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Opinion New Opportunity in the Marijuana Industry “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 L ast year, when Oregon These are not fishing li- voters legalized recre- Bernie Foster censes, folks. These are like ational marijuana, our Publisher radio and television opera- state made history. Now we The Skanner News tors’ licenses—like our air- have new and exciting busi- waves—exclusive and valu- ness opportunities and chal- able. lenges. Marijuana businesses are That’s why licenses to grow Oregon has to build a fair, and sell marijuana must be going to be heavily reg- safe and ethical marijuana shared widely so they ben- ulated. They will need to business from scratch. From efit all of Oregon’s diverse spend money on securi- seed to plant— or to plate, in communities. We can’t just ty, high-quality equipment, the case of pot brownies. let out-of-state corporations buildings and insurance. There are no tried and test- ed models. This is new. We need to get it right. And it Licenses to grow and sell marijuana must benefit all of Oregon’s must be shared widely so they benefit diverse communities. all of Oregon’s diverse communities Oregon’s new recreational marijuana industry brings opportunities for ownership as well as for employment. push out our local, small, That will take more than a There are opportunities to women and minority entre- few George Washingtons. invest, to start up a company preneurs. Business as usual Communities of color face and yes even make profits. barriers to building wealth, will not work. mostly because we’ve been denied it from birth. Our communities are full of peo- ple with energy, enterprise and vision. But too often, they simply lack the capital to meet licensing require- ments – alone, that is. Oregon should promote joint ventures that allow in- vestors from all kinds of di- verse communities to meet licensing requirements. Are you on board, Gov. Kate Brown? Are you on board, OLCC? Gov Brown: This is on your watch. This is a great oppor- tunity for all. We’re supposed to be the trailblazers here. This is our chance to show how it’s done. Let’s rise to the occa- sion. Tear Down the Walls of Economic Inequality The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 E-mail: info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com 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 unsolicit- ed. © 2015 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE- SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To view The Skanner website on your mobile device, scan this QR code • Local news • Opinions • Jobs, Bids • Sports • Entertainment • Music reviews • Bulletin board • RSS feeds A fter a spirited debate, the South Carolina House and Senate voted overwhelm- ingly to remove the Confeder- ate battle flag from Statehouse grounds at the urging of Gov. Nikki Haley, who quickly signed the measure into law. The flag was lowered for the final time on Capi- tol grounds Friday morning. Many South Carolinians hailed its ceremonious removal as a “new day” for their state as well as a fitting tribute to State Sena- tor Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine massacred at Emanuel A.M.E. Church, where he was the pastor. Revulsion from the Bible study slaughter sparked conversations all over the country about the Confederate flag. An Iowan who sold ice to Walmart with a confed- erate logo (go figure) was told he had to change his logo or sell his ice elsewhere. The U.S. House of Representatives has banned dis- play of the Confederate flag on sites maintained by the National Park Service. Mississippi Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker say the Mississippi flag should be redesigned to remove the Confed- erate symbol. At the same time, support for the Confederate flag is unwavering. A poll conducted for CNN found that 66 percent of whites consid- er the Confederate flag more of a symbol of Southern pride than racism, a view shared by only 17 percent of Blacks. While 72 per- cent of Blacks consider the flag a symbol of racism, only 25 percent of whites agree, with the remain- der of them saying the flag repre- sent each point of view equally, were undecided or expressed no opinion. Removing the flag from public places and putting it in museums is Page 2 July 15, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist a victory for those who reject this symbol of racial subjugation. Still, every economic statistic screams racial subjugation. President Obama had it right (if belatedly) when he said that employers are more willing to employ Johnny than Jamal. Last month, the Bu- reau of Labor Statistics (BLS) re- paid more than those with less ed- ucation, whites get a greater return on education than Blacks. If we want to remove vestiges of racial subjugation, we ought to pay attention to unemployment rate differentials and work as hard to eradicate them as we did to take down that Confederate flag in South Carolina. How? President Obama could sign an executive order directing the Department of Labor and oth- er federal departments to target money and programs to the inner city or, more specifically, to Afri- can-Americans. In these closing months of his presidency, he has used executive orders for other purposes. Why not Obama had it right (if belatedly) when he said that employers are more willing to employ Johnny than Jamal ported that Black unemployment rate was 9.5 percent, more than twice the 4.6 percent rate than whites experienced. Some econo- mists will say that African Ameri- cans are less educated than whites, explaining part of the unemploy- ment rate gap. Others will cite oth- er factors, such as occupation and location. Race still plays a role in unemployment rate differentials. White men and white high school dropouts have about the same unemployment rate as Black high school graduates, and high- ly educated Blacks always have higher unemployment rates than less well-educated whites. While education pays off for Blacks, as those with better educations are use one to ensure that Jamal gets treated the same way as Johnny? In addition to Jamal and Johnny, how about Tamika and Theresa? Though the unemployment rate gap is smaller between Black and White women, there are gaps in pay and working conditions. Because more than 40 percent of Black families are female-headed, low pay for Black women trans- late to different living conditions for Black families. Similar differences are measured in the poverty rate, where more than a quarter of Black families live in poverty, compared to fewer than 10 percent of White families. Average pay for an African Amer- ican family is about $31,000, compared to about $52,000 for White families. Congress has been hostile to any poverty-prevention programs, fighting to reduce food stamps programs and pushing back on Obama-backed legislation to in- crease the minimum wage. In the midst of legislative hos- tility, could President Obama do anything to lower poverty and especially the gap in the poverty rate? Certainly appointing a Presi- dential Commission to propose legislation on poverty prevention would be a first, if only symbolic. The wealth gap is staggering. African Americans have a scant 2.5 percent of our nation’s wealth. The median wealth for white fam- ilies is $120,000, compared to $7,000 for Black families. The wealth gap is partly a function of the inability for African Amer- icans to attain wealth, certain- ly during slavery and the Black Codes era, and beyond. There were exceptions, of course, but the gaping wealth gap affects the quality of life for African Amer- icans. What to do? The president might consider the Institute of the Black World’s proposal for a John Hope Franklin Commission for Reparatory Justice to explore the possibility of, among other things, reparations. Taking down the Confederate flag without tearing down the walls of racial economic inequal- ity is a partial victory. While I am elated that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has expressed her opposition to the Confederate flag as a symbol of hate and white su- premacy, I wonder if she will fight to end the institutional racism that results in higher unemployment rates, lower incomes, and less wealth for African Americans.
