A cluster of protesters stands at a street corner in Northeast Portland. Today there are 21 protesters. All are white, most over 50. They are all here to amplify the message that Black Lives Matter. Their signs speak to their aspirations: Peace Requires Justice; Decolonize; Justice for George Floyd; Dump Trump; The System Isn’t Broken, It Was Built This Way; and more.
There are activists, however, who claim that sign-waving is not an effective means to an end and suggest that marching with protesters in the larger demonstrations is the only true way to effect change. But the sign-wavers beg to differ. Cases in point:
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A woman from Grant Park holding a “Protest & Vote” sign feels it is important to show up in her community. “We may be doing it wrong, and we may not understand, but the community needs to see us doing it,” she explains. “Coming out here on a consistent basis is my pledge.” Additionally she pledges to be aware of and apologize for violent militants, bring attention to police interacting with people of color, frequent locally owned black businesses, and read anti-racist literature.
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A Concordia man holds a sign over his head with one hand: “Stop Killing Black People.” He believes the more protests people see, the more powerful it will be. “We need protests on every corner, not just downtown. We need neighbors to see neighbors supporting this.” He specifically calls on white people to get out and support the movement for change. “Racism will only stop if white people stop it,” adds a Cully neighbor holding a “White Silence is Violence” sign.
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A mom from Beaumont wears a Black Lives Matter t-shirt and cradles a large yellow “VOTE!” sign. She is here to encourage voter turnout in the November election. She also carries a sign to promote write-in votes for Teressa Raiford for Portland Mayor. Raiford is a black activist who founded “Don’t Shoot Portland” and continues to be actively involved in this movement.
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The youngest protester is a middle school student holding a sign that reads “Only Bad Cops Defend Good Cops.” She is accompanied by her brother from Grant High School. “We advocate because it is our future, and we have to live through the mistakes that the older generation has made.” Across the street from her is an 80-year-old grandmother dwarfed by her “Good & Necessary Trouble” sign that pays homage to John Lewis. “I want to save our democracy, and part of that is to make all people equal.”
The bottom line for these sign-wavers is that it doesn’t matter why or how people protest, only that they are protesting because all Black Lives Matter.
Stand up and be heard Wednesdays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. at NE 42nd and Killingsworth, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 5 to 6 p.m. at NE 33rd and Skidmore.