We’d like to make the RTR community aware of our position on the use of the term slavery. Instead of using the term “slavery”, it’s more accurate and respectful to use “enslavement”.

This change acknowledges that slavery was an act of forcibly subjecting individuals to a state of being enslaved, rather than a condition they willingly embraced. It emphasizes the oppressive nature and violation of human rights that occurred.

Let’s use “enslavement” to reflect the gravity of this historical injustice going forward.

Sunday, June 18, 2023 – 1:00pm to 4:00pm

,Learn more about the event on LO’s website

Gloria Brown was a woman who lived her life without boundaries, becoming the first African American woman forest supervisor at the US Forest Service and solidifying herself as a pioneer in her field. She was a champion for social and racial justice.

https://youtu.be/DLA5ZWe79zE

One of her core beliefs and values was in providing opportunities to those who are underrepresented because she knew far too often, talented individuals get overlooked. It is our hope through The Gloria Brown Scholarship that Respond to Racism can help the next generation of underrepresented students get an opportunity to succeed and thrive through education.

Respond to Racism will grant two scholarships. Each scholarship will be $2,000. Payment of the scholarship will be made during the recipient’s first term, directly to the institution of higher learning in which the recipient is enrolled.

Qualifications

• • Graduate eligible high school seniors who attend Lake Oswego high schools or reside in Lake Oswego.

• • Black, Indigenous, People of Color, or Bi-racial

• • Accepted to any college (technical school, community college or college or university)

• • Declared major or intended field of study in a subject that contributes to humanity, the betterment of self and or community.

Apply between March 1 – April 15

The scholarship application deadline is April 15, 2023. Recipients will be announced in June, 2023.

The Gloria Brown Memorial Scholarship application closed on April 15.

Respond to Racism is hiring an executive director!

The ED will work with the President and

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Board to establishes strategic goals, shorter-term objectives and operational plans. The ED oversees and manages implementation of the strategic plan, financial health of the organization, and policies of the Board.

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The ED inspires, guides, unites, motivates, encourages, and supports the staff and volunteers in their various roles.

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Most importantly, the ED ensures that the values of the organization are upheld, informs the Board of the state of the organization and collaborates with them in accessing needed resources.

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Learn more about the duties and responsibilities in the full job description:

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All inquiries should be directed to Jayson Jean Baptiste, Chairperson of the Search Committee: jaysonbaptiste@gmail.com.

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CDEP provides successful applicants with $2,500 to $15,000 in tuition scholarships per term (winter and spring) — subject to available funds — to attend Clackamas Community College, Oregon State University, Pacific University Oregon, Portland State University and Western Oregon University.

Find out more about the program on the Clackamas Education Service District website.

Watch video

https://youtu.be/ZjHBDHQyuAU

Ethnic Studies emerged as a unique activist discipline in the nation’s college and universities during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Yet, its potential remains in need of a renewed advocacy. At a moment when the state of Oregon prepares to implement Ethnic Studies across the K-12 landscape, how can we apply this community-focused approach to learning and community-building to facilitate solidarities and social justice? How can we all support Ethnic Studies, and articulate its necessity? Dr. Barnd will discuss the history and potentials of Ethnic Studies, and explain why we must act before it becomes the next target of organized social and political backlash against the work of anti-racism. Dr. Natchee Blu Barnd is an associate professor of Ethnic Studies and Native American Studies at Oregon State University, and coordinator for the Ethnic Studies department. He is a comparative and critical Ethnic Studies scholar interested in the intersections between Ethnic Studies, cultural geography, and Indigenous studies. Dr. Barnd is the author of the award-winning book Native Space: Geographic Strategies to Unsettle Settler Colonialism. He works closely on research and teaching projects with the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz.

Dawn Haymai

https://youtu.be/5m-aIT4e8H8

Growing up in Queens, New York, Lake Oswego was a very different experience for Dawn Hayami. She moved to the Lake Oswego in 1984 after a previous stint in Oregon. The lack of diversity was striking to her and for much of the time since then, Hayami found community with other people of color through work and other activities in Portland. In fact, she hadn’t heard the infamous “Lake No Negro” nickname until after she moved.

