This post is the wrap-up of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series that happened throughout June and into July 2020. For more information on the series, click here.

This post is the final installment of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series happening throughout June 2020. For more information, click here.

Week 4 Featured Brentwood-Darlington Neighbor: Blacktacular! (Ashanti Hall)

About Blacktacular! from SoundCloud: I started writing poetry and then emceeing at a very young age. That kinda coalesced into hip-hop and beat-boxing in 1991. I got a lil’ gangsta there for a second until I encountered Electronic Music in about 1995. After a 4 year prison stint which helped my reset my priorities, and 3 years in Community College leaning Website Creation & Graphic Design; I jumped into promoting Hip-Hop and Electronic Music full time.

This post is part of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series happening throughout June 2020. For more information, click here.

Week 4 Featured Organization: Hip Hop Stands Up

Description from Facebook: Hip-Hop Stands Up is a BIPOC-lead coalition of artists who formed out of the tear gas of the protests following the death of George Floyd.

This post is part of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series happening throughout June 2020. For more information, click here.

Week 4 Featured Organization: The Marsha P. Johnson Institute

Partial Bio from The Marsha P. Johnson Institute website: Marsha P. Johnson was an activist, self-identified drag queen, performer, and survivor. She was a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Marsha went by “Black Marsha” before settling on Marsha P. Johnson. The “P” stood for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Marsha would say in response to questions about her gender. It is the consideration of who “Black Marsha” was that inspired The Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

Click here to read more about Martha P. Johnson and donate to the Institute.

This post is part of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series happening throughout June 2020. For more information, click here.

Week 4 Featured Action: Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)

Partial Description from SURJ: SURJ’s role as part of a multi-racial movement is to undermine white support for white supremacy and to help build a racially-just society.

That work cannot be done in isolation from or disconnected from the powerful leadership of communities of color. It is one part of a multi-racial, cross-class movement centering the leadership of people of color.

Therefore, SURJ believes in resourcing organizing led by people of color, and maintaining strong accountability relationships with organizers and communities of color as central part of our theory of change.

Click here to read more about SURJ on their website.

This post is part of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series happening throughout June 2020. For more information, click here.

Week 4 Featured Film: Prideland

Description from Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB): Follow queer actor Dyllón Burnside on a journey to discover how LGBTQ Americans are finding ways to live authentically and with pride in the modern South. Rating: TV-PG

Click here to read more and watch the film for free.

This post is part of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series happening throughout June 2020. For more information, click here.

Week 4 Featured Musician: Soul’d Out Productions

Partial Description from Soul’d Out Productions: Soul’d Out Productions brings together all worlds of Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop, R&B, Funk, African, Reggae, Latin, Electronic to celebrate the music that helps to bind our collective culture together under one banner in the top venues in Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

While we wait for venues to reopen, check their upcoming events and listen up to their sounds.

This post is part of Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association‘s Amplify Black Neighbors post series happening throughout June 2020. For more information, click here.

Week 4 Featured Author: Jelani Memory

Bio from ABookAbout.com: Jelani Memory is an African American entrepreneur, thinker, and constant learner. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and six kids. He still wants to be an artist when he grows up.

A Kids Book About Racism

Description from back of book: Yes, this really is a kids book about racism. Inside, you’ll find a clear description of what racism is, how it makes people feel when they experience it, and how to spot it when it happens. This is one conversation that’s never too early to start, and this book was written to be an introduction for kids on the topic.