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SR editorial: The alarm has sounded. Are progressives listening?

Wall Street protests. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

It’s easy to think that in a country as massive as the United States, individuals are alone and isolated from doing anything to really alter the course of the current state of affairs, here or abroad. The momentum for the progressive movement feels almost nonexistent.

That is until you look beyond our own city on a hill to realize that the world today is actually alive with progressive social movements  — it’s just a matter of having the right set of circumstances and group of people willing to sustain them. When does enough become enough?

No one expected the masses (helped by technology) in Egypt, Syria and Palestine to create non-violent social movements that would turn their own countries and the world upside down.

And while it’s true that the outcomes are still unknown in those countries. What is known is that when people unite behind each other, and support one another’s collective will to say enough is enough, big things can happen.

Why not dream big?

When you look at the current Occupy Wall Street actions that are taking place, it’s almost as if progressives are collectively holding there breath, hoping something more will happen. Will it amount to anything? What possibly could come of a small group of people waving banners and chanting, “No justice! No peace!” Well, not a lot. Unless that group swells, and enough are willing to carry on.

That’s what is happening in New York currently where thousands of people are simply not leaving Wall Street. From faraway Portland, a city that once knew a thing or two about non-violent direct action, it feels like the protests aren’t so much a response from Wall Street directly, but a distress call to the rest of the country to respond.

The real question then isn’t what the Wall Street protests mean, or how effective they will be in changing Wall Street, it is are we listening, and more importantly, are we willing to stand up and say enough is enough.

Other cities and countries have seen a spark — London, Paris and Madison. Nothing has stuck. As of press time, there are scores of cities around the country, including Portland, holding actions in solidarity.

Now, we know what you’re thinking. Another protest, really? Won’t it just be the  a bunch of poverty groups like Street Roots, and other predictable protesters? Maybe it will and it will go nowhere. We hope that it would be more.

From the photos and videos we’ve all seen in New York, it sure doesn’t look like just the typical riffraff out making a statement. It looks like common everyday folk — the same kind of folk that packed Waterfront Park to see Barack Obama speak three-plus years ago. The protests in New York look like the same people in Portland that are forced to choose between child care, bus transportation and being able to look for a job. The same people who have been on the unemployment lines for months, if not years, and have to choose between the water bill and not having a place to live.

It’s high time we stood up and made a statement as progressives. Now is as good a time as any, and if we think things are bad now, wait and see what happens if we do nothing. Join in and make your voice heard in Waterfront Park, Oct. 6 at noon.

Extra! Extra!

It’s that time again to catch up with your friendly neighborhood vendor and get the latest news from Street Roots. Tomorrow morning, vendors will be out at their posts with a new edition, featuring a reader survey we hope you’ll take a moment to complete. Here’s what also on tap:

Jenny Conlee’s fight song: The accordion player and keyboardist with the Decemberists talks frankly about her cancer, and what the road ahead looks like now.

Parks bureau to create new rangers to patrol public parks: Portland Parks and Recreation has long contracted with the business community, which then subcontracted out services to provide security in downtown parks. Now the parks’ bureau is looking at shifting some of those daytime responsibilities to full-time park rangers, with closer ties to City Hall.

 The candid candidate: Jeri Williams offers up her own brand of politics as she puts herself into the race for Randy Leonard’s City Council seat.

Occupying Wall Street: A photo essay on what’s happening on Wall Street in New York, where hundreds of demonstrators have taken over the streets to protest politics, war and, well, pure and simple greed.

Needy families show strain from state cuts: TANF programs, already slashed earlier this year, drop again Oct. 1, and as programs get whittled down, families are losing their grip.

All in good faith: Oregon’s Muslim community has become an unexpected haven for families in need

By Stacy Brownhill, Staff Writer

Zakat, one of the pillars of Islam that obliges all Muslims to practice charitable giving, is at the heart of Islamic Social Services of Oregon State (ISOS). In the nine years since it started, the little-heard-of nonprofit has helped at least 300 families, Muslim and non-Muslim, with $300,000 of financial support.

In contrast, Muslim Americans are still more likely than other religious groups to report discrimination, even though the vast majority say they are loyal to the United States, according to a Gallup poll released in August. And testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year showed that anti-Muslim bigotry has significantly risen in communities, workplaces and schools since Sept. 11, 2001.

Laila Hajoo, president of ISOS, started the 501(c)(3) partly to raise awareness. “There is no more effective way to get people to listen to our message of friendship than when they need help,” says Hajoo.

Street Roots sat down to talk with ISOS’s president on everything from their charitable cases to her thoughts on Muslim-American relations after 9/11 and the controversial bombing plot in Pioneer Courthouse Square earlier this year.

Stacy Brownhill: What services does ISOS provide, and is it just for Muslims?

Laila Hajoo: In the beginning, we served only Muslims and mostly refugees. But that scope was limited. There were other people that needed help. Now we serve everyone of all faiths in Oregon and southwest Washington, whether you’re Muslim or non-Muslim.

