Statement of Solidarity
In 2017, after horrific crimes of hatred in Portland, SWHRL adopted the following inclusion statement:
The SWHRL community welcomes all. All races, religions, nationalities, sexual and gender orientations, and immigrant status. Our neighborhood is for everyone! We are enriched by our diversity here in SW Portland. We stand with you. We want you to feel welcome and safe.
If you know of an individual or group who might be feeling excluded from the neighborhood association process, please let us know. Our meetings are open and public, we welcome all.
One way SWHRL advocates for equity in our community is to relentlessly lobby the city for safer streets, better pedestrian facilities and improved transit service. Our elderly and youth who don’t drive cars are dependent on public transportation.
The chair of our Committee on Equity and Inclusion presented two equity maps at our October 16, 2019 land use appeal before the Portland City Council. One is the map used by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and it is based on the race and income values from census tracts. As he pointed out, one problem with using census tracts is that they cover large numbers of people, and pockets of high equity scores are vulnerable to being averaged away.
The joke about Bill Gates exemplifies this. When Bill Gates walks into your party, everyone becomes a billionaire, on average. That happens with census tracts too.
Therefore the draft Southwest in Motion plan uses a different method of calculating equity score, one which includes disability and renters, and it shows a more nuanced picture of Southwest Portland. As you can see, SWHRL has pockets of the highest equity scores in SW Portland.
Ending Racial Injustice is Our Collective Responsibility
Like many across our nation, we have watched in horror as so many black lives have been brutally taken. The tragic killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor in recent weeks has shaken us all. Unquestionably, white privilege and systemic racism permeate our country. Our community is not immune to these failings, as you can hear in the trenchant words of Kevin “KRhea” Rhea, an African-American member of the SWHRL neighborhood:
On my way out for a workout in the “whitest major city in America”. A city very well known for it’s racist past and it’s current “climate.” All I have on me is a $30 running watch, pair of running shorts, tee shirt, low socks and shoes. I CANNOT be carrying a weapon because I have no place to hide it. I’m NOT a threat to anyone and most importantly, I’m NOT RUNNING FROM anything. I’m just trying to get some exercise. Yes, I will run past “your” house, past your driveway and through your neighborhood but it’s not really “your” neighborhood, it’s OUR neighborhood because I too live here. I’m not a threat to your wife or daughter. I’m not the black boogeyman. If you could step outside your fear and simply say “good morning” in return as I pass, you might find a way to conquer your fear. I don’t do drugs, I don’t rob people, I don’t rape, I don’t destroy property and neither does my owning a home here bring down the value of yours. If you feel the need to cross the street as you so often do as I approach that’s on you, not me. If you choose to ignore my, “good morning” or my “hello” that’s on you not me. Just know this, I started running in 1976, I started cycling in 1972 and I’ve had EVERY experience a black man in US can have as he runs or rides wherever the eff he feels like running or riding because these streets, roads and wilderness areas aren’t YOURS . . . they’re OURS and yes, that means “even” mine, a black man. The only experience I haven’t had is being shot! Guns pulled but never shot. Ahmaud Arbey wasn’t so lucky. Running/cycling/walking/driving/living/being while black is not a crime . . . no matter where we choose to do it. Peace to Ahmaud Arbey. Blessings to his family. PS Do you have to worry or even think about the risk you take WEARING a mask these days? I do and it has nothing to do with the virus. Feel me.
We must support change now! More than ever, these times demand that we come together to openly confront racist oppression and discrimination in all its forms, including demanding reforms in the way we are policed. We envision our police working collaboratively with all the communities they serve, with increased transparency, accountability, fairness, as well as public safety. SWHRL stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.