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Hayami says a major turning point was when Walidah Imarisha presented to her Lake Oswego United Church of Christ community in the early 2010s. The presentation on Oregon’s history of exclusion laws and anti-Black policies inspired church members to start a learning group, which would later become a foundational collaborator with Respond to Racism and other local anti-racism efforts.

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Pat Ginn

https://youtu.be/WhjZKNFK6x4

Like many parents who make the choice to move to Lake Oswego, Pat Ginn and her husband decided to relocate from Portland into Lake Oswego because of the reputation of the schools. In addition to her sons going through the Lake Oswego school system, Ginn also took a job with the district. During her time working with Lake OswegoSD, she saw the reputation clash with the reality, both in how it affected her boys and how the district cycled through its diversity efforts and countless staff of color.

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Years of watching the high rates of attrition and doing untold hours of unpaid work trying to create support for other staff of color led Ginn to join former PPS colleague Willie Poinsette and Respond to Racism where she serves on the leadership team. During her time with RtR, Ginn has played a key role in planning, school district and local government engagement, and youth support.

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Patricia and James Walker

https://youtu.be/EhFvd9n-95k

Patricia and James Walker have lived in Lake Oswego for about 45 years. Their first home was about 4 miles from the city and after a short stint in southern California, they decided to move to Lake Oswego, in part, because they thought it would provide their children with a good education and give them a chance to live close to the Walker’s parents. Patricia lived in Vanport, Oregon until she was 3 years old, when the city was wiped out by the infamous Vanport flood. James family was based in the state of Washington.

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Since Patricia’s brother and father worked at the Lake Oswego Country Club, she was aware of the “Lake No Negro” stigma. While they’ve spent four plus decades making a place for themselves in Lake Oswego, they kept close ties to their North Portland community, including joining fraternities and sororities. Patricia would go on to work nearly two decades as one of few Black teachers in Lake Oswego schools. The Walkers have been a constant presence and brought their wisdom and community building spirit to various Respond to Racism and Lake Oswego for Lake Oswegove events since the emergence of these grassroots groups.

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Willie and Bruce Poinsette

https://youtu.be/Jz_UM4xBvxw

For Willie and Bruce R. Poinsette, moving to Lake Oswego came down to three factors: the reputation of the schools, advantageous property tax and insurance rates, and perhaps most importantly, a friend with a timely offer in an unfriendly housing market. Willie, coming from New Jersey, and Bruce R., originally from South Carolina, didn’t know anything about the “Lake No Negro” nickname, but incidents like a white woman literally clutchig her purse at the grocery store when she saw Willie made it clear fast. The treatment of their son in the Lake Oswego school system was particularly hard for them to deal with and being isolated, both in and outside of the town, only added insult to injury.

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These experiences were at the forefront of Willie’s mind when she agreed to meet with Respond to Racism co-founder Liberty Gonzales and ultimately build the organization in the summer of 2017. As President, Willie has led the organization to become a force in the city of Lake Oswego, engaging local stakeholders across the spectrum in anti-racism and elevating the voices of community members of color. Throughout the process, Bruce R. has also been a constant presence and now serves on one of the city’s commissions.

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Acknowledgements

Photos by Intisar Abioto

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https://www.intisarabioto.com/

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Interviews by Bruce Poinsette

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https://www.patreon.com/brucepoinsette

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Dawn Haymai

https://youtu.be/5m-aIT4e8H8

Growing up in Queens, New York, Lake Oswego was a very different experience for Dawn Hayami. She moved to the LO in 1984 after a previous stint in Oregon. The lack of diversity was striking to her and for much of the time since then, Hayami found community with other people of color through work and other activities in Portland. In fact, she hadn’t heard the infamous “Lake No Negro” nickname until after she moved.

