Bureau of Economic Analysis, is the value of the aggre- gate production of goods and Black American economists and professionals in the financial services arena should formally issue on a quarterly basis a report on the Black American GDP much a person or a group pro- duces, invests, and leverages to achieve sustainable financial development and empowerment. The wealth gap between Black and White Americans continues grow wider. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2011 that the median White household had $111,146 in wealth holdings, compared to only $7,113 for the median Black household. Four years later, that gap has widened services in the United States and that is adjusted for price changes. Black American economists and professionals in the financial serv- ices arena should formally issue on a quarterly basis a report on the Black American GDP. Do not misunderstand what I am calling for or the reason for doing such a report routinely each quar- ter. This is not just about statistics. This is about the need to make the national economic debate more inclusive of the economic inter- ests of the Black American com- munity. We are grateful to the National Urban League for its annual report on the State of Black America that is published each year. Its 2015 report, State of Black America® – “Save Our Cities: Education, Jobs + Justice,” that documented the facts that economic inequality between Black and White Ameri- cans was rapidly increasing across the nation. Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, emphasized, “Black America is in crisis – a jobs crisis, an education crisis and a justice crisis.” I agree with Morial and I would add that Black America’s crisis today is also an economic crisis. We should remain vigilant and not let the disparities or the increasing economic inequalities break our spirit. We have been through hard time before today and we will face hard socioeco- nomic times in the future. Our ancestors did not let racism, injustice and inequity break their collective and individual determi- nation to make progress even in the face of brutal and institutional- ized oppression. Our struggle and labor for eco- nomic equality will continue in America and throughout the world. Let’s keep pushing forward to advance the social and economic progress of Black America. 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 Associ- ation 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. © 2015 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Justice is Not Blind – Nor is it Colorblind W hen racist attitudes, either conscious or sub- conscious, are com- bined with the discretionary powers that law enforcement offi- cers have, the result is a differen- tial outcome, with African Americans more likely to be the targets of “blind justice.” Most of our politicians and lead- ers are exploiting subconscious racism, and pandering to explicit racial fears. Even worse, they are rewarded when they say they are “tough on crime.” Soledad O’Brien documented some of these attitudes in her most recent “Black In America” series. Included was an interview with a young Black man was stopped more than 100 times as he stood outside his college. Of course, he’d done nothing wrong, but police officers, “doing their duty,” felt free to harass him. In a more telling segment, two young men, one Black and one white, staged the “stealing” of a bike to show how members of the public responded to watching the apparent theft. The young men were dressed similarly – T-shirts, casual pants, caps. People walked by as the white guy did everything he could to break the lock on the bike, including using a chain cutter. One even offered to help him take “his” bike, even though he acknowledged it was not his. Within moments of the Black man approaching the bike, white people, one or two of whom called Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner June 3, 2015 B ENNETT C OLLEGE Julianne Malveaux 911, surrounded him. As opposed to the benign response the White guy got, the Black guy was simply assumed to be a criminal. How does this play out on the streets and with officers of the Pantaleo could have told Garner to move on, or he would risk arrest. Instead, Pantaleo and his posse of lawless cowboys chose to kill the man. Would a white man be similarly treated, or did uncon- scious racism play into the callous way Eric Garner was treated? During the late 1990s, Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s “stop and frisk” policies resulted in African Amer- ican men being stopped more than five times as frequently as Cau- casians, even though these frisks led to nothing more than the humiliation of Black men, some simply coming off the subway or walking down the street. Hispanic men were stopped about three A young Black man was stopped more than 100 times as he stood outside his college. Of course, he’d done nothing wrong, but police officers, ‘doing their duty,’ felt free to harass him law? Police officers use their dis- cretion selectively. A Black man (Eric Garner) selling loose ciga- rettes is manhandled, arrested, and dies when he is choked and cannot breathe. Most have seen the video by now, and wonder why Daniel Pantaleo was not charged with any crime, even though he used an illegal chokehold on Garner. times as often as Caucasians. White men were stopped and frisked less frequently than others. Unconscious racism? Discretion? The law sanctions both. Stop and frisk incidents increased dramatically with no concomitant increase in crime. However, since New York Mayor Bill Blasio took office, the num- ber of stop and frisk incidents has dropped by almost three quarters, again with no increase in crime. It appears that whether stop and frisk occurrences are aggressive or gentle; the incidence of crime does not increase. There are many occurrences where police can make discre- tionary decisions. First, they can decide whom to stop. Then, when they stop, they don’t have to arrest or frisk. A simple conversation that explains the reason for the stop will yield a more favorable outcome than wrestling someone to the ground, knee in his or her back, or handcuffing someone without explaining why. Police resistance to the use of body cameras suggests these offi- cers know that they are out of order in dealing with the public. Once someone is arrested, the police have the right to charge him or her with a minor crime or let them go. Finally, prosecutors can decline to bring charges. All of these decisions can be minimized or maximized, based on discretion. Justice is not blind when police officers use discretion to stop one segment of the population to harshly mistreat and let the other population slide. If police officers wonder why there is antipathy and distrust toward them in the African Amer- ican community, somebody needs to tell them that their use of dis- cretion suggests that justice is hardly blind.
