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street roots
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Keeping City Hall and our progress in perspective
JuALr* M w P* b «JRL* i
T
Marriage equality another block
to a strong foundation
n this month of Gay Pride, we have seen real
I
progress that all of us can celebrate.
State by state, the scales of discrimination
against gay men and lesbians are falling away. In M ay,
a federal judge struck down Oregon’s ban on marriage
for same-sex couples, declaring the exclusion
unconstitutional. On June 4, th e U.S. Supreme Court
shot down an attempt by the National Organization for "
Marriage, the leading proponents of the marriage
discrimination policy, to prompt a stay against
weddings in Oregon.
While these are major steps toward equality -
arguably
among in
the a
most
significant
Equality —whether In
terms of gender, race or generation - there
remains a long journey
social class — will
ahead.
always be on the
In this edition, we
horizon as long as
see where the
prejudice and
personal battles
ignorance are left
continue to be fought
unchecked in our
op a national stage.
neighborhoods.
: Mia Macy had to first
win the right to sue,
forcing the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission to recognize that, as a transgender
woman, she was entitled to protection under the
constitution just as any other American citizen. She
then won her case to protect the rights of all people
facing workplace discrimination because of their
gender identity.
1 - jjjSI
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots.org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
Send letters to the
editor to the Street
Roots office, 211
NW Davis St.,
Portland, OR 97209,
or e-mail to joanne®
streetroots.org
C o u rt cases, legal decisions, actions and reactions:
.a£e.,lhe,.fnnndat.inn in
Yet th e goal is still in th e m aking. E q u ality —w h eth er
in te rm s of gender, race o r social class — will always be
on th e horizon as long as prejudice and ignorance are
left unchecked in our neighborhoods. It will always be
a struggle as long as the next generation is taught the
same disconnect between “us” and “them,” regardless
of who “they” may be. They may be queer, they may
be poor, they may be brown, black or white. They may
be us.
It’s true, the famous quote from Edmund Burke, that
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that
good men do nothing.”
The people opposed to marriage equality are still
fighting in the courts. They will likely never stop. But
the story of our friends and neighbors, our family and
the people we love, cannot be reduced to legal briefs
and judicial decisions. Lawyers alone didn’t overturn
decades of discrimination against gay and lesbian
couples. The community - of every stripe - came
together to not only demand equality, but also work
tirelessly until it was achieved.
Only 19 states in the nation recognize gay marriage;
fewer than half. We are a part of the foundation. Let’s
build on it.
Our missiMi
t ó
creates income opportunities fo r '
producing a newspaper and other media that are ’
cataiysts for individual and sodaf change.
' Street Roots publishes every two weeks, launching
on Fridays, and.s available exclusively through our
street vendors or by subscription. We are proud
members of the International Network o f Streek
Papers.
Staff
Executive D ire c to r Israel Bayer
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetfoGts.org
Vendor Doortiinator Cole Merkel
coletstreetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer,
grace@streetroots.org
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Office Assistant Amber Bielman
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax: 503-227-3117
streetroots.org
newSiStreetroots.org
June 6, 2014
Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan
Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Galliot
Photographers Kristina Wright, Christopher
Onstott, Adrienne Burkett *
Hales and Amanda Fritz’s work to
stand by Portland’s Right 2 Dream
Too, one of Portland’s two te n t cities.
Talk about political risk. Name me
another mayor and a city council in
the United States supporting
homeless people in their effort to
purchase ¿heir own land and I’ll eat
my words.
Saying that, nothing is black and
white when it comes to equality.
That’s why housing advocates, who
on one hand work with the city, will
also be protesting laws targeting
people experiencing homelessness
this weekend during the Rose
Festival. Homeless people will soon
be swept out of Waterfront Park for
the month of June during the festival.
Homeless folks in turn, will reclaim
the streets for a day during the
parade.
Then there’s the Airbnb and the
short-term rental debate. Some
believe that expanding the short-term
rental industry will further spur
gentrification. ,
Companies such as Airbnb and
VRBO help facilitate renting
thousands of homes, or dwellings to
visitors for 30 days or less. Many of
those rentals are for very short
periods of time, like an extended
weekend.
