PORTLAND, Oregon. Even after tear gas smothered downtown Portland in the early hours of Tuesday, Riots Ribs kept the food coming.
A volunteer, who has been camped outside the Multnomah County Justice Center since the protests against police brutality began more than 50 days ago, smeared barbecue sauce over the meat being cooked just a few feet from federal forces who they try to push back the protesters.
Despite the chaos surrounding her, the young woman in charge of Riot Ribs’ social media account took a moment to tweet.
“Still cooking. Still fizzy. I still have broken ribs, ”wrote the 22-year-old woman in her tweet, who asked not to be identified for fear of law enforcement. “Keep feeding people 24/7.”
The tweet was followed by a red heart and an orange flame.
For nearly two months, protesters have rallied in the park to march against the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and others by the police. Recently, the protests have become increasingly heated after federal forces arrived without the consent of local leaders.
The clash between police and protesters on the streets of downtown Portland has caused what some legal experts say could be a constitutional crisis. In the spotlight are residents trying to exercise more control over the city’s police department and somewhat ambivalent about the violence that breaks out every night like clockwork.
“What is happening here is that we have dozens, if not hundreds of federal troops descending on our city. And what they are doing is that they are escalating the situation,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said over the weekend. .
Since the protests began in late May, a small section of downtown Portland has transformed into a kind of pop-up city surrounding the Justice Center and federal court. In a park across the street, tents have sprung up to house a makeshift pharmacy filled with emergency kits, a pantry where people can get free snacks and water, a second-hand clothing store, and food service at Outdoors now known as Riot Ribs.
Riot Ribs only accepts donations to help cover the cost of providing ribs and macaroni and cheese to anyone who wants it. It has been 18 days since the volunteers began feeding the protesters and they intend to continue until federal forces leave Portland.
Over the weekend, one of Riots Ribs’ cooks, Rico Rivera, was shot in the chest with a tear gas canister. He had been standing at a crosswalk near the Justice Center during daylight when police issued an abrupt order for the crowd to disperse. Rivera was standing near a patrol SUV when he was shot, he said.
“I wasn’t even a foot from them,” Rivera said. “First he aimed at my head and then he aimed at my chest.”
He suffered two broken ribs and a bruised lung.
“I was amazed,” said Rivera.
Portland protesters have learned to anticipate the ebb and flow of violence near the Justice Center. Peaceful demonstrations make up the majority of what is seen there during the day and the early hours of the night. Graffiti splatters the exterior of federal and county courts. The signs read “Black Lives Matter” and “Feds Go Home”. Sometimes music plays from speakers or cars, and other people dance in a circle of drums.
The marches around the Justice Center begin shortly after dark. They have recently been led by an older generation of parents who form a barrier between protesters and law enforcement. The “Moms Wall” and PDXDadPod connect their arms and shout things like “The feds are staying away, the moms are here!”
Cheers erupted when parent groups arrived at the Monday night protests. Some of the moms danced as they marched while others squeezed squeaky little toys in the shape of little pink pigs. Mothers later asked protesters to turn on their phones as the crowd sang the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.”
The mother of two Leslie Yeargers attended her first protest Monday night after seeing coverage of the federal armed forces using tear gas against protesters. She was “horrified” by the violence and worried about the world that her 20-year-old children will inherit as long as civil unrest persists.
“What really crossed the line for me was when the feds started picking up people off the street,” he said. “That is a totalitarian and authoritarian tactic, and I don’t want it in my city and I want them to leave.”
Equipped with glasses and a face mask, Yeargers said she was nervous about attending Monday’s demonstration. She doesn’t like to see downtown Portland surrounded by trash cans and graffiti, but she likes to see her neighbors hit with tear gas even less.
“My children want a better world. They want a world of peace and justice where they feel safe, “he said. “Their futures right now are very precarious.”
