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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2022)
Page 4 Febuary 23, 2022 Black Exhibit Installed Deadly Confrontation Continued from Page 3 Photo by Joe Mabel Clark County Historical Museum (former Carnegie Library), Vancouver, Washington. Continued from Page 3 area. The timeline shares just a few sto- ries of the many Black people who have contributed to this place we all call home. “The NAACP Vancouver branch is excited to partner with the Clark County Historical Museum for the “Black Histo- ry Highlights of Southwest Washington" exhibit.” said NAACP Vancouver Branch president, Jasmine Tolbert, "Systemic racism in Clark County and all over this country has made it so Black History and narratives have not always been told, I’m grateful for the Clark County Historical Museums time and commitment to tell- ing all of the history in Clark County.” “Black History Highlights of South- west Washington” will be open through 2024. The exhibit was made possible through the generous time, knowledge, and fund- ing of the Vancouver NAACP, based on the timeline originally composed for the exhibit, "The Lost Ark of African Amer- ican Art, History & Experience in Van- couver and the Northwest," held annually at the Fort Vancouver Regional Library since February 2018. The Vancouver NAACP Vancouver Branch was founded in 1945 and works to disrupt inequality, dismantle racism, and accelerate change in key areas in- cluding criminal justice, health care, edu- cation, climate, and the economy. For more information, visit NAACPVancouverWA.org. energytrust.org as Benjamin Smith. Detectives were work- ing with prosecutors to review potential charges, police said. It wasn’t immediately clear if Smith had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. According to reporting on OPB, the shooter approached a group of women pro- testors calling them “violent terrorists” and spewing other “misogynist vulgarity.” Smith’s roommate, Kristine Chris- tenson, told The Oregonian that Smith often criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, the COVID-19 mask re- quirement, crime in the neighborhood and homeless people living near the park by their apartment. Authorities also identified the victim Tuesday as Brandy “June” Knightly, 60, and said she died of a gunshot wound. Friends and relatives said Knightly was well-known for helping people in the city’s active protest movement. Her friend Kathleen Saadat told the newspaper that Knightly was dedicated to acting on her values of justice and fairness. “She was a warm, giving and kind person who spent time trying to think of things she could do to make the world better and to make herself better in the world,” Saadat said. Knightly was known as T-Rex by oth- er protesters, often driving people to and from different points during demonstra- tions in Portland and surrounding towns and paid particular attention to helping people with disabilities or others who were vulnerable, friends said. Knightly’s wife, Katherine Knapp, said Knightly first got involved in ra- cial justice protests when demonstrators marched near their home after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police in May 2020. Portland City Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty, the first Black woman to serve on the City Council, issued a statement saying it appeared the alleged shooter was a man with white supremacist sympathies. “There is a history and pattern of threats of violence against activists, including my- self. As a community this is deeply wound- ing and distressing,” Hardesty said. The commissioner said she was taking a pause from her campaign for re-election to review her own safety protocols. “We know this has a chilling effect on civic engagement, and we will keep fight- ing for a world where we all experience safety on our streets and in our daily lives,” she said Police earlier described an “extremely chaotic scene” at the northeast Portland park and described a confrontation be- tween an armed area resident and protest- ers, some of whom were also armed. Authorities said most people left the scene without talking to officers. Social media flyers show that at the same time as the shooting, a march was planned for Amir Locke, a Black man who was fatally shot by police in Minneapolis. -Associated Press contributed to this story.
