Line dancing for justice

Partnership for Safety and Justice, along with other Portland organizations that campaign for an end of racial profiling and mass incarceration, staged a conscious-raising event today. Specifically they demand the repeal of Oregon's "mandatory minimum" law, a result of the "get tough on crime" initiatives of the 90s. That law automatically sends teenagers to adult court and leaves them with adult criminal records which can be life-long barriers to employment and education. It's another of the horrific laws in the USA that are applied far more often to people of color than to whites.

To warm up the crowd, the volunteers started with a line dance.

While I was there, I ran into a couple of old friends and loved how the light caressed their faces, but this shot is more representative.