Category: Portland, Oregon Local News

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Good Morning, Portland! February fakeout is fading, and today will be the last sunny, warm day for the foreseeable future.We’ve already been dipping back down to near-freezing at night, and tomorrow the rains begin again in earnest. Get out your Gore-tex and let’s squish the news.

IN LOCAL NEWS:
• There’s a new print Mercury out—on stands now! For the month of February, the paper is celebrating Black History Month with a feature package dedicated to Black innovation in Portland. Editor Donovan Scribes assembled a feature package on Black Portland innovators and changemakers you should know, a recap of significant moments in Portland and Oregon Black history from the last 10 years, and more!

• February 14 is not only [consumerist romance holiday], it’s Oregon’s birthday. She will be 167💅 and she expects gifts. Oregon Historical Society will offer free admission from February 13-15 because they are super obsessed with her.

• Complaints filed with the city allege that Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane’s office retaliated against an employee who asked for disability accommodations. The staffer was fired last month but said in her complaints that the councilor and her chief of staff created escalating tensions which culminated in her dismissal. The complainant believes her experience is merely part of a larger problem in City Hall, where the staff working for councillors have little protections from their bosses. Name names, you say? Taylor Griggs does!

• An Oregon bill currently awaiting vote would build on the state’s existing shield laws around providers’ liability insurance and their personal information while protecting them from out-of-state prosecutions, investigations and professional discipline. 

In the wake of Oregon hospitals ending access to gender-affirming care for minors, dueling state policies over abortion and increasingly hostile federal actions toward transgender Americans, Oregon Democrats say the state’s protections for doctors and patients need an update.

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— Oregon Capital Chronicle (@oregoncapitalchronicle.com) February 12, 2026 at 8:27 AM

• Following reports that Leach Botanical Garden was considering an unexpected closure in March, the nonprofit which cares for the grounds Leach Garden Friends says it’s now considering laying off half of its staff and drastically cutting its educational and cultural programs.

• Portland Community College (PCC) has an enviable modern music program: Music and Sonic Arts (MSA), which provides students with training in music recording, production, composition, and other tech skills. But funding cuts could lead to the MSA’s demise. College leadership says the program is being restructured. Proponents say canceling/changing the program leaves a diverse group of enrollees out in the cold. There’s a walkout planned! Read Jeremiah Hayden’s breakdown of the beat.

• Speaking of the beat, a long-prophesied, all-ages music venue from Friends of Noise is finally about to open. The grand opening show at the Off Beat kicks off with a mixed bill of queer punk royalty Team Dresch, the beat-heavy duo Brown Calculus, noisy shoegazers Spiderling, and the young grunge rockers Adnauseum. Read more about that and all the music scene updates you could possibly desire in Mercury Music Picks.

IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
• But about that laser. Plenty were pondering an abrupt order to close airspace around El Paso for 10 days, swiftly enacted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday. Trump administration officials claimed the closure was in response to drones from Mexican drug cartels, which required military response. It turns out that Customs and Border Protection were using an anti-drone laser on loan from the Department of Defense, but hadn’t given the FAA any notice or time to figure out if that would interfere with commercial aircraft / flights, etc. The order has since been lifted.

• But about that deployment:

Border Czar Tom Homan announces end to Operation Metro Surge, claiming success minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/12/b…

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— Minnesota Reformer (@minnesotareformer.com) February 12, 2026 at 6:46 AM

• But about that deployment part II: In August 2025, President Donald Trump declared an emergency in Washington DC, after a 19-year-old DOGE employee was beaten up by two other teens. Approximately 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to answer the call and were subsequently seen patrolling streets and taking on beautification projects, like trash removal. Since then, a few thousand National Guard troops have remained, their orders renewing every month or so, as part of what Army Secretary Dan Driscoll described as “ongoing efforts to restore law and order” in the US capitol. Orders for the task force were set to expire again at the end of February, but a recent renewal suggests guardsmen may remain on the “mission” through the end of 2026. Although the mission’s length can also be quickly shortened, depending on the President’s whims.

. • House Republicans are working to create stricter paperwork requirements for voting, ahead of midterm elections. A new bill, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (or SAVE Act) would require Americans to provide a US passport or birth certificate in order to vote, along with a valid photo ID. Some states already demand this. The measure passed the House, voted in along mostly party lines on Wednesday.

• Today in robot fights:

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— Ars Technica (@arstechnica.com) February 12, 2026 at 8:45 AM

• Time to bum out some millennials. Actor James David Van Der Beek has died. He was 48. Van Der Beek’s family announced his death Wednesday. The actor had made public that he was receiving treatment for colorectal cancer in 2024. Van Der Beek rose to prominence as the eponymous Dawson Leery on ’90s TV show Dawson’s Creek. The series also helped launch the careers Michelle Williams, Katie Holms, and Joshua Jackson. Van Der Beek went on to star in films like Varsity Blues and The Rules of Attraction. He also often parodied himself—for example, on the show Don’t Trust the B—— in Apartment 23—aware that his early fame had left him typecast as a ponderous heartthrob whiner. The gif of Dawson crying can rightly be called a foundational meme. My favorite Vand Der Beek role was his biting portrayal of Mighty Morphin Red Ranger in Joseph Kahn’s Power/Rangers short, which he also co-wrote. In it, he sums up the kid-friendly series with a new framing: “We were children asked to fight in an intergalactic war against an enemy we’d never even met. Let’s not pretend our side stood on some moral high ground.”

• Also sad: the drummer of the Pogues, Andrew Ranken, has died. He was 72.

• Sending you into Thursday, with nothing but love and respect for your polycule no matter how many members are in it—15, five, one? It’s all good. I love it for you. And literally that is A. WAY. to afford rent in Bushwick.

For the month of February, the Mercury is celebrating Black History Month with a feature package dedicated to Black innovation in Portland—edited by author extraordinaire Donovan Scribes. Including:

• 10 Black Portland Innovators and Changemakers You Should Know: Meet a few of the Black Portlanders who are reimagining and rebuilding the fabric of the city.

• Ronin Roc on Why He Sees Black Art as “More Than February”: Local artist Ronin Roc is well known for his artistic profiles of Black Portlanders and Americans. Learn more about his process (and his brand new gallery) in this interview with Juma Sei.

• 28 Moments In Recent Black History: History isn’t only in black-and-white photos… it’s happening now. Check out our recap of significant moments in Portland and Oregon Black history from the last ten years—one for every day of February!

• The Black Byline: Donovan Scribes pens another of his unmissable Black Byline columns—this one exploring the complicated history of “First Blacks” from a national and local perspective.

AND THERE’S MORE!

This issue also spotlights YOUR smart, romantic (and horny) Reader Valentines; a review of the delectable restaurant that pays respect to East Coast Italian food, Sunday Sauce; an interview with Portland’s current up & coming band du jour Nonbinary Girlfriend, a theater review of Racecar Racecar Racecar—the Lynchian production of a play from Portland-born Kalan Dana; a review of the irreverent new book, For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce (about dating apps and… corpses?); some hilariously Portland-specific clip ‘n’ send Valentines that your smart and funny friends will love; and lots more!

Pick up your print copy at more than 500 spots around the city, flip through a virtual copy here, or read the whole damn thing online!

[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s Black Innovators & Changemakers issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.]

Black History Month is equally about reaching into the stories of our past, as well as carving our futures with possibilities. It’s not simply a time to post nice quotes from the same historical figures. It presents us with an opportunity to recognize that history is, in fact, being made in the present day.

That history finds a strong heartbeat in the Northwest jewel that is Portland, Oregon. Across the board—from arts, sports, comedy, and activism—Black Portlanders continue to reshape the very fabric of the Rose City. Here are 10 Black innovators and changemakers in Portland (in no particular order) that you should know.

LaQuisha Minnieweather

One of the best organizers to ever hit the scene. A co-conspirator in my initiative The Kidz Outside (TKO), she single-handedly sourced nearly 1,000 backpacks, thousands of pounds of food, more than 200 bikes, and more resources than I can count over the last four years of our annual festival.

Pre-TKO, Minnieweather helped source tens-of-thousands of dollars in mutual-aid resources for houseless folks during the apocalyptic Alameda Fires that ripped through Oregon in 2020.

Jared Leaf

For two seasons, this Portlander has been in the director’s seat of BET’s number one digital series, Churchy, starring comedian KevOnStage. And now, he’s released a short film executive produced by Jordan Peele himself, titled Spilled Milk and starring Kid Cudi (who also scores the film) under Peele’s imprint MonkeyPaw Productions.

Also stay tuned for Leaf’s new series, Taste Black Portland, exploring the depth of the city’s culinary scene.

Damian Lillard

He’s back! I don’t even watch sports anymore and I felt some type of way following his 2025 return to the Blazers. Dame, who of course traded his Blazer jersey for the Milwaukee Bucks, had become a town fixture beyond the court, and has been an overflowing fountain poured into the youth, lending his star power to the local hip-hop scene, all while putting points on the board.

