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Assertive Engagement Newsletter
May 2023
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Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month y’all!
The sun is showing up and showing out this month. For some of us, it was a surprise that had us rushing to our nearest plant nursery to get ready for planting season. For others of us, we didn't believe the sun was coming until sweating profusely under several layers of clothing that (in hindsight) we actually didn’t need.
Either way the sun is here and not going away any time soon. Whether we’re loving the 90 degree weather or would prefer to jump right to the damp coolness of Fall… we’re all in this together. That's kind of how I’m thinking about the concept of resistance these days. After over a decade of serving as a trainer and facilitator for teams- I’ve learned a lot about people. Many of us have similar visions for a just and equitable world. Most of us want to believe it is possible. Yet, there are many differences in how this brave new world might be realized. Often times I’m a witness to the natural friction that occurs when groups of people with differing opinions and beliefs meet one another with resistance.
In AE we talk about resistance in numerous ways. We can feel resistance at the precipice of change. Experiencing ambivalence, feeling like you're being pushed and pulled in different directions at the same time can feel uncomfortable. We can feel resistance in how we approach our roles in public and social services. We acknowledge the legacy of gatekeeping and exclusion championed by social service systems. Many of us resist this legacy by supporting equitable policies and taking a human-centered approach in our work. Resistance can also be seen in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities that we honor this month. We celebrate the resilience and courage it takes to keep cultural practices and challenge oppressive policies that cause harm to our communities.
No matter how you serve it up, resistance takes WORK y'all! Our world is made better because of the advocacy folks in our communities engage in. It isn’t always a pleasant feeling, but it often yields an outcome worth learning from. Where are you feeling resistance in your life, work, or in the world largely?
Are you trying to resist patterns of behavior that you learned in your upbringing? Are you trying to resist using survival mechanisms that may no longer be serving you? Are you trying to resist the desire to stay comfortable, when an opportunity to speak up about inequity comes up?
Either way, you’re not alone and we’re all struggling with change in one way or another. We’ll never be perfect (because we're human) so lets all collectively resist perfection! Real is better than perfect.
The Assertive Engagement Team,
- Helen, Rhea, Gabe & Ruba
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“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”
― Malala Yousafzai
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Introducing Our New Team Members! | |
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Gabe Wright is the new Assertive Engagement Training Specialist at the Joint Office of Homeless Services. Gabe comes to this work after spending over 6 years at 211Info providing information and referral services focused on the needs of seniors and people living with disabilities. This has included regularly talking to people in crisis and interviewing people to document experienced abuse. Prior to 211, Gabe spent 5 years interviewing and documenting workplace issues across many different industries. Through this work, Gabe has learned the importance of people feeling heard when telling their stories so they can heal and grow.
After going through the Assertive Engagement full training, Gabe became enamored with the work and helped facilitate sections of Assertive Engagement when the trainings were held at the Grotto. In addition to the main AE 4 day training, Gabe helped facilitate the AE for Supervisors and Managers, the one day Refresher training and went through the first Train-the-Trainer program in December 2017. Gabe has implemented AE principles into working with both clients and staff. It has provided invaluable tools when it comes to training others in how to do the work and in their relationship to the work of helping clients get their needs met.
For self-care, Gabe enjoys gardening, going for walks, and spending time in nature, reading in hammocks, playing video games, and hanging out with cats. Gabe's future goals include learning more about epigenetics and 3D printing accessibility technology.
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I have 18 years of experience as an educator, translator and curriculum developer, working with families from oppressed and underserved communities, and have been a part of implementing equity in a variety of institutions. I am excited to be an agent of change and to help heal our community. I believe healing begins with understanding, and being trauma-informed and anti-biased helps bring us together.
I am Palestinian and was born in Jerusalem, and bring with me all the complexities and adversities that entails. I was born without a voice as a permanent resident. I can't help my people if I don't try to effect change in the place where I'm standing. I don't know how to tell you how much I can't wait to empower others.
As a child, I was immersed in the reality of military occupation first-hand, as the city of Jerusalem was and is the front line of Israeli settlement, colonization and ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian population. I became an educator of youth, both in Palestine and the US, working with students and families facing co-occurring disabilities, mental health issues and trauma.
The sumud (steadfastness/resistance) of my people is the inspiration that guides me and has made me who I am - showing me even in the midst of ongoing trauma and oppression, there can be joy, humor, healing and empowerment.
