June 24, 2020
Page 2
The
in
Week Review
COVID-19 Cases Increase
Oregon’s coronavirus cases increased by 514 people during the week-
end and a quarter of the new cases are based in Multnomah County,
where officials say a majority of the spread is occurring among close
social networks, such as family and friends.
Governor Calls on Lawmakers
Gov. Kate Brown announced last week she will convene a special
legislative session starting on Wednesday to address the state’s
COVID-19 pandemic and to improve police accountability following
weeks of protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Black Woman Handcuffed at Emanuel Hospital
Complaints about a black woman handcuffed and detained Thursday
by Legacy Emanuel security has prompted the hospital to suspend
its security officers’ further use of handcuffs and trespass arrests in
non-violent situations. The woman ultimately was released and not
charged, the Oregonian reported.
Washington Statue Toppled
A quiet evening of demonstra-
tions for racial justice and police
reform in Portland on Thursday
last week ended with another
group of protesters razing of a
George Washington statue at
northeast 57th and Sandy. Some
wrapped the statue’s head in an American flag and lit the flag on fire.
Gresham Votes to Fly Black Lives Matter Flag
The Gresham City Council voted unanimously on Monday to fly the
Black Lives Matter flag at City Hall until the end of July. It comes
days after the resignations of Gresham’s mayor, police chief and city
manager and reports blaming those in leadership positions for drop-
ping the ball on diversity training in the police department.
Police Tactics Review Ordered
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and new Police Chief Chuck Lovell said
they will review police tactics after hearing accounts of officers threat-
ening and roughing up journalists covering demonstrations against po-
lice brutality. “Members of the media, not just in Portland but around
the country, should not be targeted, hurt, or arrested while reporting on
demonstrations,” the two leaders said in a joint statement last week.
Atlanta Officer Charged
An Atlanta police officer was charged last week with murder for the
shooting death of Rayshard Brooks in a fast-food parking lot two
weeks ago, the latest in a long line of unarmed African Americans
whose fatal encounters with law enforcement have been document-
ed on video. Brooks, a 27-year-old father-of-three, “never presented
himself as a threat” according to prosecutors.
Web: www.sunlanlighting.com • E-mail: kay@sunlanlighting.com
3901 N. Mississippi Ave. • Portland, OR 97227
503.281.0453 • Fax 503.281.3408
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Brennan Scarlett, a former Central Catholic football standout and now a linebacker with the Houston
Texans of the NFL, speaks out for racial justice on Friday, June 19 during a Black Lives Matter rally
at Peninsula Park in observance of Juneteenth, In the wake of national and local protests over police
brutality and racial injustice, Portland government leaders have declared Juneteenth a new annual
paid holiday for city and county employees.
Juneteenth Elevates in Significance
As day becomes
holiday, NFL
star leads youth
on justice march
Portland observed Juneteenth
for the first time as an official
holiday Friday and the day was
celebrated by thousands of people
who marched for racial justice in
demonstrations against police bru-
tality, protests that have continued
almost daily in the city since the
Memorial Day police custody
death of George Floyd, a black
man whose neck was pinned to the
ground in Minneapolis for more
than 8 minutes before he died.
At Peninsula Park in north
Portland, a large group of young
people gathered to celebrate black
lives with speakers in a Juneteenth
event organized by Malik Mont-
gomery, a 22-year-old who grew
up in the neighborhood and host-
ed with the help of the Big Yard
Foundation, a nonprofit that sup-
ports community empowerment.
The speakers took to the stage
to share their experiences and
speak out for racial justice. Bren-
nan Scarlett, a former Central
Catholic football standout and
now a linebacker with the Hous-
ton Texans of the NFL, called on
the community to unify behind a
peaceful message for change.
The group then marched down
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
to King School Park as they chant-
ed “Black Lives Matter.”
In another Juneteenth protest
organized by young people, par-
ticipants reflected on what the hol-
iday and the Black Lives Matter
movement means to them during
a gathering at the Salmon Springs
Fountain, downtown. Later, mem-
bers of Portland’s interfaith com-
munity wrapped up the day with
a prayer at Terry Schrunk Plaza,
downtown.
Both Portland and Multnomah
County have made Juneteenth an
official annual paid holiday for
their employees in a moment of
reckoning for the history of an-
ti-blackness and racism in Port-
land.
Last Wednesday, the Portland
City Council voted unanimously
to adopt Juneteenth as an annual
Day of Remembrance and paid
holiday.
“Since the death of George
Floyd, thousands of people have
reached out to my office demand-
ing accountability and change,”
Wheeler said. “Today’s ordinance
and resolution are a direct result
of our commitment to listen and
respond to our community. This
is not performative. This is our re-
ality and it is our responsibility to
resolve the brutality of the past.”
Multnomah County Chair
Deborah Kafoury cited the histor-
ical systemic oppression of black
people as the backdrop to her re-
cent order to make Juneteenth an
annual holiday for all county em-
ployees.
Although Juneteenth has been
regularly celebrated by Mult-
nomah County employees and
community members as a day of
commemoration, education and
achievement, the chair’s designa-
tion places the day of observance
alongside Independence Day, Me-
morial Day and Presidents’ Day in
significance and impact.
“We have a profound respon-
sibility at the county to acknowl-
edge that the structural inequities
in our community and country are
rooted in the original enslavement
of black people,’’ Kafoury said in
a statement. “Observing the day of
black liberation honors the histor-
ic and current struggle, acknowl-
edges the strength of our black
neighbors, friends and family, and
reminds us of the hard and nec-
essary work we must continue to
dismantle systems of oppression.’’
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on
Thursday proclaimed June 19 as
Juneteenth in Oregon and said
she will introduce a bill in 2021 to
make it a state holiday.
Brown said celebrating black
freedom “is fiercely important as
people around the world protest
systemic racism and undeniably
show that Black Lives Matter.”
Juneteenth
commemorates
June 19, 1865, when the Union
army brought word of the Eman-
cipation Proclamation to enslaved
people in Texas. It is celebrated as
the end of slavery in the United
States.