Our cases are really unique. Over 45 percent of the people we help are single mothers. A large percentage are disabled. We look at each case based on its individual merits and try to sit down with each person and look at what’s happened and how she can lift herself up by her own bootstraps. We ask applicants to come up with a self-sufficiency plan, and we want to see what other agencies they’ve gone to first. Once we figure out what additional services she needs, then we reach out.

One woman lost her family’s whole income when she lost her job teaching and her husband returned home from Afghanistan. She came to us. When her husband found out that an Islamic social services organization was helping his wife, it really hit him — how can he look at a person (in Afghanistan) who may be innocent and find out that a Muslim organization is helping his wife at home?

Another female client wears the full veil, has two young daughters, grew up in the U.S., and cannot get hired for a job. Every employer has said she needs to remove her veil. Even DHS told her she needed to remove her veil in order to assimilate. She’s faced enormous challenges because people think of her as a hostage, even though she’s wanted to wear the veil since she was 13. We’ve been supporting her with rent and food for years. She’s hoping to get a job with Intel.

I think the best solution for these women is to create your own business. Islamic Relief USA is piloting a program in Washington D.C. that would provide seed money for small, home business proposals.

For Ramadan fasting during the month of August, we have a fundraiser to buy Winco food cards. That way people can shop for food they want to eat. Throughout the year, we also provide hot meals and moving assistance.

Hip-Hop and Homelessness with KRS-One

As the “Teacha” of hip hop, KRS-One, the artist, prepares for a new Teach Hip-Hop tour, Kris Parker, the person, reminisces about the irony within the connection of homelessness and hip-hop and how he once lived on the streets for over 10 years.

By Nakia Hill, Street News Service

The late 1970s witnessed the confluence of the unfamiliar elements of scratching records, DJing, powerful voices engaging crowds at block parties with traditional African call-and-response practices, MCing, unique forms of dance movements of different parts of the body, breaking, and colorful words etched on trains and street corners, graffiti, which Afrika Bambaataa identified as hip-hop.

“Hip-hop, the jam, and block parties were unheard of,” KRS-One said.

“Hip-hop is homeless. Hip-hop doesn’t have a home. People take from it. Gospel loves taking from hip-hop, but loves calling it the devil’s music. Rock’n’roll takes elements from it. Where is the hip-hop museum? Zulu Nation Community Center?”

Vendor profile: A vendor with presence, and presentation

By Cole Merkel, Staff Writer

Marlon Crump is a self-described Renaissance Man, in that he is able to undertake many challenges and multi-task in order to help others solve their problems.

“If they made a movie about my life it would be a mini-series,” says Marlon, whose life’s work has spanned stage acting to volunteering and political activism. His true passion, though, is writing.

Curbside: A collection of views from people on the streets

Subject: Trimet Fare Increases

On Sept. 1, Trimet increased fare for Zone 2 and All Zone tickets by five cents. A ride on bus, MAX, WES or Streetcar with a two-hour transfer now costs $2.10 and $2.40, respectively. Along with these increased fare prices, Trimet has increased tickets for up to $175 for fare violators. So Street Roots posed the question: How have the increased Trimet fares affected you personally?

“Considering they haven’t made any changes in Trimet as far as scheduling and things like that, I think it’s a bunch of garbage.” — Tim

“I think the prices are reasonable but I think it’s unreasonable when say, you’ve got to run from a long distance going to another distance and your transfer expires when you get to your destination. Perfect example: You go to Clackamas, you’ve got to get all the way to Clackamas and your transfer is expired, they write you a ticket and I don’t think that’s fair. I think they should extend the time-frame on those tickets, instead of like two hours, extend it to at least three-and-a-half hours depending on where you’re coming from.” —Texas

Sustainable Cycles pedals awareness about menstrual cups

By Toni Craige and Sarah Konner, Contributing Columnists

Toni Craige and Sarah Konner are bicycling down the West Coast, living on $4 a day, and talking to people about sustainable menstrual products.

Over a lifetime, the average woman spends about $2,000 on single-use pads and tampons, creating an enormous truckload ofa trash. There are more affordable and sustainable options that very few people seem to know about. To raise awareness, we decided to take this cycle to the road – literally.

Portland gets funding for people living with HIV/AIDS on the skids

Back in March Street Roots reported on people experiencing homelessness with HIV/AIDS with the story Positive in poverty. In 2010, we also reported on the HIV/AIDS community losing funding through budget cuts.

Today the city announced that the Portland Housing Bureau will receive $1.365 million dollars in new funding. The press release from the Portland Housing Bureau gives details.

Thirty organizations call for fair transfer reform at Tri-Met

The following organizations are calling for change with the fair transfer system at Tri-Met, including Street Roots. The campaign is being led by OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon. Come out and join us tomorrow morning and have your voice heard!