To leave the city, and then return to put the “0” back in the 503, is exactly the type of light we need in these very dark times. Again, I don’t watch sports, but he got a standing ovation from the Milwaukee Bucks after his first game back to his former team’s court in a Blazer jersey, so it’s obvious we’re not the only ones who appreciate his impact. But back in Rip City—we’ve got a lot more to cheer for: Once again—it’s Dame Time!

esperanza spalding

Not all Grammy-winners are cut the same (looking at you Drake). Hometown jazz extraordinaire esperanza spalding is staying rooted in the Rose City, and quite literally inviting others to do so as well with the launch of her artist community, Prismid Sanctuary.

Located in St. Johns, the building sits on nearly an acre with a farmhouse, intended to center “cultural, ecological and wellness programs.” This includes using the space for artist residencies, workshops, and other creative practices that help you become one with yourself.

Michael “Chappie” Grice 
(posthumous)

Truly a lifelong teacher, Chappie, who co-founded the illustrious arts organization, World Arts Foundation, never stopped serving our youth. Between San Francisco and Portland public schools, Chappie was always thinking about the next generation. Inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen, he also launched an entrepreneurial program to foster interest in aviation for middle- and high schoolers (even bringing one of the last living Tuskegee Airmen to Portland during the 2010s).

His passing in September at age 77 leaves a void in the city, currently being filled by a trail of mentees and the large network of lives he touched and improved during his lifetime.

Javonnie Shearn

As founder and executive director of Up and Over and Glenda’s Garden, for years Shearn has been quietly getting dozens of people off the streets and into housing. A dedicated advocate for those on the margins of the margins, her servant heart was born from life experience: Her son, who lived with schizophrenia, was released from the Oregon State Hospital onto the streets more than a decade ago.

After relentlessly searching for him, the two finally reconnected and shared life together until his passing in 2023. Late last year she published a book about their journey, Someone’s Someone.

Keon Loyuk

He’s the tour guide Portland never knew it needed. His Instagram page is like Portlandia for those who know the difference between Portland and P-town. He knows the hotspots. He knows the notspots. And his Instagram and TikTok posts that commonly conflate the two are single-handedly changing the way we look at and laugh about our city.

From what he calls the “midnight ballerinas” of 82nd Avenue, the people-watching at Dawson Park, to the unique sights and sounds of Union Station, Keon’s got the inside scoop on all things Rose City underground.

Shannon Olive (posthumous)

She loved and supported the women who are often discarded by our society. The founder of WomenFirst Transitional and Resource Center, Olive helped people transitioning out of prison find housing and jobs, all while providing a network of peer support. A fierce justice advocate, she was a champion of Measure 110, and was able to expand WomenFirst’s impact through its funding.

Olive served on Home Forward’s board of commissioners, and was dedicated to keeping people housed. She left us with these words: “I was a trailblazer. I left my footprint. And most of all, I kept the faith.”

Alexis Ames

A staunch advocate for tenant rights, Ames helped stop an illegal rent increase for an entire apartment complex in Molalla, Oregon. The occupants were a mix of working class Oregonians, some without English as their first language, and if she hadn’t reached out to those needing help, they would have been stuck in that nightmare.

During her career, she has stood up multiple tenant unions while supporting dozens of renters to have their voices heard in the Oregon Legislature. While technically living in Vancouver, Washington, she’s put it down for the soil with so many Oregon accomplishments that we’ll ignore the little river that divides us.

Candace Avalos

She helped lead the reformation of the Portland city council she now sits on. Representing East County, Avalos takes an unabashedly millennial approach to governing in the 21st century, and continues to be a consistent voice for keeping people housed, not allowing police to pounce on every corner of poverty to inflate their budgets, and helping Portland live up to its green values.

[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s Black Innovators & Changemakers issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.]

History isn’t just in the black and white photos. It’s living and breathing, forever informed by the decisions we each make every sunrise. In the last ten years, there has been an incredible amount of activity to transform Oregon by its Black residents. Here are 28 moments, one for each day of Black History Month, that have shaped the state in the past decade.

1. Sneaker-Themed Coffee Shop Opens (2016)

Former Nike shoe developer Ian Williams grows from a mobile coffee cart to a full-fledged sneaker-themed coffee shop—Deadstock Coffee—in Old Town.

2. SummerWorks Program Sees Historic Growth (2016)

SummerWorks is a program that pairs local youth with paid intern opportunities at local businesses during the summer. Launched by Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith, the program, which began with 11 young people, grows to 1,000+ participants.

3. Teaching With Purpose Conference Hosts Nipsey Hussle (2017)

NE Portland native Karanja Crews hosts his 8th annual Teaching with Purpose Conference. Rapper Nipsey Hussle keynotes, less than two years before he was murdered.

4. Co-Operator of Portland’s First Black Owned Cab Company Dies (2017)

Willie Mae Young, who helped operate Beacon Cab, the first Black-owned cab company in Portland, dies. She was also the first Black nurse at a prominent hospital on the city’s westside.

5. Williams and Russell Property Returned to Community Control (2017)

Two acres, seized in the heart of Portland’s Black community for an expansion of Legacy Emmanuel Hospital that never happened, laid bare for decades. The City of Portland, in cooperation with the hospital, return the land at N. Williams and Russell to Black community members to determine the future of the site’s development.

6. “Yes, There Are Black People in Portland” Billboards (2018)

Benson High graduate Aminé releases his first studio album Good for You on the heels of his platinum-selling single “Caroline.” To promote the album, he launches viral billboards poking fun at the perception of his hometown.

7. Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center Begins Work to Transform Black Arts Facility (2018)

Commissioned by Charles Jordan, the first Black city councilor in Portland, this firehouse-turned-performing arts facility becomes a treasured hub of Black arts in the ‘80s. After a series of financial hits leaves the building vacant, Commissioner Amanda Fritz stands up an advisory committee to restore it to its rightful legacy.

8. Green Hop Opens as Nation’s First Hip-Hop Dispensary (2018)

Karanja Crews and Nicole Kennedy launch this green and yellow business which becomes Portland’s first hip-hop themed dispensary, later renamed Green Muse.

9. First Juneteenth Celebrated in Gresham (2019)

Beyond Black hosts the first Juneteenth celebration in Gresham, Oregon. The celebration brings thousands of people to Vance Park with music, art, food, and an official proclamation.

10. Jo Ann Hardesty Becomes First Black Woman Elected to Portland City Council (2019)

Dedicated police reform advocate Jo Ann Hardesty elected as the first Black woman on Portland’s city council. The historic race sees her face off against Loretta Smith, who is also Black.

11. Portland Street Response Launches (2019)

This unarmed, trauma-informed first response program changed the 911 infrastructure. Championed by Commissioner Hardesty, this program offers a real alternative to calling police for disturbances and emergencies.

12. “1619 Project” Debuts (2019)

This multimedia project crash-lands into the world’s consciousness, transforming how we talk about the legacy of slavery in America. Released by the New York Times, locals can be proud knowing its creator Nikole Hannah-Jones spent many years writing here for The Oregonian on its education beat.

13. George Floyd Protests Ignite Portland (2020)

George Floyd’s murder ignites the largest global protests for Black lives in history. Portland’s protests continue for more than 100 days, becoming a focal point in the movement amongst various calls to defund the police.

14. Geneva’s Shear Perfection Closes (2020)

This was the premier spot for Black Portlanders (and visiting celebrities) to get a shape up. During COVID, after more than 30 years in business, it was announced that “The Mayor of NE Portland” Paul Knauls was closing the shop’s doors.

15. Gresham Elects First Black Mayor (2021)

The decision came down to 13 votes: Travis Stovall goes on to defeat Eddy Morales in a highly competitive race—becoming the first Black mayor of Gresham.

16. Albina Descendants Secure $8.5M in Restitution (2021)

Following Albina residents seeing their family homes and businesses destroyed through eminent domain, and after a multi-year legal battle, the City of Portland allocates $8.5 million to a group of 26 descendants.

17. City of Portland Endorses Reparations (2021)

As part of the city’s federal legislative strategy, they endorse lobbying for reparations for Black and Indigenous communities. Every year since the late ‘80s, HR 40, a bill to commission a federal reparations study, is introduced in Congress but never advances to the full House for a vote.

18. 8 Seconds Rodeo Debuts (2023)

Thousands pack out this Black rodeo donning cowboy boots, hats, and other festive getups. This sold-out event becomes the first Black rodeo, which is birthed in part, during the first Juneteenth in Gresham.

19. 1803 Fund Launches (2023)

Rukaiyah Adams unveils the 1803 Fund, along with a $400 million investment from Phil Knight. Supporting the economic vitality of Black Portlanders, the fund stands as the largest Black-woman owned investment fund in the United States.

20. Intisar Abioto Curates Largest Black Takeover of PAM (2023)

Born out of her deep research, Intisar Abioto launches the largest curation of Black artists from the Pacific Northwest at Portland Art Museum. The mega-curation features 69 Black artists, dead and alive, in a prolific multimedia experience.

21. Ten Year Anniversary of Natural Hair Care Act (2023)

After learning that anyone who wanted to do someone’s natural hair had to do the same amount of training as a licensed barber or beautician, Amber Starks worked to change this law in Oregon. Her work leads to a series of natural hair care businesses being stood up throughout the state.

22. Janelle Bynum Becomes First Black Person Elected to US Congress in Oregon (2024)

During 2020 she was the only Black woman in the Oregon Legislature. In 2024, the centrist business owner mounts a winning campaign for a U.S. Senate seat, flipping the district from red to blue.

