ThePortland Parks Foundation are debuting their outdoor gathering, Paseo, on July 15-17th! Taking place in the south park blocks, this event will focus on community wellness, art and music – all free to the public! We will be tabling on the 16th and 17th from 12 to 5pm. Please consider joining us at Paseo next weekend and come by our booth to find out more about our programming and upcoming events.
We will have tons of free TriMet Youth Passes (ages 7-17) to giveaway, so please spread the word! These passes are part of TriMet’s Get Oregon Moving program and are valid on all TriMet services and Portland Streetcar through August 31, 2022.
On Saturday, July 16th, we’d like to invite DSP supporters to an artists’ conversation moderated by our founder, Teressa Raiford, as part of Portland Art Museum’s new exhibition opening, Perspectives. This panel discussion will feature several Portland photographers sharing their reflections and images from the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Join us at Whitsell Auditorium from 2 to 3pm. Tickets can be found here – free to the public!
Cascadia Healthcareand the Eliot Neighborhood Associationwill be hosting a Job Fair on August 2nd from 10am – 12pm at Dawson Park. Cascadia Healthcare is a local non-profit organization here in Portland that is a rich resource for people seeking housing, mental health, addiction services and financial support. Please share this information among those who could use this opportunity!
If you have accessibility requests for any of these events, please email contact@dontshootpdx.org to coordinate!
Juneteenth is so much more than a celebration, it is an entire movement. #Juneteenth1865. Please make sure you recognize the meaning, symbolism and have knowledge of the image of our Flag. Now that it is a federal holiday, make sure it’s flying in your state and is represented by local and state governments to acknowledge the movement.
“The white star in the center of the flag has a dual meaning. For one, it represents Texas, the Lone Star State. It was in Galveston in 1865 where Union soldiers informed the country’s last remaining enslaved people that, under the Emancipation Proclamation issued two years earlier, they were free. But the star also goes beyond Texas, representing the freedom of African Americans in all 50 states.”
The Burst:
“On the Juneteenth flag, this [burst] represents a new beginning for the African Americans of Galveston and throughout the land.”
The Arc:
“The curve that extends across the width of the flag represents a new horizon: the opportunities and promise that lay ahead for Black Americans.”
The Colors:
“The red, white and blue represent the American flag, a reminder that slaves and their descendants were and are Americans.” Represent this logo when you celebrate our emancipation in this country.
We are kicking off the Juneteenth holiday with a speaking engagement from our executive director and founder, Teressa Raiford, as part of a panel today, June 17th.
Labor union SEIU 503 African American Caucus (AFRAM) will be hosting their Juneteenth virtual event that will address racial bias, social and economic injustices in Oregon’s workplaces. Sign up to watch the panel here from 5:30-7:30pm.
On Saturday, June 18th we are excited to attend Juneteenth Oregon’s 50th year anniversary, founded by beloved community leader Clara Peoples. View their website for musical guests, ticket information and to join the Clara Peoples Freedom Parade!
We can’t wait to team up with Kee’s Loaded Kitchen and support her Feeding Black Portland program – free, family-sized soul food plates will be served to all from the time Kee begins cooking at 1pm until she sells out for the day.
Kee’s Loaded Kitchen 5020 NE Martin Luther King JR Blvd, Portland OR 97212 1PM until sold out!
We will also be set up with our volunteers at our Freedom Lemonade Stand with free books, art supplies, social justice materials and COVID-19 tests – join us on Sunday, June 19th!
Monday, June 19 we will be hosting a community clean up for Black elderly residents at the Allen Fremont Plaza Apartments, who we have been advocating for those experiencing housing violations.
Please email us if you’d like to volunteer at contact@dontshootpdx.org or if you have been experiencing housing violations and would like to be referred to a trusted probono legal team, fill this form out.
Tuesday, June 21 we are working with the Oregon Justice Resource Center (OJRC) to learn more about seeking justice with Senate Bill 819 with a part 2 informative webinar. This newly introduced bill with allow re-sentencing and/or relief for past criminal convictions.
Webinar begins at 5:00 and we will be taking Q&A from those in attendance until 6:30pm. Please register here and share with family and friends! You can watch part 1 here.
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On June 20th starting at 9am, we will be returning to Allen Fremont Plaza to help senior residents get their individual units cleaned – please sign up with us directly at contact@dontshootpdx.org to help us coordinate!
