OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist
Julianne Malveaux
Lessons From Texas
Texas was freezing, and Sen. Ted Cruz was looking forward to sizzling his way to a Cancun vacation. People didn't have drinking water and were advised to boil anything that came out of their faucets. That's easy enough to do when you have no power. Some resorted to burning their furniture, fences, and anything else they could get their hands on. A woman and her two grandchildren perished from flames when
they lit a fire in their fireplace to stay warm. Children died from the cold, and Texas's Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) is being sued. They've sent people five-figure electricity bills, and the absentee governor says power cannot be cut off for nonpayment. The rest of the nation is looking at Texas (and Louisiana and Oklahoma, but Texas is in the worst shape) with shock and horror. People have queued up for food, water and heat. Many have left their homes to shelter with friends, only to return to
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frozen pipes and flooded floors. Others have thronged to Gallery Furniture, where the civic-minded "Mattress Mack," Jim MCIngvale, opened his store so people could rest in warmth. People slept on high-end beds, recliners, sofas and other furniture, ate snacks and drank water that they could not find at home. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner called the crisis the result of "20 years of bad government." He criticized state leadership for the situation and said the state, not individuals, should be responsible for excessive bills. Other may-
ors, leaders, and Congressional representatives talked about the lack of planning. They seemed resigned to the crisis, which can't be resolved until people have running water and their homes are repaired. Could this happen in Washington, D.C., New York, Denver, or San Francisco? What can we learn from the Texas calamity? Firstly, we must acknowledge that our infrastructure is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers reports that our infrastructure — our highways and bridges, water systems and
dams — has long been neglected and is crumbling. President Biden has an excellent opportunity to generate jobs and repair our aging infrastructure, and it is an effort that should garner bipartisan support. Texas reminds us how fragile our infrastructure is and how much it will cost us, both in money and human misery, if we continue to ignore it. The Texas debacle should also remind us how intertwined we are. The Texas swashbuckling "go it alone" attitude kept them dis-
have the opportunity to save ourselves from this overtreatment and the suffering that goes along with it, when we have the knowledge about how to plan for an end-oflife experience that is aligned with our values and beliefs. We've all heard the phrase "knowledge is power," and it is absolutely true when it comes to advocating for our care and our family's care at the end of life. Although death is inevitable for all of us, there is often a stigma around
talking about it at our dinner tables. We don't talk with our family about what they would want when they are close to death, and we don't bring it up with our doctors. My mother and sister passed away from ovarian cancer, and we didn't speak about death until it was imminent, and therefore too late to know what their end-of-life wishes were and take appropriate steps with their doctors. In both cases, I
not aware of or choose to ignore is that the 13th Amendment, when it was ratified by the state of Georgia on Dec. 6, 1865, ended chattel slavery as it was passed by Congress and ratified by the required minimum of 27 states (Georgia was number 27) needed for its formal adoption. It must be noted that in the six months leading up to the ratification by Georgia — June 19, 1865, and Dec. 6, 1865 — there were at least 225,000 Black people enslaved in Kentucky
alone. Chattel slavery was still LEGAL and practiced in Delaware and Kentucky.
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Rep. Rena Moran
Talking About Death Won't Kill You
As we celebrate Black History Month, we are confronted with the ongoing injustice that African Americans are more than twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as our white counterparts. While some have treated this fact as if it was a new phenomenon, many of us know this is just another example of the disparities in health care
outcomes that the Black community has historically and continually experiences. Whether we're wealthy or working class, we are often diagnosed later, live sicker and die sooner. And we suffer more at the end of life, often from invasive treatments and lack of adequate pain relief. Our elders in nursing homes also receive feeding tubes at a higher rate and undergo more unnecessary surgeries in the final months of life. Part of the reason African Amer-
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icans are often overtreated at the end of life relates to our experiences being denied care by a racist health care system. We may ask for and receive far more intensive and invasive treatments at the end of life, because we fought for the right to receive care and we demand access to it. While this is understandable, it can also be counterproductive if it prolongs suffering instead of preventing it. Systemic racism accounts for much of the problem, but we also
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Carl Mack
The Misrepresentation of Juneteenth
I strongly oppose the proposed Washington State Bill 1016, and I strongly oppose the passage of Ordinance 19209 by the Metropolitan King County Council, both designed to designate Juneteenth as a state holiday. To date, 46 states have approved June 19 as a paid or legal state holiday. No problem. The issue is the historical
reason used to justify their efforts to remember. Many have stated that June 19, 1865, ended slavery in America, which is, historically speaking, grossly wrong.
also uses similar language to justify the mis-educated belief that Juneteenth is a historically appropriate day to celebrate the end of chattel slavery.
The state of Washington in their proposed legislation of Bill 1016 stands as a perfect example: "… The legislature intends to designate Juneteenth as a state legal holiday to celebrate the end of chattel slavery." In addition, the language of King County Ordinance 19209
Other states have used similar language/justifications to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam stated, "It mattered then because it marked the end of slavery in this country." However, a historical fact that many people either are
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The bill, ordinance, and others like it speak to why Black history should be taught. Blacks got it wrong, Whites got it wrong, Americans of all hues got this wrong. If indeed Black Lives Matter, then the historical actions of these governmental entities are
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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2021 29
