09 September 2017

[liff] We The People Of 122nd Avenue

3491.
Caught this as we were leaving the Midland Branch of the mighty Multnomah County Library yesterday:


I have, in the past, done calligraphy. This person's black-letter, done rough, in white sidewalk-chalk on a gridded surface for cryin' out loud, is so damned on-fleek, I can't even.

Feet away, though, this:


This is why I love outer-east Portland. It still, even in these times of civic dexterity, feels real. People come in all shapes and colors and despite Oregon's bizarre and regrettable history of racist laws (remember, the original state told all black people to GTFO) we have some really great communities here made up of more than your basic rando white people. That is the beauty of living Out 122nd Way. YOU see those people here. Of course, you see those people here because the rest of the city has pushed them out over a period of years ... it's complicated.

Therefore, I present to you my dyptich. Life Out 122nd Way. This is us. We The Eastside People. 

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