Respond to Racism

The Respond to Racism’s Board of Directors and Leadership Team strongly condemn Mayor Studebaker’s remarks which perpetuate racism in Lake Oswego. In an interview with KOIN TV on Monday, Lake Oswego Mayor Kent Studebaker said a racist sign incident that was in the news a few weeks ago, was a “one-off”. He mentioned that Lake Oswego has been working on the DEI “thing” for more than a year and we’re pretty far down the line on it. He acknowledged that the Black Lives Matter movement is a legitimate concern but that it has been blown out of proportion and he is sorry to see people using that issue as a way to loot and destroy property. Lastly, he says - “It’s not just Black lives that matter, I

Respond to Racism LO President and co-founder Willie Poinsette was recently interviewed by KGW for a story on the climate of racism in LO. Reporter Bryant Clerkley talked to Poinsette about the history of exclusion in the city and how Black people are often treated with suspicion. But she also had a message of hope: "We are saying not in this city, we are not just going to let it happen." Clerkley also talked to Justus Rogers about his experience of being Black in Lake Oswego. Read the whole story at kgw.com. Image is screenshot from story on kgw.com

Respond to Racism LO was recently featured on the ABC series "Localish". Check out the full segment below.

After learning about a message with racist hate speech in the community, Respond to Racism members located the site and decorated it with a message of support for Black Lives Matter. The mural/memorial for Black Lives Matter, which reads "Black Lives Matter, Love Not Hate Belongs In LO" was placed right by the spot of the hate speech. "Where the pit of hatred has been dug, seeds of love and revolution will grow" said the family who located the spot and posted the mural.

After a neighborhood dispute about a Black Lives Matter sign went viral, Willamette Week talked to Respond to Racism volunteer Bruce Poinsette about the work the group is doing. The incident centered around an anonymous letter written to a family with a Black Lives Matter message in their window. "On Tuesday, a resident of the affluent Portland suburb posted a letter that her family, which is East Indian, received in response to a sign placed in the window of their home supporting racial justice. The sign—which read "Silence Supports Police Violence"—apparently perturbed some neighbors, who wrote an anonymous letter asking for it to be taken down and claiming, among other things, that the di

Save the date for our next Community Meeting: September 14