THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2021 ~ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
SAVE THE DATE!
WHAT: Multnomah Democrats Annual Picnic
WHEN: Thursday, August 12 from 6 to 8pm
WHERE: Red Sunset Park in Gresham (2403 NE Red Sunset Drive)
RSVP: Let us know you’re coming so we’ll cook enough for everyone. RSVP at https://secure.ngpvan.com/gcM2vLssn0KvP7PD_M0u9A2
CARPOOL: If you want to arrange a carpool, check this app: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/6yir7m
We look forward to seeing you there!
Last year’s Celsi Celebration (the Multnomah County Democrats’ signature fundraising event of the year) was cancelled due to the pandemic. Though a “Beyond Celsi” virtual auction raised some of the anticipated funds, it was a down year for the organization’s fundraising. We need all hands on deck to make the 2021 Celsi Celebration come back strong!
June 26th is the date for the 2021 Big Tent Party Celsi Celebration Fundraiser, with both in-person and virtual options. More details about the event will be coming soon, but volunteers and donations are welcome now.
The Celsi Celebration was named for Dick Celsi, who served as Chair of the Multnomah County Democrats during the 1970s and Chair of the State Democratic Party during the 1980s and into the 1990s. The Celsi committee is now accepting nominations for this year’s awards, and https://celsi.multdems.org/ has more information and regular updates. Email if you’d like to join the event committee or donate items for the auction.
As if there weren’t enough at stake on Election Day, November 3rd is the day the winning bidders of BREWVENTURE 2020 packages will receive their booty, perhaps just in time for some celebratory tippling.
In a move to offer a fleeting distraction from the VERY serious matters at hand, the MaltDems (beer enthusiasts of the MultDems) proudly announce that BREWVENTURE 2020 bidding opens today Monday October 26th and run one short week until 8:00PM on November 2nd. The beer bundles will be delivered on election day. In the interest of full disclosure, if beer is not your thing, we have one non-beer package.
Get in on the action at BREWVENTURE 2020.
BREWVENTURE 2020 – The best thing so far about 2020™
The Democratic Party of Multnomah County, Mission and Vision states –
“We envision and Demand a government designed by the people and for the benefit of the people.”
At this moment we demand a return of the dividends due, we the people, who have over the past 40 years contributed our hard earned funds and delayed our profits as the money has been shifted and shared upwards to the wealthy among us. Trickle down never trickled down – rather it provided mechanisms by which our money flowed up to the wealthiest among us. $2000 NOW is the beginning of the return on our investment.
We the people are left struggling. If we are making zero or $20,000 or 50K or even 300K it is nothing compared to the trillions that of dollars flowing into the hands of Jeff Bezos and friends.
It is time to demand $2000 NOW and I call upon each of us to spread this message to our friends and neighbors across the country and to our legislators. When an uprising of people and their demands and calls for relief truly get loud – then and only then will something happen. $2000 NOW.
Congress struggles to pass an 1800 page bill that would dole out money at the top and mollify the lobbyists, but what about, we the people who have been funding their largesse?
We believe that 1800 pages are not needed to solve this crisis. We can say it in one sentence.
“The US Treasury will disburse $2000/ mo to every US resident for a 12 month period to provide relief to the people and to stimulate the whole economy.”
$2000 NOW $2000 NOW Today we are here to demand action and to spread the message of uprising for change. But first we must recognize that the Native Americans and American Descendants of Slavery have endured this struggle far longer , for 100s of years, and let’s remember that reparations must be made to create a more equitable future for all.
The $2000 NOW dividends will repay us all for the 40 years of declining wages and theft or shift of our wealth upwards.
Let’s not forget that the 2008 crisis lead to a bailout of the banks, who then thanked us by taking many of our homes through foreclosure, only to resell them to wealthy investors like Blacstone and others. DID WE GET OUR DIVIDEND – NO! IT is time for $2000 NOW.
Now with covid and then the fires across Oregon and with the struggles for justice in our streets our people, our neighbors and our small businesses are shutters, houselessness increases and Bezos and the wealth get trillions of dollars in rewards. IT IS TIME FOR $2000 NOW
With the top 3 families currently having the wealth of the bottom 50% or 1 ½ billion people we have given away our income and our wealth and we must demand a return of our investment.
Demand the 1 sentence bill. Demand $2000 NOW. Check out HB 6496 and SB 3784 and make them known by calling for action. Spend your money locally, grow mainstreet and our neighbors not wall street.
