ALEX ZIELINSKI [In an effort to reflect on a very tumultuous year, the Mercury asked several Portlanders to look back on their 2020 and share how their lives have changed and what they’ve taken away from their experiences. Nkenge Harmon Johnson is an advocate and CEO of the Urban League of Portland. Here is her […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
A Note from the Mercury’s Editor: You Were the Best Part of My 2020
grase / iStock / Getty Images Hey pals ‘n’ buddies! If you’re anything like me, you’re feeling like those exhausted first-time marathon runners, with bloody nipples and covered in sweat, desperately trying to cross the finish line of 2020. Which is why I’d like to share (and I really want you to hear) these four […]
Posted inOpinion
Guest Editorial: My Year as an Essential Grocery Worker Without Essential Protections or Pay
The exterior of a Portland area Fred Meyer. Kroger, Fred Meyer’s parent company, stopped giving its frontline workers hazard pay in May. Blair Stenvick [In an effort to reflect on a very tumultuous year, the Mercury asked several Portlanders to look back on their 2020 and share how their lives have changed and what they’ve […]
Posted inOpinion
Guest Editorial: “2020 Was Supposed to Be My Year!”
Me on my first day of canvassing, February 9, 2020. Candace Avalos [In an effort to reflect on a very tumultuous year, the Mercury asked several Portlanders to look back on their 2020 and share how their lives have changed and what they’ve taken away from their experiences. Candace Avalos is a Blacktina, a former […]
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The Governors of Oregon, Washington, and California Strongly Urge You Not to Kill Your Family
Now the whole West Coast wants you to cancel your fucking Thanksgiving travel plans. GETTY IMAGES In a press release Friday morning, Governor Brown issued a travel advisory “recommending a 14-day quarantine for interstate and international travel” and “encouraging” Oregonians “to stay home or in their region and avoid non-essential travel to other states or […]
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A Note from the Mercury’s Editor: That Freaked Out Feeling
mrPliskin / iStock / Getty Images Plus Hello Mercury friends (and frenemies)! If you’re anything like me (and may god have mercy on your soul if so), right now you’re feeling an odd combo platter of “relieved” and “freaked the fawk out.” I’m “relieved” that someone other than a racist, Molotov cocktail-throwing monkey is going […]
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Guest Editorial: To Seek Justice, Embrace Healing
cameron whitten Nick Mendez Every one of us deserves the love, support, and community we need to live our best lives. But the unfortunate reality is that we depend on unjust and broken systems that appear to work fine for a privileged majority, but harm Black, Brown, and Indigenous people every day. We all need […]
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I Used to Be Addicted to Heroin. Oregon Decriminalizing Drug Possession Is a Historic Victory for Human Rights.
Chanin Wardkhian / Getty images Every time a car pulls up behind me while I am driving, my fingers tighten around the steering wheel, my heart races, and my palms sweat. I panic, thinking it might be a cop. I am a commissioner on the state’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, a gainfully employed writer, […]
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Guest Editorial: Portland’s Small Businesses Can Be Saved. Here’s How.
Justin “Scrappers” Morrison at North [The following is a guest editorial by Sarah Shaoul, a longtime Portland small business owner and the founder of PDXSOS (SAVE OUR SHOPS).—eds] As Portlanders we adore our small businesses. Our neighborhoods are filled with a diverse and inspiring mix of stores, restaurants, and art houses. These shops are where […]
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A Note from the Mercury’s Editor: Squad Goals
Cunaplus_M.Faba /iStock / Getty Images Hey Mercury pals! Wm. Steven Humphrey here, editor in chief of the Portland Mercury. First things first: HOW ARE YOU DOING? Please know that you are deep in my heart during all this madness, and I am rooting for you every single day. Second things second: HOW AM I DOING? […]
Posted inCops
Hall Monitor: An Authorized Militia
Law enforcement officers approach protesters Saturday night. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Hall Monitor is a regular column on issues related to Portland City Hall and its influence on the community it serves. — On Saturday morning, hundreds of law enforcement officers swarmed into Portland, sent to monitor a potentially violent rally organized by the Proud Boys, a […]
Posted inLGBTQIA+
On the Anniversary of the March on Washington, Remember Gay Hero Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin Library of Congress Today is the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a pivotal moment in the 1960s civil rights movement for Black Americans. The occasion is being commemorated with a new March on Washington—and with smaller marches in other cities, including Portland. When we remember the original […]