I love everything about nature, camping, reading, art, gardening, rescuing and reviving neglected houseplants, and I have a sweet, sassy, and bossy 12 year old dog named Faustina
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Black liberation movements take different shapes throughout history to match the moment and the specific cultural needs of where and when they take place. The most recent large movement declares that Black Lives Matter, Black Dreams Matter and Black futures Matter.
A way in which this is captured is in Black art. This art displays resistances that acknowledges a collective experience, trauma, and celebrates survival. Art as resistance manifests as images, design, music, dance, storytelling, and all manner of creative capturing of a journey through a world that is hostile towards marginalized people. It is a language in pictures, in words, in sounds that proclaims the presence and past. It says, I deserve to be free and to exist with dignity. Many have contributed to the arts that resonated with them and shared it with us all.
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The Wall of Respect was first painted in Chicago in 1967. It is the first large-scale community mural and it inspired the community mural movement which brought Black inspired murals to many cities. It featured influential and inspiring Black cultural heroes. The mural was created by the Visual Arts Workshop of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC). The Wall was a revolutionary visualization of Black liberation. Its influence is witnessed in the vivid murals throughout Portland, OR. If looking for an adventure in the city, a list of murals can be found on Portland Street Art Map. It is a great way to spend a day enjoying community art. | |
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Often these murals are defaced, as a way to try and stifle the resistance, but artists continue to create new images that uphold hope. Its influence is witnessed in the vivid murals in our local community.
The human voice is powerful. It not only expresses words but the emotions that are connected to thoughts and ideas. Songs can galvanize people. Protest songs often embody the resistance and resilience of marginalized groups as they face injustice. Hymns and spirituals were some of the earliest protest songs in the US to voice a yearning for freedom from slavery. The Soul Movement addressed through song the issues The Civil Rights Movement sought to correct. Soul music was a blend of jazz, blues and gospel. It talked about the hopes and pains of a community fighting for equality. The Black Lives Matter Movement created a resurgence in pop protest songs. These songs express a visceral need for change the social issues of today from the prison industrial complex, police brutality, and affirm the humanity of the Black community.
Afrofuturism combines science fiction, fantasy, technology and Black stories that celebrates the uniqueness and innovation of Black culture while envisioning a future where the Black diaspora is able to actualize their human potential. As a literary art form, it reimages the past (retro afrofuturism) and explores the possibilities of the future where Black people have agency in their own stories. The genre recognizes that Black people often are made to feel alien by a white supremist culture and the genre explores the themes of alienation and its impact on the psyche. The Grand Dame of Science Fiction, Octavia E. Butler wrote a dozen books from a perspective of Afrofuturism. (A review of one of her novels, Parable of the Sower is featured below). Her works centralize Black protagonists, giving the reader the opportunity to see the character's world perceptions and perspectives. Since Butler popularized the literary genre many more writers have developed stories of strong Black characters. Here is a list of Aftrofuturism literature to check out. If you want to learn more about Afrofuturism, Multnomah County Library is a great resource.
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Dance is the physical expression of thoughts, ideas, and emotions as it exists in the human body. Its language is rich in rhythmic symbolism that captures the fluidity of daily motion as it is expressed by an individual's personality and cultural influences. Words can't always adequately capture what we want to express; dance is another means to that expression. A dance style can embody a culture. Voguing has done that for Black LGBTQIA+ people. It started in the 1970s Harlem and was held in places called ballrooms. It is a commentary on mainstream culture from which Black queer people were excluded. The balls were places that helped provide support to community members who dealt with poverty, racism and queerphobia in their daily lives. It gave them a place to express and celebrate themselves. Here is a video that speaks to what voguing means to a community.
Black resistance and liberation can take many forms, and art is a powerful medium to make those voices heard. Creative expression of the human experience through art gives voice to those whose perspectives and experiences are not always heard or uplifted. Art can inspire and catalyze actions for change. Embrace your creativity.
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Looking Forward to Juneteenth | |
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Our June Newsletter will be released after Juneteenth weekend, so we wanted to preview local events so you can learn more plan your celebrations.
Juneteenth (Celebrated on June 19th) is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.
In 2021, in the wake of a national protest movement that brought to the forefront the historic and ongoing anti-Black racism in the US, President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday.
