JUSTICE EDUCATION AND ACTION DURING COVID-19

Many of us are thinking about what we can do to help our community during this time of crisis. LOUCC’s Justice Action team has compiled a list of educational and action opportunities, including things we’re reading, watching, and doing. The educational opportunities are available through sources such as Netflix, public library (electronic formats), and websites. 

Sharing Our Stories

•   Self Made: Inspired by the life of Madam C. J. Walker, the first female self-made millionaire. (available 3/20 via Netflix)

•   Gentrified: In Los Angeles, three Mexican-American cousins chase the American Dream, even while that dream threatens the things they hold most dear (TV show available on Netflix)

•   On the Basis of Sex: Film about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s groundbreaking tax case on gender discrimination. 

•   Roll of Thunder Hear, My Cry by Mildred D Taylor: Young adult novel about a family’s story about racism during the Great Depression and Jim Crow era. 1977 Newberry Medal winner.

•   All the Days Past, All the Days to Come by Mildred Taylor: A book about the main character searching for her place in the world as a young black woman.

•   There, There by Tommy Orange:  Novel about the interwoven stories of 12 Native Americans converging on a pow-wow in Oakland.  2019 American Book Award, among others

•   Bisbee ’17: Documentary about the town’s community comes to terms with its history, re-enacting the infamous Bisbee Deportation of 1917, during which 1,200 striking miners were violently taken from their homes, banished to the middle of the desert, and left to die.

Educating Ourselves

•   www.respondtoracism.org:  Neighbors organized to educate and empower Lake Oswego residents and institutions with the tools to end racism in all its forms.

•   How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi:  Book about understanding and uprooting racism in our society and in ourselves.

•   Oregon Historical Quarterly: White Supremacy and Resistance (Winter 2019)

•   Thirteenth: Documentary explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.

•   www.confluenceproject.org:  Community-supported non-profit connects you to the history, living cultures, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices.

Taking Action Together

•   The Uniform Trial Court Rules committee will consider comments and potential changes to the current rule prohibiting warrantless ICE arrests in and around Oregon courthouses.  Comments may be submitted at this link through Friday, March 20 at 5:00 p.m. 

Volunteer

Meals on Wheels is currently in need of volunteer drivers throughout the metro area. www.mowp.org.

Donate

Make a donation to organizations that focus on helping people with food and shelter, such as:

•    Hunger Fighters (LO Food Pantry hungerfightersoregon.org),

•   LOTSM (our transitional shelter lotsm.org),

•   Meals on Wheels People (meals delivered to homebound seniors mowp.org),

•   Operation Nightwatch (hospitality centers downtown and SE Portland operationnightwatch.org)

•   Oregon Food Bank (state-wide hunger relief oregonfoodbank.org)