PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Rose City Justice — the Portland group responsible for organizing massive demonstrations against police violence — will no longer hold nightly protests.
RCJ announced Tuesday on Instagram it will split into two movements: one focused on working with existing organizations “to produce more impactful and community demonstrations once a week” and another focused on holding monthly fundraisers.
The group hosted nightly rallies and marches attended by thousands of people for nearly a month before abruptly canceling a march a week ago. In its Tuesday post, RCJ said it needed time to process statements made against the group and some of its organizers.
RCJ posted the following statement on Tuesday:
“When the protests first started, there was no real direction. The community was in agreement that change needed to happen, but how that would happen was never addressed. In the void, a few individuals stepped up and saw an opportunity to elevate the voices that have been pushing this movement forward – all of yours. We are far from perfect, and we have made our mistakes. We do not expect the community to look to Rose City Justice as the experts on how to revolt properly, but to be a conduit for your voices to be further uplifted. We hear you when you say you need Rose City Justice to take accountability for misogynistic tweets, accusations from @thekinseymovement, and our lack of communication over the course of the weekend.
Our mission is to defund the police, reinvest those funds into BIPOC communities, and protect those communities moving forward – to create true equity and access to resources. Our supporters have marched with us every night and we are so tremendously grateful. When we heard criticism of having conversations with the police commissioner and the mayors office, we are very confused. The purpose of making noise is to be heard, to have a seat at the table when it comes to restructuring the PPB budget, and we are succeeding in these goals. Behind the scenes we have been working with existing businesses and non-profits to collaborate on social and community programs.
All of this work takes much time and planning, as does marching every evening. For that reason we have decided to separate our efforts into two movements. One of which is collaborating with existing organizations to produce more impactful and community driven demonstrations once a week. We also plan on hosting a monthly fundraiser produced internally by Rose City Justice.
Please continue to support us while we work with the city and our community to create meaningful and long-lasting change. To reiterate, we have not and will not spend any of the funds to date. Once we have chosen existing non-profits to ally with, we will make those organizations known as well as leaving our books open for public record.
As with every movement, we realize that there are people who actively work to discredit momentum and change. We acknowledge our faults, and we are aware that this movement is more important than any of the individuals involved. We will continue to uplift the voices of the BIPOC community and use the position we are in to continue to better impact our community as a whole.
Please stay tuned as we are supporting another community member’s demonstration this July 4th and want to reconnect with each and every one of you. See you at Revolution hall at 1PM.”