Peruse the pages or download the documents to share!

Our goal is for the Lake Oswego School District to require one semester of Ethnic Studies for all high school students.

What Is Ethnic Studies?

Ethnic Studies tells the stories and histories of marginalized groups from their perspective. It empowers students to question dominant narratives and white supremacy, as well as embrace their cultural and ethnic backgrounds with pride.

Why should Ethnic Studies be mandatory?

It teaches the histories that are usually sidelined and ignored.

Ethnic Studies has been shown to improve critical thinking capabilities, as well as produce better academic outcomes among marginalized students. It allows those students to feel heard and accepted, and also gives white students the opportunity to unlearn harmful stereotypes and myths that encourage white supremacist ideology.

Support the campaign by submitting public testimony

You can …

• Submit a written letter to the Lake Oswego School Board.
• Deliver in-person testimony at an LOSD School Board meeting.

How to submit testimony

For written testimony, you can start with this template: Sample letter for Ethnic Studies Campaign

Copy, paste and personalize this into an email to the school board. Send the letter to: losdschoolboard@loswego.k12.or.us

For in-person testimony, follow their instructions for providing testimony on the Lake Oswego School District website. 

Other ways to get involved

• Tell your friends & family!
• Attend a volunteer info session on October 11, 1-3pm at Lake Oswego United Church of Christ. This will be held during the Direct Action Committee Meeting.
• If you would like to be more directly involved with the campaign, please contact respondtoracisminlo@gmail.com.

Sources

• Pires, Fernanda. “Study Looks at Impact of Ethnic Studies on High School Students”, The University Record,  Umich.edu, 2023  
• University, Stanford, et al. “Stanford GSE Study Suggests Academic Benefits to Ethnic Studies Courses.” Stanford Graduate School of Education, 11 Jan. 2016,
• Gina Starfield, Why ethnic studies matters, Yale University
• Cassie Darrow, White people need ethnic studies, Yale University 
• HB2845 2017 Regular Session – Oregon Legislative Information System 
• LOHS Alum Anna Nakano-Baker Shares Story About Problematic Japanese History Lesson, Life After the Bubble series, YouTube
• Life After the Bubble Preview Compilation, Life After the Bubble Series, YouTube
• Farbodd Ganjifard (Full Interview) | Life After the Bubble, Life After the Bubble Series, YouTube

View the presentation slides from the call.

Toolkit for schools

Oregon for All also provided a School Toolkit that is a valuable tool for Schools and School Districts to protect school communities threatened with Immigration Enforcement. Oregon Public Schools brings families, educators and the community together to educate Oregon’s future. The Trump administration has made it clear that immigration arrests and other immigration enforcement law will be allowed at schools. This leaves some families fearful of sending their kids to school. This toolkit is a good starting point for staff, administrators, and school districts to safeguard schools so that all Oregonian students feel safe and welcome to pursue the education that we all deserve.

Centering the needs of families

Centering the needs of immigrant families was a key discussion point of the mass call. Specifically, an attendee asked about the news that the Macadam ICE facility violated its agreement with the City of Portland and what the ramifications could be if it closed. Presenters from IMA shared that while the larger goal is to abolish ICE and shutdown these facilities, abolition is also about creating the systems that better serve people and while those systems don’t currently exist, closing the ICE facility right now might create more obstacles for the families they’re trying to protect. They shared the following article from Street Roots to highlight the nuance of the situation: Feds’ closure of ICE building blocks

Get involved

The mass call encouraged attendees to get involved with Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC). Among other actions, the group recently successfully mobilized concerned citizens to keep watch at Portland schools in response to local parents being detained by ICE agents earlier in the week. If you’d like to be a part of ICE Watch Trainings or stay involved, please fill out the PIRC Volunteer form.

Follow @pdx_pali_boost for other ways you can get involved and be an asset to your community! Thank you for looking out for one another.

RELEASE DATE:
Wednesday, August 20, 2025

LAKE OSWEGO, OR — Respond to Racism (RtR) in collaboration with the Lake Oswego Public Library (LOPL), and the Arts Council of Lake Oswego (ACLO) have extended the deadline for their public art Request for Proposals (RFP). This major public art opportunity ($31,000 commission) is open to Oregon-based artists and artist teams until Sunday, August 31, 2025, at 11:59 pm PST.