nn

Hayami says a major turning point was when Walidah Imarisha presented to her Lake Oswego United Church of Christ community in the early 2010s. The presentation on Oregon’s history of exclusion laws and anti-Black policies inspired church members to start a learning group, which would later become a foundational collaborator with Respond to Racism and other local anti-racism efforts.

n

Pat Ginn

https://youtu.be/WhjZKNFK6x4

Like many parents who make the choice to move to Lake Oswego, Pat Ginn and her husband decided to relocate from Portland into LO because of the reputation of the schools. In addition to her sons going through the Lake Oswego school system, Ginn also took a job with the district. During her time working with LOSD, she saw the reputation clash with the reality, both in how it affected her boys and how the district cycled through its diversity efforts and countless staff of color.

nn

Years of watching the high rates of attrition and doing untold hours of unpaid work trying to create support for other staff of color led Ginn to join former PPS colleague Willie Poinsette and Respond to Racism where she serves on the leadership team. During her time with RtR, Ginn has played a key role in planning, school district and local government engagement, and youth support.

n

Patricia and James Walker

https://youtu.be/EhFvd9n-95k

Patricia and James Walker have lived in Lake Oswego for about 45 years. Their first home was about 4 miles from the city and after a short stint in southern California, they decided to move to LO, in part, because they thought it would provide their children with a good education and give them a chance to live close to the Walker’s parents. Patricia lived in Vanport, Oregon until she was 3 years old, when the city was wiped out by the infamous Vanport flood. James family was based in the state of Washington.

nn

Since Patricia’s brother and father worked at the Lake Oswego Country Club, she was aware of the “Lake No Negro” stigma. While they’ve spent four plus decades making a place for themselves in LO, they kept close ties to their North Portland community, including joining fraternities and sororities. Patricia would go on to work nearly two decades as one of few Black teachers in LO schools. The Walkers have been a constant presence and brought their wisdom and community building spirit to various Respond to Racism and LO for LOve events since the emergence of these grassroots groups.

n

Willie and Bruce Poinsette

https://youtu.be/Jz_UM4xBvxw

For Willie and Bruce R. Poinsette, moving to Lake Oswego came down to three factors: the reputation of the schools, advantageous property tax and insurance rates, and perhaps most importantly, a friend with a timely offer in an unfriendly housing market. Willie, coming from New Jersey, and Bruce R., originally from South Carolina, didn’t know anything about the “Lake No Negro” nickname, but incidents like a white woman literally clutchig her purse at the grocery store when she saw Willie made it clear fast. The treatment of their son in the LO school system was particularly hard for them to deal with and being isolated, both in and outside of the town, only added insult to injury.

nn

These experiences were at the forefront of Willie’s mind when she agreed to meet with Respond to Racism co-founder Liberty Gonzales and ultimately build the organization in the summer of 2017. As President, Willie has led the organization to become a force in the city of LO, engaging local stakeholders across the spectrum in anti-racism and elevating the voices of community members of color. Throughout the process, Bruce R. has also been a constant presence and now serves on one of the city’s commissions.

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Acknowledgements

Photos by Intisar Abioto

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https://www.intisarabioto.com/

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Interviews by Bruce Poinsette

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https://www.patreon.com/brucepoinsette

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When: 9am July 4, 2022

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Where: Meet at Lake Garden Court

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Wear your RTR shirt!

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The discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous children on the grounds of residential schools in Canada has shocked and saddened people across the globe. What is less well known is that similar schools once functioned across the United States. These institutions were designed to break students’ ties to Native cultures, languages and beliefs. One of the first residential schools in the nation was founded here in Oregon.

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This talk will discuss how and why the school was founded; what daily life was like for its students; work that is being done to document deaths and burials at the school; and how we can confront the residential school system’s legacy of trauma.

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Eva Guggemos is the Archivist and an Associate Professor at Pacific University in Oregon. She has an M.A. in History from Yale University, a Master of Library Science from Simmons University, and a B.A. from the University of Kansas. At Pacific, she oversees the Archives & Museum collections.

She has been researching the history of the Forest Grove Indian School for 10 years, and recently published a website documenting deaths and burials of children at Chemawa Indian School.