The COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter uprising have highlighted problems that Leslie Gregory has been working to change for a long time. Gregory is the founder and director of Right To Health, a Portland-based nonprofit that highlights health disparities that are the result of racial injustice and economic inequality. She has been pushing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recognize racism as a public health crisis for years. She tells us what it’s like to find her work at the intersection of two historical world events.

Think Out Loud

Portland-based nonprofit is at the intersection of race and health

Zachary Stocks recently started as the Oregon Black Pioneers’ first ever executive director. As the latest Black Lives Matter movement has sparked efforts to rename racist geographic locations across Oregon and take down racist monuments, Stocks has been reflecting on the role of his organization in uncovering and preserving the history of Black Oregonians. We hear from Stocks about his new job, and how he plans to build on the historical work of the Oregon Black Pioneers. We also hear from Bruce Fisher, president of the Oregon Geographic Names Board, about why there are still geographic locations with racist names.

New executive director of Oregon Black Pioneers

After Portland protests and federal law enforcement’s treatment of protesters made national headlines, stories and photos of predominantly white mothers in the Portland Wall of Moms received national attention. But Black mothers like Julianne Jackson have been involved with the protests against systemic racism and police violence since the beginning. Jackson, an activist in Salem, has organized several events for racial justice and is advocating for the removal of school resource officers in Salem schools.

Inspired by protests, Salem woman organizes events for racial justice

Matt Bors lives and works in Portland as a cartoonist and founder of The Nib. Bors says making a living was challenging at the beginning of 2020, but with the pandemic, he says between childcare and healthcare, he just can’t make it work. We talk with Bors about his move to Canada, where his spouse is from, and how things will be different for him, his family and The Nib.

Portland cartoonist Matt Bors moving to Canada in the pandemic

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Oregon, people of color are disproportionately testing positive for the virus. The Oregon Health Authority has pledged to increase outreach and testing to vulnerable communities. Dawn Mautner is the OHA senior health advisor. She tells us about how OHA is addressing racial disparities during the pandemic.

Oregonians of color disproportionately affected by COVID-19 as cases rise

Brian Bennett moved to Portland last year from Chicago. Bennett is the only Black dancer in the full company at Oregon Ballet Theatre. (There is also a Black dancer in the role of apprentice at OBT.) He says the artistic director who hired him was frank about the fact that he’d be coming in to a predominantly white institution. Now, he’s practicing his ballet moves at home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and attending Portland protests against racism and police violence. Bennett joins us to reflect on this moment and how he thinks things might be different for him when he returns to the studio.

Oregon Ballet Theatre’s only Black dancer reflects on protests and pandemic life

Some restaurants in Portland are slowly beginning to reopen. But will they be able to make money? Will they be able to hire back the staff they let go? What kind of food service makes the most sense until we get a vaccine? Lisa Schroeder (Mother’s Bistro and Bar), Peter Cho (Han Oak), and Kyo Koo (Danwei Canting) all own very different kinds of restaurants. They tell us what the last few months have been like, and what the future may hold.

How many Portland restaurants will survive?

After COVID-19 cases spiked at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute in Pendleton, families of inmates have gathered at the prison to protest conditions there. Lydia Jarrell has been attending those protests. Her husband is an inmate at the EOCI, and has told her that the prison has not done enough to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Families of Inmates Protest Conditions Amid Pandemic

A new group of Black-led community groups called a press conference today with Oregon elected leaders. They have developed a two-year plan to begin dismantling systemic racism in Oregon. Nkenge Harmon Johnson, President and CEO of the Urban League of Portland, is one of the organizers of today's press conference.

Black community groups have a plan to dismantle racism in Oregon

Author Min Jin Lee’s latest novel, “Pachinko,” was a finalist for the National Book Award. It’s an epic story about four generations of one family through migration, heartbreak, oppression, financial success, and trauma. We spoke to Lee in front of an audience at Portland’s Franklin High School in January, 2020.

REBROADCAST - Min Jin Lee

We get opinions and analysis on some of the biggest stories of the week on our news roundtable. This week our guests are Christopher McKnight Nichols, Marisa Zapata and Scott Bruun.

News Roundtable July 24, 2020

A 23-year-old civil rights activist from Alabama named John Lewis was the youngest speaker at the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom led by Martin Luther King Jr, delivering a fiery speech to hundreds of thousands of marchers gathered on the Washington Mall. Lewis went on to serve on the Atlanta City Council, and was elected to Congress in 1986. Lewis died last week at the age of 80. We spoke to him in 2014 after he had completed a three volume graphic nonfiction series about his life titled “March.”

John Lewis

School districts all over Oregon are getting ready for the start of a new school year. But what that will exactly look like is still being determined in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Kate Brown has just expanded the mandatory mask requirement to include children 5 or older. One thing is certain, students will be learning differently in every school, whether rural or urban — some more differently than others. We talk with educators Laura Thomas, Toni Myers and Leanne Goff in the Grant, Baker and Umatilla school districts to hear how they’re preparing.

Teachers in rural districts bracing for school year

Oregon Supreme Court Justice Adrienne Nelson says unconscious racial bias — or any kind of bias — has no place in jury trials. And yet, she acknowledges, every person has these biases. Nelson helped create a video that jurors can watch before a trial starts that’s designed to help them identify unconscious bias and minimize the effect those may have on their deliberations. At the same time, the Oregon Judicial Department is launching what it calls a strategic campaign, which includes partnering with organizations to bring equity to “underserved, vulnerable or marginalized” Oregonians, like juveniles and those with mental and behavioral health issues. It also includes training for judges and staff.

Oregon Court Initiative Aims To Bring Equity To The Justice System

A Portland contemporary arts center is transferring ownership of its building and land to the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Yale Union has held art events and exhibitions in an old brick building in Southeast Portland since 2010. The space will now be used to host Indigenous artists and exhibits, and promote conversations for social change. Flint Jamison is president of the board of Yale Union. Lulani Arquette is president and CEO of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation.

Yale Union Transfers Building To Native Arts Organization

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