March 8, 2017 The Skanner Page 3
News
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“
and call the community
to action.
The first talk, ‘The Rise
of Corporate Rule,’ will
hash out how the finan-
cial establishment has
attained new positions
to influence public pol-
icy. “There are a lot of
examples of work that’s
happening here where
people are seeing undue
‘We need to funnel some of
the people we have going to
protests into workshops and
events’
with anybody’s action,
because that’s not our
job. But what we can do
is set a peaceful example,
and I think we’ve done a
good job in doing that.”
In a gesture to sepa-
rate itself from violent
protest, the resistance
is raising money to help
repair Portland’s vandal-
ized property.
Having formed “in or-
der to survive a Trump
presidency, the rise of
White nationalism and
the widening income
inequality”
Portland’s
Resistance is striving
to connect people to lo-
cal politics, progressive
causes and community
development.
It’s why the group has
partnered with art and
activism group, Know
Your City, to ignite a new
program called Resis-
tance Talks in an effort
to make sense of a nation
divided.
“One thing that has
seemed to create a lot
of conversations and
changed peoples’ percep-
tion of community is the
general election,” said
Cameron Whitten, exec-
utive director of Know
Your Rights.
Beginning in March,
the monthly series of
talks will cover pressing
social justice issues to
inspire critical thinking
influence of corporation.
That talk is really going
to be locally focused,”
said Whitten.
Speakers will include
People’s Co-op, to dis-
cuss how co-ops can
help maintain a local
economy; Portland Ten-
ants United, which will
address renters’ plight
in the face of real estate
interests; and Direct Ac-
tion Alliance, the peo-
ple of color anti-fascism
organization, will talk
about divestment on a
city level. Rounding out
the roster is XRAY FM,
which will speak on inde-
pendent media as a con-
duit for local voices.
“I think one of the
main things Portland’s
Resistance can do in this
partnership is amplify
the message,” said McK-
elvey. “It’s going to be all
for nothing if all we do
is protest. So we need to
funnel some of the peo-
ple we have going to pro-
tests into workshops and
events, such as the Resis-
tance Talks.”
Next
month’s
talk
will focus on the First
Amendment,
attacks
against the press, free-
dom of assembly, and
police use of excessive
force.
Read the rest of this story at
TheSkanner.com
Misdemeanor
Mohamed Alyajouri Joins PCC Board
The Portland Community College Board of Directors has officially appointed Mohamed Alyajouri, healthcare integration manager for
the Oregon Primary Care Association, to serve on behalf of Zone 6. Additionally, Jim Harper, who represents downtown Portland and
portions of Columbia County (Zone 4), has been named board vice chair. Harper has served on the PCC Board of Directors since 2005.
Alyajouri replaces Gene Pitts, who resigned from the board late last year. As the Zone 6 official, Alyajouri will represent Yamhill County,
east Washington County and Southwest Portland for the remainder of the term, which runs through June 2017. He can run for election
to the PCC Board in May 2017; the new term will begin July 1. The PCC Board of Directors consists of seven members elected by zones
to four-year terms. Board members govern the college, which includes selecting the president, approving the college budget, and
establishing policies that govern the operation of the college. Alyajouri, a Beaverton resident, currently serves on numerous local
boards including as the board president of New City Initiative, a board member of Oregon Public Health Association, and the co-chair
of Muslim Educational Trust’s outreach committee.
Rest
cont’d from pg 1
as the American Civil Liberties
Union of Oregon.
It defines the ability to rest,
move freely, pray and eat in pub-
lic spaces as rights – and makes
it illegal for law enforcement to
deny those rights.
“We have public spaces for a
reason. They’re for public use,”
ACLU of Oregon’s legislative di-
rector, Kimberly McCullough,
said at a Friday organizing meet-
ing and informational session at
Sisters of the Road Café in down-
town Portland.
According to McCullough, the
law would directly challenge a
web of 225 city and county ordi-
nances around the state that tar-
get resting, eating in public, sleep-
ing in public or resting in public
places and disproportionately
target people living outdoors. If
passed, it would allow those tar-
geted to complain to the Bureau
of Labor and Industry and chal-
lenge arrests or citations in civil
court. Defense attorneys would
also have the ability to challenge
such charges as illegal and have
them dropped.
