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The city of Portland’s Black Male Achievement program was founded in 2014 to improve outcomes for Black men and boys. In 2018, the group pushed for the elimination of Portland Police’s database of suspected gang members. Now, as people around the world protest police violence and systemic racism, Black Male Achievement is advocating for divesting money from the Portland Police and into community programs. CJ Robbins is the coordinator for Black Male Achievement. He joins us to discuss the recent protests, changes in Portland Police Bureau leadership and the future of police accountability in Portland.
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Brett Bigham became the first special education teacher to be named Oregon Teacher of the Year in 2014. He later lost his job after speaking publicly about being a gay man and filing a complaint about the discrimination he experienced. We hear Bigham's reflections on the recent apology he got from the school district that fired him and the U.S. Supreme Court decision that protects LGBTQ people in the workplace.
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A protest zone in Seattle is without police presence after officers recently left the area following protests calling for accountability and an end to police violence. The area is now known as the Capital Hill Occupied Protest. Volunteers have defused fights, protected stores from vandalism and handled mental health crises. There was also a fatal shooting in the area this weekend. We talk with Gregory Scruggs, a Seattle-based reporter who lives near CHOP and is covering the story.
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