This article is part two of a series by Community Engagement Coordinator Shawn Fleek. Read Part 1 here. Day 4 – What The Hands Do, the Heart Learns The morning began with Indigenous communities local and international celebrating. So many songs, prayers, and hearing from […]
Since the 2017 state legislative session, which brought new investments in mass transit, OPAL has served on the Public Transportation Investment Plan to represent the concerns of youth and bus riders in how funds are spent. Last Friday, the exhaustive process came to a […]
OPAL develops the leadership of low income people of color to dismantle racism, classism, and other systems of oppression. But this is everyone’s movement, and there is an important work to be done by people with race and class privilege. Do you believe in self-determination […]
OPAL is proud to present our 2017 Annual Report! This year, we decided to create a consolidated publication to share our many victories from the past year with our community. OPAL tackles many different issues around Environmental Justice, but in this one place you […]
Family separation. Anti-Muslim policy. Right to work. Racist gerrymandering. Corporate handouts. Environmental mismanagement. You’d be lucky not to know about all the many ways the US Government is not only failing to protect marginalized communities, but actively attacking rights we’ve defended and won over centuries. Many […]
The rapid depletion of Mother’s Earth’s non-renewable resources in our current extractive economy goes hand-in-hand with increased energy consumption globally and especially in the United States. Fossil fuel-based energy production harms communities of color, low income communities and communities on the frontlines of extraction. It is […]
In Mid-May, OPAL and our partners in the Oregon Just Transition Alliance convened a three-day Just Transition retreat. We gathered in partnership with the Multnomah County Climate Justice Collaborative, Oregon Just Transition Alliance, and the Oakland, CA-based Movement Generation, a movement strategy center leading in […]
An important part of our work in movement-building is strengthening and supporting our relationships to allies across the country. Recently, Deputy Director Vivian Satterfield went on a two-leg trip across the US to do just that. In mid-April, Vivian first traveled to Chicago for […]
Organizers in Training is now the BRU Fellowship! This new, six-month cohort program will enable OPAL to have a more consistent presence organizing on Portland’s buses, while we deepen our investment in developing leadership in our communities. Last Saturday, we onboarded the five leaders […]
In response to community concerns about air toxics in our neighborhoods, OPAL brought a student researcher into our organization to do an in-depth study on air toxics. OPAL Air Toxics Intern Kate Jentoft-Herr compiled an 80-page document to help OPAL staff understand the issues […]