VALUES & ORIGINS
From 2014 - 2016, the Black community has been galvanized to action by the crisis of police violence in Portland Oregon and around the country. As we’ve gathered to bear witness and to organize, the community has clearly spoken for a racial justice that addresses not only the violence of policing and mass incarceration, but also the violence that is poverty, displacement, disenfranchisement, and anti-Black racism in all of our institutions. Setting “equity goals” in government is not enough: we need accountability and we need our own unapologetically Black voices demanding racial justice.
The 2017 People’s Plan lays out a vision of a thriving, empowered Black community and asserts the right of Black people to be in and shape community, whatever neighborhoods we live in, from the North to the Numbers. This document frames a Black community policy agenda and advances community-initiated projects as a powerful tool for organizing, advocacy, and implementation.
The 2017 People’s Plan gives us the opportunity to answer as a collective of Black citizens and organizations, “What does Portland’s Black Community want, and what does it propose to move forward?” The People’s Plan provides a framework for transformative change within our beloved community. The Portland African American Leadership Forum, as the steward and champion of this effort, has provided the support and space for these important conversations to take place.
HOW TO USE THIS REPORT
In August 2016, the Movement for Black Lives released its powerful platform for achieving Black humanity and dignity in the U.S. These demands - to end the war on Black people, provide reparations for harms done, to defund racist systems and reinvest in Black futures, for economic justice, and for community control and political power - are nothing short of transformational. If you are wondering how to enact this platform for Black Lives locally, the People’s Plan begins to point the way.
TO: BLACK COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Portland Black family, this People’s Plan emerges from your words, your dreams, and your fierce advocacy. It attempts to assemble the demands and actions that we as community identified as most meaningful. Perhaps the most important finding in our planning process is that the Black community feels fragmented, disconnected, and disempowered. Through the organizations, campaigns, and initiatives listed here, we can begin to identify and create the spaces to come together, fight together, and thrive together.
TO: ALLIES
Many People of Color and White folks want to work towards a city in which Black Lives Matter. It can be challenging to identify starting points for countering white supremacy and anti-Black racism in yourself, your communities, and institutions that may serve you well. It can be challenging to identify places of solidarity in your own struggles for justice. As you read this document, you will find a clear articulation of an agenda and priorities from Portland’s Black community that you can connect with your work and struggle. We invite you to become more than just an ally, but rather to be active accomplices, with the Black community in the shared struggle for liberation for all.
TO: PUBLIC OFFICIALS, ELECTEDS, GOVERNMENT AND PHILANTHROPIC ACTORS
Here in the Portland region, our local governments, schools, and philanthropic organizations have pledged to seek racial equity in their work. So far, those promises have fallen short of achieving real and meaningful change for the Black community. There have been some important advancements in policy at the city level - most notably, Ban the Box - but in other cases, action has been delayed in favor of studies or prolonged advisory processes. It is time to gather the political will and begin the transformation of our public and nonprofit institutions. This document articulates the needed changes and lists the partners for your work. Once you have read it, you will not be surprised by the demands of the community for your response.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE & COMMUNITY POWER BUILDING
HOUSING:
ENSURE HOUSING JUSTICE AND BLACK COMMUNITY
ENVIRONMENTAL AND JUST SUSTAINABILITY:
ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH RACIAL JUSTICE
ART & CULTURE:
DEVELOP NETWORKS AND SPACES THAT SUPPORT BLACK
BRILLIANCE
HEALTH:
BLACK WELL BEING REQUIRES RACIAL JUSTICE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
RECONSTRUCT AND REVITALIZE BLACK COMMUNITY ECONOMY
AND HONOR BLACK WORKERS
YOUTH AND EDUCATION:
YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE CAN THRIVE AND LEAD
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE:
DISMANTLE RACIST SYSTEMS AND BUILD A RESTORATIVE
MODEL