50 Years After, Voices from a Diaspora: Thuy Tran
Thuy Tran talks about her experiences as an optometrist, member of the Oregon Air National Guard, and Oregon State Representative in this video by Kevin Truong.
Conversation Project: Talking About Values Across Political Divides
“How can I be me without making it difficult for you to be you?” This question gets at the fundamental challenge of being in society together. We live in a contentious political world, and it’s difficult to talk about our deepest values and beliefs in safe, civil, and respectful ways. In 2021, the Pew Research Center found that nearly six in ten Americans felt that political conversations with those you disagree with are generally stressful and frustrating, as opposed to being interesting and informative. If we avoid such conversations, we lose opportunities to form a community with others that reflects our best selves. How can we learn to share our values in ways that bring us together rather than push us further apart?
Conversation Project: Talking About Values Across Political Divides
“How can I be me without making it difficult for you to be you?” This question gets at the fundamental challenge of being in society together. We live in a contentious political world, and it’s difficult to talk about our deepest values and beliefs in safe, civil, and respectful ways. In 2021, the Pew Research Center found that nearly six in ten Americans felt that political conversations with those you disagree with are generally stressful and frustrating, as opposed to being interesting and informative. If we avoid such conversations, we lose opportunities to form a community with others that reflects our best selves. How can we learn to share our values in ways that bring us together rather than push us further apart?
This Is the Moment
Andrew DeVigal on how civic dialogue helps build healthier communities.
Consider This: Reinventing American Democracy with Danielle Allen
A conversation about the failings and challenges of democracy in the US and what we can do about them with political philosopher Danielle Allen.
An Honor and a Duty
Eddie Melendrez on bringing more perspectives into public office
A Radical Idea
Mark Putney on the revolutionary vision of public education and the challenges facing Oregon's schools
Broken Glass, Broken Trust
A sermon by Robert Leo Heilman first read at the Umpqua Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Roseburg in spring 2022
Portrait of My Mother in Mint Green
She lived most of her life in the United States. Why didn’t she become a citizen?
Making Pre-K Possible
This comic by Sarah Mirk explores how universal preschool went from an idea to the ballot to law in 2020.
“Let’s Give Oregonians a Chance to Shape the Future of the State”
Hanna Merzbach interviews Kevin Frazier, founder of the website The Oregon Way
Putting in the Work
This comic by Jonathan Hill explores how people can stay engaged in politics and advocate for the changes they want to see outside of major election cycles.
Putting in the Work
This comic by Jonathan Hill explores how people can stay engaged in politics and advocate for the changes they want to see outside of major election cycles.
Charter Review
This comic by Beka Feathers and Aki Ruiz explains Portland's charter review process.
Who's Being Left Out?
Lucy Bellwood illustrates the history of voting rights in Oregon and efforts to expand who gets a say in our democracy.
Clicking
After moving back to Portland, Marbla Reed looks for connection in online event organizing, but finds creating community without the context of preexisting relationships more challenging than anticipated.
Heavy
Pandemic and politics surfaced feelings I couldn't face, or even describe. So I ate them. An essay by Bobbie Willis Soeby
Organizing from the Outside
Jyothi Natarajan talks with Oregonians finding connection while protesting oppression in Kashmir from afar.
Dear Stranger
Dear Stranger is a letter-exchange project that connects Oregonians through the mail to share experiences, beliefs, and ideas.
Think & Drink with Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Eddy Morales, and Ana del Rocío
Join former Happy Valley Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales, and Ana del Rocío, executive director of Oregon Futures Lab, for a conversation about running for and holding public office.
The State That Timber Built—2012
Tara Rae Miner considers what Oregon owes to the struggling timber communities that helped shape the state’s identity in this essay from the 2012 “Here” issue.
This Place Is Beautiful, This Place Is Gross
Sarah Cook writes about learning to see beauty and perseverance while living in The Dalles.
Think & Drink with Desmond Meade
The 2019–20 Think & Drink series, Making Democracy, kicks off with the executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.
Think & Drink Portland 2019–20: Making Democracy
Four onstage conversations with activists, writers and civic leaders about how we make decisions together in our communities
Process and Privilege
Cynthia Carmina Gómez writes about how efforts to rename a Portland street for César Chávez faced intense opposition, despite following a process that other petitions were allowed to circumvent.
People, Not Pundits
Catherine Johnson writes about attending a conservative convention in an effort to understand her mother's politics.
Field Work: People in Motion
The University of Oregon’s Wayne Morse Center explores borders, migration, and belonging.
Protecting Inequality
Anoop Mirpuri on the economic causes of racist policing
On Bearing Bad News
Robert Leo Heilman writes about trying and failing to save library services in Douglas County.
King Tide
An excerpt from Micah White's book, The End of Protest: A New Playbook for the Revolution
The Longest of Long Shots
A Sanders delegate's brush with national party politics. An essay by Valdez Bravo
Just People Like Us
Writer Guy Maynard on a little-known history of a Southern Oregon community during World War II where prisoners of war were more welcome than US military of color
Whose State Is This?
Journalist Brent Walth on how legal measures targeting Latino Oregonians reflect fears of change.
A Return Passage
Reporter Putsata Reang and photographer Kim Nguyen share their stories of leaving their home countries as refugees, meeting as students at the University of Oregon, and returning to Southeast Asia as journalists. A film produced by Dawn Jones for Oregon Humanities.
Origin Stories
The surprising beginnings of six of Oregons claims to fame
An Anecdotal Glossary of Spectacle
M. Allen Cunningham sorts through our landscape of scandal, show, and distraction
Warp and Weft
Editor Kathleen Holt on conflict in sports and politics
A Century of War
Writer and historian Andrew Bacevich on changing the way Americans think about war
The Good Fight
Can letting our children roughhouse lead to a better democracy? An essay by Sarah Gilbert
Water Wars
Journalist J. David Santen Jr. on how battles, compromises, and resolutions abound in a state flush with water.
The State That Timber Built
Tara Rae Miner on what Oregon owes the struggling timber communities that helped shape the state’s identity
Firing a Friend
It's hard to be a good citizen during an election year. An essay by Jennifer Ruth
Unimaginable Riches
The unfamiliar offers its own rewards. An essay by Joanne Mulcahey
The Working Class
Bette Lynch Husted argues that hard times are good times to rethink our attitudes about the fungibility of workers.
Public Servant
A cab driver whos an elected official by day has his work cut out for him. An essay by David Bragdon