Lord, I’ll tell the world the water, Done crept through this town. …
Down in the Flood: Vanport’s Living Memory
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Tag: Racism
Six Years After His Murder, Community Still Seeks Justice for Keaton Otis
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Six years have passed since the Portland police murdered Keaton Otis near the southwest corner of NE 6th and Halsey. On Thursday May 12, 2016, nearly 100 people gathered at Maranatha Church in Northeast Portland to remember Otis and his father, Fred Bryant, and to keep alive the demand for justice. A mixture of past,…
Teressa Raiford Acquittal A Major Victory on the Road to Reclaiming Justice in Face of Police Violence
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Story by Pete Shaw A small grin crept across Teressa Raiford’s face as the jury acquitted her of second degree disorderly conduct on Thursday April 21. It slowly got a little bigger, and she clapped her hands a couple of times. She certainly was relieved, but perhaps not ecstatic. While walking around downtown a few…
Walidah Imarisha’s “Angels with Dirty Faces” Explores Themes of Justice, Redemption
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw There is an odd moment at the end of the first section of Walidah Imarisha’s Angels with Dirty Faces (published by AK Press), that only reveals its peculiarity in retrospect. While visiting her adopted brother, Kakamia, who is in prison for conspiracy to commit murder, Imarisha meets a man…
Portland Committee Recommends City Divestment from Wells Fargo Due to For-Profit Prison Link
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Story by Pete Shaw After several months of deliberation and community input, the Socially Responsible Investments Committee (SRIC) voted unanimously to recommend that the City of Portland divest its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company due to the company’s financing of for-profit prisons and “morally bankrupt” lending practices. The City currently holds $40 million in…
Aaron Campbell’s Death: Six Years on from the Turning Point for Portland Police Accountability
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A vigil attended by over 50 people was held on January 29 at the AME Zion Church on North Vancouver Avenue to remember Aaron Campbell, the young Black man killed exactly six years earlier by Portland Police Officer Ron Frashour. A further significant aspect of the event was the opportunity to reflect upon Campbell’s death…
Black Friday Actions Bring Justice Activists Together in Common Cause
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Over 300 supporters of Don’t Shoot Portland and the Black Lives Matter movement gathered in Holladay Park on Friday November 27, making demands ranging from police reform to the abolition of capitalism that has created a system where Black lives do not matter. The rally also included a boisterous…
Portland Activists Hold Vigil to Mark First Anniversary of Child Killed by Cleveland Police
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Exactly one year after 12 year old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann in a public playground on November 22, 2014, 50 people gathered in Portland near the corner of SE Madison and 11th for a vigil in Rice’s memory and to demand justice…
Giving Thanks
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw The late, great Townes Van Zandt once said, “Aloneness is a state of being whereas loneliness is a feeling. It’s like being broke and being poor.” Thanksgiving is a day that begins a six or so week stretch that reminds many of their aloneness more painfully than usual. So…
Immigrant Rights Vigil Casts Wide Net by Including Refugees from Many Cultures
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Voz and the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) held a candlelight vigil on the night of November 19, calling for an end to the detentions and deportations that have torn apart many immigrant families and communities. The action was part of a national week of action promoted by immigrant…
