On Saturday, April 21, DPC partners with the Bus Project for People, Places, Politics: A Tour of Portland’s Activist History. The tour is held in conjunction with Rebooting Democracy 2012, an annual conference focusing on civic engagement. Space is limited to just 45 spots; save your spot on the bus here.

Among the guests and subjects explored include:

• A visit to Portland Archives, the official repository for City of Portland records. Here we will meet with Diana Banning, City Archivist, who will talk about their collections. In particular, Banning will talk about the infamous “red files,” a collection on papers collected by a branch of the Portland’s Police Bureau who infiltrated various social movements. Selected artifacts from the collection will be on view.
• Rep. Lew Frederick, who will meet us Dawson Park, a historically important park for the African American community. He will speak about his perspectives on the history civil rights in Portland. Frederick, who grew up in the South and was mentored by Martin Luther King, Jr., has spent his life working to improve race relations. Previous to politics, Frederick was a television reporter with KGW, Director of Public Information at Portland Public Schools and Assistant to the President at Portland Community College.
• Meeky Blizzard, Co-Founder of Sensible Transportation Options for People (STOP), who will meet us at Piccolo Park, a neighborhood park created after plans for Mt. Hood Freeway were abandoned due to community dissent. Blizzzard will talk about her work in the movement to stop the construction of the Western Bypass freeway, in addition to why activism is important, how you can beat City Hall and how to be a responsible activist.
• Joe Uris, Associate Professor at Portland State University, who will meet us at Lair Hill Park, a gathering place for the left in the 1960s. Uris will discuss the intersection of the counterculture and the anti-war movement during the ’60s, including the leftist politics of the era, the drug culture and the movement’s intellectual roots. A lifelong activist on peace and justice issues, Uris has written many articles for Williamette Week and Oregonian, in addition to hosting radio shows on KGW radio and KBOO.
• Janice Dilg, Professor at Portland State University and independent historian, who will meet us at the Walk of Heroines. Dilg will talk about some of the many women honored by the monument, including poet activist Adrienne Rich, political activist Emma Goldman and women’s suffrage activist Esther Pohl Lovejoy, among others. The group will then walk to the First Congregational Church, site of the 1905 National American Woman Suffrage Association and meeting point for women’s rights leaders Susan B. Anthony and Abigail Scott Duniway.