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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
Page 2 The Skanner February 21, 2018 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Skipper Osborne’s Testimony on HB 4005 Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2017 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 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. ©2018 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 BREAKING NEWS Subscribe at TheSkanner.com LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS ebo TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co m me in y o u r c o m m u n n F ac it Updated daily. • nts F ormer NAACP Portland Branch President Skip- per Osborne shared his testimony in opposition to House Bill 4005, currently before the Oregon legislature, with The Skanner News. The text of the testimony is repro- duced below. Greetings, My name is Skipper Osborne. I graduated from Vernon Ele- mentary 1964, and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1967. I received a bachelor of science/business administra- Skipper Osborne Guest Columnist tion from Lewis & Clark College Undergraduate School in 1990. I worked for the intelligence division for the United States Air Force. I am a very proud 100 percent Disabled Ameri- can Veteran. I went three years towards a master of divinity at George Fox University. I went two years of pre-law at the College of Legal Arts. I am a licensed minister. I am a for- mer President of the Portland Branch #1120 of the NAACP. I am currently founder/CEO of Truth and Justice for All, a civ- il rights organization. I have been fighting for civil rights “for all,” for the past 50 years. My comments are about op- position to HB 4005, which pro- I info@theskanner.com d ay ! • L i ke u s o In testimony to legislature, Osborne says bill could decrease access to important therapies poses to mandate biopharma- ceutical companies to disclose propriety information. HB 4005 could hurt innova- tion and ways for companies to develop medications that could help people in the Afri- can American community. For example, there are higher rates of breast cancer and prostate cancer in the African Ameri- “ We feel these new mea- sures would neither ben- efit patients nor decrease healthcare costs can population. Also we need to find cures or better medica- tions for diseases such as sickle cell anemia. The measures of HB 4005 dis- regard the fact that medicines are not the dominant driv- ers for healthcare-spending growth. Healthcare spending growth is due to other factors and healthcare services such as long-term care, hospitaliza- tion and provider services. HB 4005 could potentially decrease access to important therapies. We feel these new measures would neither benefit patients nor decrease healthcare costs. We strongly oppose HB 4005 and are ready to work with the legislature to develop real solu- tions. Such as: go after “rogue pricing” as was done with the Epi-Pen, which I am user there- of. I will be actively working with members of my commu- nity to oppose HB 4005. I hope that you take my comments seriously, and understand the damage this bill will do in the discovery and making of phar- maceuticals. Most respectfully submitted, Skipper Osborne How My Grandparents Taught Me to Love Myself Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 to y • Opinion don’t remember my grand- parents assisting me with homework beyond holding up flash cards for me to re- cite. They could have, I just don’t remember. I do remem- ber Lil’ Bow Wow’s release of “Beware of Dog” in 2000 followed by my incessant pleading to hang his poster on my bedroom wall. I also re- member hearing my mother’s inevitable “no” as she repeat- ed her “no posters on these walls” policy. In a fast-paced, tech-ob- sessed world, assisting your child with homework can prove a daunting task. New teaching methods are adopted every day. Even profession- als with advanced degrees are not necessarily equipped to help children with home- work. However, all parents should feel empowered to teach their children social and emotional development. Social and emo- tional competence yields sim- ilar academic gains as strictly educational interventions. Parents, churches, and com- munities bear the brunt of the responsibility for socializing children. This is where we, as a community, have an oppor- tunity to shine. A report from the Brook- ings Institution, published in May 2015, called for the pri- oritization of social and emo- tional development as the U.S. Congress worked on the bill that would become the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), that was signed into law by Barack Obama in December 2015. The report, titled “Social and Emotional Development: The Next School Reform Frontier,” claims social and emotional competence di- Lynette Monroe NNPA/ ESSA Public Awareness Campaign rectly correlates to a child’s ability to learn and achieve in school. The report cited the findings of a study of more than 200,000 students from kindergarten to high school who participated in social and emotional development learning (SEL) programs at school. The study found that students who completed SEL programs demonstrated greater social skills, less emo- tional stress, better attitudes, fewer conduct problems, and more frequent positive be- “ ma, grandpa, aunt or uncle saying: “Remember who you representin’, when you walk out this door.” Or, for those of us familiar with Christianity, social and emotional develop- ment echoes Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” So, what can Black parents do to supplement the lack of school-based SEL programs? Here are a few things my grandparents did. Respect Your Child’s Voice If there was a rule I didn’t agree with, my grandma al- ways took the time to hear my perspective. She didn’t listen just waiting to reply; she lis- tened intently, to understand. Most times I didn’t change her mind, but a few times I did. Those experiences taught me Parents, churches, and communi- ties bear the brunt of the respon- sibility for socializing children haviors, such as cooperation and help for other students— benefits that translate to the workplace. In November 2017, after all 50 states and the District of Co- lumbia submitted their state ESSA plans, Lauren Poteat re- ported that states were ignor- ing opportunities to address social competency in the new national education law. Social and emotional development is a child’s ability to understand and control his/her feelings, acknowledge and respect the feelings of others, and to form meaningful relationships. In layman’s terms, social/emo- tional development is the au- thoritative, waving finger of your mother, father, grand- that my voice was valid, that you didn’t’ have to agree with someone to understand their perspective, and that sim- ply acknowledging someone else’s perspective can create an environment for enlight- enment. Give Your Child Tangible Heroes There was a ‘no posters on these walls’ policy in my house. I am almost certain my grandma didn’t want post- ers of celebrities on her wall for respectability devotions. However, the unintended out- come was an elevated percep- tion of self-worth. Since, my grandma never provided me the opportunity to idolize my favorite pop stars, I learned to look to the people around me for role models and guidance. Ultimately, I learned that whatever tools I needed to succeed were already within me. I learned how to control my behavior. I held the sole responsibility for my choices and whenever I felt confused, the first people I looked to for help were in my immediate support system. Encourage Your Children I never received a reward for expected behavior. I didn’t get taken out for pizza or ice cream for good grades or behavior. Nevertheless, my grandpa never missed an op- portunity to show his appre- ciation for a job well done, either through a big bear hug or a cheesy smile. My grand- pa showed his love for me regardless of any accolades I obtained. He made it clear that he loved me; just for me. He told me I was beautiful be- fore anyone else ever got the chance to. On bad days, I still hear his voice saying, “That’s a pretty dress there. Twirl around, let me see it all the way around.” In that moment I would feel as if I was the only girl in the world. I felt we had similar interest in pretty dresses and that made him more than just my father figure; that made him my confidant. I credit this experience for my ability to form meaningful relation- ships. Neither of my grandparents graduated high school, how- ever they were able to have a profound impact on my aca- demic progress by simply val- idating my voice, providing a strong support system, and encouraging me regardless of accolades from the outside nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve
