350PDX Weekly Update – Police brutality spiking in Portland – July 15 2020

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Hi everyone,

After 6 weeks of continuous protests here in Portland, the movement for Black lives has shown that it’s here to stay. For 46 nights, protestors have gathered at locations like the Justice Center, the North Precinct, and the Portland Police Association headquarters to demand justice for Black lives and communities.

George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were murdered thousands of miles away, but racism and police brutality hit equally close to home for Portland.

In fact, Portland ranks the highest in the country for the number of incidents where police responded to citizens at the peaceful George Floyd protests with unnecessary force and brutality, with 69 documented cases over the last 6 weeks.

And on Thursday evening last week, Dominique Dunn, a Black man, was shot and killed in a suspected racist attack in SW Portland. Shaindia Harris, a Black woman who had just graduated high school, was shot and killed in Lents on Friday evening.

We can’t let Black lives and Black futures fade from our minds or from the media’s coverage; that’s why we need to keep showing up!

Nervous to attend an event on your own? Fill in the volunteer form below and join our Signal text group to find a buddy to go with!

Here’s your 350PDX weekly update.

Actions

  • Support our Summer Appeal

    350PDX needs your help to stay in this fight for the long haul! We are still a long ways off from our goal of $25K, but if everyone who opened this email donated just $15 we would more than surpass it!

  • $700 for the Oregon Worker Relief Fund from 350PDX donors!

    Thank you to all of the monthly donors who signed up to be sustainers with our spring Community Power Campaign. Thanks to you we were able to donate $700 from your first month of donations to the Causa’s Oregon Worker Relief Fund. ⁠This fund gets dollars in the hands of Immigrant Oregon workers who were left out of the Federal Stimulus package and cannot access unemployment insurance benefits.

Updates

  • The Oregon CARES Fund is approved!

    Yesterday, the Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Board has approved a funding request for $62 million for The Oregon Cares Fund for Black relief and resiliency. This fund was created by Black people, for Black people. It will provide much needed resources to Black people and families, Black-owned small businesses, and Black-led community based organizations.

  • Portland bureaus cease work on ODOT’s I-5 Rose Quarter plan

    Mayor and City Council order staff to stop working with Oregon Department of Transportation on July 6. In a tersely-worded letter dated Monday, July 6, the Council ordered all city bureaus to immediately cease working with the Oregon Department of Transportation’s I-5 team, including “attending meetings, providing technical support or responding to project emails.”

    This comes after the Albina Vision group came out against the project, which was followed by the Mayor and most city councilors following their lead.

  • Update on Bill McKibben’s role at 350.org

    350PDX is an independent affiliate of 350.org – that means we’re our own organization which does all our own campaigns, partnerships and fundraising. But we’re still friends and collaborators with 350.org. So we’re passing this message on from them:

    Bill McKibben, one of the founders of 350.org, has announced that he’s transitioning off the 350 board at the end of the year. You can read a letter from Bill about his transition here. Here’s a message Bill wanted to share with you all:

    “My role in this fight has shifted before, and this is another of those moments. But no part of the whole enterprise is dearer to me than the 350 chapters and their volunteers, and I will continue to help in any way that I possibly can. I trust you’ll feel free to keep calling on me–my email will remain bill@350.org. On we go!” 

    Many of you may have been inspired by Bill over the years, so if you’d like to share a message of thanks, you can do so here

  • Biden Outlines $2 Trillion Climate Plan

    This plan stems from the joint effort by Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force which includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sunrise co-founder Varshini Prakash. We haven’t had time to absorb it yet, so let me know what you make of this plan!

Resources

Opportunities​​​​

  • Portland Black Lives Matter Protests
    Every day @ across the city – details here

    There are protests, vigils, and marches every day and every night, with the exact location and details sometimes only becoming available a few hours before. So please check the PDX BLM events webpage for the day’s events, and show up!

  • The History of the Police, Their Role in Society, & What a World Looks Like Without Them
    TONIGHT Wed July 15, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, online – info will be here

    Portland Rising Tide hosts this study session – “In this study session, we plan to dig into how and why the institution of the police was created, what they actually do in society vs. what we are told they do, and some examples of alternatives to the police.

    We will look at historical & contemporary examples of societies without police, data & statistics about police interactions with the public, and alternative institutions and the potential for them to replace the current institution of policing.”

  • Strike for Black lives
    Mon July 20, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, online – info will be here

    Workers and allies across the country are preparing to Strike for Black Lives on July 20th, with a national day of walkouts and worker actions to demand racial and economic justice, including in the workplace. This national day of action, one month ahead of the Democratic National Convention, will declare that Black Lives Matter and illustrate the ways our fights for racial, economic, healthcare, immigration, climate, and other justice fights are interconnected.

    Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Fight for $15 & a Union are bottom-lining these actions. Both online and in-person events are being planned. There’s a map of events here with nothing on there for Portland yet, but keep your eyes peeled there, or on the PDX events calendar.

  • Reclaiming a Thriving Future: Climate Action, Justice & Resilience in the Time of Covid
    Tues July 21, 1:00PM – Online

    Join Families for a Livable Climate for a webinar for Parents, Educators, Clinicians & Youth featuring Mary Democker, author of The Parents Guide to Climate Revolution, and founder of 350Eugene.

    The world’s top energy agency announced in June that humanity has only six months left to reverse course on the climate crisis. During the current pandemic, when parents are already struggling to safeguard and educate kids, how can we also effectively demand the deep changes needed for our children’s long-term well-being? Mary DeMocker discusses this unprecedented moment of intersecting global crises, and shares ways parents, educators, clinicians, and youth can reclaim a thriving future. Participants will take away at least three ways busy people can help change our system – not just our light bulbs – while deepening our connections to one another.

  • SW PDX Black Lives Matter Vigil
    Every Weds, 4:30PM – 5:30PM, SW 35th and Multnomah Blvd

    Southwest PDX family-friendly sign waving in Solidarity with Black Lives, every Wed. 4:30-5:30, SW 35th and Multnomah Blvd. with masks and physical spacing, ongoing until further notice. Plenty of extra signs to borrow. Co-sponsored by 350PDX SW Team, SW Action Group for Social Justice (SWAG) and Stand on Every Corner.

Thank you all for the work that you do, stay safe, and we’re all in this together,
Ashley, Chris, Chuck, Dineen, Lucy – the 350PDX staff

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