Demetria Hester (born November 30, 1974) is a Black activist, speaker, and hate crime survivor based in Portland, Oregon. [1] She is a frequent organizer of and speaker at Portland's George Floyd protests, Black Lives Matter rallies, and vigils for victims of police violence. [2]
Demetria Hester moved from Tennessee to the Pacific Northwest searching for a fresh start for herself and her two children.[ when? ] She first moved to the state of Washington, then to Portland, Oregon in 2014. She worked at a restaurant, studied at the Art Institute of Portland and become a sous chef. Hester is fond of the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. [1]
Hester survived a verbal and physical assault by white supremacist and murderer Jeremy Joseph Christian on May 25, 2017, while waiting for the light-rail train in Portland. Hester claims police did not take her seriously when they responded to the incident. [3] The next day, Christian fatally stabbed two men and injured a third on a different train in what is known as the 2017 Portland train attack. Hester testified against Christian at his trial. [4]
Hester became a visible leader during the 2020 summer-long George Floyd Protests, and is a founder and lead organizer of Moms United for Black Lives, a group that participates in protests to end police violence against Black people. [1] [5] This group is led by a collective of Black women, including Don't Shoot Portland’s founder Teressa Raiford and Danialle James.
Hester was arrested at the George Floyd Protests on August 10, 2020, booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer, and held in the Multnomah County Jail. [6] Later, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt declined to prosecute Hester and other protesters who were charged with small nonviolent offenses. [7] All charges were dropped. [3]
Hester led a group from Moms United for Black Lives to Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2020, for Martin Luther King Day, an occasion which she called a "beautiful and epic moment in history." [2]
Delta Park is a public municipal park complex in north Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Delta Park is composed of two distinct sections referred to as East and West Delta Park. The Owens Sports Complex is a notable attraction of East Delta Park, bringing teams from across the West Coast to compete in an array of sports. For local Oregonians, homelessness and a past Proud Boys rally distinguish East Delta Park and the Owens Sports Complex from other parks in the Portland area.
Edward Tevis Wheeler is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016.
Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland, Oregon as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. It is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011.
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officially the Portland Bureau of Police, is the law enforcement agency of the city of Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. While oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City Commissioners, the mayor has historically been assigned to the Police Bureau as the police commissioner.
United States v. City of Portland was a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice against the City of Portland, Oregon on December 17, 2012, alleging a pattern or practice of unconstitutional use of force by the Portland Police Bureau against individuals with actual or perceived mental illness.
Don't Shoot Portland, also called Don't Shoot PDX, is a Portland, Oregon-based accountability group formed by Black Lives Matter supporter Teressa Raiford to scrutinize actions of the Portland Police Bureau.
On May 26, 2017, Jeremy Joseph Christian fatally stabbed two men and injured a third after he was confronted for shouting racist and anti-Muslim slurs at two black teenagers, Destinee Mangum and Walia Mohamed, on a MAX Light Rail train in Portland, Oregon. Two of the victims, Ricky John Best of Happy Valley and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche of Portland, were killed; the third victim, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, survived serious wounds.
Joseph Owan Gibson is an American right-wing activist and the founder of the alt-right group Patriot Prayer, which is active in Portland, Oregon and other cities within the Pacific Northwest.
On May 19, 2020 and November 3, 2020, elections were held in Portland, Oregon, to elect the mayor.
Portland, Oregon has an extended history of street activism and has seen many notable protests.
Starting in May 2020, protests following the murder of George Floyd were held in the city of Portland, Oregon, concurrent with protests in other cities in the United States and around the world. By July 2020, many of the protests, which had been held every day since May 28, drew more than 1,000 participants. Protests continued into August, September, and October 2020, often drawing hundreds.
This is a list of George Floyd protests in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Teressa Raiford is an American activist and politician in Portland, Oregon. She founded the local Black-led non-profit Don't Shoot Portland.
The Wall of Moms is a group primarily made up of women who identify as mothers, who have demonstrated in George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon, as well as other groups in U.S. cities including Chicago, Seattle, and Tampa, Florida. The group's first protest was attended by approximately 40 women; hundreds to thousands have participated since then.
Many artworks related to the Black Lives Matter movement were created in Portland, Oregon, United States, during local protests over the murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans. Oregon Arts Watch contextualized the artistic works, stating that a "whitewashed pre-COVID lens" on American life, which obscured systemic racism, had been "cracked", and describing artists' response to racial violence being brought into the public eye was a "marathon, not a sprint".
Michael Schmidt is an American attorney and prosecutor. He has served as the Multnomah County District Attorney since August 2020. Originally set to begin his term on January 1, 2021, Governor Kate Brown appointed him to the job early, in August of 2020, to replace Rod Underhill, who retired in July.
Elbert Darrell Mondainé is a pastor and political activist in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon.
The Red House eviction defense was an occupation protest at a foreclosed house on North Mississippi Avenue in the Humboldt neighborhood in the Albina district, a historically Black district of Portland, Oregon, United States.
Moms United for Black Lives is an activist group based in Portland, Oregon, with branches in other U.S. cities, including New York and San Diego. The group was a fixture at the George Floyd protests in Portland; they wore yellow shirts, helmets, goggles, and gas masks, and they lead hundreds of people in chants as they marched to the federal courthouse.
On February 19, 2022, a mass shooting occurred near Normandale Park, in Portland, Oregon, United States. One person was killed and five others were injured, including the shooter. The shooting took place near a demonstration for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer and Patrick Kimmons, a 27-year-old Black man killed by Portland police during a 2018 altercation.
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