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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2019)
Page 2 The Skanner Portland & Seattle April 10, 2019 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Is Age Discrimination Also a ‘Me Too’ in Oregon? Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor A 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 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 LOCAL EVENTS d ay ! • L i ke u s o n F ac it Updated daily online. to y • ebo m me • nts o k • learn • co TheSkannerNews s a Black woman who is also over the age of 50, it breaks my heart when we receive calls from AARP members who cannot find jobs or even get an interview in a labor market that is screaming for qualified workers. People whose jobs have been downsized or who have had to leave the work- force to care for a loved one often find it difficult to re-en- ter the workforce. Many start tapping into their retirement savings or must take Social Security earlier thereby for- going full benefits and losing needed retirement income. These heart breaking sto- ries are why AARP Oregon and other organizations sponsored a bill in the Oregon legislature to stop age dis- crimination in employment. Unfortunately, even with Ruby Haughton- Pitts AARP Oregon Director wide-spread support our bill died without explanation. AARP designed this bill to safeguard you and your fam- “ In a recent AARP Oregon survey of registered voters ages 40 and older, 62% of them indicate they have either seen or experienced age discrimi- nation in the workplace. We think that’s unacceptable. That’s why the age discrim- ination legislation is so im- portant. According to the Oregon Bureau of Labor (BOLI) and Industry, one older worker According to the Oregon Bureau of Labor (BOLI) and Industry, one older worker in Oregon files a report of age discrimination in Oregon every day ily against a form of discrimi- nation that can touch all indi- viduals as they age. in Oregon files a report of age discrimination in Oregon ev- ery day. And yet, according to our survey, only eight per- cent of workers file an age dis- crimination complaint with BOLI, their HR Dept. or the EEOC. Age discrimination is not just perception. According to research by the Federal Re- serve Bank of San Francisco, job candidates between the ages of 29-and 31 received 35% more call backs than can- didates ages 64 to 66 despite having similar qualifica- tions and skills on more than 40,000 dummy applications. It’s time to fight back and say that in our state, we don’t tolerate sexism, racism or ageism. All forms of discrim- ination must be rooted out of our society. Thank you for standing up for the rights of older workers to be treated fairly. Together we will make a difference. Student Loan Debt is a Crisis T Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 in y o u r c o m m u n Opinion here has been a lot of talk about whether or not there is a crisis on the border. I will leave that debate to the politicians. How- ever, there is no debate about whether or not America has a crisis hitting all 50 states and over 40 million people. This crisis is impacting millions of students pursuing their dreams of earning a college degree. The crisis is impact- ing millions of young people coming out of college, want- ing to be fiscally responsible and save, and buy their first home. What is the crisis? It is America’s $1.56 trillion stu- dent loan debt. Today, student loan debt is the second greatest source of individual debt, only behind mortgages, according to the Federal Reserve. Something must be done about the ev- er-rising student debt, and the Thurgood Marshall Col- lege Fund (TMCF) is taking the issue of financial literacy with HBCU students head-on. Exposing the nearly 300,000 students we represent to the host of scholarship offerings is one of our main strategies for decreasing student loan dependence. TMCF under- stands that student loans disproportionately impact minority students - with the greatest negative impact on African-American students. We have to put just as much early attention on student loan debt by providing stu- dent scholarships, grants and wraparound services, so HBCU students can persist in their studies without drop- ping out because of finances. The more scholarships we can award, the fewer loans students are forced to take, so they graduate without the strain of insurmountable stu- dent loan debt. Dr. Harry L. Williams Pres. & CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund As the wealth gap contin- ues to grow we know that by 2053, the net worth of Afri- can American families is pro- jected to hit $0, so there is a clear urgency to educate and support organizations that “ students rely on financial aid in their pursuit of a degree. Through our partnerships with many companies such as Wells Fargo, Boeing, Ally, and Apple we are providing scholarships, internships, corporate immersions, and innovation programs as well as good paying jobs. For example, over the course of our partnership with Wells Fargo, they have provided more than $7.2 million in sup- port of TMCF student schol- arships and financial literacy Finances should never be a barri- er to graduation, nor should the financial impact of earning a col- lege degree be a barrier for buy- ing a home, saving money, starting a family, and having a good credit score have direct connections to young African American stu- dents that will be entering the workforce. TMCF is commit- ted to empowering students attending HBCUs on how to secure and keep a good pay- ing job and build a career into the C-Suite, or become entre- preneurs, save money and build wealth for the future in the hopes of being great glob- al leaders that give back to fu- ture generations. Additionally, we are teach- ing HBCU students to be better college consumers, moving career-focused pro- gramming to Freshmen and Sophomores, so they can choose college course strate- gically, in order to graduate in four years, while entering the talent pipeline earlier. More than 80% of all HBCU students attend TMCF mem- ber-schools and 97% of those curriculum development and announced a $1.1 million for the 2019-2020 academic year. In 2018, TMCF provided close to $10 million in direct aid for student scholarships, sti- pends, awards, wrap-around services, and institutional grants. Those are real dollars and for the majority of the students we serve, the dollars are transformational. This is important because according to a LendEDU study nearly three in 10 college students in America are solely responsi- ble for paying for all of their higher education costs. Finances should never be a barrier to graduation, nor should the financial impact of earning a college degree be a barrier for buying a home, saving money, starting a fam- ily, and having a good credit score. TMCF prides itself on building pipelines into good paying jobs but we also have to work to ensure that those students are able to truly reap the financial benefits of their achievements without hav- ing to pay off years of student loan debt. Yes, the student loan situ- ation is a crisis that must be addressed early and often with students, parents, family members, and guidance coun- selors. We need to make this an issue on the campaign trail on both sides of the aisle in ev- ery election, not just the 2020 presidential one. Roll Call re- cently reported that there are 66 members of Congress who are currently paying off their own personal student loans or debts for dependents. “Col- lectively, the 44 Democrats and 24 Republicans have higher education liabilities of $2.5 million, according to recent financial disclosures. The median student loan debt is $15,000, while average debt is $37,000.” This is not a partisan issue and we will continue advocat- ing for bipartisan solutions and effective student finan- cial aid literacy opportunities especially for the Black col- lege community because we know they work. The student loan debt crisis can be cor- rected if we all work togeth- er to make sure our future innovators, government and corporate leaders can lead without the crippling burden of student loans. The time is now. Dr. Harry L. Williams is the president & CEO of Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the largest organization exclu- sively representing the Black College Community. Prior to joining TMCF, he spent eight years as president of Delaware State University. Follow him on Twitter at @DrHLWilliams. nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve
