Standing in his office adjacent to the Portland Police Bureau鈥檚 North Precinct, Roy Moore is explaining how gentrification has escalated some instances of gang violence in the neighborhood.
鈥淲e kinda had territories and codes, so I鈥檓 not going to go over there unless it鈥檚 time to do something,鈥� explained Moore. 鈥淣ow, it might happen anywhere. Twelve in the morning, nine in the morning going to get my blunt paper, I need my pistol with me now because I don鈥檛 know who I鈥檓 going to run into.鈥�
Moore used to be in a gang. But today, he鈥檚 focused on his music and street level outreach with Antoinette Edwards, director of Portland鈥檚 Office of Youth Violence Prevention.
Edwards also grew up in North Portland, and said gentrification has eroded the community鈥檚 sense of belonging.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 like this is my hood but you鈥檙e looking at me like I shouldn鈥檛 be there,鈥� Edwards said.
Community Rupture
In the early 2000s, North Portland rapidly gentrified. A long history of discouraging home ownership for the mostly black residents and then a development boom meant a huge number of the residents were priced out.
As microbreweries and artisanal donut shops popped up all over, something else was happening, too. The predominantly black community who had lived there for more than half a century was being pushed out.
鈥淚f you build that high-rise and I can鈥檛 come up out of the basement and there鈥檚 no room for me anymore, it鈥檚 like I鈥檓 misplaced and I鈥檓 displaced,鈥� Edwards said.
When community and opportunity disappear, problems like gang violence can get worse. Edwards鈥� work focuses on crime prevention and intervention, and she said 鈥渞estorative justice鈥� is one way to rebuild community and work toward safer neighborhoods.
Antoinette Edwards takes a photo of bullet holes in an elderly couple鈥檚 North Portland home on Jan. 30, 2019, in North Portland, Oregon.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
Restorative justice doesn鈥檛 simply treat a crime as a law violation, it considers it an offense against the community. At its core is the principle that one鈥檚 actions have a very real impact on the people he or she lives with and interacts with on a daily basis. Edwards said the goal of restorative justice is to heal 鈥渢he harm that I鈥檝e done.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 acknowledging my piece that I鈥檓 accountable,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淎nd your willingness to acknowledge, to honor that and to do what you need to do in collaboration and cooperation with the person and the victim that you鈥檝e harmed.鈥�
That could be an apology or community service. It could also be participating in dialogue, listening and being heard.
Restorative Justice Today
The practice鈥檚 modern incarnation when Mark Yantzi, a probation officer in Canada, brought two teenagers responsible for a vandalism spree together to meet their victims. They went up and down the street, apologizing to the affected residents and hearing the impact. One man had bought a dog so he could feel safe again, another was in a lengthy insurance battle as a result.
Today, restorative justice is being used in cities like and , where gun violence has been a problem for years. But the idea is much older. around the world have practiced variations of restorative justice for millennia.
Conversations about how to build and heal community are happening in churches and community centers in North Portland.
Restorative justice is usually reactive. Something happens 鈥� a shooting, a robbery 鈥� and the victim and perpetrator are brought together to undo the harm. But it can be proactive, too.
Expanding The Conversation
Herman Greene is the pastor at and a program director at the , a Portland program to help foster positive self-identity for black youth.
Greene, his wife Nike and Edwards are using a restorative justice approach to address things like racism and culture bubbles. They say those are the underlying issues that keep causing the same results: harmful gentrification, lack of opportunity and gang violence.
Greene says the new residents in his neighborhood are still part of his community, even if they don鈥檛 look like him. And they also have to be part of the solution.
鈥淚鈥檓 not blaming you for the problem,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut you are a byproduct of the system that is in place that reinforces gentrification.鈥�
And changing that system means expanding the conversation.
In April, the mostly white Camas High School Choir came from Washington state to the Bethel AME Church in North Portland and performed , a choir piece using the last words of seven unarmed black people who were killed by police or authority figures, including Eric Garner, Amadou Diallo and Trayvon Martin.
They performed for mostly black students from Portland鈥檚 Roosevelt and Jefferson High Schools. This is part of a longer conversation the two communities have been having. In the weeks before today鈥檚 performance, the Roosevelt and Jefferson students went to Camas, and students from both schools had a chance to talk about their lives.
Students from Roosevelt and Jefferson High Schools listen to the Camas High School Men鈥檚 Choir perform 鈥淪even Last Words鈥� on April 26, 2019, at the Bethel AME Church in North Portland, Oregon.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
Greene鈥檚 daughter Taylor was one of the students who went. She鈥檚 a junior at Roosevelt High School in Portland. She said walking into Camas High School the first time, with its huge staircases and restaurants in the building, was uncomfortable.
鈥淰ersus we have to walk to McDonald鈥檚, that鈥檚 like down the street,鈥� she said.
Not only did she feel like she didn鈥檛 really belong there, but at first it felt like the white students just wanted to hear stories about black pain.
鈥淚 was kind of like, 鈥極h great, here鈥檚 more white people wanting to hear our story,鈥欌�� she recalled.
But after three meetings between the groups, she thinks the conversations are bearing fruit.
鈥淲e are slowly being able to get people to really understand,鈥� she said.
Other people in the audience agreed. After the choir performance, the students broke into small groups and were given conversation prompts to further their discussion.
One prompt asked, 鈥淗ow does art play a role in social justice and community healing?鈥�
鈥淎rt is an essential piece of the healing process,鈥� came an answer from from a man in the back row. 鈥淎s we just saw when they were singing, they just learned about this stuff but they could feel it.鈥�
Students from Roosevelt and Jefferson High Schools speak with students from the Camas High School Men鈥檚 Choir after the choir performed 鈥淪even Last Words鈥� on April 26, 2019, at the Bethel AME Church in North Portland, Oregon.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
These conversations are starting points for empathy and community, but they鈥檙e a small step in a huge problem. Greene said a strong community goes a long way to preventing violence, but it means everyone has to take ownership and invest.
鈥淚t鈥檚 your job to do whatever you can do to keep your community safe for your kids,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f that means you have to go out and say hello to people you wouldn鈥檛 normally say hello to, then you gotta go out and say hello.鈥�
Standing alone in the chapel after all the students and organizers had left, Taylor Greene wanted to know what happens when everyone goes back to their mostly white bubble.
鈥淎re you going to continue this conversation at lunch, or would we have to be there for that conversation to happen?鈥� she asked.
is a public media reporting project on the role of guns in American life.
Copyright 2020 Guns and America. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxNDQ2NDAxMDEyNzU2NzM2ODA3ZGI1ZA001))