Street Roots and a growing
coalition of folks think any lodging tax
collected from the short-term rentals
should go right back into affordable
housing. It’s complicated.
Concerning the street fee - well,
we have until November to figure it
o u t Like i t or not, I think we can.
Aren’t you for better streetlights,
sid ^ ^ & a n d ^ a ^ coadsLI a m ^ h g
e world is,a complicated place.
Of course, you;don’t need me
to tell you th a t
On my way home from work this
week I stopped and talked to an
elderly woman sleeping on the streets
in Old Town. “Besides my aching back
all I really need is
a long, hot bath
and a nice quiet
place to read,” the
woman told me. “I
really don’t need a,
By Israel Bayer
lot.”
Her attitude, all
things considered,
was still
optimistic. Nothing about her life was
simple. ^Nothing ever is,” she told
me. “This storm will pass.”
There’s been a storm brewing in
Portland over the recent proposed
transportation street fee. The fee,
proposed by transportation
commissioner Steve Novick and
Mayor Charlie Hales, has been met
with some fierce resistance among
both the business community and
poverty advocates, including Street
Roots. There’s been a great deal of
civic debate. There’s also been a lot of
mudslinging.
It’s a complicated debate and easy
•to get caught up in the rhetoric.
Saying that, it’s also important to put
things into perspective.
It was only a couple of weeks ago
that this city council worked together
to pass a balanced budget that
supports Portland’s community, /
including allocating an additional $2.2
million toward our most vulnerable
citizens.
Novick, yes, that Steve
DESK
Novick, th e on e you think d o esn ’t
care about Portlanders right now
because he wants to pass the street
fee, has been leading a committee for
th e past year charged with advising
City Hall about how to implement its
socially responsible investment
principles. What does that mean?
It means rolling back the city’s
investments in businesses such as
Wal-Mart, and other socially
irresponsible corporations.«The
committee is specifically looking at
health and environmental concerns,
abusive labor practices, corrupt
corporate ethic and governance,
among others. The City of Portland’s
entire investment portfolio currently
ranges from $940 million to $1.29
billion and averages about $1.08
billion during the year. We’re not
talking about a commissioner that
isn’t thinking in very sm art ways on
how to improve the lives of poor and
working Oregonians. We’re talking
about an elected official working to
create real social change.
We also can’t forget both Charlie
devilW ill
and' 2 ?w e
come together as a community we can
get there.
After that Portland, it’s easy breezy.
All we have to do is get the Feds to
adequately fund local governments, to
challenge Oregon legislatures to take
on real tax reform, raise the minimum
wage, adequately fund our mental
health and housing system, end
childhood poverty, reform our drug
laws and immigration policy, create
real police oversight and tackle that
thing called climate change. Did I
mention equity for all, as in everyone?
I’m sure I missed something, or
someone.
My point is, both Portland
residents and elected officials are
working to make our city the best it
can be. Do we always get it right? Of
course not, but who among us has a
track record of always getting things
right?
Like our friend on the street says,
Nothing is simple, nothing ever is.
This storm will pass.
Board of Directors
Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice-
chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas.), Eddy Barbosa (Sec.),
. Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes. Nora Coon,
Darren Alexander, Amber Bielman .
- -
Volunteers
Vendors
Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents
each and sell them for $1, keeping the 75 cents, in
our vendors, we receive additional support from
donations and in-kirid contributions.
Jan Bayer, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob Shryock, Anri-
Derrick Gaillot, Stacey Heath, Vinnie Kinsella, Michelle
Breslau, Paula Cracas, John Barker, Mary Locke, Lucas
Manfield, Jessie Carver, Cherie Vedal, Sam Bouman,
Isaac Hastings Hauss, Emily Green, Tom Ray, Sarah ‘
Hansell, Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento, Kyle Craven,
Audrey Benison
Street Boots Bose City Resource
Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a
comprehensive booklet of services for people
experiencing homelessness and poverty.
To inquire about getting guides, call 503-228-5657.
Resources are online at www.rosecityresource.org.
7 5 c
goes directly to the vendor
who sold you the i
2 5 ;
goes toward
printing costs
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.