Story by Pete Shaw Leaving Wednesday’s City Council afternoon session, Enlace’s Interim Director Amanda Shank seemed beside herself, still not sure she believed what she had just heard. Only a few minutes earlier City Commissioners Chloe Eudaly, Nick Fish, and Dan Saltzman approved Saltzman’s amendment that would require the City to divest from all of…
Tag: tactics
Wheeler Announces Plans to Abolish Police; Leads Rally to Burn ICE
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Story and photos by John G. Mellor In a shocking turn of events late yesterday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced that he would be taking steps to abolish the Portland Police Bureau and called upon Portland’s citizens of conscience to burn down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison on Southwest Macadam Avenue. Speaking before…
Immigrants and Immigrant Justice Groups Fight Back Against Persecution; Work to Provide True Sanctuary
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw In the days following Republican Donald Trump’s inauguration, many US cities and states–including Portland and Oregon–declared themselves to be sanctuaries. The term was meant to imply safety for people without documentation. However, it is one thing to make a declaration and something else entirely to enforce it. This…
Immigrants Come Out of the Shadows to Rally at ICE in Show of Courage, Solidarity
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw When a politician says he is going to do awful things, it is worth believing him. And when that politician is a bully like Donald Trump who seemingly possesses no moral compass, it is reasonable to be afraid. Therefore, it should have come as no surprise when his administration…
Faith and Justice Groups Expand New Sanctuary Movement; Resist Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Decrees
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw After Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tried to take him into custody in 2014, Francisco Aguirre made a desperate phone call. Thirty minutes later a car arrived at his home, and soon Aguirre found himself taking sanctuary in Augustana Lutheran Church in Northeast Portland. He would remain there for…
Burgerville Workers Union Serves Up Resistance and Hamburgers
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Story by Pete Shaw Over 100 members and supporters of the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU) came out on Wednesday January 25 to stand for worker justice at the Convention Center Burgerville on NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. The BVWU’s most recent action occurred nearly a week after fellow worker and union leader Jordan…
How to Shine During Bleak Times
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Story by Pete Shaw These are bleak times in the United States, although an honest reckoning shows that for many people, particularly those who are not heterosexual Christian men bearing white skin, these are perhaps more accurately times ranging between the usual and bleaker. After Monday’s electoral college balloting officially paved the way for…
Giving Thanks
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw So here we are, not long after an election that saw the man who will become President of the United States spending over a year hurling invective against just about everyone not a white, straight, Christian male, that has now clearly encouraged blatant and aggressive bigoted actions. Clearly, we…
Burgerville Workers Union Rallies In Support of Fired Union Member
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Walla Walla onion rings–so good that they named them twice–have arrived at Burgerville. Inside its stores, signs advertise the food while emphasizing the community values Burgerville espouses to distinguish itself from the larger fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King. One placard shows a farmer kneeling…
SURJ Condemns Police Violence; Urges Support for People of Color Led Groups
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Over 50 people affiliated with the Portland chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ PDX) gathered at the Justice Center on SW 3rd Avenue on Monday July 11 demanding an immediate end to police violence and calling upon white people to take action for racial justice. The event…