June 6, 2018 The Skanner Page 3
News
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“
over 100 shelters in some
17 states, and that chil-
dren spend an average of
51 days in them.
Merkley live-streamed
on Facebook his attempt
to visit the Brownsville
facility.
He said he and the press
should be able to see con-
ditions inside.
“Every American cit-
izen has a stake in how
It reminds me a little bit of a
dog kennel, constructed of
cyclone fencing
by the Department of
Homeland Security. He
said he saw men, women
and children crowded in
cages.
“It reminds me a little
bit of a dog kennel, con-
structed of cyclone fenc-
ing,” Merkley said. Some
of the areas contained
men, while others had
only women and some
had women holding chil-
dren, he said.
Merkley was accused of
grandstanding by Victo-
ria Palmer, a spokeswom-
an for the Department of
Health and Human Ser-
vices’ Administration for
Children and Families.
It was out of concerns
for “the safety, security
and dignity of the chil-
dren” that Merkley was
barred from entering
the Brownsville facility,
Palmer said in an email.
“No one who arrives
unannounced at one of
our shelters demanding
access to the children in
our care will be permit-
ted, even those claiming
to be U.S. senators,” the
statement said.
Through a contractor,
the agency is caring for
the children being held
in a former Walmart
with blacked-out win-
dows in Brownsville, a
city along the border be-
tween Texas and Mexico.
The Department of
Health and Human Ser-
vices says it operates
these children are be-
ing treated and how this
policy is being enacted,”
Merkley said in the vid-
eo.
In Brownsville, a su-
pervisor emerged from
the building and said he
wasn’t allowed to make
any statement. He gave
the senator a phone num-
ber of the public affairs
office in the U.S. Depart-
ment of Health and Hu-
man Services in Wash-
ington.
Meanwhile, Browns-
ville police arrived and
asked Merkley for his
name and birth date.
Merkley provided the in-
formation and then tried
to explain to the officer
why he had come to the
facility.
“The attorney general’s
team, and the Office of
Refugee Resettlement,
they don’t want anyone
to know about what’s
going on behind these
doors,” Merkley told the
police officer.
Sen. Bob Menendez, a
New Jersey Democrat,
said on Twitter that his
team was also barred
from a migrant facility
where families were be-
ing separated.
He said the federal gov-
ernment’s actions were
“outrageous” and called
for an explanation from
Secretary of Homeland
Security Kirstjen Niel-
sen.
Dispensary
New Mural Tells Story of the Neighborhood
Portland artist Arvie Smith’s new mural, “Still We Rise,” was unveiled earlier this spring at the intersection of MLK and Alberta. “Starting
with the Vanport Flood of 1948, this work tells the story of the upward struggle of the Albina neighborhood residents. Despite the
systematic dismantling of the neighborhood by the local government and housing market, the community forged ahead to maintain
unity with resilience, determination and hope,” reads a statement from Smith. “The historic events, landmarks, and resolve depicted
in the mural include the legendary jazz scene, property red lining, police brutality, human struggle and the ravaging of Black spaces
through ‘urban renewal.’”
Inspired by the words of Maya Angelou in her poem, “Still I Rise,” “the nobleness of the human spirit” and the resolve to move beyond
a “past rooted in pain”, the artist created the central figure pointing to the Still We Rise flag to encourage strength, pride and hope for
future generations.
Hayes
cont’d from pg 1
The complaint argues that on
the morning of Hayes’ death, of-
ficers shouted conflicting com-
mands. It also notes that while
Hayes was carrying a replica
handgun at the time of his death,
there is no evidence that he drew
or reached for it during his inter-
action with officers.
“When the officers came upon
Quanice, different police offi-
cers shouted contradictory com-
mands at him,” the suit says. “He
obeyed the commands of Officer
Robert Wullbrandt, and crawled
on his hands and knees as or-
dered, coming to a stop when or-
dered to do so. Defendant Hearst,
while Officer Wulbrandt was
ordering Quanice to crawl on his
hands and knees, was ordering
Quanice to crawl on his knees
with his hands in the air. Quanice
bent forward to comply with Of-
ficer Wullbrandt’s command and
Defendant Hearst shot him.”