The project will commission original, site-specific artworks to be installed at the exterior of the Lake Oswego Public Library, including:

• Interpretive panel(s): Sharing historically relevant and accurate information about the history of racism in Lake Oswego, centering residents of color, and reflecting the City’s aspiration to be free of racism.
• Sidewalk stamps: Text and/or imagery embedded into the sidewalks along 4th Street between D and E Avenues to spark reflection and dialogue.

The grant award for the commission is $31,000, inclusive of design, materials, fabrication, installation, and related expenses. Selected work is intended to become part of the City of Lake Oswego’s permanent public art collection, with installation expected by summer 2026.

“This art installation seeks to create a vision of hope and healing in Lake Oswego by engaging the community with local BIPOC histories and aspirations for the future. Respond to Racism envisions a Lake Oswego where BIPOC community members are not simply tolerated, but empowered to thrive. This is especially important in this political climate where community members are being terrorized by ICE and increasingly militarized police forces while federal, state and local governments roll back DEI policies in real time. Public art can be a powerful tool for inspiring change and with very few installations that center BIPOC communities currently in Lake Oswego’s permanent collection, this is a prime opportunity to create the change we wish to see,” said Bruce Poinsette, Executive Director, Respond to Racism. “By extending the deadline, we hope to ensure that this opportunity is accessible to a wide pool of artists and that it reaches the communities whose stories this project seeks to honor.”

Library Director, Melissa Kelly, says “The Lake Oswego Public Library welcomes everyone. We want the entire community to feel a sense of belonging at the library and are very excited to add an art installation that will be a visible symbol of inclusion, empowerment and healing.”

The RFP is open to artists at all stages of their careers, with strong consideration given to projects led by Black, Indigenous, and artists of color. Proposals that incorporate community engagement, social justice themes, and historical storytelling are especially encouraged.

Key Dates:

• RFP Opened: July 15, 2025
• New Deadline: August 31, 2025
• Artist Selection Notification: October 22, 2025
• Public Unveiling: Summer 2026

How to Apply:
Proposals must be submitted through the RtR application form by 11:59 pm pst on Sunday, August 31, 2025: https://forms.gle/hZbRC6RjAq8vJcY18.

The full RFP with art installation requirements, site photos, informational session recording, and additional resources are available on the Respond to Racism website: https://respondtoracism.org/request-for-proposal-public-art-installation/

About Respond to Racism

Respond to Racism is a community-led nonprofit created to disrupt racism in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and Clackamas County. Through education, dialogue, and action, RtR builds awareness, fosters resilience, and mobilizes community members and institutions to create a more inclusive and equitable society.

About Lake Oswego Public Library

The Lake Oswego Public Library cultivates wellbeing and inspires discovery by welcoming all people to read, learn, and connect. Through a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Library champions lifelong learning and community engagement for residents of all ages and backgrounds.

About Arts Council of Lake Oswego

The Arts Council of Lake Oswego manages the City’s public art program and is dedicated to ensuring art is accessible, inclusive, and integral to civic life. Through stewardship of the permanent art collection and public programming, ACLO connects residents and visitors with meaningful artistic experiences.

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Other panel participants included

• Kimberly S. Moreland – President, Oregon Black Pioneers
• Emmett Wheatfall – Poet
• David F Walker – Author, Educator, Armchair Historian Mr. Walker is one of the authors of the Eisner-nominated “Big Jim and the White Boy”. The book is one of the One Community, One Book selections. Copies are available at the Library.

First question – Do you have a brief bio you’d like me to include? I imagine most people know you, but if there’s some fresh stuff, please add it in.

My name is Bruce AD Poinsette. I’m a writer and semi-retired journalist. For the last year and half, I’ve been serving as Executive Director of Respond to Racism (RtR). I’ve been involved with the organization since the third community meeting in 2017. I grew up in Lake Oswego (LO) and graduated from Lake Oswego High School in 2007. Throughout my time living in LO and then doing organizing work here, I’ve published essays on the experience so that dominant institutions and disconnected white people aren’t the only voices controlling the narrative, telling future generations that everything was fine because no one said anything. They include the following:

• Lake Oswego’s Worst Kept Secret (2012): 
• I Dream an Oregon (2020): 
• The Lesson (2025): 

What changes did you and the leadership team find necessary to drive the sustainability of RtR in your year+ tenure?