[Image description: Flyer with a cream background, green watercolor splashes with brown and orange accents. A bird motif of four tan and dark brown birds is arranged against the watercolor background. Three rays, two of which are cream and one is orange. Three fists, raised to the air, two tan and a darker brown fist in the middle.
Full text: Don’t shoot Portland invites everyone for Juneteenth, a community clean up on June 20th 2022 at 221 NE Fremont St, Portland Or, 97212. This Juneteenth holiday (June 20 @ 9am) please join us for a community clean up. Residents at Allen Fremont have been suffering in uninhabitable spaces. This is a call to action for housekeeping, yard maintenance and home repair support. Send an email to contact@dontshootpdx.org to sign up – Please share widely in your networks!
Banner commemoration made by DSP youth artist Ameya Okamoto.
It’s Pride 2022 and we still have work to do in making the world a safe place for our LGBTQQIP2SAA community. We choose this month and every month of the year to uplift, support and celebrate the work of our queer friends, family and community. Our voices matter to create change and we are forever proud and motivated by the actions of social movement leaders to make this happen.
We have so much further to go and we will get there together!
Press conference with Don’t Shoot Portland, Allen Fremont Plaza residents, and Underdog Law Firm. Photo by Hattie Watson.
Thank you to the residents at the Allen Fremont Plaza Apartments for inviting Don’t Shoot Portland to support your community listening sessions in order to demand a livable environment for vulnerable renters.
(June 1, 2022) – Tenants of the Allen Fremont Plaza held a press conference after they filed suit against their landlord, Reach-Allen LLC (Reach Community Development) for failure to maintain habitable premises in accordance withOregon law.
Legal advocacy and services are being provided with support from Don’t Shoot PDX and civil rights law firm OlsenDaines. For a copy of the tenants’ complaints, email alacia@alaciajayne.com. If you have experienced violations of your rental rights as a tenant and are seeking legal support, please see our advocacy form here. We would be honored to connect you with legal referrals.
This Saturday June 4th, we are calling for community members to show up at Allen Fremont Plaza Apartments from 9am to 1pm to do a clean-up for residents. Due to REACH’s failure of leadership, the residents have been dealing with terrible conditions for several years.
There is a crucial need for this kind of support, so please spread the word to friends and family to help this community in their time of need!
Please respond to this email or reach out to contact@dontshootpdx.org for more details on showing up.
Save the Date: We will be hosting a free day of meals, community engagement and art education programming. Please join us on June 19 at Kee’s Loaded Kitchen for free food and community building to celebrate Juneteenth!
June 19th, 2022 at 5020 NE Martin Luther King JR Blvd starting at 1pm.
Black tenants in NE Portland to file lawsuit against REACH Community Development that forced them into inhabitable conditions. Complaints outline how landlord has forced low-income, elderly residents to live in filth and rightfully fearing for their safety.
Portland, Ore. (June 1, 2022) – Tenants of the Allen Fremont Plaza will hold a press conference Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at noon as they file suit against their landlord, Reach-Allen LLC (Reach Community Development) for failure to maintain habitable premises in accordance with Oregon law.
Allen Fremont Plaza is an apartment building in Northeast Portland for elderly tenants living on a fixed income. Reach Community Development promised tenants it would make improvements to the building seven years ago when it took over management, but since then, tenants say conditions have only gotten worse. Elderly and disabled tenants have been forced to live in unsafe, unsanitary conditions because of the landlord’s failure to provide basic and necessary maintenance to its property, including:
• failure to provide functioning restrooms for eldery tenants’ basic hygiene needs; • failure to maintain elevators, forcing disabled tenants to literally crawl down flights of stairs to exit the building, or to stay in their apartments for days until the elevator was working again; • failure to provide effective lighting and security cameras, resulting in criminal activity taking place on the premises as well as elderly tenants being harassed by non-residents; and • failure to provide adequate ventilation and safety from fire hazards.
WHO: Plaintiffs Gary Bailey, John Brant, Huey Martin, Cathy Mayes, Lisa McConnell Michael Fuller, Lead Pro Bono Trial Attorney for Plaintiffs WHERE: Allen Fremont Plaza Apartments (221 NE Fremont) WHEN: Wednesday, June 1, 11a.m.
