Something to Think About
Living history By Melissa Wagoner “You watch what’s going on for years and it leads to this underlying angst and agitation,”45-year-old Jay Shenai said in response to the question of why he chose to attend the Portland Black Lives Matter (BLM) Protest on Saturday, July 25. “This one just felt like I needed to.” Shenai, who admits to avoiding crowds as often as he can, doesn’t do a lot of protesting. Even attending the BLM protest in his hometown of Silverton brought on more than a little trepidation. “When we had the gathering at the Eugene Fields site I honestly wondered if someone was going to give us that look – but they didn’t,” he said. “That look,” Shenai, a person of color (POC) explained, is one of dismissal. Dismissal for the “Black Lives Matter” sign he and his wife, Beth, raised at the protest. But also, dismissal of a cause, which – to a predominantly white town located far from the scene of George Floyd’s murder – might seem unimportant. However, to Shenai’s surprise, that was decidedly not the case. “This is a suburb, and people were screaming out the names of victims – here,” he said, “where it didn’t happen. That gives me hope. And to see people break through that polite barrier, that got me thinking.” Because, while Shenai has often contributed financially to the organizations that work to end racial injustice, that has generally been his sole means of support. Until now. “I think, you watch the news, you see the Wall of Moms and you see them getting gassed. You see the Leaf Blower
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Silvertonians give first-hand accounts of Portland protests
Dads and it just felt like a call to action,” Shenai, who is also a father, related. “It felt like this was close to home.” And he is by no means alone. Elizabeth Neves, 55, felt a similar call to action, attending the Portland protests on July 20. “I felt called to participate because police brutality is a symptom of racial injustice and POC are disproportionately the victims of police violence,” she explained. Adding, “I believe the protests are important to illustrate our solidarity and amplify POC’s demand for systemic change, specifically, but not limited to changes in policing practices.” Those policing practices, originally brought into question by the murder of George Floyd, have become ever more fraught as the Portland protests have gone on – currently over 70 days – with both police and federal officers utilizing a variety of controversial methods – teargas, flashbangs and pepper balls – in an attempt to subdue the crowd. “I am a Criminal Justice Major, a Veteran of the US Army, and an ex-Ranger,” 43-year-old Jared Kofron, who also attended the protests on July 25, said. “I have studied policing and spent hundreds of hours working with police officers in Oregon while attending college. I have friends that are police officers at the local, state and federal level. I take an interest in police culture and police corruption.” This interest, as well as a curiosity about how “peaceful” the protests actually were, prompted Kofron to join the Wall of Vets, standing for BLM as well as offering protection to peaceful protesters.
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Above: A Black Lives Matter memorial on Tom McCall Waterfront Park near the protest blocks in Portland. MELISSA WAGONER Left: Jared Kofron and fellow veteran standing with the Wall of Vets at the Portland protests. SUBMITTED PHOTO
looking for injured, eyewash stations… The protests felt like a fair. There was free food (Riot Ribs), free water, drum lines, drum circles, music, art, graffiti.” “We started at the front of the BLM march, but peeled off to stand in front of the Federal Courthouse,” Kofron said of his initial route. “It was a diverse crowd as far as age goes but looked 95 percent white. Medics walking through the crowd
Julie Bersin
This peaceful description matches the one 40-year-old Allison Hill – who has spent numerous nights protesting in downtown Portland, both in front of the Courthouse and the Justice Center – gave when she said, “It was powerful. Standing there on the streets I kept reminding myself about
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