Please join me in thanking Chelsea Wilkinson and PDX for Basic Income and Mark Nerys, who leads our Basic Rights study group for all their efforts. I would also like to thank Neil Goodman, Mitch Rofsky – who is taking this message to the Biden transition planning team and to Faith Ruffing, Bobbi Yambasu and our Congresspersons Bonamici and Blumenauer for co-sponsoring HB 6496
$2000 NOW
There is one summary for H.R.6496. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.
Emergency Money for the People Act
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to make monthly payments during a specified 12-month period to certain citizens and noncitizens of the United States and their dependent children. The amount of such payments shall be $2,000 each month ($4,000 for married couples filing joint returns) and additional amounts for their dependent children. The monthly amount shall be phased out for individuals whose adjusted gross income exceeds $130,000 ($260,000 for joint return filers). The payments must begin within 14 days of the enactment of this bill.
The bill allows such monthly payments for individuals who are not U.S. citizens or residents, but have been physically present in the United States continuously since January 27, 2020 (the effective date of the public health emergency resulting from the COVID-19 [i.e. coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic), and continue to be physically present in the United States throughout the duration of the payment period.
If Treasury does not have sufficient tax return information to make payments to an eligible individual, it shall consult with the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Social Security Administration and any agency making pension or annuity payments to such individual.
SB 3784 Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act
The coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis are unprecedented challenges confronting American families. Workers across the country are losing their incomes and struggling to make ends meet. Bills are continuing to come and people are finding it impossible to pay rent and put food on the table. Families need immediate help.The single check Americans will receive from the CARES Act is not enough. As our nation continues to grapple with the effects of this pandemic, families across the country will continue to hurt. Congress a responsibility to make sure that people aren’t left behind.Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced theMonthly Economic Crisis Support Act,
which would establish a rebate payment program that would provide $2,000 to every individual, including children and other dependents, until this crisis is over.
TheMonthly Economic Crisis Support Act:
•Provides a monthly $2,000 check to every individual with an income below $120,000 throughout and for three months following the coronavirus pandemic.
Married couples who file jointly would receive $4,000.o$2,000 per child up to three children
Retroactive to March•Ensures that every U.S. resident receives a payment, regardless of whether or not they have filed a recent tax return or have a social security number
Uses the data from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income, (SSI), Medicare and housing assistance programs
•Forbids debt collectors from seizing the rebate payments
•Ensures the homeless and foster youth receive payments
The Multnomah County Democrats have been added to the growing list of Democratic, NGO, faith, and Indigenous organizations that are voicing their support for the bold recommendations of the DNC Environment and Climate Crisis Council. https://www.dncclimate.org/
The DNC Environment and Climate Crisis Council, a permanent entity of the DNC, was established to push the Democratic Party to take bold and urgent action addressing the climate crisis and other environmental issues. The council is recommending a sweeping set of policies for inclusion in the new four year 2020 Democratic Party platform, which will be approved at the August convention.
The Multnomah County Democratic Central Committee passed Res: 2019-24 declaring a Climate Emergency on Sept. 12, 2019.
The Multnomah County Democrats support the recommendations of the DNC ECCC, which are commensurate with the enormity of the Climate Emergency we face.
#DemPlatform2020 #DNCClimate
By Rachelle Dixon and Eric Delehoy
On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a neighborhood gay bay in New York City. They harassed and brutalized patrons, as they always had. But this time, patrons had had enough.
Marsha P. Johnson, a Black Trans Woman, and Sylvia Rivera, a Latina Trans Woman, led patrons in resistance, and a resulting riot that lasted six days. They stood up against the racism and transphobia leveled at them, and the anti-LBGTQ sentiment leveled at their community, so that each of us can now be safe in our own skin, no matter what skin that is.
The next year, the first Pride Parades appeared in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
This year is no different than others. We understand racism, transphobia, and homophobia continue to impact many lives. And that’s why we stand with you. Multnomah County Democrats will continue to fight for your rights to be safe, no matter your identities. For that reason, we are reaching out to you, to pledge that even though we can’t get together to celebrate with a parade this year, we are with you every step of the way. Pride is about embracing and celebrating difference, about taking a public stand to demand safety and enjoy the freedoms the US Constitution guaranteed for all of us. Keep being your wonderful selves! We hope to march alongside you, not just at Pride, but every day ahead.
A message from Rosa Colquitt, PhD, Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon Black Caucus
Juneteenth, (“June” plus “nineteenth”) sometimes called “Jubilee,” indicating the year of freedom from enslavement, or even more simply “Freedom Day,” is indeed a remarkable story commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States.
