Portland // More Then What Media Is Showing

Portland Protests

A complex, diverse, powerful movement

I was in Portland for nearly five months, and what I saw and experienced has been nothing short of extraordinary. Most media and news outlets have shared only a tiny fraction of what is happening here in Portland. Most people outside of Portland (even just outside in Vancouver, WA, 10 miles away) have a false or at least a partial narrative in their mind of what is happening here in the city of Portland, as well as any corresponding city that is protesting as well. The city of Portland isn't burning down, and it never was. On most days, you could walk around downtown, and outside all the murals and boarded-up windows, you wouldn't know anything was going on.

I've witnessed a complex, diverse, and beautiful movement of people, with only a tiny fraction of events ending in rioting or looting—Im here to talk about it.

When you hear the word Portland, People talk about Black Lives Matter, or you see the hashtag #BLM, what immediately goes through your head? Take a moment and think about this. Ok, now what did those specific thoughts and ideas come up with? Is it from what you have seen in the news, what your political party has been officiating Portland or BLM with, or maybe what you saw in a meme on Facebook or what your aunt Betty told you at church on Sunday? When they think about what is happening here, many people think, "Oh, it's full of looters, and the city is burning down" Did something like that come to mind for you? I spent over three months in Portland. I missed a lot in the first few months after Mr. Floyd's death, but even after the first 30 days of me being in the city, the idea that "it is just filled with looters and the city is burning" is so far from the truth.

What we see in the news is what we typically associate with what is happening in that particular place. For many, a photo like this is the only thing people think of when they hear about Portland. I was hesitant about posting this photo because some will see it and be like, "oh look, just like I thought they are burning down Portland." But I share it hoping to spur the conversation about the bigger picture. In no way do I support the burning of property or looting of business while I understand it. Many who are against BLM or any protests here in Portland say that "they are burning our city down." Yes, I got here 80 days into this and have missed a lot. There were several days/ weeks of looting but after spending nearly five months there, the only property I saw "attacked' "were two police stations, one government building, and the democratic building. Also, a few dumpers were set on fire, and/or some paper or cardboard was set on fire in the middle of a blocked street. Although protesters sometimes get pushed into residential areas where tear gas is dispensed and enters people's houses and businesses.

These kinds of events only happen in the evening with a small group of people, one of a dozen forms of protest and resistance that occur every day ( though it's slowed down since the wildfires and colder/rainy weather). Each time these evening protests unfold, around 10-15 people (what I've witnessed) are involved in vandalizing the 75-200+ people in attendance. Some of those damaging properties identify as "Antifa"; they spray paint or use paintball guns on the police precincts or throw things like eggs, water bottles, and bouncy balls at police officers. Blockades are also formed in streets by walls of protesters with shields and umbrellas or with fences and dumpsters. Fires, on occasion, were lit in the dumpsters, or small piles of newspapers or cardboard were used to little light fires. 

Every time it's made up of mostly white people with a handful of Black people. The event is always "autonomously led," so no one person or group can be targeted in the following days. In more recent actions, I've watched Black and Indigenous people lead them, which usually is when it stays peaceful. Even in some cases calling out any form of violence or looting trying to be done by members of the group. During these events, no one is burning down businesses, looting in the street, or causing damage or harm to the community. All the attention has been focused on the police buildings and officers.

Many in these protests (at night) call for the total abolition of police officers and demand that at least 50% of police funding go into the community instead to support mental health and police accountability. They are also fighting to change and add new legislation so that fewer senseless murders and shootings by police in the BIPOC community will ever happen.

Outside a handful of nights (that I’ve witnessed), the protest always ends in violence or altercations with police. There are some nights where some form of reaction from the officers is warranted, while other nights are entirely peaceful, and yet there are still arrests, pepper spray, pepper bullets, and tear gas. There were several nights when the event turned into an open mic night, and people were walking around picking up trash and helping people register to vote, yet that still became violent when officers showed up. In either case, I’ve seen brutalization (sometimes extremely brutal) from officers on protesters, and even medics and the press have been targeted.

The night protests seem to get the media's attention and are what gets spread about the racial reconning movement of Black Lives Matter. But this is a tiny fraction of the whole movement. Events are happening every day (throughout the day) that are part of this demand for racial equality that are entirely peaceful, from city clean-ups, art shows, skill shares, medical treatment, fundraisers, teachings, training, vigils, and marches, to share just a few. Most of these events throughout the day are led by members of the BIPOC community and, many of those times, the BIPOC youth.

Despite all these daily events, some will only see or want to know when a window is broken or a fire is lit. 

I'm not here to support or condem the actions of burning or looting, and all I'm asking is that when we see images like that, we pause and then push beyond to see more, to ask more, and to understand more than a photo or a few seconds of a video shows us.

Many individuals and organizations condemn and/or disapprove of such actions, saying, "it takes away from the actual cause." In contrast, others don't participate but support them or are bystanders. Others understand it; others are conflicted, and others say it's needed and is a cry for people to start paying attention. Others provide supplies and defenses for those altercations with police and spray painting the buildings. 

The majority of what I've witnessed over the 4-5 months of invested journalism in and around Portland has been community-oriented and peaceful. They are working to empower each other and work for a better and equal future.

This is only a little insight about Portland. It in no way tells or captures the complexity of the movement or the actions of its people. This is just a brief overview of some of what I witnessed. The main reason for writing this article is to remind us all that spaces and stories like this are always more complex than what you see come through your Phone or the cable news outlet you watch. People quickly rush to condemn things they don't understand or fear. Often, this fear and false/partial narratives come from or are fed by creating a small window from which we receive information. The racial reckoning this country has seen, through the Black Lives Matter movement, over the past year that was spurred on by the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis is something we all need to be engaging in. When we quickly push it off and condemn the movement bc of a few people's actions, we are doing everyone a massive disservice. These are important issues and conversations that need to be had, and they are long overdue. A cry for Black lives to matter has been going on for much longer than this past year. Still, it has been continually overlooked, downplayed, and condemned from Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem, the marches and protests after the killing of Travon Martin in 2012, and Rodney King in 1992. The fact that Black people have been unproportionately targeted and racially profiled by police is undeniable. While Black people only make up about 13-14% of the population, they are ten times more likely to be arrested by police. They make up 22% of the fatal shootings by police. The issue of police brutality against Black and other minorities has been going on for a very long time. It's just now these events are being filmed. This issue and other systematic oppression of Black people through Redlining, Jim Crow, The Prison System, and The war on Drugs where President Nixon's domestic policy chief, John Ehrlichman, was quoted explaining it:

 "We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did."

We must always be looking to grow our understanding and perspective, or we will always be doomed to repeat history. So we must intentionally listen and learn from Black people and proactively dismantle white supremacy, deconstructing false history, facing racism in our own lives, and speaking out when we see or hear it around us in our families and workplaces. It will be stiff, awkward, and painful, but these are necessary steps to create a more just, fair, and equal world.