New Portlanders Policy Commission (NPPC) Statement in Solidarity with Black Communities

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Logo for the Office of Community & Civic Life New Portlanders Program
The NPPC is charged with supporting the City’s equity initiatives by advising City Council on policy change relating to immigrant and refugee communities. The NPPC decided to postpone our scheduled report to stand in solidarity with the Black community.
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We are members of the New Portlanders Policy Commission. We are immigrants and refugees new to Portland, and we are descendants of people who came from all parts of the world to make the United States our home.  We are here today to add our voices in support of the Black community.

We are outraged by yet another killing of a Black man by a police officer.  We have seen these killings happening in our own city for too long just to mention a few, Kendra James, Aaron Campbell, and Quanice Hayes were killed by police. We stand with the Black community in Portland to condemn these acts of racial injustice. The systemic racism that breeds and condones acts of violence against Black Americans must stop or none of us…no matter our race, religion, national origin, gender identification, ability, or age… will be safe.

We join in our country’s collective grief and urge all people to come together to bring about systemic changes sorely needed so that the principles of social justice and human rights can be lived by all of us.

We ask that local, state, and federal leaders restore community trust. We ask that you engage in urgent collaboration to enact systemic changes. We understand that transformative processes take time, but these times call for putting social and racial justice as a priority in order to bring unity and healing.

Our Elected Officials should engage proactively with leaders from the Black and BIPOC communities to write and implement new policies to promote systemic changes.

The New Portlanders Policy Commission (NPPC) is comprised of 25 members, who are immigrant and refugee leaders and community advocates, and who live, work, play, and pray in the City of Portland.