Think Out Loud

Oregon novelist Cai Emmons just published her first collection of short stories, called “Vanishing.” The stories were written over the span of 20 years, and all the main characters are women who are struggling with different aspects of their identity. Cai Emmons joins us to talk about the collection, and more.

Gresham local government was rocked by a wave of resignations this month after a Black city employee sent a letter to city leadership alleging racism. The mayor, city manager and police chief all left their positions. The police chief has since reversed her decision, and city leadership is figuring how to fill the interim mayor and city manager positions. Gresham Outlook reporter Christopher Keizur gives us an update.

This year, Pride month falls in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and a worldwide uprising against police violence toward Black people. Many Pride parades and in-person celebrations have been canceled. For Flawless Shade, a Black, queer entertainer who is also Miss Gay Oregon, this year’s Pride is about fighting for the rights of her community. Flawless has been advocating for better pay and treatment for queer Black entertainers, and recently raised $2,000 to support them. We hear about her advocacy, and how she has been engaging with Pride month and Black Lives Matter protests.

The man who went on a racist tirade and killed two people on board a Portland light rail train in 2017 was sentenced today. More than three years after the attack, Jeremy Christian will two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. OPB’s Conrad Wilson has been covering the trial.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown has called lawmakers into a special legislative session starting Wednesday. The goals of the session are far-reaching, including police accountability and the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers will also be impacted by restrictions in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. All of this adds up to a special session like none we’ve seen before. OPB political reporter Dirk VanderHart joins us from Salem.

For the past several weeks, Portland faith leaders have been attending protests against police violence and systemic racism. We hear from three members of Portland's Interfaith Clergy Resistance: Cecil Prescod, reverend at Ainsworth United Church of Christ; Tara Wilkins, reverend at Bridgeport United Church of Christ; and Ariel Stone, rabbi at Congregation Shir Tikvah. They tell us about what they've seen at the protests, how this uprising relates to their faith and how they are navigating this moment as spiritual leaders.

As Oregon battles the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks a response to calls for police accountability, Gov. Kate Brown has called for a legislative special session. Rep. Janelle Bynum (District 51-Clackamas) and Sen. James Manning (District 7-Eugene) are two members of the legislative People of Color Caucus, which has called for action on police accountability by state lawmakers. They join us to talk about their goals for the special session.

All law enforcement officers in Oregon go through 16 weeks of initial training with the Department of Public Safety and Standards before they can be certified to work. Afterwards, officers must also complete training with their employer, which is different for every department. We hear from DPSST Director Eriks Gablicks about the initial certification training officers receive. Also, Bend Police Department Chief Jim Porter tells us what training looks like for Bend police officers.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that President Trump cannot shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that protects about 700,000 young immigrants known as Dreamers from deportation. Liliana Luna is a DACA recipient, who graduated last year from Portland Community College and now runs her own counseling center.

A protest zone in Seattle is completely without police presence, after officers recently left the area after protests calling for accountability and an end to police violence. The area is now known as the Capital Hill Occupied Protest. Volunteers have defused fights, protected stores from vandalism and handled mental health crises. There was also a fatal shooting in the area this weekend. We talk with Gregory Scruggs, a Seattle-based reporter who lives near CHOP and is covering the story.

Brett Bigham became the first special education teacher to be named Oregon Teacher of the Year in 2014. He later lost his job after speaking publicly about being a gay man and filing a complaint about the discrimination he experienced. We hear Bigham's reflections on the recent apology he got from the school district that fired him and the U.S. Supreme Court decision that protects LGBTQ people in the workplace.

The city of Portland’s Black Male Achievement program was founded in 2014 to improve outcomes for Black men and boys. In 2018, the group pushed for the elimination of Portland Police’s database of suspected gang members. Now, as people around the world protest police violence and systemic racism, Black Male Achievement is advocating for divesting money from the Portland Police and into community programs. CJ Robbins is the coordinator for Black Male Achievement. He joins us to discuss the recent protests, changes in Portland Police leadership and the future of police accountability in Portland.

Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management has long been preparing for the state to face a disaster. How much of their preparation has been put to use in the coronavirus pandemic? And what have they learned from this disaster, that might help prepare us for the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake?

When Clara Peoples arrived in Oregon from Oklahoma in 1945, she was surprised to find that no one was celebrating Juneteenth. She started the organization Juneteenth Oregon to bring the holiday to the state. Juneteenth Oregon is celebrating the holiday this year in the middle of a global pandemic and a social uprising against systemic racism. Media Relations Director for Juneteenth Oregon Heather Coleman-Cox joins us to talk about the significance of Juneteenth this year.

We get opinion and analysis on some of the week’s big news stories with Tuck Woodstock, Christy George and Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

School districts across the state hold summer learning programs for migrant students. Many families rely on these summer programs to enrich their children’s education, but this summer, they will have to access teachers and lessons online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ronda Johnson is in charge of coordinating the migrant summer learning program for the Woodburn School District in Marion County. We hear from Johnson, who teaches a dual language first-grade class at Nellie Muir Elementary, about how the program is using distanced learning.

In the wake of the uprising sparked by George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel is publicly advocating for a list of criminal justice reforms. He wants to bar choke holds, repeal mandatory minimum sentences and require those in law enforcement to report misconduct by their fellow officers. We talk with Hummel about those ideas and get the reaction of another Oregon DA, Kevin Barton in Washington County.

Union County now has Oregon’s largest single outbreak of COVID-19 to date. The eastern Oregon county is home to the Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church, where 236 cases were identified out of 365 church members who were tested. A now-deleted video of a May 24th church service shows people standing close together indoors, not wearing masks. We talk with Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen and Carrie Brogoitti, public health administrator for the Center for Human Development in Union County.

After many restaurants closed mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, a number of local restaurant owners came together to try to figure out how to access help and support each other. Portland restaurateur Naomi Pomeroy co-founded the Portland Independent Restaurant Alliance, and she’s been talking with state and local representatives to help them understand the kinds of challenges that restaurants face. Pomeroy has also joined the national Independent Restaurant Coalition, which is pushing for a $120 billion federal relief package specifically for restaurants. She joins us to talk about how she and many of her fellow independent restaurant owners are thinking about reopening.

In a story that first broke in February, Oregonian/Oregonlive reporter Maxine Bernstein detailed a case of overt racism that led to the wrongful arrest of a Black man named Michael Fesser in the wealthy Portland suburb of West Linn. Fesser sued the city, and got a $600,000 settlement. But the consequences for the officers involved — including the former West Linn police chief — are still unclear. We get an update on the case from Maxine Bernstein.