We’ve made a few key changes since January 2024. The first was bringing in more current and former LO students of color in particular and younger people in general into various aspects of RtR decision making. Historically, RtR’s base has been retirees, but throughout these nearly eight years, student activism has been the heart of this work, producing the most enthusiasm and community engagement.

To that end, this demographic shift created an atmosphere for the second big change, which in itself has three aspects: 1) developing a theory of change, 2) de-centering whiteness in our approach and 3) making a commitment to move towards becoming an abolitionist organization. I’ll be honest, these changes have rubbed some in the RtR community, particularly in LO, the wrong way. However, that conflict created an opportunity to pursue the third major change, which isn’t really a change at all, to “expand” our scope to Clackamas County. The reason I say this isn’t a change and put the idea of expansion in quotes is because RtR has always depended on non-LO residents to power key aspects of the work and we’ve been engaged in activities and collaboration with organizations throughout the county our entire existence. However, with this official shift in scope, we hope to continue building relationships throughout the county and sharing resources that educate and empower communities to fight racism.     

What changes would you like to see for RtR in the next, say, 3-5 years?

In many ways, the changes I would like to see are actually just going back to the basics. RtR grew so rapidly in the early days in part because there was a genuine community investment. Life circumstances change and people get tired. These are unavoidable facts of life and organizers must adjust to them.

That said, what I can’t abide by is people patting themselves on the back for a job well done in LO (and definitely not the County) when the reality for those most negatively affected by racism–students of color, isolated workers and parents who don’t know where to go to have their concerns taken seriously–hasn’t changed very much.

I’m proud of the work we’ve done but I never want my organization or myself as an individual to be weaponized to silence people or be used as a symbol to pacify resistance. When I hear dominant institutions like the City and the School District or even long-time RtR community members say that everything is fine because RtR exists, it scares me. The known opposition–Proud Boys, ICE, Patriot Front, Moms for Liberty, politicians that lend their support to fascism, and community members who donate their considerable disposable income to prop up these oppressive forces–are doing what we expect them to do.

When we opt out of pushing back, that’s when they win and, more importantly, harm the most vulnerable in our communities. If we don’t find that sense of collective responsibility and investment in each others’ ability to thrive, not just be tolerated, then we will lose. For some people, that loss will just be the distress that comes from watching people suffer on TV, and that loss is tolerable. For others, that loss could literally be their lives. I fear too many in our community have made it clear that is in fact where they stand, so if there’s one fundamental change I wish to see going forward, it’s the RtR community doing less sitting around and waiting for saviors, and more taking personal responsibility and accountability for moving the needle forward for justice. I refuse to believe that people can’t mobilize for racial justice the same way many in our community mobilize for trees. I refuse to believe the same people who tell me how educated they are and how hard they worked to buy a house in LO are unable to apply the knowledge from the RtR trainings and educational programming and take real, public action for racial justice.

What are you most proud of in terms of your work at RtR in this LO and beyond community?

If I had to pick one thing I’m most proud of during my tenure, it’s the deepening of RtR’s work supporting youth.

The Youth Empowerment Coalition grew from a group primarily based in one high school to a collaboration between LOHS and Lakeridge students, resulting in activities like RtR’s first ever fundraiser gala (which sold out a month in advance), the design of a fall strategic planning series for the community and YEC students taking on leadership roles for initiatives like the push to make ethnic studies mandatory in LOSD schools.

RtR has also continued to financially support student desires for change in the form of the Gloria Brown Scholarship and sponsoring both existing and new student organized events like Asian Cultural Festival and Black Student Union (BSU) Culture Fest, respectively. We also increased the number of workshops we were able to provide for high school students, with sessions on organizing skills and documenting history in collaboration with the Lakeridge GSA, Black Student Union, and Women of Color Alliance this past school year. 

With all that is going on around us in our country and globally, what is your highest vision for our collective future in relation to Joy for Juneteenth, i.e., Freedom Day?

