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From: Cameron Whitten <media.cameron@gmail.com>
Date: April 25, 2012 12:58:28 PM PDT
Subject: For Immediate Release: Racism in Portland Mayor’s Race

African American Mayoral Candidate Cameron Whitten Excluded From Forum on Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness

This issue began in the second week of February, when I introduced myself to the Urban League of Portland, a non-profit whose mission statement is to “enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power, and civil rights”. At first I was told, as the only African American in the race for Mayor of Portland, I would be invited to participate in the forum on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=2701372233963 

Only after a phone call the next day, was I informed that my invitation was false. One of the event organizers stated that the slate of candidates had been selected in November, and the process could not be altered for any reason. I then inquired as to why the only other African American candidate, Teressa Raiford for Commissioner Position #1, had been added to the docket two weeks ago, even though she had also initially been excluded. To that, I was told, “That’s a long story. We’re not even going to talk about that.”

I have attended many forums in which I have not been allowed to participate. Touting bullhorn in hand, I have always listened in the aisles patiently. As I walked through the doors of the Emmanuel Temple Church in North Portland, I knew this one would be different. They reserved table space for me to put my campaign materials, which was segregated from the other Mayoral candidates, Brady, Hales, and Smith. I was isolated into a corner of the church with two other candidates of color, Mayor Candidate Steve Sung, and Helen Ying for Metro Position #5, both of Asian descent.

I drew a sign that said “Separate But Equal”, brandished with the equal signs proudly adopted by the Urban League. I walked through the church singing Slave Songs, making analogy after analogy about how People of Color often suffer from systemic oppression, having a marginalized voice with lack of community empowerment.

There has always been the concern of racism in Portland, America’s whitest metropolitan city. My predecessors put their lives on the line and died to make sure that I would have better. It was in my position of being a self-respecting African American, that my conscience gave me no other choice but to honor my voice and birth given right of representation. With an unbridled fire inside me, I disrupted the Urban League of Portland’s forum by stepping onto the stage behind Brady, Hales, and Smith to demonstrate how the issue of inequity is constantly looked over, although it stares us in the face. We still have to go in terms of addressing bias and institutional racism.

The Oregonian last week wrote an op-ed piece about how difficult it is for women to run for office in Portland. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/04/for_women_winning_office_in_po.html 

Seeing that in Portland’s entire history, we have only had two African Americans sit on City Council, it is blatant racism to see the silence perpetuated by organizations such as the Oregonian, who seem to overlook black candidates such as myself or Teressa Raiford for their own self-interest. Portland deserves, and should expect better than this. 

I am sorely disappointed by the Urban League of Portland, and by the apathetic culture of First Class Citizens in Portland. In this campaign, I have intimately become acquainted with the unnecessary treatment that East Portland endures, being underserved and ignored, despite their inherent worth and contribution to our City’s livelihood.  Obviously, there are Two Portlands, and there are Two Classes of Mayoral Candidates. And just like the doctrine originated by Louisiana in the 1890’s, the distinction is ‘Separate But Equal‘.

I refuse to be silenced any longer, for the sake of our mutual destiny.