Civil Rights
Last week, Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, reintroduced a bill that would create a commission to examine reparations for African American descendants of slavery, a proposal that's never been brought to a full House vote. The current measure has 173 co-sponsors, including Oregon Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici and Peter DeFazio.
Among Oregon's nearly all-Democratic delegation, the Electoral College votes were supported by both U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley. Four of the five Oregon Democratic House members — U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio and U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader — supported the slates brought to the Capitol in thick mahogany boxes.
The Feb. 19 arrest sparked outrage, including from U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, a Beaverton Democrat whose House district includes all of Washington County. Bonamici has lobbied without success for Congress to pass a bill she has sponsored to keep ICE away from bus stops, schools, courthouses and other "sensitive locations."
The livestream discussion lasted more than two hours, including recorded remarks from Oregon's US Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici.
The discussion features greetings from US Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, and US Senator Ron Wyden. Speakers include: Susheela Jayapal, Multnomah County Commissioner; Patrick Allen, Oregon Health Authority Director; Pam Treece, Washington County Commissioner; and Jessica Guernsey, Multnomah County Health Department Public Health Director. Moderators for the discussion are Juwairyah Syed, Chair of the OIA STEM Program, and Ronault Polo Catalani, Creative Writer and Founder of New Portland Foundation.
The program, which is slated to start at 10 a.m., will include U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, state Rep. Andrea Salinas and Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. As of November, the fund has given more than $23 million to more than 13,000 Oregon households. However, officials say the total need in Oregon is estimated to be at $124 million.
In Oregon, Utopia PDX has been working with lawmakers like Oregon Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to prioritize COFA migrants in health care insurance and services. In Washington, PICA-WA has hosted town halls to weigh the needs of NHPI communities and have submitted reports to the governor's office. Both groups have also been helping with economic needs, such as housing and food. In Hawaii, various organizations launched the NHPI Collective Covid-19 Awareness Prevention Campaign to curb the effects of the virus.
"Today is #HumanRightsDay around the world, but not in Saudi Arabia: @LoujainHathloul is standing trial today in a secretive 'Specialized Criminal Court' on bogus espionage charges. They must #FreeLoujain," tweeted US Representative Suzanne Bonamici on Thursday.
Oregon's four Democratic representatives — Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader — backed the bill. Republican Rep. Greg Walden voted no. Some equity activists were critical of elements of the bill, but the longtime reform group NORML captured the view of many legalization supporters with an email subject line that read "Massive Victory!"
I called my staff and I said, "I need to go to the airport. Meet me out there." So I went with Sarah, my district director, and I think she reminded me that she was going directly from her daughter's birthday party to the airport. And we arrived at the airport, and I know Senator [Jeff] Merkley was there as well, and a lot of people from the community. The PDX International Airport is operated by the Port of Portland, and they had set up to make sure that we had a safe place to make our voices heard, kept an area clear for protesters.