| 2021 was hot, hard, heart-breaking. But we persisted. Here are some photo highlights of our year of action for justice. Climate, Racial, Environmental, Electoral, Social – it is all interwoven. We don’t just “have” demands – we act on them.  Opposing Zenith Energy’s dangerous “bomb trains” and transshipment facility was our main local campaign in 2021. On Valentine’s Day, we posted signs and chalked messages at the closed-for-COVID City Hall. We returned for Mother’s Day. And we made many, many calls to City Councilmember Dan Ryan. If you were one of those callers, thank you!  Taking our message to the banks that fund Line 3 and other fossil fuel infrastructure projects got us out on the streets in colorful actions, as part of the national campaign, Stop The Money Pipeline. Nervous bank managers closed up, while customers stayed to ask questions, take our flyers, and re-consider where they put their money. Our solidarity with Indigenous leaders and communities was and is a big part of this campaign. Note: while JP Morgan/Chase is the biggest funder, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are also putting big bucks down the sinkhole of climate-disaster projects, and we showed up at their branches as well.  QR code, anyone? As part of a Defund Line 3 rally in front of the downtown Chase Bank in July, XRPDX rebel Mark Darienzo (a frequent contributor to our blog) offered this quickie way for folks to sign up for our newsletter and join in our work.  While it was hard to get media attention on the Stop Zenith Oil struggle or even the accelerating climate crisis this year, we did succeed on occasion. Kudos to the Portland Mercury for stellar coverage of Zenith, and also to KBOO and OPB. We pranked KOIN (CBS affiliate) in July with a sidewalk skit, and they did finally show up. Pictured here: “Zenith 5” direct action defendant Margaret Butler in Director Park, August 27, the day the LUCS was denied.  World on Fire Truck – an awesome mobile “billboard” crewed by dedicated drivers – wins Prop of the Year. The big yellow truck showed up for many of our, and other groups’, climate actions. It – and we – will be rolling into action in 2022! |
XRPDX’s 2021: Photo Essay