She also noted people of color,
people with disabilities and lesbi-
an, bisexual, gay and transgender
people — especially LGBT youth,
who are disproportionately rep-
resented among street youth
“
est in a partnership with Pamplin
Media. That includes citations for
minor violations such as transit
violations and jaywalking – and
courts tend to charge Black resi-
dents higher fees.
Just how many people in Oregon
are cited or arrested under camp-
‘We have public spaces for a reason.
They’re for public use’
— are more likely to be singled
out by these laws pushed out by
homeless sweeps. According to
Multnomah County’s 2015 home-
less count, African Americans
made up 24 percent of the coun-
ty’s homeless population, but
were just 7 percent of the coun-
ty’s general population.
And African Americans in
Multnomah County are more
likely to be targeted at every tier
of the criminal justice system, ac-
cording to an exhaustive review
of court records released earlier
this year by the investigative re-
porting nonprofit InvestigateW-
ing or sit-lie ordinances is hard to
ascertain, since these ordinanc-
es are categorized differently
and will be referred to different
courts depending on whether the
defendant receives a civil citation
or an arrest.
Jane James, a community court
attorney for Metropolitan Pub-
lic Defenders, told The Skanner
the offense in this category that’s
most frequently referred to her
office is erecting a temporary
structure in a public place — that
is, setting up a tent outside.
Read more at TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
who stressed the importance of wiser
spending with a looming $1.7 billion
state deficit. “The War of Drugs has
also been unfair. People of color pos-
sess drugs at the same rate as everyone
else, but they are more likely to be ar-
rested and convicted here in Oregon.”
Statewide, more than 4,000 people
annually are convicted of drug posses-
sion, yet African Americans in Oregon
were convicted of felony drug posses-
sion at more than double the rate of
Whites in 2015, according to a major
study by the Oregon Criminal Justice
Commission.
“We know that Oregonians from
across the state support a different ap-
proach,” Rogers said.
The survey of 600 registered Oregon
voters from various demographics was
conducted between January 26 – 29,
2017 by GBA Strategies, and is subject
to a +/- 4 percent error margin. Of sev-
en different criminal justice and public
safety issues presented to voters, drugs
were the top concern, at 43 percent, fol-
lowed by over-spending on incarcera-
tion and prisons at 30 percent.
The support of lesser consequences
for drug offenders can be linked to an-
“
struggling with drug addiction which
led to a felony conviction, Roberts
sought treatment and put his life back
on track. But, he said, the felony still
lingers over every opportunity to bet-
‘People of color possess drugs at the same rate
as everyone else, but they are more likely to be
arrested and convicted here in Oregon’
other statistic the survey uncovered:
nearly two-thirds of Oregonians (64
percent), across genders and political
parties, know someone who has strug-
gled with drug addiction.
Underscoring the urgency for re-
classification is the fact that most mis-
demeanors can be expunged, whereas
felonies cannot. Such a conviction can
tarnish offenders’ records for life and
hinder them from accessing employ-
ment, education, and housing.
Cody Roberts is a mentor at the 4th
Dimension Recovery Center. After
ter his working or living situation.
“Today, I work with guys who are
dealing with the same thing,” Rob-
erts said during the press conference.
“These are successful people, they’re
educated, but they still have to deal
with a felony for having been addicted
to drugs and being caught with a small
amount. They can’t move forward with
their lives, and frankly it discourages
them. (Some) end of returning back to
what they were doing.”
Read the full story at TheSkanner.com
PHOTO BY MELANIE SEVCENKO
that can sometimes be
detrimental to the cause.
“For anybody that
comes to our events,
they get a different feel
for things than from the
media story,” McKelvey
explained to The Skan-
ner. “I’m not going to go
to a protest and tell the
followers of Portland’s
Resistance to intervene
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Talks
David Rogers, executive director of the ACLU
of Oregon, talks about the results of a recent
poll showing most Oregonians favor reducing
sentences for drug possession during a Wednesday
morning press conference.