Like all of you, we have been following what is going on in Portland and across the nation for the last two weeks. The murder of George Floyd, and the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others have once again brought to the forefront the deadly problem of racism and police violence in the United States. You might wonder what business our small community center has to make a comment on the situation. We’re also an organization founded by a Japanese company, with some staff that are from Japan and not born in the United States; we do not all fully understand the context of this moment.
But the truth is, anyone who believes in equality has an obligation to stand up for racial justice for Black people in the United States right now. Black lives matter.
We are working to post up some resources for those in our community who want to learn more and find out how to be civically engaged in this moment, and we’d love to hear from you about what this time means to you. Do you feel like you have been able to be involved and engaged? Or have you felt disconnected and unsure what to do?