The complaint also notes that
Hearst was involved in the 2013
shooting of Merle Hatch, but was
not disciplined by the police bu-
reau. (In March, a Multnomah
County grand jury declined to
indict Hearst in connection with
Hayes’ death.) The suit mentions
the Department of Justice’s 2012
settlement with the city, which
found the Portland Police Bureau
had a pattern and practice of ex-
“
Different police
officers shouted
contradictory
commands
cessive force against people ex-
periencing mental health crisis.
It also notes the city has a pattern
and practice of over-policing Af-
rican Americans:
“The Portland Police Bureau
has a history of disproportionate
policing of African-Americans,
including stops, searches, and
seizures of African-Americans at
an elevated level disproportion-
ate to their presence in the pop-
ulation. The City is well aware
of this history of discriminatory
policing. The City is also aware
that their police officers wrong-
ly perceive African-Americans,
and particularly young Afri-
can-American men and boys, to
pose a greater threat of violence
than other members of the com-
munity. Despite being aware of
these well-known biases, the City
has not acted to correct them,” the
suit reads.
The complaint argues Hayes’
death is at the intersection of
those two patterns, noting Hayes’
erratic behavior on the final
morning of his life suggested he
was experiencing a mental health
crisis, which officers should have
sought to de-escalate.
An article published on the
website Longreads.com in Feb-
ruary paints a detailed picture
of Hayes’ life through his final
weeks and suggests he struggled
with substance abuse and may
have been intoxicated at the time
of his death.
The lawsuit, which seeks un-
specified damages from the city
and Hearst, was filed with funds
from a crowdfunding effort that
is still ongoing. Those wishing to
assist can visit www.crowdjus-
tice.com/case/quanice.
cont’d from pg 1
and even record expungement.
Locally, the city of Portland passed
a milestone last year when voters ap-
proved a three percent tax on recre-
ational cannabis, a portion of which
will help fund programs that support
workforce development and minori-
ty-owned cannabis businesses.
The tax was championed by Portland
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz,
who said in a press release that she
admired the new dispensary’s “goal of
increasing the participation and suc-
cess of people of color in an otherwise
white-dominated field.”
Fritz will join Crews and Green
Hop co-owner Nicole Kennedy, along-
side US Congressman Earl Blume-
nauer and Mayor Ted Wheeler, for a
ribbon-cutting on June 16 at the dispen-
sary, located in Crews’ childhood neigh-
borhood in Northeast Portland.
The grand opening is also in celebra-
tion of rapper and actor Tupac Shakur,
who would be 47 years old that day.
“The link between hip hop culture
“
The link between
hip hop culture and
the normalization
of cannabis is a nat-
ural partnership
and the normalization of cannabis is
a natural partnership,” said Mayor
Wheeler in the release. “Green Hop’s
mission to promote community health
and wellness, and increase economic
opportunities for people of color is
something the City of Portland whole-
heartedly supports.”
Crews and Kennedy, who works as
both a nurse and a teacher, have also
launched the Green Hop Academy, an
educational program in partnership
with Portland Opportunities Industri-
al Center (POIC) to educate Black youth,
ages 21 to 24, about entrepreneurship
in the cannabis sector.
“It kind of gives them the 101 on how
to enter into the cannabis industry,”
said Crews.
Having already run the first cohort of
20 budding entrepreneurs through the
10-week program, Green Hop Academy
will also be establishing an apprentice-
ship, where participants can work on-
site at dispensaries, labs or cultivation
centers.
“We’re giving employable skills to
people who typically wouldn’t get hired
at a normal dispensary,” said Kennedy.
“It’s a very network-based industry, so
this gives them a chance, if they don’t
know anybody, to get their foot in the
door.”
Alongside Green Hop’s educational
COURTESY OF FLOSSIN MEDIA
in a telephone interview.
“That is completely out-
side the soul of our na-
tion, where virtually all
of us have family history,
in one branch or anoth-
er, where somebody fled
persecution to come to
the U.S.”
Merkley said he was
able to enter another fa-
cility used for process-
ing migrants and run
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARVIE SMITH
Merkley
Green Hop is the world’s first hip hop dispensary,
celebrating its grand opening on June 16 in
Northeast Portland
arm and extensive medical and recre-
ational menu – which will incorporate
online ordering and delivery services
— the dispensary will also host hip
hop concerts, monthly art exhibits,
and educational seminars. Green Hop
(5515 NE 16th Avenue in Portland) will
be open seven days a week, beginning
June 16, with a grand opening at 12 p.m.
