A week that was: July 20 to 26 Federal Occupation of a City

After a week of violence, both by law enforcement and protesters, I have felt the need to express my frustration and dissatisfaction with policing activity by the Department of Homeland Security at the behest of 45. What follows is a collage of stories, impressions, recollections and reporting on how we got to this place in our civil history collected and collated from public sources.

I am writing about a city where I lived for a few years, first after our arrival in Oregon from Iowa in the fall of 1940, again in 1942 to 1945 while our father worked at Albina ship yard building landing craft for our war effort. I returned there in 1961 after service in the Army, and married there in 1963. It is also lifelong home to my wife of fifty-seven years. Presently home to my sister-in-law and two nieces. We left Oregon permanently in 1963 only to return for frequent visits to family and get our “ocean fix.”

My early years of gaining experience, of learning and coping have been spent in Oregon – September 1940 to August 1968 when my wife and I departed for Denver, Colorado to begin a teaching career and raise a family. Though I have now lived in Denver longer than anywhere else in my life, I still consider Oregon my home. It is there where the foundation was put in place and the basic structures of who I am were constructed.

From those humble beginnings I now look at Oregon and particularly Portland with dismay and sadness. The city of my beginnings does not deserve the notoriety dumped on it this past week. It is neither an evil place nor a saintly place. There are shortcomings there related to the issue of racism, stories and articles relating to that history are here as well as the things now being done to recognize and change the path forward.

I begin with a link to Portland and Oregon’s less than stellar racist past.

By way of introduction I must state that I grew up in Oregon, my first three years of school were in Portland proper, we lived at the corner of Oregon and Grand Avenue, a bit south of the Albina district where most of Portland’s Black population lived at that time. My first three years in school were at Holladay Elementary, housed during the war in a wing of Girl’s Polytechnic School. After the war 1(945-1947) we lived just east of Milwaukie, then (1947 – 1958) in the McKenzie River Valley at Walterville east of Springfield and in Springfield proper.

I am aware of Oregon’s history of racism in its formation and later years. These first years at Holladay School were in integrated classes, a substantial proportion of those classes had Black children, one of my friends and “protectors” was Maurice who always batted for me in the ball games and kind of looked out for me. Later I went to jr. high school and high school in Springfield the student bodies were all white except for one brief presence of a Black family while I was a junior at Springfield High. As I have said in other places that family could not take the racism and left in about 6 months. Springfield had been a company town, basically run by those associated its only sawmill and logging company, Booth-Kelley. That association kept both minorities and national chain stores out of town. Later mills and logging companies were Georgia-Pacific that arrived from the piney woods of the southeast, bringing in lots of folks from Arkansas and other states of the region.

My education at the University of Oregon meant 4 years of association with all-white classmates, about the only Blacks were those on the football squad.

The experience I had growing up there coincides with what is reported in The Atlanticarticle link below. However, that experience also included a type of neutrality toward race and racism in my immediate personal experience. After we left Oregon in 1968, I became aware of the depth of racism in the form of the skinhead demonstrations and activism and the very homophobic stance of so many people in Oregon. Still the governance in the latter part of the 20th century and in the first half of the 21st has been pretty liberal even when governed by Republicans such as Tom McCall a patrician born in New England but raised and educated in Oregon and Senator Mark Hatfield. During my early years Republicans such as these were in control of Oregon politics, but they were very progressive on environmental and social issues.

For these reasons I am not at all surprised by the nature and duration of the protests these past few months in Portland and am encouraged by the increased turnout by these protesters in the face of the overreach of 45’s administration. I do expect Ted Wheeler, the Mayor of Portland and Kate Brown, the Governor to take a stance that will move toward the removal of these interlopers in what is essentially a local demonstration aimed both White and Black protesters at improving the situation for minorities in the state.

Here from The Atlantic is that brief history.

The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America

The Atlantic

ALANA SEMUELS

JULY 22, 2016

I hope this link has helped you understand the kind of place where I grew up and how some of my views have come to be.

The conditions and immediate history in Portland

As the articles above point out, Portland has a long and convoluted history of racism and anti-racism that has led to where it is today. The current resistance and confrontations have been nearly continuous in the city core, near and around Pioneer Square, the Park Blocks and various federal buildings that dot the blocks in the core since the end of May when the reaction to George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police made the national media scene.

These confrontations have been a mix of peaceful resistance and violent confrontation. The New York Times story below will take you through these 56 days.

How One of America’s Whitest Cities Became The Center of B.L.M Protests

New York Times

By Thomas Fuller

Published July 24, 2020 Updated July 25, 2020

Oregonians and Portlanders have shown their allegiance and support to the broad question of racism raised by the variety of excessive force used against those of Black descent in the last few years but most particularly since the death of George Floyd and the applications of force in other cities, communities around the United States.

