Hands off the poor!

Portland Coalition Against Poverty stages protest downtown

By Sarah Morrigan

Street Roots

PORTLAND, Ore., July 9 -- Braving the 89 degree temperature, over 70 people representing student, veteran and activist organizations marched through downtown Portland Wednesday evening, holding short rallies at several locations in protest of the recent police sweeps of encampments under Portland's bridges.

Newly organized Portland Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP) formed by college students and other allies of the unhoused people led this protest, while contingents from the Portland Veterans for Peace, Sisters Of The Road's Civic Action Group and the United Poor People also joined in. One of the PCAP organizers, named Marco, addressed the crowd saying that the purpose of PCAP is to "eradicate poverty through community action. and to hold the Portland Police Bureau and private security companies accountable for their harassment and abuse of the houseless people."

The demonstrators marched from the North Park Blocks to the Portland State University campus through Old Town/Chinatown and downtown for a length of three hours, with stops in front of the Northwest Natural Building, the Portland Patrol Services headquarters, the Justice Center and the Standard Insurance Building. They chanted slogans along the way such as "Stop the sweeps," "End police harassment," and "All power to the poor."

At the corner of Northwest First Avenue and Davis Street a few Portland Police Bureau officers stopped a protester and gave out a citation for jaywalking. The incident was videotaped by the legal observers from the Northwest Constitutional Rights Center. In response to the police action the demonstrators yelled, "The rich will never help the poor, the only solution is class war." A unmarked police squad car followed the protest for several blocks.

At the Portland Center for Performing Arts on Southwest Broadway, the chanting of the demonstrators briefly held up an outdoor music performance.

PCAP held the first of its "monthly public forum" at the end of the march in front of the Smith Memorial Student Union at Portland State University. The forum is being held in response to the recent meeting of the city-endorsed Coordinating Committee to End Homelessness, in which organizers from the United Poor People were denied a time for speaking. A Food Not Bombs group provided free meal for participants.

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Also: (More detailed coverage by Matt Davis here)
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/gyrobase/Blog?blog=41935&oid=837703#more