Valentines Day
is February 14
Black
History
Month
Established in 1970
PO QR code
Volume XLVIV • Number 7
‘City
of
Roses’
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • February 12, 2020
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Governor Honors Black History
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown welcomes representatives of African American communities across the state to the state Capitol in Salem last week for her
signing of a proclamation in honor of Black History Month. The contingency included members of the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs, the Oregon
Black Pioneers, State Sen. Lew Frederick, and many others. (See related photo, page 4 )
Esteemed Author Speaks Out on Inmate Justice
Says system so
flawed prisons
should be abolished
b everly C orbell
T he P orTland o bserver
Speaking out and emotionally connect-
ing in personal ways with people of color
experiencing the criminal justice system
is a passion for Walidah Imarisha, an es-
teemed Portland author, teacher and schol-
ar from the African American community.
Sharing her thoughts for Black Histo-
by
ry Month with the Portland
inmates in Oregon prisons
Observer, Imarisha explained
and jails. And according to
how cruel and unusual pun-
a 2016 publication from the
ishment has put too many
Oregon Health Authority, at
people in prison.
any single time in the state,
It’s especially true for
there are about 22,200 people
black people where incarcer-
in lockup, including 1,800
ation rates have historical-
housed in the federal prison
ly been three to nine times
at Sherwood and 550 youth.
those of whites, depending
Imarisha said there was a
upon the decade and region
time when she believed that
of the country. In Oregon,
prisons existed to rehabilitate
African Americans, for ex-
people and make communi-
Walidah Imarisha
ample, make up 2 percent of
ties safer, but after more than
the state’s population and 10 percent of the a decade of research and frequent visits
with inmates over the years, she is con-
vinced that state and federal penitentiaries
do more harm than good.
The first time that she saw a mother
sobbing and clutching her incarcerated son
when visiting hours were up only to have
a guard drag him away, she know nothing
about that scene made her feel safe.
“Prisons don’t make us safe and should
be abolished,” she said.
Imarisha blames the “war on drugs,”
profitable prison building booms of the
C onTinued on P age 7