But, as Tamara Winfrey-Harris pointed out in a 2020 article, “Black freedom is, in the words of Harlem Renaissance writer Ralph Ellison, a ‘gaudy illusion.’ Juneteenth is more illustrative of the enduring hope of an oppressed people than an observance of Black emancipation.”
In Oregon, the late Clara Peoples organized the first Juneteenth celebration in 1945 in the Kaiser shipyards where she worked (the site of the 1948 Vanport flood, described as ‘Oregon’s Hurricane Katrina’ because of the mass displacement of the Black community that resulted). In 2022, a bill was signed in Oregon for Juneteenth to become an official State Holiday.
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Portland Juneteenth celebrations will take place at Lillis-Albina Park (N. Flint & N. Russell)
June 17th
Parade begins at 11 am at King School
Festival 12 pm - 7 pm
June 18th Festival 12 pm - 6 pm
Festival includes Food Vendors, Live Music, Kids Area, Raffles and More!
Juneteenth Oregon is a local Oregon-based nonprofit working to preserve and amplify the history and legacy of Juneteenth, founded by Clara Peoples.
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A Book for Dreaming:
Parable of the Sower
by
Octavia Butler
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Embrace diversity.
Unite—
Or be divided,
robbed,
ruled,
killed
By those who see you as prey.
Embrace diversity
Or be destroyed.
— Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower
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May has finally brought warm sunny days, and if you're like me that means laying around in the sun with a good book. This month we wanted to highlight a work of fiction, with a story and author who exemplifies hopeful resistance.
Octavia Butler began writing stories at 10 years old, first about horses and romance (which she admits she knew nothing about), but soon fell in love with science fiction. She bristled at the common misconception that science fiction is Star Wars and is read only by teenage boys, and once you grow up you should move on to "real literature, whatever that is." She claims this is a notion held by people who don't read science fiction and don't like what they think it is.
She didn't let contemporary beliefs about the genre limit her writing. She created characters, stories and worlds unconstrained by what we think of as reality. This month we feature Parable of the Sower, which is set in a future United States, a broken society where people survive in walled cities with armed guards and water is now more expensive and harder to come by than gasoline. Families are torn apart by violence, drugs, and the effects of global warming, which Octavia Butler recognized were problems in 1993 when she wrote the book, but in the fictional future they become "disasters because they are not attended to." Resisting the pessimism of calling her book prophetic, she said "I hope we will be smarter than that."
With her writing she created possibility of what the future could be. She thought of it as "...behaving as though the world was a little more as you wish it were in some ways."
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All that you touch
You Change.
All that you Change
Changes you.
The only lasting truth
Is Change.
— Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower
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According to Butler, Parable of the Sower, and its sequel, Parable of the Talents, are "the autobiography of a fictional character who creates a new religion and sets humanity's feet on a different path."
Lead character Lauren Olamina resists the belief that her destiny is predetermined, and writes lessons of a new religion known as Earthseed. She believes "God is change" and humanity has the power to "shape God" to save themselves. She is known as a "sharer" or a hyper-empath that can physically feel the pain and joy of others, and begins a journey to lead other believers to find a place where humanity does not experience so much pain.
If you want to know what happens next, you'll have to read the book! The printed book, e-book, and audiobook are available through the Multnomah County Library or at a bookseller near you! The book has inspired a graphic novel and an opera.
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This section of the newsletter features photos by SF Bay Area photographer Gabriela Hasbun, whose work is on display at the High Desert Museum outside of Bend, OR.
This exhibit, In the Arena: Photographs from America's Only Touring Black Rodeo documents the exhilarating atmosphere of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR)—the only touring Black rodeo in the country—and the show stopping style and skill of the Black cowboys and cowgirls who attend the event in Oakland year after year. Whether portraying the spectacle of the arena or the quiet moments before the competition, Hasbun’s photographs capture an intimacy and camaraderie unique to the cowboy way of life.
Hasbun published these photos in the book The New Black West.
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A Rodeo Like No Other
This upcoming Juneteenth weekend, you can be a part of Portland history and attend the first ever 8 Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo at the Portland Expo Center.
This event will feature rodeo events like bull riding, steer wrestling, and barrel racing. In addition to rodeo acts and athletes, there will also be live music and comedy.
How is this different from other rodeos?