23. Racist Geography Names Replaced to Honor Black Pioneers (2024)

The US Board on Geographic Names renames Negro Jack Creek in Tillamook to Jack Creek, and Negro Creek in Douglas County to Triple Nickles Creek. The effort, led by Oregon Black Pioneers, respectively honors the life of a man named Jack (likely Black) who lived in the area during the late 1800s, and an all-Black army unit from WWII stationed in Oregon.

24. Albina One Opens (2025)

Albina Vision Trust, the largest restorative redevelopment effort in the nation, opens its first affordable housing development, Albina One. The 94-unit, family-centered housing is the first building erected to restore Lower Albina’s legacy as a hub of social and artistic innovation.

25. Portland Hip-Hop Week Turns 10 (2025)

Founded by Portland hip-hop pioneer Starchile and Portland Trail Blazers’ DJ O.G. One, this event, which kicks off with hip-hop performers in front of City Hall, was created to bridge tensions between local government and rappers. While Starchile passed in 2017 from cancer, the event grows from a single day to an entire week of events, including rap, dance, professional development, and an award ceremony.

26. “BlackOut: A 5-Year Retrospective of Portland’s Racial Justice Protests” Publishes (2025)

Featuring 12 essays and interviews, this special magazine created by Donovan Scribes and published by the Portland Mercury recounts the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder through the lens of Black Portlanders. 40,000 copies are circulated, inspiring art, a public forum, book clubs, and school curriculum.

27. The Skanner Shutters (2026)

After a celebrating a half-century of publishing, Oregon’s largest Black news outlet announces its closure. The paper, which went fully digital in 2020, released a special print edition with essays, archival photos, and celebratory notes to commemorate their 50th anniversary last summer. Owned by Bernie and Bobbie Foster, the paper’s closure leaves a void in the media ecosystem and the soul of Black Portlanders.

28. Portland Mercury Publishes its First Black History Month Issue (2026)

Traditionally, February has been the month we at the Mercury focus on sex and love. This year marks the first year we dedicate these pages to Black History Month.

[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s Black Innovators & Changemakers issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.]

Sometimes celebrating Black History Month feels fraught. It’s a blessing to carve out 28 days of remembrance in February, but why isn’t it 30 or 31? Why does March 1 feel like a return to business as usual? Why–for most–isn’t celebrating Black history more usual?

These are the questions that underpin More Than February (MTF), an emerging art gallery near the heart of Old Town/Chinatown. Ronin Roc is the gallery’s chief curator. He’s also an artist whose experience navigating Portland’s creative landscape has made accessibility a primary mission.

Ronin is most widely known for his vibrant digital portraits, featuring a host of Black icons with global, national, and local significance. Much like the MTF brick and mortar itself, his charge is to create a sustained, shared platform to elevate Black creativity in full dimension.

At present, these portraits adorn the walls of MTF in Old Town. They’re a fitting background to imagine what the space will become.

MERCURY: What was the initial idea behind More Than February?

RONIN ROC: I had the idea while watching Black Panther with my son. I drew Chadwick Boseman while watching, and people were excited by the piece. So, I challenged myself to draw a different Black figure every day in February. I also saw an episode of Black-ish and heard this line: “We’re more than just February.” It stuck with me. Even if I drew a new figure every day of the year, I’m not gonna get even close to all of our civil rights leaders, let alone the other influential Black people. It’s really hard to choose who I do next.

How do you choose?

Usually I get inspired by something. Now, I do take commissions and stuff–like the one of Nina Simone. I got commissioned by, actually–not Black people.

Does that happen often?

Yeah, it’s surprising how many people from other nationalities are into my art. There’s way less people who own one piece of my art, rather than multiple pieces. And I didn’t realize how well it all looks together. Each one, by the time I get done with it, I’m like, “This is the best piece I’ve ever done.”

What’s your favorite right now? 

I’m doing all of the Wu-Tang Clan. So far, I have RZA, ODB, and I just finished Method Man. I stayed up until six in the morning trying to finish Method Man, and then I cracked my screen. 

Do you use your computer? iPad?

I have Photoshop open on my computer and draw with my iPad. I like the physical labor of painting on the screen. The shortest amount of time any piece has taken me—wow, recently with ODB—was six hours. Usually it takes me a minimum of eight hours. The longest was 30 hours.

Who was that?

Kobe Bryant. The Cowboys—Bill Pickett and Bass Reeves—took an insanely long time too; my reference was this destroyed black and white photo. 

How do you learn about the people in your portraits?

While making the piece, I’ll watch or listen to any media that correspond to the person. I learned a lot from doing Angela Davis. I knew who she was, but I didn’t truly know her story. I knew “Power to the People,” but I didn’t know what it really meant.

What does it mean to you?

That the system puts us against each other, when the enemy is something much larger than us. Like, white people who are poor and disenfranchised are being taught that all their plights in life are due to Black people. But if we work together, these multi-millionaires can’t use us to fight each other.

I see a portrait of Mr. Paul Knauls, a local hero. How did you decide on him?

There are so many local civil rights leaders in Portland, but I couldn’t name 10 of them. Not only that, my kids can tell you parts of the “I Have a Dream” speech and the history of Malcolm X, but they can’t tell who stopped segregation in our own city. They can’t tell you that the original home for the Black community in Portland was Chinatown. It made me want to paint the influential Black people of our community. Also, our new guard. Like Ian Williams who owns Deadstock Coffee. He’s been a very supportive friend; between the art, the morning show, and other things.

Morning show?

We did a morning show called “Your Morning Drip” and it was the hugest labor of love in my life. But Ian and I were like, “We’re going through this Black renaissance in Portland, and we have very few outlets that are sharing our point of view.”

I guess that wraps into Mr. Knauls perfectly. I used to go to Geneva’s as a kid–I got my prom haircut there. I learned so much when making his portrait. He helped fundraise for the Martin Luther King Jr. statue in front of the Oregon Convention Center. He also helped fundraise for the military housing we have in the city. I knew he owned the Cotton Club, but didn’t know that it was a home base for all these different genres of music. Eventually, I want to make a coloring book to educate kids about our local heroes.

Are you familiar with the Hometown Heroes series? In 1993, a local teacher–Lolita Darby–had her elementary school students create a similar series of community profiles. 

I’m working with Stephen Green on something like that now, and it’s so important. Like the history of Beatrice Morrow Canady’s house—the fact that we have to fight to recognize our own history. These stories should be more easily accessible for our children.  

You said that Portland is in a Black renaissance. Say more.

I think it is. Even with us opening this art gallery. We can house Black joy, we can show Black art, we can nurture new Black creators. I don’t want to be a gatekeeper, so one of the walls is dedicated to first-time Black artists.

It excites me that more spaces are concretizing Black culture in Portland’s built environment.

And it’s more than just us. Cyrus and Wale are making their own Black gallery down the street. Just up the block, there’s The BLACK Gallery from Don’t Shoot PDX. I want all Black people to win.

Who has inspired you over the years?

The greatest teacher that I’ve had is adversity. Like the people who have stood in the way of this gallery–this is our third evolution. We’ve been promised gallery space before, then gotten it taken away and given to a white group–told that they know more about art and culture.

There’s a certain type of Black person that Portland is good with. I don’t have a Nike badge. I don’t work at Wieden + Kennedy. I don’t have a day job at Intel. I’ve done art my entire life. That’s not to speak bad about any of those people–again, I want all Black people to win–but when you’re not the cool kid in the city, you doing something dope doesn’t matter as much as someone else trying to create it.

There’s a lot of imposter syndrome that comes into being an artist. But I do have people who push me–like my mother, my children’s mother. My biggest inspiration of all is my son. Without him, the series would have never started.

Other inspiring co-conspirators are Donovan Scribes and Mac Smiff. They were utterly supportive through the protests. We didn’t always have to agree on things, but we always had space to listen.

Who got you into art?

When I was a kid, my big cousin Hassan was drawing and was way better than I was. I wanted to be just like him. Since then, I’ve always drawn and done pictures. I also had an amazing art teacher in college–Dave Anderson. He taught me so much about style. Being technically great at art is fine, but the most important thing in art is your style.

How did you develop yours?

The reason why I do digital art and not physical painting–even though I’m classically trained as a painter–is that I would have to make unaffordable art. But the way I do my work now, there’s no original.

I appreciate how core accessibility is to your philosophy. Especially if we think about your most sold piece, Angela Davis.

That’s one of the most sold. Two of the most sold pieces are in front of you [in the gallery] right now. I’d love to hear your guesses.

Malcolm X and Tupac?

Nah.

Damn. Nipsey Hussle and Sade?

Yeah, Damian Lillard is also up there. I did that after he left Portland. It was my effort at some good juju to make him come back. And it worked! I made an eight-foot print of him, and there’s one hanging up in the Moda Center. I like to say that I willed Dame back to the city.

It must be meaningful to have your work visible to so many. Are there any other series you want to explore next?

There’s a few that we have coming out. I just did Jackie Robinson. But doing the Portland civil rights leaders is something that I really want to do.

