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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2018)
Page 2 The Skanner June 6, 2018 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Black Women are Changing the Tide of American Politics L 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 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. ©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 LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS ! • L i ke u s on F ebo m me • nts TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n y toda ac it Updated daily. y • Opinion nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve Check out: TheSkannerReport.com Your One-Stop Hub for Community Newspapers Throughout the U.S. ast week, the world wit- nessed something that had never been done be- fore in the history of pol- itics in the United States. Not only did Democrat- ic voters in Georgia elect a 44-year-old African Ameri- can candidate as the first-ever Black gubernatorial nominee in the state, they also made history by electing the first Black woman to be a major party nominee for governor in the United States. That’s right — former Geor- gia House Minority Leader and attorney Stacey Abrams soundly defeated her oppo- nent, former State Rep. Stacey Evans, with an overwhelming 53 percent landslide victory; Abrams won 76.5 percent of the vote compared to Evans’ 23.5 percent. Abrams will face off against the winner of the Republican primary run- off election that will be held in July between Georgia’s Lieu- tenant Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp. While much of the politi- cal conversation around the country has been focused on the success of women candi- dates as a whole, one of the primary reasons for Abrams’ dominant showing in the Democratic primary was the high turnout of Black voters, particularly Black women Jeffrey L. Boney NNPA Columnist voters. The convincing victory by Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, has created a significant amount of chat- ter in political circles about the growing success Black women candidates are having across the country, partic- ularly in a deeply southern “ We have to reach out to those who do not believe their voices matter state like Georgia that hasn’t had a Democratic governor since 2003. “I am a proud daughter of the Deep South,” Abrams stat- ed during her victory speech after winning the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nomination. “To claim our victory, to write that next chapter and live those best lives, we have a lot of work to do. We have to reach out to those who do not believe their voices matter. Who have been disappointed again and again by promises made and never kept…With your help, we will register every last person we know.” Abrams continued: “And we’re going to search out those we don’t know yet and prove they matter to us, too… In the Book of Esther, there’s a verse that reminds us that we were born for such a time as this. And now is a time to de- fend our values and protect the vulnerable — to stand in the gap and to lead the way… that is what we will continue to do — all the way to victory in November.” A victory by Abrams in No- vember would truly be a game changer relative to politics, as we know it, in the Deep South and across the country. Prior to 2003, no Republi- can had ever served as gover- nor in Georgia since Recon- struction. Republican George “Sonny” Perdue III changed that after he was elected and then sworn in on January 13, 2003. Perdue served until 2011, and the governorship in Georgia has remained in Re- publican control ever since. Then, if you take a look at the rest of the Deep South, which consists of states like Texas, Alabama, South Caroli- na, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, each of those states currently has a Republican governor at the helm, with the exception of Louisiana, where former Democratic state leg- islator John Bel Edwards was sworn in as governor in 2016. Abrams has a chance to change the overall landscape of politics as we know it, but it will take more than having her name on the ballot as the Democratic nominee in Geor- gia to make that a reality — it will require engaging exist- ing Black voters and focusing on getting newly registered Black voters to the polls in No- vember. Abrams has adopted a strat- egy focused on registering new Black voters and engag- ing more Blacks to come out to the polls and vote in No- vember 2018 than came out in 2014, when only 40 percent of African Americans went to the polls in Georgia, com- pared to roughly 48 percent of Whites. If recent history is any indi- cation, the only way the tides will turn in the favorable di- rection Democrats hope for relative to the key gubernato- rial seats that are up for grabs in battleground states this No- vember, is if there is a heavy Black voter turnout. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com Blacks Can’t Afford to Ignore Dental Health W hile Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) pro- vide a safety net, access to dental care is a big issue, es- pecially for children of color. According to the Pew Charita- ble Trusts, “tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among children in the United States, five times as prevalent as asthma, and dental care is one of the nation’s great- est unmet children’s health needs.” Why? Sometimes children’s parents simply did not arrange for them to see a dentist. Sometimes, dental services were not available in particular areas, for example, dental needs are sometimes more likely to be addressed in emergency rooms than dental clinics. And, a 2016 re- port from the Department of Health and Human Services said that dental provider shortages were at least part of the reason some children, especially low-income Black and Hispanic children, lack dental care. Children pay a big price when their dental needs are unmet. In the worst and most extreme cases, as in that of Maryland’s Deamonte Driver, children can die, because they do not have access to basic dental services. “Childhood dental decay can Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist lead to pain, difficulty eating, speaking and sleeping, and more serious infections, some of which can be life-threaten- ing,” said Dr. Diane Earle, the managing dental director for Kool Smiles. “ Children pay a big price when their dental needs are unmet To address some of the need, Kool Smiles is offering free dental care to children in need on Sunday, May 20. Forty-nine offices in 13 states plus Washington, D.C. will be open to provide dental exams, extractions, fillings, sealants, and other emergency ser- vices. The free day is open to children who either lack in- surance or are underinsured. To be sure, Kool Smiles can’t possibly provide a smile for every child, but they are tak- ing a step in the right direc- tion. This year represents the fourth year that the orga- nization has offered the free service. It’s first-come, first- serve; so if you are interest- ed, check out mykoolsmiles. com/sharing smiles, where you can register for a free ap- pointment. In the past three years more than 1,400 chil- dren have received free den- tal care, with more than 500 being treated last year. Kool Smiles hopes to serve even more children this year. Access to safe and afford- able health care has been part of my portfolio for some years. In 2015, I had the privilege of spending a week at Mehar- ry Medical College, lecturing on health policy. The chal- lenges that people of color face around health care can be distilled to the 3 A’s: Ac- cess, Assets, and Attitudes. All too often access is limit- ed, because people live in the wrong areas, because pro- viders are unavailable, or be- cause there are other reasons people can’t physically get to the care they need. Assets de- termine almost everything— if you don’t have the dollars, no matter what the proximity, you won’t likely have the care you need. Finally, the attitudes of both providers and patients make a difference in who seeks care and in what kind of care is provided. Recent work on maternal mortality among African American women, regardless of race, suggests that racial attitudes in treatment make a difference. Consider the case of our superstar, Serena Wil- liams, who almost died giving birth to her precious Alexis Olympia, partly, because of some preconceived notions about Black folks on the part of misguided medical profes- sionals. Mental health and den- tal health are the two parts of healthcare that are most frequently ignored. It is not enough to simply get an annu- al checkup. Increasing research shows that mental health and phys- ical health are inextricably intertwined. Dental health, all too frequently, is ignored. Even those with “good” health insurance may have limited dental insurance. And low- er-income folks rely on Med- icaid and CHIP, but may not have anywhere to go to get the help they need. Dental practitioners like Dr. Diane Earle, a second-genera- tion Meharry-trained dentist, stand in the gap for those who may not have access to health- care. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com
