Washington County Democratic Black American Caucus

01/08/2023

I hope everyone had a restful, joyful and inspiring New Year. I'm writing to you at the top of this year to announce that after nearly four years in the Washington County Democratic Party, Three of them as the Chair of the Washco Black Caucus, that I am stepping down as Chair.

This has been a difficult decision for me to make. I've struggled during the Winter break over whether this choice equates to giving up while knowing that there is no single way to achieve progress. It takes all forms and all peoples. For me, it is about being true to my values, being efficient and trusting my intuition, which has never steered me wrong. I do not see activism as necessarily separate from political offices and I too am continuing my decolonization work which means saying no to that which doesn't serve me so I can say yes to what I need to.

Some of you may know that I have a diverse background that includes art, journalism, news directing and forensics. Research is one of my love languages and in order to do this work, show up for a variety of political and community events and share the messages my communities want , I must pull back from the heavy recruiting duties of the B.A.C. At this time there is no one slated to take over this chair seat that I know of but I will welcome almost anyone from the Black community who feels inspired to do so. I will make sure to show them the ropes, connect them with the right people and assist with a smooth transition.

Expect me to still be present at the Black Advisory Business Council, the Washington County Central Committee meetings, to begin to show up more for Town Halls and Councils, to continue my duties as an elected State Central Committee Delegate, Washco P*P and community leader. I work best when I am with my people and standing unafraid in front of those who try to speak for us. I am never too busy to hear from my Black and Indigenous family---I have much gratitude for being able to serve as the B.A.C. chair these last few years, for the support, for how much our community has grown stronger AND I'm excited for the future..

Sincerely,
Zelos

04/06/2022

Tune IN TODAY @10:05 AM
DAs are supposed to serve the interests of the people who live in their county. DAs are public servants who not only work in courtrooms, but also affect your day-to-day life by supporting or opposing statewide policies and deciding how to spend taxpayer dollars.

09/24/2021

Hi everyone! If you were not able to attend our Central Committee this month, here's an opportunity to see our guest speaker Dr Marvin Lynn speak about critical race theory!

If you want to see more like this presentation, please be on the lookout for more on our diversity equity and inclusion series!

Click here to watch the video from our guest speaker Dr Marvin Lynn from the CC meeting!

Critical Race Theory, it’s Use, Misuse and Potential Application to Progressive Politics In this brief talk, Marvin Lynn, a leading scholar in the area of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Education, provided an overview of CRT, addressed the way it is currently being misused by the Conservative Righ...

09/15/2021

Join us to hear Dr. Marvin Lynn on September 22nd at 7pm!

The September Central Committee Meeting is ONLINE September 22, 2021 Meeting Details Critical Race Theory, it’s Use, Misuse and Potential Application to Progressive Politics In this

09/14/2021

B.A.C Meeting tonight! Zoom in! We're welcoming Akasha Lawerence-Spence as a guest and you will love her wisdom, sense of confidence and over all vibe. She is running to replace a seat in the senate, Ginny Burdick (D) Portland who is leaving at the end of 2021. Burdick was appointed by Kate Brown but Washington and Multnomah counties will be choosing the successor. The seat is on the NW Power and Conservation Council. Akasha has a strong law maker background, communications and arts background. She's committed to building infrastructure that works for the people.

We'll also be discussing Fall arts festivities. Come Thru!

Washington County Democrats Calendar The Washington County Democrats Calendar will feature events and meetings that are provided and sponsored by the Washington County Democrats, as well as like-minded organization events in the Washington County area. Blue dot events are official WashCo Dems events...

08/11/2021

BAC Meeting tonight! 7pm!

Did you know that our voting rights are becoming more limited today? Two years ago in the Supreme Court, (Shelby vs Holder) removed a key voting protection from the Voting Rights Act. This protection allowed the federal government to block discriminatory voting practices before they hurt the communities they were intended to attack. Now there is a large wave of voting restriction laws in the U.S. that are outnumbering the amount of voter discrimination laws during Jim Crow.

Join us to talk about
-Campaigns and Rallies concerning voting rights
-Washington County Health Literacy grant
-Housing informational meeting on the 18th with City of Portland, Multnomah County, Black and Beyond the Binary.
-Increasing diversity on The People's Commission advisory board.
Shemia Fagan needs our support
https://sos.oregon.gov/Pages/commission-application.aspx

We also want to thoughtfully plan events through fall, with covid prepardness in mind. See you at the BAC!

https://zoom.us/j/3546613315?pwd=SHpqdkVHdUc4dUxwVVpDNjY4R1hxdz09

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

07/22/2021

“We’re all on the moving walkway,” Torres said. “If you’re not racist, you’re kind of just standing still on the moving walkway, but you’re still complicit in societal racism because you’re part of society.”

“The only way to be anti-racist is to walk in the other direction,”

“One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an antiracist,” Kendi writes in How to Be an Antiracist, published in 2019. “One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an antiracist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist.”

It also requires an understanding of one’s own position in a racist society, many say, an acknowledgment that you can’t simply opt out of living in white supremacy by saying you’re “not a racist” — you have to actively fight against it. “Anti-racism is an acknowledgment of privilege in a way that, I think, simply disavowing racism is not,” Ranganathan said. “It takes seriously that we all are situated into different matrices of power and privilege, and the first step is to take stock of that and not to disavow it or invisibilize it.”

It’s not enough to be "not racist," experts and educators say.

07/17/2021

Hello Black Caucus Members and Democratic Party Colleagues,

It is my hope that you will read this important opinion piece and share with your networks. It's less than a 4-minute reading, but will likely have far-reaching impacts over the next four decades. The DPO Black Caucus will discuss this article, along with H.R.1/S.1, the "For the People Act" at our next caucus meeting. These issues not only severely impact racial minorities, but are harmful to ALL Americans.

Rosa Colquitt, PhD
Vice Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon
Chair, DPO Black Caucus and the DPO R.E.A.L. Special Committee
(Racial Equity, Accountability and Leadership)

In recent decades, voting rights progress has consisted of expanding access to a ballot and the ways to cast it—such as online registration, voting from home with mailed-out ballots and other options to vote before Election Day. Those innovations have been widely embraced, especially during the 20...

07/11/2021

Hi Everyone!

This is a reminder that we have a Washco BAC meeting this Tuesday 7pm-8pm. Below is a link to the agenda. Please feel welcome to add to it. I will be Zooming in from Nashville and will be two hours ahead of you.

BAC Agenda Link

BAC Meeting Agenda July 13th, 2021 General Report BAC member roles Online forums and groups update Pride/Black Trans Pride debrief Mutual Aid update Street mural update Neighborhood events think tank Supporting/endorsing(Brian Decker for Washco District Attorney, Akasha Lawerence Spence for Senat...