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January 21
2019
Opinion
Clean Energy Measure Good For Your Health
I
f anyone is still looking
for a reason to vote yes
on the Portland Clean En-
ergy Initiative (Measure
26-201), here’s a big one: to
help reduce shocking health
disparities between those
Portlanders who live in priv-
ilege and those who do not.
The disenfranchised and un-
der-resourced communities
of Portland suffer an undue
burden of premature disabil-
ity, disease and death, which
stems directly from the condi-
tions in which they live, work
and play.
Low income persons suffer
twice as much asthma, three
times as many heart attacks
and more than three times
as many strokes than the
economically
advantaged.
Among communities of col-
or, especially African-Ameri-
cans, birth weights are lower,
infant mortality is higher and
more people suffer from HIV,
cancer, diabetes and heart
disease. These differences
in morbidity and mortality
have been amply document-
ed in studies by the Coalition
of Communities of Color,
Multnomah County Health
Department and the Oregon
Health Authority.
To be clear, health outcome
disparities have nothing to do
with genetics or demograph-
ics, or even so-called lifestyle
choices. Mountains of lit-
erature contradict the idea
Patricia
Kullberg,
MD, MPH
that people simply choose
to smoke, not exercise or eat
poorly. These choices are
always made in the context
of social, economic and psy-
chological factors. What if,
for example, no one markets
fresh produce in your neigh-
borhood? What if the nearby
“
Researchers
estimate that
social condi-
tions account
for two thirds
of health out-
comes
park is not safe to play in?
What if you’ve been bombard-
ed with ads since childhood
about how sexy it is to smoke?
Neighborhoods where low
income persons, immigrants
and people of color tend to
live in Portland are often
unhealthy. The air quality
is worse. The tree canopy is
sparser. The housing stock
is uninsulated and burdened
with vermin and toxins. Ac-
cess to healthy food, public
transportation or health ser-
vices may be poor. Jobs are
more scarce. Schools are un-
der-resourced. Families move
in and out; neighbors may not
know each other. Social isola-
tion is more common.
People of color suffer the
additional burdens of racism.
“Weathering” refers to a pro-
cess of premature aging due
to the constant stress from
the daily effects of racism:
the repeated experience of
being dismissed, disrespect-
ed, diminished and denied. A
weathering process may sim-
ilarly affect all who are mar-
ginalized, stripped of their
dignity and independence, or
deprived of food and shelter.
Researchers estimate that
social conditions account
for two thirds of health out-
comes; that living and work-
ing conditions have a bigger
impact on health and longev-
ity than either clinical care or
individual behavior.
It is precisely this sicken-
ing combination of lousy
living conditions and the un-
derlying burden of disease
that renders the residents of
Portland’s under-resourced
communities more suscepti-
ble to the ill effects of global
climate change. The Oregon
Climate and Health Profile
Report (Oregon Health Au-
thority, 2014) and the Climate
Change Preparation Strategy
(City of Portland and Mult-
nomah County, 2014) identi-
fy the populations at highest
risk for adverse outcomes
from climate change events:
persons living in substandard
housing, non-English speak-
ing persons, houseless per-
sons, people with pre-exist-
ing health and mental health
conditions and those who live
in areas with poor air quali-
ty. The ill effects of drought,
flooding, extreme heat events
and blankets of smoke from
wildfires will fall most heavi-
ly on those least able to with-
stand them.
The benefits of the Portland
Clean Energy Initiative are
targeted to low income com-
munities and communities of
color. They include clean en-
ergy jobs and training; home
weatherization; improved ac-
cess to healthy food through
community gardens or food
buying clubs; and other com-
munity clean energy projects.
The effects of building
healthier neighborhoods are
well documented: neighbors
are more likely to know and
trust each other. Crime rates
are lower and civic engage-
ment is increased. People are
more likely to volunteer and
more likely to vote. They live
longer and healthier lives. Is
this not what all of us want for
our city? If you agree, join me
in voting yes on the Portland
Clean Energy Initiative (Mea-
sure 26-201).