I’m also working on Richard Pryor. I want to do a whole series of Black comedians, because they’re our modern-day storytellers. Dave Chappelle talked about that: there are these Black storytellers in African culture and every time one of them died, it was like burning down a library.

Another one that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time–aside from Ali–is a series solely featuring Black women and mothers. There’s a lot of amazing civil rights leaders who were mothers, not only to our culture, but in general.

I look forward to that work. What’s up next for the gallery?

We’re gonna have our grand opening in February. It’s so funny how everything comes back to February.

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More Than February (322 NW 6th) is set for its grand opening on February 13 from 6 pm to 9 pm. Visit morethanfebruary.net and @morethanfebruary on Instagram to learn more.

[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s Black Innovators & Changemakers issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.]

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Domino. Domino.

Only spot a few Blacks the higher I go.”

—Jay-Z, “Murder to Excellence,” 2011

The Inauguration

I almost went to Kamala Harris’ inauguration. “Almost,” of course, is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The former vice president came up short against Donald Trump’s Third Reich… I mean, third run at the Oval Office. Harris, who would have been the first woman to ascend to the country’s top office, is admittedly many stone throws away from my politics. But in a land of constant dreams deferred, I was struck that, maybe this time, the top-of-the-top may be finally cracked by a Black woman.

Could she be the First Black woman to be president?

Kamala, or rather her platform, was hardly inventive. When engaged on its fundamentals, it was largely conservative. Not conservative like Charlie Kirk… conservative meaning, it preserved many pieces of America as is—just as a conservationist preserves the trees of a forest. It was a platform that largely fit hand-in-glove with Bidenomics: protect corporate global interests, overfund all military and law enforcement, and yes—promote electric cars, along with a dash of maternal health reform, abortion protections, and a short-lived national rent cap promise.

So while racists and right-wing extremists predictably (and laughably) labeled her a “communist” and “Comrade Kamala,” it’s noteworthy that the former San Francisco district attorney—while certainly more left than any Dixiecrat—was hardly the face of The Revolution™.

I mean, she campaigned with Liz Cheney, guys.

Like, Dick’s daughter.

Dick’s daughter, guys.

I was a senior in high school when Barack Obama first blazed the presidential campaign trail. When he made his stop in Portland to shore up liberal votes, my mom forced me to attend, talking about “history” or something. I did not want to go. By the time I left the coliseum, that had changed. When Election Day ‘08 came around, I was as swept up in Obama-mania as anyone. And in many ways, I’m unsure if I would’ve become the man I am today—with abolitionist critiques of Obama, while also maintaining a level of admiration—without the eight years he gave me a mirror as the First Black President.

So too, I considered Kamala for my two girls.

Identity Politics

Charlie Kirk was not a Klansman. He was a podcaster.

And as his millions of fans said after he was killed last year, “he just talked to people.”

Except he didn’t just talk. He was a prevailing force of erecting and fortifying permission and policy structures around the country.

In addition to claiming Black people were “better under Jim Crow,” he also had an amazing habit of attacking people who just happened to be Black.

His greatest hits include stating that Ketanji Brown, Michelle Obama, Joy Reid, and the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee “didn’t have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a White person’s slot to be taken somewhat seriously.”

And of course, when he called MLK “awful” and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a “great mistake.”

RIP Charlie—he loved a good “talk.”

“Identity Politics” certainly do not replace my need for good policy. However, race and gender continue to be handed down as heavy heirlooms bestowed down to each generation of Americans.

This means, for many Black citizens, the prospect of shared experience in a candidate, often carries a hope that representation will also result in some level of transformation.

Last fall, Harris did what all presidential hopefuls do when their dreams are deferred—she published a book. During her nationwide book tour she made a stop in Portland. On stage, she was engaged by one of the quintessential changemakers of our time, Rukaiyah Adams, of the 1803 Fund. Their hourlong dialogue found the pair exchanging fewer theories on policy, and more on what it means to be a Black woman carrying the weight of the country’s expectations right now.

Just hours after Harris announced her candidacy, Win With Black Women sent an invitation to its 4,000 members to support her ticket and organize through a Zoom call. By the end of the call, more than 44,000 people had joined in—raising $1.5 million for the campaign in three hours.

“I was one of those women,” Adams submitted to the vice president from the stage.

Pain. Pride. Sisterhood. All nuzzled in those few words.

First Blacks

In America, much emphasis is put on “First Blacks.” First Blacks are important to the American story. They show, at the very least, possibility—in this so-called promised land of opportunity. This possibility is often maximized in the country’s mythmaking as a beacon—proof of pathways to collective prosperity. For if they could do it, so could you (even if untrue). So too, First Blacks often bear the weight of history as they maneuver their present. First Blacks are rarely the first qualified—they are just the first to crack the ceiling.

And so, low and high, First Blacks often provide us unique insight on the State of the Union.

Case in point: Few names in Portland politics ring as many bells and sirens as Jo Ann Hardesty, the First Black woman elected to Portland City Council. During her four years in office, Hardesty, a Baltimore-bred Marine veteran, often found herself in the crosshairs of the city’s centrist and business class.

Elected in 2016, Commissioner Hardesty led the transformation of the city’s 911 infrastructure with the launch of Portland Street Response, an unarmed, trauma-informed, first-response program that provided a real-life alternative to police. She championed the Portland Clean Energy Fund, a tax which buoyed environmental efforts across the city and has been looked to as a national model.

Despite such accomplishments, Hardesty, like Harris, discovered the claws of racism firmly entrenched in her almost every move.

Former Portland Police union president Brian Hunzeker leaked a false claim to the media that Hardesty was involved in a hit-and-run during the heat of her re-election bid. While the claim was debunked, it likely played a role in ushering her law-and-order, Republican-lite successor, Rene Gonzalez, into the seat. In the end, Hardesty sued the city, was paid a $650,000 settlement, and has since stepped away from the spotlight.

Today, however, sprouting from the family tree of Hardesty is a solid bloc of progressives on the newly expanded and reformed 12-person Portland City Council. The so-called Progressive Caucus (the multicultural group of folks colloquially known as “Peacock”), was elected during the same cycle Harris lost her bid for president.

Much like Hardesty, Peacock has been crawling up the asses of centrists and extremists aplenty. The Mercury’s recent report, “Racist, Dehumanizing”: Chat Images Show Portland Power Players Disparaging Councilors of Color,” outlined this dynamic in depth, detailing text exchanges including powerful developer Brian Owendoff and some colleagues who notably, during the vote for council president, referred to Peacock members using racist and homophobic language.

Owendoff and his colleagues’ messages provide insight to an uncomfortable truth—not all systemic barriers are erected (or fortified) by card-carrying Segregationists. Sometimes they are—as Owendoff said while defending himself against the Mercury’s article—“volunteering 4 hours of their time, helping African and middle eastern refugees with affordable housing.”

Reconstruction Era

In the decade following the Emancipation Proclamation, this era welcomed the largest wave in American history of Black officials serving at local, state, and federal levels. From 1865 to 1877, about 2,000 Black people held elected office—marking the first time America’s democracy became anything beyond White powered. Black women, of course could not vote (nor run) then, because they were women, and America was and is ruled by the patriarchy. But this time—the Reconstruction Era—represented the potential of transformation beyond the surface. As formerly enslaved people rose to the ranks of power, their lives improved.

This came to a halt as Republicans and Democrats soured on the prospect of shared representation, power, and democracy as the country took on a series of economic hits. White supremacist groups then saw an uptick in activity, particularly in the Ku Klux Klan.

And with this rise, everymen and electeds (hooded or not) effectively Deconstructed a prospect of shared democracy, through a series of racist physical and legislative attacks on Black officials and voters.

Famed scholar, W.E.B. Du Bois, who was the First Black man to graduate from Harvard, penned a book titled Black Reconstruction. In it he recounts the end of this era saying, “The slave went free, stood a brief moment in the sun, then moved back again toward slavery.”

This Deconstruction lingers today, in our multicultural democracy where most Americans are now eligible to vote. Harris, elected in 2016, was just the tenth Black person to ever serve in the U.S. Senate. She was only the second Black woman to hold a federal Senate seat. She was the first woman to become Vice President.

She was then, in her attempt at the Oval, the First Black woman to fall from so high.

The Inauguration (Reprise)

I was going to go to Kamala’s inauguration. I would have gone guarded, knowing I would have been witnessing—as she put it during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention—her becoming the head of the “strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world.”

Not a Revolution. Not even a Reconstruction.

Simply a reframing of the forest.

However the fact of the matter remains—the majority of the voting public will still take the unwieldy hand of a maniacal White male conquistador over the steady hand of a Black female conservationist.

Because for them, Symbols Matter.

How much would have actually transformed for the 99 percent of us under President Harris?

I guess we’ll never know.

[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s Black Innovators & Changemakers issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.]

“Judson and I met in Hoboken, New Jersey, working at this place called The Brass Rail,” Normandie co-founder Amanda Winquist tells me. “I was in grad school, he was in a band.”

One thing led to another and 2,436 miles west of Hoboken we’re sitting in the couple’s second restaurant, Sunday Sauce, on North Killingsworth. Amanda’s attention is evenly split between telling me her life story, tracking her adorable toddler scurrying between the booths, and the concerning amount of rainwater that’s coming out of the HVAC system thanks to the torrential rainstorm outside. “I tell people, ‘if I could do anything else I would.’ This isn’t the easiest industry,” she observes wryly, “but we just fell in love with what we do.”