A question arises in my mind and that of others as to how and why Portland became the testing ground for federal intervention in what should be a local matter. I think there may be a number of source of irritation to 45’s administration: though often moderate and with a conservative rural Eastern Oregon the state has a Democratic Governor, Portland has a Democratic Mayor, two Democratic Senators, four of five House Representatives are Democrats and has a universal, automatic mail ballot. Any one of these might be enough to arouse the ire of this administration, however all taken together might be just a touch too far for this administration to accept and to lay down a challenge that mast be taken into hand. The state is small, obviously out of touch with its constituents according to the likely thinking of staff well removed and totally immersed in political bubble that is Washington, D.C. Oh, and let us not forget that Portland and Oregon was the location of some pretty serious anti-facist resistance in the recent past.

Here is how the Washington Post and New York Times saw and reported on the matter:

Violent protest clashes turned Portland into a ‘right-wing boogeyman.’ Here’s how it happened.

Washington Post

July 21, 2020 at 4:41 a.m. MDT

Chaotic Scenes in Portland as Backlash to Federal Deployment Grows

New York Times

Published July 21, 2020 Updated July 25, 2020, 1:09 p.m. ET

So how do those who live with this created confrontation and presumed occupation react? As I have written above I still have family and connections in Oregon and the Portland area, most notably a niece who worked downtown prior to the pandemic closure but still active in the Portland scene. This is her brief response to my question as to her knowledge and impression of conditions:

“I haven’t been downtown in several weeks. It was a ghost town but with pretty awesome murals on all of the boarded up buildings. I’m working at a different location as my corporate office is shutdown still. I have friends that have gone down to protest with nurses, lawyers, moms and doctors.

“They say for the most part it’s peaceful but that the feds are definitely instigating things to a level that is unnecessary. Like going after medics and journalists when they clearly are wearing badges and helping people in need. People are literally getting taken from the streets in unmarked cars. It’s scary! The fed presence is totally and complete utter bullshit. Just absolutely terrible. There’s been demonstrations ALL over the city not just downtown, that have been peaceful and with no problems. The media has been acting like it’s a war zone and it’s definitely not. I would be down there in a heartbeat if there wasn’t this little thing called a pandemic happening.”

Saturday, July 25

Here is a statement by a history professor at Lewis & Clark College located on the southwest edge of Portland. This came to my attention when it was posted Saturday July 25 by a friend and member of our church here in Denver.

“READ THIS! #TRUE PATRIOTISM…..

Professor Maureen Healy is the chair of the history department at Lewis and Clark College. She teaches Modern European History, with a specialization in the history of Germany and Eastern Europe (and the rise of fascism). She was shot in the head by federal agents on Monday night and is recovering from the injury and the concussion, but shared a statement of her experience, and gave permission to share this.

—

“Statement by Maureen Healy, July 22, 2020

“For Immediate Release

“Since June, I have been attending peaceful protests in Portland neighborhoods in support of Black Lives Matter. I have gone with family and friends.

“I am a 52-year-old mother. I am a history professor.

“I went downtown yesterday to express my opinion as a citizen of the United States, and as a resident of Portland. Of Oregon. This is my home. I was protesting peacefully. So why did federal troops shoot me in the head Monday night?

“I was in a large crowd of ordinary folks. Adults, teens, students. Moms and dads. It looked to me like a cross-section of the City. Black Lives Matter voices led the crowd on a peaceful march from the Justice Center past the murals at the Apple store. The marchers were singing songs. We were chanting. We were saying names of Black people that have been killed by police. We observed a moment of silence in front of the George Floyd mural.

“I wanted to, and will continue to, exercise my First Amendment right to speak. Federal troops have been sent to my city to extinguish these peaceful protests. I was not damaging federal property. I was in a crowd with at least a thousand other ordinary people. I was standing in a public space.

“In addition to being a Portland resident, I am also a historian. My field is Modern European History, with specialization in the history of Germany and Eastern Europe. I teach my students about the rise of fascism in Europe.

“By professional training and long years of teaching, I am knowledgeable about the historical slide by which seemingly vibrant democracies succumbed to authoritarian rule. Militarized federal troops are shooting indiscriminately into crowds of ordinary people in our country. We are on that slide.

“It dawned on me when I was in the ER, and had a chance to catch my breath (post tear gas): my government did this to me. My own government. I was not shot by a random person in the street. A federal law enforcement officer pulled a trigger that sent an impact munition into my head.

“After being hit I was assisted greatly by several volunteer medics. At least one of them was with Rosehip Medic Collective. To take shelter from the teargas I was hustled into a nearby van. Inside they bandaged my head and drove me several blocks away. From there my family took me to the ER. I am grateful for the assistance, skill, and incredibly kind care of these volunteer medics.

