Story and photo by Pete Shaw History, it is said, is written by the victors. Their perspective and their stories are presented as unimpeachable. From this favored perch, the present is interpreted and the path to the future is mapped. A new book, Memory & Place in Black Portland, adds its voice to the long…
Story and photo by Pete Shaw When is a home a Home? That is the central question at the heart of C Pam Zhang’s recent novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold. The book, which I recommend highly, was released shortly before the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic and Republican Donald Trump’s racializing…
Story by Pete Shaw If there are guidelines for listening sessions on hot-button issues, clearly none were deployed during the February 21 event at NE Portland’s Maranatha Church that was hastily arranged by Police Chief Danielle Outlaw. The listening session was called due to reports in Portland Mercury and Willamette Week detailing a series of…
Story by Pete Shaw The corner of Northeast 6th and Halsey is hallowed ground. It is not the site of a mosque or a temple or a church or any other house of worship. There have been no reports of visits by the Blessed Virgin Mary or other religiously affiliated revelations, whether out of thin…
Story by Pete Shaw Almost as soon it became clear that Donald Trump was going to be the next President of the United States, Democratic Party operatives, pundits, and supporters began casting blame for Trump’s victory. Much of that blame has fallen upon rural people, and integral to those accusations has been generalizing these people–variously…
