The picture above is of Portland’s chief of police and mayor standing with Ku Klux Klan members in 1921. Ninety years later, Portland’s civic leaders are on the verge of creating an Office of Equity to forever enshrine in our glorious city bureaucracy the values the KKK fought against.
But is creating a new city office, with up to 10 staffers, the best way to promote equity citywide?
After grudgingly voting to set aside cash for the Office of Equity last spring, City council will vote on actually creating the office September 21st. This Wednesday night, August 31st, groups that work with people with disabilities, immigrants, the homeless, and other groups that face inequity in Portland packed both floors of city council’s chambers for a marathon hearing about the new office.
There’s plenty to talk about: According to the State of Black Oregon report, African Americans adults in Oregon are more likely to be in poverty than whites and more likely to be the victims of homicide. African American kids are six times as likely as white kids in the state to have parents in prison. And, according to the lengthy report, conditions are getting worse, not better.
The city has $525,000 in the 2011-2012 budget for the office and the projected annual cost would be about $1 million. Would that money be better spent on projects that promote equity, without needing a city office as a middleman? The Oregonian today compared the debate over the Office of Equity to the debate over creating the Office of Sustainability in 2000: Shouldn’t all offices be pursuing both these goals, not a separate group?
On the other hand, equity issues persist in every part of the city’s role and function, so it makes sense to have an office that treats equity from a bird’s eye view rather than a piecemeal approach. The office of equity, if it exists, would presumably advise the Portland Bureau of Transportation on issues like the North Williams project and the police on hiring for a more diverse staff.
“There’s a lot of folks who want equity in every single area, in transportation, in police, in fire, all the services the city provides. The people of Portland want to make sure that all citizens have the opportunity to enjoy the riches of the city,” Commissioner Amanda Fritz said interview on KBOO this week.
I don’t personally have anything to add to this discussion before the vote, except that you should read Jen Graves relevant piece in our sister paper, The Stranger, this week: “Deeply Embarrassed White People Talk Awkwardly About Race.”
KKK photo hat tip to KBOO!
Complete BULLSHIT!
This says not a word about a ‘big turnout’
All these goals are written into federal, state and city law already.
Plus there’s the human rights commission.
The civil rights commission.
The social services division.
They’ll pass it now of course, but this taxpayer money to pay for do-nothings will be gone within two years, as they try and look for (non-existant) real jobs.
I don’t know whether Portland needs a separate Office of Equity or not. But I found the photo interesting and did a bit of digging. Let’s remove that sheet for a moment.
http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/kkk_pow…
I just can’t believe that these KKK guys could ever have been taken seriously. Bigotry aside even,
wearing sheets over their heads?
Puh-leeze.
Then again, look at the silly ‘anarchists’ and their own costume.
frankieb: historically the KKK was a rather powerful cog in the wheel of the political machine here in Oregon in the earlier part of the 20th Century. Sad but true. That era is also long past.
It should also be important to not suggest that unless the Office of Equity is not approved of with a loving Kumbaya embrace into the city bureaucracy that somehow this town will once again fall into the hands of the KKK. While it is always advisable to be aware of this history, one should also beware of it’s use as a scare tactic.
That said, I would like to give credit to this article for at least touching on a number of other issues of importance. This town actually did spend a fair amount of time examining race issues in the context of Don’t Choke ‘Em Smoke ‘Em, desegregation and Mulugeta Seraw. The fact that a slow and painful evolution in the discussion of race in this town has vanished because in reality over the past few years there has been a discernible shift towards alienating those that don’t fit in with Portland’s “trendy” new demographic is sad indeed. These days it seems as if ‘equity’ in Portland means making sure everyone looks exactly like their neighbor and is just as uptight and PC to boot.
Oh, “good job” frank, comparing a national christian terrorist group responsible for hundreds of murders to radical activists.
You sound just like the tea-bagger who compares Obama to Hitler.
Wow. That “Deeply Embarrassed white people. . .” link was the most awe-inspiring piece of cognitive dissonance I have ever encountered.
RE: “deeply embarrassed white people” article:
FYI: Seattle is only 8% black, and at least half of all annual homicides in Seattle are committed by blacks. Blacks committed at least 14 of the 28 homicides in Seattle in 2008, at least 12 of the 21 in 2009, and at least 7 of the 17 in 2010. 2011 won’t be any better. These numbers and percentages are pretty much the same in Portland.
No snitchin my niggaz!