On first glance Sunday Sauce is very much an old school East Coast Italian joint: Chianti-red vinyl booths, checkered placemats, and of course the omnipresent perfume of olives and garlic. But a closer inspection reveals some distinctly millennial touches: the neon sign in the window reads “Saucy AF,” the stained-glass chandeliers are giving vintage Pizza Hut, and the portrait of a beatific saint behind the bar is none other than Danny DeVito. 

“This kind of place, when I was a kid, would always be playing Frank Sinatra… there were murals of Italy, there were white columns,” Amanda says. Pop bangers of yore, tokens of the old country on the wall, eggplant parm. Transplanted to Portland, that means it’s the Strokes coming out of the speakers and the “old country” is Hoboken.

The food is also a mix of Old School and Y2K. There are pasta joint classics like orecchiette and pesto, plus fun remixes like the giardiniera misto, kind of a deconstructed hero topped with fried pepperoni. The titular Sunday sauce is an East Coast Italian American staple, more commonly found burbling away on a nonna’s stovetop all afternoon. There’s also a couple of Jersey-specific specialties like disco fries—a sort of Garden State poutine which Winquest describes as “quintessential Jersey.” And of course there’s a selection of parms (chicken or eggplant), if you need something deep fried under layers of sauce and cheese. “Covered and smothered,” is how Amanda describes the Jersey approach to plating.

The bar program is also equal parts irreverent and indulgent. That’s Judson’s department, and he says his guiding star was an abiding love of dirty martinis (there’s four of them on the menu—from tomato and dill, to sour cream and onion) and a refusal to feel shame over the sugary Sex and the City-era concoctions that were all the rage back in the day. “The things that people wanted back then,” Judson says, “that’s what I want too.”

The first iteration of Sunday Sauce began as a pop-up in the couple’s first restaurant, Normandie. Amanda says she was dealing with the recent passing of her own mother, Marianne, and wanted to share a sense of the home cooking she grew up on. 

“I didn’t have much time to grieve,” she says, “I lost my mom, and then I had a baby right? I couldn’t drink. I couldn’t work out. And… I don’t know, grief is hard to process.” What she settled on was adapting the home cooking she grew up with for a Portland audience. Head chef Issaah Brown, a Normandie line cook at at the time, took on the role of culinary consiglieri: “I would bring in food and we would collaborate on how to make it ‘restaurant,’” Amanda recalls, “It [was] my first holiday without my mom, which is a big deal, and I wanted to do a tribute.” 

Because the menu was based on unfussy home cooking, the first pop-up felt like a dicey proposition. “With family cooking, you don’t always see the value in it,” she notes, “it’s not duck confit. It’s not high end French food.” Restaurant pop-ups can be a risky endeavor, largely dependent on word of mouth and industry buzz. “I thought just my friends were gonna show up,” Amanda admits, but the recipes translated well and Portland’s love affair with mid-price Italian restaurants was in bloom. When a corner restaurant space opened up on N Killingsworth, the couple decided to take it brick and mortar.

What’s most rewarding, Amanda says, is getting the nod from fellow east coast expats. They swap the velour tracksuits for puffy Columbia vests she says, but the enthusiasm is undimmed: “One night this hippie-era lady with frizzy hair grabs me, real hard, and says ‘I’m a Jersey girl too, and I’m going to leave you the best fucking Yelp review of my life.” That’s the kind of direct feedback you don’t always get from reserved Northwesterners. 

“We knew the food would be good. We knew it would be fun,” Amanda says, “But holy shit… Jersey shows up for Jersey.”

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Sunday Sauce, 902 N Killingsworth, sundaysaucepdx.com

As a teenager, your biggest concerns may include embarrassment in front of peers, family structural stability, and romantic relationships. As an adult, your biggest concerns are likely similar. Another teenage fear might be someone finding your journal, reading your deepest joys and terrors of personhood. The second album from Portland’s Nonbinary Girlfriend realizes that fear, listening like an evolutionary confessional of what it is to be a human in the 21st century.

IM NOT PRETTY’s lyrics could be journal entries by anyone who has woken up next to a partner not knowing why, felt detached from their lives and bodies due to circumstances out of their control, experienced assault, or heard a part of themselves incessantly say, “You’re not enough.” Anyone with trauma—processed or otherwise—will hear themselves in IM NOT PRETTY, and gain insight into how others deal with the weight of existence.

A military kid hailing most recently from Illinois, Nonbinary Girlfriend lead singer and songwriter James Binkowski ended up in Portland, subsequently writing music and starting Nonbinary Girlfriend because the energy of the city and its DIY scenes were calling. James, initially coming to Portland to trim weed, saw Mt. Hood peering over the town and said, “Let me grab my bags.”

Starting the band as a solo project in 2021, James chose the Nonbinary Girlfriend moniker as a reflection of how he identified gender-wise at the time. “My gender has evolved since then,” James explains. “It’s kinda funny having this ‘girlfriend’ still in there.” Time and evolution never stop, and neither are linear. Transition happens, and detransition can happen. Pain happens, and healing can happen. Nonbinary Girlfriend are after evolution and psychic healing, even as the girlfriend layer is shed in the process.

Eric Diamond and Sei Harris joined Nonbinary Girlfriend as it evolved from a solo project into a band. Though Sei isn’t in the band anymore, Eric continues holding it down on drums, and—as of last April—Pete Bensen plays guitar in the project. Both are involved in other Portland bands including Mega Pacific, Simple Shapes, and Bug Séance. When asked about the lineup, Eric quips, “It’s pretty fluid, just like our gender.” An easy laughter ensues, one manifesting only between friends and creative partners that have been through the trenches together, coming out on the other side of tours, recording, and songwriting with an almost intrinsic sense of connection between them.

Such bonds are needed when writing, recording, and playing an album like IM NOT PRETTY. As the sole songwriter, some of James’ most personal experiences are the brightest points of relatability and catharsis on the album. With the title IM NOT PRETTY, before a single note is heard, James rejects society putting him in a “pretty” box. As with the title, the album art evokes a queer taking-back of self through local artist Eilish Gore’s powerful portrait, a reimagining of James as Joan of Arc. The battle icon has haunted James for years. Nonbinary Girlfriend copped their chainmail aesthetic from the queer ancestor, who James channels as a medieval T-Boy (trans-masc boy).

On self-sabotaging breakup anthem “Oh God,” James displays his PJ Harvey vocal range and control, asserting he’s fucked up for not missing his ex, a deeply nuanced grief rubbing up against the joy of freedom and autonomy. The song’s breakdown is pure catharsis when James, dropping deep down in his vocals, asks “When will I figure it out?” before admitting he doesn’t like what’s good for him. Like most of us, James is figuring life out as it happens.

The album’s title track and first single make clear what the band thinks of frameworks still used by the male gaze to size up trans people, women, and queers: “I’m not pretty / I am fucking scary / I’m not pretty / You are fucking scared of me.” Processing events that happened to him, James confronts the concept of consent—or lack thereof, how AFAB (assigned female at birth) teenagers are expected to give their bodies to those who want it, and how those bodies are sometimes taken without consent. The song is profoundly angry, holding space for those who have experienced something similar and a knife to the throat of assailants worldwide.

When asked what the band hopes people get out of the album, James says he wants listeners to experience what he did: “The time and space to process what they’ve been through and feel not alone.” Pete adds, “When you write music that’s relatable to a lot of people, once you put that music out, it doesn’t belong to you anymore.” Each person comes to the table with their entire life in tow, informing how they relate to the music and its messages and stories.

Clocking in just shy of 27 minutes, IM NOT PRETTY’s track listing is lean and mean. “Bully” reckons with the waking nightmare that can be step-parents, the visceral breakdown in “Stranger” walks us through the valley of the shadow of death that is a drawn-out breakup, “Shame Spiral” simulates a spin-out in all directions, and the slow churn bass of “Secret Song” grapples with not being the “woman” someone needs. Over and over, the tracks drive home that James’ most potent form of processing is songwriting.

IM NOT PRETTY’s final track, “Do What You Want,” features the hardest shredding intro of the album, leaving the listener wanting more and inevitably starting the whole album over again. It also feels like the final nail in the coffin of the relationships that have been dogging James for years. Lovers, partners, friends, and family all have the capacity to manipulate, and Nonbinary Girlfriend is done with that. James tells those who have wronged him to do what they want—because that’s exactly what he plans to do.

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Nonbinary Girlfriend releases their sophomore album, IM NOT PRETTY, on Friday, February 13 via prolific Portland label Pleasure Tapes. Pick up a tape or digital download on Bandcamp. Nonbinary Girlfriend also celebrate the release of IM NOT PRETTY at Coffin Club on February 13 with openers Myriads and Femme Cell, more info here. 

[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s Black Innovators & Changemakers issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.]

As we stare down the barrel of another cuckoo lulu bananas week—politically, economically, environmentally, etc.—let us stop a moment to talk stalk in what’s really important. Community, music, water, strip clubs, Taste Tickler, love, cats (both domesticated and wild), therapy, health, music, access to nature, Trail Blazers, and bike lanes. All of which Portland has in spades, if you want it. 

