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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2020)
May 6, 2020 Page 2 Young Activist Runs for Metro Council Position has no incumbent in crowded field b everly c orbell t he P ortland o bserver When Cameron Whitten moved to Portland at age 18, he had no place to live and no resources, but a local nonprofit with a long histo- ry of helping homeless youth took him in. Now he wants to give back and is running for the District 5 seat on the Portland Metro Coun- cil, a regional government serving Multnomah, Clackamas and Wash- ington counties. “I was a client at Outside Inn, I had access to mentors, to meals, to shelter, and I had advocates that helped me enroll in school and be successful,” Whitten said, describ- ing his experience with the organi- zation and a concern that too many others, like he was 10 years ago, are still vulnerable. “Our world is so broken right now, and I think the resources that currently exist do not adequate- ly meet the needs we have,” he said. “There are people who are extremely vulnerable with very in- tense challenge.” Whitten, in an interview with the Portland Observer before the by coronavirus pandemic caused a worldwide health crisis, said he felt lucky that he had been able to find successful employment and a career in public service. But while he credited the support he’s had, he also pointed to his own hard work to make a productive life for him- self. To focus on his campaign, Whitten ended his tenure as exec- utive director of the Q Center to devote the time necessary to win an election. Besides the Q Center which offers programs to support the LGBTQ+ community, Whitten has served as founder of the racial justice nonprofit Brown Hope, known for the Reparations Power Hour and Blackstreet Bakery. He also serves on the boards of Reach Community Development and Pio- neer Courthouse Square. A long time activist, Whitten led protests following the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Gardner, Sandra Bland and other people of color, and in 2012 he staged a 56- day hunger strike in front of City Hall that focused attention on the suffering caused by the city’s hous- ing crisis. On top of all that, in 2016 he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Portland State University, and he is currently studying for his master’s in busi- tunities that have happened.” Service to others is his life’s calling, Whitten said, but his great passion is racial justice, and his initial encounter with racism was when he first got to Oregon. “We were in Albany and went there to stay at my friend’s dad’s house, but after one night the dad asked us to leave because he was uncomfortable having a black man in his house,” he said. “Coming from Virginia, where I never had experienced overt racism like that, it made no sense to me. I actually laughed at myself and said, ‘What! There are racist people in Oregon?’ Ten years later I no longer find it funny.” The historic racist devastation of the black community in Port- land by gentrification and so-called civic improvements or Urban Re- newal, cannot be overstated, Whit- ten said. “Place is so important. Place shapes our identity, it shapes our community and it shapes our fu- Photo by b everly c orbell /t he P ortland o bserver ture,” he said. “In Portland, we Steeped in Portland political activism for a decade, Cameron took that from our black commu- Whitten is running for a seat on the Metro Council in the May nity.” 19 Primary. He most recently served as executive director of the Whitten is so passionate about nonprofit Q Center and is founder of the racial justice nonprofit the loss to the black culture in north Brown Hope. and northeast Portland that he even ness administration. number of years I’ve been on this launched a walking tour, “The Hid- “I’m 28 and the impact I have planet,” Whitten said. “But I think c ontinued on P age 5 made has been outsized to the it speaks to my passion and oppor- The Established 1970 USPS 959 680 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submis- sions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads be- come the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage with- out the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer--Oregon’s Oldest Multicultur- al Publication--is a member of the National Newspa- per Association--Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Pub- lishers Association Week in Review COVID Hospitalizations Fall State officials reported the number of Oregonians sick enough to be hospitalized with coronavirus hit a new low Sunday. There were 92 active hospitalizations May 3. That number represents a drop of more than 40%t from the 156 reported hospitalizations on April 8, the first day state officials dis- closed active hospitalizations for confirmed cases of COVID-19. PO QR code Mark Washington, Sr. e ditor : Michael Leighton A dvertising M AnAger : Leonard Latin P ublisher : Office Manager/Classifieds: Lucinda Baldwin C reAtive d ireCtor : Paul Neufeldt r ePorter /W eb e ditor : Beverly Corbell P ubliC r elAtions : Mark Washington Jr. o ffiCe A ssistAnt /s Ales : Shawntell Washington CALL 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015 news@portlandobserver.com ads@portlandobserver.com subscription@portlandobserver.com Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland Observer , PO Box 3137 , Portland, OR 97208 Protest at State Capitol Hundreds of people opposed to Oregon’s stay-at-home order demonstrated at the state Capitol on Saturday as public health offi- cials in the state announced doz- ens more cases and five additional deaths from COVID-19. Most of the protesters were white and did not wear face masks, and many waved American flags and Trump campaign signs. gized last week to people who have encountered problems trying to ap- ply for unemployment during the coronavirus crisis. A record number of people have applied for bene- fits, but many have been stymied by breakdowns in the system. “If you’re waiting on an unemploy- ment claim: I hear your frustration,” Brown, a Democrat, wrote on Twit- ter. “I’m sorry for the delays.” Hispanics Hit Hard by Virus New data show that nearly half of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Washington County, representing Hillsboro, Beaverton and other local cities identify as Hispanic, even though the coun- ty’s overall Hispanic population is 16.5%. The pandemic brings into sharp focus the systemic social, economic and health inequities that many of our Latinx residents already face, Washington County public health officials announced. Bottle Drop Complaints A dispute over large crowds at a BottleDrop center at Hayden Meadows in north Portland has escalated with the owner of the retail strip mall hiring guards and fencing off a vacant lot where peo- ple were lining up to return cans. The retail development’s CEO Va- nessa Sturgeon said the company needed to step in to prevent drug dealing and fights, but representa- Record Unemployment Claims tives of the bottle drop said it was Oregon Gov. Kate Brown apolo- the guards causing chaos.
