Culture
Book review | As fascists cry censorship, a look back at Thomas Mann
Flames of ignorance and hate lit the darkness on a May evening in 1933. The consuming pyre was fed by thousands of heaped books set on fire by Nazis and their sympathizers. The incendiary event was the culmination of a torchlight parade of students, which ended on Opera Square in front of the University of…
Opinion
Book review | As fascists cry censorship, a look back at Thomas Mann
Flames of ignorance and hate lit the darkness on a May evening in 1933. The consuming pyre was fed by thousands of heaped books set on fire by Nazis and their sympathizers. The incendiary event was the culmination of a torchlight parade of students, which ended on Opera Square in front of the University of…
Opinion | 48 years later, Roe v. Wade hangs by a thread
This week marks 48 years since the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade established the legal right to an abortion. Yet nearly half a century later, abortion access is already out of reach for many people, making Roe meaningless for them. Since 2011, more than 480 abortion restrictions have been enacted in this country…
Kaia Sand | Ushering in a new era, together
Today, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in as president and vice president of the United States in a battened-down Washington, D.C. The streets are blockaded and filled with National Guard soldiers after armed insurrectionists, egged on by Donald Trump, stormed the Capitol two weeks ago. Here in Portland’s Old Town, we are…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile | Her optimism is infectious
Melissa Hansen’s roots run deep in the Pacific Northwest. She has spent time in Troutdale, Portland, Seattle and Alaska. After living for 20 years in Alaska, she settled in Seattle because her maternal grandparents lived there, and she needed to establish herself to set up her Social Security benefits. She was homeless and was looking…
News
Portland children’s hospital sees ‘horrific’ child abuse injuries
Child advocates at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel said that while the number of calls to Oregon’s child abuse hotline are substantially down from last year, they suspect child abuse and exposure to domestic violence are becoming more severe behind closed doors. “I’m hearing from our teams one of the biggest challenges is the…
Red House puts fresh spotlight on militant housing activism, but it’s nothing new for Portland
Protest signs remain outside the Red House on Mississippi Avenue in North Portland on Jan. 9, 2021. About this series As the current housing crisis deepens, groups of unhoused people and other activists around the country have increasingly taken a militant approach in the fight for housing for all. Street Roots is investigating this phenomenon…
Efforts to vaccinate Oregon’s disenfranchised populations face barriers
At a time when health care providers are accelerating mass vaccinations to get the COVID-19 vaccines into as many arms as possible, others are concerned that approach won’t work for everyone who needs a vaccine. Those who work with people experiencing homelessness, refugees and others who associate government and institutions with some form of trauma,…
Housing
Housing activists gear up for 2021 legislative session
In the distant past, 12 months ago to be precise, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) called for declaring a state of emergency on homelessness and beseeched legislators to approve $100 million to expand the state’s shelter capacity. She wanted to create navigation centers, or low-barrier shelters that offer social services, in Eugene and Salem.…
Red House puts fresh spotlight on militant housing activism, but it’s nothing new for Portland
Protest signs remain outside the Red House on Mississippi Avenue in North Portland on Jan. 9, 2021. About this series As the current housing crisis deepens, groups of unhoused people and other activists around the country have increasingly taken a militant approach in the fight for housing for all. Street Roots is investigating this phenomenon…
Efforts to vaccinate Oregon’s disenfranchised populations face barriers
At a time when health care providers are accelerating mass vaccinations to get the COVID-19 vaccines into as many arms as possible, others are concerned that approach won’t work for everyone who needs a vaccine. Those who work with people experiencing homelessness, refugees and others who associate government and institutions with some form of trauma,…
