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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2018)
Page 2 The Skanner July 25, 2018 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Congress Must Stop Family Separation 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 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 SPECIAL SECTION: on F ebo m me • nts TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n ! • L i ke u s ac it BACK TO SCHOOL August 15 y toda 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. Like many Americans, the treatment of children and families at the border has shaken me to my core. San Diego-based U.S. Dis- trict Court Judge Dana Sa- braw has essentially said to stop defying the courts and reunite these families. The deadline to reunify parents with children under 5 was July 10th, and the dead- line to reunify children five and older is July 26th. The Administration has asked for an extension saying it would need more time to recon- nect parents and children in certain cases. They have re- quested an extension to the deadline, but the court is still monitoring and it has yet to be granted. It’s no secret that Donald Trump views immigrants with disdain. He has called Mexicans “rapists” and re- ferred to immigrants as “ani- mals.” The Trump Administration has embraced nativist dog whistles from day one. Nowhere is this clearer than in the shameful “zero tolerance” policy pursued by President Trump, which has separated families, locked kids in facilities, and trauma- tized innocent children. Families come to this coun- try seeking asylum. They undertake grueling, danger- Rep. Barbara Lee D-Calif. ous journeys in the hope that America will provide safe harbor from the violence that they are fleeing. Some are es- caping domestic abuse, oth- ers have come to our shores to save their families from gangs. None expect to have their children ripped from their arms when they finally reach safety. Two weeks ago, I travelled to McAllen, Brownsville and Los Fresnos, Texas to visit detention centers and see the situation firsthand. I wit- nessed terrified kids sleeping on cold concrete floors. I saw scared toddlers separated from their families. I heard from mothers unsure if or when they would see their children again. Some parents didn’t even have a phone num- ber to reach their children. This is not the first time in America’s history that we have separated young chil- dren of color from their par- ents. It happened during the Middle Passage. It chills me to the bone to know our government would repeat this dark history of jailing children and splitting up families. Before the abolition of slav- ery, children of Black slaves were sold by owners at will. This was a constant fear for enslaved families—that their beloved children would be sold away, never to be seen again. Starting in the 19th centu- ry, Native Americans were forced to send their children to government or church- “ The Trump Administra- tion is repeat- ing the mis- takes of our past run boarding schools, known as “Indian Schools.” There, these children were stripped of their culture, forced to cut their hair and given new names. These schools existed in America until the 1970s. America also has a long his- tory of jailing entire families, like the Trump Administra- tion now wants to do with asy- lum seekers. Who can forget the devastating internment camps of the 1940s, where people of Japanese ancestry were forced to live during World War II. This policy was such a source of nation- al shame that in 1988, the U.S. government signed legisla- tion formally apologizing and providing restitution to in- terned Japanese-Americans. Instead of learning from our painful history, the Trump Administration is re- peating the mistakes of our past and inflicting more trau- ma on families seeking safe harbor from the violence and abuse they left behind. And now, rather than pro- posing real solutions, the Trump Administration wants to lock immigrant families up indefinitely. Let me be clear: jailing children is unaccept- able under any circumstances. Ending the policy of sepa- rating families—but forcing kids to live in jail for months on end—is just replacing one form of child abuse with an- other. These human rights viola- tions must be addressed im- mediately. I have asked UN Secre- tary-General Anthony Gu- terres to send observers to report on the conditions at detention facilities and to ensure the thousands of chil- dren who have been separat- ed from their parents are re- united. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com You Don’t Have to Break the Bank to Give Back E arlier this year, a man named Jack Weldon Patrick passed away in Menomonee Falls, Wis- consin. A long-time lawyer, Patrick was remembered as a family man, an advocate for social justice, and a respected community leader. One day a check arrived by mail for the Thurgood Mar- shall College Fund (TMCF) in memory of Jack Weldon Pat- rick. A few days later, another one arrived, and a few weeks later, another check. Individ- ual donations kept coming to support the work of TMCF and our publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in honor of Jack. His obituary read, “in lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial do- nations in Jack’s name to caus- es he cared deeply about.” One of those causes was TMCF. So many of us outside of TMCF headquarters and Menomonee may have never known Jack as a stalwart of access and opportunity for students attending Black col- leges. Many of us aren’t even aware that Jack was part of the reason why in 2016, pri- vate giving and contracts earned by HBCUs increased for a second straight year, posting a four-year high of $320 million. But we do know he was a living embodiment Dr. Harry L. Williams Pres. & CEO Thurgood Marshall College Fund of the famous quote by Nelson Henderson: “The true mean- ing of life is to plant trees, un- der whose shade you do not expect to sit.” While philanthropic ano- nymity is honorable, philan- thropic leadership helps or- ganizations like TMCF reach new supporters, encouraging new donor circles to give. Showcasing the faces and sto- ries of those who give is an important tool in cultivating similar donors, encouraging a culture of giving around our campuses. This is a criti- cal strategy that grows an or- ganization’s base of support every year. For non-profit organizations, individual giving is the largest type of charitable gift – four times the amount as the next largest category in 2015, according to Giving USA. Organizations like TMCF thrive due to the generosity of individuals who believe in our work and want to expand our impact, through monthly and annual donations, as well as the legacy gift. TMCF com- bines these individuals’ gifts with foundation grants and partnerships with major cor- porations and government agencies to provide the funds that allow us to transform lives. It takes a philanthrop- ic village to develop young minds, and we are humbled to be good stewards of the re- sources that our donors and partners entrust to us. TMCF, its 47 mem- ber-schools and the nearly 300,000 students attending them each year, want to play “ Anyone believing in the power of education to transform lives should invest in HBCUs a role in redefining HBCU philanthropy and support. The data on finances and the number of degrees we pro- duce in areas like STEM, ed- ucation, social sciences and criminal justice already show just how productive HBCUs continue to be in graduating Black students. Seventy per- cent of our publicly-support- ed HBCUs attendees are first generation college students (like I was) and eligible for Pell Grants. In comparison, the national average is only 37 percent for all public schools. By providing this quality ed- ucation, students transform their lives and prepare to en- ter economically sustainable careers. Now TMCF wants to illustrate that same culture within our giving networks. Anyone believing in the power of education to trans- form lives should invest in HBCUs. This includes alumni who want to have a tangible way to support their schools. All people in our networks at work, at church, in our com- munities, fraternities and sororities, and other circles of activity are worthy of solic- iting for support. Age, earn- ings and personality are not elements for disqualifying those who might be willing to give, or those who have the ca- pacity to do so. TMCF member-schools like North Carolina Central University are experiencing record gains in gifts secured from younger donors. Texas Southern University recently raised more than $1M at its an- nual Maroon and Gray gala, an event which just in its sec- ond year which has cultivated new supporters for the uni- versity and has raised nearly $2M for student scholarships and institutional support.
