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
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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.