It’s been over 50 days now that Portland has kept up the daily city-wide protests, continuing to put pressure on our local and statewide government to make drastic reforms to the institution of policing. It’s no secret that racism has long been an systemic issue here, and there has been constant conflict with the police bureau regarding excessive violence and white supremacist actions. There are community groups like Portland Copwatch and Pacific Northwest Family Circle focused specifically on these problems, organizations that have been ongoing. A documentary called Arresting Power: Resisting Police Violence in Portland, OR was released just a couple years ago. In two and a half decades of living in this city I have been a part of numerous vigils, demonstrations, and calls for justice in the wake of the deaths of black youth such as Kendra James, Aaron Campbell, Quanice Hayes, and Keaton Otis. I have committed to relearning the stories of these and others lives lost to police violence in our local community, setting and printing their names in type, and distributing the prints to daily demonstration sites.
In August, Portlanders will be voting for a City Commissioner seat by special election. Redirection of police task force funding and the establishment of Portland Street Response (a non-police first response option, much like White Bird/Cahoots) are on the table, and the street protests are keeping these much needed reforms in the public eye. I’m hopeful that this momentum nationwide will translate to changes that have been needed on so many levels, and that as a city we can move meaningfully toward a more humane model. Lives are on the line.