News
A twisted tale of authoritarianism, Orwell, Ukraine, fake news and Trump
Ukraine being used as a pawn between super states will come as no surprise to anyone who went to school with Andrea Chalupa. By the age of 12, she was giving talks to her bewildered classmates about the Holodomor, the Ukrainian famine that killed between 3 million and 5 million people in the early 1930s.…
William Monroe Trotter: A newspaper owner and a champion for equality | Book Review
“Black Radical” author Kerri K. Greenidge recalls that she was 7 years old when she first heard about the black civil rights crusader and journalist William Monroe Trotter. Over the years, his name has faded. Her grandparents who resided in Arlington, Mass., remembered Trotter with abiding admiration. Says Greenidge, now a professor at Tufts University:…
Oregon bill would boost funding to programs for hard-to-reach homeless youths
One dollar and 14 cents. That’s the number Rep. Cheri Helt (R-Bend) wanted people to remember at the close of the initial hearing on House Bill 4039 for homeless youths. “That’s how much our state funds each of our homeless unaccompanied youth, per day,” she said during Monday’s hearing before the Human Services and Housing…
Holocaust poetry and the reclamation of many identities
The first Holocaust poems were written 90 years ago, when the full extent of the horror was yet to be known. Starting in the 1930s, those first works foreshadowed the catastrophe that was soon to come. As the second world war erupted and the Nazi killings began, people continued to write poetry that recorded direct…
The racist foundation of American health care policy
On Jan. 27, the United States Supreme Court voted 5-4 to approve the Trump administration’s “public charge” law, also known as the health care ban. News of the decision was largely buried in the flood of dramatic impeachment headlines. The law has been fast-tracked and will go into effect Feb. 24. The aim is to…
Housing
Oregon bill would boost funding to programs for hard-to-reach homeless youths
One dollar and 14 cents. That’s the number Rep. Cheri Helt (R-Bend) wanted people to remember at the close of the initial hearing on House Bill 4039 for homeless youths. “That’s how much our state funds each of our homeless unaccompanied youth, per day,” she said during Monday’s hearing before the Human Services and Housing…
Our homeless neighbors need more than affordable housing; they need support
After a month when it seemed unlikely, Metro Council is now indicating that it will refer a homeless services ballot measure to the voters in May. The aim is to bring in at least $250 million annually for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties, most likely funded by taxing incomes on the wealthiest metro residents. More on…
Culture
Holocaust poetry and the reclamation of many identities
The first Holocaust poems were written 90 years ago, when the full extent of the horror was yet to be known. Starting in the 1930s, those first works foreshadowed the catastrophe that was soon to come. As the second world war erupted and the Nazi killings began, people continued to write poetry that recorded direct…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: High hopes for the future
Patti Mancini, Street Roots’ 2017 Vendor of the Year, has been a consistent vendor at Northeast 43rd and Sandy since 2011. Her reliability and affability make her a favorite among her regular customers and the employees of Whole Foods, where she often greets them as they come in for work. “We know when she’s here,”…
Opinion
The racist foundation of American health care policy
On Jan. 27, the United States Supreme Court voted 5-4 to approve the Trump administration’s “public charge” law, also known as the health care ban. News of the decision was largely buried in the flood of dramatic impeachment headlines. The law has been fast-tracked and will go into effect Feb. 24. The aim is to…
