September 21, 2022 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 11
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Travis cont’d
from pg 3
tion.
This is the 40th anni-
versary of the struggle
of Warren County North
Carolina, which was one
of the first environmen-
tal justice battles to try
to keep the state of North
Carolina from creating a
PCB-contaminated land-
fill in the middle of this
rural,
predominantly
Black county. The com-
munity ultimately lost
that battle. But they used
old-line civil rights tac-
tics: laying bodies down,
children, everyone, to
try to keep the trucks
from bringing this soil
into their community.
But one of the people
leading that struggle was
a minister in the United
Church of Christ, and
he called up to the head-
quarters in New York
City and said, look, we
need help. Nobody has
talked to us, the state has
not reached out, there
have been no briefings,
Guns
no hearings, no nothing.
We’re just starting to see
these trucks create this
landfill and now we see
what we’re up against
and we need help.
And so the nation-
al church did all they
could to help and bring
attention to it, but they
thought, this is kind of
curious. We need to see
if what’s happening in
Warren County is en-
demic of what’s happen-
ing in rural North Caro-
lina – is it the southeast?
Is it bigger than that?
And they hired me as
a research assistant to
help identify what we
would then (categorize)
as environmental injus-
tice and environmental
racism. And we found
that race proved to be the
most statistically signif-
icant indicator of where
hazardous waste sites
were located across these
United States, not just
North Carolina.
I’m 27 years old and
I’m doing this research.
I remember calling my
grandmother, who was
a nurse, as were all her
sisters and my moth-
er, to say grandma, you
would not believe what
I’m finding! She says,
so how much money
did y’all spend on this
study? And I said I don’t
know, around a quarter
of a million dollars? My
grandmother said, So
y’all spent a quarter of
a million dollars of peo-
ple’s hard-earned mon-
ey to tell you something
that every Black and
brown person knows to
be true: Wherever we
are is where the things
are that nobody wants to
live next to.
I couldn’t really argue
with that. Then I said, but
Grandma, you’re a scien-
tist, and you understand
this. You could have all
the practical knowledge
you want of a given set
of circumstances, how
a community lives, how
a community is impact-
ed, but until you get a
peer-reviewed
report
that can replicate those
conditions
someplace
else, it’s like it didn’t hap-
pen. And nobody was do-
ing any research around
what the lived experi-
ence was in terms of en-
vironmental impacts on
communities of color, on
low-income communi-
ties, on tribal communi-
ties. People were focused
on endangered species,
endangered water bod-
ies – that was where the
environmental commu-
nity’s head was. They
were working on haz-
ardous waste issues, but
no one was making the
connection between race
and the location of envi-
ronmental threats. We
were the first folks to do
this.
We published a re-
port in 1987 called Toxic
Waste and Race in the
United States, published
by the United Church of
Christ’s Commission for
Racial Justice and that set
the whole conversation
aloft in this country.
Advertising deadlines 12:00 Noon Monday
for you, as a New Yorker?
VMT: Halfway through
the research, it was rec-
ommended I go and meet
with some of my neigh-
bors in my community.
I lived in Harlem, and I
had been resisting go-
ing to this meeting – the
very first time I walk in
the door, they’re talking
about this sewage treat-
ment plant that the city of
New York and Environ-
mental Protection Agen-
cy (EPA) and the state of
New York are building
on our waterfront. And
it was more than the
lightbulbs went off – it
was like there was a gong
ringing in my head and it
wouldn’t stop. The very
things that you’re look-
ing at in other places, the
phenomenon that we had
identified was happen-
ing in my own neighbor-
hood, where I lived!
The sewage treatment
plant was designed to
help clean up the Hudson
River.
Read the rest of this story at
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TSN: Did this hit home
PROGRAM OFFICER FOR
ECONOMIC VITALITY
cont’d from pg 3
that can be done, that it’s
just the way it is. But we
don’t believe that. We
don’t believe this is the
world God made for us.
This is the world that hu-
man beings have made,
where we’ve said weap-
ons are more important
than children; gun rights
are more important than
the rights of people to
live at peace. We do not
believe that. The minute
these laws are passed
and enacted, we’re going
to be saving lives.”
Rev. Anthony Lathan
spoke of how his military
background
informed
his stance on gun con-
trol.
“During the day I’m a
mental health provider,”
Lathan said. “But there
was a time in my life I was
known as Sgt. Lathan…
I trained to use terrible
weapons. I trained to do
that so you can all be free.
So that you, my grand-
mother, my mother, my
children, could walk
without threat of moles-
tation of a gun. After my
time in service, I got out
and I was shocked, to
put it mildly. The streets
weren’t safe. The streets
weren’t safe for everyday
people.
“We all want freedom.
We want freedom to
walk down the street,
to drive our cars, to not
worry about our chil-
dren – and Uvalde, San-
dy Hook, all the different
places where our chil-
dren have been molested
by guns, and molested
by the gun lobby. We all
want to be free. One of
the many ways that we
will have that freedom
that we all long for is to
get behind this simple
measure that does not
take away anyone’s con-
stitutional rights, it does
not ask you to be paint-
ed like a zebra, it doesn’t
ask that you somehow
become less of a citizen.