We are supporting caregivers in our community through our ‘Dear Mama, We Still Love You’. This is an event that recognizes all Mama’s including those who have lost their children. A Mama is someone who shows comfort and support for those who are vulnerable and are not always the birth person in our lives. ‘Dear Mama, We Still Love You’ is an inclusive space for gathering. Join us May 18th for a free brunch at Grits n’ Gravy. We will have a table to sign up for our free food distributions, youth art programming and legal support. Please fill out the form here to help us with meal planning!
We are so excited to be tabling at Ethos Music Centers’ carnival and gala on May 14, 2022! Please support the incredible work this organization does to enrich and empower youth through music.
Please join us on Friday, March 20th as we table at the Portland Youth Climate Strike / Sunrise PDX day of action at Portland City Hall. This strike is being done to support and uplift the voices of climate justice organizers and our youth generation. Please share the flyer below with friends, family and community!
A recent audit by City Auditor Mary Hull Caballero found the Portland Police gathered and stored information about political activity without documenting criminal suspicion. On April 25th, Don’t Shoot Portland will host a presentation by the Auditor’s Office on their latest findings including that:
• Officers collected information about protesters without documenting reasons; • The Bureau held information about political activity without safeguards; • The Bureau had technology capable of gathering personal information without policies and procedures to protect civil rights; • Officers use social media for investigative purposes without direction; and • Better transparency may lower public’s fear of airplane surveillance.
You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions, share your thoughts, and engage in discussion about these important issues. You’ll also learn about how you can share your opinions about upcoming audit topics including Vision Zero and traffic safety, the Joint Office of Homeless Services, the Inclusionary Housing Program, and fiscal management at the Parks Bureau. The presentation will be live-streamed through our YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47PtrfU5Imc
On April 19, the Oregon Justice Resource Center will be hosting the first of a two part webinar about the new Senate Bill 819. Facing the reality of our deeply flawed justice system means participating in civic action and engagement. Bills like these have the potential to make instrumental change in the lives of those affected by mass incarceration.
Please register to attend and share the virtual event with your family, friends and community at large who could benefit from knowing about this new bill. There will be a Q&A portion towards the end of the webinar – please submit questions by emailing contact@dontshootpdx.org.
Don’t Shoot Portlands’ mutual aid vehicle share program is kicking off thanks to our Social Outreach Committee. By implementing this resource, we are removing barriers for volunteers, organizations and mutual aid groups participating in critical response work! The Mutual Aid Vehicle Share Program is available to groups mobilizing for community service and are in need of safe, reliable transportation. These vehicles are meant as a resource to make mutual aid work more accessible while distributing water, food, supplies and more. Interested community service groups are invited to use this form to request vehicle assistance.
We ask for your help in supporting the Warm Springs community by donating towards their water crisis. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have been without consistent water access since 2014. A large portion of those living on the Reservation rely solely on bottled water and the need is great.
The Peacekeeper Society (PKS) has been making consistent water, food and supply runs to the tribe since spring of 2020 and are currently working to ensure water reserves will be stocked through the summer. In the past 2 weeks we have brought 23 pallets (the equivalent of 6,114 gallons) of water and will be making weekly runs until needs are met. Every dollar helps! Kw’alanuushamash. Tax-deductible donations can be made through CashApp, Venmo or their website directly.
Please join us in supporting teacher Bryan Chu of Harriet Tubman Middle School. We ask you to sign and share the current petition being circulated in order to allow Chu back into the classroom to do what he does best – empowering youth through education and civic action.
A Portland Public Schools board meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 19 at 6pm at PPS, 501 N. Dixon Portland, OR 97227. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend!
Thank you to all of the visitors who were able to view our last exhibition, ‘Feeling Documents: A Liberated Archives Experience’ at HOLDING Contemporary. We are so appreciative and in awe at the level of engagement that was cultivated in connection to our latest research-based installation. Please stay tuned as we plan and prepare for our next project in our Liberated Archives series.
We also want to thank all of the people who were able to make our annual Spring Break Out a wonderful week of virtual education. Presentations from the city of Portland Auditors, an archiving discussion with Zakiya Collier and an artist talk with Don’t Shoot Portland’s executive director Teressa Raiford can all be viewed on our YouTube page.
To our GiveGuide donors that gave over a $25 donation, your t-shirts are on the way; thank you all so much for supporting us through this city-wide initiative! We are making these by hand with Umbrella Inkand will have shipping continuing through the end of April.
