'Reclaim MLK Day' march attracts hundreds

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Tue, 01/21/2020 - 5:15pm

 

In North Portland on Monday, several hundred people gathered for a ‘Reclaim MLK Day’ march organized by Don’t Shoot Portland and the local branch of Black Lives Matter.

The march was led by children, who chanted,"Doctor King had a dream, I am that dream."

KBOO was there, and spoke with some of the participants of the rally – beginning with Teressa Raiford, a candidate for the mayor in Portland:

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Audio Transcript: 'Reclaim MLK Day' march attracts hundreds

Teressa Raiford  0:00  
When I'm elected, not only will I step up to the plate, but we'll have a vision of leadership that exists now in the organizing that we do, that we can bring to the city in a bigger fabric. And that'll provide more direct resources to people that have been committed to change for so long, but feel like they haven't had the necessary resources, or the support from elected leaders that we need in order to be a part of what change looks like in the world. Communities need to be the direct- in direct alignment with our policies, because we're the recipients of what that looks like. And when we talk about equity, it should be a return on investment for the people that pay the taxes and that trust and believe that the people we elect will do the work. So we'll see what happens. I'm begging people to hold me accountable. 

Jenka Soderberg  0:46  
And what do you think is the legacy of King on this day? 

Teressa Raiford  0:50  
Dr. King's legacy has brought us here today we choose this day to practice nonviolent direct action, because as a black leader and organizer of a civil rights movement now, I've been faced with violence and trauma connected to being able to freely express my voice and to petition my government. And so we utilize this day because the framework of the holiday exists to encourage people to protest, to encourage people to be in engagement, to petition their governments and to understand what's happening in the world. So it's the perfect legacy. It keeps us right on track 

Jodie Bagley  1:25  
Jodie Bagley, 

Jenka Soderberg  1:26  
How old are your kids?

Jodie Bagley  1:28  
Kids are 11 and seven, we wanted to bring our kids out today to help them to know the black people and indigenous people in our community, need our support and that's important to be out here. And I think that's the legacy of King, that's not just a holiday to be at home, but Don't Shoot Portland, I think they're bringing the- the concerns of the black community, I think they're highlighting those concerns and bringing them more into the public discourse. So we can all understand what's going on a little bit better. 

Jason Weber  2:01  
My name is Jason Weber, I actually traveled down to the South with a youth group over the summer and got to go through Mississippi and Alabama. And it really opened up my eyes and thoughts of like what I can do as an able-bodied white person, to just make sure that people are aware of what happened and to help educate my own children. And just making sure that that we can have this voice here and that we're marching together to express that dream that everyone is the same, and that we all love each other and that we have this power of love and art and voice to really help show what we can do. And I think that's, that's the biggest thing. And she was part of this art installment that they were doing with the, with the signs, and she was touched by it on how art can bring people together and have them experience things together. And she wanted to make it a priority to come down and March as well. So this was the continuation of an art project yesterday that, you know, it was her idea to really come down here. And I didn't want to drag her down. I wanted her to have her experience and her her drive to get here. So that's, that's why we're here, right? I mean, I'm just going to be honest in my not-understanding. Before I could understand. I was not as excited about this holiday. It was just it was another day where we didn't have mail, the banks were closed, and we could get free parking downtown. It was just another federal holiday. And after experiencing it and seeing it and speaking with people who who were around in the 60s, I wasn't, you know, I'm 35. It opened up my eyes in a completely different way. So I mean, to be honest, this is my first Martin Luther King, Jr. Day experience. And it's something that- my hope is that this one along with all the other ones around the city, the state, the country are just about peace and love. And bringing community together from marching in peaceful protest, as Dr. King chose to do at the entire time during his protest as well. We came up here to support Don't Shoot Portland and to, I mean, be a part of their very peaceful march. Just bringing art together, bringing community together, bringing bodies, families, people together just to express the awesome dream that Dr. Martin Luther King had 

Unknown  4:25  
[Mumbles] I mean, I think doing walks like this are like really what helped people come together to like show that this- like people shouldn't be racist. Yeah, I think walks like these are like really good.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
 

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