June 10, 2020
Page 2
No End to Massive Protests
Black leader
says streets is
where change
will be won
A historic leader of Portland’s
African American community
joined thousands of protesters in
northeast Portland Monday night
to demand police accountability
and an end to racism and police
brutality against African Ameri-
cans.
Kent Ford, 77, a life-long mem-
ber of Portland’s black communi-
ty and the founding member of the
Portland chapter of the Black Pan-
ther Party going back to the civil
rights era of the 1960s, appealed
to Portlanders to keep demanding
change.
He said continued street pro-
tests are the best option to put on
the pressure to reform police de-
partments across the country, in-
cluding Portland. He also voiced
his astonishment at how the
movement to end police brutali-
ty against African Americans has
now drawn so many white and di-
verse supporters from outside the
black community.
Change was “not going to come
from D.C.” he said. “It’s not go-
ing to come from the Capitol. It’s
going to come from down here on
the streets.”
Ford’s call out came as sever-
al thousand people marched from
Revolution Hall, the former Wash-
ington High School in southeast
Portland, to Northeast 15th and
Alberta in the heart of Portland’s
African American community.
It was the 11th straight night
of massive protests in Portland,
sparked by the May 25 death of
George Floyd, a black man who
died under police restraint in Min-
neapolis.
More than 100 people have
been arrested in Portland since
the protests began. Police say they
have struggled to balance allow-
ing thousands of peaceful protests
to march and confronting much
smaller crowds that seem focused
on clashing with officers at any
cost.
Thousands of peaceful Portland protesters lay down for nine minutes of silence June 1 on the Burnside Bridge with their hands behind
their backs to memorialize the time a Minnesota police officer’s knee pinned George Floyd’s neck to the ground, a black man who died
May 25 under police restraint. (AP photo)
Portland Trail Blazer Damian Lillard (left) joins more than 10,000 people for a peaceful protest against police brutality and racism on
Friday night, walking from Revolution Hall, the former Washington High School in southeast Portland, to downtown. Massive protests in
the city have taken place for 11 straight nights, sparked by the police Memorial Day police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis
and other officer-involved deaths of black Americans. (AP photo)
Protesters demonstrate
on June 2 in and around
Pioneer Courthouse Square,
downtown. (AP photo)