Black Lives Matter: A Good Day

Many of us have been horrified as  black men continue to be killed in the USA by armed police. The deaths of Keith Scott and Terence Crutcher this week led many people in Portland to go out into the streets again to demand change. But today the protesters began by singing happy birthday to Teressa Raiford, who has organized many local protests. Then they marched, staged die-ins in several intersections and on a major bridge, and occupied City Hall, where they demanded--and got--a meeting with the Mayor.

The Mayor agreed that Black Lives Matter. He said he has been "disturbed" by some reports of police violence in Portland. And he promised protesters a meeting this coming Tuesday with himself and the Chief of Police. 

I was only able to be present for the first hour, but it was a terrific hour. I'm feeling gratitude for the many people who came, some with their children, all deeply thoughtful and yet also hopeful that if they keep showing up, educating themselves and their children, and supporting these protests, something substantive may actually happen to change the system of policing, and the white supremacy that is its undergirding. Four extras because I can't pick just one.