This may seem like a narrow answer but I wish we could collectively take understanding and fighting anti-Blackness seriously. It’s 2025 and I have far too many conversations with decision makers who consider themselves serious people yet think the discussion of anti-Blackness begins and ends with the n-word.

It’s distressing to watch school district officials shrug their shoulders and act helpless when parents ask for support for their students who are being asked for “the pass” to say the n-word by white students because that’s considered a clever loophole for obvious racial harassment. Furthermore, it’s infuriating for district officials to blame the victims and tell Black families that the answer is to simply not say the word themselves. It’s actually enraging for the response to anti-Black incidents to be the same canned talking points, namely that the district hosts an annual visit of the African American History 101 Mobile Museum, does a few Engage to Change discussions with several students and staff a few times a year, and utilizes the No Place for Hate curriculum. Meanwhile, even people who consider themselves allies and accomplices expect Black community members to do all the emotional labor and be their mules in perpetuity as a precondition for engaging with anything having to do with Black issues.

We are still having the tolerance vs. welcoming conversation in 2025 and somehow the bar has shifted even further to the notion that Black residents should just be grateful to be tolerated. That isn’t freedom to me. Having to find acceptance in making white people feel comfortable is just the “big house” dynamic of slavery updated for the laws and social standards of today. To that end, when I think of what a real collective commitment to combating anti-Blackness looks like in Clackamas County, I think it’s an investment in Black self-determination and community building, uplifting local Black history, and the passage of initiatives that directly serve and center Black communities.    

Congratulations to the following Class of 2025 graduating seniors and Respond to Racism Gloria Brown Scholarship recipients!

• Chase Merrill–Lakeridge High School
• Siena Requelme-Cheung–Lakeridge High School
• Joni Delman–Lake Oswego High School
• Diya Deepu–Lake Oswego High School

The Gloria Brown Scholarship for graduating Black, Indigenous, Bi-racial and/or Students of Color was started to honor Gloria’s legacy. Brown wanted to provide opportunities for talented individuals whom, she knew from personal experience, are too-often overlooked for educational and professional opportunities. “Representation counts because of the message to the public about belonging,” Brown once said.

Learn more about Gloria Brown’s story in her own words in the book she co-authored, Black Woman in Green, Gloria Brown and the Unmarked Trail to Forest Service Leadership. 

RtR is launching our next art installation project on Monday with a call for selection panelists.  Community members with experience and passion for local arts, social justice, and/or amplifying BIPOC histories encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted June 2 – June 20, 2025.

The first installation project we did like this was the beautiful Ms. Willie’s Dream mural at City Hall.

• Previous panelist experience not required.
• Panelist will receive a $275 stipend.
• Work to be performed between June and September 2025.
• Community members applying for the public art installation RFP are not eligible to apply.
• Apply before 11:59pm June 20, 2025

Learn more about the project and apply now

Pick up a copy of the Mercury at one of 500 locations in the Portland metro area. The insert is featured in the food edition of the newspaper. Or, stop by and see us June 1 at Lake Oswego Pride. Respond to Racism will be present and we will have extra copies to hand out.

More coverage from KATU: Five years after George Floyd’s death, Black Portlanders call for continued awareness

Uplifting local histories and stories of communities of color is vital to our work.

In November, we began a push to get books from author talks we and/or our community partners have hosted in recent years into Lake Oswego School District schools. Thanks to a generous donation from our friends at LO for Love and collaboration with LOSD librarian Carrie Light, there are now displays of with the 6 recommended books available for checkout in both high schools and middle schools in LOSD.

We look forward to continuing to build on this community collaboration to inform and empower youth to be antiracist!

Book List

• It Did Happen Here: An Antifascist People’s History by Moe Bowstern, Mic Crenshaw, Alec Dunn, Celina Flores, Julie Perini, and Erin Yanke
• The Place We Make by Sarah L. Sanderson
• Funeral for Flaca by Emilly Prado
• Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley by David G. Lewis
• The Portland Black Panthers by Lucas N. N. Burke and Judson L. Jeffries
• A Peculiar Paradise: A History of Blacks in Oregon 1788-1940 by Elizabeth McLagan