PORTLAND Ore. (KOIN) — Protests on Saturday kicked off in the early afternoon when hundreds of people organized at King Elementary in Northeast Portland for “equity in education and justice reform.”
The event, listed as “10,000 Peaceful Protesters: Justice System Reform & Equity in Education,” started with speakers at the school, and was followed by a march to Peninsula Park.
“We’re fighting so many other things day-to-day as being African-American citizens, and so much more than that. So we’re out here also to just let people know, including our white allies, that we’re out here because Black lives matter, we’re out here because Black education matters, we’re out here because Black justice matters,” said Alaysia Atkins, who spoke at the demonstration.
Demonstrations for and in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement continued throughout the city on Saturday. A calendar maintained at PDXBLMEvents.com listed more than a dozen marches and rallies, which started at noon and continue late into the evening.