Page 2 The Skanner February 21, 2018
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Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Skipper Osborne’s Testimony on HB 4005
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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
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lo c a l n e w s •
eve