Street roots
5
June 24, 2011
BYRD, from page 4
I. B.: Some progressives say Oregon won’t
succumb to right-wing rhetoric concerning
anti-government messaging and fram ing that
has engulfed other regions, but in this past
election, Portland lost a school levy without
any organized opposition, and Clackamas
County voted down building a construction
bond for the Sellwood Bridge that would have
cost individuals $5 a year. The following is
quote from an organizer who helped defeat the
bridge levy in the Oregonian: “This grassroots
effort showed the big money and big unions
that they cannot push us around. This is a
strong statement that people are really
concerned about where their money is going.
We should not be forced to pay fo r somebody
else’s bridge, the same as you should not be
forced to pay fo r your neighbor’s roof.” What
are your thoughts?
J. B.: Again, I think people are afraid, and
people are really hurting economically. We
need to consistently and persistently
articulate how public investments in our
institutions benefit all of us. At the same
time, we need to be willing to admit Where
bur public institutions have not met their
mission while still upholding their important
role.
For example, we should all be horrified at
the graduation rates in Portland Public
Schools, particularly in communities of
color. We all benefit from a strong system of
public education that will graduate talented
and creative and capable young people,
equipped to take on the , challenges of the
future. We cannot accept a system that fails
our children, and we must all commit to
doing what it takes to help children succeed.
I. B.: A lot o f what many social justice
groups talk about is.a response to how
government addresses a specific issue. In
today’s climate it seems like fo r many, talking
apout, government programs turns people off.
How to we get around this?
J. B.: Government is invisible for many,,
people. We forget that it’s government that
gives us sidewalks and street signs as well
as invisible infrastructure like the Federal
Communications Commission and services
like animal control. „
Government is also disconnected inour
minds from community. We need to name,
and illuminate the vital systems and
structures that are how we live together in *
community and how we reach our .
communal vision.
LB.: The concept o f obtaining racial, class,
health and/or gender equity, and how we use
this language has become a key goal for many
organizations and institutions. Is there a
disconnect between what actually happens
internally with many organizations and
institutions surrounding equity, and how we
are actually communicating and inspiring
people to create change and leadership on the
ground?
J.B.: Talking about equity challenges us
in many ways. Talking about equity can
trigger lots of unspoken frames, and so folks
need to initiate these conversations
deliberately.
Conversations have different goals. It’s
possible, and important, to decide what your
goal is. Are you calling someone out for bad
behavior? Are you trying to persuade a
group to be sympathetic? Are you talking to
policy makers about a specific proposal?’
You’ll want to frame your statements
differently based on your goal, think about
how you’re structuring the conversation,
and think about how you can articulate a
collective goal or benefit
If your goal is a policy change, and you
need widespread public buy in, one tested
strategy is to articulate the benefit to the
whole community to making the change. So
the focus is not on the racialized outcomes,
or the disparities, but on the ways the
change will strengthen the community.
At the same time, we can’t let go of the
outrage that we absolutely must feel at
some behaviors. Housing discrimination
based on race, racial profiling by police
officers — these deserve to be called out
immediately and forcefully as unacceptable. '
We fail at these conversations about race
and equity on many levels in Portland, and I
I.B.: You wrote an indepth paper along
with the Heritage Consulting Group in 2003
on funding strategies fo r Portland related to a
housing levy and bond. In Seattle, they have
been very successful with a housing levy. Why
do you think they have been successful and we
have not even tried?
J.B.: Seattle issued
a housing bond in
1981, and when the
bond began to run out We fall at these
they launched it as a
conversations about race
levy. Portland has at
and equity on many levels In
various times funded
Portland, and 1 definitely
housing quite
substantially, but
Include myself In the group
policy makers have
that has failed, and, I'm
always prioritized
afraid
we'll fall again. But
using other tools to
do housing
we can't avoid or delay these
development Urban
conversations.
renewal has been a
major source, there’s
been a lot from the
General Fund, and
there were bonds
used that didn’t require a public vote.
I’m excited to hear a broader group of
advocates thinking about a levy that would
include housing. There are a lot of possible
approaches that could resonate with*people
all over Portland and Multnomah County,
tying housing to common values and widely
helping community priorities. Having a
broad conversation makes a lot of sense,
getting ideas and interests shared early so
that there’s a strong base of support to
build upon.
I.B.: You’ve been doing community
development work for more than 30 years. How
have you seen thé climate change surrounding
social justice issues?
J.B.: People are both more, connected and
definitely include m yself in th e gro u p th a t
le ss con n ected . T h e incredibJe'ácC éss to cell
has failed« and, I’m afraid we’ll fail again.
But we can’t avoid or delay these
conversations. We live in a city, county and
state that has systems that not only fail to
provide opportunity to all of our residents,
but systems that stand in the way of
success. We all lose when we aren’t
capturing the energy and vitality and talent
of our neighbors towards making a better
future.
phones, the Internet and social media
makes if easier to reach people, yet at the
samé time we are all bombarded with
incoming information and opportunities for
diversion;
We need to lose some old habits and get
better at simplifying our message so that
people can hear us. And we all need to
listen more closely, so we can discern what
the conversation is really ¿bout
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