Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 3-24-22 E-Edition

Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Guest Column
Immigration and America's racial reckoning
By Jonette Christian
Guest columnist
The Civil Rights Movement was America's greatest moral crusade, the culmination of years of determined citizen activism, leading to radical changes in the 1960s. And we didn't just settle for a level playing field. We embraced affirmative action, expanded anti-poverty programs, rewrote history books, renamed public build- ings, erected new statues, and promoted talented Black people in journalism, sports and Hollywood. Multiple Black mayors, city councilors and police chiefs were elected.
Black incomes grew after World War I, and the Black-white wage gap narrowed until around 1970. This remarkable achievement was mostly accomplished in the face of Jim Crow laws, and with minimal help from white people.
In the ensuing half-century, the gap widened to 1950 levels. What happened?
A new book, "Back of the Hiring Line" by Roy Beck, offers a meticulously documented perspective on this national puzzle. Along with employment data and immi- gration and labor historians, Beck tells the story through the writings and speeches of prominent Black leaders such as Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Phillip Randolph, and Black-owned newspapers, all of whom doggedly advocated for tight labor policies following the Civil War.
Finally, a mounting demand by Black and labor activ- ists forced Congress to cut immigration numbers in half in 1924. The Great Wave ended. Blacks began migrat- ing North to fill blue-collar jobs in factories deprived of European workers.
During this half-century of tight labor, wages in- creased, wealth disparities shrank, the middle class ex- ploded, and Black average incomes skyrocketed. Em- ployers were forced to hire and train from within, and negotiate with unions for pensions, cost of living wages, and health care.
But, in 1965, Congress changed course again, radi- cally expanding annual immigration numbers. Since 1990 Congress, placating the tech lobby, has given away millions of high-paying tech jobs through guest worker programs. The demand for foreign workers is unending. This February, the House passed the America Competes Act, expanding yet again foreign worker visas.
With the surge in foreign workers, some employers tended to prefer immigrants who were willing to accept long hours and lower wages. Blacks were shafted in one industry after another where previously employed. They also missed out on entry-level jobs in technology, losing the opportunity to develop those skills, networks and work experience that lead to upward mobility and gen- erational wealth.
Blacks earn one in 10 computer science degrees na- tionwide, but account for only 2.6 percent of Silicon Val- ley tech workers. Seventy-one percent of tech workers in Silicon Valley today are foreign-born.
In the 1990s, Congress authorized the formation of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. After seven years of study, the commission told Congress to signifi- cantly decrease immigration, setting an annual cap of 550,000. The current level of immigration is over one million annually. Congress ignored the experts they had chosen to consult, and set immigration numbers to please business lobbies wanting more workers and more con- sumers. And the clamor for more foreign labor continues.
Immigration numbers have played a largely unrec- ognized role in forcing vulnerable groups to compete against each other, and Blacks have been especially harmed.
The solution is simple: Congress should reduce the numbers. All workers, immigrant and native-born, would benefit from tighter labor markets and higher wages.
Jonette Christian is a founder of Mainers for Sensible Immigration Policy. This piece originally ran in the Lew- iston Sun-Journal
Again, we invite the public to contribute local news tips, content
Fred Hall — Publisher Emeritus Jon Earnest — Editor
Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Thursday, March 24, 2022 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
First off, thank you to all the Mid Valley Times readers, friends and family who came out on March 18 to memori- alize our late publisher, Fred Hall. About 100 people came out to pay their respects to Mr. Hall, who died on Feb. 26 at his Selma home.
It was bittersweet for me, as I was out of town and missed the memorial service. Ironically, I was the final em- ployee to see Fred at the office, as he came in the afternoon of the Presidents Day holiday and made a noble effort to write a column for the week. I learned the next day that he had been hospitalized, and after being out of state for five days re- ceived the shocking news of his passing when I returned to town after that weekend.
