We are in the midst of one of the largest publicโprivate negotiations in Portlandโs history: a $600 million package of public funding is being proposed to renovate the Moda Center, a city-owned asset and home to the Trail Blazers. This moment is a major test of Portlandโs newly overhauled government: our expanded 12โmember City Council […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: Maury Povich vs Thomas Jefferson and Americaโs 250th Birthday
Or, why America loves entertainment more than decorum at 250 years old.
Are you not entertained? โRussell Crowe as Maximus, Gladiator (2003) YOU ARE NOT THE FATHER! If Mauryโthe longrunning daytime talk show hosted by Maury Povichโwere around in 1776, Thomas Jefferson would have been the perfect guestโIโm talking season opener level. Jefferson, the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, allegedly had secret children that he […]
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: Why It’s Finally Time for Oregon to Pay Reparations
Repaying the debt owed to Black Oregonians is not only necessary, itโs very feasible.
So if I come to your job / Take your corn on the cob / And take a couple kernels off / Would that be alright with you? Andre 3000, What a Job (2007) Reโขpair: to restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken IMPOSSIBLE Rep. Shannon Jones Isadore is […]
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: An Open Letter to Gov. Tina Kotek
Here are a few things that will make it easier for us to vote for you this November.
โDon’t ever change, keep your essence / The power is in the people and politics we addressโ โ2pac, Me Against the World (1995) Dear Governor Kotek, Itโs been a while. I write this letter with little joy. In fact, given the work I do in the realm of civicsโit is near certain my words will […]
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: What My Grandmaโs Garden Taught Me About AI and the End of the World
All money ainโt good moneyย โBlack Proverb, 4080 BACK TO โTHE FUTUREโ Ask just about anyone to envision a futuristic worldโrobots, bright lights, and flying cars are likely to come to mind. Less likely are visions of open meadows, abundant gardens, and communities laughing and eating together over home cooked meals. Last month, Bernie Sanders and […]
Posted inTransportation Issue 2026
Street View: Lightning Round
[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercuryโs 2026 Transportation issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if youโre feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.โeds.] Welcome to Street View, the Mercury‘s somewhat-regular column on all things local transportation. Here’s […]
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: The Prodigal Elk Statue โ And What It Really Means for Portland
The Thompson Elk is set for an April return. What does that mean for the toppled statues of the 2020 protests?
God is ChangeโSeed to tree, tree to forest; Rain to river, river to sea; Grubs to bees, bees to swarm. From one, many; from many, one; Forever uniting, growing, dissolvingโforever Changing. The universe is God’s self-portrait.”โ Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower, 1993 In just a few weeks, the Thompson Elk Fountain will be restored to […]
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: Your Guide to โPortland NiceโโAnd How to Avoid It
Portโขland: a seaport in NW Oregon, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers Nice: pleasant; agreeable; satisfactory. โขโขโขโข In case yโall missed it: Last week during a public meeting, Metro Councilor Juan Carlos Gonzรกlez was discussing his concerns surrounding housing policy in the region, when fellow councilor Mary Nolanโwho is Whiteโasked Gonzรกlez to […]
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: Portland Police Union Insults Our Intelligence
Attempts by the police to steal clean energy money fits into an ongoing pattern.
An attempt by Portland Police to recolor the thin blue line to green was gently swatted down this week by a Multnomah County judge. The Coalition of Communities of Color mounted a legal challenge against a Portland Police union-backed ballot initiative that would divert 25 percent of the monies from the groundbreaking climate initiative, Portland […]
Posted inOpinion
THE BLACK BYLINE: Kamala Harris, and Why the History of โFirst Blacksโ Is Complicated
[What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercury‘s Black Innovators & Changemakers issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.โeds.] Domino. Domino. Only spot a few Blacks the higher […]
Posted inOpinion
Remembering Judith Arcana
Portland’s own underground abortionist-turned-poet was a legend. She was also my friend.
In 2017, Judith Arcana sent a postcard to the old Mercury offices in Old Town/Chinatown. I was the arts editor at the timeโit was my first real journalism jobโand after many stories covering local theater (I still think about the plays I saw at Shaking the Tree) and books (a reading at Powellโs followed by […]
Posted inThe Black Byline
THE BLACK BYLINE: Top 10 Takeaways from 2025, A Wild Year in Portland
Naked Bike Ride reflections, police antics, Black innovation, and more!
Portland, in addition to being my hometown, is many things. โWar-ravagedโ is not one of them. 2025 brought us a slate of memorable, profound, troubling, and laugh-to-stop-from-crying moments: ramped up terrorism from ICE, groundbreaking reclamation efforts from Black Portland, and thousands of people bare-assing it to disarm the POTUSโ hot-takes about Portland. So what did […]