It was June 19, 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger marched into Galveston, Texas with official news that the Civil War had ended and the enslaved were now free. Granger read General Order Number 3 as follows:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
Amazingly, even in an era of slow communication and a nation at war, Granger was very late with important news of freedom – almost two and a half years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Confederacy, at least on paper. In knowing the dehumanization of even one day of enslavement, I’ve looked for any historical explanations for the delay in delivering and enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation. One version of the story of “freedom delayed, freedom denied” was the tale of the messenger who was murdered on the way to Texas with the news. Another is that the official proclamation was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the “free labor” force on their plantations. And still another is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas. Whether all or none of these versions are true, slavery in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.
My mind can scarcely imagine the depths of the emotions and the fear of the unknown for the “newly freed” Black men, women and children of Texas. Yet, it is within this historical backdrop of delay, confusion and terror that we have the beginnings of one of the most inspiring grassroots efforts of the post-Civil War period – the transformation of June 19 from a day of new freedom into an annual rite called “Juneteenth.”
Today, more than 154 years later, Juneteenth-centered activities are experiencing phenomenal growth and flourishing within communities and organizations throughout the country. The freedom celebrations highlight the tradition of bringing in guest speakers and the elders of the community to recount historical events of the past. Newer Juneteenth traditions focus on education and self-improvement, along with future community development, while cultivating knowledge and appreciation of African American history and culture.
What many Americans remember most about Juneteenth is that it is always a joyful celebration of entertaining the masses with parades, musical entertainment, dance, games, and always food — an abundance of wonderfully prepared food. In Portland, Oregon, Juneteenth is combined with “Good in the Hood” for an unforgettable annual community celebration of young and old, family, friends, organizations and business vendors from every corner of the state, along with southwest Washington, and reflects all of our diverse racial and ethnic groups. For sure, no matter how large the gatherings at “Good in the Hood,” I always make my way from vendor to vendor until I have my soul food dinner of corn bread, black-eyed peas, collard greens and bar-b-que, and I always bring my own bottle of red soda water, just in case they don’t have it. One can’t quite celebrate Juneteenth without this original Texas tradition. (And, unless I forget, there’s always a bottle of hot sauce in my purse.)
Among all emancipation celebrations, we are reminded that June 19 falls closest to the summer solstice, the longest day of the year when the sun, at its zenith, defies the darkness in every state, including those states shadowed by slavery. By choosing to remember the last state in the South that freedom touched, we celebrate the shining “promise of emancipation.” Still, we can never ignore or forget the bloody path America took by delaying freedom and deferring the fulfillment of the simple words in General Granger’s General Order Number 3: “This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.”
While Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, Juneteenth 2020 is bittersweet. The recent events of 2020, the witnessing of the wrongful deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, is crushing our spirits and reminding us of the stark reality that the fight for racial justice, equality and freedom for BLACK LIVES continues.
Some featured items from the Beyond Celsi online auction!
This year’s auction items are exciting – from experiences and learning opportunities to yummy food and wine offerings, plus many choices among one-of-a-kind art and collectibles.
Items are up until June 2. Get your bids in now, though: you don’t want to miss your chance!
These 25 Stunning notecards by photographer Kristine Karnezis feature local images that will make you want to climb right into the pictures.
From experiences and learning opportunities to yummy food and wine offerings, plus many choices among one-of-a-kind art and collectibles: Our auction has tons for everyone.
Check out our awardees and give them a round of applause.
Download the program to our cancelled annual fundraiser.
Not only did we lose this opportunity to gather and celebrate all the volunteers that make Multnomah Democrats so effective, We lost our key fundraiser for the year. Please make a donation to power our community-driven work.
A screenshot from an opt-in poll on KGW’s phone app is being shared on social media to suggest that Oregonians support the Republican walkout. The idea that a piece of clickbait would be used as a proof point is in itself pretty sad. KGW’s advertisers are the real winners there.
In a way, we Democrats should be appreciative of the Republican walkout. Based on polling done with some actual rigor, this walkout is an extremely unpopular move with their constituents.
Candidates continue to qualify for the upcoming Democratic Presidential Debate. It is getting down to brass tacks, and you can join a lively group of Democrats to watch the action.
These folks make things happen.
Multnomah County Democrats Community Action Committee has been holding full house watch parties, co-sponsored with other committees and Democratic groups. It is a vibrant place to witness history in the making.
There will be pizza and soft drinks. Feel free to bring your favorite debate-watching snacks to share.
Multnomah County Democrats office, 3551 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland 97232 [Map]
For public transportation options to/from the event location, visit http://trimet.org/. The Multnomah County Democrats office is wheelchair accessible. If you have any access or functional needs that you feel may prevent you from joining us at this event or that, if they can be addressed, might make the event more accessible [and therefore more enjoyable] for you, please email .