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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2023)
Page 2 The Skanner Portland & Seattle December 13, 2023 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher How the Clean Energy Win in Michigan Provides a Roadmap for Other States Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager I Patricia Irvin Product Manaager Graphic Designer Saundra Sorenson Reporter Mary Reischmann Digital Content Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 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. ©2023 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 “I ebo m me • nts o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n F ac it Hear about it first. Sign up for Breaking News and Events at TheSkannerNews Ben Jealous Guest Columnist many of the power and indus- trial plants, which are also disproportionately located in these communities, will be reduced by the state’s man- dates for clean energy. This is huge for all Michiganders, and especially for those com- munities where public health “ A higher number of the homes are old, drafty, and not ener- gy efficient. is suffering from pollution. The Detroit tri-cities area – encompassing Detroit, River Rouge, and Ecorse – and oth- er parts of Michigan experi- encing the worst air pollution are predominantly Black or Black and Latino. The Har- vard Medical School Primary Care Review has pointed out that within the two zip codes that make up Southwest De- (First in a Series) Updated daily online. y f you live in Detroit or an- other part of Michigan where there’s a looming threat of bodily harm from fossil fuel pollution, it just got a little easier to breathe a sigh of relief … and to main- tain your ability to breathe in general. The historic Clean Energy Future Package and Clean Energy and Jobs Act, just recently signed into law by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, will greatly acceler- ate the state’s transition to the exclusive use of clean power sources like wind and solar. That’s a victory for Michi- ganders and for the country’s goals of slashing the pollution that fuels climate change and harms our health. It’s also a major win for environmental justice, hard-hit communities in a state, and workers. Michigan’s codified com- mitment to fighting the pol- lution driving climate change is inherently good news for the communities of color that bear a disproportionate bur- den of the effects of the cri- sis, and the benefits go even further. New incentives in the bills to make buildings energy efficient will have an outsized positive impact for these communities, where a higher number of the homes are old, drafty, and not energy efficient. Finally, air pollution from troit alone, “there are more than 150 facilities that emit toxic fumes, gasses, chemi- cals, and particulate matter.” Black residents make up 80 percent of one of those zip codes, 48217, a statistic noted at an October gathering of activists, near the Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s re- finery in Southwest Detroit, by Ember McCoy, a Ph.D. can- didate at the University of Michigan’s School for Envi- ronment and Sustainability, in discussing the dispropor- tionate impact of air pollu- tion on the city’s residents. According to 2019 figures from the Michigan Depart- ment of Health and Human Services, adult residents of Detroit were 46% more likely to have asthma than the state- wide average. And within Detroit, Black residents were hospitalized for asthma three times as often as white resi- dents. And that’s just asthma. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sci- ences says this type of pollu- tion is also known to increase rates of cancer, cardiovascu- lar disease, neurological and immune disorders, and other health concerns. And, as Mc- Coy also noted at that Detroit panel discussion, “certain pollutants, when combined, as they are in the air, are worse together than they are alone individually … but we still measure them and regu- late them as if they’re acting separately.” So, yes, a lot still needs to be done. Especially in terms of how these chemical and particulate pollutants are regulated at the federal level. Still, we shouldn’t lose sight of the positive action that states like Michigan are taking right now and the example it sets for other states. There’s a lot to be hopeful about in the clean energy bills’ impact on public health. The bills also set a powerful example for how to help en- sure a just transition away from fossil fuels with strong protections for labor. Part of the clean energy package is the creation of the Commu- nity and Worker Economic Transition Office. The office will develop a plan and coordinate efforts to address the impact on work- ers in the shift from fossil fu- els to renewables, helping to ensure that no worker is left behind. By delivering historic federal action in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden ad- ministration has already giv- en states a powerful way to capitalize on massive federal investments in their econo- mies and a green future for us all. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com “The Teaching Our Own History” Task Force LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS LOCAL EVENTS d ay ! • L i ke u s o n • to Opinion ’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for jus- tice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a hu- man being, first and foremost, and as such, I’m for whoever and whatever benefits hu- manity as a whole.” Malcolm X We have launched a state- wide task force in conjunc- tion with the Florida General Baptist Convention, Inc., Rev- erend Dr. Carl Johnson, Presi- dent, to demand that the gov- ernor of Florida and the State Department of Education teach Black history accurate- ly, factually, and forthrightly. In the spirit of Dr. King, in the State of Florida, we organized a task force labeled, “Teach- ing Our Own History.” Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Negro History Week, encour- aged us to not sit idly by and allow this system to “mis”-ed- ucate Black people. Our Task Force will present to the government a compre- hensive curriculum that cor- rectly and effectively teaches Africa and African American Reverend Dr. RB Holmes, Jr Bethel Missionary Baptist Church history to students in Flori- da’s public schools. Moreover, we will develop forty (40) plus “Freedom Schools” by 2025. We will not sit idly by and allow any governor to erase “ solutions to support and strengthen public educa- tion in marginalized com- munities • To develop and adequately support 40 Freedom Acad- emies across the state of Florida • To create significant after school programs for stu- dents in Title One schools in marginalized communities across the state of Florida, using an age-appropriate We will not sit idly by and allow any governor to erase the accurate teaching of Black history the accurate teaching of Black history. The Objectives of “The Teaching Our Own History” Task Force are as follows: • To encourage the accurate and unbiased teaching of African American history, culture, experiences and invaluable contributions in the state of Florida and this nation • To develop strategies and African American History Curriculum to strengthen reading, writing and math- ematics skills • To create summer “Free- dom Schools” to teach youth the importance of African American contributions, self-respect, and personal responsibility • To empower and encourage the three private HBCUs in Florida to develop laborato- ry schools on their respec- tive campuses by 2025 • To cultivate and create part- nerships with foundations, businesses and philanthro- pists to support programs and events that consistently celebrate the contributions of African American histo- ry, culture, literature, faith and heritage We all must redouble our ef- forts to fight for social justice, voting rights, civil rights, di- versity, equity and inclusion. The dismantling of programs of diversity, equity and inclu- sion is shameful and insult- ing. Over the next several weeks, selected members of “The Teaching Our Own His- tory” Task Force will publish articles for dissemination through The National Black Press, addressing the criti- cal components for teaching our own history. I encourage our readers to enthusiasti- cally engage in meaningful discussions in their various constituent groups and orga- nizations as we “speak truth to power.” nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve
