What’s encouraging about the recent actions of the City Council is that when confronted with the truth and facts of the circumstances, they leaned toward right thinking and justice. In truth, it’s remarkable when twelve individuals can reach consensus on anything. Thanks to Portland’s new form of government—and the containment of the often arrogant power of the Mayor’s office, regardless of who occupies that seat—the City Council deserves some praise, even if it first made a serious misstep.
We should remain wary, of course, that erratic decisions by some council members—aimed at catering to their political base—can still produce ugly results. But we must also acknowledge when the Council listens to real people’s voices, respects them, and acts with honor.
Sprinavasa Brown, Nike Green, and Eric Knox went into battle mode. It was clear they weren’t simply trying to collect a check; they looked into the hearts and minds of their Black youth constituents and knew this fight mattered. The same can be said for SEI and the work of their young leader, Sahaan McKelvey.
Given this city’s history of harming Black residents, every program that serves Black youth ought to be funded at multiple times its current budget. And we should recognize that any process under the oversight of Felicia Tripp Folsom instantly gains credibility and integrity—and frankly should not be questioned. The great story here is that young Black people are stepping up, making their voices heard. We can only hope it’s not just in times of financial crisis, but on a lasting continuum, working to build true, empowering collaboration.
While the leadership of Councilwoman Lorretta Smith and Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney deserves real credit, the entire council has far more work ahead. Allocating $8.5 million to 26 Black families displaced by racist policies is a start, but it doesn’t begin to address the massive economic harm inflicted, and still endured, by the Black community. The devastating demographics we see today can be traced directly back to these historic racist policies. Meanwhile, we notice the city continues to allocate millions for speed bumps, ADA ramps, and sidewalks. But the true investment should be in the future of Black youth and the overall economic health of this traumatized community. For comparison’s sake, someone ought to ask: how many millions has the city paid out to settle individual legal claims over the last 20 years, and to whom? Those who want a point of reference should read Dr, Karen Gibson’s work called “Bleeding Albina”.
As for PCL (Portland Children’s Levy), we must also recognize that Black people are not immune from practicing cronyism—they learned from the best. Those seeking their self-serving way have grown adept at playing the race card. It’s painful to watch how systems have long taught minority groups to work against each other. This dynamic has gone on for decades, serving only to deflect attention and camouflage the deeply racist design of policies that exclude Black people from equity and economic growth, not just in city government, but far beyond. Fighting for ethnic crumbs has become commonplace.
Make no mistake: administrators and those shaping these processes know exactly how to construct criteria that foster competition instead of collaboration. Some even revel in the chaos that follows, and they have been successful in disrupting the cohesion of an already fractured community. As one local article observed, the game hasn’t changed—only the players.
Those of us who have been around long enough should speak up. Our silence is deafening—and destructive. We know nothing good comes from this if nothing changes.
Yet, it is encouraging to see that some on the Council do possess a measure of integrity, morality, and intellectual honesty—to acknowledge wrongdoing and correct course when faced with the truth. We should celebrate these members and support them at all costs.