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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2016)
Page 2 The Skanner September 28, 2016 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Arashi Young Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Oice Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2016 MERIT AWARD WINNER 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 Opinion President Obama Makes Urgent Call for Black Voter Turnout On Sept. 17, we were pleased to witness, irsthand, Presi- dent Barack Obama’s keynote address at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 2016 Phoenix Awards Din- ner; it was his inal speech, as Commander-In-Chief, at the celebration that included Black members of Congress, celebrities, civil rights lead- ers, journalists and corpo- rate partners. Thousands of guests in their black-tie attire gave the President of the United States of America a rousing standing ovation in response to his speech that focused on the progress that we’ve made, as a nation, during Obama’s eight years in the White House. But the most poignant and dramatic utterance by Pres- ident Obama during his re- marks happened when he energetically stated, “There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter. It all matters. And ater we have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012, especially in the Afri- can-American community, I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election.” President Obama empha- sized, “You want to give me a good sendof? Go vote. And I’m going to be working as Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. NNPA President and CEO hard as I can these next seven weeks to make sure folks do.” The countdown to the most important election in our life- time has begun. We concur with President Obama. The national elec- “ to the polls in Black America will once again be the single most determinative factor in the outcome of the national elections and for the future of America. We in the National Newspa- per Publishers Association (NNPA) are helping to lead the combined nationally co- ordinated Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) campaign to ensure that more than 20 million Black American voters will surge to the voting polls in ev- ery precinct throughout the ‘My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot’ – President Barack Obama tions across the nation on Nov. 8, 2016 are tremendous- ly important and crucial to Black America and to all Americans, who want free- dom, justice and equality. Beware of the false proph- ets that are predicting and even hoping for a low African American voter turnout. We deied the odds in 2008 and in 2012 with large Black voter turnouts. Now we must do it again. The best way to celebrate Black history is to make more history. The turnout of voters county on November 8. 2016. To achieve the goal of “20 Million Black Voters to the Polls,” the NNPA’s Project Black Voter Turnout 2016: 20 Million Black Voters to the Polls will work in coordina- tion with the National Coali- tion on Black Civic Participa- tion (NCBCP) that ofers an online link for voter registra- tion. Time is running out to reg- ister to vote in many states. If you are not registered to vote, do it today without delay. In addition, the NNPA will work to coordinate national GOTV eforts with the Na- tional Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Ur- ban League, National Action Network (NAN), Rainbow PUSH, National Medical As- sociation, National Associa- tion of Black Social Workers, National Association of Black Journalists, National Associa- tion For Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), Thurgood Marshall Center for Social Justice, National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NARWB), and with the Southern Christian Lead- ership Conference (SCLC), Project Black Voter Turn- out 2016: 20 Million Black Voters to the Polls will also work with the following na- tional Black church organi- zations and religious leaders: National Baptist Convention, Progressive National Baptist Convention, African Meth- odist Episcopal Church, Af- rican Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Church of God in Christ, United Church of Christ, and the Impact Net- work. President Obama conclud- ed, “If you care about our legacy, realize everything we stand for is at stake.” Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com Oregon Needs Measure 98 I graduated from Jeferson High School in 1967. Al- though I didn’t know it at the time, an electronics course I took there helped in my choice that led me to what ended up being a lucrative, 44-year career as an electri- cian. Because I loved math, I thought I would be an ac- countant. But a college path didn’t hold my interest, and I dropped out. It was by a stroke of luck that I heard about an electrician apprenticeship program. I signed up and, as they say, the rest is history. But there’s a disconnect. I didn’t set out to join the trades, I only fell into it by chance. What I’d love to see is a pipeline where young people get engaged with hands-on skills in high school that can enlighten them to a whole universe of possibilities, in- cluding the trades. Oregonians will have an op- portunity this fall that starts such a pipeline by voting “yes” in November on Measure 98. Measure 98 prioritizes our high schools by allocating a portion of new revenue for districts to spend in ways that we know improve outcomes for high school students. Measure 98 dollars are avail- able for districts to spend on Keith Edwards Retired Int’l Rep, IBEW 9th District expanding and creating new vocational and career techni- cal education (CTE) so that all high school students can take advantage of it. Right now, a lot depends on whether you “ other Portland high schools are just now beeing up CTE. These aspects contribute to our embarrassing graduation rate. Furthermore, our gradu- ates aren’t well prepared be- cause they lack basic skills — three out of four who go directly to community college must take basic education and many can’t even use a tape measure. CTE opens up new worlds to high school students. First, Measure 98 dollars are available for districts to spend on expanding and creating new vocational and career technical education (CTE) so that all high school students can take advantage of it live in the right zip code or win a lottery to a CTE-focused school. Measure 98 dollars also can be used for college prep and dropout prevention. Although Portland high schools ofer CTE, we have far too little classes available for all of our students who would like vocational education opportunities. Benson High School, the district’s CTE-fo- cused high school, consistent- ly has long waiting lists and they learn that these voca- tions exist — and that they are starting points on paths to successful futures. Students explore and discover their potential. Many young people ind out that they enjoy and are good at working in an ap- plied learning environment and/or with their hands. The relevance of school is easy to see. This will also make high school a springboard to the real world of work toward ca- reer goals. Consider these additional important facts: Expecting 100 percent of high schoolers to ind their way into the workforce via traditional college just isn’t realistic. It’s a major inancial commitment. Fact is only 28% of students that enter high school in Oregon graduate from college over the next 10 years. Measure 98 is a good investment in our human capital. In contrast, an apprentice can begin working at a mid- dle-income wage job as soon as 10 months ater entering a program. With so many baby boomer retirements and the amount of construction go- ing on in our city, electricians other skilled tradespeople are some of Portland’s most in-de- mand workers. These jobs pay $35 an hour and more for workers who are fully trained. Second, Portland’s gradua- tion rate is 71 percent — low- er than the statewide aver- age of about 72 percent and much lower than nationwide average of about 84 percent. That’s one of the worst grad- uation rates in the nation, and the igures are worse for those who are disadvantaged. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com
