Portland observer., February 10, 2021, Image 1

Black
History
Month
PO QR code
‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVV • Number 3
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • February 10, 2021
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland
Black Voices Grow
Power in Salem
Frederick leads most
diverse group of lawmakers
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T he P orTland o bserver
The Legislative session currently underway at the
State Capitol in Salem is historically important this
year with its growing number of elected lawmakers
of color giving focus to issues long supported by the
Black community, says Sen. Lew Frederick, the Leg-
islature’s most senior Black lawmaker and a long time
civil rights activist.
“To some extent, Black history is key to what’s
going on now,” Frederick said, in an interview with
the Portland Observer. “The murder of George Floyd
and issues related to the COVID virus have made a
big difference. We have focused our attention on the
disparity that the black community has had for cen-
turies,” he said. “It’s no longer something someone
made up, a chip on your shoulder. People have seen
what’s going on and what’s taken place.”
This year, several new bills, many with racial im-
pacts, have been introduced to address education,
police accountability, housing, science, agriculture,
basic civil rights and more.
Frederick, a former Portland Public Schools com-
munications leader and television journalist, is chief
sponsor of 55 bills this session, including 18 on edu-
cation, 12 on criminal justice, four concerning mental
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Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, in his first year of office after being elected on a platform to
address racial disparities in prosecutions and police accountability, defends new policies promoting fairness and
equity.
Elevating Justice in Portland
New DA defends policies; says Black lives matter
b everly C orbell
T he P orTland o bserver
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt
was elected as a racial justice reformer last May, just a
week before the death of George Floyd at the hands of
police in Minneapolis. He started the job early, in Au-
gust, when the current officer holder stepped down. The
top law enforcement official in the county has had his
hands full ever since.
Nationwide demonstrations and social unrest were
more than pronounced in Portland this summer following
Floyd’s death, putting a spotlight on the city as massive
demonstrations gathered, night after night, protesting
police violence and other racial impacts in the criminal
justice system.
Schmidt ran a platform to address racial disparities
in prosecutions and police accountability, but has came
under criticism for letting some protesters arrested for
non-violent offenses get “off easy.” He has defended the
civil rights of peaceful protesters, saying they delivered
a lesson to law enforcement and the public that should
have been learned decades ago: That black lives matter.
“They matter even when the movement for racial jus-
tice drifts from the daily news cycle. They matter when
we’re distracted,” Schmidt said in a recent speech. “They
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matter when those of us with power to do that hard work
of making them matter. I will carry with me those values
that those words represent every day of my administra-
tion.”
As DA, Schmidt is charged with prosecuting crimes,
but he says the criminal justice system has adhered to
many wrong policies, like mandatory sentencing, the
war on drugs, its effects on people living in poverty, and
those with addictions.
To correct those policies, Schmidt has pledged to form
a Conviction Integrity Unit in his office, to look at the
effects of the criminal justice system after conviction and
sentencing.
“Everybody knows that justice doesn’t end there,” he
said in an interview with the Portland Observer. “There
is justice for victims, but also for the person prosecuted.”
Even after a person convicted of a crime has served
his or her time, there are many barriers to fully re-enter-
ing society, Schmidt said.
“We can help with reducing barriers, like forgiveness
of fines and fees that trap people in cycles of poverty. We
really need to move forward and help families,” he said.
In keeping with his belief that black lives matter,
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