As the sun went down and the crowd of protesters outside the federal court grew Larger, a loud voice echoed from the front lines of the rally.
“Don’t tell me how to protest,” a young black man yelled at a white protester. “Do not tell me what to do”.
Although it is not clear what caused the dispute, the white protester backed away.
Such confrontations have taken place several times during protests in Mark O. Hatfield US Courthouse in downtown Portland and serve as just one example of how internal divisions among protesters have black activists concerned that their demands for police reform and equality have been drowned.
Black protesters in Portland, where the population is 77% white, said that many protest groups in federal court, including the Wall of Moms, teachers and health workers, have been receptive to shifting the focus toward amplification of black voices and their fight against the police. brutality, but that some are still concerned that their cause of racial justice may be overshadowed by the presence of federal agents and some of the disruptive tactics that protesters have engaged in.
“I am happy that some people come out, but not many people have asked the black community what they need,” said Anita Randolph, a 33-year-old neuroscientist at Oregon Health and Science University and a Portland resident.
“The feds have been here since the beginning of July. Where were the people then?
Randolph has been delivering first aid kits and supplies since protests erupted in the largest city in Oregon in May. She said that as the protests got bigger, some white protesters have become the focal point of the protests and as a result are co-opting the movement and diverting attention from the original demands of black protesters.
Other black activists agree.
They point to examples like the viral photo that has been given the nickname “Naked Athena”.
For many black and white protesters at the front, the photo might have spoken of protesters’ resistance against the presence of federal agents, but they were concerned that it would divert attention from the general problem of institutionalized racism that black communities in Portland and elsewhere . face and the changes activists have been demanding.
Those goals include spending the police and reinvesting that money into more resources for the black community to improve education and combat income inequality.
“I am there to convey the message that black lives matter. The focus is changing because some people are there because of the federal presence and it is distracting the bigger issue about racial equality, “said Sarah Maginnis, a white protester.
“It is confusing for some white protesters because they don’t know who to listen to and who to turn to. There is no clear leadership. ”
The 29-year-old Portland resident said the original purpose of the protests was lost in part due to excessive use of force by federal agents against protesters and youth and mostly white anti-government protesters who provoke them .
Those protest tactics and subsequent nightly clashes between federal agents and protesters have led to internal divisions between the different groups.
But regardless of differences in protest techniques, Maginnis said he believes one way that white protesters can still be an ally to the black community is to place themselves between federal agents and black protesters when those clashes occur.
Randolph and other black activists agreed that the Black Lives Matter cause is being lost because there is no clear leadership in terms of Black activist groups organizing people to protest in federal court.
The decentralized nature of the protest movement and such internal divisions have made it difficult to find solutions, Randolph said.
“We are going to need a unified front if we are to survive,” he said. “We are going to need to talk about the problems we face and find real solutions.”
While protests have been ongoing since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May, the number of protests had been declining for some time even after President Trump sent federal agents to Portland this month.
Several factors sparked the resurgence of protests, including the shooting in the face. of a protester unarmed by a federal agent. The protester was seriously injured. In another incident, two officers in camouflage military uniforms were seen on video. dragging a person into an unmarked vehicle.
Now the protest movement outside federal court has morphed into what appears to be a sustainable, organized and functional resistance that includes a wide range of complaints, the most recent being the end of the presence of federal officials, which many protesters see like a trampling of people’s civil liberties.
The nightly confrontation between protesters and federal agents has been developing in a predictable way. As the sun sets, peaceful protests begin, with black activists giving speeches and singing “Black lives matter.”
But in the early morning hours, young and mostly white protesters begin their nightly ritual of lighting fireworks and throwing bottles through the protective fence that has been erected to protect the federal court, leading to officers fighters to go out and deploy tear gas discharges, rubber bullets, explosive grenades and other munitions against protesters, including those who protested peacefully.
The confrontation usually ends around 3 a.m., with columns of white tear gas rippling in the sky as officers retreat inside the courthouse.
Alaysia Atkins, a 24-year-old black activist in Portland, said she understands why the protests’ message evolved, but hopes protesters will continue to hold local politicians accountable.
“I will be here for 365 days if necessary,” he said. “I am fighting for my life.”
Other black activists said they saw this moment as an opportunity.
Teressa Raiford, executive director of Don’t Shoot Portland, a black-led nonprofit social justice and advocacy organization, said Trump’s deployment of federal officials has spurred large amounts of donations that will help accelerate the change not only for the black community in Portland but throughout Oregon as well.
“Many people have been donating money to help us get the resources we need,” he said.
“Black leaders are doing a lot of behind-the-scenes organizing,” Raiford said, noting several class action lawsuits filed in collaboration with others. against the city of Portland for the use of tear gas and other ammunition against protesters. That collaboration allowed his nonprofit organization to file a lawsuit against the city on June 5.
A temporary agreement was reached on June 27, in which the Portland Police Office agreed to limit its use of less lethal devices.
“Litigation is important. I hope we can get more people to sue for damages, ”he said. “Many people have been hurt by the assaults and the excessive force that is [playing] out and someone will have to pay for it. “
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported Monday that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to send more federal agents to Portland, about 50 additional Customs and Border Protection agents, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said the plan had not been finalized and it was unclear whether the officers would replace officers who were already on the ground.
The AP also reported that mayors in six cities: Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City, Missouri, Albuquerque and Washington, DC, asked Congress to prevent the federal government from deploying federal agents in cities that do not want them.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and city commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty on Monday referred to the officers’ presence as a “federal occupation” and called for an immediate meeting with Department of Homeland Security leaders about the field in Portland and with Acting Secretary Chad Wolf “to discuss a ceasefire and the elimination of Portland’s augmented federal forces.”