Far be it from me to dictate what’s nourishing for anyone else but myself (sometimes that’s even a dubious endeavor), but Portland has the potential to hold a lot for a lot of people. Stay active in your communities, use your local libraries, share ideas with friends and (especially) strangers, do the work within yourself and around you. Arm yourself in the ways you think you’ll need moving forward. As the incomparable Nina Simone said playing her unbelievably powerful protest song “Mississippi Goddam,” “If you have been moved at all / And you know my songs at all / For godsakes join me / Don’t sit back there / The time is too late now… I ain’t ’bout to be non-violent, honey.” 

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Thursday, February 12

Bryson Wallace presents The Love Below

For fans of Fugees, De La Soul, Erykah Badu 

When a friend came over the other day and saw I had Speakerboxxx/The Love Below on my turntable, without even a second of hesitation, she emphatically stated, “This has to be one of the top 10 albums of all time.” Longtime Portland music champion and KMHD Jazz Radio host Bryson Wallace feels the same and is presenting The Love Below, André 3000’s half of the album, at Mono Space. The listening sessions at Mono Space consist of a presenter, an album of their choosing, and reflections on the album before and after listening through. Though it might not make sense to those only familiar with “Hey Ya!” and “Roses,” but The Love Below is one of pop music’s most expansive records ever. André pulls from jazz, doo-wop, jungle, gospel, R&B, and more. It’s a near-perfect album, featuring the near-perfect track “Happy Valentine’s Day”—just in time for the big day. (Mono Space, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)

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Friday, February 13

Nonbinary Girlfriend / Myriads / Femme Cell 

For fans of PJ Harvey, Mon Frere, Pretty Girls Make Graves

You know when you just know about a band? Their world-building reaches somewhere inside you, pulling out a lifetime of emotions you forgot you had. James, Eric, and Pete, the trio comprising Portland’s Nonbinary Girlfriend, do just that on their new album IM NOT PRETTY. Almost as if reading from James’ diary, the songs potently dispel feelings of isolation, replacing them with enlightened understandings of self and community. There couldn’t be a more appropriate setting to celebrate the release of IM NOT PRETTY than a show at Coffin Club on Friday the 13th. Joining the NBGF party are Myriads and Femme Cell who both put out excellent albums last year. Femme Cell’s Who Wants This Unbreakable Bond is the best-named album I’ve seen in a long time. If you can’t make the medieval Friday the 13th show (or need to see them twice in one weekend), Nonbinary Girlfriend are having an all ages album release at Misplaced Screen Printing on February 15 with Aqua Celestia and Death Parade. (Coffin Club, 8:30 pm, more info here, 21+)

The Off Beat Grand Opening

For fans of Tribe 8, Noname, Jousting 

Andre Middleton and the growing community around the Friends of Noise nonprofit have finally done it—after having the keys to the old Dancin’ Bare strip club space in Kenton for almost a year, The Off Beat venue is officially opening its doors! The shows at TOB will always be all ages, continuing FoN’s mission of youth education through experience. Opening night features a mixed bill with queer punk royalty Team Dresch, the beat-heavy duo Brown Calculus, noisy shoegazers Spiderling, and the young grunge rockers Adnauseum. This opening represents a new, beautifully accessible mountain in Portland’s music topography. Let’s hike the summit together! (The Off Beat, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)

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Monday, February 16

Right in the Eye: Live Concert of Georges Méliès’ Films

For fans of moon landing, peacock ladies, headless magicians 

It’s insane and insanely cool that, before the advent of the sound in cinema and overdubbing, every theater house in the world had a small live band—or at least a piano player—live-scoring the screened silent films. Champions of the form, Clinton Street Theater has hosted a handful of live-scored silent films the last couple years to enchanting effect. For this extra special performance, French composer Jean-François Alcoléa sets his trio to scoring the short films of their countryman Georges Méliès. You know, the guy who was obsessed with moons and creepy faces. Between the three of them, Alcoléa’s trio play over 50 instruments to score the short films to dramatic effect… Show offs. (Clinton Street Theater, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)

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Tuesday, February 17

Ghost 

For fans of Gwar, Slipknot, Chappell Roan 

The anthemic opera-metal of Sweden’s Ghost isn’t actually my thing at all. I’ve never locked in with fret gymnastics or the blown out production of this particular corner of metal, no. But what I do deeply fuck with is a spectacle and Ghost do be on that tip like no on else. They put on a show, and real Ghosties—this is what we are now calling the Ghost hive—throw looks almost as devastating as my Juggalx’s out there (nonbinary fans of hip-hop innovators Insane Clown Posse). If you’re in need of an excuse to trot out your best corpse paint, this in the gathering for you. (Moda Center, 8 pm, more info here, all ages)

Also very worth it…

Zyanna at Keys Lounge – Feb 12, more info here

Helado Negro DJ set at Speck’s Records & Tapes – Feb 12, more info here

Nate Lumbard / Time & The Bell / Felix Hatfield / Larry Yes / Rachel Blumberg at Laurelthirst Pub – Feb 12, more info here

Shop Regulars / Syko Friend / Anastasia Coope / Sprogg at Wyrd Hut – Feb 12, more info here

Altar Girl / Vueltas / Shadowlands at Coffin Club – Feb 12, more info here

Sudan Archives / Cain Culto at Revolution Hall – Feb 13, more info here

DJ Having Sex / Francis Mxs / Tourmaline at Process – Feb 13, more info here

Ryosuke Kiyasu / Depleted UR / Strange Bedfellows at Wyrd Hut – Feb 13, more info here

It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing! / Red Pine / Hound / Screenshot / For you, Always For You at High Limit Room – Feb 13, more info here 

Schaus / Lily Breshears / Surgery Season at Turn! Turn! Turn! – Feb 13, more info here

Lo Pony / Layperson / Adrianne Daley at Mississippi Studios – Feb 13, more info here

Zyanna at The Downbeat – Feb 14, more info here

Larry Beckett at Kenton Club – Feb 14, more info here

Beer / Cherry Cheeks / The Gobs / Carny Cum at Swan Dive – Feb 15, more info here

Joshua Burnside at Showdown Saloon – Feb 15, more info here

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart / Living Hour at Showdown Saloon – Feb 17, more info here 

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New Music Portland:

A couple weeks ago, the As Above nugazers put out a shoegaze anthem with “Upside Down” for which there is now a music video. Hanger ring toss, table toppling, air (bass) guitar, and pie-ing all in a garage, taken in one single shot. Go tell them you love them and that they should get an album going.

Hyper-pop experimentalist athing just released a sweet little EP called agirl. Within its four songs are worlds built on the backs of giants like Sophie and Arca—easy to get lost in, hard to forget. 

Ambiance unfolds on Melt In Your Hands, the latest full length by Ayla Loon. It drips and drops like the melting of winter into spring, Loon’s release timing is perfection. 

I was just introduced to Bocha recently and am obsessed. Clearly I’m not as locked in to Portland’s rap and hip-hop scenes as I’d like to be, but Bocha is our city’s best export in the genre. Teamed with GotDamnitDupri‘s production, Bocha released Red Grapes: Volume 1 late last year. Got willing we’ll have Volume 2 soon. Peep the only music video in history to rep Gresham below. 

Mercury writer Jesse Carsten—AKA Half Shadow—just released their dreamy new 5 New Songs of Half Shadow EP, complete with a hallucinatory music video for their “Fruit” single. It’s a truth trip, baby. 

Portland-based record label (and RVNG Intl. affiliate) Freedom To Spend produce some of the planets best archive and repress releases every year. 2026 is no exception, starting the year strong with Jack Spence‘s Bamboo Sun, a synth masterpiece suitable for doing dishes, making out, and deep listening. Maybe all three at the same time even.

How does Philip Glass end up in New Music Portland? Well, the fine folks at Portland’s Third Angle New Music staged a rare performance of the composer’s 1988 sci-fi epic 1000 Airplanes on the Roof in a McMinnville airplane hangar in 2023. Since then, Third Angle has recorded 1000 Airplanes in its entirety—the first time ever—and is pressing it to vinyl on Glass’ own Orange Mountain Music record label. Keep a good eye on the Mercury for a forthcoming review of the album. 

Announced via an Instagram post last week, Gabriel Saloman—one half of Portland’s most prolific and engaging noise outfit, Yellow Swans—has stage four lung cancer. A GoFundMe has been launched in support of Saloman’s treatments and care. Since mid-2024, Yellow Swans have put out four EPs in a series called Out of Practice, the most recent volume having also dropped last week. 

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Portland Music News: 

Speaking of GoFundMe‘s, the Black-led club space Barn Radio has launched a GFM in support of keeping their doors open. The small club in Old Town is instrumental in bringing DJs and artists from all over the world to Portland, and is one of the several organizations putting Portland on club and rave maps. 

RIP to one of the realest: Division’s Landmark Saloon is serving its last call Friday, February 13. Scoot on down to enjoy a last couple nights to see the last artists to grace their stage and wish everyone the best. Full story here. 

