Portland observer., January 12, 2022, Page 21, Image 21

Martin Luther King Jr.
2022 Special Edition
January 12, 2022
Page 21
How Racist Rage Animated Jan. 6 riot Black Veteran Dies at 112
. Cori Bush, D-Mo. speaks out on how racist rage animated the
Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Congresswoman
recalls hatred in
protestors eyes
(AP) — Rep. Cori Bush is no
stranger to protests. She spent
years marching the streets of St.
Louis and Ferguson, Missou-
ri, rising to public office on the
strength of her activism.
But as the Missouri Demo-
crat looked out the window of
the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 —
only her third day as a member
of Congress — she knew what
was about to take place would
be no peaceful protest. The Con-
federate flags in the crowd, and
the makeshift noose and gallows
erected on the Capitol grounds,
spoke to a more sinister reality.
“I’ve been to hundreds of pro-
tests and have organized so many
protests, I can’t count. I know
what a protest is: This is not
that,” Bush, who is Black, said,
reflecting on the one year since
the attack in an interview with
The Associated Press.
The insurrection by pro-
Trump supporters and members
of far-right groups shattered the
sense of security that many had
long felt at the Capitol as riot-
ers forcibly delayed the certifi-
cation of Democrat Joe Biden’s
election victory.
But for people of color, in-
cluding many in Congress, the
attack was more than a violent
challenge to a free and fair elec-
tion — it was an eerily familiar
display of white supremacist vi-
olence, this time at the very seat
of American democracy.
“First of all, as a Black wom-
an, that is already just tough on
a level that’s different from what
a white person would experi-
ence,” Bush said of the imagery
and rhetoric surrounding the at-
tack, especially the Confederate
flag that was carried by a riot-
er inside the Capitol. “But it’s
especially different for Black
people because of our history.
The history of this country has
been that type of language and
imagery is directed right at us in
a very negative and oftentimes
violent way.”
While Bush managed to es-
cape the Capitol and barricade
with her staff in her office in a
nearby building, dozens of police
officers faced down the violent
mob in hours of frantic hand-to-
hand combat. More than 100 offi-
cers were injured, some severely.
World War II veteran Lawrence Brooks sports a lipstick kiss on his
cheek, planted by a member of the singing group Victory Belles, in
this birthday photo from 2019. Brooks died Jan. 5 at the age of 112.
(AP) — Lawrence N. Brooks,
a Black man from Louisiana who
was the oldest World War II veter-
an in the U.S. — and believed to
be the oldest man in the country
— died Jan. 5 at the age of 112.
Born on Sept. 12, 1909, Brooks
was known for his good-natured
sense of humor, positivity and kind-
ness. When asked for his secret to
a long life, he often said, “serving
God and being nice to people.”
On sunny days, Brooks was
known for sitting on the front
porch of the double shotgun house
he shared with daughter Vanessa
Brooks in the Central City neigh-
borhood of New Orleans. Neigh-
bors would call out to the local ce-
lebrity, wave and bring him soda
and snacks.
Brooks was passionate about
the New Orleans Saints football
team and never missed a game,
his daughter said. His church, St.
Luke’s Episcopal, was also close
to his heart and he never missed a
Sunday service until the coronavi-
rus pandemic hit.
Brooks was working at a saw-
mill when he was drafted into the
U.S. Army in 1940. After Japan’s
attack on Pearl Harbor, he was
assigned to the mostly Black 91st
Engineer General Service Regi-
ment stationed in Australia.
Prosper Portland’s commitment to
equity is inspired by the life and work
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We acknowledge our past as we move forward
to create economic opportunity
and prosperity for all communities.
We make racial equity the foundation of our
community and economic development work.
We hold ourselves accountable to Portland’s
communities of color and others our work
has negatively impacted.
While racial equity is the primary lens
to focus our efforts, we understand the
connection between racism and other forms
of bias that lead to oppression.
Within our workplace and working with our
partners, we embrace values of authentic
inclusion, transparency, and collaboration.
We work toward nothing less than an
anti-racist Portland that welcomes and serves
all communities and perspectives.
We encourage our partners to do the same.
prosperportland.us/equity