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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2017)
November 1, 2017 The Skanner Page 3 News asking the critical ques- tions. This interview has been edited for space and clarity. The Skanner News: In your own words, how would you describe “OR- IGIN OF EVERYTHING”? Danielle Bainbridge: I think the show is really an intersection of edu- cational television and entertainment for peo- ple who have curious Kornhaber Brown had proposed a show to PBS Digital Studios and they were looking for an his- torian to fill another type of programming, similar to the other educational programs they already do for PBS. I publish oth- er creative projects and I had my CV online. So I got a call from a wom- an who was organizing casting for them and she asked if I would be in- The show is really an inter- section of educational tele- vision and entertainment for people who have curious minds minds and want to know more about unexpected histories. We try to pres- ent a lot of information and research every epi- sode —and we try to pack in everything that we can. But I think it’s also skewed towards giving people shorter and more condensed histories so that they’ll be encour- aged to look things up on their own later. So it’s an unexpected take on an unexpected topic. We get a lot of feedback from high school teach- ers, but I’ve also gotten messages from college professors who use the videos in class. And then I also have a number of fans who say, “I’m a re- tiree and watch these be- cause I want to keep my mind active.” It turns out our de- mographic is very wide open. It’s PBS, so all the episodes are kid-friend- ly. It’s definitely content that you can feel free and happy to watch with your entire family. TSN: How did this host- ing opportunity present itself to you? DB: The producers at Children terested in coming in to talk. Over the course of several weeks I was do- ing interviews and had a screen test, and I got to know the producers bet- ter. We got along really well, which was encour- aging. Then on my birth- day, I got an email in the middle of a lecture, while I was trying to focus on my students. It popped up and said, “We want to hire you!” And I thought, yes, birth- day win! TSN: Do you have much experience in television presenting? DB: It’s a funny story. I’m actually a theater major (laughs). That’s the big reveal that people don’t know. I was a theater under- grad major and I was on the speech and debate team when I was a kid, starting at about age 11. So being able to be on- stage and collaborate with other people helped me develop those public speaking skills. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com Roland Martin to Speak at Black Parent Initiative’s 8th Annual Parent Symposium News One Now Host and managing editor Roland Martin will be the keynote speaker at the Black Parent Initative’s 8th Annual Parent Symposium, which takes place Nov. 4. The symposium takes place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Concordia University, 2811 NE Holman St. Martin will speak again from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Maranatha Church, 4222 NE 12th Ave. Speakers include Rep. Janelle Bynum, Kimberly Porter, Lionel Clegg, Sidney Morgan, Valarie Pearce, Javelin Hardy and Cobi Lewis. For more information or to register, visit www.TheBPI.org/symposium. Census cont’d from pg 1 and also notes tracts with popula- tions that are traditionally hard to count. In 2010, some rural Oregon counties were in the hard-to- count range; several tracts in the Portland metropolitan area meet the hard-to-count criteria as well. And within those tracts in the metro area, reseachers note, there are higher percentag- es of populations that are hard to count, including communities of color. Between 60 and 80 percent of households in East Portland’s Rockwood neighborhood re- turned paper census forms, for example. In those households that were counted, 12 percent of the tract identified as Hispanic (regardless of race), 19 percent re- ported their race as Black (alone or in combination with other rac- es), 11 percent reported their race as Asian and about 1 percent iden- tified as Native American or Alas- ka Native, with another 1 percent reporting their race as Native Ha- waiian or Pacific Islander. “There are really two major ways that being undercounted impacts communities,” said Ca- sey Goldvale, policy and research analyst at Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. The first is that census counts impact political representation — including the number of Con- gressional seats in a state, as well as the number of representatives on school boards and in state leg- islatures. “ Being under- counted can mean that a community’s presence is not recognized For communities of color in predominantly White areas, be- ing undercounted can also mean the powers that be — including government agencies and com- munity-based organizations — don’t appropriately tailor ser- vices to the demographics of their community. “Being undercounted can mean that a community’s presence is not recognized,” Goldvale said. The second way undercounting hurts communities is that direct- ly or indirectly, decennial Census data determines how about $700 billion in federal funding is al- located to states and municipali- ties. That includes assistance for nutrition and child care, hous- ing vouchers, matching dollars for Medicaid payments as well as funding for supplemental nu- tritional assistance (SNAP) pro- grams, the national school lunch program and Head Start. “It’s a pretty long list,” Goldvale told The Skanner. In April, the Trump administra- tion’s proposed budget included $1.5 billion for the U.S. Census Bureau, calling it a $100 million increase – but it’s actually $140 million less than the $1.64 billion increase requested for 2017. Normally, in the years leading up to the 10-year Census count, Census funding is increased, Goldvale said. The Washington Post reported in April that late in a decade, funding for the Cen- sus Bureau sometimes doubles. And Goldvale notes that trend happens regardless of who holds power in Washington. “It’s normally quite a significant rampup and the past few years, Census funding is flatlining. This is also the year when they’ll be hiring people to go out and count people who don’t self-respond, and that hasn’t happened,” Gol- dvale said. “It’s definitely one of the biggest issues when it comes to having quality data produced in 2020.” Read tmore at TheSkanner.com cont’d from pg 1 racist past are evident in its recent up- tick in hate crimes. Furthermore, recent debates on fed- eral immigration policies — such as the future of Deferred Action for Child- hood Arrivals – will likely prove to agi- tate the outcomes for families and their children. “I think we’ve got to engage immi- grant communities and communi- ties of color in the discussion around where the solutions are,” continued Hunt. “Then we could begin to unrav- el some of this long-standing, genera- tional trauma and barriers that exist in Oregon for immigrants and children of color.” As an organization of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s nationwide net- work KIDS COUNT, Children First for Oregon produces statewide and coun- ty-level data out of Oregon. Hunt points to the progress that has been made in the state’s education systems through adopting culturally relevant curriculum. Those steps, said Hunt, were the result of communities of color voicing the need for such pro- gramming. “ gon lives in a low-income household, nearly two in three African Ameri- can (63 percent) and American Indi- an (64 percent) do, and more than two in three Latino (67 percent) children I have faith that with those conversations – and with the engagement of our diverse com- munities – we can make significant progress “There’s not a single silver bullet for these types of complex issues that our whole country is struggling with,” said Hunt. “But in Oregon, I have faith that with those conversations — and with the engagement of our diverse commu- nities – we can make significant prog- ress forward. We are not in a hopeless position.” “Race for Results” findings on eco- nomic disparities: • While more than one out of three (33 percent) White children in Ore- live in low-income households. • Nearly two in three (63 percent) of African Americans and of American Indian (64 percent), and more than two in three (67 percent) of Latino children live in low-income house- holds, compared to one of three (33 percent) White children in Oregon. • Nearly three out of five (57 percent) of immigrant families live on less than $49,000 per year compared to two out of five (40 percent) of U.S.- born families in Oregon. PHOTO VIA WWW.CENSUSHARDTOCOUNTMAPS2020.US “ cont’d from pg 1 PHOTO COURTESY OF ROLANDMARTINREPORTS.COM Bainbridge A new map shows census tracts that may be harder to count in the 2020 decennial census count. Tracts with higher populations of people of color – including tracts in East Multnomah County — may be at particular risk, researchers say.