Politically Correct, or Perfectly Civil
A
t this writing, Megyn
Kelly is off the air at
NBC. After her horrid-
ly vapid statement say-
ing she didn’t see anything
wrong with Blackface, she
apologized the next day and
even invited journalist Ro-
land Martin on to take her to
school. Roland did a brilliant
job in explaining the history
of Blackface and the way it
demeans African American
people, and it was great that
he had the opportunity to
educate, not only his odious
host but also the millions who
watch Megyn Kelly daily. So,
Kelly tearfully apologized,
and she listened to Roland
and television commentator
Amy Holmes as they talked
about race. But does Kelly
“get” why her remarks were
so objectionable? Roland says
she does, but I’m not so sure.
She prefaced her apology by
saying that she was not a “PC
kind of person.” I’m not sure
what that means, and what is
wrong with being “political-
ly correct” if it means being
perfectly civil, informed, and
mindful of others. If African
American people say that
Blackface is offensive, it’s not
a big deal Megyn. It’s offen-
sive. Whether you know the
history or not, if members
of a group say something is
wrong, why not accept it? Or
Julianne
Malveaux
NNPA
Columnist
does your White skin privi-
lege allow you to determine
what is offensive and what is
not?
This is not the first time Ms.
Kelly has put her foot into
racial quicksand. Confident
in her Aryan-ness, she pro-
claimed that Santa Clause
“
Whether you
know the his-
tory or not, if
members of
a group say
something is
wrong, why
not accept it?
is White, and so is Jesus. To
declare Jesus White, given
his geographical roots on the
African continent or in the
Middle East, is to embrace a
special kind of both spatial
and historical ignorance. But
if you are vested in the world
being a narrow White oc-
casion, then you are free to
spew racist myths, or shall we
say, “fake news.”
On the Santa tip, since Santa
is not a real person, but a fairy
tale figment of someone’s
imagination, Santa’s race is
subject to the imagination.
Kelly seemed to have a prob-
lem with a Black Santa. Why?
Does a Black Santa offend her
lily-White sensibilities? Is
she so steeped in Whiteness
that she can’t think outside
the box? And did NBC throw
the talented Tamron Hall un-
der the bus for that? Speaks
to their own racial bias and
sense of White superiority!
It is tragic to consider that
Megyn Kelly has three young
children who are undoubt-
edly being influenced by her
warped racial views. But NBC
may, perhaps, be reconsider-
ing their relationship with
Kelly. It would be a great loss
if she were bounced off the
air, though there are some
who think she has learned
her lesson sufficiently to con-
tinue her career.
What if, instead of losing
her job, she was involved in
a “Black immersion” expe-
rience? What if she had to
spend a month in a dormi-
tory at Bennett or Spellman
College, spending time with
the young Black women she
seems not to have taken into
consideration
heretofore?
What if her conversation
with Roland Martin could be
the first of many, and she was
directed to spend time with
Essence Editor Emerita Susan
Taylor, with NNPA Chair Dor-
othy Leavell, with Jada Pinkett
Smith, with Rev. Jesse Jack-
son, and with others. Might
that make a difference for the
ill-educated Megyn Kelly? Or
maybe she should just read a
book or two.
Fifty years after the Kerner
Commission report, it is clear
that there are still two Ameri-
cas, one Black, and one White.
Two Americas, with two dif-
ferent realities and few bridg-
es to understanding. This is
why, even in all-White com-
munities, Black history must
be taught. This is why our
textbooks ought to speak re-
alistically about enslavement,
Reconstruction, Jim Crow,
and lynching.
White ignorance is a choice,
especially among adults who
can educate themselves and
expose themselves to the to-
tality of history.
Megyn Kelly chose to ex-
pose herself to Roland Mar-
tin and Amy Holmes. Too bad
she shot off her uninformed
mouth before she got educat-
ed! Perhaps she will now re-
move the term “PC” from her
vocabulary unless she hap-
pens to mean perfectly civil.
