![]() ![]() Sometime around midnight, a small group of protesters, usually wearing all black and carrying makeshift shields and umbrellas, begins to lob fireworks toward the federal courthouse or light small fires nearby. Members of the PDXDadPod wear gas masks and carry large leaf blowers to help disperse the inevitable tear gas used by officers against demonstrators. There, the Wall of Moms link arms and form a barrier between protesters and the building. Over the past week, protests have settled into a cycle that starts early in the evening with peaceful marchers singing and chanting, “Black lives matter," and, “Feds go home.” Recently Portland parents have led a short procession from the Justice Center to the neighboring federal courthouse. Much of the national scrutiny in recent weeks has centered on the melee that erupts nightly after small groups of demonstrators begin a cat-and-mouse game with law enforcement. The Portland NAACP has repeatedly denounced the actions of federal forces in Portland but has also criticized “mostly white anarchists” for inciting violence during the protests. “It’s in the classrooms when we have Black students in eighth grade who are not at an eighth grade reading level. “The Black issues exist very far from here,” he said. Many of those residents live far from the downtown area, where thousands of demonstrators have descended every night for almost two months.ĭrury said instead of drawing national attention to what transpired outside the federal courthouse in recent weeks, protesters should be talking about communities of color, who are subjected to increased policing and a lack of economic opportunity. In the majority-white city, Black people comprise just 6 percent of the population, according to the latest numbers available from the U.S. This is a battle between two white supremacy entities: the Trump administration and the local city of Portland.” “What’s happening downtown is not a Black issue. “I want us to remember why we’re here,” Drury told protesters Thursday. Lost in the shuffle were the millions of Black lives suffering systemic racism and injustice, said Lakayana Drury, executive director of Word is Bond, a Portland-based nonprofit. Courthouse, they became the focus of protests. After federal officers under the command of the Department of Homeland Security arrived to defend the Mark O. The ongoing unrest, which started at the end of May following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, initially began as a series of demonstrations against racism and police brutality. ![]()
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