Celebrating
‘City
of
Roses’
BLACK
HISTORY
MONTH
Volume XLVI • Number 5
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • February 1, 2017
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Photo by C hrista M C i ntyre /t he P ortland o bserver
Thousands of supporters join the Albina Ministerial Alliance’s Coalition for Justice and Police Reform on Saturday to march up Northeast Martin Luther King Boulevard
from the MLK statute at the Oregon Convention Center to Maranatha Church, two miles north.
No Retreat on Civil Rights
Thousands join
black ministers
in call for action
C hrista M C i ntyre
t he P ortland o bserver
An energized civil rights community in
Portland is showing it will not stand down
as it pushes for police reforms and faces
a new federal government under President
Donald Trump that threatens civil liberties
of many communities.
Led by ministers in Portland’s black
community, thousands of people joined
the “Advancing Justice and Equality for
All Through the Strength of Love” protest
Saturday in northeast Portland, starting at
the Martin Luther King Jr. statute at the
Oregon Convention Center and proceeding
by
two miles north to Maranatha Church on
Northeast 12th Avenue .
The event, on the seventh anniversary of
the death of Aaron Campbell, an unarmed
African American man shot by Portland
Police in 2010, was sponsored by the Al-
bina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for
Justice and Police Reform, the Portland
NAACP, Urban League of Portland, Cop-
watch and other groups.
The crowd began to swell as speakers
fired up the audience with chants: “What
do we want? Justice! When do we want
it? Now!” Handmade signs in a variety
of colors with a multitude of causes filled
the space like a sea of paper greeting cards
printed in a justice factory.
Leaders from Portland’s civil rights
community stood shoulder to shoulder to
deliver a united message. JoAnn Hardes-
ty, president of the Portland NAACP held
a bullhorn to amplify voices; Maranatha
Senior Pastor Dr. T. Allen Bethel endorsed
the speeches from the side; Apostle E.D.
Mondainé swayed the crowd with a gos-
pel song; and Dr. LeRoy Haynes, chair of
the AMA justice group, drummed up the
crowd with an appeal to move civil rights
protections forward, not back.
Rev. Lynne Smouse Lopez from
Ainsworth United Church of Christ echoed
the sentiment of many to never retreat
on equality and justice issues, “Like a
tree planted by the water, we shall not be
moved,” she said.
Grant High School student Dylan Palm-
er spoke about the history of the struggle
for equality and how it must continue for-
ward. Other leaders included Pastor Mark
Knutson of Augustana Lutheran, Pastor
J.W. Matt Hennessee of Vancouver Ave-
nue First Baptist Church; and City Council
Members Amanda Fritz and Chloe Eudaly.
Mothers and fathers carried babies, one
who was six weeks old and had already at-
tended two marches. People in wheelchairs
joined the protest. Several men held royal
blue signs in honor of the National Organi-
zation of Women.
Margaret Jacobsen, lead organizer of
the Portland Women’s March the weekend
before, along with citizen journalist Cam-
eron Whitten flanked the marchers. When
the crowd reached Planned Parenthood on
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard a boom
of cheers erupted in support of the health
clinic. Three women in medical scrubs
rushed out of the center and joined the
massive crowd.
Dr. Bethel, Dr. Haynes, E.D. Mondainé
and Pastor Knutson led the group up the
steps of Maranatha, where they were joined
by Imam Mikal Shabazz and his wife, rep-
resenting Portland’s Muslim community.
C ontinued on P age 5