June 8th, 2017

FEATURING:

Jason Wilson, reporter for The Guardian, discussing his coverage of the June 4th right wing "Trump Free Speech" rally and counter-protests in downtown Portland. The rally was organized by Joey Gibson, organizer with the group Patriot Prayer and local figure of the so called "alt-right" movement. Tensions around the rally rose significantly with the May 26th racist attack and murders on a Portland MAX train, allegedly perpetrated by known white supremacist Jeremy Christian, who'd been ejected from a similar local rally held by Gibson in April for shouting racial slurs and throwing Nazi salutes.  The June rally's couple hundred attendees were outnumbered by thousands of leftist counter-protesters, including many anti-fascists (antifa), who were met with a heavy and now controversial police response.  Wilson's reportage examines the various right wing groups involved with the rally & its context within Portland's history of white supremacy.

AND:

Ibrahim Mubarak and Lisa Fay, organizers with Right 2 Survive, discussing this weekend's Pitch a Tent 2017.  The annual event seeks to highlight issues affecting Portland's houseless community in concurrence with the Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade, for which spectators sometimes camp overnight to stake out spots along the parade route.  This year's event appeared in jeopardy when organizers discovered a fence had been put up around the site of the event on SW 4th and Washington, in anticipation of construction there.  However, as of showtime, the site's property owners (Menashe Properties) agreed to allow the temporary removal of the fence so the event could proceed as planned.