The owners of The Times have expressed their commit- ment to continue the newspa- per, and we employees also pledge to move forward. That means we'll continue to do our best to provide local news of interest — in Reedley, Sanger and Dinuba as well as Parlier, Orange Cove and Cutler-Orosi when possible. It's certainly not an easy task with a staff of just two people, which is why we encourage you, the reader, to submit news items and news tips (by word and photo).
That includes giving ex- posure to out students, both young and older in academics and athletics. Have a youth sport, team photo, club activ- ity or event? Let us know, and when possible send your own digital photos and information in. We encourage community journalism, and it's the best way to continue to provide local and regional news you would be interested in reading.
On the sports level, we're working into the heart of the spring season as the weather warms up. I'll be out at the ball- park for baseball and softball, track and field facilities and swimming pools when I can schedule it. At the same time, feel free to send your informa- tion, especially pertaining to youth sports.
•••
We'll also try to let you
know about the unusual events that come to the area. One such event is the Kings Canyon Heli- Fest 2022, an event hosted by the Clovis Area Modelers club that features scale model heli- copters doing 3D maneuvers. It's being held this Friday through Sunday, March 25-27, from dawn until dusk.
The show is at a location you may not be familiar with — Peg Field. It has a mailing address of Sanger, but is located just
south of High- way 180 off of Alta Avenue and about nine miles north of Reedley.
Admission
and parking
at the event is
free, although the club wel- comes donations. For more information on the event, go online to www.clovisrc.club.
•••
I had the opportunity to at-
tend the presentations portion of the Dinuba City Council meeting on March 22, and was able fro take photos of three events. First was the Police Community Volunteers In-King Service group making a check presentation of $62,920 to the city of Dinuba. That was fol- lowed by a recognition ceremo- ny to retired Dinuba City Clerk Linda Barkley, and next came the introduction and swearing in of the Dinuba Fire Depart- ment's knew battalion chief, Joanne Bear.
Congratulations to all hon- ored. And it was good to see a large audience in attendance, as it's important to keep up on matters in your respective com- munity.
Jon Earnest is news-sports editor for The Times.
Identify root cause, not the symptoms
Regarding Carl Schmid's March 17 column on Biden and prescription drug costs:
To fix a defective process, one must identify the root cause and avoid wasting time on symptoms. Prescription drug control is just a symptom of the “disease” and not the root cause. It is well to keep in mind that the first casualties of emotions are reason/logic/morality. Emo- tions cloud lots of arguments.
So, abandonment of true Christianity is, IMHO, the root cause. Too many people have opted to worship “god-poli- tics,” which is idolatry. Politics
keeps people distracted from addressing the “root cause” of the debacle of manmade politi- cal governments.
The book of Revelation teaches us that the troika of evil, the wicked consort of poli- tics, commerce and “false reli- gion,” will be terminated in the end because it acts in defiance of Jehovah God. The Amerikan colonists erred when they sup- planted God with their new god, “We The People.” The ruin and pain of wars, taxation, inflation, welfare statism and debt bombs from hell are proof of the error.
Democracy leads to moboc- racy. I don’t see how anyone has the right to take a vote to sanction the politicians to use lethal force
against you to control your per- son and property. It is not a virtue or a right; it as a crime. Politics is violence; it is the use of force (see "The Law of Love and The Law of Violence" – Leo Tolstoy). The electoral process and supposed “representative government” are not approved by God. Voting is an act of violence.
So, it is immoral for politi- cians to intervene in our lives and of course that means con- trolling prescription drugs is wrong; else we are slaves.
We need Christian leaders and Christian judges; we don’t need manmade political govern- ments.
Jack Worthington Reedley
Letters from readers
QUOTE
“Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?”
— Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
Jon Earnest
Letters Policy
MID VALLEY TIMES invites letters from the public on any topic of local relevance. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity or brevity, and we reserve the right to NOT publish them if they could be deemed libelous or profane. Letters should
be 350 words or less, and bear the author's name, address, and phone number. Letters can be mailed, emailed, submitted via our website, or personally delivered to: Mid Valley Times, 1130 G St, Reedley CA 93654.
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