PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — On the 100th consecutive day of protests in Portland, a variety of different events took place at separate times and locations across the city at the same time a vigil in Vancouver was happening for the protester shot to death a week ago.
The protests in support of Black Lives Matter and against racism and police brutality began May 29, days after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.
The activities included sit-ins, rallies and marches for Black lives and being put on by multiple protest groups, According to the website Portland Black Lives Matter Events.
From noon to 6 p.m. there were two simultaneous sit-in events on Portland’s east side: One at Lents Park and one at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary. Those events were previously listed as family-friendly, though that description was later removed from the Portland Black Lives Matter Events site.
Marvin Dean attended the second Lents Park protest. He said 100 days of protest is “a milestone,” which he said he loves to see.
“Systematic oppression and racial injustice has been going on for years, so why stop at Day 100?” Dean said.
A PDX Car Caravan event for Black Lives Matter began around 2 p.m. at Portland Community College Cascades Campus.
Those who took part in the PDX Car Caravan said they feel Portland is one of the most active cities in the nation right now and they’d like to keep the momentum going.
One of those who attended, Donna Hayes, said her grandson Quanice Hayes was killed by police about 3 years ago.
“I had a man yell at me, ‘All Lives Matter,'” Hayes told KOIN 6 News. “And I have to say all lives don’t matter until Black lives matter.”
Lezlee Flagg, who lives in Pendleton, came to Portland for the Car Caravan. She said “it’s an exciting time to see this movement take on so fully in this country and people from so many different walks of life involved. This is a way that people can protest and still feel safe as far as COVID goes.”
Saturday evening, a 7 p.m. rally and direct action march is scheduled for Ventura Park and being put on by a “coalition of BIPOC activists,” according to the event flyer.
Black Lives Matter events are also scheduled on Portland’s west side beginning this evening.
From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Pioneer Courthouse Square is a nonviolent protest put on by Portland United for Justice and Equality.
At Tom McCall Waterfront Park from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. is an event called Say Their Names: Vigil to Honor the Last 100 Black Lives Taken by Police.
On Thursday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was asked if he’s concerned the expected protests this weekend could turn violent and said of course he is.
The activities come one week after the escalating violence at dueling right wing vs. left wing protests left 2 men dead. Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a supporter of the far right group Patriot Prayer, was shot and killed near a pro-Trump rally and counter protest downtown on August 29. The man suspected of the killing, Michael Reinoehl, was killed by federal agents as they tried to apprehend him in Lacey, Washington Thursday night.
Court documents released Friday and obtained by KOIN 6 News show both Danielson and Reinoehl were armed.
In Vancouver, the home base for Patriot Prayer and leader Joey Gibson, a 4 p.m. memorial vigil was held for Danielson at Esther Short Park. Speeches were made along with prayers and a band.
On Friday, Facebook removed the pages of both Gibson and Patriot Prayer, labeling the right-wing group a “Violent Social Militia.”
KOIN 6 News reporter Jennifer Dowling contributed to this story.