Last week I noticed something different in my new neighborhood. A block from my office, a speaker could be heard in the background. I went to go check it out, and saw people milling about the Central City Concern building, a relief agency that provides temporary housing.
Installed at the intersection of the Broadway and NW Everett, at the old Golden West Hotel, is a new display honoring the contributions of what was once the heart of Portland’s first African American community. From roughly 1890-1920, the area around the Golden West consisted of many African American businesses, including restaurants, barbershops, hotels and more. As someone deeply interested in social history, this came as news to me.
The display, which is artfully done, consists of six panels and a visitor activated loud speaker playing recollections of long-time African American residents. Organized by the Old Town History Project (I can’t seem to find any information about this group — does anyone know anything about them?), the project was funded by the City of Portland Vision Into Action program and Oregon Council for Humanities.
In May, when Portland City Council extended the Sit/Lie ordinance for 5 months in order to hold community dialogues around the issues raised by the Streets Access For Everyone (SAFE) committee, Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish promised discussions in many neighborhoods over the five month period. So far, it looks like there will be only two meetings, being held three days apart, on July 18 and July 21.
From Sisters of the Road:
When you heard from us last, a Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge ruled that Sit/Lie unconstitutionally exceeds the city’s authority, as it conflicts with and is preempted by state law. After this ruling, the enforcement of Sit/Lie was suspended. This doesn’t mean that Sit/Lie is gone, so we still have work to do to ensure that the City takes it off the books.
Please show your support and come to the following community meetings that Commissioners Fritz and Fish are organizing:
Saturday, July 18th from 10am-12:00pm
Kaiser Town Hall
3704 N. Interstate, Portland
Tuesday July 21st from 7pm-9pm
First Unitarian Church
1011 SW 12th Ave, Portland
Our understanding is that these community meetings are not just focused on Sit/Lie but rather on Sit/Lie, the various services associated with the Street Access For Everyone (SAFE) oversight committee, and how we all as Portlanders can come together and discuss opportunities to make our city friendly for everyone.
Created a site for The Dill Pickle Club, a new experimental cultural/ education center in Portland, OR.
Starting June 2009, The Dill Pickle will begin hosting a monthly presentation series in which academics, zinesters, political activists, artists and people of every political shade under the sun can come together to examine life as we know it. Presentations will be controversial, offbeat and intellectual, and provide an experimental format to critique contemporary politics, culture and humanities.
Up first, “Art for the Millions,” a leisurely bicycle tour of Works Progress Administration (WPA) sponsored projects in Portland. The ride will make several stops along the way to hear from leading scholars and examine the WPA’s relevance to contemporary society. The ride is $10 and includes lunch. Register at yes@dillpickleclub.com.
Inspired by AREA Chicago, I recently created a piece for “Grassroots Cartography,” an exhibition at SEA Change Gallery in Portland, OR. “Notes for a Peoples Atlas” is a multi-city, participatory mapping and design project that began in Chicago in 2005, and has since traveled to Zagreb, Croatia and Syracuse, NY. A sort of lo-fi, more political Platial, the project invites participants to fill in the blank outline of the political border of their city or region with individual and collective local knowledge, forgotten histories, ongoing debates and changing definitions of urban space. Not to show favoritism, but this one is extra special.
Came across this entry while browsing through An Oregon Almanac: A Handbook of Fact and Fancy (1940), a fascinating pamphlet produced as a WPA project of The Oregon Writer’s Project. The booklet provides humorous anecdotes and random bits of Oregon History for every day of the calendar year. Considering the city’s ongoing dilemma on how to approach homelessness in Portland, it struck me with particular relevance…
I have been thinking for a while that I don’t agree with Portland’s Sit/ Lie Ordinance. I have mostly kept these thoughts inside my head. But recently, it has become hard to ignore the sweeps, the issuing of tickets and the outright harassment by police of those on the streets.
For those unaware, the Sit/ Lie is a law that was passed two years ago, granting police authority to cite anyone sitting or lying in a public space. Championed by the Portland Business Alliance, the law has been overwhelmingly targeted at homeless people.
On Wednesday City Council voted, as anticipated, 4-1 to extend the Sit/ Lie another six months, so that council can hold a series of community hearings (even though the homeless community has signed petitions, gave lengthy testimonials and camped out on the steps of City Hall in opposition).
Then yesterday I witnessed an unmarked van pull the wrong way down a one-way street in Old Town. Six undercover cops stepped out, guns drawn. They were stopping a homeless man for jaywalking. “Do you remember the last time we caught you on this street?” questioned one officer, “We had to taser you”. He was issued a $97 ticket.
Is it just me or is anyone else angered with the way Sam Adams is running the show? I voted for the guy but he’s been disappointing in both his public and private life. I think its time the artist community organize themsleves and hold our elected officials accountable. If anyone is inetresting in working on a campaign to challange city policy on the sit/ lie over the next six months, drop me a line.
Portland will celebrate International Worker’s Day with a protest for economic justice and immigration reform, Friday, May 1st, beginning at 4PM on the South Park Blocks. The rally is being organized by a wide coalition of groups, including grassroots community organizations, labor unions, faith communities and individuals. While working in coalition fashion allows for broad participation, one must also consider the effectiveness of these large demonstrations. For instance, last year’s rally included people carrying signs advocating to end the War in Iraq, protect the environment, legalize gay marriage, impeach President George W. Bush, as well as make trade fair and expand immigrant rights. At a certain point, I forgot what I was protesting.
To clarify any confusion, let us turn to Wikipedia to remind us of the true origins of this tradition:
May Day can refer to various labour celebrations conducted on May 1 that commemorate the fight for the eight hour day. May Day in this regard is called International Workers’ Day, or Labour Day. The idea for a “workers holiday” began in Australia in 1856. With the idea having spread around the world, the choice of May 1st became a commemoration by the Second International for the people involved in the 1886 Haymarket affair.
Created a site for 
