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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2021)
May 19, 2021 Page 5 Gun Violence: Connecting the Dots C ontinued froM f ront think that these bullets fly because someone snitched or even killed a loved one,” said Hasan, a Portland native. “But I am suggesting that this is not the reason you’re shoot- ing. But instead, it’s a symptom of the environment you find yourself in. That is the calculated manifes- tation of an ecosystem promoting self-hate.” The billboard campaign is endorsed by multiple organiza- tions, besides the No Hate Zone and I Am M.O.R.E, including the Portland Rotary Peace Builders Committee, Love is Stronger, and Books Not Bars Oregon. Lionel Irving, who joined a gang in sixth grade and spent time in prison for gun-related violence, founded his nonprofit, Love is Stronger, to help steer current and potential gang members toward mental health services. His agen- cy also connects Black youth to strength-based programming that will help reduce their chances of returning into the criminal-justice system. “These are our kids and our responsibility,” Irving said. “But the community accountability is lacking. Whatever your lane is, mother, father, uncle, brother, sister, you are obligated to say something to them with some kind words and some love. That’s the bare minimum.” Mitchell’s years of commu- nity-empowerment work since leaving the Oregonian as a col- umnist in 2009 has focused on Black joy, healing, and youth development. Last year, her I Am MORE nonprofit kicked off a “Spreading Black Joy” cam- paign, in partnership with Chil- dren’s Community Clinic, and the Oregon Community Foun- dation’s Oregon Black Student Success Community Network, among others. This intergener- ational creative and arts-based endeavor is intended to increase hope, healing and a sense of be- longing within Oregon’s tiny Black population. “Even with the gun violence issue, we don’t want to just focus upon deficits within our com- munity,” Mitchell said. “We are already indoctrinated with those debilitating messages, all day ev- ery day, from our schools, in the photo by M ark W ashington /p ortland o bserver p ublisher Perlia Bell, the mother of murder victim Asia Bell, lends her support to a community campaign to prevent gun violence. Asia Bell, a beloved member of Portland’s African American community, was killed in 2002 during a walk-by shooting in front of her north Portland home. media, with our personal expe- riences within society, and even the racial disparities brought out by COVID-19. “All of these negative frame- works continue to fertilize already existing, unprocessed trauma, which is then internalized and is also unconsciously and incontro- vertibly transferred from genera- tion to generation. So, what I Am MORE is focusing on, instead, is creating a pathway toward heal- ing. It’s what we need most to help endure these unsettling times.”
