Why Isn't Anyone Talking About This?

Lauren Moran creates interdisciplinary projects that are often participatory, collaborative and co-authored. They aim to experiment with and question the systems we are all embedded in by organizing situations of connection, openness and non-hierarchical learning. They are interested in developing sites for accessibility, collaboration with all different people they meet, and an expanded notion of institutional critique. They have recently presented work at the Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), a neighborhood block party (Portland, OR), Greensboro Project Space (Greensboro NC), Abteilung für Alles Andere (Berlin Germany), Art in Odd Places (New York, NY), Disjecta (Portland, OR), Port City Gallery (Portland, OR), and the El Paso Museum of Art (El Paso, TX). Find them on their website at www.laurengracemoran.com.

In this episode, we chat with Madeline Kovacs on affordable housing and Portland's future. Show Note Links: The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein Madeline Kovacs is the coordinator of Portland for Everyone at 1000 Friends of Oregon. Portland for Everyone is a local coalition of affordable housing providers, community based and environmental organizations, neighborhoods, and local businesses that advocates together for land use decisions that can deliver more abundant, diverse, and affordable housing options for Portlanders. Prior to coordinating Portland for Everyone, Madeline worked for a decade in the international youth climate movement. This advocacy work included organizing on college campuses, national movement building and communications, and at the 2009 and 2011 United Nations Climate Negotiations. For three years she co-directed Project Survival Media, a global youth journalism network, covering direct actions and producing online media to amplify under-represented voices in the climate conversation.

In this episode, Alexis and Steph talk with Dawn Jones Redstone and Luann Algoso about how Gabby Antonio has been smashing the Imperialist, White Supremacist, Capitalist Patriarchy. Dawn Jones Redstone is an award-winning gay, Latinx filmmaker best known as director and co-writer of the acclaimed, dramatic short film, Sista in the Brotherhood. Her short film We Have Our Ways just won Best Oregon Short Film at Portland International Film Festival And was named a “favorite Portland Film,” by the Willamette Week. Dawn is the recipient of the MRG Foundation’s 2016 Lilla Jewel Award and was named a Woman of Vision by the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce. She is committed to creating films that help balance the media representation of women and people of color both in front of and behind the camera. Dawn has been working in the nonprofit world for 14 years as an employee, board member and a subcontractor and is ready to mine the wealth of comedy, this sector has to offer! Luann Algoso is a Portland, Oregon-based wr

The Portland-based Minidoka Swing Band was formed in September 2007, as a tribute to Japanese Americans interned during World War II and to highlight the music popular in the Internment Camps. In this episode, Alexis and Steph interview four members of The Minidoka Swing Band.

How do self-policing in public spaces, Blackness, and transportation advocacy relate? Learn stories on the intersections of these issues and more in our most recent discussion, with Tamika Butler & Keyonda McQuarters. Tamika Butler is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust. In her current role she grows healthier, safer, and stronger communities through the creation of urban parks and community gardens—addressing the critical lack of green and recreational spaces in greater Los Angeles' underserved neighborhoods. Prior to this, Butler was the the executive director of the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, bringing energy and passion to the quest for better bicycle access. Keyonda McQuarters stepped up as the Portland Chapter’s admin of Black Girls Do Bike over a year ago and has been leading two rides on average per week ever since. Black Girls Do Bike is a national organization with over 75 local chapters. The organization was created to champion efforts introducing the joy of cyc

Why is youth organizing important, and what are the unique qualities of youth organizing? In this episode, we talked with Jennifer Phung, a community organizer working with Youth Environmental Justice Alliance (YEJA) and OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon. Jennifer Phung is a community organizer born and raised in Oakland, California, and leads OPAL’s multi-racial youth organizing program, Youth Environmental Justice Alliance (YEJA). Jennifer’s organizing background comes from a range of experiences in labor, tenant organizing, and youth organizing. YEJA develops youth leaders through political education, campaign organizing, and skill-building to address issues of Environmental Justice. Jennifer works with YEJA to create a space for youth to gain skills to take collective action on issues affecting their communities. Vivian Satterfield is second-generation bilingual Chinese American, born and raised in inner city Chicago. She believes in the power of organizing, the efficacy of people-centered public policy,