World class transportation system needs a fair transfer

By Nate Gulley, Contributing Columnist

We hear it so often these days that we don’t even stop and think about it: Portland is the most sustainable city in America, and the hallmark of our green city is our world-class transportation system, with modern MAX trains, shiny streetcars and lots of eco-friendly bicycles. But a closer look at the numbers reveals a different reality.

TriMet — the agency in charge of our regional public transit system — has reduced service to the lowest levels per capita since 1975, when it was just getting off the ground. A quick look at our transit infrastructure shows that much has changed since 1975, but when you consider our population growth, it is clear that transit service investments have not kept pace.

Editorial: Times are tough — and ripe with opportunity

According to the U.S. Census figures, the nation’s poverty rolls increased last year by 2.5 million people. That’s on top of millions more who have fallen into poverty in what the New York Times is now calling the “lost decade.”

The numbers show that poverty has increased in the U.S. to the highest rate since 1993. As Chuck Sheketoff with the Oregon Center for Public Policy rightly points out, “Our safety net for poor families with children was better in the early 1990s. We had a more robust program for families with dependent children, a more robust jobs program. We are serving a smaller percentage of the poor than we used to and we’re giving them less.”

Poverty figures unlikely to change course anytime soon

By Joanne Zuhl, Staff Writer

Census figures released Tuesday put on paper what many of us have known for a long time. Times are tough, getting tougher.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s figures, the nation’s official poverty rate in 2010 increased from 14.3 percent in 2009 to 15.1 percent — the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate and the highest since 1993. The Bureau estimates that more than 2.5 million entered poverty in 2010, totaling more than 46 million Americans. It is the fourth consecutive increase in that figure, and the highest number since poverty estimates have been published.

Oregon’s poverty rate is at 14.1 percent, essentially unchanged from 2009.

“The increase in poverty obviously means that there is a greater need for a social safety net,” said Chuck Sheketoff, executive director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy. “We think today’s news about the increase in the poverty rate means that both Congress and the state need to start creating a good, robust jobs program and raising the necessarily revenues to fund the public services to lift people out of poverty.”

Sheketoff said the figures were not surprising, given the severity of the recession and the anemic recovery.

“Oregon has never done a good job at reducing the poverty rate,” Sheketoff said. “And unfortunately we have no one in state government who is responsible for that.”

In 2009, the Oregon State Legislature did raise taxes to cover the budget shortfall for basic services. The 2011 legislature did not, a move Sheketoff calls ill-advised. Among the reductions this year were cuts to the employment and skills training programs and child care services for low-income parents seeking employment.

The numbers may be the highest since 1993, but the conditions are different, Sheketoff said.

“Our safety net for poor families with children was better in the early 1990s,” he said. “We had a more robust program for families with dependent children, a more robust jobs programs and skills program. We are serving a smaller percentage of the poor than we used to and we’re giving them less. The legislature wrongly scaled back the basic job opportunity and skills program. We’ve let inflation erode access and made cutbacks.”

Cookbook features good eats from the streets

Devan Schwartz, Contributing Writer

Recently released by Changing Lives Press, “Mailbox Muffins” is a cookbook unlike other cookbooks. Its recipes are written by the homeless. Six featured chefs provide their favorite recipes, many prepared while living out-of-doors in Gulfport, Miss. Some of these recipes highlight quintessential local fare — jambalaya, shrimp, hot sauce, Vietnamese cuisine. Others emphasize food bank and camping trip staples like tuna fish, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, canned vegetables and meats. Even with some of the offerings as mundane as tuna noodle salad, readers begin getting to know the chefs’ personalities.

We will get justice. Nothing will stop us: Campaigners taking fight to German pharamceutical giant

U.S. thalidomide victim Tony Melendez, age four, now lives in Dallas, TX.

By Adam Forrest, Street News Service

Liz Buckle lives on the north side of Lismore, a small island a few miles off the west coast of Scotland. A lively woman of 51, Liz knows every inch of the Argyll countryside, having spent many years driving around to work on rural development projects for the Scottish government. Sadly, poor health forced her to give up the job six years ago. “It was lovely work but my body just couldn’t take it anymore,” she explains. “I used to come home and collapse and spend the evening flat out on the floor.”

Liz is a survivor of the notorious drug thalidomide. Marketed at the end of the 1950s as a “wonder drug” for pregnant women suffering from morning sickness, the substance was withdrawn from the shelves of British chemists in 1961 after it was found to cause debilitating birth defects. The UK government only apologized for its part in the scandal last year when it finally set aside compensation money for the victims. Thanks to this new health grant, Liz is making some changes. She expects her kitchen to be retro-fitted soon with low-hanging boiled water taps, a custome-made oven and cabinet drawers which can be opened by foot. Until then, Liz’s stunted arms mean simple tasks like making a cup of tea remain fraught and exhausting.