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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2016)
Page 2 The Skanner June 22, 2016 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Opinion Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher NNPA Journalism Scholars are Breaking the News Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor T Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Arashi Young Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Oice 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 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 unsolicited. ©2016 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Paciic NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION #SkNews oday, we are exposed to 10-minute news seg- ments six times per hour in a 24-hour news cycle on television and the radio. Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are now used for instanta- neous news, commentary, and the sharing of perspec- tives by hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. Yet Black-owned newspa- pers in the United States re- main in high demand even amidst the growing digital age of communications and multimedia news services. Social media compliments and extends the reach of the Black Press. Thanks to Chevrolet, the Discover The Unexpected (DTU) NNPA Journalism Fel- lows Program is giving un- dergraduate student scholars from the Howard University School of Communications the opportunity to “Break News” in Detroit, Chicago, Washington, DC, and in At- lanta. Tatyana Hopkins, Sid- nee King, Briahnna Brown, McKenzie Marshall, Bran- di Montgomery, Brelaun Douglas, Victoria Jones, and Rushawn Walters are all now working with NNPA member newspapers in the aforemen- tioned markets. On the ground and in the streets, these gited and tal- Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. NNPA President and CEO ented young journalists are helping not only to bridge generations concerning vital news coverage, but they are also using multiple media platforms to help reach new readers across the nation and global community. As more young readers are now con- “ eates informed opinions. For more than 189 years, the Black Press in America has represented the best in presenting the facts, news, struggles and triumphs of Af- rican American life and em- powerment. The baton is now being passed to a generation of journalists and publishers who are equally fearless, cou- rageous, and articulate. We are proud of the oppor- tunity and the engagement that the DTU program is of- fering to the NNPA family and community of publishers and media owners throughout the tiges of slavery, racism, injus- tice, and inequality. The Black Press is, today, the most capa- ble and responsible vehicle to continue to strive toward ful- illing the goal of racial, social and economic equality. President Obama stated, “Juneteenth is a time to re- commit ourselves to the work that remains undone. We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow’s light. Today, no matter our race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, we recommit ourselves to working to free These gited and talented young journalists are helping not only to bridge generations concerning vital news coverage, but they are also using multiple media plat- forms to help reach new readers suming their news, sports coverage, and cultural aspi- ration via the Black Press, the future sustainability of Black- owned newspapers is further assured. The point here is that the printed Black Press in Amer- ica is content rich and there- fore is invaluable in today’s context of national and inter- national content distribution. There is a substantive difer- ence between sensationalism to get media attention and good journalism that renders objective facts and that delin- nation. Already some of our NNPA Fellows’ news entries have made the front pages of our newspapers. In addition, the published stories by the NNPA Fellows have signii- cantly increased the NNPA’s media impressions via social media. It should be noted here that President Barack Obama on the occasion of the White House observance of the 2016 Juneteenth Celebration com- mented on the importance of continuing the struggle against all the lingering ves- modern-day slaves around the world and to honoring in our own time the eforts of those who fought so hard to steer our country truer to our highest ideals.” Learn more about the Dis- cover The Unexpected (DTU) program at http://www.nnpa. org/dtu/ and use the hashtag #DiscoverTheUnexpected on Twitter and Instagram. Follow us on Twitter @BlackPressU- SA and @NNPA_BlackPress and like our Facebook page at NNPA Black Press. McCain Foolishly Blames Obama for Massacre in Orlando T he cretin who took an assault weapon into Pulse, an Orlando night- club, on “salsa night” is beneath contempt. Was his target the LBGTQ communi- ty, Latinos, or simply human beings? Ater all, it is some- what reductive to simply de- scribe Pulse as a “gay club.” It catered to the LBGTQ com- munities and allies. Some of those who were massacred were not gay. They just want- ed to dance. In the wake of the massa- cre of 49 people, and the in- jury of another 53, the net- works have ofered sunup to sundown coverage. Analy- sis and opinions have been more than plentiful. Some of the most disgraceful com- ments came from Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who blamed President Obama for the massacre in Orlando. To be sure the Senator quick- ly retracted his words and said that he “misspoke.” But he started out by saying that he held President Obama “di- rectly responsible” for the massacre in Florida. He ex- plained that, because Presi- dent Obama pulled U.S. troops out of Iraq, he created the vac- uum that ISIS formed to ill. Florida’s Republican Gov- ernor Rick Scott is another Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist politician who has made un- fortunately inappropriate statements. Delecting ques- tions about assault weapons, he says he prefers to talk about eliminating ISIS. He “ second amendment rights to restrict their right to as- sault weapons. One does not need a automatic weapon and thousands of rounds of am- munition to protect oneself or, for that matter, to “hunt.” Whenever those NRA folks start talking about hunting, though, I really want to know what (who) it is they want to hunt. It is entirely appropri- ate to restrict access to assault weapons, but for some reason rabid Republicans resist. While it is appropriate to talk about managing ISIS, it is also ap- propriate to talk about the easy access that anybody has to assault weapons behaves as if legislators have only a one-track mind. While it is appropriate to talk about managing ISIS, it is also ap- propriate to talk about the easy access that anybody has to assault weapons. If you are on the no-ly list, the adage goes, you ought to be on the no-buy list. Not that it helps as much as it should – there are too many ways to buy guns, ammunition, and body armor legally and under the table. It does not erode anyone’s President Barack Obama has had to take on the role of Empathizer-in-Chief several times during his presidency. In the last year, he has had to deal with the shootings at Emanuel AME Church (June 2015, nine casualties), at the Chattanooga Recruiting Cen- ter (July 2015, 4 casualties), Umpqua Community College (October 2015, 10 casualties), the San Bernardino Commu- nity Center (December 2015, 14 casualties) — and now the tragedy in Orlando. He has been consistent in calling for assault weapons bans -- and his opponents have been con- sistent in opposing such bans. And they have been irrespon- sible in their rhetoric of oppo- sition. Sen. John McCain stands at the tip of the iceberg. Donald Trump is worse. He has said that our President is sympa- thetic to ISIS terrorists. Like McCain, he quickly suggest- ed that President Obama has some culpability in the Orlan- do massacre. What nonsense! Trump should be ashamed, if he is capable of such, for turning a tragedy into political manipu- lation. So should McCain. In the wake of a tragedy, our nation’s leaders ought to follow our President’s lead- ership in ofering empathy. We ought also look at ways to prevent further tragedy. Ban- ning assault weapons is one way to ofer some solutions, and some Democrats have attempted to deal with that, despite resistance. Loose lips are inappropriate in the wake of this tragedy. Shame on you, Donald Trump and John Mc- Cain, for attempting to turn tragedy to your political ad- vantage with your foolish words.