Category: News & Current Events

Demanding Justice, In The Courtrooms And In The Streets

By Adam Rothstein, Paul Cone, and K. Kendall On Monday, April 2nd, members of Occupy Portland were once again swarming around the area of Chapman and Lownsdale Squares, bringing their grievances to the courts and City Hall. On this beautiful spring day, folks might have wished to be somewhere else enjoying themselves, but many were…

Reflections on “The New Jim Crow”

By Kendall These are sound-bites from a discussion among eighteen people who met at Reflections Coffee House and Bookstore on the morning of March 31, for the first of six discussions of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. “I’m appalled that people are appalled about Trayvon Martin and not about Keaton Otis. Everybody’s real concerned…

Portlanders Continue the Call for Justice in Trayvon Martin Killing

By Mungen Cakes Continuing the nationwide outrage over the killing of Trayvon Martin, an estimated 200 Portlanders took to the streets from Peninsula Park on Saturday. The Trayvon’s Mothers March for Community Unity met for a rally and march at the rose garden gazebo. The organizers and other speakers made it clear during the rally…

DHS and Occupy: All Your Privacy Are Belongs to US

by Adam Rothstein DHS and Occupy: All Your Privacy Belongs to US The Portland Occupier investigated documents released by the Department of Homeland Security under the Freedom of Information Act, and found a sea of holes. Through these holes, can be seen power, privilege, surveillance, investigation, intimidation, and an agency that literally answers to no…

Nestlé Grabs at Public Water in the Gorge

By Meredith Cocks Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage corporation, is pursuing Oregonian’s public water resources in the Gorge, and a decision last month brought them two steps closer. On February 29th the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) approved the first two of three permits necessary for Nestlé to gain access to Oregon’s public…

Mother Nature Continues Her Rampage on the South Park Blocks

By Portland Occupier Staff In an escalation of recent ‘green bloc’ tactics, Mother Nature continued her rampage this morning. This time, a direct-action took form of falling a major limb off an elm tree on the South Park Blocks, causing damage to a parked car and a building, and just missing another potential target, the…

Labor Solidarity Commitee Plans Job-Finding Assembly

by Barbara Ellis A Job-Finding Assembly for the long-term unemployed in Multnomah’s East County and Clackamas county by Occupy Portland’s Labor Solidarity Committee is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, April 15. It will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. at SEIU Local 503’s headquarters, 64th and SE Holgate Boulevard. The purpose is to organize this…

Teachers Need Their Community to Stand With Them Against Exploitation

by Greg Margolis On March 20, 2012, an estimated crowd of 1,500 teachers and community members, including parents and students, gathered in the Gresham High School gymnasium to rally and march in support of the Gresham-Barlow Education Association, Reynolds Education Association and Parkrose Faculty Association in their efforts to bargain a fair contract with the…

State Harassment

by Kathryn Kendall Note: Throughout this article, people are identified as white or black, because the historical perception of “white” and “black” is part of the power dynamic being described. In his book “Race Matters”, Cornel West writes, “Without the presence of black people in America, European-Americans would not be “white”– they would be Irish,…