Remembering
John Lewis
Civil rights
hero galvanized
opposition to
racism
Established in 1970
EDUCATION&CAREERS
Special Edition
See story, page 12
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Volume XLVIV • Number 17
‘City
of
Roses’
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • July 22, 2020
Committed to Cultural Diversity
A group of moms stand arm-in-arm forming a human shield to protect protesters outside the federal building and Justice Center in downtown Portland on Saturday. The
moms gained strength in numbers as protests continued the next day and Monday evening. (AP photo)
Wall of Moms Enter Fray
Grassroots actions defy
Trump; escalate protests
by M ichael l eighton
P ortland o bserver e ditor
A wall of moms forming a human shield to protect pro-
testers is gaining strength in Portland in response to the
show of force from President Trump and his dispatch of a
stealthy team of federal police to protect the U.S. Court-
house and other federal property.
The unidentified federal troops, who are dressed in
camouflage and who have used unmarked vehicles to grab
protestors off the street to make arrests, is cueing up a
potential constitutional crisis as the enforcement is being
done with the consent of local officials, including Mayor
Ted Wheeler and Gov. Kate Brown.
State and local authorities are awaiting a ruling in a
I-5 Project Moves Ahead Amid Outcry
ODOT hires contractor,
sets goals for diversity
M ichael l eighton
P ortland o bserver e ditor
The Oregon Department of Transportation has hired a
construction manager and general contractor with the task to
help make the proposed I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Proj-
ect one of the most fruitful in terms of benefiting minority
by
workers and disadvantaged business owners.
An announcement to award the construction contract to
Hamilton Sundt A Joint Venture, in association with Raimore
Construction, a Black-owned Portland firm, adds important
partners to help design and build a project that is founded on
community input and values, ODOT officials said.
The plans announced last week, however, leave out any
immediate proposed changes to the project in response from
Mayor Ted Wheeler, City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and
Albina Vision, a non-profit focusing on revitalizing the Al-
lawsuit to put the brakes on the federal response. Oregon
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in court papers
last week that masked federal officers have arrested peo-
ple on the street, far from the courthouse, with no probable
cause and whisked them away in unmarked cars.
The ACLU of Oregon has also sued in federal court
over the agents’ presence.
c ontinued on P age 8
bina area to right historic wrongs, and who all recently an-
nounced they have withdrawn support for the project as cur-
rently outlined.
Short of formally withdrawing her support for the project,
Gov. Kate Brown responded to the criticisms by saying she
still wants the black community’s support for the project to
go forward and is committed to helping bring people back to
the table.
Like Eudaly, Multnomah County Commissioner Vega
Pederson, has stepped away from a community steering
committee overseeing the project because of the controversy.
c ontinued on P age 4