On April 16, 2022 will mark one year since Robert Delgado was shot and killed by Portland Police at Lents Park. Robert was houseless at the time, living in the Lents area, and experiencing a mental health crisis.
Please join us at Lents Park (east side) for community healing through art and gathering days, as well as a memorial and vigil, in Robert’s honor:
Painting days: Fridays, April 1, 8, 15, 5-7 p.m.
Memorial and vigil: Saturday, April 16, 5 p.m.
Over the course of the next three Fridays, starting tonight, we will work together to create art in Robert’s honor, and we will unveil the finished art at the one-year memorial in Robert’s honor.
Paint supplies and refreshments will be provided. These gatherings will be for all people, housed or unhoused, of all ages and abilities. Please share to help us spread the word!
It’s nearly time for our annual Spring Break Out programming and we are excited about the events we have planned! We will be joined by researchers, archivists and auditors to center community engagement and civic participation from March 21 through March 25. Please tune in for these virtual events – they will be happening live beginning at 2pm each day on our YouTube channel.
Danny Cage, photo by Mika Martinez
We’ve recently brought on youth organizer Danny Cage as this years’ ambassador for Don’t Shoot Portlands’ Childrens’ Art and Social Justice Council. As part of this role, Danny is inviting you to take action through these initiatives below:
Youth vs. ODOT have been organizing strikes every other Wednesday for nearly a year – find out more information to support their work by heading to Sunrise Movement PDX’s website!
Multnomah Youth Commission are the official youth advisory body for Multnomah County and the city of Portland. Applications for the 2022-2023 cohort are now open! There are no GPA or experience requirements to apply, only passion about making change in our city. Apply online by April 18 through the link on their website.
Please take a look at our Spring Break Out 2022 programming below to find more information about the panels that will be happening. We are also accepting questions for the Artist Talk on March 24th – questions can be sent to info@holdingcontemporary.com!
Monday March 21, 2022:
“Why Audits Matter: Council Clerk & Ombudsman” with Elizabeth Martinez and Keelan McClymont via YouTube Live. We will be joined by the City Auditors’ Council Clerk and Ombudsman to learn more about how they handle public complaints against the city, engaging with members of City Council, the Charter Review Commission and more.
Archivist and memory worker Zakiya Collier
Tuesday March 22, 2022: “Archives for Black Lives: Why CRT Matters” with archivist and memory worker Zakiya Collier via YouTube Live. Zakiya Collier (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based, Black, queer archivist and memory worker. Her work and research explore the role of cooperative thought and improvisation in the sustainability of im/material cultural memory, particularly in marginalized communities and cultural heritage institutions. Before joining Shift Collective as the Community Manager for Documenting the Now (DocNow) in 2022, they have centered African-diasporan, queer, and community-based organizations. Her previous experience includes the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Weeksville Heritage Center, SafeWordSociety, Marilyn Nance’s FESTAC ’77 collection, and other private archival collections. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina, an MLIS from Long Island University, and a MA in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University. Zakiya is a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA) and a guest co-editor of a forthcoming special issue of The Black Scholar on Black Archival Practice.
Wednesday March 23, 2022:
“Why Audits Matter: Elections” with Louise Hansen & Cody Sibley via YouTube Live. We will spend an hour with the City Elections Office learning everything there is to know about running for office, different ways to hold our City accountable and more.
Thursday March 24, 2022:
“Artist Talk with Teressa Raiford” via YouTube Live. Join HOLDING Contemporary Director Tiffany Harker as she hosts an in-gallery artist talk with Teressa Raiford. They will discuss the current Don’t Shoot Portland exhibition, Feeling Documents, as well as answer questions from the public. Please submit your questions by sending an email to info@holdingcontemporary.com!
Friday March 25, 2022:
“Why Audits Matter: Audit Services” with KC Jones and Elizabeth Pape via YouTube Live. The final presentation of Spring Break Out will focus on the framework of performance audits that help make Portland government more effective, efficient and equitable in order to hold City government accountable. We will also walk through specific examples, such as the Gang Task Force Audit related to Portland Police stops.
Thank you for sustaining our work.
All donations help to keep our communities empowered and support a variety of programs including training, social justice art camps, community feed ins, food and clothing distribution, legal clinics, educational dialogues, demonstrations, and community art projects.
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