On Sunday, October 18th, 2015, Teressa Raiford, a fourth-generation Oregonian from Portland, presented a compelling overview about the on-the-ground circumstances of our Black Oregon citizens and the continuing history of discrimination in the USA. Ms. Raiford is the leader of the “Remove the Flag” project, which advocates removal of the flag. She outlined the historical use of the flag as a symbol of discrimination.

Wearing matching “Black Lives Matter” shirts, Teressa and intern minister Theresa Soto, made a case for a petition with thousands of signatures to request that our Oregon legislature remove the Mississippi flag from our Capitol grounds because it included the Confederate flag as part of the design.