“We must take this back to Black Lives Matter. Police brutality against Black people is the real subject of these peaceful protests that have been happening in my city and across the country. What happened to me is nothing. It is nothing compared to what happens to Black citizens at the hands of law enforcement, mostly local police, every day. And that is why we have been marching. That is why I will continue to march”

These two statements are by residents of the Portland area, one a lifelong resident who no longer may go downtown because of the present of an occupying federal force that shows no respect or empathy for those who peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights as stated by Professor Maureen Heely.

By now you are abundantly aware that I am with these people and am ashamed and appalled that an administration of this country feels it necessary to send federal agents into a state and city to put down what they claim to be an uprising against the government.

But wait, there is more. Did you see that Professor Heely was aided by a citizen first aid group? Well the hired federal agents don’t like their presence and what they are doing in support of the citizen effort to confront the unwanted, unneeded presence. Here is what they have done about that:

Portland Federal Agents Accused of War Crimes for Destroying Medical Supplies

BY KHALEDA RAHMAN ON 7/23/20 AT 9:50 AM EDT

Published in Newsweek, Sunday, July 26, 2020.

Before we leave the discussion of the resistance and confrontation occurring on the streets of Portland I bring to your attention the innovation and perhaps humorous way the sides chosen to equip and defend its own. The resistance introduces new tools to deal with internationally outlawed chemical agents. I hope you smile and see the irony of the forms of escalation.

Leaf-blower wars: How Portland protesters are fighting back against tear gas and forming ‘walls’ of veterans, lawyers, nurses

The Washington Post

By Marissa J. Lang

July 25, 2020 at 10:40 p.m. MDT

I also thought you might find it useful to see the area that is being contested as one person showed us in his Facebook post:

How might we respond to and think about this occupation?

I do not know about you, but I find it offensive and morally corrupt that 45 feels it is necessary to use federal agents to intervene and intimidate citizens who are responding to what they see as an evil and out of control segment of our government and enforcement officers. First we have been severely confined by a pandemic that should not have happened. We do accept the necessity of physical distancing, of wearing personal protective devices, limiting our time spent away from our home. We have accepted the need to change our daily routine and for some to give up there work and remain isolated so that the outbreak of the virus can be controlled and eventually subdued. When the nation finally awakened to the overt and racist brutality of some in dealing with Blacks and browns we came out in numbers across the country, in small and large towns, cities in small and large numbers. Many of us are convinced that the continued growth of awareness and empathy towards the Blacks and browns among us can only be changed by a radical re-design and re-thinking as to how we achieve social justice and equity. And from this inspiration we have to ask is this intervention legal, is it constitutional, is it ethical, is it moral.

According to many this intervention is legal to some degree according to the mandates and directives set forth in the enabling federal/national laws. At the same time there is serious questions raised as to the ethical and moral application of the law by this administration in these circumstances and interpretations by the officials in charge of the various agencies involved.

Here is a story from the Washington Post that addresses that question:

The federal crackdown in Portland is ‘legal.’ That’s the problem with it.

By Garrett M. Graff

Garrett M. Graff is a former editor of Politico magazine and the author of “Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself—While the Rest of Us Die.”

July 22, 2020 at 9:50 a.m. MDT

As 45 and the administration ramped up efforts to control our borders many opponents and resisters have argued that ICE be “defunded” and now that the Department of Homeland Security be drastically changed or even abolished. I have not made up my mind on this point, though I do think given the ease with which the powers of the department have been misused and misapplied, I would think serious consideration be given a major revision of the enabling law and restructuring of the agency

Is It Time to Defund the Department of Homeland Security?

The New Yorker

By Jonathan Blitzer

July 24, 2020

And finally a perspective on anonymity of agents enforcing the law.

We’re police officers. You should know our names. That goes for Portland, too.
From the Washington Post

By Patrick Skinner

Patrick Skinner is a police officer in his hometown of Savannah, Ga. He is a former CIA operations officer and served in the United States Coast Guard.

July 23, 2020 at 8:26 a.m. MDT

Some concluding remarks

In this essay I have chosen to review and interpret events happening in the state where I grew up. I have not lived in Oregon since 1968, but I still have fond memories and at times thought I would return to the rain and green of Oregon. As part of that nostalgia I have come to face the flaws in that idyllic dream. The darker side involves racism and violence. At the same time I detect something else, something that I personally hold dear and near: The struggle to make things better, change the community into a better place. One where social justice, equity and a clean environment is there for everyone. One where everyone may participate and feel welcome and at peace with themselves and each other.

In the final instance I find a fight to defend and defeat that threat. I am horrified that Portland and Oregon have been selected as a location to test strategies that will, if not contained, destroy the country I love. I sincerely hope that my dream will be brought to fruition at least in part by the brave resisters in this state.