It asks that you become
more caring. It asks that
we have some regula-
tions and some guidance
around the possession
and use of weapons.”
Data
Other speakers empha-
sized sobering statistics
about the rise of gun
fatalities both national-
ly and in Portland, and
of the disproportionate
damage it has done to the
Black community.
“Homicide is the lead-
ing cause of death among
Black boys and men, ages
15 to 34,” Liz McKenna,
legislative team member
at Lift Every Voice Ore-
gon, said. “Specifically
in Oregon, for the period
2000-2020, the rates of
firearm homicide victim-
ization are eight times
higher among non-his-
panic Black people, twice
as high among Native
Americans, 77% higher
among Hispanic people,
than they are among
non-Hispanic whites.”
She added, “Between
2019 and 2020 alone, the
number of Black homi-
cide victims in Oregon
rose by 150%.”
But
statistics
also
support the efficacy of
Measure 114, support-
ers argued, pointing
out that simply limiting
gun availability to pur-
chasers who pass back-
ground checks can have
a profound impact on
fatalities.
The group pointed out
that a similar law enact-
ed in Connecticut led to
a 28% decrease in gun
homicides and a 33% de-
crease in gun suicides,
while the decision to
repeal a similar licens-
ing law in Missouri saw
a 47% increase in gun
homicides and a 24% in-
crease in gun suicides.
Okamoto noted that
limiting magazine capac-
ity has proven essential
in stopping mass shoot-
ings, as perpetrators are
forced to stop and reload
more frequently.
“When that shooter
had to stop and reload at
Sandy Hook, 11 kids got
away,” she said.
Okamoto
reiterated
that current gun policy
is often at odds with the
overwhelming will of the
majority.
“National
surveys
show that 77% of Black
adults support handgun
licensing laws,” she said.
“What we have on our
side is we have incredible
stories of truth, and we
have data and statistics
and we know that this
is evidence-based and it
will help.”
In
anticipation
of
fierce opposition from
well funded gun inter-
est groups, the Measure
114 coalition has begun
to fundraise for its cam-
paign.
Pastor LeRoy Haynes
noted the significance of
the proposed law.
“When we pass Mea-
sure 114, then it will
move to the midwest,
it will move to the east
coast, then it will move to
the south and back again
on the west coast, and
they will point to this
historical moment and
say it was the people in
Oregon, a noble people,
that took the matter and
said we are willing to be
the first. We remember
Sandy Hook, we remem-
ber Uvalde, and we will
not stop.”
For more information
on Measure 114, visit
https://www.liftevery-
voiceoregon.com.
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Oregon Community Foundation is hiring a Program Offi-
cer for Economic Vitality, responsible for implementation
of economic vitality initiatives and serving as the Founda-
tion’s statewide resource on issues related to Oregon’s
economic vitality. Role includes planning, research, strat-
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ARCHIVES & RECORDS
MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR III
SALARY: $70,220.80 - $116,792.00 Annually
OPENING DATE: 08/29/22
CLOSING DATE: 09/25/22 11:59 PM
The Position: The City Auditor’s Office is seeking a col-
laborative, organized public servant with specialized
public records experience to join Archives and Records
Management in a leadership position as a Coordina-
tor III. Archives and Records Management is a division
of the City Auditor’s Office, which is led by the elected
Auditor and independent of the Mayor and City Com-
missioners. Other divisions in the Auditor’s Office are
Audit Services, the City Ombudsman, and Operations
Management, which includes the City Elections Officer
and Council Clerk. The division operates the City of Port-
land’s Archives and Records Center, making records ac-
cessible to the public and City employees for research
and inspection. The division sets record retention and
preservation policies and guidelines, administers the
City’s electronic records management system, serves as
the City’s expert on records issues, and provides ser-
vices to help City employees manage their electronic
and physical records. The historical records collection is
extensive and contains a variety of formats dating back
to 1851. The Archives partners with community groups,
heritage organizations, and individuals working on initia-
tives that connect local history with the community. As
the Archives and Records Management Coordinator III,
you will: Lead the records management program with re-
sponsibilities for implementing and managing the strate-
gic plan for electronic records and other initiatives; Work
with colleagues to deploy the city’s electronic records
management system (Content Manager) throughout
all agencies; Develop and recommend program plans,
initiatives, policies, and procedures; identify issues and
develop and implement solutions; Develop and maintain
citywide record retention schedules; Provide records
management guidance and support to internal custom-
ers, including developing and delivering training; Serve
as a deputy to the City Archivist on the administration of
the division. We are looking for a person who will lead
a collaborative group dedicated to records management
issues; foster an inclusive, respectful, and culturally re-
sponsive workplace; and who values equitable and trans-
parent access to public records. Successful candidates
will demonstrate their understanding and experience with
records management theories and practices, including
compliance with legal mandates. To apply: https://www.
governmentjobs.com/careers/portlandor/jobs/3697733/
auditor-archives-records-coordinator-iii?pagetype=-
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9-21-22