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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
Martin Luther King Jr. 2022 Special Edition Page 2 January 12, 2022 ‘We have progressed, but so has racism’ Vancouver NAACP president advances fight for justice By Beverly Corbell The Portland Observer One year in as president of the Vancouver NAACP, Jasmine Tol- bert, has taken the battle to elimi- nate racial injustice to new heights. When the local civil rights group joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington in November to file a lawsuit urg- ing the U.S. Department of Jus- tice to open investigations into “excessive force and discrimi- natory policing” in the Vancou- ver Police Department, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and a joint city-county drug task force, Tol- bert was front and center. “The problem is that systemic racism is alive and well in Vancou- ver and Clark County, Tolbert said. In an interview with the Port- land Observer for its annual Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holi- day special edition, she described In her first year as president of the Vancouver NAACP, Jasmine Tolbert has taken the fight against racial injustice to a new level. The civil rights group recently joined in a lawsuit to reign in excessive force and discriminatory policing in Vancouver and Clark County. the current need for reparative ac- tions to advance racial equality. “I think that as we have pro- gressed, so has racism,” Tolbert said, “I think the tactics, the same way overt racists laid the ground- work for the systemic racism tak- ing place now, allowed racism to continue evolving, and while we’ve made progress, so have those systemic policies.” Tolbert grew up in Clark Coun- ty and clearly remembers reading books on King and civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Harriett Tubman that were in her home growing up. She also recalls les- sons about civil rights and racism she received from her mother. “I remember those books ex- plicitly, Dr. King’s message and my mom’s home history lessons, things you didn’t get in school,” she said. But Dr. King’s message has been watered down, she said, including what’s being taught in schools. “I wish it was a more holistic picture being painted of the work he did rather than for certain mem- bers of society to dictate the way our actions should look,” she said. In the lawsuit targeting local law enforcement, the NAACP and ACLU point to four officer-in- volved deaths in Clark County and Vancouver in recent years that included a 16-year-old Pacif- ic Islander high school student; a 28-year-old Pacific Islander man; three white homeless men, one in a mental health crisis; and three Black men, 43-year-old Carlos Hunter, Kevin Peterson, 21, and Jenoah D. Donald, 30. The civil rights organizations say Hunter, falsely accused of being part of the drug trade, was pulled over and shot 16 times while still fastened in his seatbelt. Peterson was caught in a drug sting and ran away in fright when two unmarked law enforcement cars boxed him in. He was shot, in the back, 34 times. Donald, who was unarmed, was stopped for a broken taillight, punched in the face and shot twice at close range. Tolbert said the deaths are ex- amples of how Vancouver and Clark County law enforcement has engaged in discriminatory policing for years against people of color, residents experiencing homelessness, and those with a mental health disability, while showing favor to known white su- premacist extremist groups. “This disparate policing caus- es lasting harm for residents and undermines public safety for the community at large,” she said. Calling out highly publicized police actions that erode the al- ready strained relationships be- tween the community and local law enforcement, Tolbert said all residents of Vancouver and Clark County deserve equal and profes- sional treatment by police officers. “When someone is stopped by the police it should not have to end with them dying. No matter what the person’s background is, no matter what the reason is for the stop. There should be and there Continued on Page 6 A Time of Reflection As we put another year behind us, it’s only natural to take some time to reflect on the months just past. It’s a great time to catalog the accomplishments and joys that the passing year brought, as well as take an honest look at behaviors we might want to change in the year ahead—perhaps that we need to change in the year ahead. Gambling might be one of those behaviors. What may have started out as a fun distraction can, for some, progress into something much harder to control. And with that loss of control can come financial struggles and lost relationships. But the new year is a new opportunity to regain control. waiting to provide mechanisms to cope and to heal. And, best of all, it’s free. Most people who get started with OPGR report that they only wish they had done so sooner. The program helps see you through some of the challenges ahead and gives you the confidence and the support structure to feel better. All it takes is a phone call, a text or an online chat to put you on the path toward an even brighter new year. Help is Available Luckily, here in Oregon, help is available. Through the Oregon Problem Gambling Resource (OPGR), gamblers and those who love them can get support from trained addiction counselors, often right from home. Treatment is effective. People are ready and For more information, visit