What does it mean to be Two Spirit, and what has the Two Spirit movement's role been in protection of basic rights. We spoke with Candi Brings Plenty and Court Morse about their path, which led them to Standing Rock as water protectors. Candi Brings Plenty, Oglala Lakota Sioux is a National Queer Cysgender Indiginous Woman and has worked for over two decades for not just Indigenous people, but for everyone in community to receive medicine. Candi is completing her Masters in Public Health Administration, and has a graduate certificate in Non Profit management. On levels related to gender, race, sexual orientation, and economic background, she is unmatched in her passion and strength to push every issue forward. Candi brings Plenty is a single mother of two beautiful daughters, an educator and community health worker, and spiritual practitioner. Court Morse has over ten years of organizing and community action experience. Court grew up in Wisconsin and came out to Oregon to attend Portland State University. The

How does race factor into the choices and opportunities involved in homeownership? We explored the answer to this question and many more with researcher C. Aujean Lee from Los Angeles. C. Aujean Lee is a doctoral candidate at UCLA in the Department of Urban Planning. She received her Master's of Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her B.A. from UCLA in Psychology and Asian American Studies. Her research examines the racial wealth gap with a focus on homeownership and the role of ethnic- and neighborhood-based institutions.

On April 29th, over 100 White people came to 82nd Ave in Portland, Oregon, chanting "USA", "Go back to where you come from", and other racist and anti-immigrant sentiments. A few days later , staff from APANO met  with Mayor Ted Wheeler, APANO joined with partners to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. A portion of 82nd Avenue sits within the Jade District, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Oregon state. Where did this come from, and what does this say about our region? Zahir Janmohamed is the Policy Director for APANO, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon. He is also the co-host of Racist Sandwich, a podcast about race and food. Scot Nakagawa has spent the last four decades as a pro-democracy activist, addressing issues of race and gender inequity, religious bigotry, and anti-LGBTQ oppression through community-based campaigns, cultural organizing, popular education, writing, and public policy advocacy. Scot has worked with numerous organizations and movements over the years, havin

In this episode, we will be talking with Vivian Satterfield with OPAL about the Portland People’s Climate Movement March. Vivian is second-generation bilingual Chinese American, born and raised in inner city Chicago. She believes in the power of organizing, the efficacy of people-centered public policy, and the therapeutic benefits of a long bike ride. Vivian is currently the Deputy Director at OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, where she's helped bring grassroots-led campaigns and coalition efforts around issues such as lifting Oregon's 17-year long ban on inclusionary zoning, and the extensions of transfer times on TriMet, to success.

The National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (NMASS) is a multi-trade, multi-ethnic workers center where working people unite across industry, race, nationality and gender to fight for the changes needed in workplaces, communities and lives. JoAnn Lum, Karah Newton, and Kai Wen Yang from NMASS joined us from their headquarters in New York City to discuss wage theft, displacement, and their "ambitious" plans for a just future.

"There must exist a paradigm, a practical model of social change that includes an understanding of ways to transform consciousness that are linked to efforts to transform structures.” - bell hooks The MultiCultural Collaborative is a people-of-color-led consulting firm based in Portland, OR empowering communities to build capacity in local governments for equitable public policy decisions and service delivery. Anita Yap is the founding partner of the MultiCultural Collaborative. Anita has worked in Oregon’s communities for most of her life in public policy, health equity, community development, land use, transportation, natural resources and housing with government, nonprofit and small business.    

Vision Zero and Campaign Zero are two platforms describing a path to safer streets. If you’ll remember, we were lucky to have Tamika Butler and Keith Benjamin in Episode 5 to talk about the importance of a racial justice lens in Vision Zero work. In this episode, we will build on the 'why' racial equity should be central to this policy (or any policy) discussed earlier, and focus today on the 'how', like, what are the critical next steps to make racial equity central. Join a conversation with guest co-host Naomi Doerner, Sam Sinyangwe, Nora Liu, Leah Shahum, and co-host Steph Routh. Naomi Doerner is a social justice and racial equity strategist within the national active transportation community. She is Principal Planner & Equity Strategist for Assembly for Equitable Cities. Nora Liu is the Racial Equity Here Manager for the Government Alliance on Race and Equity at the Center for Social Inclusion. Sam Sinyangwe is the Co-Founder of WeTheProtesters, a national advocacy organization equipping activists wit

Every four years we tune in to the excitement, passion and drama of the Olympic Games. It’s hard not to get wrapped up in all the the anticipation and celebration, for one of the most widely watched events in the world. Each successive Olympics seem to be a bigger spectacle than the last, with dramatic and expensive changes to the city itself. What are some of the ways the Olympics transform the physical structure and form of the host city, and who pays for the hefty price tag? Jules Boykoff is a former professional soccer player, and represented the men’s US Olympic soccer team in international play. Jules has extensively researched the politics and activism in the Olympic Games, including the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver Canada, the 2012 Summer Games in London, the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi Russia, and the upcoming Summer Games in Rio De Janeiro Brazil. His writings on the Olympics include Activism and the Olympics: Dissent at the Games in Vancouver, Celebration Capitalism and the Olympic Games, and the

