By Jonathan Yackel

Summer 2020. The United States was restless. Protests and riots sparked by the death of George Floyd occupied the streets of many large cities, leading to property damage and general civil agitation. The presidential campaign was revving its engine, with Joseph R. Biden beginning his campaign against President Donald J. Trump. Protests against police brutality led to calls for police reform, and COVID-19 hit its first peak. Politically, the nation was in turmoil. 

Normally a perpetually rainy city filled with people who like coffee and beer a little too much, Portland, Oregon had become a ground for intense political discourse. In the wake of the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, many took to the streets and began protesting. These daily gatherings eventually turned violent, as protesters began vandalizing federal property, and police officers began using munitions on protesters. 

Two conflicting stories were being told. For example, on July 16, 2020, Sean Hannity of Fox News reported that “Portland’s leaders letting city be ripped apart by malicious so-called anarchists,” while CNN reported only five days later that the protests were “overwhelmingly peaceful, despite periods of violence.” Some believed Antifa was attempting to take over the city, while others saw citizens exercising their natural rights.

As a native Oregonian who grew up in Portland, it was difficult for me to figure out exactly what the city was experiencing. Had this city that provided an endless source of hipster jokes become an anarchist wasteland, with shootings on every block? Or was the city filled with peaceful protesters, who were being bombarded by federal agents? In search of the true story, I decided to interview a Portland resident and an old friend. 

Lake Oswego High School senior Sam Waxman (‘22) has lived in Oregon his entire life, with seven years of those years in downtown Portland. I thought he would be able to answer my question: what actually was happening in Portland?

Last summer, Mid-July saw the worst nights of the riots. Waxman explains, “A lot of people wouldn’t be out at night, there were boarded windows on pretty much every store. Although I wasn’t in the heart of the riots in Eastern Portland … the feedback could be felt. There was a tone of staying out of it. They were on edge … There was a lot of looting … and politics in it.” Although removed from the protests, the entire city was affected by the discourse and violence. Waxman mentioned that he never was greatly affected by the riots; however, while driving around he noticed “a few groups of people … running around … The closest thing I saw to rioting was mostly on the news … all that stuff about the task force sent by President Trump. A lot of people were talking about it over both social media and in online school.” 

An example of boarded windows in downtown Portland last summer.
Photo credit: User Another Believer via Wikimedia Commons.

The task force refers to the federal agents that were sent by President Trump in order to “protect federal property … and help the city,” after there were reports of damage to federal property. This move drew heavy criticism, especially from Oregonians, as the mayor of the city, Ted Wheeler, Oregon’s governor Kate Brown, and both of the state’s U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, agreed that the agents sent were unnecessary. This caused the state to file a suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in response to these actions, as many of the federal agents were continually using tear gas and munitions. While these agents took much of the blame for the violent actions against protestors, the Portland Police Bureau also engaged in clashes with rioters.

Portland Riot Police preparing for a rally in 2017. Photo credit: User Old White Truck via Wikimedia Commons.

Again, these actions split down the political aisle. CNN published an opinion piece titled, “Trump’s militarized policing of Portland has no place in the U.S.” Fox News, on the other hand, reported that  “federal agents were beaten by a hammer.” Yet these articles seemed to have a minimal effect on the residents of the city, other than the “boarded windows and recommendations to stay inside past a curfew” that Waxman mentioned. In talking about his experience living in Portland, Waxman commented, “Normally … it still has a lively nightlife, a lot of people go for walks, a lot of people are out and about … In terms of the attitude, there is no buzz about us or them, right or left … but with the riots, everything was dead. Not a lot of traffic.”

The city’s motto is “Keep Portland Weird.” The Unipiper, a local who plays bagpipes in a Darth Vader mask and on a unicycle, is the embodiment of a Portlander. However, with these riots, it seems as if the soul of the city had been sucked away. Although the riots were limited to the northeastern section of the city, they had rippling effects on the entire population, creating conversations and the boarding up of businesses. 

Though the political rallies didn’t personally affect Waxman much, they still contributed to a larger social movement. Much of what happened in those violent clashes is unclear, with views blurred by political affiliation, but the repercussions and wounds from these movements will be ingrained in the city’s history forever.

Feature image credit: User King of Hearts via Wikimedia Commons.