Please join our community meeting on Monday, April 3rd from 6:30-8:30pm.  Come to listen and learn as Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley, PhD explores racism and our relationship with the earth.  Register!  

Actions, Events and Resources - April 2023

Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month

Sat Apr 1 - Tue Apr 25 Lake Oswego Public Library

LO Reads 2023, a community-wide program of reading, learning, and discussion of The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson.  

Mon Apr 3, 5-5:30pm online 

Storytime with Katharine Phelps:  Respond to Racism and the Youth Empowerment Committee proudly host monthly story time for K-5 elementary-aged children — and older!  Featuring narratives from a multitude of experiences, voices, and cultures.  Reserve a spot!

Mon Apr 3, 6:30-8:30pm online

RtR Community Meeting:  Dr. Randy Woodley, Indigenous Spirit:  Weaving Justice in a Wounded Land.  Register

Tue Apr 4, 4:30 & Tue Apr 18, 3pm, LO City Hall 

LO City Council Meetings:  The agenda of each meeting is posted in advance and includes time for citizen comment.  Meeting agenda & materials.  More information: (503)534-4225; 

cityrecorder@lakeoswego.city

Thu Apr 6 5:30-7:30pm, Oregon Historical Society

The Making of American Whiteness  Book talk with author Dr. Carmen P. Thompson.  This book shows what Whiteness looked like in everyday life in the early seventeenth century Virginia, finding it eerily predictive to Whiteness today. 

Sat Apr 8 2-9pm, Lake Oswego High School

Asian Cultural Festival sponsored by the Asian American Student Union - activities, exhibits, food, and performances (Tickets)!  

Thu Apr 13 4:30-6pm online - check CCEC for link

Clackamas County Equity Coalition:  At the next quarterly meeting, the meeting topic will be supporting equity-focused candidates.  

Sat Apr 15 10am-1pm  Lakeridge Middle School, 4700 Jean Road

2nd Annual Lake Oswego Sustainability Resource Fair

Sun Apr 16, 3pm Circle at 1st & Evergreen in LO

Silent walk:  Co-hosted by Respond to Racism & LO for LOve.  Quietly walk in support of our BIPOC community, thinking of equality, love, belonging and healing.  

Mon Apr 17 - Tue Apr 18 Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

Yom Hashoah observances: Holocaust Remembrance Day will be observed beginning at sundown with a memorial service on Mon Apr 17 at Neveh Shalom and continuing with the Reading of the Names on Tue, Apr 18 in Pioneer Courthouse Square.  Both events will take place in person. 

Tue Apr 18 7-8:30 pm Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and online

Douglas Brinkley In his most recent book, Silent Spring Revolution, Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties.  Oregon Historical Society Mark O. Hatfield lecture series.  

Sat Apr 22 Earth Day volunteer opportunities

Oswego Lake Watershed Council   Tryon Creek Watershed Council

EXHIBITS & THEATERS

Through Sun Apr 9, PassinArt at the Brunish Theater

Seven Guitars by August Wilson.  Sixth in the Pittsburgh cycle, Seven Guitars tells the powerful story of seven African American characters, four men and three women, in 1948.

Wed Apr 12 – Sun May 7, Portland Playhouse

Great Wide Open by Jessica Wallenfels, adapted from the novel Into the Great Wide Open by Kevin Canty - Exciting, beautiful and full of life lessons that teach us to speak our truth out loud.  BIPOC performances:  Sun Apr 30 @2pm & Fri May 5 @ 7:30pm.

Sat Apr 15 7pm, Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

I Am an American Live This event is part of the programming by the Oregon Rises Above Hate coalition, with the aim of drawing attention to the historic xenophobia experienced by the Asian American community in Oregon and across the U.S.  This history of systemic bias includes policies that have resulted in discrimination, incarceration, erasure, and a recent increase in hate crimes.

Sat Apr 15 - Sun May 14, Portland Center Stage

Choir Boy Identity and community clash in this Tony-nominated hit. Filled with rousing music and soul-stirring dance, this play rejoices in all that it means to march to your own drum.  BIPOC affinity performance Sun May 14 @ 2pm.

Mon May 22 6:30pm, Lakewood Center for the Arts

Walking Through Portland with a Panther:  the life of Mr. Kent Ford.  All Power!:  Save the date!  Tickets available at the box office on Mon Apr 10. 

Current exhibits Portland Art Museum

Exhibits featuring the works of Oscar Howe and Jeffrey Gibson close soon! 

Through Jul 23, 2023 Pittock Mansion

This IS Kalapuyan Land at Pittock Mansion is an exhibition of contemporary Indigenous art works alongside a selection of historical panels curated by Steph Littlebird (Grand Ronde, Kalapuya, Chinook)

RESOURCES

The Oregon Water Futures Project is a collaboration between water and environmental justice interests, Indigenous peoples, communities of color, low-income communities, and academic institutions.  Through a water justice lens, we aim to impact how the future of water in Oregon is imagined through storytelling, capacity building, relationship building, policy making, and community-centered advocacy at the state and local level.

Right to Be  Five different methods to support someone who’s being harassed.  

Unite Against Book Bans is a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.

Banned Books Book Club:  A monthly book club, library and fund dedicated to reading and protecting the most important books for our generation.  Currently reading:  Kindred by Octavia Butler

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition was created to lead the pursuit of understanding and addressing the ongoing trauma created by the U.S. Indian Boarding School policy of 1869.  Bookmark this site to follow and support passage of legislation to establish a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the US (HR 5444, S 2907) 

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:  988  If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States.  

Sanctuary Promise Hotline: 1-844-0924-STAY [1-844-924-7829],1-844-6-AMPARO [1-844-626-7276]

The system is designed to help Oregon DOJ investigate suspected violations to Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise Act and provide support where possible.  Advocates on the hotline are multilingual and identify as members of supported communities.  Interpretation services are available in 240+ languages.

Bias Response Hotline: 1-844-924-BIAS [1-844-924-2427],

Oregon Relay 711 

The Oregon DOJ Bias Response Hotline is a non-emergency reporting and referral service designed to support bias victims.  Any victim or witness of any age can report a bias incident or hate crime online or by phone.  If you believe a crime has occurred and want it investigated, contact your local law enforcement agency.  For emergency assistance, dial 911.

Stop AAPI Hate: The reporting center tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Racial Equity Support Line (503) 575-3764 is a service led and staffed by people with lived experience of racism. They offer support to those who are feeling the emotional impact of racist violence and micro-aggressions, as well as the emotional impact of immigration struggles and other cross-cultural issues.