Where did our housing and homelessness crisis come from, and how do we create solutions as a city and country? How are people talking about housing and homelessness, and how should that narrative change? Join Street Roots Executive Director, Israel Bayer; Welcome Home Coalition Executive Director, Jes Larson; and "Why Isn't Anyone...?" co-hosts Justin Buri and Steph Routh for a history lesson and a conversation. (Photo credit: Woodley Wonderworks: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2987611025)

Diane Jones of DesignJones, LLC has engaged in planning and design efforts related to the rebuild and recovery of the Lower Ninth Ward, the cypress forest restoration in the Bayou Bienvenue Wetlands Triangle, the dismantling of the I-10 freeway and regeneration of Treme within the Claiborne Avenue Corridor, and rebuilding and restoring the Historic District, post-earthquake Jacmel, Haiti — a district that heavily influenced the architecture and urban design of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Join Diane and "Why Isn't Anyone...?" host Alexis Gabriel as they explore community planning, post-disaster rebuilding, and what race has to do with it.

Every other year, the Oregon Legislature meets for a short session—35 days—to discuss budgets and other timely issues. This year was a whirlwind for housing advocates and others looking to squeak through some laws. For this episode of "Why Isn't Anyone...?" Team members Justin Buri and Vivian Satterfield are joined by Kristina Narayan from the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon to discuss what went down in Salem during February and what that means for inclusionary zoning and other hoped-for changes. Roll credits: Today’s show was produced by Justin Buri and Vivian Satterfield, and edited by Eric Klein. Music is by Breuss Arrizabalaga Quintet. You can find us on our Facebook page and on Twitter @whyisntanyone. If you liked this show, help us keep it going by donating via our website, whyisntanyone.com, where you can also leave us comments, questions, and ideas for future topics. Check out the people who have supported us on Crowdrise! We are a project of Umbrella, a Portland-based nonprofit that encourag

In 2012, members of Portland's local National Federation of the Blind Chapter organized an event called, "It's Not Scary to Be Blind: Walk With Me!" as part of Walktober. Folks during this event talked about aspects of our transportation environment that are both helpful and possibly not so helpful for the blind and low vision. For this episode of "Why Isn't Anyone...?" we were lucky to have a few active members of the Portland Central Chapter of National Federation of the Blind to talk about blindness in the built environment: Jim Jackson is Co-founder of the local Portland Central Chapter of National Federation of the Blind; Trevor Attenberg is the local chapter's Treasurer; and Nik Petersson is Senior Accessibility Consultant with Miles Access Skills Training, LLC. The National Federation of the Blind is the organization that believes in the full capacity of blind people, and has the power, influence, diversity, and determination to help transform their dreams into reality. Today’s show was produced by me,

“What Is Equity?” Everyone uses this word. What does it mean, how is it used, and where should we be going with it? This is such a big word that we will be exploring this as a special two-parter series. Here we have Part 2. In the studio for this episode, we have four of the 10-person team at Why Isn’t Anyone Talking About This—Adonia Lugo, Alexis Gabriel, Joy Davis and Steph Routh. Today’s show was produced by the whole Team; edited by Steph Routh, and hosted by Adonia, Alexis, Joy, and Steph. Music is by Breuss Arrizabalaga Quintet. You can find us on our Facebook page and on Twitter@whyisntanyone. If you liked this show, help us keep it going by donating via our website, whyisntanyone.com, where you can also leave us comments, questions, and ideas for future topics. Check out the people who have supported us on Crowdrise! We are a project of Umbrella, a Portland-based nonprofit that encourages community-based street culture.

Vision Zero is a street safety campaign that seeks to reduce the number of traffic fatalities in a local jurisdiction to zero by a set time period. The idea that people shouldn’t die when occupying the right of way isn’t a new one - in fact, it is nearly as old in the United States as cars themselves. Because gun violence, drug overdoses, and traffic fatalities remain the top-three preventable public health scourges of modern American society, transportation advocates understandably feel a sense of urgency in making our streets safer for everyone. But does street safety only refer to traffic safety? Thanks to the work of #BlackLivesMatter activists, there is an increasing awareness to death, discrimination, and disproportionate enforcement experienced by Black people, as well as other marginalized populations, at the hands of police forces throughout our country on our streets every day. How does Vision Zero intersect with a broader call to street safety? Where can we go together? Naomi Doerner is an transpor