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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2017)
Street Roots • Feb. 17-23, 2017 We must organize, not demonize: Resist ’ve never really trusted or liked American politics, even though I’m deeply engrossed in them. Much of the reason I ended up on the path I’m on was due to my own circumstances with poverty, mentors that influenced me over the ye,ars, and not being able to walk away from people suffering. I’ve protested. I’ve been arrested for civil disobedience. I’ve played the game. I’ve tried shoving the issue down people’s throats. I’ve IR E C T O R 'S compromised with D ESK powerful institutions that my values didn’t align By Israel Bayer with knowing it would — jea(j t0 more g00(j for the care workers, etc., don’t be afraid to take a screenshot and find a way to report them to their place of work. ■ Take the time to support minority-owned businesses. Visit racistsandwich.com for a listing of restaurants and grocery stores owner and operated by people of color in Portland. ■ Join a racial-justice organization with your membership and participation. ■ Seek out different opinion makers and media outlets that highlight the perspectives and voices of people of color. ■ Oregon is facing a $1.8 billion budget shortfall. People of color and poor white folks will suffer. Call your local legislators and tell them it’s absolutely critical that they find a way people I serve than my to tax large corporations for doing business in own political ideologies. Oregon. I can’t say a whole lot to convince anyone ■ Portlanders can make two calls! Portland that any one person or political ideology is correct I do believe in human beings and the Democrats - Ginny Burdick and Rod Monroe - world we live in. I do believe stand in the way of tenant reforms people can change, and it’s in the Oregon legislature. Call neither comfortable nor easy to them both and voice your support stand up and advocate for fo3r tenant protections and banning unpopular things, especially in no cause evictions. Call Burdick at We have a the age of social media. It’s responsibility to not 503-986-1718 and Monroe at 503- much easier to simply give lip, 986-1724. It’s timé for change. mock or avoid the conversation give our country ■ There are 26 local all together. over to a racist throughout the We can’t stand back and not leader and people jurisdictions P o rtla n d M e tro a re a. E a c h o n e of say anything about the ugly w ho h a te th e n o tio n t h e m s h o u ld b e c o n t r i b u t i n g t o racism and white nationalism of govern m en t solvingthe affordable housing that is spreading like wildfire H e lp in g p o o r c risis. Call M e tro a t 503-797-1700 through our country. S D Israel Bayer is thé executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach h im a t israel@streetroots.org or follow h im on Twitter @israelbayer. W hen I w as a kid, in my Page 3 Editorial p e o p le . We h a v e a and tell them we expect Metro responsibility to hometown in industrial Middle leaders to prioritize affordable America, I ran with some kids stand np and work housing regionwide. that identified with white ■ Donate your money to lor a better nationalism and Southern pride. CAUSA Oregon at causaoregon. tomorrow lor all At one point, one of my peers org. Beyond having to respond to human beings. told a black kid in my school the harsh realities of anti that I called him the “N” word immigrant rhetoric and ICE raids, which I never did or never CAUSA is working to combat would. Needless to say, that kid right-wing activists who are beat me down, literally. I didn’t already organizing to put anti blame him. The reality is nothing I could say mattered because the immigrant legislation before the voters in people I was associating with were racists. It’s Oregon. If you want to put your money where something I’ve never spoken of and have been your mouth is, CAUSA needs your support now ashamed of my entire life. From that moment more than ever! on, though, I told myself I would never put ■ Become a recurring donor with Street myself in that situation again. It was up to me Roots. Social justice journalism is needed more to educate myself. It was up to me to take now than ever. Street Roots needs to increase accountability for my own actions. our capacity to provide in-depth reporting on My point is we all have a choice. Love is so the issues that matter in our community. We much more powerful than hate. We have a need your support to tell the stories of the responsibility to not give our country over to a racist leader and people who hate the notion of people. Become a recurring donor today at government helping poor people. We have a streetroots.org. responsibility to stand up and work for a better ■ Last, but not least Get out into the tomorrow for all human beings. streets. P rotest R esist at every turn. Organize We are living in unforgiving and - don’t demonize. Bring your kids. Invite your unprecedented political times. It’s overwhelming to know exactly what to do family and friends. Be engaged. Be active. Get up. Stand up. Don’t give up the fight! in the moment, especially for people who aren’t Being able to help with any one of these politically active. Doing nothing is no longer an things will help move forward social justice option. Here are a few things you can do today to help move forward a racial justice in Portland efforts in our community. Whether you’re a seasoned advocate o r new to political activism, and in Oregon. ■ Report racism, especially racial slurs on we all have things to learn. The reality is, for social media, especially public figures or people white people specifically, if we aren’t part of the working with the general public. If you have solution than we are part of the.problem. Stand peers on your social media groups who are up and be counted! being overtly racist, such as teachers, health If you would like to have that you’ve written published in our pages, or would like to get involved as a member of our reporting staff, -" contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl at 503-228-5657, joanne@streetroots.org. We ask that all submissions include the author’s name and contact information, if available. ' Street Roots 211 NW Davis S t Portland, OR 07209 503-228-5657 " ' ' ‘ Fax:503-227-3117 www.streetroots.org www.news.streetroots.org Hours: 7:30 a.m,-3 p.m, Mon,-Fri„ 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat and 7:30-1 p.m. Sun. Advertising Interested in advertising in Street Roots? , Contact Israel Bayer at israel@streetroots.org Staff Executive Director Israel Bayer ¡srael@streetroots.org Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl joanne@streetroots.org C o le M e r k e l co ie @ stree tro o ts.o rg ' O perations D ire c to r Sa ra h B e e cro ft Development D ire c to r Sarah C lo u d Program A ssistant M e g h a n n V a n Pelt, V e n d o r P ro g ra m D ire c t o r ' Jesu it V o lu n te e r Development Assistant Patricia Romero Reporters Emily Green, Suzanne Zalokar, Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Jared Paben, Amanda Waldroupe, Stephen Quirke Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode Editorial Assistant Monica Kwasnik Canvasser Desmond Hardison Board of Directors Chairman Brad Taylor Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford Treasurer Heather Stadick Secretary Dan Jones Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson, Leo Rhodes, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Marcus Swift Volunteers Jan Bayer, John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Zoe Klingmann, Dan Jones, Dennis Hogan, Monica McKune, Susan Wolfe, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr, Jeanie Lunsford, Yasmin Amirsoleymani, Jason Cohen, Tom Ray, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon Raymond, Diana Richardson, Cherie Manning, Paul and Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne Joyce, Anne Reif, Gillian Horen, Mark Oldani, Meg Holden, Bridget Brown, Cody Travels, Bianca Butler, Robb Hengerer, Alex Cherin, Tom Vandel, Grace Gallagher, Jenny Farres, Evan Fifsick and Helen Hill. If you're interested in volunteering with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer application at streetroots. org/volunteer. Or you can call for more information a t 503-228-5657
