RACE TALKS in Review: Kin Killin’ Kin

RACE TALKS in Review – September Live, Virtual Forum: Kin Killin’ Kin: Resolving Gun Violence in America

Thursday, September 16, 2021

Newcomers Welcome 6:45 PM, Program 7:00 PM

Live Virtual, All Ages

$25 Suggested Donation

Get your tickets now

Please reserve the Free General Admission tickets for our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Community Members, Students, and Seniors.

Consider making an additional donation to fund our Free Community Tickets!

On March 14, 2017 we hosted the forum, Kin Killin’ Kin: Resolving Gun Violence in America, which was inspired by James Pate’s featured art exhibit, “Kin Killin’ Kin;” and Passin Art’s theater production, “The Gospel of Loving Kindness.” The forum explored gun violence in America through artistic expression, personal testimony, trauma recovery, policing, community advocacy, and race and racism.

Our panelists included: Kimberly Dixon (Enough is Enough) Dr. Cyn Cannais (Avel Gordly Center for Healing); Captain Andy Shearer (Portland Police Bureau Gang Task Force); and Luis Aguilar (STRYVE–Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere).

This month, we revisit this panel discussion of gun violence with a sense of urgency and new obstacles to address:

  • City of Portland’s gun violence has reached a national high and echos rising gun related violence seen throughout the country;
  • The rise of white nationalism challenges the narrative that gang violence is limited to Black and Brown communities;
  • Portland City Council eliminated the Police Gang Task Force in 2020; and
  • Portland’s Police Bureau is facing increased scrutiny from the community and the Department of Justice.

Your Privilege is Showing

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RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism Produced By Donna Maxey Presents

A special two-part series: RACE TALKS Forums Thursday, July 15th and August 19th: Summer Series: Your Privilege is Showing

Thursdays, July 15th and August 19th, Newcomers Welcome – 6:45 PM
Program Begins – 7:00 PM

Did you miss out on our July Forum? Here’s your chance to catch the pre-recorded self-guided video and host your very own RACE TALKS dialogue with your family and friends. Once you register, we will send out a link with the video and instructions. Thank you so much for contributing and helping to keep this work going.

Extended registration is open until August 18th.

Register Now

Register for the August Forum on August 19th.

Register For August 19th Now

For over a decade, RACE TALKS participants have asked us, ‘What can I do to be a better ally to the communities that I am not a part of?’ This is a question we’ve explored in many of our forums. We’ve come to understand that while white people are most often scrutinized for their Performative Activism, the reality is that anyone is capable of it.

The 2021 RACE TALKS Summer Series is a virtual workshop experience that will guide you through your own discussion group with friends and family. Registration is required for this event. After you register, at the date and time of our virtual forum, we will send out an email with instructions on how you can participate.

The 2021 RACE TALKS Summer Series revisits past forums focusing on: Allyship vs Performative Activism, insight on updated models of how to dismantle Performative Activism, and how to be an accomplice in eradicating white supremacy and racism.

How David Became Goliath: Israel’s 100 Year War With Palestine


RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism Produced By Donna Maxey Presents

How David Became Goliath: Israel’s 100 Year War With Palestine

Thursday, June 17, 2021, Newcomers Welcome – 6:45 PM
Program Begins – 7:00 PM

By the beginning of the 20th century, Jews had spread and melded into the world’s main stream, and were suffering the beginning strains of persecution in Europe during World War I that would eventually crescendo in World War II Auschwitz. The 1917 Belfour Agreement, created by England and France in support of establishing a national home for the Jewish Diaspora, is the root of the clash between Israel and Palestine. Encouraged by the Zionist movement, the much-maligned Jews, a.k.a. David, migrated to Palestine and have since become Goliath as Israelis continue to annex the remaining Palestinian homeland for their own.

Recent events involving Israeli airstrikes over Gaza and the widely documented expulsion of Palestinian families from their homes by Zionist have highlighted the hostility between Palestine and Israel. Join us as we hear the testimony of Palestinians and Jews and their thoughts about where we go from here to find peaceful coexistence.

class=”has-text-align-center”>If you attended or watched the event, please fill out the event evaluation feedback form to let us know what you enjoyed or what we could do better.

The Execution of George Floyd One Year Later

RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism
Presented by Donna Maxey

A Community Check-In:
The Execution of George Floyd One Year Later

Thursday, May 20, 2021
Newcomers Welcome – 6:45 PM
Program Begins – 7:00 PM

If you missed the event, watch the event video below.

If you attended or watched the event, please fill out the event evaluation feedback form to let us know what you enjoyed or what we could do better.

