‘More than surreal': 5 years after George Floyd's murder and protests, Black Portlanders reflect
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The phrase 'Black Lives Matter' for many is a statement of fact, but for others, the phrase has become polarizing –forever synonymous with the images of the 2020 protests.
Five years after the murder of George Floyd sparked more than in the Rose City, a 12-essay/interview piece curated by Donovan Scribes and presented by the offers a reflection on one of the most critical times in Portland's history.
combines the voices of more than a dozen Black Portlanders to share what the movement meant for them, after a world — put on pause by a global pandemic — was forced to grapple with the deadly consequences of systemic racism.
Scribes, owner of D Scribes Communication Firm, told KOIN 6 News the idea to create a peace-centering Black voice stemmed from a place of exasperation.
'There's been a pretty intentional rush to decenter Black existence and Black demands over the last five years,' Scribes said. 'As somebody who was born and raised in Portland and has seen that movement get turned into a talking point of 'what's wrong with the city,' I had a lot of frustration around that.'
That's when Scribes said he got the idea to share his vision with the Portland Mercury of highlighting Black perspectives on the anniversary of George Floyd's death.
'It wasn't just the fact that George Floyd was murdered on camera for nine minutes, and we all got to see it,' Scribes said. 'It was also the fact that we were in a pandemic, and it forced a lot of people to see that.'
'And, so what does that mean when we have a bunch of anomalies that create the largest protest for our lives, but very quickly start to reset back into status quo? I don't know what that means for the future, but it is definitely concerning,' he added.
More than 40,000 copies of the free issue are slated to be dispersed in businesses and gathering places throughout Portland this week.
Clutching a copy, Scribes said, 'I wanted to make sure that there was an array of different voices so that we could have a different conversation. A conversation that was more in line with what 2020 was supposed to be -the reckoning.'
Included in the issue are works of those who marched on the front lines of the 2020 protests, like photographer Sai Stone.
His image which captured thousands of Portlanders in June, masked up and marching on MLK Boulevard is featured on the cover.
'The march itself, to be honest, was peaceful, and I wasn't expecting that,' Stone said. 'Part of me didn't even want that. I was just so angry, but it was a lot of love.'
Weeks before his pictures were set to be displayed at the Black Gallery in the Pearl District, the photographer and author of the book 'Our Streets,' carefully laid the images out, as he recalled the fear that followed the death of Floyd and the deadly pandemic.
'When I took these shots, it was just to document what was going on. I had no intention of showing the world,' Stone said. 'I see bravery, because everybody in this picture was told to stay home…I felt like if they were willing to risk it — as you can see a lot of these folks don't look like me — then I should, too.'
Stone's work is set to hang next to quotes from the Mercury paper as part of the Black Gallery's new exhibit starting June 5.
The gallery is run by Don't Shoot Portland founder Teressa Raiford and sits just down the street from where her nephew, Andre Dupree Payton, was shot and killed in 2010.
Raiford told KOIN 6 News she hopes the exhibition will not only highlight local artists' narratives but will offer the community an opportunity to use art and storytelling to address collective trauma and find a path forward.
'It's more than surreal to be in this position, five years later, and to know that a lot of the work to move forward is now being erased,' Raiford said, citing a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump aimed at rolling back police reforms.
Still, Raiford said gains made by the movement can be seen today, including improvements in how the media covers issues of officer-involved shootings and Portland Police no longer using tear gas as a means to control protests.
Long after murals came down and streets were renamed, she said the movement has always been about more than signs and marches, but instead about educating the community to understand what affects one affects all.
'Having Donovan curate this exhibition so that we can bring people into this space, so they can feel those moments and reflect –I think that people's takeaway, like mine, is one of resolve,' Raiford said.
Unsure of what the future holds, Scribes told KOIN 6 News he hopes the city begins to learn from the past.
'I want people to really sit with the weight of these things,' he said. 'The beauty of the words, even though the beauty comes from pain. And not just sit with it, think about how we can show up, continuously for Black lives.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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