This event is a protest, meant to include everyone as we support and uplift the voices of Black people. We are unapologetic in our movement for Black Lives and we use this event to center the voices of our children, who are most vulnerable to the systemic violations of civil liberties. We want everyone to feel welcome to support and participate in this movement to uplift the Black family and our entire community. Not many events center the voices of children to uplift the Black community so we reclaim Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day for this purpose.

In our eleven years of social justice organizing, we have fed, clothed, fought for, and rallied against so many intersectional issues affecting our communities, regardless of sex, color, religion or ability. All of this as a purely donor funded organization, we do not seek out and apply for government grants. We are entirely fueled by the community action plan that we have all created, together. Support comes from those who sent us hundreds of self-made 3D printed face shields and boxes of masks and covid tests. Support comes from those who mixed bottles of tear gas solution to lessen the pain of our friends and neighbors’ faces and eyes when Portland police brutalize people with these toxic chemicals. We’ve been in solidarity with our Indigenous community, we’ve made testimony with our local PPS educators and advocates, and we’ve fought Donald Trump and the Homeland Security when they brought their vans to kidnap community members fighting for Black Lives.

Showing up isn’t always easy. It is dangerous and it is necessary to make historical social change. Civil rights leaders were brutalized and killed as they walked across this country to gain voting rights, to showcase their dedication to civic action to empower the generations to follow.

Your joining us today is nothing short of powerful and important and as you march with us, we encourage you to take every word of every chant to heart, to hold it deep inside of you, and to let it ring out as loud as you want it to. Hold these words, these stories of lives lost, the hope that we can do better, and make a promise today that you will uplift the movement for Human Rights and Dignity. 

Please follow our work, support our programming, and keep showing up. Find a volunteer with a DSP shirt for any questions or accessibility needs. 

We will be leaving to march at 1PM!

Email contact@dontshootpdx.org for accommodation needs.