Opinion
Will privilege become extinct? Or will humanity?
The most enduring artifacts of the human species are our genome and our ideas. Epigenetic research shows propensities for addiction, anxiety, depression and fear conditioning are passed from one generation to the next. “Hurt people hurt people” is more than a clever phrase. It is a biological fact. Love, however, is how we thrive in…
Hospitality toward the poor: A not so novel idea
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door These are the last lines of the poem at the Statue of Liberty, set in raised letters on a bronze plate on its pedestal. There it is, a declaration of hospitality toward people who are homeless. It astonishes me. …
News
Japanese American incarceration and present-day migrant camps: Perspectives of 3 survivors
The haunting images of children caged in chicken wire, warehoused in government facilities surrounded by armed guards are chilling reminders of the U.S. government’s treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Three survivors reflect on the present in the context of a common past. ‘We’re repeating history’ Joni Kimoto never shared much with her…
Life on the Streets: Beating the heat
August is typically the hottest month of the year in Portland, with temperatures often soaring into the upper 80s and 90s. The downtown core is especially vulnerable, with canyons of sun-drenched buildings, searing metal cars and asphalt roadways absorbing, radiating and amplifying temperatures. Car exhaust, heat waste from air conditioning units and sunlight reflecting off…
Erased: How a transgender parent is being kept from his son
When Micah was first placed in his grandparents’ care at 6 months old, all involved agreed it was in the child’s best interest. His teenage parents were struggling with heroin addiction, which came to a head when law enforcement responded to an overdose at their Beaverton home in June 2009. Micah was camping with his…
Hospitality toward the poor: A not so novel idea
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door These are the last lines of the poem at the Statue of Liberty, set in raised letters on a bronze plate on its pedestal. There it is, a declaration of hospitality toward people who are homeless. It astonishes me. …
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: Time heals all wounds
The summer after he graduated from high school, Wayne Moore went to Chicago for the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He didn’t have much of an idea what he’d do when he got there. In fact, he spent his first day trying – unsuccessfully – just to get credentials to get in. What he did see…