A Conversation With The Candidates: Educational Policy + Issues Impacting Black and Brown Students

**SPECIAL RACE TALKS EVENT**
RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism Produced By Donna Maxey & Equitable Giving Circle Presents

Portland Public Schools: School Board Election Zones 4, 5 & 6
A Conversation With The Candidates: Educational Policy + Issues Impacting Black and Brown Students

Wednesday, April 12, 2021, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Join RACE TALKS & Equitable Giving Circle as the host a non-partisan candidates forum for the Portland Public School Board Elections – Zones 4. 5 & 6. Through a moderated Q&A discussion the candidates will speak about education policy + issues impacting Black and Brown students.

Moderators: Chris Rise – PPS Teacher & Hobbs Waters – Youth Artivist

If you attended or watched the event, please fill out the event evaluation feedback form to let us know what you enjoyed or what we could do better.

A Step Towards Justice: Where Do We Go From Here?

RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism
Presented by Donna Maxey and the City of Portland Office of Equity and Human Rights

A Step Towards Justice: Where Do We Go From Here?

Thursday, April 29, 2021 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict provided our nation and community some relief as we approach the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Like the rest of the country, Portland was shaken by Floyd’s killing, and it prompted our city to reexamine policing and systemic racism. In the spirit of collective healing, RACE TALKS invites you to join us for a special edition forum on Thursday, April 29, 6-8:30 p.m., where we continue to explore the P’s & Q’s of 2021.

Community leaders with widely varying perspectives will discuss topics of lawful gatherings, protest and policing, and quarantine. After the panel discussion, participants will be invited to either join the Community Feedback Breakout Rooms or a moderated Q&A. Anyone who attended the panel may stay for the moderated Q&A. The Community Feedback Breakout Rooms will be available to 150 participants only (registration will be first-come, first-served) and will allow the opportunity to provide invaluable feedback to city leaders. Join us in open dialogue to discuss how the year affected us all, and what we can do to move forward together in healing and conciliation.

If you missed the event, watch the event video below.

If you attended or watched the event, please fill out the event evaluation feedback form to let us know what you enjoyed or what we could do better.

Yearning to Breathe Free

Led by the Black Lives Matter Movement, the world rose up in protest of amid a deadly global pandemic after we witnessed the merciless murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police in May 2020. Today, incited by our 45th President’s comments blaming the Chinese for the Coronavirus pandemic, the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community needs our support as they face heightened racially motivated attacks worldwide. Join us as we discuss immigration through the intersectionality of anti-Asian rhetoric and the Asian Diaspora; the Black Lives Matter Movement and Stop Asian Hate Movement; Anti-Immigrant sentiment faced by our communities and much more.

Women in Cannabis: An Untapped Market

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March’s program is:

Women in Cannabis: An Untapped Market 

Thursday, March 18, 2021 

In 2018, RACE TALKS hosted, “Overturning Marijuana Convictions: Equitizing Marijuana Convictions for the Poor and People of Color.” This month, we discuss the new “Green Rush,” and explore the disproportional access that BIPOC have to the cannabis industry, especially Black people who remain incarcerated. The legalization of cannabis in 30+ states, and the impending federal legalization have given way to innovative and lucrative business opportunities derived wholly from cannabis. At the forefront of this new wealth creation are CIS white men, so we shift the focus for WOmen’s History Month to four Black women who are boldly pioneering their own path to level the cannabis playing field.

If you attended the event or watched the event on FB Live, please fill out the Evaluation Form so we can continue to improve our events.

The Presence and Impact of Trans BIPOC in Societal Uprising & Change

February’s program is:

Leading the Nation in Protest, Defunding, and Activism: Portland’s Community Update on Police Reform 

Thursday, Feb 18, 2021 

As a group, LGBTQIP2SAA+, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer, Intersex, Pansexual, Two-Spirit (2S), Androgynous and Asexual+, AKA the Rainbow Community, have traditionally been the least understood kinship in the US. However, their activism has led to changes that we are continuing to see with this newly elected administration. The 2020 Presidential debates, November elections, and 2021 installation of the President’s Cabinet bear witness to the decades of activism of the Rainbow Community.

In 2018, RACE TALKS hosted “CROSSING OVER: Transgender People of Color” where our speakers shared their transition journey. Today, we are re-visited by our former speakers who will share how the Rainbow Community’s activism has evolved; and how they, as BIPOC, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, are leading that (r)evolution.

If you attended the event or watched the event on FB Live, please fill out the February Evaluation Form so we can continue improving our events.