It’s bummer when trying to hold organizations to account and they not only ignore you, but they also stifle the voices of those criticizing them, especially when the org claims to be community oriented. Last week on their Instagram, Pickathon posted a video of a Times Square Amazon Music advertisement featuring a Pick26 artist. When I, along with at least one other Mercury employee, commented our distain for Pickathon’s alignment with and amplifying of Amazon, had our comments removed. Then Pickathon disabled comments for the post all together. BUMMER. Remember to vote with your dollar between voting at the ballot box. FUCK AMAZON. 

Big news, Portland’s got a new music festival and conference, and it’s right around the corner. Soundscape Northwest feels like a response to the absence of Music Fest Northwest, or anything akin to South By Southwest’s format. SSNW’s inaugural outing launches April 27 to May 2 in the densely-venued Central Eastside. The year-one lineup includes Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation, Shabazz Palaces, Facs, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, Y La Bamba, and more. Check out our full festival announce here. 

As we stare down the barrel of yet another cuckoo lulu bananas week—politically, economically, environmentally, etc.—let us stop a moment to take stalk in what’s really important. Community, music, water, strip clubs, Taste Tickler, love, cats (both domesticated and wild), therapy, health, music, access to nature, Trail Blazers, and bike lanes. All of which Portland has in spades, if you want it. 

Far be it from me to dictate what’s nourishing for anyone else but myself (sometimes that’s even a dubious endeavor), but Portland has the potential to hold a lot for a lot of people. Stay active in your communities, use your local libraries, share ideas with friends and (especially) strangers, do the work within and around you. Arm yourself in the ways you think you’ll need moving forward. As the incomparable Nina Simone said playing her unbelievably powerful protest song “Mississippi Goddam,” “If you have been moved at all / And you know my songs at all / For godsakes join me / Don’t sit back there / The time is too late now… I ain’t ’bout to be non-violent, honey.” 

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Thursday, February 12

Bryson Wallace presents The Love Below

For fans of Fugees, De La Soul, Erykah Badu 

When a friend came over the other day and saw I had Speakerboxxx/The Love Below on my turntable, without even a second’s hesitation, she emphatically stated, “This has to be one of the top 10 albums of all time.” Longtime Portland music champion and KMHD Jazz Radio host Bryson Wallace feels the same and is presenting The Love Below, André 3000’s half of the album, at Mono Space. The listening sessions at Mono Space consist of a presenter, an album of their choosing, and reflections on the album before and after listening through. Though it might not make sense to those only familiar with “Hey Ya!” and “Roses,” but The Love Below is one of pop music’s most expansive records ever. André pulls from jazz, doo-wop, jungle, gospel, R&B, and more. It’s a near-perfect album, featuring the near-perfect track “Happy Valentine’s Day”—just in time for the 14th. (Mono Space, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)

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Friday, February 13

Nonbinary Girlfriend / Myriads / Femme Cell 

For fans of PJ Harvey, Mon Frere, Pretty Girls Make Graves

You know when you just know about a band? Their world-building reaches somewhere inside you, pulling out a lifetime of emotions you forgot you had. James, Eric, and Pete, the trio comprising Portland’s Nonbinary Girlfriend, do just that on their new album IM NOT PRETTY. Almost as if reading from James’ diary, the songs potently dispel feelings of isolation, replacing them with enlightened understandings of self and community. There couldn’t be a more appropriate setting to celebrate the release of IM NOT PRETTY than a Friday the 13th show at Coffin Club. Joining the NBGF party are Myriads and Femme Cell who both put out excellent albums last year. Femme Cell’s Who Wants This Unbreakable Bond? is the best-named album I’ve seen in a long time. If you can’t make the medieval Friday the 13th show (or need to see them twice in one weekend), Nonbinary Girlfriend is hosting an all ages album release at Misplaced Screen Printing on February 15 with Aqua Celestia and Death Parade. (Coffin Club, 8:30 pm, more info here, 21+)

The Off Beat Grand Opening

For fans of Tribe 8, Noname, Jousting 

Andre Middleton and the growing community around the Friends of Noise nonprofit have finally done it—after having the keys to the old Dancin’ Bare strip club space in Kenton for almost a year, The Off Beat venue is officially opening its doors! The shows at TOB will always be all ages, continuing FoN’s mission of youth education through experience. Grand opening night features a mixed bill with queer punk royalty Team Dresch, the beat-heavy duo Brown Calculus, noisy shoegazers Spiderling, and the young grunge rockers Adnauseum. This opening represents a new, beautifully accessible mountain in Portland’s music topography. Let’s hike the summit together! (The Off Beat, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)

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Monday, February 16

Right in the Eye: Live Concert of Georges Méliès’ Films

For fans of moon landing, peacock ladies, headless magicians 

It’s insane and insanely cool that, before the advent of recorded sound in cinema and overdubbing, every theater house in the world had a small live band—or at least a piano player—live-scoring their silent film screenings. Champions of the form, Clinton Street Theater has hosted a handful of live-scored silent films the last couple years to enchanting effect. For this extra special performance, French composer Jean-François Alcoléa sets his trio to scoring the short films of their countryman Georges Méliès. You know, the guy obsessed with moons and creepy faces. Between the three of them, Alcoléa’s trio play over 50 instruments to score the short films to dramatic ends… Show offs. (Clinton Street Theater, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)

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Tuesday, February 17

Ghost 

For fans of Gwar, Slipknot, Chappell Roan 

The anthemic opera-metal of Sweden’s Ghost isn’t actually my thing at all. I’ve never locked in with fret gymnastics or the blown out production of this particular corner of metal, no. But what I do deeply fuck with is a spectacle and Ghost do be on that tip like no on else. They put on a show, and real Ghosties—this is what we are now calling the Ghost hive—throw looks almost as devastating as my Juggalx’s out there (nonbinary fans of hip-hop innovators Insane Clown Posse). If you’re in need of an excuse to trot out your best corpse paint, this in the gathering for you. (Moda Center, 8 pm, more info here, all ages)

Also very worth it…

Zyanna at Keys Lounge – Feb 12, more info here

Helado Negro DJ set at Speck’s Records & Tapes – Feb 12, more info here

Nate Lumbard / Time & The Bell / Felix Hatfield / Larry Yes / Rachel Blumberg at Laurelthirst Pub – Feb 12, more info here

Shop Regulars / Syko Friend / Anastasia Coope / Sprogg at Wyrd Hut – Feb 12, more info here

Altar Girl / Vueltas / Shadowlands at Coffin Club – Feb 12, more info here

Sudan Archives / Cain Culto at Revolution Hall – Feb 13, more info here

DJ Having Sex / Francis Mxs / Tourmaline at Process – Feb 13, more info here

Ryosuke Kiyasu / Depleted UR / Strange Bedfellows at Wyrd Hut – Feb 13, more info here

It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing! / Red Pine / Hound / Screenshot / For you, Always For You at High Limit Room – Feb 13, more info here 

Schaus / Lily Breshears / Surgery Season at Turn! Turn! Turn! – Feb 13, more info here

Lo Pony / Layperson / Adrianne Daley at Mississippi Studios – Feb 13, more info here

Zyanna at The Downbeat – Feb 14, more info here

Larry Beckett at Kenton Club – Feb 14, more info here

Beer / Cherry Cheeks / The Gobs / Carny Cum at Swan Dive – Feb 15, more info here

Joshua Burnside at Showdown Saloon – Feb 15, more info here

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart / Living Hour at Showdown Saloon – Feb 17, more info here 

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New Music Portland:

A couple weeks ago, the As Above nugazers put out a shoegaze anthem with “Upside Down” for which there is now a music video. Hanger ring toss, table toppling, air (bass) guitar, and pie-ing all in a garage, taken in one single shot. Go tell them you love them and that they should get an album going.

Hyper-pop experimentalist athing just released a sweet little EP called agirl. Within its four songs are worlds built on the backs of giants like Sophie and Arca—easy to get lost in, hard to forget. 

Ambiance unfolds on Melt In Your Hands, the latest full length by Ayla Loon. It drips and drops like the melting of winter into spring, Loon’s release timing is perfection. 

I was just introduced to Bocha recently and am obsessed. Clearly I’m not as locked in to Portland’s rap and hip-hop scenes as I’d like to be, but Bocha is our city’s best export in the genre. Teamed with GotDamnitDupri‘s production, Bocha released Red Grapes: Volume 1 late last year. Got willing we’ll have Volume 2 soon. Peep the only music video in history to rep Gresham below. 

Mercury writer Jesse Carsten—AKA Half Shadow—just released their dreamy new 5 New Songs of Half Shadow EP, complete with a hallucinatory music video for their “Fruit” single. It’s a truth trip, baby. 

Portland-based record label (and RVNG Intl. affiliate) Freedom To Spend produce some of the planets best archive and repress releases every year. 2026 is no exception, starting the year strong with Jack Spence‘s Bamboo Sun, a synth masterpiece suitable for doing dishes, making out, and deep listening. Maybe all three at the same time even.

How does Philip Glass end up in New Music Portland? Well, the fine folks at Portland’s Third Angle New Music staged a rare performance of the composer’s 1988 sci-fi epic 1000 Airplanes on the Roof in a McMinnville airplane hangar in 2023. Since then, Third Angle has recorded 1000 Airplanes in its entirety—the first time ever—and is pressing it to vinyl on Glass’ own Orange Mountain Music record label. Keep a good eye on the Mercury for a forthcoming review of the album. 

