Page 2 The Skanner February 10, 2016
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Opinion
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
How We Fight for Black Reproductive Freedom
Bobbie Dore Foster
Executive Editor
A
Jerry Foster
Advertising Manager
Christen McCurdy
News Editor
Patricia Irvin
Graphic Designer
Arashi Young
Donovan M. Smith
Reporters
Monica J. Foster
Seattle Office Coordinator
Susan Fried
Photographer
2015
MERIT
AWARDS
WINNER
The Skanner has received 20 NNPA awards since 1998
The Skanner Newspaper, es-
tablished in October 1975, is a
weekly publication, published
every Wednesday by IMM Publi-
cations Inc.
415 N. Killingsworth St.
P.O. Box 5455
Portland, OR 97228
Telephone (503) 285-5555
Fax: (503) 285-2900
info@theskanner.com
s the nation’s leading
reproductive
health-
care provider, Planned
Parenthood has a deep
history of serving the black
community to increase access
to health care for greater op-
portunities to live a healthy,
fulfilled life. Black History
Month is an opportunity to
recognize that access to qual-
ity health care is a funda-
mental right for all people to
reach their fullest potential —
regardless of gender, race or
sexual orientation. Planned
Parenthood Columbia Willa-
mette is committed to work-
ing with the next generation
of black leaders in the fight
for equity and justice, har-
nessing our collective power
to create the world we want to
live in.
Political and civil rights
leaders like W.E.B. DuBois
and Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., as well as black medical
leaders such as Dr. Thelma
Patten Law, believed that all
people need access to health
care to complete their educa-
tion, plan their lives and pro-
tect their families. As our na-
tion celebrates Black History
Month, we’re honoring that
commitment and are grateful
for their leadership in help-
ing expand access to health
care. This commitment and
leadership inspires what we
Sirius
Bonner
Planned
Parenthood
Columbia
Willamette
— as a community — do today.
Far too many African
Americans continue to face
unequal access to proper
healthcare and education
services. As a result, African
American women are dying
at higher rates than their
white counterparts due to
“
care and opportunity.
Many African Americans
have laid the groundwork
for the great strides we’ve
made in improving health-
care outcomes for our com-
munity. These leaders of the
past inspire our present and
make way for the future. And
that’s why during Black His-
tory Month, Planned Parent-
hood Columbia Willamette is
honoring leaders of the past,
present and future as Dream
Keepers.
We’re
honoring
activ-
ists like #BlackLivesMatter
founders Alicia Garza, Pa-
ers like Laverne Cox, a trans-
gender advocate and Em-
my-nominated actress on the
Netflix series “Orange Is the
New Black.” She is a leader in
talking about the intersection
of different identities and
their importance to under-
standing transgender issues.
There’s a saying that you
can’t know where you’re go-
ing without understanding
where you’ve been — and this
rings true for reproductive
freedom for the black com-
munity. The history of the re-
productive rights movement
and the black community is
as complicated as the
nation’s, but through-
out our history, we
have worked together
to break down barriers
to healthcare access
posed by poverty, rac-
ism and politics.
For nearly a century,
Planned Parenthood has
worked to address racial and
economic bias in access to
health care. We take this op-
portunity during Black Histo-
ry Month to remind ourselves
that this work is only success-
ful if we continue to develop
partnerships with the com-
munities we serve. This unit-
ed work will not only improve
healthcare outcomes for all,
but create fair opportunities
to succeed in all areas of life.
Far too many African Americans con-
tinue to face unequal access to proper
healthcare and education services
breast cancer, cervical cancer,
HIV and other illnesses that
can be detected early. And as
long as there are barriers to
economic and educational op-
portunities, as well as social
and political equity, obstacles
will also remain in the way of
full health care. Ever resilient
even in the face of system-
ic oppression, black women
have fought and continue to
fight for reproductive justice
and body autonomy. Planned
Parenthood is also committed
to increasing access to health
trisse Cullors and Opal Tom-
et, who created a hashtag
that turned into a nationwide
movement to embrace the re-
silience and importance of
black lives.
We’re honoring storytell-
ers like Melissa Harris-Perry,
who uses her MSNBC show
to elevate stories of margin-
alized communities often
overlooked by mainstream
media. She gives a visible
plat6form to those working
for social justice.
