Finally, we are excited to announce our community meeting schedule through May 2024. Mark you calendars and invite your family, friends and community!

January 8

Reinterpreting Abolition: Tangible practices to support liberation for all with Amber Boydston

Description: Abolition Praxis in the 21st Century is much about bridging the gap between the seemingly abstract, and, the tangible practices that can be put into daily action. Please join Amber Boydston with Spirited Justice, as she supports starting this 2024 year with a community conversation that critically examines the ways in which we can each best show up aligning our values and access for the Liberation of all. In this meeting we’ll discuss why abolition is still relevant, how it’s a springboard to creating better practices and systems, and ultimately how it strengthens community and collective safety and sovereignty. 

February 12

It Did Happen Here: An Antifascist Peoples History 

Book Talk and Q&A with Celina Flores, Moe Bowstern and Mic Crenshaw

Description:  It Did Happen Here is an independently produced podcast and a collectively written book about anti-fascist struggles that took place in Portland, Oregon following the 1988 murder of Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw by racist skinheads. This is the story of how disparate groups used a diversity of tactics to fight neo-nazi violence and right wing organizing in the Rose City in the 1980s and 90s. It Did Happen Here is the winner of a 2022 Oregon Heritage Excellence Award.

March 11

Holding Difficult Truths: Transforming Our Broken Past into a Hopeful Future

Conversation and Book Giveaway with Taylor Stewart and Sarah Sanderson 

Description: Taylor Stewart, founder and Executive Director of the Oregon Remembrance Project and Sarah Sanderson, author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate, will be discussing sundown towns and how we tangibly reconcile that history, as well as the effects that manifest in the present day, including here in Lake Oswego.   

April 8

Finding My Way to Funeral for Flaca: Conversation and Book Giveaway with Emilly Prado

Description: Author Emilly Prado will share the evolving nature of finding her path as a writer in this talk drawing upon her experiences as a first-generation Chicana and college student, and self-proclaimed troublemaker who struggled with school and mental health. Attendees will hear a reading from Funeral for Flaca and view archival childhood photographs to better understand how 13-year-old Emilly found strength through music and writing.

May 13

Black Girl in Suburbia: Screening and Discussion with Melissa Lowery

Description: Black Girl in Suburbia is a documentary by filmmaker Melissa Lowery that examines the experiences of black girls who live in predominantly white communities. We will watch and discuss the film, as well as her work creating space for Black students in predominantly white schools in Portland and Beaverton.  

We hope to see you when we're back on Jan. 8. More exciting news to come!