Story by Pete Shaw The Black Lives Matter movement, which sprang up in the wake of the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer George Zimmerman, exploded into a major ongoing human rights struggle a little over a year ago with Michael Brown’s murder by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson. The revolt has been instrumental in…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO) and the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition held a rally in front of Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison on Wednesday October 7 calling for the release of Thomas Amanuel, an Eritrean refugee. Amanuel, 38, has lived in Portland for 33 years. He…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Portland City Council unanimously passed an ordinance declaring a housing state of emergency in the city on Wednesday. The ordinance theoretically paves the way for steps to ease the housing crisis affecting a large swathe of people who rent housing, as well as those experiencing houselessness, stating in…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Anne Christopher of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and I have a few things in common. We are both from New Jersey, and thereby, as the joke would have it, we both are intimately knowledgeable about toxic waste. Now, 3500 miles away from our roots, we are again sharing…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Rights activists, labor leaders, faith leaders, and lawyers gathered at the Federal Building in downtown Portland on October 1 to rally for Francisco Aguirre and deliver a letter signed by 118 organizations nationwide asking the US Attorney General to dismiss criminal charges of re-entry into the United States against…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) declared a renter state of emergency in Portland at a September 15 press conference in Peninsula Park. The CAT–a grassroots, tenant-controlled, tenants rights organization that educates, organizes, and develops the leadership of low-income tenants–called on local officials and landlords to agree to immediate…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Jazz moves. Good jazz swings. Great jazz transcends. Charles is transcending, and he is taking the crowd of children and adults in Columbia International Cup in New Columbia with him. I’ve seen him in Brian’s coffee shop here on North Newman Avenue, but I’ve never seen him sit down…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Say their names. Lamia Beard. Keyshia Blige. Kandis Capri. Say their names because their lives mattered. London Chanel. India Clarke. Taja DeJesus. Tamara Dominguez. Say their names for their memories and for their friends, families, and lovers. Papi Edwards. K.C. Haggard. Mya Hall. Amber Monroe. Say their names because they…
By Pete Shaw Frederick Douglass once stated that power concedes nothing without a struggle, and history certainly bears that out. The struggle to wrest power away from those who hoard it in vast disproportion is a story that is given short shrift in US history textbooks, the preferred narrative being a combination of the myth…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw “They think we’re stupid and we’re just going to accept community court and stop struggling.” Don’t Shoot Portland organizer Teressa Raiford uttered these words a few minutes after pleading not guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from her August 9 arrest after a rally marking one year since Michael…
