Join us for our second interview in our special Stop Tear-Gaslighting Us series. We will be sitting down with community members who hit the streets in the 2020 George Floyd protests in Portland to look back and look at where we are now. We are joined this week by Rabbi Ariel Stone, of Interfaith Clergy Resistance.

Rabbi Stone shares her experience on the ground as a clergy witness, the flood of memories of Portland police and federal agents who harmed community members, and how she thinks the world of protesters. Rabbi Stone talks about where we are now, with the City's response and lack of commitment to divesting in policing.

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Introducing a new podcast series... Stop Tear-Gaslighting Us. We will be sitting down with community members who hit the streets in the 2020 George Floyd protests in Portland to look back and look at where we are now. We are joined by Editor-in-Chief of We Out Here Magazine and activist Mac Smiff this week.

We talk about what it was like on the ground, bad memories of teargas and police violence, misconceptions about Portland protesters, media portrayal of the protests, and whether the goals of the protests were met. 

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Bobbin and Eric host… two guests today! We are joined by OJRC Policy Director Zach Winston and Carl MacPherson, Executive Director of Metropolitan Public Defender. Your hosts unpack the week in news on the Supreme Court decision on ineffective counsel in Shinn. V Ramirez and Jones, reflect on the 2nd year of George Floyd’s death anniversary, and process the devastating mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Zach talks about why a carceral response in more police officers, SRO’s, and arming teachers has been and would be ineffective in preventing gun violence. Carl, our guest, shares about his work in public defense, the problematic culture that exists, and why prosecutors working with law enforcement is not good practice. Bobbin, Eric, Zach, and Carl end on talking about the binary we’ve created in this country of “good and bad people,” and why we must dispel fears about incarcerated individuals because as Bryan Stevenson says, we are more than the worst thing that we have done.

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Bobbin and Eric host Lakayana, Executive Director of Word is Bond, who works with young Black men and boys on leadership development, and more notably, spearheaded walking tours around Portland called “In My Shoes,” where their ambassadors led community members, including elected officials through Portland neighborhoods through their experiences as a Black man. Bobbin, Eric, and Lakayana process the white supremacist terrorism in Buffalo, and how it is not an isolated incident, but a feature of the the value system of the country. They talk about the mainstreaming of extremist and white supremacist ideology, and how this will lead to more violence. Lakayana talks about how centralizing community well-being should be the focus rather than the police. Lastly, Eric, Bobbin, and Lakayana talk about why police "unions" prevent police accountability and ask the question, are they really "unions."

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Listen in as Bobbin and Eric reflect back on the week in news. Bobbin responds to DA Paige Clarkson’s campaign mailer where she attacks with tough-on-crime rhetoric, where she vilifies and demonizes public defenders and those with criminal records. Bobbin talks about his resignation from the Chief Justice’s Criminal Justice Advisory Committee in response to DA Clarkson’s actions. The hosts talk about OJRC’s clients winning a settlement against the City in regards to losing their property during sweeps. Bobbin and Eric talk about larger themes about we criminalize the poor on the premise of…poverty itself. Eric and Bobbin continue the conversation on the public defense crisis.

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

We’re happy to announce Eric is back! (For now! Public defense crisis willing.) Bobbin & Eric take a long sigh at the past week in news and talk about the overturning of Roe. v. Wade draft leak and why it is an attack on civil rights. We take a look back on history and where we see ourselves headed; and Bobbin reminds us why it’s important to commit ourselves in the long haul to civil liberties and community well-being. Bobbin & Eric talk about Senator Ron Wyden’s inappropriate comments on Governor Kate Brown’s clemency decisions.

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Bobbin and Juan chop it up as Juan has been appointed our sub co-host, as Eric is slammed in the public defense crisis. Looking at local news articles that seem a little more like Fox News headlines, your hosts talk about Senator Wyden’s fear-and-anger politics in his comments on Governor Brown’s clemency decision.  As Juan is our Civil Rights Project Director and Attorney and involved in multiple lawsuits against the City of Portland on police violence, he and Bobbin talk about how Portland has a rogue police force and some ongoing litigation. Juan tells us about his client’s case, which asks the question: spitting on the street or threats of violence by Proud Boys, which is PPB more worried about?

Produced by Beatrix Li, OJRC Communications & Policy Associate

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Eric will be back next week, but until then, Bobbin and Beatrix discuss OPB’s recent article on perceptions of crime and the Oregon midterm election, and how perceptions from candidates and Portlanders and data on crime rates do not necessarily match. Beatrix sighs at the over-bloated police budget that Mayor Wheeler and President Biden (who made an appearance in Portland) are signing off on; which leads to Bobbin and Beatrix talking about bad police reforms. We are joined by a special guest, Judge Darleen Ortega who serves in Position 3 of the Oregon Court of Appeals. As the first woman of color and the only Latina to serve as an Appellate Judge, Judge Ortega shares her experience and what it means to serve justice as a judge. Judge Ortega talks about challenges in the system, and how asking good questions grounds her work. Bobbin and Judge Ortega talk about law schools in Oregon (where she teaches at all three schools!). Judge Ortega discusses why it is important to stay proximate to the marginalized to inform her work.

Produced by Beatrix Li, Comms. & Policy Associate

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

As Eric misses today’s podcast as the public defense crisis wages on, Bobbin kicks back with Juan to talk about the week in news. Juan and Bobbin unpack the tough-on-crime push for increased police budget and for more officers from the Brooklyn Subway shooting, and how an already bloated budget has failed to prevent gun violence and will continue to fail to meet objectives to keep people safe. The two talk about how community well-being is what prevents crime, not more cops and prisons. Bobbin talks about how DA Kevin Barton failed the women at Coffee Creek by overlooking abuse, and how DA's are buying into the tough-on-crime pathos.

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Bobbin is joined by Anthony Pickens (Paralegal/Legal Assistant, OJRC) and Ben Haile (Senior Counsel, Civil Rights Project, OJRC) to discuss solitary confinement in Oregon. Ben unpacks for us solitary confinement as a concept - what it is - and the many names solitary goes by (hint: ODOC’s tactics to hide their egregious practices). Ben reminds us that Oregon is violating international standards by placing people in solitary for up to 180 days; international law/standards on solitary codified as the Nelson Mandela Rules states that solitary should be restricted at 15 days. Anthony shares a powerful recounts his experience of solitary confinement as a formerly incarcerated person and shares what he observed in how ODOC implemented it in its prisons. He also details the psychological and physical harms of isolation and what tactics are required to survive it. Ben and Anthony highlight how solitary is counterproductive and makes prisons a more toxic environment and does not reduce, but increases behavioral issues. Finally, Ben talks about how solitary confinement is junk science and being implemented with no oversight or checks on its use.

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.