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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2017)
Page 8 The Skanner March 15, 2017 News By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) P ete Taney knew this day would come. “I’ve been looking over my shoulders all of my life, so this is no surprise,” said Taney, the lead vocalist, banjo, fiddle and harmonica player for the popular Stroudsburg band, “The Juggernaut String Band.” Taney is talking about a published report out of the nation’s capital that detailed recent meet- ings between his family members, descendants of one-time slave own- ers, and descendants of Dred Scott, a slave who in 1857 unsuccessfully filed a suit arguing that he and his family should be given their freedom, because they had lived in Illinois and other places where slavery was con- sidered illegal. Charlie Taney, Pete’s brother, was outside the Maryland State House this week and read some of the words that his great-great-grand uncle, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, wrote in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred DAVID SCHULTZ/MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY/WIKIPEDIA COMMONS The Descendants of Dred Scott and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney Meet Dred Scott, oil on canvas by Louis Schultze, 1888. Scott decision 160 years ago: “Black people cannot be U.S. citizens and have no rights except the ones that White people give them. Whites are supe- rior to Blacks. Slavery is legal.” Charlie Taney told the reporters that, “You can’t hide from the words that [Roger B.] Taney wrote,” as he stood a few feet from a statue of his an- cestor. Roger B. Taney lived in Maryland and was the chief justice of the nation’s highest court from 1836 until his death in 1864. “You can’t run, you can’t hide, you can’t look away,” Charlie Taney said. “You have to face them.” For Pete Taney, his brother’s words resonat- ed—and it brought back so many memories. “It wasn’t something that we didn’t talk about,” Pete Taney said on Tues- day. “It was discussed at family dinners all of the time, our history. I’m just so proud of my brother and my niece to be able to stand up [publicly] and do this and take responsi- bility. I completely agree We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans. It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day’s work. A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens’ needs. Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs. Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Representing more than 5,000 construction workers in Oregon State. Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter? Go to www.NWCarpenters.org PORTLAND OFFICE 1636 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214 503.261.1862 | 800.974.9052 HEADQUARTERS 25120 Pacific Hwy S, Suite 200, Kent, WA 98032 253.954.8800 | 800.573.8333 with them.” During the event in Maryland earlier this week, Charlie Taney “ Pete Taney said. Their appearance this week in Annapolis was part of an ongoing recon- ciliation process, and a push by the descendants of both families to add a statue of Scott near the statue of the late Justice Taney, which activists have sought to remove for years. While Charlie Taney said the meeting and the statue presents oppor- tunities to learn and a chance to come together and chance to heal a na- tion—and not to bury the past, Pete Taney said he wholly supports a statue of Scott. “I believe adding a stat- ue of Dred Scott would create the kind of dia- There is no similar bill this year, and some of the activists who in the past have called for the stat- ue’s removal now appear to agree with the Taney and Scott descendants that placing the statue in a more complete his- torical context would be preferable. Charlie Taney, an ad- vertising executive who lives in Connecticut, called his great-great- grand-uncle a “compli- cated man,” but also read- ily acknowledged that he was a “stone racist.” It was Charles Taney’s daughter, Kate Billings- ley, who wrote “A Man of His Time,” a one-act fic- tional play about a Taney descendant meeting a Jackson accepted the apology from her family and ‘all African-Americans who have the love of God in their heart so that healing can begin’ turned to Lynne M. Jackson, the great-great granddaughter of Scott, and apologized—on be- half of his family, to the Scott family and to all Af- rican-Americans, for the “terrible injustice of the Dred Scott decision.” Jackson accepted the apology from her family and “all African-Ameri- cans who have the love of God in their heart so that healing can begin.” Taney asked for a hug, and the two embraced. Pete Taney said he had been there when the groundwork was first set for such a meeting. There was a workshop for a one-act play and a taping for a National Public Radio appearance. “I got to meet Dred Scott’s descendants and it was very emotional, but very wonderful,” logue that needs to be discussed openly in this country,” Pete Taney said. “Much of the stain on my family’s history needs to be discussed.” Jackson, a former law firm manager from Mis- souri and the founder of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation, told report- ers at the gathering that her family also believes that having the statue of the pro-slavery chief justice, along with one of Scott and historical information about the court decision, would be a “learning experience and an educational op- portunity.” “Add to it, don’t take from it,” Jackson said. Reportedly, a proposal in the Maryland legisla- ture to remove the Taney statue died in commit- tee last year, however. Scott descendant. The play, produced in New York last year, brought real descendants of each family together for the first time. “A Taney bringing an apology to a Scott is like ‘bringing a band aid to an amputation,’” Charlie Taney quoted his daugh- ter as saying on Monday, underscoring what the family says is need for additional dialogue and continued healing. “An apology is not enough,” he said. “But it is necessary.” Pete Taney agreed. “We’ve got to do out- reach. This country and its leaders are not doing it but we can,” Pete Taney said. “I’m so proud of my brother and my niece. Our family needs to keep having these important discussions.” Oregon Mulls Joining National Popular Vote Movement National Popular Vote compact has gained momentum since Trump’s Electoral College Victory By KRISTENA HANSEN Associated Press SALEM, Ore. — Oregon legislators are considering a proposal to elect the president of the United States by popu- lar vote for the fourth time in the last eight years. “ quire Electoral College delegates to cast ballots for the national winner of the popular vote. It’s triggered when enacted by states with at least 270 com- bined electoral votes, the magic num- ber needed to clinch the presidency. The compact is already 61 percent of the way toward meeting its goal, with When your vote counts for less than votes in other states or when your state isn’t consid- ered a swing state ... it’s hard to be motivated Oregon is among several states in- cluding Connecticut and Colorado cur- rently attempting to join the so-called National Popular Vote compact, which has gained momentum after Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory in November. The interstate agreement would re- 165 electoral votes from the 11 states that have signed on so far. Although Oregon has just seven elec- tors, it’s one of a dozen states where the compact has been approved by one of their two statehouse chambers. Ore- See VOTES on page 11