Page 2 The Skanner November 16, 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 Office 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 Opinion Black America’s Resilience Keeps Us Struggling Forward N obody said that the road to freedom, justice and equality would be easy. In the wake of the re- sults of the national elections across the United States, it is crystal clear that the aspira- tions, hopes and dreams of 47 million Black Americans are neither in vain or hopeless. We have been disappointed before. We have been joy- ous before. But today we are all called to be vigilant, per- sistent and resilient. As one of our sacred free- dom songs refrains in an up- beat, “Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on free- dom…ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around…Got a keep my mind, spirit and soul fo- cused on freedom…no mat- ter what happens…we gonna keep on marching…we gonna keep on shouting…we gonna keep on marching down free- dom’s road.” You have heard me affirm before within the printed and digital contours of the Na- tional Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) that our collective sense of righteous optimism and moral impera- tives were really never based exclusively on one event or one defeat or even one vic- tory. Ours is a long protract- ed struggle for freedom and equality. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. NNPA President and CEO Our brother freedom fight- er, writer and author, James Baldwin, once told me, “We have to look at the future without a moment to blink, with our heads unbowed with a transcendent determination always to rise above the cyni- cism of the day and never let “ challenged and confused. But interestingly some of our el- ders as well as many of our young activists that night and morning gained renewed strength to fight on for anoth- er day and era of progress. We will continue to pick up our pens to write and speak truth to power. We will con- tinue to publish in the grand tradition of motivating and in- forming the masses to be ever aware of what’s happening now. Every day brings teach- able moments and lessons. The National Black Voter Poll, done by Howard University’s We have come too far to even con- template resigning, giving up or throwing-in the towel giving-in to wrong creep into our souls…for nobody knows or even cares about our suf- fering if we ever stoop to be silent or indifferent after the bloody lash of history has once again hit out bare backs.” On election night, Novem- ber 8, 2016, the entire world waited for the election results into the wee hours of the next morning. Black Republicans were overjoyed and repur- posed. Black Democrats were dismayed and disappointed. Black Independents were interdisciplinary group of faculty and student scholars and the NNPA turned out to be the most accurate when it came to the Black American vote across America. Voting in our communities is not just a right; it is a histor- ic and contemporary respon- sibility. As we prepare to en- ter 2017 with a new political regime in the White House, each of us should ask, “What can I do to help improve the quality of life of my family and community?” How can I and those who I trust in the solidarity of the struggle for freedom and em- powerment work together to increase the economic devel- opment of the communities in which we reside? How can I contribute to ensuring that our children receive the high- est quality education pre-K-12 to college and post graduate? How can I help raise aware- ness about the healthcare is- sues that specifically impact our communities? How can I make a positive difference to make our world a better place? We have come too far to even contemplate resigning, giving up or throwing-in the towel. President-elect Donald Trump has been given the op- portunity and responsibility of a lifetime. Will the United States go forward? Or will the nation go backward? The answers to these critical ques- tions will not be limited to what President Trump will do or not do. Each of us will also contribute to what the future holds. From my perspective, Black America must do what we have always done. Speak out. Stand up. Keep fighting for freedom, justice and equality with renewed vigor, faith and energy. Resilience is in our DNA. 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 Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION #SkNews Trump Won, but White Supremacy Won’t Win Forever I began election night with exuberance. I was among the many who forecast a Hillary win. The only dis- agreement among my circle was how big the Hillary rout would be. I thought she’d get at least 300 electoral college votes, and hoped that she’d thump Trump by getting as many as 340, holding him to less than 200 electoral college votes. The tables were turned and Trump was the one doing the thumping, with the elec- toral vote count estimated to be 290-228 (at this writing, fi- nal counts were not in). Mean- while, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, garnering around 600,000 more votes than Donald Trump. White folks won the day for Trump in an amazing showing of White solidarity. Trump took 58 percent of the White vote, but did not get a majority vote from any oth- er racial/ethnic group. Only 8 percent of African Ameri- cans voted for Trump. He did better among Asian Ameri- cans (29 percent) and Hispan- ics (nearly 30 percent). White people repudiated Hillary Clinton and embraced Trump as one of their own, despite his racist, misogynistic, and jingoistic rhetoric. Hillary Clinton counted on White women, especially col- lege-educated White women, to save the day. Clearly, they Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist were not with her. According to Edison Research exit polls, Trump won 45 percent of col- lege-educated White women and 62 percent of White wom- en non-college graduates. “ There were nearly 900 fewer voting places in 2016 than in 2012. Further, states like Wis- consin, which Hillary lost by less than a percentage point, introduced new voter ID laws between 2012 and 2016. Clin- ton lost by less than 2 percent of the vote in Michigan, Wis- consin, Pennsylvania, and Florida. People of color were more likely to be affected by voter suppression measures than Whites. In Durham, North Hillary Clinton failed to energize the base, or transcend the indifference that too many voters felt for her Trump won 53 percent of the total White female vote. Hillary Clinton failed to energize the base, or tran- scend the indifference that too many voters felt for her. Turnout was only 56.8 per- cent, just one percent higher than 2012, and lower than the 58.2 percent turnout in 2008. More than 95 million peo- ple who were eligible to vote didn’t show up to the polls. The Republican vote was similar for Trump and for Mitt Romney, the last Re- publican Presidential nom- inee. Democrats turned out in much lower numbers for Clinton than they did for Obama. Why? Voter suppres- sion is part of the answer. Carolina, voting machines weren’t working, and a judge ruled to keep the polls open longer to compensate for the broken machines. Clinton lost North Carolina by less than 4 percent. How many more might have voted, but for bro- ken machines and other chi- canery? How many spent hours in line, and how many had to leave lines because they had to go to work? Lots of fingers can be point- ed in this post-election analy- sis, but Trump won. It hurts to write that reality down, but it is a reality we will all have to grapple with for four years. Part of the ugly reality is the realization that too many of our fellow citizens have embraced a racially divisive candidate whose rhetoric has unleashed hateful speech and attitudes. The Detroit News reported that students in Oakland, Michigan blocked pathways of Latino students coming to school, shouting, “build the wall.” These chil- dren are emulating their elders, including the “Presi- dent-elect.” Donald Trump was able to tap into the angst that too many Whites felt during the Obama presidency, and he was able to win the presidency in the name of White solidarity and White supremacy. It seems incongruous that a rich, priv- ileged, urban businessman should become the voice of the working class disgruntled, the rural neglected (Trump got 62 percent of the rural vote), and White women. But this is the new reality: the tri- umph of White privilege and hate rhetoric. Whites are just 40 percent of the population in Califor- nia, a state that gave Hillary Clinton 61.5 percent of its vote. And the Census reports that by 2044 there will be no majority group in our nation. White folks might as well en- joy Trump while they can, but time and demographics are on our side. White suprema- cy won’t reign forever.