We’re honoring trailblaz-
www.TheSkanner.com
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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 unsolicited.
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whole or in part without permission prohibited.
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My Head Says Hilary, My Heart Says Bernie
I
am looking forward to
November 8, 2016, and to
voting for Hilary Rodham
Clinton to lead these Unit-
ed States. I am so extreme-
ly excited that a woman of
character, experience, and
discernment can lead our na-
tion. Even as I look forward to
the November vote, I am fully
enjoying the path to Novem-
ber. Vermont Senator Bernie
Sanders has provided tone
and texture to this race. He
has forced Senator Clinton to
hone her positions on health
care, Wall Street and income
inequality. He came so amaz-
ingly close to toppling her in
Iowa that it gave me Post Dra-
matic Stress Syndrome. She
didn’t make my drama hers,
though. She has managed,
with stoic dignity, to stake her
claim for this presidency.
My head is with Secretary
Hilary Clinton, but my heart is
with Senator Bernie Sanders.
I realize that he has promised
everything and hasn’t shared
how he might pay for much
of it — free tuition, universal
health care, or Wall Street
reform. Still, his energetic
bluster has been a galvaniz-
ing factor in a race that might
otherwise have been seen as
a cakewalk or a coronation.
Hilary needs to be pushed as
hard as Senator Sanders can
push her. And even though
Julianne
Malveaux
NNPA
Columnist
Sanders says he does not care
about her “damn e-mails,” the
e-mail conversation has to
remind Senator Clinton that
she has to figure out ways to
restore trust among those
“
and her work fairly.
That’s not why I’ll vote
for Hilary, though. I’ll vote
for her because she is a cen-
ter-left moderate.
She isn’t perfect and may,
indeed, be fundamentally
flawed (as most politicians
are), but she has been a con-
sistent advocate for the least
and the left out – for children
and for elders. Is she weak
on Wall Street reform? Abso-
lutely. But as Bernie Sanders
pushes her, she gets stronger.
Hilary needs to be pushed as hard
as Senator Sanders can push her
who support her positions
but look askance at the ways
she has been too frequently
presented.
There is an element of sex-
ism to this.
Were she a man, would she
be judged as harshly because
some find her “unlikeable”?
Would her every facial ex-
pression be parsed? Would
opponents feel free to com-
ment on her marital busi-
ness?
I cringe whenever she says,
“I am woman,” or “the only
woman,” or some reference
to her clear self-evident gen-
der. But I also cringe when the
gender-bashers seem incapa-
ble of interpreting her words
A year ago, many predicted
this race as a dynastic smack
down, with Jeb Bush and Hila-
ry Clinton winning primaries
toe-to-toe. Who would have
thought that an unhinged
demagogue, Donald Trump,
would suck much of the air
out of the Republican space,
leaving babbling bumblers
to confuse adhominum igno-
rance with issues?
The collective performance
of the Republican team could
not equal that of either Sand-
ers or Clinton, but those R’s
keep slogging on. To what
end?
Do we really want a Presi-
dent who will trash talk Pu-
tin, Mexico and the United
Nations? Do we want sons of
immigrants who so vilely dis-
respect their ancestors that
they’d offer punitive possibil-
ities for citizenship?
I’m not really torn between
my head and my heart.
I’m simply enjoying the ex-
citement of Bernie Sanders,
and the way he has galva-
nized young people, espe-
cially, to become politically
engaged. I am hoping that his
commitment to the process
is such that he will encour-
age his supporters to remain
involved, even after Hilary
wins the Democratic nomina-
tion. And I’m sad that a wom-
an who might knock it out of
the park can also be kicked to
the curb if this campaign be-
comes corrosive.
Congressman
Stephanie
Tubbs Jones stuck by Hilary
Clinton in 2008 even after
then-Senator Barack Obama
entered the Presidential race
and earned the endorsement
and support of many “main-
stream” African Americans.
Stephanie and Hilary had
“heart” with each other.
As a woman, Hilary can’t out
shout Bernie without appear-
ing shrill. She can’t out-snide
him without appearing cruel.
But she can out heart him if
she channels Stephanie’s en-
ergy. Stephanie Tubbs Jones
was in it to win it.