Story and photos by Pete Shaw The commerce surrounding the Winter holidays seems to begin a little earlier every year. When I was growing up in the 1970s, it commenced sometime after Thanksgiving, although without the madness now associated with the day after. However, about a month ago I was in a big chain hardware…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw “We will always see ourselves as a sanctuary city and we will continue to be welcome to everyone,” said Ted Wheeler after he was elected mayor. His words were given official imprimatur in late March when the City Council declared Portland a sanctuary city. It was a symbolic gesture,…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw There are some combinations that seem so natural, it is hard to imagine a world without them. Pizza and beer, burgers and fries, Lennon and McCartney, and Donald Trump and Nazis quickly come to mind. Now you can add to the list, Burgerville workers and the Community Alliance of…
Story by Pete Shaw Since the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in mid-August that saw the murder of one anti-fascist and numerous injuries to other opponents of white supremacy, people throughout the country have stepped up at similar gatherings to tell white supremacists that they are not welcome. In Boston, thousands of people…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Time was not so long ago when a hand-delivered letter meant something. For the composer of the missive, whether something as beautiful as handwritten lines expressing tender and missed love or more mundane items such as a business letter, it showed the importance of what lay within the envelope.…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Kelly Baur and Jeremy Ibarra, who were arrested during the police crackdown on anti-fascism activists following the June 4 white supremacy rally in Terry Schrunk Plaza, both entered pleas of not guilty on August 17 to the charges brought against them. In doing so, they rejected a plea deal…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Postal workers and customers rallied on Wednesday July 26 at the Main Post Office on Northwest Hoyt Street in Portland to protest cuts in jobs at the United States Postal Service (USPS). The results of this downsizing has included reductions in service to the public, including longer lines and…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The shakes–blackberry, chocolate hazelnut, and pumpkin spice–come and go. So do the Walla Walla onion rings, waffle fries, and asparagus. But since April of last year, solidarity has always been in season at Burgerville. Since its formation 15 months ago, the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU)–which is supported by the…
Story by Pete Shaw Refusing to back away from a city in emotional upheaval in the wake of a white supremacist murdering two of three people trying to stop his verbal assault on two young black women, 400 fellow white supremacists from around the country converged on Portland on June 4th for a “Free…
Story by Pete Shaw. Photos by Benji Bảo Vương. Over the past few weeks, Portlanders have been given a tutorial in how white supremacy works, as well as the privileges whiteness confers upon white people and how that whiteness ravages the lives of people and communities of color. These lessons have long been learned by people…
