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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner July 12, 2017 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 Melanie Sevcenko 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 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. ©2017 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 SAVE THE DATE The Skanner Foundation MLK Breakfast January 15 2018 NEW LOCATION! Opinion Throw the Doors of Opportunity Wide Open for Our Youth “Today’s American Dream Act” Offers Path to Good Jobs, Education and Homeownership T hese are dark times in Washington. It’s no secret that President Trump and his team are working overtime to turn back the clock on our rights and divest from our commu- nities. If you want to know where the President stands on the welfare of the African Amer- ican community, look no fur- ther than his immoral budget. It eliminates programs that feed hungry kids, support veterans and help families buy their own home. Republicans are slamming the doors of opportunity for our youth. For people of col- or, those doors appear to be barricaded, chained and pad- locked. We must resist. We must re- verse their damage and pre- vent them from doing it again. President Barack Obama led our recovery from the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Together, we saved our economy and created more than 14 million jobs, more than ten times the number created under the previous President George W. Bush. But today, we are seeing that jobs are being lost; wages ar- en’t keeping up and bills are piling up. Tragically, my Re- publican colleagues’ solution Robin Kelly NNPA Columnist is more tax credits for the su- per-rich. My solution is different. It’s called the “Today’s American Dream Act” and will empow- er families with the security of a good job, a good educa- tion, home ownership and ac- cess to healthcare. “ in apprenticeships, training and re-training programs and expanded student aid for ca- reer and technical education. Additionally, my “Commu- nity College to Career Fund Act” would partner busi- nesses with community col- leges to develop curriculums that turn students into ca- reer-ready graduates. If we used these programs to fill just 10 percent of Chi- cago’s open manufacturing jobs, we’d add $105 million to our communities each year. We also need to create more jobs by investing in small For people of color, those doors appear to be barricaded, chained and padlocked Business leaders, especial- ly in the technology and ad- vanced manufacturing sec- tors, regularly tell me that they have thousands of open jobs, but don’t have the quali- fied candidates. For example, Manufactur- ing Renaissance Chicago re- ports that there are 15,000 unfilled advanced manufac- turing jobs in Chicagoland; these jobs pay an average an- nual salary of $70,000. My bill would help people get the training they need for good-paying jobs by investing businesses, funding local in- cubators and rewarding com- panies for expanding into new markets. I can tell you that our young people are ready and eager to get to work. In April, I hosted my fourth annual Youth Jobs Fair. More than 300 young people came, resume in hand, looking for a job. Let’s create jobs for them so they build the American Dream for them- selves and their families. We also need to invest in tomorrow, by investing in the science-technology-engi- neering-mathematic (STEM) fields. Right now, STEM jobs are driving our economy and continue to grow. According to the Level Playing Field In- stitute, there will be 1.4 mil- lion new tech jobs by 2020 but 70 percent will be unfilled. Despite the massive need for qualified computer sci- ence professionals, just a quarter of all high schools of- fer Advanced Placement (AP) computer science classes. Many of these schools aren’t in African American commu- nities. In fact, just 13 percent of students who took the AP computer science test were African American or Latino. It’s time to invest in STEM teachers so our young peo- ple—Black, White, Latino, Asian American or Native American—can innovate the future! The “Today’s Amer- ican Dream Act” would pro- vide aid to STEM teachers who are dedicated to educat- ing the next generation of Mark Zuckerbergs. Taken together, the “Today’s American Dream Act” will train our young people for the opportunities of today and prepare them for the possibil- ities of tomorrow. It’s time to pass the “Today’s American Dream Act” and throw wide the doors of opportunity. Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten Civil Rights D ecades of vigilant strug- gles, sacrifices and civil rights legislation en- acted in the 1960s won federal promises to ensure that discrimination is illegal and would not be tolerated. Unfettered access to hous- ing, voting rights, fair credit, public accommodations and more were celebrated as hard- fought victories for Black Americans and people of col- or. In later years, additional protections were added as amendments to safeguard the rights of the elderly, disabled, and the LGBT community. Now in 2017, a growing number of interests are open- ly questioning whether the Trump Administration in- tends to uphold these laws. More specifically, a series of federal agencies with offices dedicated to civil rights are at risk. Through budget cuts and staff reductions, these agen- cies will either outright deny or severely limit the ability to challenge discrimination that continues today. Case in point: the Depart- ment of Education’s scaling back of civil rights enforce- ment. Proposed Trump Ad- ministration departmental budget cuts will result in the loss of the equivalent of 46, full-time positions. For re- maining staff, caseload levels Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist will rise. Commenting on the sever- ity of cuts, Laura Dunn, the executive director of Surv- Justice, a DC-based nonprofit that supports legal justice re- “ handle investigations, were advised to clear case backlogs and resolve complaints in a “reasonable time frame.” Education’s OCR is charged to prevent, identify, end and remedy discrimination against students. OCR inves- tigates education complaints involving admissions, re- cruitment, financial aid, ac- ademic programs, student treatment and services, vo- cational education, housing, employment and more. Com- Proposed budget cuts could hin- der civil rights enforcement at the Education Department cently told Inside Higher Ed, “They know that they can’t complete these investigations with such a lean budget and inadequate staffing.” On June 8, Candice Jackson, the Acting Assistant Secre- tary for the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued an inter- nal memo directing all 12 re- gional Office of Civil Rights (OCR) staff of immediately begin new practices. Per Jack- son, the Education Depart- ment goal is to swiftly address compliance issues, reach reasonable resolution agree- ments and encourage volun- tary settlements wherever possible. Staff members, who plaints may be filed by an af- fected consumer or on behalf of another person or group. Under the Obama Admin- istration, additional OCR staffing in the Education Department was added to better meet the goal of clos- ing cases within 180 days. In some instances, clearing case backlogs took years, instead of days, to thoroughly inves- tigate and resolve complaints. On June 16, the nonpar- tisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights weighed in on proposed cuts and issued a lengthy statement detailing a new two-year, comprehen- sive assessment of federal civil rights enforcement. In part the statement read, “The review will examine the de- gree to which current bud- gets and staffing levels allow civil rights offices to perform their statutory and regulato- ry functions.” “The Commission has grave concerns about continuing signals from the current Ad- ministration, including the President’s proposed budget and statements of Cabinet and senior Administration officials, that the protection and fulfillment of civil rights of all persons will not be ap- propriately prioritized,” con- tinued the Commission state- ment. “These proposed cuts are particularly troubling in light of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ repeated refusal in Congressional testimony and other public statements to commit that the Depart- ment would enforce federal civil rights laws.” Other agencies that will also be reviewed by the Commis- sion include: Environmen- tal Protection Agency (EPA), Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Justice, Labor, and the Legal Services Corporation. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com
