Right-wing activists from around the nation plan to hold a rally Saturday at the Portland waterfront. Hundreds of people are expected to protest their presence and message.
But not all counter-demonstrators will be wearing black, a signature uniform of the leftists known as antifa.
While Portland city leaders, police and news organizations have largely focused on the prospect of bloody clashes between the political rivals, other groups embrace different tactics.
Popular Mobilization
Popular Mobilization, or PopMob, formed last year to galvanize an array of people opposed to demonstrations that espouse misogynistic, racist and xenophobic views or use physical intimidation.
“Our entire goal has been to inspire people to stand up to hate,” says PopMob organizer and spokesperson Effie Baum.
To date, the coalition has gathered together hundreds of progressives, union members and social justice activists.
PopMob also has sought to dial back simmering tensions with revelry and whimsy. In June, Baum said organizers handed out vegan coconut milkshakes to supporters that, contrary to dubious claims by Portland police, didn’t contain liquid cement.
On Saturday, protest participants can expect to encounter jugglers, performers and even people dressed in poop emoji costumes.
“The far-right wants to get into fights and act all macho,” Baum said. “We want to make that virtually impossible.”
Unpresidented Brass Band
Miles Thompson says he’s on a mission to amplify peace. He arrives at protests armed with only a trumpet and marching band uniform.
“I want to bring a kind of fierce joy to these events,” he says.
Thompson formed the Unpresidented Brass Band following Donald Trump’s election and now performs with a dozen-plus musicians each time the right comes to town. He writes and arranges almost all of the upbeat, infectious tunes.
“Having music really changes things. It changes the energy.” Thompson says. “If people are bobbing their heads, there’s bound to be less anger.”
The presence of a 12-piece marching band, and the large dance party it inevitably attracts, also works to counter what Thompson says remains a narrow and negative depiction of protests in Portland, centered around the melees and brawls that occasionally break out.
In the spirit of offering a different spectacle, Thompson and his fellow players on Saturday plan to lead a troupe of roughly 50 counter-protesters wearing giant yellow banana suits.
Organizers are calling it a “Banana Bloc Dance Party.”
“It’s just a silly thing,” he says. “Silly and nonviolent.”
Pacific Northwest United Against Hate
When members of Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys planned to hold a march in downtown Portland last August, Dr. Robert Lowe proposed an idea to friends and fellow worshippers at P’nai Or of Portland, a Jewish synagogue, and other congregations: Pledge money to an immigrant rights group in response.
He and others ultimately raised over $2,200 for Causa, an organization that works with the state’s Latino community.
That success prompted Lowe, a professor emeritus at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, to form Pacific Northwest United Against Hate. The group encourages individuals, faith communities and others to raise money for social justice organizations each time the right stages rallies in the region that aim to provoke or incite.
“It sends a message that we’re a welcoming community, one that honors diversity and seeks justice for all,” says Lowe, whose father arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Nazi-occupied Europe.
He and other supporters are asking people to pledge $1 or more for every person who attends Saturday’s right-wing rally downtown. That money will once again go to Causa.
-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632
Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com
Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh
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