The Juneteenth Rodeo exists to expose Pacific Northwest youth to the traditions, athleticism, and grit of Black cowboys in America. Through the rodeo and other yearly events we will create a platform for Black cowboys to compete and gain exposure. Through these initiatives we will encourage youths to explore their own passions and create the next generation of Black cowboys in our region.
The stories of Black cowboys in America are not simply history, there are new stories yet to be written.
8 Seconds Rodeo
Portland Expo Center
June 17, 2023
Doors at 3:00 p.m.
Show at 7:00 p.m.
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Oregon's largest annual Portland Pride Event was moved this year to July to make space for Juneteenth. When people think of Pride in Oregon, they often think of Portland Pride. | |
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However, there are chances to celebrate throughout the state.
Information about specific Portland Pride Events will be featured in next month's AE newsletter. There are plenty of opportunities to enjoy Pride throughout the month of June. Pride NW's website lists all the places Pride will be held throughout Oregon and SW Washington. Several places like Tigard, Astoria, Seaside, Beaverton, Monmouth and Curry County will continue to have Pride events in June. More local Pride events will have their dates added to the Pride NW website when it becomes available. Attending various local Prides provides the opportunity to see how people celebrate in their local communities.
I attended the first Astoria Pride parade and the excitement in the air was palpable. I have also enjoyed Pride in Ashland and Yamill. There is something extra powerful about small town Pride gatherings. Pride events in rural areas help LGBTQIA+ community members know they are not alone in their local communities. When the events pull people in from further away, it adds to the sense of solidarity. As multiple states in the US have targeted LGBTQ+ people in recent months with bills that seek to decrease visibility, education, rights and public engagement, local Pride Events help people connect, organize and unite to fight for their liberation.
To understand where Queer liberation is today, it is valuable to remember its history. The first Pride march was held in New York City on June 28, 1970 to celebrate the 1st year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. It drew several thousand participants. In modern times, New York City Pride draws millions. To find out more about the history of Pride, the Library of Congress has information on how activists created Pride and includes video footage from the first Pride event.
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For those traveling this summer, the Gay Pride Calendar maintains a list of Pride events both within the US and in other counties. Since Pride happens during different months in different places, it is a good reference. Check out Pride events wherever you are this summer. The site lists events internationally and throughout the United States | |
Urban League Job Fair
Urban League of Portland is hosting a Career Connections Job Fair on June 8, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Crown Plaza 1441 NE Second Ave.
Both employers and job seekers can register online.
Have an event coming up and want to share? Email the details at aeinfo@multco.us
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Have a story or thoughts to share? Email us: aeinfo@multco.us! | |
Question of the Month
What stories of resistance in communities inspire you?
Tell us about it so we can feature them in the June Newsletter: Resistance Part 2!
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May Poll
What is a way you show your resistance?
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April Poll Results!
Thank you to everyone who responded with Where do you go to restore yourself!
It looks like the sun and nature overall is giving many of us a well-deserved healing boost! April's monthly poll highlighted that there are so many places we find healing energy in.
Here are your responses:
Out in Nature 53%
On Vacation 14%
To Bed 14%
To talk (friends/family/therapist) 5%
Somewhere Quiet to Meditate/Reflect 5%
Out with Friends 3%
To the Gym 3%
Church/Temple/Mosque/Place of Worship 3%
Sharing ways of healing within our community encourages folks to reflect on their own relationship to healing and wellness. Resist the urge to focus solely on outcomes and take the time to affirm and appreciate the journey you're on. You're worth it!
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Upcoming Virtual Training Opportunities | |
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June
- Day 1 Tuesday, June 20th, 9am - 3pm
- Day 2 Thursday, June 22nd, 9am - 3pm
- Day 3 Tuesday, June 27th, 9am - 3pm
- Day 4 Thursday, June 29th, 9am - 3pm
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That's a wrap! We have finished filming our video module e-learning series and it has now moved to post-production. Our skills practice session agenda is coming together and we'll be launching online learning soon.
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We will announce any future training sessions via this newsletter, stay tuned! | |
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Upcoming Community of Ongoing Practice Sessions
May 25
Healing
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
July 27
Resistance
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Sign up to join our community of practice email list and get updates on future programming and events.
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What is a Community of Ongoing Practice?
A group of people who share a common interest and interact often to learn from each other and advance their work.
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