Dear OSTPDX Members, With the vast amount of news coming at us from all directions, one thing is clear at the moment-the calls for police accountability aren’t going to fade into the background. Governor Kate Brown has set to begin this Wednesday a special legislative session that will focus on police oversight in light of the ongoing protests that have been taking place after the killing of George Floyd. Issues that have arisen due to the coronavirus pandemic will also be addressed however the massive hole it has left in the state budget likely will not be. Since the public will not be allowed to enter the Capitol during the special session, it can be viewed on OLIS. Be sure to read below on how you can take action to support the police accountability measures introduced by Oregon’s People of Color Caucus that Governor Brown is backing.
Announcements
Framing the Progressive Message and Activism in the Time of Covid One Small Thing Virtual Meeting held June 16
62 people attended the most recent One Small Thing PDX meeting via Zoom. Our meeting began with a short and powerful reflection by Phyllis Brown about racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement and several questions to our speakers related to this topic. Melanie Plaut was invaluable as our Zoom host. We heard from Dr. Larry Wallack, emeritus professor of public health at the University of California, Berkeley, and the former dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University. His excellent presentation prepared us to use values-based communications with voters. We need to seek first to engage, not persuade and also to build a compelling narrative. A key take away came during questions to Dr. Wallack; he thinks the slogan “Defund the Police” will be nuanced and refined well before November and should not be a factor in favor of Trump in the fall election. Erica Goldman, PNW Regional Organizing Coordinator for Swing Left, Co-Founder of Indivisible Oregon and former group manager with Moms Demand Action shared Swing Left’s effective strategies including how to get engaged now for the November Election working to take back the Presidency, the Senate, and state legislatures. Here are the slides they shared with us for those who could not attend, and to remind those who did of the key information. Larry Wallack Slides Swing Left Slides
Actions & Events
Indivisible group, Salem Community Organizers, has two actions for the start of the legislature's special session on June 24th. First, they ask you to call your legislators to support these police reform measures including those Governor Kate Brown has referred for action: 1. Police Discipline Statewide Database 2. Attorney General Lead for Use of Force Investigations 3. Require Mandatory Reporting by Officers of Other Officer Behavior 4. Ban on Tear Gas, Militarization 5. Law Enforcement Arbitration (HB 1567A, 2020) 6. Outlaw use of Chokeholds Secondly they ask you to show support and be informed by tuning into the special session from their June 24th Facebook Event or from the legislature's link. They are not planning a live action at the Capitol because three right wing groups, likely armed, will be there.
THE POOR PEOPLE'S CAMPAIGN: A NATIONAL CALL FOR MORAL REVIVAL
Watch this broadcast from the June 20th Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington for a Digital Justice Gathering to call for a revolution of values to save the soul and heart of our democracy.
OST-PDX Activist Reading Group
Our next meeting will be Thursday, June 25th, 7:00-8:30pm via Zoom. If you are interested in joining our meetings, contact Ken Rosenberg at rosenbergkd@yahoo.com.
Virtual Swing Left & Vote Forward Letter Writing
Vote Forward and Swing Left are working together to increase civic participation by sending letters to voters. If you’re interested in printing and writing letters on your own, click here for more information. Listed below are some virtual letter writing events and you may search for others here. Write Letters to Voters Virtually with Swing Left:
Events
City Club of Portland has put all of their programming online and is FREE to the public. Check out their upcoming virtual events calendar.
Claiming White Legacies of Oppression, Allying for Change: June 23rd from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Knowing Oregon's Bees: June 24th from 6:00-7:10 p.m.
ACLU of Oregon Pride Webinar: June 25th from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Black Lives Matter Solidarity Event: July 4th from 12:00-3:00 p.m.
Articles
Visit our website – www.onesmallthingpdx.org – like our Facebook page -- follow our Twitter account -- @onepdx. Not a reset, but a new beginning for Oregon Juan C. Chavez Sued to Block Portland Police From Using Tear Gas. He Says They Aren’t Stopping Out of the Ashes of Covid-19 Should Rise Our Unstoppable Medicare for All Movement Doctors sound off: ‘Racism is a public health issue’ Many Medical Decision Tools Disadvantage Black Patients The Difference Between First-Degree Racism and Third-Degree Racism The Voice of America Will Sound Like Trump Warmly, Sara McKinney
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