Please join our community meeting tonight from 6:30-8:00pm.  Right to Be trainers Dax Valdes and Emily Ku will conduct bystander intervention training to stop anti-Asian and xenophobic harassment. Join us in person at the Lake Oswego United Church of Christ, details below, or online by Zoom.  Register now! 

Actions, Events and Resources - May 2023

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Jewish American Heritage Month

Mon May 1, 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.  Register! 

Mon May 1, 6:30-8:30pm in person and online

RtR Community Meeting:  Right to Be trainers Dax Valdes and Emily Ku will conduct bystander intervention training to stop anti-Asian and xenophobic harassment. Whether you’re joining in person at the Lake Oswego United Church of Christ, 1111 SW Country Club Road or via zoom, please Register! 

Tue May 2, 4:30pm; Tues May 9, 3pm; Tue May 16, 3pm, LO City Hall 

LO City Council Meetings:  Busy month at City Hall!  Joint meeting with LOSD May 2; special City Council meeting May 9; joint meeting with Redevelopment Agency May 16.  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

Thur May 4, 6:30-7:30pm at Charbonneau Country Club

City of Wilsonville Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Speaker Series:  "The Mainstreaming of Antisemitism in America" presented by Bob Horenstein, Jewish Federation of Greater Portland 

Thur May 4, 7pm at Congregation Beth Israel and online

Interrupting contemporary antisemitism:  What can we do about It?  A community conversation This event looks at the hurt caused by this new wave of anti-Jewish bias, while focusing on practical skills to de-escalate potentially violent conflicts, both on-line and in physical spaces. 

Fri May 5, 8-9:30pm, Friends of Tryon Creek

Full Moon BIPOC hike  Celebrate seasonal changes with community members and staff who identify as Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color. 

Sat May 6, 9am-3pm, Friends of Tryon Creek

Indigenous Culture Day opening ceremony, displays, storytellers and salmon bake.

Sat May 20, 10am-4pm, at Oregon Historical Society

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebrate with free museum admission and special performances by Shivani Joshi at 11am and Paradise of Samoa at 1pm. This free family day is organized in partnership with Oregon Rises Above Hate

Sun May 21, 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 May 22, 6:30pm, Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street Walking Through Portland with a Panther:  the life of Mr. Kent Ford.  All Power!:  With generous support from Respond to Racism, Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library, and Lakewood Center for the Arts, this play is offered free, but Tickets are required.

Tue May 23, 7-8:30 pm OHS at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and online The Third Reconstruction:  America's Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-first Century In his latest book, Dr. Peniel Joseph argues that the racial reckoning that unfolded in 2020 marked the climax of a Third Reconstruction: a new struggle for citizenship and dignity for Black Americans, just as momentous as the movements that arose after the Civil War and during the civil rights era. 

Sat May 27, 9-noon Eloheh, 6033 NW Lilac Hill Rd, Yamhill, OR

Open volunteer days are held on the last Saturday of each month from February through October, and other days as well.  Sign up to volunteer

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On Sat June 10, LOUCC has arranged a visit to learn what Eloheh is all about.  Save the date if you’d like to go!

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Thur Jun 8, 6:30-7:30 at Wilsonville Library

City of Wilsonville Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Speaker Series:  "Systemic Racism in Oregon Schools" presented by Rudyane Rivera-Lindstrom, Higher Education Coordinating Commission

EXHIBITS & THEATERS

Fri May 5, 7-9pm, Third Eye Books at Clinton Street Theater

Deconstructing Karen: A documentary directed by Patty Ivins Specht, about Jackson and Rao's Race2Dinner program.  The main course is a radically honest conversation to inspire white women to confront themselves and to acknowledge their own racism and complicity in white supremacy.

Through Sun May 7, at 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.

Through Sun May 14, Portland Center Stage at the Armory

Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney  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.

Current exhibits at Portland Art Museum

Dakota Modern:  the art of Oscar Howe closes May 14!

May 24 - June 18, at Portland Playhouse

The Sounds of Afrolitical Movement Created by Ramona Lisa Alexander, Oluyinka Akinjiola, Darrell Grant, and Charles Grant.  Weaving music, dance, and documentary footage together, this performance explores the past, present and future of BIPOC-led protest movements.  BIPOC performances:  Wed May 31, Fri Jun 9, Thu Jun  15 and Sat Jun 17 at 7:30pm;  Sun Jun 4 at 2pm. 

June 8 - 25 Profile Theater at Imago How to Make an American Son by christopher oscar peña.  Father and son, Mando and Orlando, are living different versions of the American Dream. The two must face tough truths about their citizenship, business, love, and the importance of family, in order to keep their dreams alive in a society that won’t let them truly belong.

Through Jul 23, 2023 at 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

Eloheh Center for Earth Justice Information and ways to get involved.

Oswego Lake Watershed Council Upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, resources and more!

Tryon Creek Watershed Council Upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, resources and more!

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, policymaking, 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.