Portlanders hold moment of silence on Burnside Bridge; honoring the 5th anniversary of George Floyd's Death

            
             Agata Sobieska
             Portland, OR

Evan Jasperon, a high-school student and community leader, leads the crowd in a chant.
( Photo Credit: Agata Sobieska )

     Portlanders met at Revolution Hall on Saturday to remember George Floyd who was murdered by former MPD officer Derek Chauvin five years ago. The event was organized by We Are the Bridge , a grassroots coalition of groups united by a centuries-long struggle for justice. Some of the groups that spoke at the event included: Brown Hope, the ACLU of Oregon, and SEIU-503. The day was peaceful, somber and a moment of healing, in a time where the country is being ravaged by unprecedented acts of injustice under the Trump Administration.

     The event began with a tearful land-acknowledgement by Angela Foster (Xulxiyut) who shared about her experiences as an ICWA adoptee. “Without that law (ICWA) I would have probably gone to a family who wasn't indigenous.” Xulxiyut attested during her acknowledgment. “Luckily I was adopted into an indigenous family, they accepted me. I was part of that family from the very beginning; they taught me all their traditions.”

“We have a relationship with that land, I encourage everybody to have that relationship with the land; to know the land as your relative.” - Words from Angela Foster (Xulxiyut) that was met with applause.

     Labor unions, activist groups, and spiritual leaders spoke before the march; however one family's message could not be ignored. The family of Derrick Clark, a teacher-in-training who was killed by police in Clackamas in 2022.

    Derrick's mother, Sarah Miles made a heartbreaking speech in memory of her son. “Losing Derrick shattered my world. There are days where the weight of the loss is unbearable. Where the silence in our home is deafening; the absence of laughter is a wound that never quite heals”

     She would go onto to mention the love of community as her main source of support in to persevering through this grief. She would then make a call for accountability, and demand a world where “No other mother has to stand where I am standing right now.” Afterwards Derrick's brother, Jay spoke briefly saying “The cops took my brother, and that's someone I cannot get back. I know my mom will keep fighting for my brother to get justice.”

Cameron Whitten, leads the march in chants as they approach the Burnside Bridge.
( Photo Credit: Agata Sobieska )


     “We must make space for grief. It's really to live like this. It's hard to watch this happen again and again and again. It's hard to go to after rally after rally… It's hard to hear so many mothers, and grandmothers and great-grandmothers tell this story. ” - Cameron Whitten, organizer and community leader.

     Many speakers attended the event, including a young 16 year old black student Evan Jasperon; who gave the events final speech "We Still Can't Breathe."

We have gathered some compelling quotes from the event below:

“For nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds we witnessed a life be drained away. Not because of a crime, but because of a system that has too long treated black people less than human.”
- Evan Jasperon, high school student and community leader.

“Every human being deserves the right to be recognized the by the family, the tribe, the nation that they are connected to.” -
Durrell Kinsey Bey , community leader and 2024 Portland mayoral candidate.

“Its not just about police brutality, but it's about: education, mental health. It's about community and family”- - Lakayana Drury, poet and founder of Word is Bond.

“He (Fred Hampton) was just like anyone else, he was a young man. Most importantly he knew my name…Most importantly he launched me towards looking into the injustice that happens by police in this country on a regular basis.”
- Johnny Earl, President of SEIU503.

“I am called to work more closely than ever with our Native American spiritual leaders. With our Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and other people of just good will. To dream and to work for that beloved community that Dr. King reminded us all of…and to my LGBTQ siblings: People who have faith to judge others are not practicing faith very well. That is theological malpractice.”
- Pastor Mark Knutson, of Augustana Lutheran Church.

The crowd approaches Burnside Bridge, center is a mutual aid cart with free food and water.
( Photo Credit: Agata Sobieska )


Read We Are the Bridge's Demands here:

  • "We demand accountability for large corporations like Walmart, Target, and McDonald's who have rolled back DEI workplace initiatives. We expect the reinstatement and long term funding of DEI initiatives and positions that have been removed."

  • "We demand increased investment in workforce development, technical assistance, and capacity building opportunities for Black owned businesses and Black led nonprofits."

  • "We demand for local municipalities, counties, and state governments to pass official resolutions recognizing the 5 year anniversary of George Floyd's sacrifice, the presidential administration's ongoing attacks on Black communities, and a thorough audit of actions taken for racial justice by the respective jurisdiction in the past five years."

  • "We demand officials from local municipalities, counties, and state governments increase their outreach and engagement on issues facing Black community members, visiting Black leaders and organizations working on these issues."

  • "We demand the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and Oregon Metro support the with the funding of an official Black Celebration Plaza in Portland that uplifts the concepts of Black excellence, Black resilience, Black courage, and Black love."

  • "We demand increased investment in projects that promote safety and belonging for Black Oregonians: including violence prevention outreach, restorative justice efforts, programs for healing historic and racial trauma, and culturally specific placemaking initiatives like murals and block parties."

     The people then marched to Burnside Bridge, where protestors iconically held the bridge during the nation-wide 2020 George Floyd Uprisings. Here a circle was formed, where black attendees were invited to lead the crowd in a 9 minute and 29 second moment of silence; which is the length of time Derek Chauvin's knee was on George Floyd's neck. For the full time air stood still, filled only with the occassional sounds of soft crys. The community would then take a moment to shout the names of black people killed to police violence, including: Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Derrick Clark. Afterwhich the group marched back to Revolution Hall, making one last round of chants.

     This demonstration happens at a time where Portland's City Council is locked in contention over Mayor Wilson's potential increase to the Portland Police Bureau's budget; a move that has sparked heavy controversy