Portland Protests - Faith Leaders on the Frontlines of Our Nation's Slide Toward Fascism

 

On Thursday, September 3, 2020, we held an online Open Conversation on the Portland Protests, to discuss the role of faith leaders on the ground in the organizing work that’s been happening there, what’s really been going on (vs. what is been shown in the mainstream news media), etc.

We were joined by members of the BIPOC Faith Leaders Council for Black Lives:

  • Rev. Lenny Duncan

  • Rabbi Benjamin Barnett

  • Laveta Gilmore Jones

  • Alaide Vilchis Ibarra, and

  • Rev. Dr. William G. Sinkford

Just days before our conversation, on August 29, 2020, Aaron Danielson, an American supporter of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, was shot dead after participating in a "Trump 2020 Cruise Rally," a caravan of more than 100 cars and trucks that drove through Portland, Oregon, displaying banners and signs supporting President Donald Trump and clashing with participants in the local George Floyd protests.

On September 3, 2020, the night of our online conversation, Danielson's suspected killer, Michael Reinoehl, an anti-fascist activist, was shot and killed by a federally led fugitive task force near Lacey, Washington. Reinoehl's killing remains under investigation, with witnesses stating that officers opened fire without warning. President Donald Trump commended the U.S. Marshals for shooting Reinoehl and described his death as "retribution."

Watch the powerful, hour-long conversation:

 
 
 
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