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
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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.
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