BLACK LIVES MATTER - PORTLAND
Portland, Oregon
August 16, 2020
In the middle of August, I followed a protest organized by local anti-fascism activists supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Their message was of ending police brutality through total police abolishment. Their mantra was the same as Aurora, CO weeks earlier. No cops. No prisons. Total abolition. Black Lives Matter.
The below photos follow hundreds from their initial gathering, to the civil disobedience, to the police response and the resulting calm towards the end of the night. All photos or identities shared with full permission and understanding.
A traveling activist from Chicago brings supplies and customized t-shirts during the early gatherings at Kenton Park on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Activists gate off Lombard Street and set fire to a garbage container in civil disobedience as they protest against police brutality and federal response in the city on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Nervous communal gatherings before the police close in on the closed off area of Lombard Street on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
The Portland Police Bureau moves in to begin arrests of protesters at what was determined a riot in Portland, Oregon on August 16, 2020.
Arrests in Kenton Park as protests scramble for safety before regrouping northeast of the area on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Calm after the storm as dozens have regrouped at the original location on Lombard Street in the early hours of the morning, now on August 17, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Social distancing in Kenton Park prior as speeches blare out speakers near the beginning of a march supporting the Black Lives Matter movement on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Look alive as hundreds gather before setting out from Kenton Park on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
The front line of the march as they head south on Brandon Avenue near the beginning of their march supporting police abolishment on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Early march calm as hundreds stroll through the streets of north Portland on August 16, 2020.
Heavily guarded faces as protesters turn onto Lombard Street to shut it down and raise awareness towards their goal of police abolishment on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
On the move as the Portland Police Bureau closes in on the gated off section of Lombard Street where activists are gathering on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Some fireworks are lit as the Portland Police Bureau chases down protests after declaring the gathering a riot on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
Scattered umbrellas protect hundreds as they edge back from tear gas deployed by the Portland Police Bureau on August 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
End of the night calm as dozens remain on Lombard Street after the city has protested for more than 100 straight days following the death of George Floyd.