Murmurs: School District Will Stop Using History Book That Alarmed Parents

SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL STOP USING HISTORY BOOK THAT ALARMED PARENTS: Portland Public Schools says it will no longer use a set of history books in its classrooms after a parent complained and WW reported on the books’ racist portrayals of Black people and Native Americans. Danielle Blake, parent of a then-fifth grader at Capitol Hill Elementary, first complained about A History of US to her daughter’s teacher in 2019. WW first reported on her concerns earlier this spring (“Missing History,” March 3, 2021). This month, a district administrator told Blake that a committee recommended the books no longer be used in PPS classrooms, and that all school principals be informed of that recommendation. “The text contains historical inaccuracies, which may cause harm to students of color in particular,” Isaac Cardona said in his summary of the committee’s finding. Blake says the decision took far too much time and effort to obtain, but she’s happy with the outcome. “Most significant to me in the reasons stated for their findings is the fact that they…acknowledge the harm it does, particularly to educators and students of color,” Blake says. “They are taking a risk by openly acknowledging this, and I see it as a meaningful step.” A district spokesman says PPS will suggest to teachers supplemental texts better suited to middle-schoolers.

COUNTY GIVES $100 TO NEWLY VACCINATED: This past weekend, Multnomah County began offering $100 to people who received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as $50 for a second dose. For a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the county will provide $150. The incentive appears to be among the first in which an Oregon government has given cash bonuses to people who get vaccinated. It also comes after the Oregon Health Authority offered $100 grocery cards at the Oregon Convention Center mass vaccination clinic beginning last month and at other local clinics for weeks, organizers said. At two vaccine clinics in East Portland, which organizers said vaccinated more than 50 people apiece this weekend, visitors didn’t always know they’d receive a free gift card—so their decision to get vaccinated wasn’t always tied to the money. But the gift cards are intended to get recipients to spread the word to neighbors. “There are many reasons that people who are eligible have not yet been vaccinated,” says county spokesperson Kate Yeiser. “For some, those reasons include financial barriers. We want to remove as many barriers as we can.”

DOJ REPORT SLAMS PORTLAND RIOT SQUAD TRAINING: A draft of a new report evaluating the Portland Police Bureau’s compliance with a 2012 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice criticizes training of the Rapid Response Team, a division of about 50 officers who volunteered to police racial justice protests and who resigned en masse in mid-June, effectively disbanding the unit. The report, compiled by the law firm Rosenbaum & Associates LLP, says the Police Bureau typically trains RRT members twice a year, but an initial training scheduled for the first quarter of 2021 was canceled after the DOJ and community monitors raised questions about the Police Bureau’s lesson plans for the now-defunct riot squad. “We expressed concern that the training focused largely on how to perform certain force-related tasks (e.g., how to use a baton, or particular munitions), with little or no attention to why or when such force would be appropriate,” the report says. “Realizing the RRT lesson plans were deficient, PPB canceled the training.” The report further criticizes a training held in March, saying, “RRT members did not seem to take the training seriously” and one of the officers who attended admitted to “multitasking.”

PRO-CHOICE GROUP LOSES NATIONAL BACKING: The state’s leading advocates for reproductive rights have been dropped by their national umbrella organization. On June 13, NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon executive director Christel Allen sent donors an email announcing a major restructuring. “NARAL Pro-Choice America’s board of directors voted to fully nationalize the organization, by eliminating all 11 independent state affiliate organizations, including NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon—a major change in the 50-year structure of the organization,” Allen wrote. “We are disappointed by this decision, especially as it was made without our input and against our recommendation.” Allen pledged that the Oregon nonprofit would continue its work. She tells WW that the board and staff “have several major decisions to make at our upcoming board meeting in August,” including whether to fully disaffiliate from the national group and whether to change its name.