Announced via an Instagram post last week, Gabriel Saloman—one half of Portland’s most prolific and engaging noise outfit, Yellow Swans—has stage four lung cancer. A GoFundMe has been launched in support of Saloman’s treatments and care. Since mid-2024, Yellow Swans have put out four EPs in a series called Out of Practice, the most recent volume having also dropped last week. 

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Portland Music News: 

Speaking of GoFundMe‘s, the Black-led club space Barn Radio has launched a GFM in support of keeping their doors open. The small club in Old Town is instrumental in bringing DJs and artists from all over the world to Portland, and is one of the several organizations putting Portland on club and rave maps. 

RIP to one of the realest: Division’s Landmark Saloon is serving its last call Friday, February 13. Scoot on down to enjoy a last couple nights and see the last artists to grace their stage and wish everyone the best. Full story here. 

It’s bummer when trying to hold organizations to account and they not only ignore commentary, but they also stifle the voices of those criticizing them, especially when the org claims to be community oriented. Last week on their Instagram, Pickathon posted a video of a Times Square Amazon Music advertisement featuring a Pick26 artist. When I, along with at least one other Mercury employee, commented our distain for Pickathon’s alignment with and amplifying of Amazon, had our comments removed. Then Pickathon disabled comments for the post all together. BUMMER. Remember to vote with your dollar between voting at the ballot box. FUCK AMAZON. 

Big news, Portland’s got a new music festival and conference, and it’s right around the corner. Soundscape Northwest feels like a response to the absence of Music Fest Northwest, or anything akin to South By Southwest’s format. SSNW’s inaugural outing launches April 27 to May 2 in the densely-venued Central Eastside. The year-one lineup includes Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation, Shabazz Palaces, Facs, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, Y La Bamba, and more. Check out our full festival announce here. 

The Mercury’s Jeremiah Hayden contributed to this story. 

A former staffer in Portland City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane’s office filed complaints with the city and state, alleging the councilor and her chief of staff, Mary Li, retaliated against her after she requested reasonable accommodations for a disability. 

The former employee, Sprout Chinn, believes she was punished and ultimately fired from her job as a council aide because she requested workplace accommodations for a seizure disorder. On February 10, Chinn submitted separate complaints to the city’s Office of Equity and Human Rights and Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). In both complaints, Chinn alleges she was retaliated against at work after asking for accommodations protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

In a statement to the Mercury, Koyama Lane said she can’t comment on personnel issues. 

“My focus is making sure my team can effectively serve the constituents of District 3,” she said. “I am committed to protecting the privacy of employees and those directly involved.” 

Li was not made available for comment through Koyama Lane’s office.

Chinn was hired as a council aide in Koyama Lane’s office last February. She was tasked with performing community outreach and engaging with Koyama Lane’s constituents in District 3. Chinn told the Mercury that the position was a dream job that felt perfectly aligned with her lifelong dedication to political activism.

But Chinn was fired last month, after what she describes as months of escalating tensions in the workplace. She said her supervisor chalked up her termination to an “inability to improve over several months,” but Chinn claims she was never provided with specific concerns about her work performance or given an opportunity to improve. 

“I stayed at this job, despite it being a very difficult working environment, because I really thought the most important thing was to make Portland a better place,” Chinn said. “I realized that part of that meant making the workplace [in City Hall] safer, too.” 

In general, Chinn believes her experience is symptomatic of a larger problem in City Hall, in which City Council staff have little recourse for concerns of retaliation or mistreatment. Council staff announced their intent to unionize in December, but without a labor contract, they’re not entitled to the same protections as other unionized city employees. 

Chinn was an organizing member of the newly-formed Portland City Council staff labor union, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7901. The union has not asserted Chinn’s termination was related to her organizing role. However, CWA 7901 President Meg Ward told the Mercury the incident has had a “significant impact on the unit as a whole.” 

Following Chinn’s termination, union members wore buttons to work showing support for her, as they had for Adam Murray, another Council staffer and union organizer, who was recently fired from his role in Councilor Loretta Smith’s office. In that case, the union does believe there was a causal relationship between Murray’s organizing efforts and his termination, and has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Smith’s office. 

“We believe it’s vital to get to the bargaining table as soon as possible and to negotiate for just cause and other protections,” Ward said. 

In her complaint to the city, Chinn requested remedies including a formal apology from Koyama Lane’s office and reinstatement to her former position. Chinn also wants the city to ensure Council staff are granted the same ADA protections as other Portland employees.

Chinn’s complaints say she began to experience retaliatory behavior from Koyama Lane and Li last spring, after she went to Portland’s Bureau of Human Resources (BHR) to request accommodations for her seizure disorder. As Koyama Lane’s chief of staff, Li was Chinn’s direct supervisor, and Chinn’s accounts describe Li as the primary source of the alleged retaliation. 

The claims in Chinn’s complaints have yet to be investigated.

Chinn said she disclosed her disability to Portland’s Interim BHR Director Ron Zito upon starting work last February, but did not ask for accommodations at that time. According to Chinn’s complaint, she experienced a seizure at work June 4, and asked to go home early.   

“I was instructed by [Li] to go home and continue working, in this case on my computer to execute the Councilor’s weekly newsletter,” Chinn wrote in her complaint to the city. “This response made me feel uncomfortable discussing my disability related needs with my supervisor.” 

Around that time, Chinn said she was to perform weekly rounds of door-to-door canvassing to ask District 3 residents what they thought about city policy issues. She noted feeling the weather was uncomfortably warm some of the days she was asked to canvas. After experiencing the June 4 seizure, as well as another one she says occurred the following day, Chinn was worried that canvassing in hot weather would exacerbate her condition. She says Li required her to complete the canvassing hours despite her concerns. 

“I realized [then] that I would need to get a formal accommodation in place through HR,” Chinn stated in the complaint. 

According to public records obtained by the Mercury, Chinn reached out to Zito on June 9 asking for accommodations to make the canvassing work more accessible. Specifically, she requested she be allowed to take a 10-minute break every two hours when canvassing outside on hot days. Zito granted the request on June 18, setting the temperature threshold at 80 degrees, and noting in an email to Chinn and Li that she could also adjust her canvassing hours to a cooler time of day or altogether limit the time she spent outside. 

Chinn said at her next weekly check-in with Li, her boss told her she wished Chinn didn’t go to HR with her accommodation request.

“She shared with me that she wished I had come to her directly,” Chinn said. “Again, this response from my supervisor made me feel unsafe advocating for my legally protected rights.”

Chinn also raised concerns about safety, noting she was frequently expected to work alone in Koyama Lane’s District 3 office, which she felt left her vulnerable in the event of a medical emergency like a seizure. 

Chinn said throughout the following months, she increasingly perceived a shift in Koyama Lane’s behavior toward her, alleging she was rarely able to speak with the councilor and felt she was being deliberately ignored. In her complaint, Chinn said this perceived behavior “made the duties of my job extremely difficult [and] was embarrassing, obvious to my colleagues, and dehumanizing.” 

Eventually, Chinn was terminated, nearly a year after she started the job. 

The Mercury attempted to contact Li for this story through her city email and Koyama Lane’s office, but was unable to speak with her directly. Li began her job as Koyama Lane’s chief of staff last March, about a month after her predecessor, Emory Mort, was terminated from the position. As recently reported in the Oregonian, Li began her job at the city of Portland before ending her employment at Multnomah County, where she worked since 1990. She held both positions for two months last spring, from the end of March to the end of May. 

It may have been unusual for Li to keep working 32 hours a week at the county during her first two months at the city. Portland human resources officials told the Oregonian they were unaware of similar employment agreements in the past. But spokespeople from both governments said the arrangement was authorized. 

Public records obtained by the Mercury show the Portland Auditor’s Office received two complaints about Li’s dual employment last spring. The complaints, submitted to the city’s fraud hotline on May 2 and June 3, alleged Li “frequently” performed duties for her Multnomah County job while on the clock at Portland City Hall.

Audit Services Director KC Jones responded to the second complaint on June 13, saying city code doesn’t allow the Auditor’s Office to investigate elected officials or their staff. Jones said he reached out to Zito, the city’s interim HR director, who determined Li’s dual employment was above board. The Auditor’s Office found Li provided written disclosure of her outside employment with the county and confirmed she was not performing outside work on city time. 

A representative from Portland’s HR bureau declined to comment on personnel matters. 

It’s unclear when a determination will be made on Chinn’s complaints. The city is expected to evaluate the basic facts of an ADA complaint within 15 work days of its submission. If the complaint is accepted, the city will “investigate the merits of the complaint and will attempt to resolve it,” according to the city’s website.  Investigations are expected to be complete within 60 days after the city accepts the complaint. The city’s decision to accept a complaint would not, on its own, verify its claims. The city can dismiss a complaint for a number of reasons, including if it’s determined to be legally insufficient. 

Complaints submitted to BOLI, on the other hand, take much longer to investigate. The state agency has long struggled with staffing and resources, and has an extensive backlog of worker complaints. According to BOLI, it may take up to a year to complete investigations after a complaint is submitted. The state agency has the power to award complainants lost wages and damages, if applicable, and mandate employers complete certain training, among other measures.