On Friday, July 31, Approximately 2000 protestors gathered at Portland’s Justice Center for the 65th day of protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. This marked the second day of protests in recent weeks in which federal agents agreed to allow Oregon State Police to respond to any issues involving the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse. This came after weeks of violent conflicts involving federal agents and protestors. There were no uniformed officers seen throughout the night.
The rally began later than usual with only approximately 300 people there by 9:30 p.m. Around 9:45 p.m., the rally grew significantly when a group that had gathered at the riverfront marched in and joined the protestors in front of the Justice Center.
As these new additions joined, the speakers continued to talk to the crowd from the platforms on the side of the Justice Center steps. One speaker read the beginning of the Declaration of Independence. He went on to tell the crowd how the dreams of America’s Founders apply to the Black Lives Matter movement.
He also talked about how the people must consent to how the government is functioning. He said that in the case of George Floyd, consent was given in the silence of those witnessing his murder. With this, the speaker told the crowd to fight instead of giving consent to racist actions.
Afterwards, another speaker called for reparations for every Black American. He went on to say that supporting Black Americans goes beyond monetary support; it also includes reforming systems with institutionalized racism, such as the justice system.
A little after 10 p.m., a portion of the crowd began to shift to the front of the federal courthouse, the building that has been the center of protests for weeks now. The Wall of Vets formed two lines in the intersection of 3rd and Main. They then marched in formation and formed a wall. They were joined by moms, many wearing sunflower yellow and shirts reading “Summoned Mama.”
This line was in front of the reinforced fence around the courthouse, which has contributed to many of the past conflicts with federal officers, agents and marshals. Since the federal officers scaled back their presence and stepped back, the fence has been decorated by protestors.
There were American flags painted with “BLM” attached to the top of the fence. Several clumps of pink balloons, with words supporting the Black Lives Matter movement written on them, were tied to the top too.
There were decorations on many of the panels as part of the “Whose fence? Our fence!” social media campaign. The phrase ACAB [All Cops Are Bastards] was used on multiple panels. One panel was a memorial for the late Congressman John Lewis and contained a framed picture of him and the words “Celebrate Black Lives.” Another couple panels had sunflowers on them.
By 10:30 p.m., the crowd was mostly in front of the federal courthouse. There a mom took the megaphone and began to lead a series of chants. The crowd chanted “F*** Ted Wheeler,” “Black lives matter,” “Say his name, George Floyd,” and “Say her name, Breonna Taylor.”
In between the chanting, a young woman stood on the cement barricade in front of the fence and began to speak. She discussed how they must continue to fight back, as her ancestors did when they escaped from slavery. She said that they must take the “tools that their oppressors used” and use them to become free from oppression.
She also talked about the need for a paradigm shift in society. She told the crowd that true justice for the victims of police brutality does not come from the perpetrators facing legal punishment. She said that “justice is when we prevent [police brutality] from ever happening again.”
She ended her speech by talking about how America’s policing system is fundamentally flawed. She raised concerns over the “blue wall of silence” and talked about how it is dangerous that officers are punished for speaking out. She finished by saying that the system is not broken, but rather working as it was intended to. She then called for the abolition of the current policing system.
“You can only reform something that’s good at its center. The police were never intended to protect and serve,” the speaker told the crowd.
After this speech, the crowd chanted more. There was also a group of protestors playing drums in the middle of 3rd Ave. in front of the federal courthouse. This is a sound heard essentially nightly at the protests at the Justice Center and courthouse.
Around 11:25 p.m., another woman began to speak. She attempted to quiet the mother who was still leading chants, but failed. They both ended up trying to talk over one another, with the speaker talking about the history of the racial justice movement and the mom leading a chant of “Whose lives matter? Black lives matter.”
As these women were speaking, a protestor threw a small firework over the fence. Several members of the crowd quickly condemned the action. The women speaking told them to leave the fence and courthouse alone, because she believed that the action was not beneficial for the Black lives matter movement.
After this speech, many of the remaining protestors began to talk with each other. A small portion also chanted “No good cops in a racist system” and “I can’t breathe.”
A little after 12:30 a.m., protestors started a small campfire in the middle of 3rd Ave. in front of the courthouse. There were people standing around, warming their hands, adding to the blaze and socializing.
A little after this fire began, another fire was started at the fence. An American flag was hung from the top of the fence and dosed in flammable liquid. A couple of protestors proceeded to light it on fire. Several people immediately came over, put out the fire and told the two men not to start anything because “There are mamas on the front line.” The men quickly left the area.
By 1:15 a.m., most of the crowd had left, with approximately 250 people remaining. They gathered in front of the courthouse, however they seemed to lack any formal organization and simply milled around visiting.
The night of Friday, July 31, ended without conflict or any visible law enforcement presence for the second night in a row following the withdrawal of federal agents.
