Portland State Magazine Fall 2011

Porcland rare Magazine wants to hear.from you. E-mailyour comments to psumag@pdx.edu or send them to Portland rare Magazine, Office ofUniversity Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751. We reserve the right to editfor space and clarity. EDITOR'S NOTE The debate continues on "Color Matters," the cover article from the Fall 2010 magazine, and letters from the Winter 2011 issue. All are available on line at pdx.edu/magazine. Racism in our community I was very impressed with the article "Color Matters" that was published in the Fall 2010 issue of your magazine. I strongly agreed with the author's sug– gestion that a "progressive" community like Portland can overlook subtle expres– sions of bias and, more importantly, the reality of institutionalized racism. As impressed as I was with the article, I was equally shocked by the subsequent response from some of your readers in the Winter 2011 issue. One reader stared in his letter char Porcland is "not a racist city" and chat the "real reason" for economic disparity in Porcland is education. He went on to cite the original author, scaring char "one-third of the country's people of color have not graduated from high school vs. 7 percent of whites" and asserted char "This is the root cause of poverty, not racism." I have to say, I was truly astonished to read this sentence! I would be interested to know what exactly this reader believes has created such an education gap between people of color and whites. His assertion carries the attribution char people of color simply choose not to be educated. Ir ignores the more complex truth chat a deep and prolonged history of racism in every community has created barriers, both internal and external, that prevent people of color from accessing and experiencing education in the same way as whites. Ir's like raking a helicopter to the top of a mountain and criticizing people who have been climbing from the bottom for not racing with you to the summit! Brendon Bassett 'OJ Firsthand experience I wanted to let you know that I agree whole-heartedly with rhe article, "Color Matters," (Fall 201 0) and we should never forger char it continues to matter. I attended Monroe and Franklin high schools, PSU (1976-79), and University of Porcland, and my educational experi– ences left a lot to be desired, although I had both good and bad teachers, black and white and other. In addition, the job opporruniries and pay available to me in Porcland were starkly different than my white counterparts, who were no smarter, better educated, or equipped to do the job. Ir was so bad that I eventually left the city. Let's face it, racism is striking and disturbing. Further, any coalition set up to deal with it had better be truly diverse with meaningful citizens who will accomplish the goals set out versus paying lip-service for another 25 years. I am always willing to help. Cornelia Hicks Stone Mountain, Georgia Color does matter In regards to Tom H. Stanley's letter (Winter 2011), we can always find exceptions, bur color does matter; so does gender, so does attractiveness, so does money, so do political and social connec– tions, so does culture, so does religion, etc. Ir would be wonderful if we were nor so naturally biased, bur as humans, we are. Ir is overly simplistic and dishonest to say char I do not see differences. Bur it is up co us to transcend those prejudices and biases. We can do chis through hard work, education and personal sacrifice, no matter our color, our gender or our social or economic status. We should nor be so dismissive of ocher people's struggle (and sometimes failure) to fir in nor should we say it cannot be done. Priscilla Rushanaedy Continental divide The problem with Joyce Brusrand Gordon's letter (Winter 2011) is when she suggests that we refer to races by continental origin. Using the label Euro– pean Americans to identify all white people is bogus, because all European Americans are not white. Time and immigration have changed the racial complexion of the continents tremen– dously over cl1e last century. Babies of all colors have been birthed in Europe for a long rime. When her children are her age, will using continental origins to identify races be appropriate at all? Noc likely. The real irony of her letter comes in the section following her signature: "First-generation Swedish Norwegian and mother of three Asian Americans." If one were using continental origin as che criteria, wouldn't her children really be European/Asian Americans? I understand her argument about consistency in labeling, bur in making it she offended the very rule she is rallying against. And cl1at's the problem with labels. Ir will continue to be until the day we stop identifying each other by criteria unimportant to the context of the conversation. In the meantime, we shou ld strive co stop using racial labels in everyday speech unless it is purely necessary. Dee Wilke '90 FALL 2011 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 3